Without waiting for Rokossovsky to make a decision, Malinin hurriedly said beside him: "Comrade commander, we don't have much food now, I suggest that all the grain that can be taken be loaded onto the truck, and the rest should be burned in one fire." Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Although Gosha was on a horse, through the open door, he heard Malinin's suggestion to Rokossovsky, and immediately continued: "Comrade commander, I will now go to the commander of the third echelon and ask him to send a truck to the warehouse with us to transport grain. When the grain that can be taken is loaded into the truck, the rest is burned. ”

"Comrade Captain," Rokossovsky asked, looking at the non-stop night rain outside the car, with some concern, "Now that it is raining so hard, are you sure that you can burn all the rest of the food?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Gosha replied confidently, "There is also a lot of gasoline in the warehouse, and as long as you pour it on the grain, even if it rains heavily, the grain can be burned to ashes." ”

"Since that's the case, then you can do it."

……

When it was dawning, the rain finally stopped.

Kazakov, who led the first echelon, was waiting on the side of the road, and when he saw the arrival of Rokossovsky's jeep, he happily reported to him: "Comrade commander, our fighters have found a small village in front of them, there is no enemy nearby, do you want to rest there for a while, let the commanders and fighters have something to eat." ”

Although Rokossovsky sat in the jeep all night, every time he opened the door, he could feel the bitter cold coming from outside the car. Since they were wearing military coats and sitting in the city so cold, the sin of those soldiers who were still wearing thin pullovers and military uniforms was even greater. Thinking of this, he nodded and said very dryly: "Okay, Comrade Artillery Chief, let the troops go into the village to rest." However, for the sake of safety, mobile posts should be placed nearby, so that we can be alerted as soon as the enemy appears. ”

The village is small, with only forty or fifty families in all, and is located on the edge of a forest. Although the area is relatively remote, it has been affected by the fighting, and half of the houses in the village have been burned down, leaving only blackened ruins.

When Rokossovsky arrived in the village, Kazakov came over and reported to him and Lobachev: "Commander, military commissar, almost all the people in the village have been evacuated, only one family remains. ”

"Take us to see it." Hearing that there was only one person left in the village, Rokossovsky, who knew almost everything in the village, immediately said: "I want to ask them about the enemy." ”

"Please come with me." After saying that, Kazakov turned around and left, acting as a guide for Rokossovsky and them in front. The prolonged torrential rains have left the village's muddy roads full of potholes. The group cautiously jumped over the uneven puddle and walked towards the house where the only villager lived.

Seeing a group of soldiers walk into her room, the hostess looked a little frightened, and she asked nervously: "Comrade commander, do you have anything to do?" ”

Lobachev hurriedly took a step forward, raised his hand and saluted the hostess, smiled and said: "Comrade women, we are the commanders of the Red Army, and the troops passed by the village and saw that there were no Germans here, so come in and rest. Rest assured, we won't be here long before we leave. ”

"It turned out to be passing by." The hostess could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when she heard Lobachev say this, she was deeply afraid that the troops stationed here would attract the Germans, and her only place of refuge would be destroyed. She stretched out her hand and made a gesture of invitation, and said in a bit of a panic, "Since you are here, please sit down!" ”

The hostess beckoned Rokossovsky to sit down at the wooden table in the middle of the room, and then hurried into the kitchen, first took out a pot of boiled potatoes, placed them on the table, took out a teapot and a cup, and diligently poured them hot tea. With a smile on his face, he said: "Comrades commanders, please forgive me, that's all I can entertain you. The rest was snatched by the Germans. ”

"Germans?!" Rokossovsky listened to the hostess talk about the Germans and could not help but raise his vigilance. Originally, he thought that the destroyed houses in the village were caused by the German bombing, but now it seems that it may be the masterpiece of the Germans when they entered the village to grab food: "Have they ever been here?" ”

Without waiting for the hostess to speak, a little boy suddenly ran in from outside. When he came in, he saw a few strange soldiers sitting in the room, and he couldn't help but be stunned in the middle of the room.

In order to ease the atmosphere in the room, Rokossovsky quickly stood up and walked around and squatted down in front of the boy, smiled and asked: "Little friend, where are you from?" ”

The little boy glanced at Rokossovsky, but did not finish, but turned his gaze to the hostess who was standing aside. Seeing this, the hostess hurriedly introduced to several people: "Comrade commander, he is my son, and since I don't know when the Germans will come again, I let me go outside the village to observe." As soon as we found out that the Germans were coming, we could preemptively hide the food and not let them take it. ”

"You're right. The Germans must not be allowed to get a grain of grain in our village. After Rokossovsky said this, he looked at the little boy and asked tentatively: "Hey, our little scout, have you seen anything outside the village?" ”

The little boy ran over and hugged the hostess's leg and said a little shyly: "Before you came, I saw three tanks and five cars full of Germans, interviewed from outside the village. ”

Kazakov, who was sitting at the table, could not help but be a little surprised when he heard the words of the little boy, because according to the reports of the scouts, there was no trace of the Germans in the village and in the vicinity at all. Therefore, after looking at Lobachev, he turned to the little boy and asked: "Little friend, do you think our troops are Germans?" ”

"No, I can't be mistaken." The little boy looked at Kazakov, blushed and said, "They came to the village to steal our food and killed a lot of people, otherwise the rest of the village would not have left here." ”

After his words, Kazakov smiled a little awkwardly, and then turned his eyes to Lobachev for help, hoping that he would relieve himself. Lobachev, who understood it, nodded, got up and walked to the little boy's side and squatted down, and said amiably: "Little friend, that uncle missed you just now, you can not be angry." By the way, what else do you know? ”

Seeing that her son shook his head desperately, indicating that he did not know more information, the hostess added: "Comrade commander, yesterday there were refugees who escaped from Nova Dugino and Chosovo passing here, and I heard from them that there were many enemy tanks and cars there, and they managed to escape with great difficulty......"

Hearing the hostess mention two unfamiliar place names, Rokossovsky hurriedly took out the map from his briefcase, spread it out on the table, and carefully searched it up. Soon he lifted himself from the map and said to Lobachev and Kazakov: "These two places are to the north of the village, only fifteen kilometers from here. ”

"Ah, it's so close." After seeing the position of the German troops on the map, Malinin, who had never spoken, said to Rokossovsky with some nervousness: "Comrade commander, the Germans can arrive in less than an hour at such a close distance, I think we should move immediately." ”

"Chief of Staff, you're right, we should transfer immediately." Rokossovsky stood up as he spoke, picked up two potatoes from the basin that were still warm, put them in his pocket, and then bowed slightly to the hostess, and said politely: "Thank you for your hospitality, we still have something to do, so I won't continue to bother you." ”

After the men had left the wooden house, and had not gone far, Rokossovsky stopped and instructed Malinin: "Chief of Staff, you ask Captain Gosha to leave two bags of flour for the family so that they can make ends meet." ”

"Is two bags of flour enough?" When Ma Linin said this, he turned his head to look at the house where he had stayed, and said cautiously: "Comrade commander, according to my observations, they have been cut off from their source of subsistence, and these two bags of flour are enough for them to last for a month at most. ……”

"Alright, Comrade Chief of Staff, don't say any more." Before he could finish speaking, Rokossovsky interrupted him and said somewhat unceremoniously: "Although we have captured a lot of food, no one can predict how long the troops will stay in the enemy's encirclement, so this food is extremely precious to us." I don't want the commanders and fighters to lose some of their combat effectiveness because they don't have enough to eat, you know? ”

"Understood." Seeing that Rokossovsky did not hesitate to reject his proposal, Malinin reluctantly agreed, then turned and walked towards the lot where the truck was parked, ready to order the flour to be delivered to the villagers' homes.

After a half-hour rest, the troops set off again. Due to the muddy roads littered with potholes, the troops marched slowly.

Seeing this, Lobachev was a little anxious, "Comrade commander, the enemy is not far to the north of us, and he may rush towards us at any time. If the troops marched at such a slow pace, we would be in danger of total annihilation in the event of an encounter with a large German force. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Military Commissar." Although Rokossovsky was anxious to see the slow movement of his troops, he still managed to maintain his composure in front of the others: "I have sent scouts to the north to closely monitor the movements of the German troops. As soon as they found out that the Germans were moving in our direction, they would have reported it in time. ”

By ten o'clock in the morning, Captain Gosha sent back a cavalryman to report good news to Rokossovsky. The cavalryman, riding beside the jeep, reported: "Comrade commander, the company commander asked me to report to you that two kilometers north of us, a large force was spotted, and they were moving east. ”

"A big army?" Hearing the report of the cavalry, Rokossovsky's heart jerked up, and he hurriedly asked: "Is it the troops of the Germans?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander." The cavalry replied with a smile: "It's our own troops." ”

"Our own troops?" When Rokossovsky heard this, he turned his head to look at Lobachev, who was sitting next to him, and saw that there was a surprised expression on his face, so he turned his head and continued to ask: "Which part is it, and how many troops are there?" ”

The cavalryman said: "After the company commander sent someone to contact them, he knew that their eighteenth infantry division, which consisted of militia, now had more than 4,000 people left, and they were marching to the east. ”

"Great, that's great." When Rokossovsky heard the good news, the depression and sorrow in his heart were suddenly swept away, and he hurriedly ordered the cavalry: "Comrade soldier, go back and tell your company commander that he will invite the commander of the militia division here, and we will talk to him." ”

"Yes!" The cavalry answered, turned his horse's head, and ran along the road.

After a while, another officer came to Rokossovsky on a motorcycle and reported to him: "Comrade commander, General Kazakov asked me to report to you that we have found units of the 18th Division of the militia in the forest to the north, and the general has sent someone to make contact. ”

"I see." As soon as Rokossovsky sent the officer away, his face sank. Malinin, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned his head and saw Rokossovsky's expression, and couldn't help but ask: "Comrade commander, if we take this militia division under our command, we will have a considerable number of troops, and we will be able to break through the German defensive positions in any direction." But I look at you, and you seem to be a little sullen. ”

"Chief of Staff, you should be aware that we received the same message twice, and it was reported to us by different units." Rokossovsky said with some anger: "The first echelon was commanded by General Kazakov, and it stands to reason that the first thing Captain Gosha's cavalry did after discovering friendly troops was to report to Kazakov, and then Kazakov to us. But in fact, it was Gosha who sent people to report to us, which was a bit too unorganized and undisciplined. ”

After figuring out the reason for Rokossovsky's anger, Lobachev tried to squeeze a smile on his face and comforted him: "Comrade commander, it turns out that you are angry about this." Captain Gosha may have been overly emotional after discovering the friendly forces, so he forgot that he should have reported this to Kazakov first, but to us by skipping the ranks. I think this is his unintentional move, you don't have to pay too much attention to it. ”

Rokossovsky knew that this was not the time to make calculations, and that the first task at the moment was to get the troops out of the German encirclement as soon as possible, so he closed the car door, waved his hand, and ordered the driver: "Drive, comrade driver, we must rush to meet the commander of the friendly army as soon as possible." (To be continued.) )