Chapter Ten The Birth of a Superstition

  If Bellia were here at this time, he would probably be scared out of his wits by Chu Si Nan's words. Not to mention a young foreigner like him, even those generals and marshals who have been in the military for a long time and command millions of troops, now probably no one dares to speak like this in front of Stalin, or else they will lose their lives.

  However, if Beria were here at this time, he would probably face another surprise after the initial shock. Stalin, who was notoriously hot-tempered and intolerant of dissent, did not erupt in anger upon hearing Chu's words. Instead, his face displayed a strange expression, a mixture of astonishment, delight, fervor, and anticipation.

  "Good, good, good!" Stalin jumped up from his chair, waving his pipe excitedly and saying, "I got intelligence from Sorge that Hitler is incredibly superstitious about astrology, and he has some astrologers under him who are very important to him. Every time he makes a move, he asks them for divination. We used to laugh at this as a joke, even when Beria mentioned you to me the other day, I thought it was nonsense, but now, you've proven yourself with your performance."

  Stalin said, having walked to the edge of the balcony, facing the majestic Kremlin Palace outside, waving his hand: "Recently, Hitler relied on the guidance of astrologers to dominate, now I have my own astrologer in the Soviet Union. With our powerful army and strong strength, I believe that defeating the German invasion will only be a matter of time."

  Chu Si Nan didn't say a word, just sat there quietly watching the great Comrade Stalin with a mixture of emotions, his heart filled with a kind of inexplicable contemplation. As the ruler of a country, after gaining immense power, he became suspicious and paranoid, distrustful of experienced generals, ignoring the actual situation on the battlefield, disregarding the bloodshed and sacrifices of soldiers, and simply relying on subjective judgments and arbitrary commands to direct the army. After repeated setbacks, instead of reflecting on his own problems, he shifted his gaze to vague superstitions. Such a commander, such an army under his command, could win the war only by sheer luck. Chu Si Nan was convinced that if Hitler hadn't been too rash and hadn't opened up two fronts during World War II, it's questionable whether the Soviet Union could have ultimately won the Great Patriotic War.

  "Comrade Chu Si-nan," Stalin said, after a burst of excitement, puffing on his pipe as he walked back and forth in front of Chu Si-nan. "What do you think the Germans will do next? If they attack Moscow, which direction will they take? And roughly how many troops will they have?"

  Chu Si Nan secretly smiled in his heart, but his face didn't show it. He quietly calculated the time and realized that today was already the end of August. The Battle of Kiev on the southern front and the Battle of Leningrad on the northern front were about to enter their final stages. Once the Battle of Kiev ended, the German army would launch an attack on Stalingrad. All these events were clearly recorded in history books.

  "Comrade Stalin, I think I have to tell you that the military plan you and your High Command have devised will not work for at least two months from now. The German army will not immediately launch an attack on Moscow once they finish the Smolensk battle," said Chu Zisong, who found himself increasingly fond of this sitting posture, which gave him a feeling of being in control of everything, very comfortable and pleasant.

  "What did you say?!" Stalin was taken aback, and then suspiciously asked, "You're saying that the Germans won't make Moscow their main target of attack in the short term? Are you joking?"

  It's no wonder that Stalin reflected this, in anyone's eyes, as long as Moscow was taken down, the Soviet Union would not be destroyed or surrender, but the morale of its domestic army would be greatly discouraged. If this war continued to be fought, it would probably lose all meaning. And for the German side, the increasingly long front line also made their logistics supply more inconvenient. As winter approached in Russia, the harsh cold was notorious, and if the logistics supply could not keep up, the battle would be impossible to fight.

  "I'm not joking, how can war be joked about?" Chu Si Nan said with a smile, "This is based on my judgment, whether you believe it or not is up to Comrade Stalin."

  Turning to look, Stalin's face was full of suspicion and hesitation. Chu Si Nan shook his head, knowing that he still wouldn't completely believe him. It was understandable, after all, the other party had been through wind and rain for decades and was an old hand, even if it was superstition, he couldn't possibly trust himself immediately. For now, in order to gain his complete trust, he must use powerful facts to prove himself. Fortunately, such opportunities were plentiful.

  "Comrade Stalin, you have reason to doubt my judgment, after all this is too hard to believe," Chu Sui Nan threw out an olive branch, "but you and your Supreme Command can make two-handed preparations in advance, lest you be caught off guard in the not-too-distant future."

  Stalin now seems to have calmed down, puffing on his pipe, walking back to his chair, sitting down and remaining silent for a long time, with an unpredictable expression on his face, as if he couldn't make up his mind about something.

  Chu Si Nan didn't say a word either, just sat across from him, quietly watching him, waiting for his final decision.

  "Alright, I'll consider this matter," After a long while, Stalin suddenly put down his pipe and stared tightly at Chu's eyes, almost in a tone that was one beat slower than usual, "What we've said between us today will only be known to the two of us. Not a single word is allowed to leak out to others, no matter who it is. Do you understand my meaning?"

  Chu Si Nan blinked his eyes, shrugged indifferently, indicating that he understood. In fact, he could also guess some of Stalin's thoughts - this old fox was just not fully trusting himself, or maybe he wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of one or two people who made him feel uncomfortable.

  "You can settle down here from now on, I may have things to ask you at any time," Stalin said with a wave of his hand. "As for your accommodation, I will arrange for someone to take care of it, and if there's anything you need, just let me know. As for the original plan to send you to the 88th Brigade, it's cancelled for now. Do you have any other questions?"

  Chu Si Nan shook his head, he knew that he was one step closer to his goal of struggle. In the following days, he would truly integrate into the high-level military and political circles of the Soviet Union. A comprehensive war without gunsmoke but with hidden dangers was about to unfold within the Kremlin.