"That's right, if Smolensk is lost, the Germans will not only open the passage to Moscow, but also cut off the rear route of our troops who are fighting fiercely." After saying these words, Kirponos coughed lightly, and then asked with a straight face: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I would like to ask you to tell me if the troops in Shepetovka can hold back the enemy's attack?" ”

Looking at the expressionless Kirponos, Rokossovsky couldn't help but shudder, and then replied: "Comrade commander, if you want me to tell the truth, I can only tell you that it can't be stopped. But they could try to hold back the Germans so that they could not rush to Kyiv quickly. ”

Kirponos stared into Rokossovsky's eyes, as if trying to tell from his eyes whether he was telling the truth. Facing the commander's fierce eyes, Rokossovsky also looked at him without flinching. After a while, Kirponos looked away, nodded, and said somewhat helplessly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, maybe you are right. In the face of the German forces, which were well prepared, superior in strength and weaponry, and firmly controlled the air supremacy of the battlefield, it was almost impossible to repel them, no matter how tenacious they were. ”

After speaking, Kirponos raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then said to Rokossovsky: "Okay, Comrade Rokossovsky, the plane to Moscow will take off at two o'clock in the afternoon, you go and rest first." Oh, by the way, due to the limited number of seats on the plane, the fighters who came to Kyiv with you will not be able to go to Moscow together, you should settle them as soon as possible. ”

Seeing that Kirponos had given the order to evict the guests, Rokossovsky did not stay any longer, he raised his hand and saluted the commander, military commissar, and chief of staff of the command, and then turned around and walked out of the headquarters without waiting for any reaction from the other party. At the moment of leaving the door, his nose couldn't help but sour, because he knew in his heart that he would never see these three commanders again, because they had all died heroically in the battle to defend Kyiv two months later.

Rokossovsky came out of the headquarters, looked left and right, and saw that Felip's motorcade was parked on the side of the road. So he crossed the road at a brisk pace and came to Philip.

When Felip saw Rokossovsky coming, he hurriedly greeted him with a smile and asked: "Comrade commander, you are out." When can I go to Moscow? ”

"A two-o'clock plane in the afternoon." Rokossovsky looked at Felip, who was standing in front of him, and said with some embarrassment: "Comrade Captain, just now the commander informed me that there are many commanders who are returning to Moscow on the same plane, so there are not enough seats in the cabin, so let me arrange for you to return to Shepetovka." ”

Felip's smile froze on his face, he thought he could go to Moscow with Rokossovsky, to see the coveted Kremlin, Red Square and Lenin's tomb, but now his illusions were shattered.

Seeing the expression on Felip's face, Rokossovsky also felt particularly unhappy, feeling a little like crossing the river and demolishing the bridge, these commanders and fighters risked their lives to escort themselves from Shepetovka to Kyiv overnight, but after staying here for a long time, they were sent away by their own words.

Just as Rokossovsky was hesitating how to harden his heart and give the order, a major ran out of the building opposite. He crossed the road, ran quickly in front of Rokossovsky, panted and said: "Thank God, Comrade General, I can count on finding you." ”

Rokossovsky saw that the person who had just sent him to the command was the major, so he asked in a friendly manner: "What's the matter, Comrade Major?" ”

The major gave them a quick look, and then said: "Comrade General, the Chief of Staff asked me to inform you that the guard company that escorted you to Kiev does not have to go back to Shepetovka, just stay here and be incorporated into the guard regiment of the front headquarters. ”

"Great, that's great." Rokossovsky was overjoyed when he heard the major say this, he shook the other party's hand vigorously, and said excitedly: "Major, since this is the case, then I will hand over my subordinates to you." After saying that, he shouted without looking back, "Captain Perip." ”

"Here!" Hearing that he could stay in Kyiv, Felip's mood rose again, and he replied loudly with his head held high: "Comrade commander, I obey your orders!" ”

"Captain, from now on," Rokossovsky said, gesturing to the major standing in front of him, "you are under the command of this major." ”

After raising his hand to salute the Major, Fripp respectfully reported in accordance with the order: "Comrade Major, Captain Fripp reports to you, I am at your command, please instruct!" ”

"Comrade Major, bring your people and come with me." The major, taking advantage of the fact that Felip was going to assemble his troops, said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade General, do you need me to send someone to take you to the airport?" ”

The airport, if the major does not say it, Rokossovsky really did not think about it, and when he goes to the airport later, he should be blind, he does not know where the airport in Kiev is. Since the major took the initiative to mention it at this moment, he pushed the boat and said: "Okay, Comrade Major, this is really good, I really don't know where the airport is." ”

The major turned and beckoned across the road, and soon a warrior crossed the road and came to them. After saluting the major, the soldier respectfully asked: "Comrade Major, do you have any instructions?" ”

The major pointed at Rokossovsky and said: "This comrade general is going to the airport to catch a plane to Moscow, you can drive him later." ”

The fighter nodded, then turned to Rokossovsky and said politely: "Comrade General, please come with us, my car is parked on the opposite side of the road." ”

Rokossovsky thanked the major, said goodbye to the fighters of the Fryp's guard company, and followed the soldiers across the road to a gas car parked on the side of the road. The soldier casually opened the door, turned his head and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade General, do you sit in the back seat or in the co-pilot's seat?" ”

Rokossovsky did not know how far it was from the airport, and at the same time wanted to ask the fighters about the situation in the city, so he replied decisively: "I'll take the co-pilot's seat." ”

As the car drove towards the airport, the driver said to Rokossovsky with emotion: "Comrade General, you are really good to your subordinates. I've never seen a general shake hands with everyone when he said goodbye to his men. ”

The driver was talking about Rokossovsky's shaking hands with every soldier of the guard company just before leaving. But he didn't know that Rokossovsky did this because after he was separated from these subordinates, it would be goodbye, and these commanders and fighters would either die or be captured in the following days, and the two sides would never see each other. But it was impossible for Rokossovsky to tell this secret to a driver who had only known him for a few minutes, so he did not speak, but smiled faintly.

Seeing that Rokossovsky did not speak, the driver found another topic: "Comrade General, can I ask you a question?" ”

"Please, Comrade Driver."

"I heard that in the forests of Smolensk there are buried treasures of the tsars, and the reason why the Germans are desperately attacking there is to seize this treasure." The driver said this, turned his head and glanced at Rokossovsky quickly: "Comrade General, is this true?" ”

"Comrade Driver," Rokossovsky could not remember the first time he had heard of this non-existent Tsarist treasure, and he said in his heart that in the forests of Katyn, there was no Tsarist treasure buried at all, only the corpses of more than 10,000 Polish officers. But this kind of thing is still a top secret at this moment, and he naturally can't tell this warrior the truth. After thinking for a moment, he said in a serious tone, "I don't know who spread this rumor to you, I just want to remind you. The Tsar's capital was in St. Petersburg, now Leningrad. If there is any treasure to be buried, it will be buried only near St. Petersburg, and not in Smolensk, more than a thousand kilometers away. ”

At this point, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "The reason why the enemy is desperately rushing towards Smolensk is that by capturing it, it opens the road to Moscow and at the same time encircles our troops who are fighting fiercely with them. ”

After hearing this, the driver hurriedly gave a thumbs up and patted Rokossovsky's ass: "A general is a general, and if you understand it, you don't know more than those majors or lieutenant colonels I pulled before." ”

Hearing what the driver said, Rokossovsky really couldn't laugh or cry, and he said curtly: "Comrade driver, this is a matter of common sense, as long as everyone thinks about it calmly, they will not believe such absurd rumors." ”

After a moment of silence, the driver pretended to be mysterious and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade General, do you know? Our troops rushed to the rear of the enemy, succeeded in taking out the enemy's headquarters, and captured several German generals alive. However, the news was blocked by the Germans, who feared that if the news reached the troops, it would cause the morale of the troops to waver. So the people who know this news are still in the minority, and I also overheard it from the mouth of a lieutenant colonel. ”

These words of the driver aroused Rokossovsky's curiosity. He knew that although in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet army was beaten all over the ground by the Germans, but still achieved partial victories in some areas, and what the driver said may be a buried result. So he asked curiously: "Comrade driver, which unit are you talking about the results of the battle?" ”

"Which other force could it be?" The driver said with some pride: "Of course, it is the Ninth Mechanized Army originally stationed in Zhytomyr." I heard that the commander of the army, General Rokossovsky, would have predicted the prophet, and soon before the enemy's attack, he analyzed it and prepared the troops for battle. As soon as the battle began, he led his troops to the border area as fast as possible in the vehicles that had been prepared long ago, and went to meet the enemy who had rushed across the border......"

When the driver said this, Rokossovsky did not interject to identify himself, but quietly listened to what the other party said, and he wanted to know what the commanders and fighters in the rear said about him.

As a result, the more he listened, the more he felt that something was wrong, and he was boasted by the driver that he had only captured two German colonels, but in his mouth, it became that he had captured five German generals; Repelling the attack of one division turned into the result of destroying four or five armored divisions......

Rokossovsky hurriedly raised his hand and said loudly: "Comrade driver, wait a minute, please don't say any more." I am what you call Rokossovsky, but how did I never know that I had achieved the results you described? ”

Hearing that the commander sitting next to him was Rokossovsky, who did not listen to the boast, the driver's face suddenly turned red with shame. After a long time, he muttered: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I have listened to other people's words. ”

"Alright, comrade driver, don't say anything." Rokossovsky waved his hand impatiently: "Although I commanded the troops to eliminate a lot of Germans, the results achieved were not as brilliant as you said. Remember, this is the end of the matter, don't talk nonsense in the future, beware of the Ministry of Internal Affairs arresting you. ”

Rokossovsky's words frightened the driver, and he nodded vigorously and replied: "Remember, Comrade General, I will not talk nonsense in the future." ”

Rokossovsky originally thought that the driver would be honest if he was beaten like this, but it didn't take long for him to mysteriously say: "Comrade General, do you know? ”

At this moment, Rokossovsky really regretted how he could be hot-headed and sit in the co-pilot's seat, and as a result, he could only endure the nagging of this talkative driver. He leaned back in the seat, resisted the urge to punch the driver in the face, gritted his back molars and said, "Say, comrade driver, what inside information do you have to tell me?" ”

"That's right, I saw a driver friend the other day, and he drove for the commander of the group army." The driver said somewhat mysteriously: "He told me that our troops had been airborne near Berlin." Three regiments, three airborne regiments, they had stormed Berlin, and as soon as Hitler was captured, the Germans would have stopped attacking and even laid down their arms and surrendered to us. ”

"Comrade driver," Rokossovsky said, holding back his anger and raising his voice, "please stop believing these demagogic rumors, although in the current situation, everyone wants to hear good news, but unrealistic news can only have the opposite effect." Now the enemy is constantly attacking us, and you are constantly advertising that our airborne troops have landed near Berlin, and if this continues, I estimate that the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs will soon come to you. (To be continued.) )