After ending the call with Zhukov, Tang Shaohua was relieved, and sat down on the chair as if his strength had been evacuated, only to find that his clothes had already been soaked with sweat. Recalling the scene of the phone call with Zhukov just now, I couldn't help but be afraid for a while, you must know what you said, as long as a word is known to outsiders, you and Zhukov will fall into a place of no return, even if the starting point is good, it is no exception.

Although Rokossovsky was Zhukov's trusted subordinate and good friend, such conversations were also risky. If there is a slight error in judgment and Zhukov does not agree with his own opinion, he can completely kill his relatives in a righteous way, and only need to inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the content of the call. At that time, whether it is Tang Shaohua or Rokossovsky, they will die without a place to be buried.

But fortunately, it was just a false alarm, and Zhukov was very happy to see that Rokossovsky's views on the current situation coincided with his own, so he was willing to help him within his ability. Since Rokossovsky said that it was a little too late for the tanks to be transferred to the defense warehouse after July, then just before the middle of June, a part of the tanks should be transferred over, and anyway, the factories in Kharkov had stocks. Finally, he specially reminded Tang Shaohua: "Comrade Rokossovsky, as far as I know, there are still several KV-2 heavy tanks in the warehouse, and in the event of a war, I authorize you to requisition these tanks." Remember, you can requisition these tanks only in a state of war. ”

Tang Shaohua's back was leaning back in his chair, his eyes were looking at the ceiling, and his mind was thinking about the imminent outbreak of the Soviet Great Patriotic War: the great defeat of the Soviet army in the early stage of the war was due to many reasons, but the Soviet army's anti-tank combat was ineffective, resulting in the troops being routed by the German armored forces, and then surrounded and annihilated by a large number of German infantry that followed, so the success or failure of the anti-tank army became the key to resisting the German offensive.

Zhukov said that the KV-2 tank, although there are serious shortcomings in mobility, but it has a powerful artillery and invulnerable armor, it is said that in the early days of the Soviet-German war, there was a Soviet KV-2 heavy tank that blocked the German 6th Panzer Division for two days. If you can equip your troops with this kind of tank, then even against the steel torrent of the German army, then at least you can resist for a while longer, and buy valuable preparation time for the troops in the rear.

There was a knock at the door, and then the voice of Chief of Staff Maslov was heard: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Commander, are you inside?" ”

Tang Shaohua hurriedly stood up, walked quickly to the door, and after tidying up the military appearance, he opened the door and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there anything wrong?" ”

"Comrade Commander," Maslov said, "the chief of operations of the military district, Colonel Baglamyan, has arrived and is waiting for you in the reception room." ”

When Tang Shaohua saw the bald-headed middle-aged colonel sitting in the reception room, he couldn't help but smile on his face, because this chief of operations was not only a friend of Rokossovsky, but also a former classmate at the Leningrad Higher Cavalry School. Today's meeting may have something unexpected. Tang Shaohua walked over quickly, stretched out his hand to Bagramyan, and said politely: "Hello, dear Ivan Khristoforovich, welcome to Zhytomyr. ”

"Hello, dear Konstantin Konstantinovich!" Baglamiyan also said with a smile.

Once everyone was seated, Bagramian began to reminisce about the good times they spent together in Leningrad and commented on his former classmates with beautiful words. Especially when it comes to Zhukov, Bagramyan is especially excited: "...... He was considered the most gifted in his class, and he stood out not only because of his apparent strong will, but also because of his particularly novel thinking. In particular, when taking a class on cavalry tactics, Zhukov's unexpected speech surprised us more than once. Although his views are always the most hotly debated, he has always been able to stand up to his views with very sound logic. ”

"Andrei Ivanovich Yeremenko, who, with rare efforts, mastered the breadth and wealth of knowledge prescribed by the syllabus......"

After listening to Baglamiyan's comments on many former classmates, Tang Shaohua smiled and asked the other party's intentions: "Comrade Director, why did you come to Zhytomyr today?" ”

Because Bagramian was not carrying out a secret mission, he did not hide it from Tang Shaohua, but replied truthfully: "I was ordered to come to the national defense warehouse and cooperate with the representatives of the National Defense Committee from Moscow to count the inventory in the warehouse." ”

Hearing Baglamiyan say that he was here to count the inventory, Tang Shaohua immediately thought of the tanks he had been thinking about, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Baghramyan, on the premise of not involving leakage, can I ask, how many tanks are in the national defense warehouse in our military region?" ”

Baglamyan did not expect his old classmate to suddenly ask this question, and after giving him a strange look, he said slowly: "There are at least one tank in the warehouse that can arm a division. However, most of them are old tanks, and the new BT-7 and T-34 make up a small percentage. ”

"Is there a KV-2 heavy tank?" Tang Shaohua waited for him to finish speaking, and immediately asked impatiently.

Baghramyan did not immediately answer Tang Shaohua's question, but asked rhetorically with a serious expression: "Comrade Rokossovsky, why are you so interested in tanks in defense warehouses?" ”

Tang Shaohua did not arouse suspicion, so he could only divert the topic and explain his views to him with great interest: "...... The Germans were able to achieve a series of victories in the West by the intensive use of tanks, motorized troops, and aviation forces, and these victories forced us to think about many problems. Regrettably, we do not yet have a large mechanized army like the Germans, and the mechanized corps are still in the stage of formation, and not only the number of tanks and armored vehicles is small, but also the fuel and ammunition are pitiful. If we are not replenished with the necessary technical equipment, do you think we will be able to hold back the German offensive in the event of a war? ”

Regarding Tang Shaohua's point of view, Baghramyan nodded and agreed: "Comrade Rokossovsky, according to the plan drawn up by the military district, those tanks in the warehouses will be officially equipped with your mechanized corps starting in October this year, so you just need to be patient." ”

In October, when he heard the date mentioned by Baghramyan, Tang Shaohua really couldn't laugh or cry, at that time the German army was about to rush to the city of Moscow, and the tanks left in the warehouse were either requisitioned by our army or captured by the German army.

Baglamiyan didn't notice the strangeness on Tang Shaohua's face, and took the initiative to say: "Comrade Rokossovsky, we are both classmates and old comrades-in-arms, if you have any questions, don't be polite, just come to me, I will try my best to help you." ”