Just as Rokossovsky was about to put down the phone, he suddenly thought of the captured spy, who perhaps didn't know the old man who betrayed him at all, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade General, where is the body?" ”

"Corpses, what corpses?" Vinogradov was confused by Rokossovsky's question, but he quickly understood what the other party was asking, and quickly replied: "The body is still parked in the house, and our comrades in the counterintelligence department still have some finishing work to sweep up." ”

"Comrade General, you immediately tell Colonel Shevchak about the news of the death of the old man that there is a strict blockade." A bold plan popped up in Rokossovsky's head, and he instructed Vinogradov: "Put on a trench coat and a top hat for him, and put him on a chair to take a few pictures." Remember, make sure to make him look like a living person. ”

Vinogradov was able to become the intelligence chief of the Front, naturally he had an extraordinary side, and he quickly guessed the answer to Rokossovsky's strange request, and hurriedly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately inform Colonel Shevchak to take a picture of the old man, and he will definitely look like a living person." ”

"Comrade General, what is the truth behind this incident depends on whether you can use this fake photo to confuse the enemy." After Rokossovsky briefly reminded the other party, he did not say anything further, but said: "Good luck to you!" Then he hung up.

Bogolyubov also knew a lot about the spy, and he felt particularly sorry when he learned that the mysterious old man had been killed. But when he heard Rokossovsky order Vinogradov to take pictures of the old man and make him look like a living person, he couldn't help but be confused.

Seeing Rokossovsky put down the phone, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Marshal, I don't understand, why did you ask Vinogradov to arrange for someone to take pictures of a dead man, but also to make him look like a living person." ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky asked, looking at Bogolyubov, "if you were a murderer, what would you do after killing this old man who may be a threat to you?" ”

In response to Rokossovsky's question, Bogolyubov was silent for a moment, and then replied: "I will probably hide not far from the scene and see what happens next." ”

"Even if the murderer didn't hide nearby, he must have used various channels to understand the subsequent development of this matter." When Rokossovsky said this, he couldn't help but sneer, and said to himself: "If the spy hadn't been exposed and the old man hadn't been killed, we might not have focused on the spies in the city." But in today's situation, the Germans are forcing us to focus on the city and forcing us to dig up all the hidden spies. ”

Rokossovsky guessed that even if he did not report the incident, Beria, who headed the intelligence service, the counterintelligence service and the National Security Council in the country, would have learned about it through his unique intelligence channels, so he instructed Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please report to Comrade Beria about the discovery of spies in the city." ”

"Comrade Marshal, I don't think it is appropriate to report this to Comrade Beria in the current situation." Bogolyubov reminded Rokossovsky: "Even if we had reported the matter, we might not have been able to attract the attention of Comrade Beria, who would have thought that we had captured only a few spies lurking in the city, and not spies." If it's confirmed that there are only a few insignificant spies hidden in the city, then he'll think we're making a fuss......"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," seeing that Bogolyubov did not advocate reporting the matter, Rokossovsky immediately turned his face and said: "Whether it is a spy or a spy, if such a major incident happens in the city and does not report it, once Beria learns about it through his special information channel, it will cause unnecessary trouble." ”

What Rokossovsky said, Bogolyubov understood very well, but for the sake of prudence, he still did not advocate reporting at this moment, and he asked tentatively: "Otherwise, I will go and invite Comrade Lunev over." You know, he is a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to our front, and I think that in this kind of thing, we only need to get angry with him, and the final result is that he should report to Comrade Beria, which is very appropriate. ”

Rokossovsky's heart fluttered with Bogolyubov's proposal, and he thought to himself: That's right, Lunev is a representative of Beria sent to his troops, although he never attends military meetings and does not interfere with his command, and behaves like a transparent person. But this did not mean that he stayed in his own army, that he was just eating leisurely, and that everything he saw and heard was constantly compiled into written materials, which were personally sent to Moscow by trusted subordinates and handed over to Beria for review.

Thinking of this, he nodded at Bogolyubov and said: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, invite General Lunev here, I will talk to him personally." ”

Having received a call from Bogolyubov, Lunev immediately rushed to Rokossovsky's office as fast as he could. Since he entered the office from this side of the war room, he also attracted the attention of many staff officers, secretly wondering how this big man from the Ministry of Internal Affairs could be here today, it must be something great and big.

Rokossovsky shook hands with Lunev and said straight to the point: "General Lunev, I have invited you here today for an important matter. ”

As a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lunev was stationed at the Front Command, and although he rarely met with Rokossovsky, he was tasked with closely monitoring the heads of all Fronts, including Rokossovsky. At this moment, when I heard Rokossovsky say this, I couldn't help but blurt out: "Comrade Marshal, you mean that spies were found in the city, right?" ”

Seeing that the other party had guessed his intentions, Rokossovsky instinctively turned his head to look at Bogolyubov, and told the other party with his eyes: "Look, I'm not wrong, even if we don't report it, others have general information." ”

"That's right, General Lunev. You guessed it right, I came to you for this purpose" When Rokossovsky turned his head to Lunev, he nodded and said: "Can you tell us what you think?" ”

"Quite simply, the Germans first exposed a spy to us in order to divert our attention and disguise their true intentions." When Lunev said this, he frowned slightly: "But what makes me wonder is why the Germans killed that old man, are they trying to hide some truth?" ”