Chapter 35

Now it seems that imperialism is not entirely without progress; at least they know how to take unconventional approaches. Unfortunately, they were discovered by Shelepov. This is truly a sad story. The person who arranged for Cai Zhiwu to be in East Berlin probably never thought that there would be someone in the Soviet Union who could recognize a Chinese accent, and this person was also an agent. Human plans cannot match the will of heaven. Even if a White Russian were hiding here, Shelepov wouldn't suspect him, after all, there were quite a few Soviets in East Berlin, and they didn't have such an easily noticeable advantage. Moreover, Shelepov's understanding of China was even deeper than his understanding of the Soviet Union! At least he couldn't detect Russian regional accents.

Fellow countrymen cannot be judged by their appearance. In the pursuit of interests, who can guarantee that they are always patriots? Besides, there are also Chinese Americans. Finding a few to absorb into the CIA to catch Shelepov off guard is not impossible. This has happened before. During the Korean War a few years ago, the Chinese-American officer Lu Chaoran used the phrase "Don't shoot, I'm Chinese" to deceive and kill a soldier of the Volunteer Army.

The lessons from the past are not far off. As the head of an intelligence agency, Shelepov would not overlook any suspicious individuals. Regardless of whether they are Chinese or White Russians, Shelepov would investigate their entire family history, for the sake of the country and himself.

"Earlier, I already reported the negotiation process to Moscow!" Shelepov sighed, "The negotiations are destined to be fruitless. I gave you the recording, I believe you have heard it! It's time to do what should have been done! In the first three days, we need to isolate West Berlin with barbed wire! Don't tell me you don't have enough barbed wire in reserve!"

What Shelepov was referring to was naturally the operation to isolate West Berlin. Markus Wolf thought for a moment and said, "Of course not. Should we choose a time to act? It would be best to act at midnight. When the residents of West Berlin wake up, they will already be sealed off. This would be the best way to create a fait accompli!"

At first, Shelepov nodded continuously to Markus Wolf's words, thinking that his German colleague had not wasted time. But as he listened, it started to sound wrong, and he interrupted, "Comrade Markus Wolf, it seems we are not talking about the same thing. Who asked you to act secretly? Are we on the same wavelength?"

"What's wrong? Don't we need to act secretly? Otherwise, how can we achieve a sudden effect?" Markus Wolf didn't see any problem with his plan.

The plan itself was not problematic, but the purpose of the plan was a big issue. The Germans' execution was generally impeccable, but the problem was that they always executed the wrong plan. Did he need to teach them? Shelepov shook his head and said, "First, contact the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, find the German Ministry of Construction, and have them come up with an urban renovation plan, including electrical and sewer system renovations. The river renovation project can wait until the situation is settled and be done secretly, but at the beginning, it must not be done secretly. Everyone must know about the renovation of Greater Berlin. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany needs to step in. I will have the comrades from the Advisory Department contact the other fraternal countries. This renovation of Berlin is not just the responsibility of the German Democratic Republic; the human and material assistance from other fraternal countries will be coordinated by the KGB!"

"Use the Greater Berlin renovation plan to cover our true intentions?" Markus Wolf muttered to himself.

"Exactly, use a legitimate construction project to mask our true intentions. This is easier than acting secretly!" This was not the first time Shelepov had done this. Three years ago, he had bombed the U.S. embassy, using the attack on the U.S. embassy to stabilize the situation in Hungary, preventing the entire socialist movement from losing face.

As the month entered late March, the Ministry of Construction of the German Democratic Republic announced that to improve the living conditions of the German people, a large-scale renovation of the capital, Berlin, would be carried out. All residents of the capital were informed to endure the recent water and power outages.

The entire plan looked ambitious. The renovation and house refurbishment plan would start in Berlin and expand to all cities in the German Democratic Republic within five years. What happens after five years can be decided later, but the work in Berlin had already begun.

After the announcement of the Berlin renovation plan, General Matvei Vasilyevich Zakharov, the commander of the Soviet Western Group of Forces, announced that, given the friendly relations between the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic, the Western Group would send the Red Banner 214 Engineering Brigade to participate in the Berlin renovation plan, working together with the German people to complete this battle of the working people.

The matter did not end there. Subsequently, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the hope that fraternal countries could lend a helping hand. Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Czechoslovakia successively stated their willingness to help. A little later, Yugoslavia and Albania also expressed their willingness to send engineering teams to assist. Apart from Yugoslavia and Albania, the above countries were contacted by Shelepov through the Advisory Department of the First Chief Directorate and their internal security departments, leading to this outcome.

For a whole week, construction teams from other countries arrived at the Berlin train station. As part of the welcoming crowd, Shelepov also waited at the train station. The construction teams arriving in Berlin were warmly welcomed, and the 80-year-old President of the German Democratic Republic, Wilhelm Pieck, specially met with representatives from various countries, delivering a very sincere speech. He then sang the national anthem of the German Democratic Republic: "Rising from the ruins, bravely creating a new future, for your noble cause, unifying the German nation. Prosperity will triumph over disaster, for this we stand united. We will welcome victory, the sun will shine on the land, illuminating the sky of our homeland, illuminating the sky of our homeland!"

At the end of the song, all the representatives from various countries, including Shelepov, stood up and applauded. "A unified Germany? The responsibility for Germany's division does not lie with you; it can only be blamed on the three occupying powers not wanting Germany to reunify!" Shelepov thought while clapping.

Within a week, more than 6,000 architects and construction workers had entered Berlin. These construction workers, waving their national flags, received waves of applause. Among them, there were only about 100 Soviet architects, mainly because the Soviet Union was also undergoing a construction boom, and there was a shortage of construction workers domestically. If the Berlin renovation were completed, the Soviet Union might even try to bring these people to the Soviet Union to help with the current construction boom.

To add a bit more, during the current construction boom in the Soviet Union, the prototype of the modern Chinese residential building had already appeared. The Khrushchev buildings in Moscow were nearing completion, and similar Khrushchev buildings were being built throughout the Soviet Union.

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