In the evening, Rokossovsky and Krasnoretsky came out of the temporary command headquarters to inspect the newly built defensive positions and see if the artillery was in the ideal position.

The two had barely gone when they heard an intermittent roar in the air. Krasnoretsky stopped, looked up into the air, looked at the black dots that were flying east in the sky, and scolded indignantly: "Hell, these damn planes must be going to bomb Kyiv again." ”

"Enemy planes are there to bomb Kyiv?" When Rokossovsky heard Krasnoretsky say this, he couldn't help but be slightly stunned, but roughly counting the number of enemy planes in the air, it actually exceeded a hundred. Such a large group of bombers will definitely not bomb small cities, or even ordinary medium-sized cities, and they will not look at them, and the only bombing target is Kyiv.

"Airplanes! Plane!! Rokossovsky looked at the enemy planes in the sky and thought to himself: "Where have all our planes gone, have they really been completely blown up by the Germans, or are they like General Putukhin said, because there is not enough fuel and ammunition to take to the skies to fight?" ”

"Comrade Commander, what are you thinking?" Krasnoretsky, seeing Rokossovsky's sullen appearance, couldn't help but ask curiously.

Although as soon as he arrived, Rokossovsky found that there were quite a few collapsed buildings in the city, which were obviously the masterpieces of German aircraft, he still asked casually, firstly, to divert this embarrassing topic, and secondly, to avoid having nothing to say between him and Krasnoretsky: "Comrade Colonel, has Shepetovka been bombed by enemy planes here?" ”

"That's for sure, Comrade Commander." When Krasnoretsky heard Rokossovsky's question, he immediately nodded and replied in the affirmative: "From the moment our division entered Shepetovka, it was constantly bombed by enemy aircraft, and at the same time there were German spies in disguise, spreading rumors among the population to create panic, which made the situation here even more chaotic. ”

When Rokossovsky heard him say this, a thought suddenly popped into his mind, thinking that Krasnoretsky and his subordinates were not convinced by the stern order he had given, and this seemed to be a good time to convince them, so he asked with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, if you were a garrison commander, what would you do in such a situation?" ”

"Then it goes without saying," Krasnoretsky said without hesitation, "I will order the patrol to shoot all German spies or saboteurs who spread rumors without trial." ”

"What about the deserters," Rokossovsky asked, seeing that the other party was being rounded by him, "and what are you going to do with it?" ”

"Ordinary fighters, I might give them a chance to make meritorious deeds. As for the officers," Krasnoretsky said this, and after sneering twice, he continued: "All of them will be shot on the spot." ”

After Krasnoretsky said this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and muttered to himself: Didn't he secretly oppose Rokossovsky's order to shoot officers above the rank of major who broke away from the ranks, how could he have the same thoughts now?

Seeing Krasnoretsky standing in a daze, Rokossovsky smiled slightly and continued to walk forward.

When the two arrived at a checkpoint on the edge of the city, they found it surrounded by a crowd of people. Rokossovsky frowned when he saw this, then turned around and ordered Kochetov, who was following behind: "Ensign, go and see, what's going on in front and why are so many people gathered there?" If nothing happens, let them disperse, so many people are gathered there, and they are not afraid of being bombed by the enemy. ”

Kochetov, who received the order, quickly ran over and squeezed into the crowd, and saw clearly that except for the dozen or so commanders and fighters standing in front of the checkpoint bar, all of them were armed, and the commanders and fighters around them did not have weapons in their hands, and even had untidy military appearances, and some of them did not even have ship-shaped caps. And the soldiers at the checkpoint, led by a lieutenant officer, pointed their weapons at an officer on the other side of the railing. To be precise, it was a major officer, and although his military uniform was ragged, it was still recognizable from the special color of the military hat that he was a major of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Kochetov, who was also from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was dissatisfied when he saw his former colleague stopped by the checkpoint, and he shouted at the lieutenant on duty: "Hey, comrade lieutenant, what are you and your subordinates doing, why are you pointing your guns at the commander of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?" ”

After the lieutenant turned his head and glanced at Kochetov, he replied: "Comrade second lieutenant, I am also acting on orders. Although this major was an officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he was not from the same unit as the soldiers around him, and I suspected that he was a deserter and was preparing to dispose of him according to the orders of the division headquarters. ”

When Kochetov heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he understood that this order stipulated that all officers of the rank of major and above who were found to be out of the unit would be shot on the spot. The lieutenant's approach at this time was undoubtedly correct; But to watch his former colleague being shot, Kochetov couldn't bear it.

"Hey, can we go?" The crowd gathered at the checkpoint became agitated, and some people protested impatiently.

"What's the noise? Give me all the quiet! Kochetov, who was extremely unhappy, yelled.

After the surrounding fighters were quiet, Kochetov pulled down his face and said to the lieutenant: "I said, comrade lieutenant, what the hell is going on with you?" Don't you see that this major is from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and not from the ordinary troops? I don't dare to say anything else, but the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I can assure you that even if they fight to the last man, there will be absolutely no deserters, their loyalty to the Motherland is beyond doubt. ”

After the lieutenant looked Kochetov up and down, he asked unpleasantly: "Comrade Ensign, which part are you?" ”

Kochetov glanced at the lieutenant with disdain, and then replied in an arrogant tone: "My name is Kochetov, and I am the new guard platoon commander of General Rokossovsky. ”

After the lieutenant figured out Kochetov's identity, he knew that although the officer standing in front of him was of a lower rank than himself, his identity was very special, so he hurriedly smiled and said: "Comrade second lieutenant, please don't get angry, don't get angry." We are also acting on orders, so please forgive us. But for the sake of safety, do you need to ask your superiors for instructions on this matter? ”

Hearing the lieutenant say this, Kochetov widened his eyes and said dissatisfiedly: "What else do you ask, release the person immediately." ”

Just when the lieutenant was in a dilemma, Rokossovsky and Krasnoretsky squeezed into the crowd. Seeing his division commander appear in front of him, the lieutenant immediately gained confidence, he hurriedly saluted the two, and then reported: "Report to the general and comrade division commander, we stopped a major of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, although he appeared at our checkpoint with many scattered fighters, but after our interrogation, the surrounding fighters did not know him. I suspect that he was the commander of the unit who had left the unit without permission and was planning to follow the orders of his superiors. But ......" At this, he glanced at Rokossovsky with a feeble glance and closed his mouth in amusement.

"But what?" Before Rokossovsky squeezed into the crowd, he heard the conversation clearly, and then continued the lieutenant's words: "Is it because my guard platoon commander said a few words that affect your normal mission?" The lieutenant heard Rokossovsky say this, and although he did not understand the reason for what he said, he nodded honestly.

"Comrade Commander," Kochetov felt more confident when he saw Rokossovsky's appearance, and he quickly explained: "The lieutenant detained an officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and suspected him of being a deserter, which I consider to be complete nonsense. ”

"Will figure it out, Second Lieutenant Kochetov." Rokossovsky said and walked over to the major. When he and the Major stood face to face across the railing, he first looked at each other, and found that the other party still maintained enough calm in the face of the muzzles of more than a dozen black holes.

Rokossovsky's composure towards the major not only secretly sighed, but also increased his favorability. He smiled and asked the other party: "Comrade Major, which unit are you from?" ”

After raising his hand and saluting, the major reported: "Hello, Comrade General, my name is Feotil Kuchkalov, and I am the commander of the 132nd battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Brest Fortress. During the breakout of the encirclement, the troops were scattered, and I took a few soldiers to fight and retreat, and by the time the enemy was completely separated, only one man remained. I walked aimlessly alone for two days, and then I came across a group of scattered commanders and fighters, and I came here with them. ”

After listening to what he had to say, Rokossovsky only smiled faintly, then turned to Kochetov and said: "Comrade Ensign, do you understand now? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." As he spoke, Kochetov drew his pistol with lightning speed, rushed to the major, and aimed the muzzle of the gun at the forehead of the other man. Then he gritted his back molars and said indignantly: "Damn German spy." ”

"Comrade General, what's going on?" The major and Krasnoretsky asked at the same time.

Rokossovsky turned back to Krasnoretsky and said: "Comrade Colonel, I can tell you now that this major is not our own, but the Germans in disguise!" ”

"How is this possible?" Krasnoretsky asked in surprise after hearing this.

"Comrade General, you can't talk nonsense!" Unconvinced, the major shouted, "I can show you my papers." ”

"Comrade Colonel, please don't worry, I'll prove it to you right away." After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he raised his chin at the major and said in a contemptuous tone: "Please show your ID!" Slow down, or my men might get nervous and the pistol will go off. ”

The major slowly took out his documents from his jacket pocket and handed them to Rokossovsky, while at the same time saying with an innocent face: "Comrade General, you must have made a mistake. ”

"You can't make a mistake." Rokossovsky took his document and only glanced at it, then handed it to Krasnoretsky and explained: "Comrade Colonel, look at the staples in his military ID, are they made of stainless steel?" The documents we use cannot be used with such extravagant materials. ”

Krasnoretsky took it and looked at it, then nodded and said: "That's right, Comrade Commander." The staples we commonly use are carbon steel, and according to the age of issuance of this military card, it should have been rusted a long time ago. But these staples are still shiny, and they should be made of stainless steel. ”

"In addition to this, I can prove that he is German in other ways." Rokossovsky said, patting the shoulder of the lieutenant on duty who was standing beside him, and ordered: "Comrade lieutenant, go and lift his feet up and see what shape the spikes of his boots are." Our spikes are round, while the German boots are square. ”

The lieutenant had two fighters grab both of the major's arms, and then directly bent down, lifted each other's legs, and carefully examined the bottom of each other's boots. And Krasnoretsky nervously asked: "Lieutenant, what shape are the spikes in?" ”

The lieutenant put down his boots, turned his head to look up at his division commander, and after a long sigh, replied: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, it is square." ”

"Grab it!" After listening to the lieutenant's report, Krasnoretsky immediately waved at the two fighters who had grabbed the arms of the fake major and decisively ordered: "Immediately send him to the division headquarters for interrogation." ”

When the fake major was escorted away, Krasnoretsky asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, what should we do with so many fighters here?" ”

Rokossovsky glanced around and saw at least seventy or eighty fighters. Thinking that among so many people, there might be spies for the Germans, he instructed Krasnoretsky: "First screen all of them, and after confirming their identities, they will be assigned to the various combat companies." ”

"Yes!" Krasnoretsky replied loudly.