Only a few days ago, even the commander of the Front had made a public suggestion that the troops should go on the defensive under the ferocious German offensive had been reprimanded from above and dismissed as defeatism. But now, in the unfavorable situation of the war, even commanders of the level of Lukin and Rokossovsky can justifiably discuss how to make the troops retreat safely.

Lukin paused for a moment, and then suddenly asked again: "Comrade Army Commander, I heard that you have now set up a lot of checkpoints outside the city to accommodate those scattered detachments that have retreated from the front line, is this the case?" ”

Although Rokossovsky did not know the purpose of Lukin's question, he stood up and replied truthfully: "Comrade commander, although these commanders and fighters lost the battle and retreated from the front, it was not their responsibility, but because of our lack of preparation for war, they were taken by surprise by the enemy. I took them in because they were all well-trained soldiers, much better than the recruits who had been drafted on the fly, and if they were reorganized and equipped with competent commanders and trained at the time, they would soon become the elite of our army. ”

Lukin listened to Rokossovsky's explanation with a smile on his face, then raised his right hand and pressed down: "Please sit down, my comrade commander." I don't ask about it to reproach you; On the contrary, I would like to commend you for doing the right thing. As he spoke, he stood up, walked back and forth behind his desk with his hands behind his back, and continued, "Our retreat in many areas is only a temporary tactical defeat, and has nothing to do with these retreating fighters, who have fought the Germans several times on the front line and have done their duty as a soldier. ”

After waiting for Lukin to finish speaking, Rokossovsky asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, if we want to abandon Shepetovka, then what should we do with the weapons, ammunition and various materials stored in military warehouses?" ”

"These weapons, ammunition and supplies must be transferred immediately, and we cannot leave a single bullet or loaf of bread for the Germans." After Lukin finished speaking, he continued: "I have ordered Colonel Malankin, the quartermaster of the group army, to gather the heads of the various military warehouses for a meeting to find out how many wagons are needed for the evacuation of supplies. ”

As soon as his words fell, there was a sound of shouting a report outside the door, and then a middle-aged officer strode into the headquarters, first glanced at Rokossovsky, who was sitting next to him, smiled and nodded at him, and then raised his hand to salute Lukin, and reported: "Comrade commander, I have counted all the wagons needed for the evacuation of materials."

Lukin took the report from Marankin's hand and pointed with his empty hand to the empty seat next to Rokossovsky, "Colonel, please take a seat." After he sat down again, before reading the documents, he gave a brief introduction to the two of them: "Colonel, this is Comrade Rokossovsky, commander of the 9th Mechanized Army; Comrade Rokossovsky, this is Colonel Malankin, quartermaster of the army group. ”

"Hello!" "Hello!" The two stood up and shook each other's hands, then sat down again, quietly looking at Lukin as he read the papers.

After reading the documents, Lukin casually put them on the table, and then asked Malanjin with a frown: "Colonel, do you need so many train wagons to transfer the materials in the warehouse?" You know, even in peacetime, it's hard to mobilize so many wagons at once. ”

Malankin hurriedly stood up and replied respectfully: "Yes, Comrade Commander, this is the figure that I and the heads of a dozen military warehouses have calculated after repeated calculations. And even if so many wagons can be mobilized, it will take at least a month to transport all the supplies away. As you know, the warehouses are all military supplies for the Southwest Front. ”

"Oh my God, it took so long?" Hearing Marankin say this, Lukin couldn't help but exclaim, "Can the Germans give us such a long time to transfer all the supplies?" ”

Rokossovsky interjected at this time: "Comrade commander, I have two ways to prevent the materials in the warehouses from falling into the hands of the Germans. ”

The two of them, who were anxious, suddenly lit up when they heard Rokossovsky say this. Marankin couldn't wait to urge: "Comrade General, tell me what you think. ”

"Plant explosives in military warehouses and blow up all warehouses when our troops withdraw from Shepetovka." After Rokossovsky finished speaking the first suggestion, he stopped and waited patiently for the two to respond.

After looking at each other, Lukin and Marankin shook their heads and said, "This kind of plan is the next resort, unless it is forced to do so. Besides, with the arrival of our follow-up troops, it may be possible that we can hold off the enemy here. If explosives were installed in the warehouse, the contents would be destroyed in the event of bombing or destruction by German spies. ”

Hearing that his first suggestion had been rejected, Rokossovsky was not discouraged, and went on to say the second option: "Another way is to distribute weapons, ammunition and supplies from warehouses to troops in need." In this way, the inventory of materials in the warehouse can be greatly reduced, and even if it is to be transferred in the future, the number of wagons required can be greatly reduced. ”

"No, resolutely not." As soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, Marankin immediately spoke out against it: "No one can use the materials in the warehouse at will without an order from above. At this point, he stared at Rokossovsky with his eyes and added earnestly, "Comrade General, the artillery I asked you to take away two days ago was reluctantly agreed to be transferred to you only after repeated consultations with the heads of the warehouses and repeatedly emphasizing to them that these technical equipment would play an important role in the defense of Shepetovka." ”

"Colonel." Lukin didn't wait for Malankin to finish speaking, and then raised his hand to interrupt his later words, "I think this suggestion of Comrade Rokossovsky is very good, we should use the weapons and ammunition in the warehouses to arm more people." ”

"Comrade Commander, this will not work." Hearing Lukin's statement, Malankin suddenly became anxious, and he didn't care about his identity, so he raised his voice and said: "Without the permission of the superiors, the unauthorized use of materials in the military warehouse will be sent to a military court." ”

Rokossovsky knew that what Marankin said was true, but he believed that Lukin could make a risky decision in order to hold Shepetovka and protect the military warehouses here in this extraordinary period.

Sure enough, after a short period of thought, Lukin decisively announced: "Comrade Colonel, from now on, all personnel who come from the front to receive ammunition, fuel, provisions, and combat equipment, even if they do not carry the application form for receiving war materials, will be issued in full. At this point, he paused for a moment, then added, "I'll leave this matter to you." ”

"Yes!" Seeing that Lukin was so stubborn, Malankin had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

Lukin spoke a few more words with Rokossovsky, and after some of his views on the deployment of the western defense of Shepetovka, he sent him back to his troops.

It was the same sergeant who sent Rokossovsky out. Rokossovsky walked outside the house, shook hands with the sergeant and said goodbye, and casually asked: "Comrade sergeant, I don't know your name yet." ”

When the sergeant heard Rokossovsky's question, he suddenly stood upright, straightened up and asked: "Comrade General, did you answer according to the regulations?" ”

Seeing the sergeant's old-fashioned appearance, Rokossovsky couldn't help but laugh secretly, so he casually said in his tone: "Just answer according to the regulations!" ”

"Vaskov, Sergeant Vaskov. Comrade General! The sergeant replied with a blank look.

"Oh, so your last name is Vaskov." Rokossovsky nodded and repeated his name. When he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered that he had seen this surname in a certain novel, and he couldn't help but shudder, raised his hand and grabbed the sergeant's shoulder, and asked nervously: "Comrade Vaskov, what about your real name and patronymic?" ”

The sergeant glanced at Rokossovsky strangely, and although he did not understand why he suddenly behaved in such a strange way, he obeyed the order and reported his full name: "Comrade General, my full name is Fidor Yevgravich Vaskov. ”