Rokossovsky walked into Stalin's office and saw the latter sitting behind his desk reading documents. He hurriedly took two steps forward, straightened his body and said loudly: "Comrade Stalin, Marshal Rokossovsky, commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, was ordered to report to you!" ”

"Rokossovsky, you're here!" Stalin heard Rokossovsky's voice, put down the documents in his hand, stood up and walked out from behind the desk, held Rokossovsky's hand, and said with a smile: "You have worked hard all the way!" ”

Seeing Stalin's smiling face, Rokossovsky's heart felt a burst of hair, and the sense of foreboding that had existed before the departure was getting stronger and stronger at this moment.

Stalin let go of Rokossovsky's hand and continued to say with a smile: "According to the report of the General Staff, your troops, after the occupation of Warsaw, have connected the defensive strip on the right bank of the Vistula. It's amazing that you can do that. Rokossovsky did not speak in response to Stalin's compliment, but only grinned, and according to what he knew about Stalin, there must be something more important to say next.

Stalin, with a pipe in his mouth, came to the map hanging on the wall, turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, come here!" ”

When Rokossovsky walked to the map, Stalin picked up the stick leaning against the wall and began to say to himself: "Comrade Rokossovsky, after the end of the First World War, according to the Treaty of Versailles, the defeated country Germany at that time was forced to cede a large territory in the east to Poland, the most eye-catching of which was the Danzig area, one of the Baltic Sea estuaries. The other 'Polish Corridor' to the Baltic Sea also cut the previously contiguous German territory into two pieces, and isolated East Prussia, where the corridor was moving, into an enclave outside of Germany......"

Rokossovsky's eyes were glued to the map, his ears were listening to Stalin's explanations, his mind was spinning rapidly, and he thought to himself: "What is the purpose of Stalin telling me this history?" ”

The answer was soon revealed.

Stalin put down his baton, walked over to the conference table, removed his pipe, and slammed the ash into the ashtray. After doing all this, he put his pipe on the table, looked at Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, after my careful consideration and the study of the Supreme Command, it will be up to you to command the troops to complete the strategy of East Prussia. ”

To Stalin's order, Rokossovsky replied with some tears and laughter: "Comrade Stalin, the troops of my Front are now busy consolidating the occupied positions on both sides of the Vistula, and in the short term they will not be able to draw enough forces to attack the enemy in East Prussia. ”

"The situation at the front, I know very well." Stalin said lightly: "The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front will remain where they are and maintain the existing offensive against the Germans." The task of storming East Prussia will be carried out by the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts, as well as the Baltic Front. ……”

When Rokossovsky heard this, he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, and asked in his heart, would I have been transferred by Stalin to the post of commander of the Second Front, as in real history?

As soon as he thought of this, he listened to Stalin's continuation: "By order of the Supreme High Command, Comrade Rokossovsky, from now on you have been appointed commander of the Second Belorussian Front. ”

"Why?" When Rokossovsky heard Stalin say this, his head couldn't help but heat up, and he blurted out: "Comrade Stalin, can you tell me why at such a time you are moving me from the main offensive direction to the secondary direction?" ”

Stalin probably never dreamed that Rokossovsky would question him to his face. After standing there for a while, he picked up the cigarette butt on the table and defended himself in some panic: "Comrade Rokossovsky, you are wrong to blame me. I did not transfer you to a secondary direction, because in our main operational direction, there will be three Second Belorussian Front, the First Belorussian Front, and the First Ukrainian Front, and in order to achieve the final victory, close cooperation between these three fronts is required, so the Supreme High Command is very strict in the selection of candidates for the commander of the Front. ”

Rokossovsky was silent, he thought that he had commanded the troops to conquer Warsaw ahead of schedule, and the trajectory of history would be deflected here, but at this moment he realized that the ability of history to correct errors far exceeded his imagination, and now everything is back on the right track. If nothing else, the candidate to succeed him as commander of the First Front will definitely be Zhukov.

Seeing Rokossovsky's pale face and his delay in speaking, Stalin felt more and more embarrassed, he picked up the cigarette on the table, took out two cigarettes from it, crushed it, put the tobacco into the pipe, lit it with a match, pretended to be indifferent, and said: "I intend to appoint Zhukov to replace you in your original position, I wonder what you think of this candidate?" ”

When he heard that Stalin had changed his address from the previous "you" to the polite and distant title of "you", Rokossovsky's heart was half cold, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Comrade Stalin, I think it is undoubtedly the most appropriate for Marshal Zhukov to assume the post of commander of the First Front. You should choose the right person from among the most capable and respected generals for such an important position, and Zhukov is such a person. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's words, Stalin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and he said to Rokossovsky in a gentle tone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, the task assigned by the Supreme Command to the Second Belorussian Front is also very important, and we will replenish the Front with new personnel and technical equipment to improve the overall combat effectiveness of the troops. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky did not raise any objections, Stalin continued: "If we want to achieve a final victory, we need the coordination and close cooperation of the forces of the three fronts in the direction of the main attack. If you and Konev's forces can't move forward, Zhukov's forces won't be able to move an inch. ”

When the conversation was over, Rokossovsky saluted Stalin and turned to prepare to walk out of the office. When he walked to the door and was about to reach for it, Stalin added later: "Comrade Rokossovsky, if you want to bring with you those comrades who have worked with you for a long time in the war to the Second Front, I will not object." ”

Rokossovsky stopped, turned to Stalin and said lightly: "Thank you, Comrade Stalin, I believe that in the new troops, there will also be capable assistants and comrades, so let Malinin and them continue to stay in the current army and assist Marshal Zhukov in his work." ”

Stalin nodded with satisfaction at Rokossovsky's statement, and then said briefly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, thank you very much for making such a decision, and I thank you on behalf of Zhukov!" Break a leg! ”