Chapter 243 Participating in the Military Parade

"The General Secretary's health had recovered, but it has been deteriorating since the past few days. Now, the General Secretary needs to rest and it is best not to go out, especially not to catch a cold." Brezhnev's personal doctor said to the senior officials who were asking questions at the door.

He looked good a few days ago, but when he heard the news that General Tsvigon was killed by his bastard son, Brezhnev became furious, and then his heart disease and high blood pressure recurred.

"The General Secretary should rest more," said Chernenko.

"But the October Revolution parade will begin in two hours. The General Secretary cannot be absent at this time!" Andropov said firmly, "Otherwise, the West will launch a rude public opinion attack on us."

Now, preparations have already begun on the Red Square outside. The annual October Revolution Parade is held without fail, and this year is no exception.

However, at this time, the top leaders of the Red Empire were not in the Kremlin, but were in a nearby hospital, where they were engaging in a heated debate.

Originally, the General Secretary's health had begun to improve, but new things happened, causing his health to relapse, and the military parade was about to begin!

"Even if Western journalists distort our military parade, so what? The West has always been vilifying us, especially after we occupied northern Hokkaido. The Western world, led by the United States, has been accusing us of being invaders. Compared with Western public opinion, the health of our general secretary is the most important. If the general secretary's condition worsens because of this military parade, who will bear the responsibility?" Chernenko argued.

"Yes, the general secretary's health is the most important." Behind Chernenko, the first secretary of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Sherbitsky, said.

"The October Revolution, an armed uprising led by the Bolsheviks under the leadership of our great revolutionary mentors Comrade Lenin and Comrade Trotsky, is the most important commemoration in the country. Even during World War II, when the Nazis had already reached the suburbs of Moscow, our military parades here were still carried out normally, and the country's general secretary has never been absent! Ladies and gentlemen, from the establishment of our great Soviet Union until now, the general secretary has never been absent. Now, if our general secretary does not go, how can we explain to our people? How can we explain to our motherland?" Andropov gave people the impression of being very quiet. Wearing glasses, he seemed like an elderly scholar, but now, he was sharp and his words were passionate.

After that, Andropov said to Gromyko who was hiding behind him: "Gromyko, what do you think? If the General Secretary does not attend our military parade, how will our diplomatic department explain this reason? Also, if our General Secretary does not stand on the reviewing stand, then who should stand in that position? You stopped the General Secretary from reviewing the army. Do you have your own ideas?"

At this time, Andropov's eyes were already quite sharp. His words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving no one able to refute.

If the General Secretary does not review the troops, who will replace him? Doesn't this mean that he wants to be the successor to the General Secretary? Now, although the General Secretary is ill, he is not seriously ill. Who dares to step forward?

Andropov's eyes swept across Chernenko, Sherbitsky, and the faces of those who stopped the General Secretary from reviewing the army, as if asking them, "Is it you? Do you want to replace the General Secretary?"

Everyone who was looked at by him felt a tremor in their heart. Unknowingly, the KGB had developed to a terrifying level again!

The KGB was the Soviet General Secretary's gun, used to check and balance the Western world externally and supervise all officials internally. It had considerable power, and the chairman of the KGB had to be someone the General Secretary trusted.

Andropov had been the chairman of the KGB for ten years! He was the core team that initially supported Brezhnev's coup and was deeply trusted by Brezhnev. With Tsvigon as his assistant, Brezhnev never thought of checking Andropov. Later, the power of the KGB grew bigger and bigger. So far, it has unknowingly developed into a behemoth. Andropov's power is almost the same as Beria's at the time!

Gromyko's mouth trembled. As the most outstanding diplomat of the Soviet Union, Gromyko had a silver tongue, but now, Gromyko knew that he could not say anything.

Psychologically, he did not want the general secretary to review the army. The general secretary's health was the most important thing. If the general secretary had health problems, the entire Soviet Union would be in chaos again. Who else could be as loved by his subordinates as General Secretary Brezhnev? Especially the lifelong system of cadres, which was cheered by almost everyone.

However, he could not support Chernenko and Sherbitsky now, because he knew that these two people were eyeing the position of general secretary, especially Sherbitsky, who was more favored by General Secretary Brezhnev as a later person. Andropov raised a very sharp question, who would take the position of general secretary if the general secretary did not go? If the result of the discussion was that the general secretary would not go, then there would definitely be a war of words for this position.

The scene became cold for a moment.

"Gazhizhi." At this moment, the door inside opened. Everyone looked over with surprised eyes and saw that General Secretary Brezhnev was already dressed neatly, with medals hanging all over his chest. Under the light, the medals radiated dazzling light.

"General Secretary..." Gromyko asked Brezhnev.

"The October Revolution Parade is the most sacred moment of our Soviet Union. As the General Secretary, I absolutely cannot be absent!" At this moment, Brezhnev seemed to have returned to the time when he first came to power. His tone was full of pride, but his face was still pale.

"Let's go and attend the parade!" Brezhnev said, striding forward.

Everyone could only follow behind, leave the hospital, get on the car, and head straight to Red Square.

It was already a bustling scene here, with huge crowds of people, and in the distance, teams lined up in squares, waiting to be inspected.

The cold wind was blowing, and it felt like a knife cutting my face. November 1977 was the coldest November in history!

A nation that grows up in a cold land will never be afraid of this bad weather! The Soviet people are invincible!