After making the call, Tang Shaohua sat in his seat in a daze. What had just happened seemed like a dream to him. You must know that long before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin considered from an economic point of view, believing that once the war broke out, the main direction of the German offensive would be in Ukraine, so the most powerful forces of the Soviet army were assigned to the Kiev Special Military District. If the Kyiv Military District really issued the order it had just heard a week before the outbreak of the war, then how could the Southwestern Front, with its 870,000 troops, 4,525 tanks and 1,672 combat aircraft, be beaten by the Germans in the early stages of the war, and finally end up being completely annihilated?

Finally, when it was time to go to work, Tang Shaohua, who had not slept all night, made a phone call to the officer on duty and asked him to notify the army-level leaders and division commanders at home to come to the conference room for a meeting.

In order to keep himself from being listless when presiding over the meeting, Tang Shaohua made himself a cup of strong black tea and did not put sugar. When I drank the tea, the bitter taste in my mouth immediately drove the drowsiness away without a trace. Walking out of the office, he tidied up his military appearance in front of the well-dressed mirror outside the door before walking down the corridor towards the conference room.

When he pushed open the door of the conference room, he saw that Maslov, Kamenev, and Vnukov were already seated, as well as three division commanders and several heads of organs directly under the army.

After watching Tang Shaohua sit down in the middle position, Kamenev preemptively asked: "Comrade Army Commander, you have gathered everyone today, is there anything you can do?" ”

Hearing Kamenev's question, Tang Shaohua smiled at him and said politely: "Comrade Political Deputy Commander, please don't worry, I will announce it immediately." Then his gaze swept over every commander present and continued: "Comrades commanders, I have summoned you for a meeting today because I have something important to announce to you. ”

When everyone heard Tang Shaohua say that there was something important to announce, they hurriedly opened the notebook in front of them and prepared to start recording. Even Kamenev, who wanted to disagree with Tang Shaohua, was no exception.

"Don't record." With Tang Shaohua's low shout, everyone immediately closed the notebook in front of them. Seeing that everyone was sitting upright again, he continued: "I received a call from Colonel Baglamilyan, chief of operations of the Military Region, that the troops that had been reorganized into the second echelon would be marching towards the national border one after another. After repeating the numbers of several units that were about to be deployed, he added, "After General Fedyuninsky's troops are deployed, Berkichev, where they were originally stationed, will be taken over by our army." ”

After Maslov waited for Tang Shaohua to finish speaking, he asked respectfully: "Comrade Army Commander, which unit do you plan to let take over the defense of the 15th Infantry Corps?" ”

"Let Lieutenant Colonel Wajim's 32nd Motorized Rifle Regiment go." After Tang Shaohua arranged for the troops to take over, he announced to everyone: "From tomorrow onwards, all the troops will cancel their vacations. Let those commanders and fighters who go home to visit their relatives immediately cancel their leave and report to the troops. If anyone does not return to the army before the 20th, they will be severely punished. ”

After listening to Tang Shaohua's order, the commanders present began to whisper to each other, secretly discussing why their army commander would suddenly give such an order. However, according to the regulations in the army, the orders of the higher authorities cannot be discussed and can only be carried out unconditionally.

And Kamenev, as Rokossovsky's deputy, did not have too many scruples, he looked at Tang Shaohua and asked: "Comrade General, I want to ask you why such an order was suddenly issued. ”

"Comrade Political Deputy Commander," Tang Shaohua said with a stern face and a serious expression, "Now that the German army is extremely active on that side of the national border, we must be prepared to prevent the outbreak of war." ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky," Hearing Tang Shaohua say this, Kamenev stood up abruptly and said solemnly: "You are the commander of the First Army, how can you be so panicked? To know our Red Army ......"

"I know what you're going to say, Comrade Deputy Commander of the Army." Although Tang Shaohua tried his best to keep himself calm, when he heard Kamenev refute himself with clichés, he couldn't help but be furious, he slammed the table and stood up: "Our propaganda machine is always constantly propagating the great strength of the Red Army, and any aggression against the Soviet Union will be easily repulsed, don't you think that our strength is seriously overestimated?" ”

Tang Shaohua's earth-shattering words immediately stopped Kamenev, and the entire conference room was silent. All the commanders sitting at the table looked at the two military commanders who were arguing with astonishment

After a while, Maslov stood up and played a round, and he said to Tang Shaohua: "Comrade commander, calm down, don't get too excited. Although the Germans have been making small moves along the border, even if they are going to attack us, they will not have to wait until they have defeated the British, and I think your worries are completely unnecessary. ”

Seeing that even Chief of Staff Maslov was in the same tone, Tang Shaohua was really speechless. It is precisely because of this kind of mentality in the army that the troops deployed on the border did not enter a state of combat readiness when the German army attacked, and even when attacked, the commanders of many units insisted that they must first ask their superiors for instructions and obtain approval before launching a counterattack against the invading German army.

Although Maslov played a round, Kamenev angrily pointed his finger at Tang Shaohua and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I will put forward your erroneous remarks in public at the political enlargement meeting of the military district to be held on June 24. ”

"Adjournment!" Tang Shaohua was afraid that if he listened to it any longer, he would beat up this political commissar who didn't know what to do in public, so he loudly announced the end of the meeting and turned his head out of the conference room.

Maslov glanced at Kamenev, who was still angry, and hurriedly chased him out. He caught up with Tang Shaohua in the corridor and comforted him: "Comrade Army Commander, Comrade Kamenev is also impulsive, so he will be angry at you." Tomorrow when his anger is gone, he may come to the door to apologize to you. ”

As soon as Tang Shaohua walked out of the conference room, the whole person sobered up. Kamenev and they are not traversers, how can they know that the outbreak of war is imminent, and it is understandable that they want the troops to remain in peacetime. Thinking about it like this, his mood suddenly calmed down a lot.

He slowed down, turned his head and asked Maslov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the relationship between you and the commander of the Air Force of the Military District, General Putukhin?" He asked this to remind General Putukhin not to let the warplanes on the military airfield line close along the runway and become the target of the Luftwaffe.