In the evening of June 3, after two consecutive days of consultation and communication, Molotov finally communicated and exchanged opinions with Ribintrov on the main terms. The consensus reached was not about agreement, but about the two sides understanding that the connotation and essence of the problem were consistent and avoiding unnecessary disputes. Then he returned to Moscow without stopping and saw the frustrated Stalin.

In the past 48 hours, the frontline war has continued to deteriorate:

On the Uralsk side, the German Weiks cluster vanguard defeated Malinovsky's vanguard, and the subsequent army continued to advance, forming an encirclement of Uralsk. The city is still in the hands of the Red Army, but everyone thinks that it will be useless even if it survives. The Germans blocked the road here and blocked the road. The gains and losses of a city will not change the gains and losses of the entire supply line;

On the Transcaucasus, the German army continued to attack and released an airborne force of a division in the early morning yesterday. The Red Army left behind was attacked by the enemy from both sides and almost collapsed. The front line has been broken and they are fighting on their own. Fortunately, Chernyakhovsky's main force has retreated almost;

The two fronts of Vatutin and Rokosovsky were besieged by three armies. The German army almost built an encirclement around Stalingrad. Of course, the encirclement has not been sealed yet, but the situation is very critical. There are less than 500,000 troops in the encirclement, but more than 900,000 German troops are on the periphery;

Yelemenko, who received reinforcements from Chernyakovsky, could barely maintain Astrakhan's front, but his ties with Stalingrad were basically cut off.

In two days, the Red Army lost at least 150,000 troops, actually a lot of them were lost two days ago. It cannot be counted today. Now the total strength of the Red Army in the South Wing has dropped to only 1.5 million (excluding the 350,000 troops in Central Asia). The basic distribution is: Stalingrad, more than 600,000 Astrakhan, 150,000 near the north coast of Atlau and the Caspian Sea, more than 100,000 people on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, about 200,000 people on the Uralsk, and the remaining troops of the Transcaucasus may be less than 30,000;

The number of Axis troops is nearly 2.2 million, with basic distributions: Stalingrad, 450,000, Uralsk, more than 300,000 in Transcaucasus (including more than 100,000 in Iranian troops), and nearly 500,000 in the front line of Astrakhan. Since the Caucasus Annihilation War started, the losses have been more than 50,000, and the losses caused to the enemy have exceeded 400,000.

Looking at the blue flag stretching around on the map and the red flag shrinking into a ball, Molotov only felt his scalp numb.

When he heard Zhukov, Rokosovsky and Vatuting lead the defeated general to trap the lonely city of Stalingrad, his eyes widened: In the minds of the Germans, these are still good Soviet generals. What if this is ruined in Stalingrad, what will happen in the future?

Especially when he heard that the three fronts organized by Tolbuxin went south to rescue at least 10-15 days, Molotov couldn't help but shouted: "Danger!"

As soon as the voice was interrupted, Stalin realized that Molotov had come, and reluctantly nodded and greeted: "You are back just in time. Comrade Vasilevsky is deploying the defense of Stalingrad."

"Do you think it's possible to persevere until our army's rescue troops arrive?"

"You can persist until this time, but the situation will not change the battle." Huasilevsky pushed the trainer gently, "The Germans do not need so many troops to surround Stalingrad. As long as there are 500,000 to 600,000 troops, the remaining 300,000 to 400,000 are used to maneuver on the periphery. Then, at this time, the enemy troops from the Caucasus will also flock to. In addition to the Kleister cluster near Astrakhan, the enemy still has 600,000 to 700,000 mobile troops, not to mention that the reinforcements of the front must first rush through the interception of the two armored armies of the Central Army Group."

"No, the troops may be more than that." Molotov shouted anxiously.

"Um?"

"The Battle of Iceland is over, and Britain is under surrender negotiations. It is reported that it has formed an agreement with Germany on more than 90% of the terms. The German troops deployed in Western Europe will further reach the Eastern Front."

"Is this possible?"

Deputy Chief of General Staff Antonov added: "It is indeed possible that our diplomats in London sent intelligence that the German army had suddenly stopped large-scale air strikes on Britain. They suspected that it was a harbinger of peace between Britain and Germany. This part of the air force had no less than 5,000 aircraft."

Stalin frowned tightly. Of course, he understood the opinions of the two chiefs of staff. Even if the rescue troops arrived, they could not resist the German troops coming. Unless he gave up Moscow, he could no longer provide additional teams to reinforce Stalingrad, and Moscow itself would be at risk of being surrounded.

Instead of continuing to express his opinions on military issues, he asked Molotov: "How is the negotiation situation? How high is the German asking price?"

Molotov immediately described the main terms, and everyone was silent and felt very heavy.

Of course, the terms are very strict, but some terms are not unacceptable.

For example, for 2 million troops, Huasilevsky's private report required 2.5-3 million troops. Although there are only 2 million now, I heard that Vlasov's army was only limited to about 1 million, and the Germans stationed 1 million troops. This way, 2 million troops were generally enough. If it is really impossible to use the internal police, it is not difficult for the Red Guard to arm 500,000;

Although 300 million tons of crude oil is a big figure, it was produced in the Soviet Union in eight years before the war. Moreover, the Germans agreed to pay in 20 years. This compensation claim is in a sense lower than Stalin's expectations;

The EU and the United Nations are not important to Stalin's eyes. International treaties are just waste paper in Stalin's eyes. As long as they have the strength, they can do anything;

The alliance between East and Russia was something he agreed to at the beginning, but it has been further clarified and solidified now.

The only problem is that not only the overall border line will retreat to the east of the Ural Mountains, but also a large area of ​​Central Asian territory cannot be preserved, which makes everyone feel a little uncomfortable, but it seems a bit unreasonable to start a war for this line. After all, it is completely impossible to fight now.

Huasilevsky wanted to speak, but Stalin spoke first: "How should the Germans do to cease fire on the spot?"

"Take Moscow or Stalingrad intact, and all Caucasian troops retreat north of the Volga River, when will they retreat, when will they cease fire, and during the retreat, the German army guarantees not to fire on the retreating troops."

"Comrade Huasilevsky, what do you think?"

"This... depends on the party's determination." Vasilevsky sighed, "From a military point of view, retreating from Stalingrad cannot change the strategic situation, but it can effectively preserve these more than 1 million troops; if the war is to continue, these more than 1 million troops are essential; of course, we may be able to cause major damage to the enemy in Stalingrad, but in the end we will inevitably retreat step by step."

Stalin pondered for a moment and issued two more important orders: "First, Comrade Tolbuhin's front army does not have to go south from Moscow; Second, the Stalingrad issue and the terms of peace talks are waiting for the decision of the Politburo meeting tonight." After that, he left the General Staff. During the process just now, Molotov kept hinting at him that he had been with his old partner for so many years, and he understood this tacit understanding.

When there was no one around, Molotov reported the specific situation and his personal judgment to Stalin, and then whispered: "Ribintrov revealed an unconfirmed news. Yakov was in the prisoner-of-war camp. He also gave him a few photos, and then said that he could be released in advance."

Stalin looked at the photos and his eyes twitched a little, but he quickly suppressed this emotion: "How did Comrade Yakov be captured? Is there any evidence from other witnesses? Did he betray the country and the party after he was captured? Do you have any thoughts of being shaken?"

"This... probably doesn't."

"We must prove it seriously and not let go of any clues." Stalin sighed, "At a critical moment like negotiation, the Germans suddenly made this move, and it is hard not to remind people of any conspiracy."

"Then, why don't you let him come back first? The Germans don't have any extra conditions."

"No!" Stalin waved his hand and said sternly, "It's true that he is my son, but he does not have the privilege of overtaking others, nor does he have the reason to come back quietly at such a moment. If this is done, what do other cadres and the masses think of us? I would rather the Germans release a few commanders and comrades first. We must have a holistic and strategic height, be able to sacrifice for the revolution and the cause of the party, and we cannot sacrifice once practical problems fall on ourselves. I am not that fragile!"

"Yes, what you criticized is." Molotov accepted the criticism sincerely, without any unhappy expression on his face.

He raised the question, how to deal with Comrade Stalin and how to consider it, and criticizing himself for specialization is of course righteousness, but he does not regret proposing it, because this is the only correct way to deal with it. Otherwise, if Yakov comes back in the future, he doesn't know how Stalin should hate him. He knew that Comrade Stalin had spared no effort to train the eldest son, and the reason why he was captured was the result of being put in the army for training. His second son Vasily was a playboy. Although he was given the title of ace pilot, everyone who knew the inside story understood that this identity was actually very humble. Although his youngest daughter Svetlana was full of love, she always had to fight against Stalin. It is said that she was fascinated by the 40-year-old film director, which annoyed Stalin. It was nothing more than politics and the military situation was too tense, and he could not take more time to pay attention to this point. If you want to talk about successors, it is undoubtedly the most suitable Yakov.

At the Politburo meeting, Molotov elaborated on the main clauses one by one, and reinterpreted the amendments he put forward and the objections he put forward.
Chapter completed!