Chapter 256

< World War II - Moscow Race (4) >

May 1, 1942

Central region of the Soviet Union, Kursk – Allied Forces occupied territory

A bloody battle was raging between the Free Russian Army and the Soviet Army.

The current peace negotiations were held not in Minsk, the heart of the Allied Forces, but in Kursk, the closest to Moscow among the regions seized by the German Army.

Since the General Secretary was shot down while coming here on an airplane, we couldn't just ask them to take an airplane deep into the Allied Forces' territory again.

This time, the Allied Forces were standing strict guard to protect the Soviet personnel coming as counterparts for the peace negotiations.

As we were waiting like that, the Inspector General of the Polish Armed Forces, Władysław Sikorski, opened his mouth next to me.

"Your facial expression looks much better, Minister Schacht."

I guess my facial expression really did look a bit bad after Free Russia caused that incident.

It wasn't unreasonable.

Honestly, I was aware that I was being too neurotic, so I had chosen to reduce my conversations with others instead.

I thought it was really coming to an end, but then it almost flew away right before my eyes…

How many days has it been since I've been stuck here handling work without even seeing Claudia and Lucia.

I nodded with a bitter smile.

"I feel relieved, Your Excellency, the Inspector General."

Sikorski looked at me quietly before opening his mouth again.

"To be honest, we no longer have the capability to continue the war, so I think it's a relief that Germany made the decision to end it."

Having finished speaking, Sikorski gave me a light nod.

"…I am expressing my gratitude to you, Minister."

Poland and Finland had joined the last battle despite being in a situation where they were almost pushed to their limit.

Speaking coldly, my thought was closer to judging that demanding their unreasonable participation in the war would at best weaken the status Germany had achieved and the solidarity of the Allied Powers, rather than wanting to end the war out of consideration for Poland and Finland.

Even if we forced the war to continue here, Germany had nothing to salvage from the corpse of the Soviet Union, and I thought we had to end the war because sacrifices would only keep piling up.

Still, even if it was just because our paths overlapped, I am honestly glad that the path I wanted was a helpful choice for them as well.

"Those are glad words.

The agreement with the Soviet Union hasn't been finalized yet, so it's a bit early, but if I may say one thing…"

I answered with a smile.

"The ones who made it that way weren't me, but the German citizens. Therefore, if you are to look favorably upon this, I hope you look favorably upon Germany. Even for the sake of the future that will unfold for all of us."

Sikorski looked at me for a moment and chuckled.

I also smiled while looking back at him.

It was a relationship I couldn't have imagined in the situation between Germany and Poland just a few years ago, but my mood was extremely good.

There wouldn't be an incident recorded in Germany's history as 'Brandt's kneeling', but even without such a thing, it would be fine to hold the expectation that our relationship would be better than that of the original history.

Having stolen a single contribution from a master of history like Willy Brandt was…

Not at all, I felt absolutely no regret.

It was a great feat wasted on that damn womanizer!

How dare he have his eyes on Claudia!

While we were doing so, the party we were waiting for arrived.

An armored vehicle escorted by a Panther and a T-34, this was truly a bizarre combination.

When the door of the armored vehicle opened, a well-built man wearing glasses stepped out.

"The person we've been waiting for has finally arrived."

Yuri Andropov.

The man who convened the Emergency Committee after Zhdanov's death, seized Moscow, and took on the position of Acting Chairman had arrived.

*

Regarding the man named Yuri Andropov, I didn't know much.

I felt like I had heard of him in modern times, but maybe not.

If I didn't know well no matter how much I thought about it, it meant that he wasn't a figure with enough public recognition to stand out during the World War II era of original history or be widely known in Korea either.

So I requested evidence from Director Canaris of the Abwehr, but hilariously enough, Director Canaris couldn't obtain proper intel either.

At best, just the fact that he was the man who became the director of the NKVD by Stalin after Beria's purge?

In other words, the person who completely dismantled the Abwehr's intelligence network in the Soviet Union and instilled a sense of terror in Director Canaris was this very man.

In a situation where the Abwehr intelligence network in the Soviet Union had effectively collapsed, the intel we could access was extremely limited, but there was still some evidence that I could use to judge him.

As soon as General Secretary Zhdanov fell to his death, he seized Moscow and quickly announced measures that could appease the public sentiment while declaring the Great Patriotic War.

To achieve a resolution for the Soviet Union—which would have fallen into chaos due to Zhdanov's sudden death and Free Russia's surprise attack to resume the war—that quickly and announce reform measures, it would be valid to view that he had been preparing for such an incident since before.

Among them, I paid attention to the weakening of the General Secretary's authority reminiscent of a constitutional monarchy, the triumvirate system of the military, the committee, and the party reminiscent of the separation of powers, and the disbandment of the collective farms.

Looking at the contents Andropov announced, it was almost on the level of completely denying Stalin's dictatorship and collectivization policy.

Whether it was by nomination or election or whatever, the fact that Andropov still secured the Chairman seat meant that Stalin's subordinates remaining in Moscow were subjected to neutralization in one way or another.

His policies would suppress the dissatisfaction of the Soviet citizens exhausted by the long war, quickly achieve a resolution to the chaos, and serve as a powerful preemptive measure to face Free Russia.

The collective farm in particular was the policy that caused the most serious harm in Stalin's Soviet Union, so its disbandment would have received quite a large positive response if Free Russia had presented it first.

It seemed like that side hadn't even thought about such systemic reform because they were focused on causing the fall of Moscow right away, though.

A reformist faction leader who appeared like a comet in the Soviet Union, which was facing the worst situation following the devastation of the Great War and having the General Secretary replaced twice…

I was very curious about what kind of person he was, but the side he showed in the negotiation was different from my expectation.

"So, are you saying you will agree to the complete independence and cession of the Kola Peninsula, Belarus, and Ukraine?"

"That is correct."

There wasn't even a hint of wavering on Andropov's face as he answered Mr.

Heuss's question.

Honestly, this peace negotiation was a Maginot Line for us as well.

Although the direction was set towards the resumption of peace negotiations by the public opinion of the citizens, if the Soviet Union expressed refusal to our conditions here, that public opinion would turn into pressure on us just as it was.

Or in the worst case, it wouldn't be strange if the citizens' demand to end the war changed into a push to force the surrender of the Soviet Union that refused the end of the war.

So we came out intending to reach a conclusion here one way or another, but because the Soviet side accepted it so simply, the Allied Forces were rather the ones who were flustered.

Compared to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed by the Russian Empire and the German Empire after their defeat in World War I, it was a much better condition, but to be frank, if they accepted that in the Soviet Union, wouldn't that person's political stance become dangerous right away?

In the Soviet Union, where a purge was a tradition whenever there was a pretext, accepting our condition would be like risking one's own life, but Andropov looked extremely calm.

Did he come out with the resolve to even take on the stigma of a traitor for the fatherland, like Sikorski?

Or was it an expression of confidence that he had achieved the establishment of a position where he wouldn't lose the regime even if he accepted these conditions.

Befitting the head of the NKVD, he was maintaining complete composure.

I couldn't read what his thoughts were at all.

"…Even putting aside the cession of territory, reparations for the blood the Allied Powers shed because of the Soviet Union are necessary."

When Sikorski brought up the topic, Andropov nodded his head instead of getting angry even at that.

"It is a war caused by the responsibility of the former General Secretary Stalin, but we have no disagreement with the Allied Powers' claim that reparations are necessary. However, we are currently in a civil war, so—"

A civil war…

"We would like to replace the payment of reparations with resources. If it's the underground resources of the Soviet Union, I believe there will be a lot of demand in the Allied Powers as well. The railroad connecting the resource areas to Ukraine will be ready for immediate use once restoration work is done, making transportation easy too."

The underground resources of the Soviet Union.

Up until we waged the German-Soviet War, they were enough to feed Hitler's Nazi Germany, so there would be no shortcoming in replacing the reparations.

Even if we stopped the war, we needed so many things starting with fuel to run industries and work on the reconstruction of our territory anyway.

That was that, and when everyone was looking around wondering what was going on because Andropov was too compliant, Andropov opened his mouth, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses.

"Since we are also fully accepting the Allied Powers' demands, we would like to receive a minimum guarantee."

"Speak."

"We want a guarantee of non-interference from the Allied Powers regarding the civil war between the Soviet Union and Free Russia, in other words, the Second Russian Civil War."

A civil war, a civil war, he says.

Now I felt like I knew the reason he came out like this.

Even if he had to give up what he had to give up to the Allied Powers, he would end the war, have the war with Free Russia officially recognized as a clear civil war, and lead it to victory without the Allied Powers' intervention.

So that was his intention.

*

For the Allied Powers to answer Andropov's proposal, time for discussion was naturally needed.

The internal opinion of the Allied Powers was that they couldn't care less whether the damn Free Russia fell to ruin or not, but completely kicking Free Russia out of the Allied Powers and falling out with America would be trouble.

In truth, it wouldn't be difficult for us to just bring them to the end altogether because Free Russia's actions were disgraceful, but if we weren't careful, it would be the perfect setup to be criticized for taking the commie side.

The act Free Russia committed was a crazy act that could have shattered the diplomatic trust of the Allied Powers, but there was no evidence.

No matter how much bullshit it was, the difference between clearly proven evidence and circumstantial evidence had a great meaning, especially in international conflicts.

Not everything could reach a resolution through emotion alone. Rather, if we acted extremely just for the sake of emotion, we would be no different from that Free Russia.

It might be different if Free Russia were completely isolated, but America was already tangled up with Free Russia one way or another. They had to recover the massive Lend-Lease they had poured into Free Russia, essentially their initial investment.

And before that, the current US Republican Party administration was an anti-communist regime that shattered the communist protests, and America was still swept up in a premature frenzy of McCarthyism.

No matter how much they were focusing on the Pacific Ocean, the label of having stood by while the Free Russia they sponsored fell to the commies would be a fatal blow no matter how you looked at it.

Therefore, completely kicking Free Russia out of the Allied Powers and even blocking the Lend-Lease that America was sending was a choice we couldn't make.

Furthermore, as a result, the reality was that having two was better than a single Free Russia or Soviet Union anyway.

Whether the flag belonged to Free Russia or the Soviet Union, either side was too massive, and wasn't it obvious that they would apply pressure on Europe using the reclamation of former territory as their justification?

In a situation where my worries were deepening in various ways, I visited Andropov.

"Welcome, Minister of Defense Schacht."

"Thank you for willingly welcoming me despite the sudden visit. Chairman Andropov."

"Aren't you someone who can be counted on one hand if we were to list the bigwigs of the Allied Powers? I must naturally welcome you."

"Haha…"

Saying that, Andropov naturally brought me inside, and naturally picked up a bottle of vodka.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Uh, yes? Ah, yes. Well, with gratitude…"

No, as expected of Russians, offering vodka right upon meeting without any rhyme or reason?

As I lightly toasted and drank, a sensation like a hot fireball slid down my throat.

"Urgh…"

It tasted good, though.

When I unconsciously marveled at the taste and proof and turned my gaze, Andropov hadn't even changed his complexion at all.

An incredible Russian as expected…

I quietly put down the drinking glass.

Regardless of courtesy or whatever, it was as obvious as seeing fire that I would die first if I matched drinks with this.

Without saying much either, Andropov took a sip from his glass before opening his mouth.

"I have investigated quite a lot of things about you, Minister."

"Is that so…"

Well, he was the head of the NKVD, so of course he did.

Did the Soviet Union have quite a bit of interest in me?

It would mostly be interest on the bad side, but…

I was about to brush it off casually, but the alcohol buzz completely vanished at Andropov's next words.

"Among them was also a mission to gauge whether an assassination of the Minister or your wife would be possible."

"…"

Andropov paused his words for a moment before opening his mouth.

"In fact, it seemed possible, but I reported to Stalin that there was no possibility."

What was this person trying to say?

Andropov looked at me quietly before showing a sly smile.

His words did not continue any further.

I didn't know well about the Soviet Union and the NKVD.

If I were to name the personnel I knew about the Soviet Union, only someone like General Enrique Líster, who couldn't even be called a comrade, came to mind.

Enrique Líster stepped up for the defense of Moscow faster than anyone else, and it was said that the Soviet Army was also gathering one by one in a positive response to him.

I recalled my final face-to-face meeting with Líster.

He said that communism wasn't good, but it wasn't evil in itself either.

I also thought the same.

Since there couldn't be a perfect ideology on its own anyway, and that was the same for democracy and capitalism.

As for the societies built by communism, there were worst-case scenarios like Mao Zedong's Communist China or Kim Il-sung's North Korea, but there were also somewhat positive cases like Tito's Yugoslavia or Ho Chi Minh's Vietnam.

In a Soviet Union where Stalin and his faction were gone, would the society these people were trying to achieve, even at a high price paid to the Allied Powers, be better than that of original history?

I looked at Andropov and opened my mouth.

"…Is General Líster your man, Chairman?"

Andropov looked at me for a moment before answering.

"I consider him a comrade."

Líster, who had said he didn't regret fighting on that side, even if he couldn't say the current Soviet Union was walking the right path.

Was he now fighting for the Soviet Union with conviction?

Silence flowed again, and this time Andropov opened his mouth.

"Regarding reporting a lie to Stalin, I consider it a relief."

What would be the reason he thought that way?

What kind of person was this man? Was he truly a reformist of the Soviet Union? Or just another communist dictator?

What meaning did the Soviet soldiers, who would be fading away to protect Moscow even at this moment, have to this person?

How much was this person resolved to give up, and how much could he change?

Having thought that far, I slowly opened my mouth.

"Can you make a declaration of renunciation of territorial sovereignty over the Kola Peninsula, Belarus, and Ukraine?"