Novikov and Maslov stood outside the tank training ground, watching with great interest as the old, freshly restored tanks galloped across the dusty training ground.

Novikov said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our army commander is really capable, and he actually got so many tank spare parts. In this way, we no longer have to worry about training tanks breaking down and not being able to repair them without spare parts. ”

Maslov smiled and was about to say something, when an officer jumped out of the gas car that was parked not far away, trotted in front of the two and raised his hand to salute, and reported: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I just received a call from the military headquarters asking you and the division commander Novikov, as well as officers above the tank division level, to come to the army headquarters for a meeting. ”

"Got it." After Maslov sent the officer away, he turned to Novikov next to him and said: "Comrade General, you heard everything, right?" Immediately gather all your regimental commanders and immediately rush to the corps headquarters for a meeting. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Novikov said with some confusion, "Comrade Chief of the Army summoned us to a meeting at this time, is there anything important?" ”

"If you ask me, who am I going to ask?" Maslov said angrily, and at the same time wondered in his heart: "What is Rokossovsky going to do, to summon a meeting of commanders above the group?" ”

Seeing Maslov's unconcerned look, Novikov shrugged his shoulders helplessly: "I really don't understand, why is there an emergency meeting all of a sudden, doesn't he know that tomorrow is Saturday, and many people are going out for vacation?" ”

Maslov reached out and patted Novikov on the shoulder, did not say anything more, got into his gas car and left in a hurry.

Maslov's Gas, which Maslov was riding, suddenly slowed down as he approached the army headquarters. Maslov, who was sitting in the back row, asked curiously: "What's going on, why did it slow down?" ”、

The officer, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned around and reported to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there are too many cars at the entrance of the army headquarters, so there is a bit of a blockage. ”

"Nonsense, the entrance of the military headquarters is a military control area, how can there be a traffic jam?" Maslov became angry when he heard it, "Are you mistaken?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." The officer said aggrievedly: "You don't believe that you can see for yourself, and you don't know where so many cars came out, in addition to military vehicles, there are also quite a few civilian vehicles." ”

Maslov looked out of the car window in disbelief, not knowing what he didn't know, and he was startled when he saw it. One car after another drove through the guarded gate and headed for the parking lot. The boulevard outside the building is full of people coming and going.

Maslov walked down the long hallway towards the conference room, greeting acquaintances he met from time to time along the way. The closer he got to the conference room, the more clearly he felt the oppressive tension that hung over it.

When I walked into the conference room, there were already a lot of people sitting inside. those of low rank sit on a chair placed against the wall; The high-ranking ones sit on either side of the long conference table covered with green tweed. Rokossovsky, who was chatting with a leader in civilian clothes, saw Maslov enter the door, quickly stood up, nodded at him, and then beckoned him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, come and sit here." ”

Maslov, having sat down on Rokossovsky's left side, saw clearly the person sitting across from him and almost jumped out of his seat. "Hell, isn't this Vasily, the number one leader of the municipal party committee?" Maslov thought in surprise: "What exactly is Rokossovsky going to do, how did he call the leadership of the city party committee." ”

He quickly stood up and shook hands with Vasily on the other side. After sitting down again, he turned his head to look around, and found that about a third of the people in the room were wearing civilian clothes, and they should be the heads of various units in the city. He even found that Katukov, who was supposed to be treated in the hospital at the moment, was also sitting next to the conference table, and the political deputy commander Kamenev was sitting next to him, and the two were chatting quietly.

After everyone was seated, Rokossovsky stood up and said to everyone: "Comrades, there is important news to announce that everyone is here in a hurry today. Then he announced, in the name of the commander of the Zhytomyr garrison, that three days of military exercises would begin in earnest tomorrow, June 21, at midnight.

When Rokossovsky finished speaking, he sat down again. There was silence in the room. Some of the people attending the meeting looked down at the notebook in front of them, or looked up at Rokossovsky, who had just sat down.

The silence lasted for a few moments, then was broken by a voice. "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask you, why such a decision was made without first consulting the entire members of the Military Council?" The questioner was the political deputy commander Kamenev. He pressed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and stared at Rokossovsky intently.

A few hours ago, Tang Shaohua, no, to be precise, should have fused Tang Shaohua's memories with Rokossovsky, thinking that there were only thirty hours left before the outbreak of the war, but the troops were not prepared at all, and there was still a scene of singing and dancing outside, he felt that he should do something. After careful consideration, he decided to convene a meeting of military and local leaders in the name of conducting military exercises so that everyone could prepare in advance.

In the face of Kamenev's attack, Rokossovsky was prepared, he smiled slightly, and said lightly: "Comrade Political Deputy Commander, I am the commander of the mechanized corps and the commander of the garrison of Zhytomyr, and I have the right to make the decisions I think should be made. ”

After Rokossovsky's words, the room fell silent again. However, this time the silence did not last long, Rokossovsky turned his head to look at Vasily on the right, and said to him with a smile: "Comrade Vasily, your responsibility is to mobilize citizens, build fortifications and set up anti-tank barriers in the streets. ”

Vasily waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, then he also stood up, and said with a flushed face: "Comrade General, I don't understand why you are doing all this with the exercises you have arranged, don't you know that this will cause panic in the city?" ”

Rokossovsky raised his hand and looked at his watch, and when he saw that the time had passed six o'clock, his heart suddenly felt much more relaxed. Because he knew that even if Vasily had an opinion about himself and wanted to complain to his superiors, he would have to postpone it until Monday because it was past the end of work. By Monday, when the war had already broken out, the Vasily would not only stop complaining to his superiors, but would respect himself for the preventive work he had done in advance. So he just said lightly: "Comrade Vasily, although you are the leader of the municipal party committee, you also hold the post of political commissar at the regimental level. What I have given you is a military order, which, according to the regulations, you can only carry out unconditionally. ”

After he finished speaking, seeing Vasily's unconvinced look, he added: "If you have any opinions about me, you can complain to your superiors after the exercise." But until then, please do as I tell you. ”

Faced with such a tough attitude of Rokossovsky, Vasily had to reluctantly agree and sit down again.

Seeing that Kamenev and Vasily touched the nail one after another, whispers sounded in the conference room, and some commanders and local leaders full of regret began to exchange ears. Maslov also frowned, looked at Rokossovsky with a strange and dissatisfied expression, and thought in his heart: maybe after the meeting is over, he should talk privately with Comrade Commander, so that he can cancel this ridiculous order, so as not to get himself into unnecessary trouble.

Seeing that no one had any more opinions, Rokossovsky went on to announce that during the exercises, in addition to the construction of fortifications, it was necessary to implement light control in the city. The leaders of the units that appeared at the meeting should immediately convey this decision.

As soon as he finished speaking, a chubby middle-aged man stood up and said loudly: "Comrade General, it's a pity that tomorrow is Saturday and a rest day, and the workers don't go to work at all, how can we convey this decision." ”

"Workers don't come to work, you can come to your home and tell them in person." Rokossovsky stared at the chubby leader and said unceremoniously: "If tomorrow is not a drill, but a war breaks out, I think you may have many ways to inform everyone of this decision, right?" ”