Just as the stalemate was at a standoff, an officer ran out of the next room, stopped the fighter, and then apologized to Rokossovsky with a look of shame: "Comrade General, I just received a call from Marshal Budyonny saying that as soon as I see your arrival, I will ask you to go and see him. Please come in, this warrior has offended you, and I will criticize him later. ”

Seeing that the superior of the fighter took the initiative to apologize to himself, Rokossovsky no longer cared, he waved his hand and said generously: "Okay, comrade officer, don't blame your fighter, he did the right thing, he did his duty well." ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was so magnanimous, the soldier hurriedly and respectfully handed him back the document, saluted, and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I am also duty." Now you can go in. ”

The car quickly drove out of the doorway and into the Kremlin. The first thing Rokossovsky saw was the black cannon placed in the square, and a large bell with a missing piece, which was the famous "Cannon King" and "Bell King". He patted the lieutenant colonel on the shoulder, bowed to the two antiques, and asked, "Comrade lieutenant colonel, doesn't this need to be transferred or hidden?" You must know that as soon as the Germans blew it down, these two historical relics will be reimbursed. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade General." When the lieutenant colonel heard Rokossovsky say this, he replied with a smile: "No matter how powerful the German plane is, it will never fly over the Kremlin." Because as soon as they enter the skies over Moscow, they will be beaten down by our heroic anti-aircraft artillery. ”

While talking, the gas car stopped next to a four-story building, and the lieutenant colonel turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade General, it's time to get out of the car!" ”

Rokossovsky pushed the door and got out of the car, stood next to the car, glanced at the building, which was covered by a camouflage net, and asked the lieutenant colonel curiously: "Is the General Staff here?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General. Not only the General Staff is here, but even the Supreme High Command is here. After the lieutenant colonel finished the briefing, he turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation to Rokossovsky, and said: "Please, comrade general, the marshal is still waiting for you above." ”

Entering the building, Rokossovsky found that it was quite lively, and from time to time there were commanders in various uniforms, who came out of the rooms with open doors on both sides of the corridor, and after walking along the corridor for a while, they went upstairs or entered other rooms. When he saw this, he said to the lieutenant colonel who was walking side by side with him: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, you guys are quite lively here. ”

The lieutenant colonel turned his head and glanced at Rokossovsky, then said lightly: "Since the outbreak of the war, it has always been like this here, everyone is busy. ”

"By the way, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have something to ask you." Seeing that the lieutenant colonel's attitude was so cold, Rokossovsky suddenly remembered something that he had just ignored, and hurriedly asked: "Didn't you say that you came to pick me up on the orders of Marshal Timoshenko?" Why is it Marshal Budyonny who is waiting for me in the office now? ”

When the lieutenant colonel heard this, he shrugged his shoulders and said a little helplessly: "Comrade General, Comrade Marshal has been running into the troops a lot lately, maybe he has something important to do after giving me an order, and he rushed to the troops again, so it will be Marshal Budyonny to meet you." ”

Guided by the lieutenant colonel, Rokossovsky came to the door of a large room at the end of the corridor on the second floor. There was a table by the door, and a captain without a military hat sat upright behind it. Seeing the two of them walking in the direction where he was, he quickly stood up and asked in a voice that happened they could hear clearly, "Who are you looking for?" ”

The lieutenant colonel gestured to Rokossovsky to stop, then walked quickly up to the captain and muttered to him. When the lieutenant colonel had finished speaking, the captain came out from behind the table, glanced at Rokossovsky, turned and opened the door and walked in, closing it with his hand.

After a while, the captain came out of the house, stood at the door, and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade General, please come in, Comrade Marshal is waiting for you inside." ”

Rokossovsky shook hands with the lieutenant colonel who had brought him, thanked him, and then walked quickly into the room through the open door. Almost as soon as he entered the room, the tall, thick aspect closed silently behind him.

The room was empty, with nothing but a rectangular conference table and a desk, and a few chairs with backrests. Behind the desk piled high with papers, sat an old officer with gray hair, whom Rokossovsky recognized as Marshal Budyonny, whom he wanted to see, from his signature beard and Marshal Venus on his collar badge.

He hurriedly walked a few quick steps, came to the front of the desk, straightened his back, and reported without squinting: "Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, the commander of the Ninth Mechanized Army Rokossovsky has been ordered to come, I am waiting for your orders, please instruct!" ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky is here." Budyonny heard Rokossovsky's voice, looked up from the pile of papers, smiled at the subordinate, who was also a cavalryman, then stood up and walked around from behind the desk. Still far away, he took the initiative to stretch out his hand and said to Rokossovsky: "Welcome to Moscow!" ”

While shaking hands with Rokossovsky, Budyonny said with emotion: "Dear Konstantin Konstantinovich, how long have we not seen each other. The last time we met, you seemed to be the commander of the cavalry. ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union." Rokossovsky politely replied: "The last time we met was in 1936, when I had just been promoted from commander of the 15th Cavalry Division to commander of the 5th Cavalry Corps. ”

"Ah, has it been that long?" Budyonny was a little surprised, "How do I feel like it was not so long ago?" After saying these two sentences, he sighed, as if he was saying to Rokossovsky, and as if he was talking to himself, "It's a pity that many old comrades-in-arms will never see each other again." ”

After saying this, Budyonny walked back to his desk, looked at Rokossovsky and asked, "Do you know why you were recruited to the General Staff?" ”

Hearing Budyonny's question, Rokossovsky hurriedly took two steps forward and replied loudly: "Report to Comrade Marshal, I was informed that my superiors had asked me to go to the Western Front as the commander of an army group. ”

"That's right, that's what we thought about." Budyonny beckoned to Rokossovsky, motioned for him to come in front of him, then pointed to the map on the table and said: "At present, our troops are engaged in fierce battles with the German army in the Smolensk region, and we not only lack sufficient troops, but also lack experienced commanders. ”

Smolensk?! After hearing this place name, Rokossovsky really couldn't laugh or cry, and during this time he kept hearing people say this place name in his ear, and he didn't expect that he would soon have to go there to participate in the battle. Seeing that Budyonny had not announced which army group he would serve as the commander for a long time, he had no choice but to ask in a roundabout way: "Comrade Marshal, as far as I know, the commander of the 16th Army, Lieutenant General Lukin, is now in Smolensk, should I command the troops to fight with him, or will I go to the 16th Army to be his deputy?" ”

Budyonny heard Rokossovsky say this, glanced at him, sighed and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, the situation in Smolensk is very bad, Lukin's Sixteenth Army currently has only two divisions left, but they are shouldering the important task of holding the Smolensk-Moscow road and protecting the flank of the Twentieth Army. ”

"What, there are only two divisions left in the 16th Army?" Budyonny's words startled Rokossovsky, and he asked in an incredulous tone: "Could it be that General Lukin's 100,000 troops have only such a small number of troops left in such a short period of time?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Budyonny immediately understood what the other party had misunderstood and quickly explained: "Comrade General, you are mistaken. The reason why only two divisions remained of General Lukin's army was because the rest of the troops were assigned to the Twentieth Army under the command of Lieutenant General Kurochkin. The army group was engaged in a tough defensive battle in the Orsha region, holding back the fascist bandits who were trying to rush to Moscow. ”

After saying this, Budyonny pointed to a chair next to Rokossovsky and said: "Please sit down, and I will tell you about the situation at the front." ”

Rokossovsky hurriedly sat down on the chair pointed out by Budyonny, maintaining a posture of sitting upright, listening to the front-line battle report introduced by the other party.

Before Budyonny could finish speaking, a small door to the other rooms suddenly opened, and a man stepped out of it.

Seeing this person appear, Budyonny quickly got up from his seat, straightened his waist and maintained an upright posture. When Rokossovsky saw this man, he did not hesitate to stand up, follow the example of Budyonny, straighten his waist and maintain an upright posture in place, and looked at the man with awe.

It was none other than the master of the Kremlin - Stalin. Dressed in a gray uniform jacket and a pair of black trousers with black boots tucked into his cuffs, and a pipe in his hand, he walked slowly towards the two of them. Tang Shaohua, the impostor Rokossovsky, carefully looked at Stalin who was walking over, and found that in fact, his height was not as tall as others thought, at most only about 1.6 meters.

Stalin walked up to Rokossovsky and took the initiative to stretch out his hand that was not holding a pipe, Rokossovsky quickly stretched out his hands to hold it, shook it vigorously and said: "Hello, Comrade Stalin, it's a pleasure to see you here!" ”

"You are Comrade Rokossovsky!" While shaking hands with Rokossovsky, Stalin raised his hand holding the cigarette butt slightly, and asked in a calm tone: "I heard that the troops under your command have been fighting stubbornly in Shepetovka with the Germans attacking there?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky replied respectfully; "Since Shepetovka is the location of an important military warehouse of our army, we must not allow valuable supplies to fall into the hands of the Germans, so we are holding a stubborn defense there and resolutely keeping the enemy out of the city."

"Well done, Comrade Rokossovsky." When Stalin heard Rokossovsky's answer, he said with satisfaction: "You and your men are doing well, and it is because of your stubborn fighting that the enemy has not been able to enter Shepetovka until now." ”

After Stalin let go of Rokossovsky's hand, he turned his head and asked Budyonny next to him: "Comrade Budyonny, what position does your General Staff plan to appoint Comrade Rokossovsky?" ”

"Comrade Stalin." Because Budyonny often saw Stalin, he did not reply with the same sincerity as Rokossovsky, but said in a calm tone: "Originally, we originally intended him to be the commander of the Twentieth Army, but now Lieutenant General Kurochkin is in this position. ”

Hearing Budyonny's answer, Stalin said with a little displeasure: "So, for the time being, your General Staff will not be able to assign Comrade Rokossovsky a suitable post?" ”

Budyonny glanced at Rokossovsky, who was standing straight, and then replied with some confidence: "Comrade Stalin, I think so. Although General Rokossovsky was a great commander and had a wealth of combat experience, there was no suitable position for him for the time being. ”

After listening to Budyonny's explanation, Stalin turned his head to look at Rokossovsky, shrugged his shoulders, and said apologetically: "Did you hear everything, Comrade Rokossovsky? Seeing that Rokossovsky nodded, he continued: "Since this is the case, I can only ask the General Staff to temporarily arrange a deputy post for you." You don't have any comments, do you? ”

In front of Stalin, if anyone dares to say that he has an opinion on his arrangement, it is purely an old birthday boy hanging himself - looking for death. Rokossovsky hurriedly stood up again, straightened his waist and replied loudly: "Report to Comrade Stalin, I have no opinion, I resolutely obey the arrangements of my superiors. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's answer, Stalin nodded in satisfaction, and then walked slowly towards the open door. When one foot entered the room, he suddenly stopped, turned to Budyonny, and said: "Comrade Budyonny, you see that Rokossovsky has five medals of honor on his chest, but there are only two gold stars on the collar medal, and your General Staff should add another one to him." With that, he walked into the room without looking back, and closed the door with his backhand.

"I congratulate you!" As soon as the door closed, Budyonny, with a surprised face, stretched out his hand to Rokossovsky and said excitedly: "Congratulations on obtaining a higher rank!" (To be continued.) )