Rokossovsky waited on the platform for more than an hour, and finally waited for Lukin to return.

When Lukin saw Rokossovsky standing on the platform, he hurriedly trotted over, shook his hand, and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, General Rokossovsky, I'm sorry that I have something to go out temporarily, so I'm sorry to keep you waiting here for so long." ”

Although Rokossovsky was very dissatisfied with Lukin's behavior of disappearing without a trace without even saying hello, on the surface, he had to maintain basic politeness: "It's okay, comrade commander, it's normal for subordinates to wait for their superiors." I don't know if you called me here today, is there anything important? ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, the expression on Lukin's face suddenly became serious, and he shook his head and said, "Outside is not the place to talk, you can come to the headquarters with me!" ”

Rokossovsky followed Lukin to the command headquarters, and when he saw that the room was empty, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade commander, I don't know where General Ryabshev of the 8th Mechanized Army has gone?" ”

"Just before you came here, I received a telegram from the command of the Front, telling General Ryabishev to immediately rush to Kiev by train, supposedly with a new appointment to him." After Lukin finished talking about General Ryabishev's whereabouts, he suddenly asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, do you know that I called you here, there is something important?" ”

When Rokossovsky heard Lukin's question, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart, and secretly said that if I knew, I wouldn't have asked you. So he shook his head and replied in a proper manner: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I don't know. ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky," Lukin opened the drawer in front of him, took out a document from it, handed it to Rokossovsky, and said at the same time: "You see, this is an order from the General Staff, and I do not intend to hide it from you." In two or three days at most, we will have to abandon Shepetovka and withdraw to reserve defensive positions to continue resisting the German offensive. ”

Rokossovsky took the document and quickly skimmed through the contents of it, and saw that as Lukin said, the General Staff felt that it was difficult for the troops to be replenished in terms of troops in the existing area, so it was very difficult to block the enemy, so it ordered all the troops to withdraw from the existing positions in a planned manner and move to the reserve defensive positions to build a new line of defense.

After putting the document back in front of Lukin, he asked cautiously: "Comrade commander, allow me to ask a question. If we retreat, what will happen to the military warehouses here, will it all be left to the Germans? ”

"It is impossible to leave it to the Germans." Lukin said categorically: "Before we evacuate, we must burn all the weapons, ammunition and materials that cannot be transferred, and we must not let a rifle, a bullet, or a gram of bread fall into the hands of the Germans." ”

Rokossovsky thought that in the information he saw in later generations, the German army had replenished its troops with a large number of captured military supplies, so that the troops would not have a shortage of materials due to the elongation of the battle line. And Shepetovka's storage here can meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of troops, and if it is captured by the Germans, the consequences are self-evident.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was slow to speak, Lukin said to himself: "I just went to talk to the heads of those military warehouses and asked them to immediately organize manpower and vehicles to transfer materials. If there are not so many vehicles, then you should be prepared to destroy the supplies. ”

Judging from the expression on Lukin's face, Rokossovsky judged that his negotiations would definitely be unsuccessful, so he asked tentatively: "Why, Comrade Commander, was your proposal rejected by them?" ”

"You guessed right, Comrade Rokossovsky." Lukin looked at Rokossovsky with a blank face and replied affirmatively: "They said that the military warehouses were under the management of the People's Commissariat of Defense, and it was a violation of the regulations to let us pick up the materials we needed at will some time ago, but considering that this was needed for war, they turned a blind eye." As for the transfer or burning of supplies, they will not cooperate with us unless we have the authorization of the National Defense Council. ”

Seeing that Lukin was halfway through his words, Rokossovsky suddenly stopped and couldn't help asking: "Comrade commander, what else did they say?" ”

Lukin said hesitantly: "They also said that if they received military supplies without authorization, and if their superiors traced them, they could still use the reason that it was now during the war." But if they divert or burn military materiel without authorization, they cannot afford to pay that responsibility, because what awaits them will be the fate of being court-martialed. ”

"I see, Comrade Commander." When Rokossovsky heard this, he immediately guessed the reason why Lukin called him, and he continued: "Are you going to ask me to negotiate with these warehouse managers and persuade them to agree to transfer or burn the military supplies in the warehouse?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." Lukin looked at Rokossovsky, nodded slowly, and then said, "I know that this will make it very difficult for you, but there is no way to do it. You know, by order of the General Staff, I will leave Shepetovka by train this evening and rush to Smolensk to command my army group. And everything here, I don't know to whom to hand it over except you. ”

After Rokossovsky waited for Lukin to finish, he said with a sense of anger: "Maybe you should hand over the defense here to the officials who manage the warehouse, and let them go to compete with the Germans." ”

When Lukin heard him say this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He said with a bitter face: "Comrade General, although there are as many as 3,000 troops guarding the warehouse, no one can call these troops without an order from the National Defense Committee......

Before Lukin could finish speaking, Rokossovsky raised his hand to interrupt him, and then addressed him: "Comrade commander, you don't need to say it, I know it in my heart. Tomorrow I will personally negotiate with the people in charge of the warehouse, not only to have them burn the surplus supplies, but also to have them put all the troops guarding the warehouses into my regiment to replenish the soldiers lost in the recent battles. ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, at the moment we are often not in touch with our superiors, maybe you can make a fuss about this matter." "If those warehouse managers are going to be stubborn, you can use that reason to deal with them," Lukin kindly reminded. ”

"I see, Comrade Commander." Rokossovsky knew in his heart that although Lukin was a commander, he was still involuntary many times, and his every move was constrained by the superior command department. And you can use the use of not being able to get in touch with your superiors to act according to your own preferences. However, there are some things that can be understood in his heart, but he must not say them, so he diverted the topic and asked: "Comrade commander, have you ever thought about how you plan to stop the German attack when you arrive in Smolensk?" ”

Hearing this question, Lukin's eyes lit up, and then he leaned forward slightly, and said modestly: "Comrade General, from the outbreak of the war to the present, you have been dealing with the Germans in different places. I would like to ask you, why do you think our troops could not hold back the attack of the Germans? ”

Before answering Lukin's question, Rokossovsky first sounded a warning bell for him: "Comrade commander, there are only two of us here, so I will say whatever comes to my mind, but you must not tell others what I say, otherwise it will cause us unnecessary trouble." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade General." Lukin heard Rokossovsky say this, and hurriedly assured him: "What you said, I will definitely not let the third person know." ”

Seeing Lukin's assurance, Rokossovsky said: "There are many reasons for the repeated defeats of our troops on the battlefield, and I have summarized the following points: first: my logistics are poor, I am not fully prepared for war, as far as I know, at least half of the lost tanks are abandoned due to lack of repair parts and fuel, and the supplies that are urgently needed at the front often do not arrive in time. On the contrary, the German army was well prepared for war and had a relatively complete logistical support system. Second, the commanders of our army lack experience and are constrained by the blind commands of political workers and the Supreme Command, and a large number of the best commanders have been purged in the great purges of the past few years, while the newly appointed commanders do not know how to adapt to changes and only know how to blindly carry out the orders of their superiors, causing heavy losses in the battle. The German commanders, on the other hand, had rich combat experience and considerable freedom of command, and were able to flexibly adapt to the development of the situation. ……”

Having touched on a sensitive topic, Rokossovsky deliberately stopped and stared intently at Lukin to see how he reacted. Lukin, who was recording with a pen, heard that Rokossovsky suddenly stopped talking, raised his head and looked at him with strange eyes, and urged: "Go on, Comrade General, please continue." There are only two people here, you don't have to have any scruples, you can say whatever comes to mind. ”

After receiving permission from Lukin, Rokossovsky continued: "There are also serious problems in the operational deployment of our army, which has not been able to find out the deployment of the German army, resulting in the weakness of our own defense, which happens to be exposed in front of the main attack spearhead of the German army, and at the same time does not know or dare to retreat in time in the war, and adopts the tactic of adding fuel when mobilizing reinforcements, so that the German army can always occupy a local advantage."

Last but not least, the commanders and fighters of our army seriously lacked combat experience, and they only knew how to blindly fight to the death, and the various arms of the army could not cooperate, and they often formed a lone battle, so that the German army was able to break through each of them. ”

Lukin wrote down what Rokossovsky said in his notebook, then put down his pen, raised his head and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade General, based on what you have just summarized, I think it is really a bit too condescending for you to be the commander of the mechanized army. With your abilities, you are fully qualified for the post of commander of the army group, and even later, you can take up a higher position. ”

Rokossovsky did not speak about what Lukin said, but only smiled faintly, and he secretly said in his heart: according to the history he has mastered, after a while, Rokossovsky will be promoted to the command of the army group and promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. As the war progressed, he would rise through the ranks because of his repeated exploits, and by the time he conquered Berlin, he had already received the highest rank in the Soviet army - the rank of marshal.

Rokossovsky was silent for a while, then asked; "Comrade commander, when you leave Shepetovka, do you need to take the 109th Infantry Division and the 116th Tank Regiment with you?"

Lukin waved his hand and replied, "No need, Comrade General, even if these two forces have lost a lot of strength in the recent battles, if they are withdrawn, it will make your defense forces weak. Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, sighed and said: "I'm sorry, Comrade Rokossovsky, although I know that your troops are limited, you can't replenish more soldiers, please forgive me!" ”

"Comrade Commander, you are too polite." Seeing Lukin's low posture, Rokossovsky also said in a friendly manner: "The two troops you left me are already the greatest support for me. Rest assured, until I officially receive the order from my superiors to retreat, I will firmly hold Shepetovka and never let the enemy occupy this place. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Lukin got up from his seat and stretched out his hand to him: "Since this is the case, then I wish you good luck!" ”

Rokossovsky came out of Lukin's office and saw that Felip and the soldiers of the song and dance troupe were standing neatly on the platform, and the stretcher that had been placed on the platform was gone, probably moved to the rear by train.

Seeing his army commander come out, Ferip hurriedly stepped forward to salute and asked respectfully, "Comrade army commander, can we go back to the army?" ”

Rokossovsky glanced at the song and dance troupe standing next to him and asked Felip: "Comrade Captain, have you arranged a vehicle for the comrades of the song and dance troupe?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Peripu said confidently: "I just made a phone call to the chief of staff, and he immediately sent two trucks over so that the comrades of the song and dance troupe could take a ride to our army. ”

"In that case, Comrade Captain, let's go!" After Rokossovsky said this, he walked up to the second lieutenant of the song and dance troupe and said to him with a smile: "Second lieutenant, our army has prepared a truck for you, and you can go back with us in a car." ”

When the second lieutenant heard Rokossovsky say this, he replied with a smile: "Comrade General, I and my fighters, resolutely obey your orders!" (To be continued.) )