After the liberation of the village of Popkovo, the next target of the 16th Army was the town of Maklaki, fifteen kilometers to the southwest, which was another strong German stronghold. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

If it had been before, Rokossovsky might not have been able to take this stronghold. But once he had 14 automatic sleds, he formed two fast columns and roamed around the town of Maklaki to attack the German sled convoy that was transporting supplies to the town. Those German soldiers sitting on horse-drawn sleds regarded the Soviet army's automatic sleds as tanks, and when they saw this kind of tank that could travel quickly on the snow, they were immediately defeated by the strafing of the machine guns on the automatic sleds. Except for a few who were lucky enough to escape into the forest, the rest were either killed or taken prisoner.

In this way, in less than a week, the enemy in the town of Maklaki ran out of ammunition and food, and for the first time they felt isolated in the face of Soviet troops pressing from the east, north and south. After much thought, the German commander decided to break through from the west before the Soviet encirclement was formed.

But when their vanguard first appeared in the west of the city, the two automatic sled detachments that were galloping forward used machine guns to strafe the German soldiers who were trudging in the snow, killing them and wounding them, and the soldiers behind them scattered in a hurry and fled back to the city.

When the 11th Guards Division made a detour from the south of the city, it encountered an interesting incident. The special company, which opened the way in front, found a dozen German soldiers who had frozen to death in the birch forest. Li Muzi saw a sign written in Russian on the birch tree next to a soldier's corpse, so he curiously asked a soldier who knew Russian in the company and asked, "What is written on this sign?" ”

The fighter from Moscow looked at him, and then replied: "It says: Warning, it is forbidden to cut down trees!" ”

After listening to the soldier's words, Li Muzi couldn't help but say to himself: "These Germans are really stupid, just because of a warning sign, they don't cut down trees because they freeze to death." ”

Zhu Zhendong, who had just finished inspecting the corpses of the German army, came over, and just heard what Li Muzi said, so he threw a dagger with a sheath in his hand: "You know what, it's not that they don't want to cut down trees, but they only have a few daggers in their hands, can they cut down this birch tree?" ”

Li Muzi took out a dagger and slashed a few times at the birch tree next to him, but only left a few white marks, and then he understood that Lao Zhu was right, not that the Germans didn't want to cut down trees for warmth, but because the tools were not in their hands, they couldn't cut down if they wanted to.

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While Rokossovsky's troops were besieging Makrakaki, Borisova, who had returned to the city, was being criticized in the office of the city leadership. The leader listened to Tvelin's report and knew that Borisova had an unusual relationship with an excellent commander at the front, and he felt that he needed to take care of the matter, so he called Borisova to his office by phone.

When Borisova walked into the office, although she saw the serious look of her immediate superior, she still asked politely with a smile on her face: "Comrade Tronov, do you have anything to do with me?" ”

Tronov pointed to the empty chair across from the desk and said coldly: "Comrade Borisova, please take a seat!" ”

When Borisova heard the other party speak in this tone, a hint of foreboding swelled in her heart, but she still pretended to be calm and asked: "Comrade Tronov, do you have anything important?" If not, I'll go back first, I still have a lot of work to do. ”

Seeing that Borisova got up to leave, Tronov finally said the purpose of summoning her: "Comrade Borisova, I heard that you have a good relationship with a general. Is there such a thing? ”

"Yes, Comrade Tronov." Borisova generously admitted the incident, and in order not to misunderstand the other party, she specially added: "He once saved my life!" ”

"I've heard about him saving your life." Tronov looked at his valued subordinates and said earnestly: "But he already has a wife and a daughter, and you will not achieve anything from being with him like this." ”

"I know that I used to hear him talk about his wife and daughter, but since the outbreak of the war, he has lost contact with them." Borisova said undauntedly: "I just want to be his wife during the war, maybe as soon as the war is over, he will forget about me." ”

When Tronov heard Borisova say this, he was so angry that he slapped him the table, then stood up and said angrily: "That's right, Comrade Borisova, the kind of situation you are talking about is not uncommon in the army. But your situation is different, you are not only an excellent party member, but also a female cadre who has been respected by her superiors and has a bright future. He, on the other hand, is an amazing hero, and I have heard about him almost every day in the past few months. Because of this, the two of you can't be together. ”

"Why?" Borisova asked, puzzled.

Tronov walked up to Borisova, bowed his head and said to her: "There is a commander in my friend's command, a lieutenant colonel who has distinguished himself in battle. He also has a wife and children, but because he found a so-called girlfriend in the army. After being known by his superiors, he was not only reprimanded, but also demoted and transferred to the front-line unit as a company commander, and the so-called girlfriend was also sent to another unit as a hygienist. ”

Borisova's example shook her deeply, and she couldn't help but reflect on her relationship with Rokossovsky, and if her future was ruined because of her love, it would be not only a personal loss for him, but also a loss for the country and the army.

Seeing that Borisova was silent in thought, Tronov continued to persuade: "Comrade Borisova, I know that General Rokossovsky is a great commander, a handsome guy who makes many girls feel excited when they see it. But you have to learn to control your feelings, and if you continue like this, the consequences will be very serious! ”

"What are the consequences?" Borisova summoned up her courage and asked tremblingly.

"What else?" Tronov shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "Maybe he will be demoted like the lieutenant colonel I just mentioned." Speaking of this, he gently patted Borisova on the shoulder and persuaded, "Borisova, if you really love him, then leave him." An excellent commander like him is really a rare occurrence in a century, and if it really affects his future because of emotional matters, it will also be a huge loss to the country. ”

The distraught Borisova did not hear what Tronov said next, and she did not even know how she left here and returned to the office.

Seeing Borisova walking in from the outside with a dejected look, the female secretary Katya hurriedly stepped forward to hug her and asked nervously: "Comrade Borisova, what's wrong with you?" ”

After shouting several times in a row, Borisova barely came back to her senses, and she asked in a trance: "Did anyone look for me when I was away?" ”

"Yes, the directors of several factories in the district came to you and said that they wanted to ensure the power supply and water supply in the factories, otherwise it would affect national defense production." The secretary reported on Twitter: "By the way, there was also a phone call from the outside line, saying that it was the ...... of the 16th Army."

"He called me," and without waiting for the female secretary to finish, Borisova rushed straight into her office and closed the door casually, as the confused female secretary closed the door. She walked to her desk and sat down, picked up the phone with trembling hands, and just dialed two numbers, suddenly remembered what Tronov had just said to herself: "If you love him, leave him!" If you love him, leave him! ……”

The voice, like a spell, sounded over and over again in Borisova's head. She screamed, threw the microphone away, and shook her head twice with her hands around her head, before crying out loud.

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While Borisova was called by Tronov to talk, Lobachev was also in a separate wooden house with Rokossovsky, talking about Borisova. However, the topic he talks about is diametrically opposed to what Tronov said.

Lobachev said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, when Comrade Borisova came here the other day, I could tell from her words and deeds that she liked you very much. What do you think? ”

Rokossovsky did not know why Lobachev suddenly asked himself this question, and in a hurry he was dumbfounded and did not know how to answer.

Seeing that Rokossovsky did not answer for a long time, Lobachev continued to ask: "Comrade commander, please tell me truthfully, do you like Comrade Borisova?" ”

Hearing Lobachev address himself and use the honorific title "you", Rokossovsky understood in his heart that the military commissar wanted to talk to him. He said in his heart that I am not really Rokossovsky, why can't I like other women? Thinking of this, he nodded vigorously and said affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade Military Commissar, I do like Borisova very much. But ......"

"But what?" Lobachev hurriedly said: "Are you worried that you have a wife and daughter, so you can't like other women?" ”

"Yes, there are concerns." In front of Lobachev, Rokossovsky did not hide his true thoughts: "Even if I like Borisova again, I can't marry her." ”

"Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you?" Lobachev said unexpectedly: "You know, now that no one knows how long they will live during the war, so there are many wartime wives in the army at present. I'm absolutely not okay with you even if you ask Borisova to be your warrior's wife. ”

Lobachev's words left Rokossovsky speechless. He stared at Lobachev and thought: "If in China, the military commissar has a conversation with him, it should be a reprimand, not a suggestion to find a wartime wife." It seems that the cultural differences between the East and the West are really too big to be confusing. ”

However, for the sake of safety, he tentatively asked Lobachev: "Comrade Military Commissar, is this appropriate?" ”

"Nothing out of place." Lobachev grinned: "What happened between you and Borisova has long been no secret within the entire army group. Instead of hiding it, you should be generous together, and even if your superiors blame you, I will help you take responsibility. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky still looked hesitant, Lobachev raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder twice, and said: "Comrade commander, I saw you call her in the morning, did you not find anyone, and felt a little lost?" It's okay, let's fight another one now, maybe she'll already come back from the meeting! ”

After speaking, Lobachev picked up the phone on the table, handed the microphone to Rokossovsky, and said encouragingly: "Comrade commander, give her a call." You're a man, you can't let a woman take the initiative in this kind of thing, right? ”

Rokossovsky took the phone with some hesitation, his eyes fixed on the base of the phone, and there was a fierce ideological struggle in his heart to consider whether to make this call or not. Lobachev saw his reaction and knew that as long as he stayed here, Rokossovsky would not be able to make up his mind to make a call, so he stood up and took out a cigarette from his pocket, pretended to be casual and said: "Comrade commander, I'll go out for a cigarette first, and you can call slowly." ”

Lobachev walked out of the room, closed the door with his hand, and instructed the soldiers standing guard outside: "The commander is calling Moscow from inside, and you should not get too close to the house, and you are not allowed to approach here casually." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." The two sentries standing guard answered, and immediately took two steps forward, keeping a certain distance from the cabin.

Rokossovsky held the microphone and, after repeated ideological struggles, decided to call Borisova in person. He was about to get through the office of Borisova's Leningrad District, and when he heard that it was the female secretary who answered the phone last time, he smiled and said: "Hello, I am from the 16th Army, I want to find Comrade Borisova for something, please help me turn it around, okay?" ”

"Comrade commander," the female secretary heard that the caller was a soldier who had called the office, and hurriedly smiled and said, "Please wait a moment, I will immediately help you take over the office of Comrade Borisova." ”

A moment later, the walkie-talkie next to Borisova rang, and after she pressed the button, she heard the voice of the female secretary: "Comrade Borisova, the commander who called in the morning is calling again, do you need to be picked up?" ”

Hearing the female secretary say this, Borisova almost asked her to transfer the phone directly, but at this moment she remembered Tronov's words, and finally gritted her teeth and said: "Tell him, say that I am in a meeting." By the way, please don't call me again in the future. ”