The driver, who was reprimanded by Rokossovsky, was surprised and slammed on the brakes. With tremendous inertia, Rokossovsky lunged forward and almost hit the windshield. After glaring at the driver fiercely, he asked sternly, "How did you drive?" ”

The driver said with a face full of grievances: "Comrade General, didn't our troops really go to Berlin?" You know, when I heard this rumor and mentioned it to others, they were convinced, and they all thought that maybe the war would end tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. ”

At this moment, the driver is like a deeply trapped shareholder, fantasizing that there can be some major benefits suddenly introduced, so that he can not only get out of the trap smoothly, but also make a lot of money at the same time. Once this good news does not come as expected, they will try their best to inquire from various channels, hoping to hear news that is beneficial to them.

It is precisely because of this mentality of the driver, in order to break his unrealistic illusions, Rokossovsky looked at the driver and said viciously: "Comrade driver, our troops have not yet been airborne in Berlin, at least we can't go now." But we'll go sooner or later, understand? Sooner or later, I will personally direct the troops to storm Berlin,...... Alright, comrade driver, keep driving. ”

The gas car continued to drive towards the airport, but the driver who had been rapping was quiet, his eyes were looking ahead, and he was intently driving, and he did not stop nagging Rokossovsky as he had just done.

Rokossovsky's eyes looked out the car window, wondering how uncomfortable it was to know the history that others could not know for the time being, but could not tell it.

After more than ten minutes, the gas car, with the license plate of the front army headquarters, easily passed through the checkpoint outside the airport and entered the airport smoothly. The driver drove the car to the vicinity of a gray transport plane, stopped it, then turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade General, we have arrived, and this is the plane you are going to sit on." ”

Although Rokossovsky was tired of the driver's nagging on the road, after all, it was the airport where the other party sent him, so before he got out of the car, he sincerely thanked the driver, shook hands, and then pushed the door and got out of the car.

Rokossovsky had just taken a few steps towards the plane when he saw a pilot in a leather jacket coming down from the open hatch, and after coming over to salute, he politely asked: "Is it General Rokossovsky, please?" ”

"That's right, I'm Rokossovsky."

The pilot made a gesture of invitation sideways, and then said respectfully: "Comrade General, please get on the plane, everyone is here, just waiting for you." ”

Hearing the pilot say this, Rokossovsky raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then asked in surprise: "Comrade pilot, didn't you say that the plane took off at two o'clock in the afternoon, and now it's just nine o'clock in the morning?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." The pilot, while accompanying Rokossovsky towards the plane, explained to him: "Two commanders were supposed to arrive here in the afternoon, but we just received a call that the fighting at the front was fierce, and they could not get out of it, and they could not go to Moscow for the time being. At the same time, we were also ordered to wait for you to arrive and the plane could take off immediately. ”

On the plane, Rokossovsky saw that the seats on both sides of the plane were full of people. While he was thinking about where to sit, the pilot whispered in his ear: "Comrade General, please sit here." Rokossovsky looked in the direction of his finger and it turned out to be a seat near the cab, nodded and walked over and sat down.

The first time he flew on a transport plane, Rokossovsky felt very new and surprised to see everything in the cabin. However, his freshness did not last long, as the altitude of the plane rose after takeoff, he felt that the cabin was getting colder and colder, as if it had entered winter from summer at once, and the summer military uniform on his body did not play any role in keeping warm at all.

Just when he was shivering from the cold, an officer next to him handed over a military coat, "Put it on, Comrade General." After seeing Rokossovsky put on his military coat, the officer smiled and asked, "Comrade General, it seems that this is the first time you have taken such a plane, right?" ”

Amid the deafening roar of aircraft motors, Rokossovsky replied loudly: "Yes, for the first time." He glanced at the officer gratefully and added, "Thank you, thank you for your military coat." ”

"You're welcome, Comrade General." The officer replied with a smile: "I often fly this kind of plane, and I know that when I get to high altitude, it is very cold in the cabin, so I carry two military coats with me." ”

Rokossovsky, who was already extremely tired because of the overnight journey, was wrapped in a military coat at the moment, and after a while sleepiness came up, so he leaned back and began to close his eyes and recuperate against the fuselage.

At first, he just wanted to take a nap, but because he was so tired lately, he fell asleep before he knew it. This slept until the plane landed at the airport in Moscow, when the officer woke Rokossovsky and politely told him: "Comrade General, we are in Moscow." ”

Rokossovsky stood up, returned his military coat to the officer, thanked him again, and got off the plane through the open hatch. As soon as he got off the plane, a lieutenant colonel officer came up to him and politely asked: "Are you General Rokossovsky from Kiev?" ”

"Yes, I'm Rokossovsky." Rokossovsky looked at the officer in front of him and asked with some surprise: "Are you ......?"

"Hello, Comrade General." After the lieutenant colonel raised his hand to salute him, he replied: "It was Marshal Timoshenko who ordered me to pick you up, please come to me, the car that picked you up is next to the runway." ”

After getting into the car, Rokossovsky, who was sitting in the back seat, asked the officer: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where are we going?" ”

"The Kremlin, the Supreme High Command and the General Staff are there." After the lieutenant colonel finished speaking, he turned his head and ordered the driver: "Let's drive, comrade driver." ”

The military airfield is not far from the Kremlin, and after driving for ten minutes, the car came to the Moscow River, where Rokossovsky could clearly see the red palace walls of the Kremlin in the distance and the yellowish dome of the government building exposed from the pheasant moat.

The car followed the Vasily slope to the entrance to the Spassko bell tower, but there was a slight accident, and the car they were riding in was stopped by the soldiers on duty. The lieutenant colonel pushed open the door, leaned out halfway, and shouted at the soldiers blocking the road: "Hell, what the hell is going on, don't you know who I am?" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I'm sorry." The fighter on duty apparently knew the lieutenant colonel, but he still said businessmanlikely: "We have just received an order from our superiors that all people and vehicles are now forbidden to enter the Kremlin." ”

Hearing what the fighter said, the lieutenant colonel had no choice but to retract himself, turn back to Rokossovsky and say apologetically: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, maybe we are on some martial law mission right now, so we can't enter the Kremlin for the time being." If you don't object, we'll wait here for a while. ”

"No problem, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Rokossovsky replied understandingly: "It's still early anyway, so let's wait here for a while." With that, he turned his head to look out the window and carefully examined the world-famous Red Square.

On the east side of Red Square is the famous State Department Store, which should be regarded as a landmark building in Moscow, and on one side of Red Square is its façade, the whole building is in European style, and the design of the windows is also amazing. Since the shopping environment is top-notch, there are not many people who visit it.

Opposite the mall is the famous Lenin Tomb, made of red granite and black feldspar, Lenin's body is placed in a crystal coffin inside the building, his identity is covered with the Soviet flag, his face and hands are illuminated by special lights, the whole person looks clear and serene. The burial chamber is flanked by viewing platforms, where the leaders of the CPSU watch the military parade on great festivals.

As soon as I saw Tang Shaohua, who had transformed into Rokossovsky, I couldn't help but think of the grand military parade more than 70 years later. Although he crossed on May 9, the day of the Victory Day, he did not see on TV how the honor guard of the three armed forces in China crossed Red Square with neat steps. But before, he had watched the rehearsal video of the military parade, and when he thought of the officers and soldiers of the honor guard of the three armed forces in China, singing the Soviet song "Katyusha" with military music, and stepping through the bluestone road of Red Square in a sonorous and orderly manner, his nose couldn't help but feel sour. If the stranger was next to him, it is estimated that his tears would have flowed down his cheeks.

Perhaps Rokossovsky stared out the window for too long, causing the main lieutenant colonel, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, to turn around and ask curiously: "What are you looking at, Comrade General?" ”

"Military parade," Rokossovsky, who was deep in thought, could not help blurting out at the lieutenant colonel's question: "Look at our victory parade, look at those soldiers with medals on their chests, marching with neat steps and walking with their heads held high. ”

The lieutenant colonel looked at the empty Red Square, glanced at Rokossovsky with a strange look, and then said in surprise: "Comrade General, but there is no one in the square?" ”

Rokossovsky was awakened by the words of the lieutenant colonel, and he found that he had lost his words because of his excitement, and hurriedly covered up and said: "That's the case, comrade lieutenant colonel, I was thinking that after we defeated the fascist invaders, a grand military parade must be held here." And to turn this into a tradition, a military parade is held every year. Let our descendants remember this hard-won victory. ”

After listening to what Rokossovsky said, the lieutenant colonel couldn't help but smile bitterly and said a little insincerely: "Yes, Comrade General, after we defeat the fascist invaders, a grand military parade will definitely be held here." At this point, he paused for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and added with some helplessness, "However, judging from the current situation, we don't know if we can stop the enemy's attack, and I estimate that the military parade on the October Revolution Festival will be canceled this year." ”

"No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Hearing the lieutenant colonel's lack of confidence, Rokossovsky said with some emotion: "Even if the enemy rushes to the vicinity of Moscow, our military parade will continue, because this can have the effect of boosting the morale of our army." ”

"Perhaps, Comrade General." The lieutenant colonel, in politeness, did not refute Rokossovsky's words, and could only say vaguely: "But you may be too pessimistic, our troops are still fighting tenaciously on all fronts, how can the enemy penetrate deep into the heart of our Motherland?" ”

After listening to him, Rokossovsky almost refuted what he said, but after thinking about it, he gave up this plan, even if he won the battle, this kind of thing would not make any sense, on the contrary, it might cause unnecessary trouble. After coughing lightly, he asked the lieutenant colonel: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, when we go to the Kremlin today, can we see Comrade Stalin?" ”

"It's up to your luck, Comrade General." The lieutenant colonel sideways politely said: "Although Comrade Stalin remained in Moscow, he did not spend much time in the Kremlin. ......" As soon as he said this, he realized that he seemed to have said something that he should not have said, so he closed his mouth in time, turned his gaze out the window, and ignored Rokossovsky.

After an unknown amount of time, a soldier ran out of the entrance to the Sparsco bell tower, came to the gas car, raised his hand to salute the lieutenant colonel sitting in the co-pilot's seat, and said loudly: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, you can go in!" ”

"Thank goodness it's important to be able to go in." After the lieutenant colonel muttered something quietly, he turned around and ordered the driver: "Let's drive, see stop outside the building where the General Staff is located." ”

Rokossovsky originally thought that the car would drive all the way outside the building where the General Staff was located, but as soon as he drove into the doorway, he was stopped by another group of fighters on duty. An ensign walked out of the window of the lieutenant colonel's car, stretched out his hand to him, and said coldly: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, your ID. ”

Perhaps the lieutenant colonel was not surprised by this situation for a long time, and when he saw his subordinates asking for his documents, he immediately took them out of his pocket and handed them out through the window. The second lieutenant took the document and did not look at it, but came to the place where Rokossovsky was, and stretched out his hand again: "And you, comrade general, please show your ID!" ”

Rokossovsky didn't say a word, took out his documents and handed them over. The second lieutenant took the ID, compared the photo on it with Rokossovsky himself, and then asked: "Comrade General, what about your business travel permit?" ”

Business travel permit?! When Rokossovsky heard this question, his head suddenly became big, and he remembered that when he left the headquarters of the Front, he forgot to ask Tupikov for a business permit. So he had no choice but to shake his head at the second lieutenant and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, comrade second lieutenant, I don't have a business permit." ”

"What, no travel permit?" As soon as the second lieutenant heard this, his face suddenly changed, he raised his hand to pull the car door, and shouted at Rokossovsky, who was sitting in the back row: "Get out of the car!" ”

"What are you going to do?" When the lieutenant colonel saw that the second lieutenant was actually going to let Rokossovsky get out of the car for inspection, he was furious, and he yelled at the other party: "He came to the Kremlin to report on the orders of Marshal Timoshenko!" ”

"I'm sorry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The second lieutenant said in a businesslike tone: "This general does not have a business permit, so I can't let him in." (To be continued.) )