Rokossovsky, who was working at his desk, heard someone coming in through the door on this side of the corridor, and thought that the colonel on duty outside the door had something to report, so he asked without raising his head: "Is there something wrong, Comrade Colonel?" ”

"Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky heard the colonel say in an excited voice: "Look, who's coming!" ”

"What's going on today, Colonel?" Rokossovsky thought with some displeasure in his heart: "It is simply unruly for me to guess who is coming." He raised his head and wanted to reproach the other party, but unexpectedly found Aleksandrov, who was standing in the colonel's deep fear, hurriedly stood up, and said with a little surprise: "Is it you, Alexander Vasilyevich?" ”

When Aleksandrov heard Rokossovsky say this, he spread his hands and said with a helpless look: "Isn't it me, Konstantin Konstantinovich!" ”

Rokossovsky came out from behind the table, walked quickly to Alexandrov, grabbed him by the shoulder, stared at him for a moment, then gave him a warm hug and said excitedly: "Hello, Alexandrov, on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Front, I welcome you and your Red Banner Song and Dance Troupe to us for a condolence performance. ”

After Aleksandrov sat down, he looked at Rokossovsky standing in front of him, and said with emotion: "Time flies so fast, the last time we met, you were still a lieutenant general, and now you have become a marshal of the Soviet Union." ”

"No," Rokossovsky nodded, "the last time you brought the Red Banner Song and Dance Troupe to my unit to perform, it was the most difficult moment in the defense of Moscow; Now that you have brought the song and dance troupe to my unit again, it is the eve of our final victory. ”

"Yes, when I took my comrades from the song and dance troupe to Volokramsk to perform, the enemy was attacking your positions." Aleksandrov also recalled the scene: "I originally wanted to take my comrades to the front line to give a performance for the commanders and fighters who were fighting the enemy, but you were afraid that we would be in danger, so we let us put on a show for the commanders and fighters at the front through the telephone. To be honest, the way I performed over the phone was my first and only experience. ”

"Don't look at the fact that there were only a dozen or twenty of you at that time," Rokossovsky continued, "but the power you showed on the battlefield through the performance was equivalent to the reserve of a division. The commanders and fighters of the 8th Guards Division listened to your songs through the telephone line, and their morale was greatly boosted, and they successfully repelled the powerful German offensive. ”

While the two were talking happily, Bogolyubov came over from the war room and reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I have just received a telegram from General Batov that the 65th Army is on the march and there is a little problem. ”

Rokossovsky restrained the smile on his face, looked at Bogolyubov and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if it were just a small issue, with Batov's character, he would not have sent me this telegram. Tell me, what the hell is going on? ”

Bogolyubov handed the telegram in his hand to Rokossovsky: "During the march of the 65th Army, there was a rush with the 3rd Guards Tank Army of General Panfilov, and the two sides did not give in to each other, as a result, a large number of troops were stranded there and could not continue to advance. ”

"It's just nonsense." Rokossovsky suddenly became serious, and said with a straight face: "Tens of thousands of people are crammed into a small area, are they ready to be shelled and bombed by the Germans?" No, this matter must be dealt with immediately. With that, he took the telegram and walked back to his place, picked up the phone that was placed on the table, and prepared to contact Batov.

Bogolyubov saw Alexandrov sitting on the side at this moment, with a surprised expression on his face, he hurriedly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to the other party, and said with some emotion: "Hello, Comrade Alexandrov, welcome here!" ”

Although Aleksandrov did not know Bogolyubov, from the way Rokossovsky called him, he still knew that the general in front of him was the chief of staff of the front, so he hurriedly stretched out his hands to hold the other party's hand, and at the same time said politely: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, it is a pleasure to meet you." ”

"Comrade Aleksandrov, the new anthem you wrote, "Unbreakable Union", is fantastic." Bogolyubov looked at Aleksandrov with adoration on his face and said: "The skillful blending of a triumphant march, a delicate folk song and a broad Russian epic narrative tune is so imposing and infectious that every time I hear it, I feel my blood boiling." ”

As soon as Rokossovsky ordered Batov to deal with the road robbery, Vershinin called again, and he reported: "Comrade Marshal, I have just received a report from a reconnaissance plane that the Germans have built a new field airfield on an island near the Baltic Sea, and now there are about two squadrons of fighters stationed. ”

"Immediately dispatch bomber formations to carry out air strikes on German field airfields." In the first two days of fighting, the German air force did not move at all, and the Soviet attack was very difficult, if they were supported by the air force, then the next battle would be difficult to fight, so he decisively ordered: "Be sure to destroy all enemy planes on the ground." ”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Vershinin replied on the phone: "I immediately sent an aviation division to attack the German field airfield, and I must destroy all enemy aircraft on the ground." ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was constantly on the phone, Aleksandrov felt that his stay here would hinder his work, so he took advantage of the time between his phone calls, stood up and said politely: "Comrade Marshal, since your work is so busy, then I will not disturb you." I hope you can attend tonight's condolence performance. ”

As soon as Rokossovsky picked up the phone, he heard Aleksandrov say this, so he nodded and said to Bogolyubov, who was standing next to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have an important call to call here, please help me send one to Alexandrov." ”

"Glad to serve, Comrade Marshal!" Bogolyubov was about to talk to Aleksandrov a few more words, but when he heard Rokossovsky's command, he immediately readily agreed, he walked to Alexandrov's side, made a gesture of invitation, and said politely: "Comrade Alexandrov, I will send you out, please come with me!" ”