Watching Chuikov walk out of the wooden house with light steps, the stone hanging in my heart fell to the ground. As long as he is safe, then the course of history will not change, and under his command, the Soviet army will finally win the final victory in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Chuikov walked up to me, took the initiative to extend his hand to me, and said in a friendly voice: "Hello, Comrade Oshanina. It's a pleasure to meet you here. ”

Instead of shaking hands with him right away, I raised my hand and saluted before reaching out to shake his hand and politely saying, "Hello, General Chuikov." I was ordered to come looking for you, and I was relieved to see that you were safe and sound. ”

He asked, somewhat surprised, "Ordered to look for me?" On whose orders? How did my superiors know that I had an accident? Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what the hell is going on? Tell me about it, I'm confused by you. ”

I didn't have any need to hide the series of questions he raised, but they were too complicated to explain in a few words, so I sorted out the events in my mind and replied to him: "Comrade commander, this matter is a bit complicated, please listen to me tell you slowly." Seeing that Chuikov nodded, I continued: "The headquarters of the Front Army refused to carry out the counteroffensive order issued by the superior because General Lopatin first disobeyed the order; Then, because of poor command, the main forces of the 62nd Army were heavily damaged by the enemy. So the decision was made to remove the commander of his army group and at the same time appoint you to replace him. ”

"General Goldov asked me to take over the post of commander of Lopatin? Is this true? Chuikov still couldn't believe that this sudden order was true.

I nodded vigorously and said affirmatively, "Comrade Commander." That's right. Commander Gordorf and Deputy Commander Glikov made this decision. I happened to be in their office. Just as they were about to send this appointment to the troops, they unexpectedly received a report from General Shumilov that they had lost contact with you for five hours, and that the search party had found your jeep blown up by enemy planes on the steppe, with two charred bodies on board, and suspected that you had been killed. ”

Hearing me say this, Chuikov nodded and agreed, "Yes." We encountered an air attack by enemy planes on the steppe, and jeeps and communications equipment were lost. If Adjutant Klimov hadn't forcibly pulled me out of the car, I guess something would have happened to me. Alas, we later encountered the enemy's small forces and were scattered, and only me and the herald Sidorin withdrew to this village, and I don't know what happened to them with Klimov. ”

Hearing that he was so concerned about the safety of his subordinates, I hurriedly comforted him and said, "Comrade commander, don't worry. Captain Klimov is still alive, he was wounded in battle. It just happened to be us. In a word, he has been rescued. ”

Chuikov breathed a long sigh of relief. said: "I am relieved to know that he has nothing to do." By the way, you haven't finished talking just now, what is the reaction of the commander of the front army when he hears that I am missing? ”

"When the commander heard that you were missing, he was particularly anxious, and ordered General Shumilov to send men who knew you well to the scene to identify the body; At the same time, send more troops to the grasslands to find your whereabouts. Later, when I left the office, a new chief of staff of the 62nd Army, General Krylov, came, and through the mediation of him and Chief of Staff Nikishev, General Gordorf agreed to release General Kolpakchi and make him temporarily act as commander of the army group until you were found. ”

Hearing Kolpacchi's name, Chuikov immediately asked, "Where is General Kolpacchi?" ”

"It's just outside the village."

"Hurry up and take me to him."

As Chuikov and I walked side by side towards the outside of the village, I continued to say to him: "We unexpectedly met Captain Klimov in the steppe. At this point, I looked to the left and right, and saw that the soldiers were some distance away from us, so I lowered my voice and said: "The captain was wounded and captured in battle, and I led someone to rescue him while the Germans were escorting him to their camp." From his mouth, we know the meeting place you have agreed beforehand, and we have come to look for you. ”

Chuikov raised his hand and patted me lightly on the shoulder, and said with feeling: "Comrade Oshanina, I thank you on behalf of Captain Xie Lu." ”

When we reached the entrance of the village, Kolpacic and Krylov, who had been waiting outside, had already received the news and walked over to us, and the three of them met and saluted each other, and then hugged each other tightly. I walked away from them in amusement and returned to the jeep to wait.

After more than ten minutes, the three of them returned to the jeep. Chuikov ran to the back truck to visit Captain Klimov, who was lying there, and then got into our jeep and squeezed them in the back with Kolpakchi.

Before the driver drove up, he asked as usual: "Comrade commander, where are we going next?" ”

Both Kolpakchi and Krylov set their eyes on Chuikov and waited for him to call the shots, after all, he was the titular commander of the army group. Chuikov was also not hypocritical, and ordered the driver: "Go to the headquarters of the 64th Army." ”

The driver looked at him and said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I don't know where Lu Dao is." ”

"First to the northwest, the headquarters of the 64th Army is located in a depression 10 kilometers east of Zeta."

The driver agreed: "Understood, Comrade Commander." Then he started the jeep.

With the goal in mind, knowing what to do with the rest of the road, the jeep turned around at the entrance of the village and drove towards the place pointed by Chuikov.

After more than two hours of driving, the sky has begun to lighten. Kolpacic, who was sitting in the back seat, raised his hand and gently patted the driver's shoulder, and the driver's body shook, as if he was startled, and then asked respectfully: "Comrade commander, do you have any instructions?" ”

Without asking for the advice of the others, Kolpacic instructed the driver: "Find a place to stop in front, we will go down and have something to eat before leaving." ”

Krylov then chimed in: "General Kolpakchi is right, Comrade Chuikov may not have eaten for a day, let's stop and eat something before leaving." "Then I specially asked Chuikov for his opinion." Comrade Chuikov. What do you see? ”

"I have no opinion."

Drove forward again. I saw a blackened T-34 tank, pointed there, and said, "Comrade driver, stop next to that burned tank." ”

The driver nodded, drove the car to the side of the tank and stopped.

When the driver got out of the car, he took down a stack of newspapers from the car and asked me to spread it on the floor for him. While we were laying out the newspaper and setting out the food, I heard Krylov asking: "Comrade commanders. You say, what's going on with this tank? Was it destroyed in a battle with the enemy? ”

Then I heard Chuikov's voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you see, there are no traces of a battle around here, this tank should have been blown up by enemy aircraft." ”

By this time, we had all the food on the table. The driver whispered to me: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you can call the generals over for breakfast." ”

I nodded, then stood up and shouted at the three generals who were still circling the tank: "Comrade generals, breakfast is ready. Come and eat. ”

After the three of them sat down around the newspaper, Chuikov saw me still standing next to me. Hurriedly beckoned to me: "Comrade Oshanina, what are you still doing standing, hurry up and sit down and eat with us." I smiled at him, and sat down next to him.

The driver used a dagger to pry open the can of fish and automatically stepped aside. Kolpacchi beckoned to everyone: "Comrade commander, you are all hungry, let's start eating." Although the food here is a little less and a little less to eat, it is better than nothing. After everyone has eaten, we can hit the road. ”

Chuikov shoved an enema into the corner of his mouth, and was about to chew when he suddenly stopped moving, staring at a place in front of him with his eyes staring. I had just swallowed a piece of bread when I noticed something strange about Chuikov, so I looked curiously in the direction of his eyes. If you don't look at it, you almost spit out the bread you just swallowed. It turned out that in the grass, only a meter away from us, the arm of this charred, blackened man was erected.

Seeing that Chuikov and I were both staring intently ahead, Kolpakchi, who was sitting across from us, put a small fish in his mouth and asked indistinctly: "Hey, I said Comrade Chuikov, what are you looking at?" With that, he turned his head to look. This didn't matter, and he immediately spit out the fish in his mouth and began to retch.

Krylov, who was sitting next to him, said dissatisfiedly: "I said, General Kolpakchi, this canned fish is not to your liking, don't waste it so much?!" What are you all looking at, and you are still looking so fascinated? With that, he turned his head to look. After reading this, his reaction was not inferior to that of Kol Pakchi, and he jumped up from the ground and spit out all the food in his mouth with a whoosh.

Chuikov stood up and said lightly: "Comrade commander, I guess you don't have any appetite. Let's go, let's go to the headquarters of the 64th Army. With that, he took the lead and walked towards the jeep.

After another stretch of road, a railroad track appeared on the steppe. Chuikov said to the driver: "Just drive along the railway, and in a few minutes you will reach the 74th Surrender Station, which is not far from the headquarters of the army group." ”

It didn't take long for me to see hundreds of commanders and fighters in front of me, running north along the railroad in a chaotic manner, looking like they were fleeing for their lives. I hurriedly turned my head to Chuikov, who was in the back row with his eyes closed, and said, "General Chuikov, there are our troops in front. I don't know if Lu Dao has encountered the enemy, they are retreating to the north in a hurry. ”

Chuikov looked out the window and couldn't help but be furious: "Hell, what's going on? I couldn't hear the gunshots outside, and I couldn't see the pursuers behind me, what were they running around? The driver, drive in front of them and stop them. ”

The driver agreed, and as soon as he stepped on the accelerator, the jeep picked up speed, rushed past the rebels, and then turned in front of them, and came to a steady stop.

Chuikov jumped into the car, drew his pistol, fired several shots into the air, and shouted: "Stop, stand for me!" "Because of the large number of rebels, both the sound of gunfire and shouting were drowned out by the cacophony. Seeing that something was wrong, I raised the muzzle of my submachine gun and pulled the trigger into the air.

The series of gunshots made the rebels stop fleeing, and they stood stupidly in place one by one, looking at the three generals standing in front of them without saying a word. Chuikov stepped forward and shouted loudly: "I am the commander of the 64th Army, General Chuikov. What part of you are in? Who is responsible. Dequeue! ”

A sergeant stepped out of the way of a soldier who was in front of him. Raise your hand and report to Chuikov: "Hello, Comrade General. We are the fighters of the Lyudnikov division, and just now our positions were attacked by enemy air strikes, and the commanders were killed. We didn't know what to do, so we withdrew. ”

When Chuikov heard this, he shouted at the soldiers: "I order you to stop retreating and build fortifications here." As for the commander, I'll send you soon. ”

That's it. The troops, which had fled, were stopped by Chuikov and began digging trenches on the eastern side of the railway.

Our group arrived at the military headquarters of the 74th Huirang Station. There was a political worker sitting behind his desk, talking on the phone, and when he saw us coming in, he quickly put down the phone, stood up, raised his hand and saluted: "Report to the commanders, comrades, the 74th will let the commander of the military movement ......"

"Alright, no need to report." With a wave of his hand, Chuikov interrupted his later words. Ask him: "Comrade commander of the military movement, can you contact the division command of Colonel Lyudnikov here?" ”

The commander nodded. Affirmatively replied: "Yes, General Chuikov." ”

When Chuikov heard him call out his name, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and asked curiously: "Comrade commander of the military movement, do you know me?" ”

"Yes, Comrade General." The commander of the military movement replied, "I have seen you before. And half an hour ago, I received a call from the headquarters of the 64th Army, saying that after discovering your traces, I would report to Lu Shang immediately. ”

Chuikov nodded and said, "Understood." Comrade commander of the military movement, you immediately call Colonel Lyudnikov and ask him to send a commander to the 74th Commissariat to take charge of the fighters who are building fortifications. Tell him that he must hold that position. ”

When I came out of the office of the commander of the military movement, Chuikov suddenly asked me: "Comrade Oshanina, did you gain anything by going to the headquarters of the front army?" ”

I appropriately showed my excitement and said appropriately: "Yesterday, I went to the front army headquarters, and I gained a lot and felt a lot of emotion. However, I still feel that it is very cordial to return to the front-line troops, especially when I stand in front of you again, Commander, and I feel very relieved and relieved. ”

Chuikov Haluha smiled and pointed at me with his finger and said, "You Oshanina, I didn't expect to be so familiar with sycophants." Let's go, let's go back to the headquarters of the 64th Army now. ”

When we entered the village where the headquarters of the 64th Army was located, the sentry guarding the entrance of the village immediately shouted excitedly as soon as they saw Chuikov appear: "General Chuikov is back, General Chuikov is back." With his shouting, many commanders and fighters poured out from the houses on both sides, and they all greeted Chuikov one after another.

As we walked towards the village, Chuikov stopped from time to time to shake hands with the commanders and fighters on the side of the road and chatted a few words, which made me feel that my prestige in the army was still quite high.

Shumilov, who got the news, came over with a group of commanders, and as soon as they met, his left hand put on Chuikov's right shoulder, and at the same time, his right hand clenched his fist and hammered Chuikov's chest twice, and said angrily: "Hell, you guy, you ran there, everyone is worried about you." Then the two embraced.

When they were separated, Shumilov shouted loudly into the distance: "Signal soldier, immediately call the Chief of Staff of the Front, General Nikishev, and tell him that General Chuikov has been found and returned to the headquarters safely." ”

Next, Chuikov began to introduce us to the commanders present: "General Korpakchi, General Krylov, let me introduce you to this is the commander of the army group, General Shumilov, the military commissar of the army group, Comrade Abramov, and the chief of staff, Colonel Raskin. ”

Then he took Kolpacchi and Krylov and introduced them to the commanders of the 64th Army: "Let's get to know this is General Kolpakchi, the acting commander of the 62nd Army, and the new chief of staff, General Krylov. From this day on, our two armies will fight side by side to defend our great Stalingrad. ”

After listening to Chuikov's introduction, Shumilov hurriedly pulled him aside and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Chuikov, didn't I hear that you took over the post of General Lopatin as commander of the 62nd Army?" Why did the commander become General Kolpacchi again, wasn't he removed from his post and investigated? ”

Chuikov also said in a low voice: "I heard from Comrade Oshanina, when the commander of the Front was about to issue this appointment, he received a report from you that I was missing on the battlefield. General Goldov also had no choice, so he temporarily released General Korpakci and asked him to temporarily take my post. It is said that when I return to the 62nd Army, he will hand over the command of the troops. ”

"What are you going to do? Comrade Chuikov. Shumilov asked with concern, "Will you continue to stay in the 64th Army as deputy commander, or will you immediately go to the 62nd Army as commander?" ”

"Comrade Shumilov, I have thought about it, now I still have a lot of things to do in the 64th Army, so the date of inauguration in the 62nd Army will be postponed, and when this side is dealt with, I will go to work. You immediately arrange manpower, escort Korpach and Krylov to the command of the 62nd Army. (To be continued......)