**Chapter 858: Aiding the Soviet Union (15)**

Kirov sensed Stalin's unease from his subtle expressions and movements. Although the CPSU leadership had basically determined that China would not join forces with Germany and that its anti-fascist stance was firm, Kirov, like Stalin and others, felt a certain anxiety regarding the power China displayed.

From the Far East to Central Asia, the Sino-Soviet border stretched for over ten thousand kilometers. The stronger China grew, the greater the pressure the Soviet Union felt. Most unsettling was that the strategic initiative between the two was irreversibly shifting toward China.

It wasn't that the USSR currently desired to attack China; the leadership knew they must avoid war and even maintain good relations. Their true unease stemmed from the fact that while the USSR could never defeat China, China possessed the strength to defeat them at any moment. This was a matter of strategic initiative.

Kirov's concern about China's oil supply was because the USSR currently needed Chinese fuel. China solving its own oil problem was good for China, but for the USSR, it had two sides. On the positive side, the USSR could obtain ample supply. On the negative side, China could launch an offensive against the USSR at any time without being affected by external energy factors.

China, through its own strength, could do whatever it wanted to the Soviet Union at any moment, including launching a massive war. That is strategic dominance.

Kirov did not voice these thoughts to Stalin, as he had no alternative solution. World War II was a struggle for world leadership in the next era, and from China's attitude so far, they would never proactively withdraw.

Stalin also didn't raise this future strategic issue, but instead discussed industrial production in the Urals. The earlier strategic decision to relocate factories to the Ural Mountains was paying off immensely. Even after losing Ukraine and Stalingrad, the USSR could continue mass-producing weapons to fight the Nazis.

Having just returned from the Urals, Kirov understood the local situation well. To Stalin's inquiry, he replied simply, "General Secretary, my view is that the production reports from the Urals are credible."

Hearing this, Stalin asked, "Comrade Kirov, is there a way to increase production in the Urals in the short term?"

Kirov knew Stalin was looking to meddle again, yet he understood that the leader's urgency wasn't mere short-sightedness. With the winter counter-offensive approaching, more weapons and equipment were definitely better.

Kirov shook his head. "General Secretary, currently both the quality and quantity of production in the Ural industrial zone are stable. I believe as the number and skill of the technicians grow, production will increase naturally."

Stalin barked with half-feigned anger, "Do these people not understand that we are fighting a war of national defense?!"

Having known Stalin for so long, Kirov knew that if he echoed this view, Stalin might truly start interfering. Despite the risk of angering him, Kirov replied firmly: "General Secretary, the factories in the Urals are doing everything possible to explore ways to increase capacity. Any order you issue now will not improve efficiency, but may instead cause unnecessary disruptions."

Hearing this, Stalin flew into a rage. "Kirov, are you suggesting whose subjective thinking is flawed?!"

Enduring the rage, Kirov replied as calmly as possible: "General Secretary, I don't believe anyone has a subjective problem. At a time like this, we need to respect objective reality more."

In Kirov's experience, when alone with Stalin, such an answer could usually calm him down. To his surprise, Stalin's reaction was like a cat that had its tail stepped on. He reined in his outward rage, his gaze turning sharp and dangerous, his voice calm—the prelude to a true explosion. Stalin asked a very calm question: "Kirov, I would like to hear your view. Why is it that China, which in 1915 was but a backward nation, has achieved such great results over the last twenty-odd years?"

Lately, Kirov had heard similar laments or questions multiple times during discussions with other high-level officials. The more the USSR feared Chinese strength, the more questions they had about its development. If the USSR held such power, its attitude toward China would likely be very different from China's toward them. Hence, the instinctive fear.

Kirov replied as calmly as he could: "General Secretary, China's great achievements mean only one thing: that their opposition to racism and white supremacy is correct. China's prior string of defeats was not because the white race possesses some inherent advantage, but because China's own development had encountered problems.

The prevalence of white supremacy and even chauvinism led to a massive slandering of China's strength. In reality, China has always been a global power with immense strength and potential. General Secretary, Western scholars have researched China's true strength over these years; according to their results, China's industrial and agricultural output in 1915 was still above Russia's.

That is to say, Russia never surpassed China economically; it only surpassed it in industrial technology. After 1915, the He Rui government launched China's comprehensive industrialization—even seven years before the USSR began. General Secretary, the Northeast region He Rui ruled had 30 million people, rich minerals, and fertile land. From 1915 to 1922, he had provided four years of education to those 30 million, giving nearly ten million of them an education equivalent to seven years of compulsory schooling.

In 1941, the USSR had about 24 million secondary-school-aged children. Only about 10 million were receiving a seven-year education equivalent to China's junior high level. According to Chinese data, they have over 6 million high school graduates every year.

By any metric, Russia has not been able to surpass China. And the USSR has endured war; since 1922, it has consistently been left behind by China. That the West and the USSR believed China was backward was largely due to the massive bias caused by the poison of white supremacy and racism.

General Secretary, if we simply acknowledge the facts, China's achievements become perfectly logical. Of course, acknowledging the facts means we have to challenge our own inherent prejudices. That pain is immense; compared to that, it is easier to believe that China's rise is a miracle."

As Kirov spoke, Stalin's gaze shifted from sharp to hesitant, his expression becoming more complex. When Kirov finished, Stalin looked even more enraged. In reality, he was now less dangerous, for he was trapped in a state of self-denial.

As Kirov said, admitting that China had remained a powerful nation from the Tsarist era to the present completely contradicted the logic of white supremacy. In that view, white dominance was a law of nature. If so, how could the USSR, as part of the white world, be weaker than China?

Furthermore, from a realist perspective, Russia had always taken land from China—something only the strong can do. Admitting Russia was weaker meant admitting it was a backward, barbaric nation. This logic truly distressed Stalin, for he did not believe Russia could be more backward or barbaric than China.

Kirov didn't care about the shock to Stalin's mental world; he had said it specifically to prevent the leader from acting impulsively and doing something foolish. Seeing Stalin fall into a state of deep dejection, Kirov took the opportunity to end the discussion.

As Kirov hoped, Stalin truly became more restrained in the time that followed. As the days passed and November approached, the mud in the Western Soviet Union grew even worse.

In mid-October, the German Army Group Center continued breaking Soviet resistance, advancing along the Orel-Tula highway. In the direction of Vyazma, west of Moscow, the Western and Reserve Fronts fought grueling defensive battles. On October 7th, the Germans reached the Vyazma area, encircling the majority of both Fronts, which resisted stubbornly until October 12th-13th.

By the 13th, most of the Soviet forces at Vyazma were annihilated; some units broke out, while others remained behind enemy lines for guerrilla warfare. The Bryansk Front also fell into an operational encirclement and retreated; on the 23rd, most were destroyed. The Wehrmacht captured 580,000 Red Army prisoners in the Vyazma-Bryansk campaign. Only 85,000 Soviets broke through the lines.

In mid-October, Army Group Center finished the annihilation of the Soviet forces at Vyazma, while Zhukov diverted another batch of new units to Moscow. At this time, the autumn rain season began; muddy roads plagued both armies, hindering the German offensive while simultaneously impeding the Soviet defense. Many combat vehicles on both sides bogged down, some requiring tanks to tow them out.

Because Stalin was occupied with his internal cognitive adjustments, his pressure on the General Staff decreased.

This allowed the General Staff to perfect the defensive system around Moscow without being constantly pushed by Stalin to launch counter-attacks.

Since July, the Soviet government had been pressing civilian workers to build fortifications on two lines west of Moscow. Over three-quarters of these workers were women. The first line was the Vyazma Line, running over 200 miles from east of Ostashkov to south of Kirov. The second was the Mozhaisk Line, about 80 miles west of Moscow, stretching 160 miles from Volokolamsk to Tikhvin. There were also four arc-shaped lines west of the city.

Simultaneously, with Chinese support, the USSR was able to pull troops from Central Asia and the Far East to defend Moscow. Furthermore, they employed tank ambush tactics, first proposed by Katukov, primarily around Mtsensk. These proved effective, as Katukov bought time to consolidate the Tula line and blunted Guderian's thrust toward southern Moscow.

As the General Staff's plans were implemented and it was confirmed the Germans weren't preparing for a long war, by November 2nd, the Staff determined preparations for the defense of Moscow were complete.

On November 3rd, Marshal Zhukov, Chief of the General Staff, proactively visited the Kremlin with a completed counter-offensive plan. He was accompanied by several senior generals in charge of various theaters, ready to provide expert answers to Stalin's questions.

When Zhukov saw Stalin, he noticed the leader's mental state was odd. Usually, the iron-fisted Stalin issued commands with a hard attitude, filled with an unsettling power. This time, while the unsettling feeling remained, it was different. Zhukov couldn't say why, but he instinctively felt the sense of danger was no longer directed inward, but toward a direction he couldn't identify.

Zhukov was not affected by this; his urgent task was to go over the imminent counter-offensive with the Central Committee.

His gaze swept the core members present: Kirov looked even calmer, while Mikoyan—responsible for foreign trade—looked very confident. Zhukov understood Mikoyan's confidence, as recent Chinese aid had indeed provided immense help to every sector of the USSR.

The other core members also appeared steady.

The pressure now fell on Zhukov. All the Soviet Union's efforts were for this: to defeat Germany. At this stage, that meant retaking major cities in the prime western regions through a successful counter-offensive.

Once seated, Stalin called on Zhukov directly. The Marshal reported that by November 1st, the Moscow defenders had received another 100,000 men, 300 tanks, and 2,000 artillery pieces.

Moscow citizens had also been mobilized. In the past three days, 25 worker battalions, 120,000-man militia divisions, and 169 street-fighting groups had been organized. 600,000 people were building three defensive lines around the city, three-quarters of whom were women.

Regarding the defensive system, women and children alone had dug 700 kilometers of anti-tank trenches, moved over 3 million cubic meters of earth, and built over 3,800 temporary and fixed firing points. Moscow was a fortress, sealed off by barricades, roadblocks, and fortifications.

At this point, Kirov interrupted Zhukov. He turned to Mikoyan: "Comrade Mikoyan, have the specified supplies been delivered?"

Mikoyan replied confidently, "All have reached the designated depots. And at current temperatures, food spoilage is not a major issue. Especially the imported supplies—the packaging is very suited to our climate, and the shelf life is longer."

Hearing this, Zhukov felt a rare sense of relief. Mikoyan was right; many Soviet factories had solved numerous problems and achieved breakthroughs in new technologies. Before the counter-offensive, depots were filled with newly arrived supplies. Besides weapons, they were packed with canned meat, cigarettes, candy, and vodka.

The vodka was even thoughtfully bottled in 125ml, 250ml, and 500ml sizes. According to logistics regulations, a soldier could choose 125ml of vodka, 50g of candy, or a can of meat every three days.

Achieving this was usually a pipe dream for the Red Army. Yet Mikoyan had secured these supplies through trade and aid from China. Zhukov was impressed. It significantly eased the pressure on the General Staff. These supplies greatly enhanced internal unity; while an individual might wait days for a treat, a squad pooling their special rations could have a meal of bread, military soup, meat, wine, and candy every day.

Kirov knew Mikoyan wasn't playing games; domestic conditions had indeed improved. With the nation on a total war footing, production and distribution were highly planned. The old bickering remained, but under military law, failure meant at best a disciplinary battalion and at worst execution. So operations had become much smoother.

Kirov asked Zhukov to continue on the preparations. The Marshal described the fierce fighting from mid-October to early November in the Mozhaisk region, where the Red Army had stubbornly resisted superior German forces, stopping them at the Lama, Ruza, and Nara rivers. Moscow had evacuated many government organs and key enterprises.

On October 20, 1942, the State Defense Committee (GKO) had declared martial law in and around Moscow. Residents were ordered to build fortifications in the streets—even near the Kremlin—and new militia divisions were formed to prepare the city for street fighting.

At this stage, the USSR had finally restored its numerical advantage. Especially in frontline units, Zhukov was certain the forces committed were either veterans or troops with five months of training.

Of course, there were things Zhukov didn't want to say. In modern war, a soldier should ideally join a support unit after 18 months of training, gaining combat experience there before moving to a main unit. Only thus could casualties be reduced and combat power realized.

The Wehrmacht had been expanding since 1933 and had the experience of 1939 in Poland and 1940 in the West. Millions of their troops were battle-hardened.

As for the Chinese, they had fought three wars in the 19 years since 1922 and had been constantly preparing. In comparison, the Soviet 5 months was far too short!