Although Stalin said Max in his mouth, the person he thought of in his heart was Yang Rui - the nature of a Slav, and only an opponent who had brought him serious losses was worthy of respect. The Tsaritsyn issue was laid out by the Chinese, and he never forgot it, so all of Yang Rui's writings and speeches were the object of study by Comrade Stalin when he read at night, and the prediction of the economic crisis was one of them.

As Capital says, the economic crisis is an incurable disease of capitalism, but the construction of the Soviets at this time is extremely dependent on the capitalist world, especially the export of timber, oil, grain and other materials, which are the basis for the exchange of equipment and technology needed in the five-year plan. In the event of an economic crisis, the prices of these products, even if they are not unsalable, will fall sharply, and the result of the sharp drop in prices will be that there will be a shortage of foreign exchange and will not be able to pay for foreign equipment and technology, and the first five-year plan will be greatly affected......

Thinking about the consequences of all this, Stalin took Minzhensky away and sat down in his chair with his pipe in thought, and only then did he guess why the Chinese envoys, who were visiting factories all over Russia, were not in a hurry to talk about their intentions, what people were waiting for was the economic crisis, once so, the grim situation would be the best bargaining chip for the Chinese, but what did they want?

Unlike Stalin's musings, Yang Du, who was visiting the automobile factory in Nizhny Novgorod, trembled with excitement after receiving the news, and now he could finally go to Moscow to talk about the canal with General Secretary Stalin.

"Mr. Peren, what kind of person was Stalin?" Back at the Moscow embassy, Yang Du began to prepare for the conversation. Hope to get some useful help from Chen Quai.

"What kind of people?" Chen Quzhi didn't expect Yang Du to pull himself to talk about this, and immediately smiled. "In my opinion, Stalin can be called a good man."

"Good guy?!" Yang Du was a little surprised. In his understanding, the Bolsheviks were really not good people, and Stalin's iron-blooded shooting of countless rich peasants can be said to be like murder.

"What a nice guy, except for ...... Except that his temper is a little stubborn. Chen Quzhi said, after he finished speaking, his eyes stared at Yang Du's face and hesitated, and finally said: "Actually, Stalin is very similar to the prime minister, personality, preferences, and things, these are very similar." There are only two differences: first, the pattern and vision of the prime minister are incomparable with Stalin, this kind of thing is almost innate, and it is difficult for people who do not have that kind of comprehension even if they work hard; Another difference is that Stalin did not understand science and could not invent things, but there are almost no things that the prime minister does not know, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, heaven and earth. ”

Chen Quzhi said a lot of things, but almost all of them were talking about how good Yang Rui was, if he didn't know that he was not a flatterer. Yang Du almost thought he was slapping on the back. Thinking about this, Chen went on to say: "Apart from these two points, the prime minister is no different from Stalin. Both of them have bad tempers, but they are persistent. Treat people sincerely and steadfastly, by the way, there is a difference here. In the prime minister's place, he will not be merciful to those who do not do well. full dismissal; But with Stalin, those who did not do well were not dismissed. That's all shot.

Neither the prime minister nor Stalin liked extravagant and extravagant things, and even though the prime minister wrote many books and Stalin believed in Bolshevism, they were very practical in their work, and their food and clothing were very simple, and they were really good to the people from the bottom of their hearts -- I know that some people in China slander the prime minister, saying that the prime minister is good to the people and only let the people die, but as the head of a country, for the sake of the overall situation, what he thinks and does will definitely contradict himself, what is light and what is heavy, he knows best in his heart.

The best way for a man like Stalin to talk to him is to tell the truth, and not to deceive and deceive, otherwise even the best things will be messed up. They all hate the kind of self-righteous, fancy people, and like down-to-earth and serious people. I think you still told Stalin directly about the canal -- what we can give and what we want, we should all explain on the table, and we must never mention the economic crisis or the like, Stalin still hates other people's coercion, and if he is stubborn, the matter is very likely to be unresolved. ”

"Ahh Yang Du was a little dumbfounded, he originally planned to talk about the harm of the economic crisis, but he didn't want to say it.

"No, Skinny. The Chancellor and Stalin had a bad temper, that is, they were convinced that they could do everything without the help of others. They belong to the kind of doers like mud legs in their bones, and they won't beg for people -- they can't let go of their sons to beg for people. On the contrary, they like others to beg him, if you tell the matter completely, let him be kind to help, the matter can basically be scored, if you are careful, secretive, then the thing will definitely not work. ”

Chen Quzhi stroked his beard and talked about his experience. "Someone like Stalin, you have to talk with sincerity, make him feel that he is an adult, that he is in control of all this, as long as you can make him think like this, the matter is half done, in the words of the prime minister, this is called a matter of attitude. The other half of whether the thing will succeed or not, that is a very practical problem, whether it will succeed or not depends on what Russia has to give and what it can gain, if Russia gains more and loses less, then the thing will be done.

In my opinion, for Russia, the Eurasian Canal can smoothly transport the products of the Volga River into the Mediterranean, and this is also the reason why they want to build the Volga-Don Canal, because after all, there is oil, timber, grain and minerals here, and the construction of the canal will certainly be of great benefit to Russia. But there are many disadvantages, one is that the water level rises, oil fields, cities, and fertile fields will be flooded a lot, which is actually very easy to solve, the Russians lack foreign exchange, as long as we are willing to pay, they must not care about this loss;

The really difficult thing is the second point, which is that the Eurasian Canal and the Trans-Siberian Railway are competing. Although the Western Regions-Persia Railway could be connected to the Baghdad Railway, it would also compete with the Trans-Siberian Railway, but how could it be convenient for water transportation? The Trans-Siberian Railway carried not only the goods of the Russians themselves, but also many of them from Europe to Asia.

But if the Eurasian Canal is dug through. Then the goods can be disembarked from Istanbul, Turkey, and transported by rail to Northern Europe. This would threaten the revenues of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Stalin must have thought of this, and he really cared about this. After the canal was completed, the Trans-Siberian Railway lost more than half of its value, and could only become a domestic railway connecting Russia with Asia.

What is good for the situation now is that Russia's foreign exchange earnings will certainly decrease during the economic crisis, and the other is that there are not many goods on the Trans-Siberian Railway at present -- almost the whole world is hostile to Soviet Russia, and they would rather change ships from the Western Regions-Persia Railway, or take a car from Persia to Baghdad, and then take a train to Europe, rather than take the Trans-Siberian Railway. This is bound to make Stalin underestimate the loss of the Trans-Siberian Railway......"

The questions that Chen Quzhi said were all on the point, and some Yang Du, who was proud of his talents, listened to it in his heart. However, Chen's last worries made his heart a little cold. "Gentleman, you say, if Stalin really agreed to our conditions, what will Britain and France think?"

"British ......and French," Yang Du pondered, "They definitely don't want to negotiate things, so I came secretly." ”

"When the Western Regions-Persia Railway was being built, everyone said that the reason why the Germans were angry with Britain in the first place was that in addition to the naval shipbuilding, this 3B railway was also one of them. Before the Great War in Europe. Although Britain and Germany signed an agreement to build the 3B railway to Basra, and Germany tried everything possible, the section of Baghdad that could not be repaired in Basra. The Eurasian Canal is different. As long as Stalin nodded, there was no political problem, and with the goodwill of Ottoman Turkey towards us. As long as it is not a warship, merchant ships can freely enter and leave the Bosphorus. I'm worried about the ...... of this canal: "Chen has been doing diplomacy for more than 20 years. He still has a clear view of the world pattern, and he is worried that the Eurasian Canal is the same as the 3B railway. It will bring disaster to China rather than well-being.

"Mr. Peren is right, but for Britain, the 3B railway is worried about being invaded by the Germans into the Egyptian colonies and the Indian colonies, which is also the reason why Britain wants to control Iraq after the European War, although it is barren and has no profits, but it is the center of Egypt and India, and the railway is different from the canal, the canal is only for transportation, and there are not many cities along the way; The railroad passed through all the large and medium-sized cities, and once it was built, the sale of goods would follow, and the commercial interests of Britain would be greatly damaged, so Britain would not agree to the Germans reaching out to West Asia and the Persian Gulf;

The Eurasian Canal, not to mention that Britain had no way to oppose or obstruct it, had little impact on the markets of Egypt, India and even the whole of West Asia, and the loss brought was nothing more than the Suez Canal collecting less tolls. Yang Du had long considered the attitude of Britain and France towards the Eurasian Canal, and he believed that this would not infringe much on the interests of Britain and France, after all, Chinese goods were now transported by Chinese merchant ships, and at the same time, it was impossible for the Chinese Navy to use this canal to reach the Mediterranean, and the impact on Britain's sea power was extremely limited. It was precisely because of these considerations that he took the initiative to come to Soviet Russia as this lobbyist.

At a time when the New York stock market hit rock bottom and the world's financial community was in turmoil, Yang Du met with Stalin in the Kremlin. Dressed in a red silk official robe, he is completely polar compared to Stalin, who is dressed in the uniform of the Russian army without rank, one is extremely gorgeous, and the other is as dull as ashes, but the uniforms of the officials of the two countries are like this, and no one cares. After General Secretary Comrade Stalin, as usual, he greeted him dryly on his feelings and gains from the visit, and the main topic immediately began.

"Dear Comrade Stalin, I am here this time to discuss cooperation with your country." Yang Du spoke under Stalin's nonchalant gaze, he listened to Chen's suggestion, and straightforwardly took out a prepared map and said: "Our country hopes to dig a canal connecting the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, which will be extremely beneficial for the goods of your two countries to enter the Mediterranean Sea through the Black Sea. ”

"Oh, yes, a canal ......" Stalin, who understood his opponent's cards, smiled, and what he liked most was that his opponent would reveal his ass and mind in front of him like a small animal, and then wait for him to fall.

"Yes, honorable Comrade Stalin." Yang Du laughed, "This canal can connect the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea with the help of the Kuma-Manech Basin, and at that time, timber, grain and minerals from the Volga Basin, as well as oil from the Baku oil fields, can be transported out of the Caspian Sea." Yang Du watched Stalin's expression carefully as he spoke, and after seeing that he nodded slightly, he continued: "This canal is about 1,000 kilometers long, and it is conservatively estimated that it will require an investment of 20 to 3 billion new rubles, so our government is willing to jointly set up a canal company with your country, and our country will contribute to the land, and both sides will each account for 50 percent of the shares."

In addition to digging canals, this canal company was responsible for digging canals. The rest of the work is to maintain the canal, which is paid for by passing ships. But this charge is only for the maintenance of the canal. There is no need to recoup the previous costs......"

"That is to say, your country pays for the canal. And then get free access? And our country only needs to provide the land needed for the passage of the canal? "I didn't want the question to be too complicated, Stalin asked simply.

"Probably so, respected Comrade Stalin." Yang Du smiled, trying not to be so nervous, "There is an addition: because the canal does not have locks, the Black Sea will flow into the Caspian Sea after it is completed, and the sea level of the Caspian Sea is likely to rise by about twenty meters, which will make some land and ...... along the Caspian Sea in your country and some oil fields were flooded. For this loss, our country is willing to pay for the reconstruction of oil fields and cities. After all, China and the Soviet Union are friendly and fraternal states......"

"I'll think about it......" Stalin nodded noncommittally, and the tighter he bit his pipe, the thicker the smoke became. Although his opponent didn't play any tricks, he still needs to consider what the impact of this huge canal will be.

"Your Excellency Yang Huizi ......" Molotov, who was sitting with him, glanced at Stalin, and then said: "Our government has a plan to connect the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, that is, the canal connecting the Volga and the Don River, although this canal needs to build locks, but the distance is only a short 110 kilometers. Why do you have to dig a thousand-kilometre-long canal on the coast of the Caspian Sea? ”

"Oh, your country has a canal plan?" Yang had never heard of the Volga-Don Canal, "then excuse me." How big can this canal be for merchant ships? ”

"This ......" Molotov only knew about the canal, as for the details of the canal he did not know.

Seeing that he couldn't answer, Yang Du said: "The canal is dug on the coast of the coast." Although it is long, there is no lock. Adoption costs are extremely low at the same time. The canal can pass tens of thousands of tons of merchant ships, and I think the Volga-Don canal is difficult to compare. ”

In fact, no matter whether Molotov knew how large the Volga-Don canal could pass through merchant ships, just by looking at the difference between the sea and the river, we can know the difference in the volume of traffic between the two canals. If the Black Sea-Caspian Canal is really to be built, it will definitely have to pass tens of thousands of tons of seaborne merchant ships, otherwise the investment of two or three billion rubles will not be able to recover the cost at all. It can be said that this will be the third largest canal in the world comparable to the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal, and it is conservatively estimated that its passage will not be less than 50,000 tons of merchant ships.

Now that the problem has been laid out, there is nothing to talk about. Yang Du and Chen took their leave after a while, and only Stalin and Molotov were left in the reception room.

"Comrade Stalin, there will be no conspiracy among the Chinese, right?" Molotov did not see the disadvantages of the canal, but felt that he had picked up a canal for nothing, and it would have been better if the canal company had been completely run by the Soviets.

"What plot can they have?" Stalin smoked a cigarette and said disappreciatively. "They just want an outlet to the sea, to Europe. If the Persian railway is built in Baghdad, the British will certainly oppose it, and the construction of the Black Sea-Caspian canal will not be opposed by the British, because after all, it is being built on our land. ”

"Since there is no conspiracy, then are we ......" Although such a major matter must be discussed and decided by the Politburo, but now the Politburo, except for Rykov and Tomsky of Bukharin's faction, and Kalinin, the other five people, including Stalin and himself, can completely decide such a thing, not to mention that Bukharin and others have surrendered.

"It's not that if there is no conspiracy, you should agree." Stalin stood up and walked around smoking a cigarette, he liked to think like this. "The land and oil fields that will be flooded after the opening of the canal are not a big problem, the real problem is that the transportation capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway will be further weakened, and in the future, goods will be disembarked on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea and then transported to the east through China's Western Regions Railway."

"But now goods from the East are also transported to the Persian Gulf and Baghdad through the Western Regions Railway...... "Molotov was not worried about the decline in freight from Siberia, but was glad that there was such a route in southern Russia." The canal is only connected to the Mediterranean coast, while the Trans-Siberian Railway is connected to the Baltic Sea coast, and at the same time, after the canal is built, our oil, timber, and grain can be transported from the canal to the Mediterranean Sea very conveniently, which is beneficial to us. ”

"This needs to be considered!" Stalin cautiously said, "At least we need to know how much this will affect the freight of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and this loss will be added to it." We'll also ask scientists to see how much it will cost to build the canal. ”

In addition to getting a Grand Canal for free, the economic crisis foreign trade has shrunk, and obtaining a large amount of foreign exchange from digging the canal to import machinery and equipment from China, the United States, and Germany is also helpful to the five-year plan, which is why the Chinese have to wait for the economic crisis before opening their mouths. The last benefit of the smooth export of goods from southern Russia, the foreign exchange of Chinese dollars, is the handle of the delivery -- the canal is completely built in Russia, just as the Trans-Siberian Railway is completely in China. Stalin did not see the similarity of the Eurasian Canal with the German 3B railway at this time, nor could he imagine the worries and fears of the British.

A few months later, in London, the head of MI6, Hugh. Sir Sinclair put everything down and hurried to 10 Downing Street, where he shouted to the Secretary to the Prime Minister in defiance of etiquette: "I have urgent business to see Mr. Prime Minister at once!" Right away! I have an urgent ......"

"Sir, the Prime Minister is meeting with the Italian ambassador......" The secretary looked at Sir Sinclair, who wanted to break in, and immediately stopped him.

"I have an urgent ......," Sir Sinclair continued to exclaim, hearing that it was the Italian ambassador who did not think it was of any importance, that the information he had received was the most important.

During the dispute between Sir Sinclair and the secretary, Prime Minister Baldwin walked out unexpectedly, he looked at the former playboy and rear admiral seriously, and said sternly and politely: "Hugh, if it is not for someone to declare war on Great Britain, then please sit there and wait in peace, I will listen to your important report as soon as I have discussed with the Italian ambassador." ”

"Yes, sir." Seeing that the prime minister was angry, Sinclair had to sit down temporarily. Half an hour later, Baldwin, who had met with the Italian ambassador, received the American ambassador again, and it was not until fifteen minutes before the end of the day that Sir Sinclair was ushered into the office by his secretary.

With a deep predicament, Baldwin, who was smoking a pipe, said hoarsely, "Hugh, you say, what is the important business?" ”

"Sir, the Chinese and Russians plan to build a Grand Canal!" Sir Sinclair was already numb to waiting, but at the mention of information, he immediately became excited, and after placing the map he brought on the Prime Minister's desk, he pointed to the location of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea: "Information from Moscow, the Chinese proposed a few months ago to dig a canal along the Kuma-Manech basin at their expense. With an investment of 3 billion rubles and a construction period of 10 years, the canal will allow 100,000-ton tankers to sail directly from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea and eventually to the Mediterranean. Mr. Prime Minister, this would be tantamount to bypassing the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal, and Chinese would have direct access to the Mediterranean, which would jeopardize Great Britain's trade and maritime supremacy......"

"Hugh, will the Chinese Navy sail from the Caspian Sea through the Black Sea into the Mediterranean?" Baldwin took a brief map and asked.

"Probably not." Sir Sinclair, of course, understood that it was impossible for the Chinese Navy to enter the Mediterranean Sea through this. "But our trade will still be greatly affected. The Persian railways, which were thought to only be raw materials, are now transporting cotton and other goods on a large scale, and the Middle East is full of Chinese and Japanese goods, which are not only cheaper, but also more ......."

"That's enough, Hugh." Baldwin interrupted, "I want to hear your intelligence, not your speculation, and the Foreign Secretary and the Colonial Secretary themselves will assess the danger that the canal will pose to Great Britain." What I want to know now is: when will the canal be dug? Why did the Russians promise the Chinese? ”

"Sir, it is likely that the canal will be dug after the survey, no later than the end of next year. As for why the Russians agreed to the Chinese, and what conditions are in it, I am trying to find out, but I think it is probably impossible for these two police states to know all the conditions. Sir Sinclair said.

"Then go ask the Japanese!" Baldwin put down his pipe, and he felt that the rope around China's neck should indeed be tightened, and if it was really developed by him, it must be another America. It's just a pity that the current cabinet is about to collapse, so what should we do next? (To be continued.) )