As soon as the sun rises, the silent plains of Ukraine come alive.

A contingent of several thousand people was marching on the winding dirt road, guided by a red flag in front, and the troops behind were marching forward in a four-way column in a company unit. This is part of the 9th Mechanized Corps under the Kyiv Special Military District, and they are marching on foot to the exercise ground designated by their superiors.

A few Gass cars followed the long line of infantry marching in a hurry, constantly overtaking one infantry phalanx after another. In the back of the second Gas, sat two officers in their forties, with two gold stars inlaid on their bright red collar badges, representing their status as generals. The slightly younger general on the right has four dazzling medals on his left chest, three of which are the Order of the Red Banner, and the remaining one is also the Order of Lenin, which represents the highest honor. At this moment, the general with great achievements in battle was tilting his head sideways, looking at the commanders and fighters marching outside the car window with a blank expression.

The general on the left looked at him sideways a few times, and when he saw that he had always maintained that posture, he couldn't help but say to him with some worry: "Comrade Army Commander, although this exercise will involve the troops of the entire military region, it is just an ordinary level exercise, so don't be too anxious. Otherwise, you'll faint again like you did when you just left the house......"

The young general withdrew his gaze from the window, turned his head to look at the elderly general sitting next to him, and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I'm fine, thank you for your concern!" ”

The current commander of the Ninth Mechanized Army, Major General Rokossovsky, and the older one sitting next to him was his chief of staff, Major General Maslov, who was an alumnus of the Frunze Military Academy in addition to their superiors and subordinates.

Maslov's fainting incident occurred just an hour ago. At that time, Rokossovsky had just finished assigning the exercise tasks to the three division commanders under his command, and when he walked out of the temporary headquarters, he suddenly fell to the ground without warning. Seeing that the corps commander had accidentally fallen, the chief of staff Maslov and the division commanders who were following him were frightened, and they hurriedly surrounded him, and with the help of several sentries, carried Rokossovsky into the command headquarters with all hands and feet and placed him on a marching bed in the corner.

Just as Kamenev was about to send someone to call a military doctor, Rokossovsky opened his eyes. What everyone never expected was that as soon as he opened his eyes, he suddenly showed a surprised expression on his face, and after he sat up, he asked loudly, "Who are you and where is this?" ”

Maslov thought that Rokossovsky had fallen into confusion, so he hurriedly tested the temperature of his forehead with the back of his hand, and found that there was no fever, and while secretly breathing a sigh of relief, he said euphemistically: "Comrade commander, our army is participating in military exercises of the Kiev Special Military District, you are in the temporary command headquarters of Rivne, and the troops are preparing to march to Lutsk in accordance with your orders. ”

Rokossovsky, no, Tang Shaohua to be precise, is the security manager of a large logistics company in China. An hour earlier, he had dinner in a restaurant with two former comrades-in-arms. Although it was not a meal, the entire hall was full because the large-screen TV in the store was showing the image of the Victory Day parade on Red Square.

Just when the wine was half-drunk, suddenly someone shouted: "Look, our honor guard of the three armed forces has appeared." In order to catch a glimpse of the military parade of the country's soldiers on Red Square, the customers sitting in the seats all stood up and crowded in front of the television. Tang Shaohua had just taken two steps towards the TV, but was hit hard by a person rushing over next to him. Due to the weakness of his legs after drinking, Tang Shaohua did not stand on a stable footing, and planted straight up, his head hit the foot of a table impartially, and he fainted on the spot. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this strange place.

Tang Shaohua rubbed his aching forehead, looked vigilantly at the soldiers around him wearing Soviet uniforms during World War II, and said in his heart What is going on, why are there people playing role-playing games. I was just about to ask something more, but suddenly I felt as if my mind was invaded by the thoughts and memories of strangers, and many images and memories slipped through my mind like a movie. This process lasted for a short time, but it was enough for him to understand what had happened, it turned out that he had crossed over by himself, from 2015 to 1941, and from the security chief of a logistics company to a generation of famous Soviet generals Rokossovsky.

God knows how he could cross inexplicably, for this kind of incomprehensible problem, Tang Shaohua doesn't think about it, besides, from an ordinary person to a generation of famous generals, such a God-given opportunity is not available at any time. Just as he was thinking about what to do next, Maslov promptly relieved him of the siege: "Comrade commander, it's not too early, isn't it time for the troops to leave?" ”

From the memories of Rokossovsky, which he received, Tang Shaohua knew that according to the order of his superiors, the troops would rush to Lutsk before noon to participate in the military exercises of the Kiev Special Military District. So he stood up, pulled the hem of his military uniform, took the large-brimmed hat handed by Maslov, put it on his head in a dignified manner, and ordered several division commanders standing around him in a dignified tone: "Go!" ”

After recalling his magical experience, Tang Shaohua looked out of the car window again. Seeing that his attention was again focused on the marching ranks, Maslov took the initiative to say: "Comrade commander, this is the 131st Motorized Rifle Division of Colonel Kalinin. According to the orders of the superiors, in order to make the exercise closer to the actual combat, we abandoned all armored vehicles and entered the exercise area on foot. ”

Tang Shaohua just sighed casually, then looked up at the clear sky, and said secretly in his heart: "Letting troops without air cover march on the open plain in broad daylight, if it is really a real battle, it is equivalent to sending them to death." In today's weather, even if the plane flies high, it can clearly see the troops. However, an exercise is a drill, and no matter what the superiors say, in the end, it was carried out in strict accordance with the exercise plan. ”

Thinking so in his heart, he couldn't help but say it in his mouth: "What should the troops do if they encounter an enemy air attack during the march? You must know that this is a vast plain, and even if you want to hide, it is very difficult. ”

After listening to his words, Maslov actually grinned and said lightly: "Comrade Army Commander, as far as I know, the air force was not arranged to participate in the war at all in this exercise of the military region, so you don't have to worry about the troops being attacked by air strikes at all. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Tang Shaohua said with a wry smile, "Didn't the superiors say that the exercise should be treated as a real battle?" Even if the higher authorities did not arrange for the Air Force to participate in the exercise, we, as commanders, could not ignore the issue of air defense. If our troops rushing to the battlefield are crushed by air raids, who will hold the line? Then we will only be able to watch the enemy drive straight into the heart of our motherland. ”

Maslov rubbed his hands together and said confidently: "Comrade Commander, I think that the problem you are worried about does not exist at all. Our military principle is not to defend but to attack. If the enemy takes the initiative to attack our army, our army will be one of the most offensive of all armies in the world. And will deal a devastating blow to the enemy, leaving them to perish on the spot. Speaking of this, he glanced at the driver in front of him, then leaned close to Tang Shaohua's ear, and said in a low voice: "Comrade army commander, you just mentioned that after the troops are crushed by air raids, the enemy will break into the hinterland of our motherland. To put it well, this is a ridiculous idea, and if it is not said well, it is a manifestation of defeatism. So let's talk about this privately, don't mention it to others, otherwise it will bring you unexpected trouble. ”

Tang Shaohua didn't expect that his casual words would cause such a big reaction from Maslov, but he didn't mind, because he knew that the other party said this out of good intentions. Moreover, even if he inherited Rokossovsky's memories in his entirety, he still needed a friend like Maslov to remind him of his mistakes.

Thinking of this, he smiled and said to Maslov: "Thank you, Comrade Chief of Staff, I will pay attention to it later." After saying that, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, "How long will it be before we reach Lutsk?" ”

Maslov also raised his hand to look at his watch, and then said in an affirmative tone: "Comrade commander, with our current speed, we will be able to reach Lutsk in ten minutes at most." ”

While the two were talking, outside a well-looking building in Lutsk, stood a group of mid- and high-ranking commanders, all of whom were military commanders of various units who had come here for a meeting. There were three generals standing together and talking, and their topic revolved around Rokossovsky.

A tall general first said: "According to the plan of the exercise, Rokossovsky's motorized rifle division will be deployed to the west of Lutsk. But as far as I know, the fortifications there have not been repaired at all, and not a single fire point has been equipped with artillery. But in the face of this situation, no one in charge of building the fortifications was in a hurry. ”

Another stocky general shrugged his shoulders and said disapprovingly: "Comrade Fedyuninsky, do you know that the reason why the military chief is not in a hurry about these fortifications in the fortified area is that they are not needed at all. ”

"On what grounds, General Kondrusev?" The general, known as Fedyuninsky, asked rhetorically.

"What else," said General Kondruschev, "our military principle is not to defend but to attack." ...... "If Tang Shaohua was present and heard these words, he would definitely be so surprised that he would have smashed his jaw on the ground, because what the general said was exactly the same as what Maslov said.

At this moment, the general, who had not spoken all this time, suddenly pointed to the distance and said, "Look, it's Rokossovsky coming." ”

The two of them looked in the direction of his finger, and saw several Gass cars slowly driving along the street.