As soon as the car came to a stop, Ramis pulled open the door and jumped out, heading straight for the headquarters.

I looked at Ramis's anxious appearance, and I couldn't help but feel secretly amused, and turned to Grissa, who was driving, and said, "I'll get off here, you go find a place to park the car." ”

"Then this car will not be returned to the Seventh Guards Division?" Grissa didn't read what I was saying, and asked stupidly.

I patted him on the shoulder with my right hand and said with a smile: "Do you know why I refused Colonel Gryazhnov to send us a driver?" ”

He looked at me suspiciously, frowned and thought for a moment, and then suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. If they send us a driver, the car will be driven back by their driver. And if we drive it back ourselves, we don't have to send them back. ”

I followed Leviakin's example, slapped him on the back of the head, and laughed: "You idiot, I just figured it out now." Don't hurry up and find a place to park your car, remember to change the window glass. With that, he pushed the car door and jumped out.

"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Grissa agreed, and as soon as he stepped on the accelerator, the car rushed forward.

As I walked towards the division headquarters, a sentry suddenly emerged from behind a tree, took me into closer prominence, and immediately shouted excitedly: "Are you Comrade Division Commander?" ”

"Yes, I am Oshanina, the commander of the 8th Guards Division, your immediate superior." Back on my own turf, I felt so happy that I couldn't help but joke with the sentinels.

The sentry stepped forward, saluted me, and reported: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, the soldier Gelia is standing guard and is responsible for the security of the division headquarters, please instruct!" ”

"Keep on duty!" After saluting, I continued to walk towards the division headquarters.

A dozen meters from the headquarters, I saw Commissar Yegorov coming out of the shelter department, followed by General Leviagin and Ramis, who had just gone to report the news. Seeing them coming out to meet me, I quickly quickened my pace to meet me.

We stopped two or three paces apart, and I didn't care about the dignity of my status, so I stood up and saluted the political commissar. Although my nose was sour, I tried to squeeze out a smile and said, "Hello, Comrade Political Commissar! I am back. ”

The political commissar didn't care about returning the courtesy, so he hugged me tightly when he came up, gently patted my back with his hand, and said in a choked voice: "It's good to come back, it's good to come back." In the few hours you've been missing, we've been worried. We have lost a beloved division commander two days ago, and I don't want to lose another one so soon. ”

As soon as the commissar let go of me, General Leviagin stepped forward and put his arms around me again, with such force that I felt a little out of breath, and vaguely felt the wound on my shoulder burst open again. At this time, I hated these etiquettes of Lao Maozi, when they met, they hugged as if we shook hands, and the more force they used, the more affectionate they became.

Finally returned to the headquarters, as soon as I sat down at the table, I didn't care about greetings, so I asked Leviagin straight to the point: "Comrade General, how many people did the 1077 regiment withdraw from the city?" ”

Leviakin happily told me that at least fifteen hundred people had been evacuated from the city with him.

When I heard this, I felt very sad in my heart, and I remember that when I arrived in the city yesterday, Leviagin told me that there were still nearly three thousand men in his regiment, and now only half of them have been withdrawn. I sighed and said lightly: "So, in yesterday's battle, we had the same number of fighters killed. ”

"That's so," Leviagin did not shy away from the question, honestly admitting this reality, "but we held out in the city for another day, and destroyed a large number of enemies, holding them back from advancing towards Moscow." ”

Listening to the faint sound of gunfire outside, I muttered, "But the price is too great!" ”

"This is war," the commissar replied, "and it is worth the sacrifice to defend our country, our great capital." ”

"What happened to the other two regiments?" I moved on to ask.

"The situation is not bad, the 1075th regiment is resting in the forest. The 1073rd Regiment had repeatedly repelled German attacks after constructing a new defensive line outside the city. "It was Levyagin who introduced the situation, and although he had only helped me as the division commander for a few hours, he knew everything about the situation in the division.

A thought suddenly occurred to me in my heart, the defense of the city had been taken over by the 7th Guards Division, and the pressure on our division was greatly reduced, and the German army was already very tired from officers to soldiers after repeated attacks, and if I could lead the rested 1075th Regiment to launch an attack on the German army, I don't know what kind of results would be achieved by Lu Dao.

However, I quickly dispelled this unrealistic idea, knowing that without the cover of aviation and artillery firepower, Lu Dao rashly launched an attack on the well-equipped and well-trained German army with these thousands of men, and even if he could achieve certain results in the initial stage, he would soon fall into the encirclement of the German army, and perhaps end up with the annihilation of the whole army.

I was thinking about it when the phone on my desk rang. The commissar picked it up and listened to it for a while, then handed me the microphone and whispered: "It's the phone of the commander of the army group, General Rokossovsky." ”

I picked up the microphone and said nervously: "Hello, Comrade Commander! I'm Oshanina. "There was a drum beating in my heart, and I didn't know what would happen to Commander Lu Dao when he called me at this time. You know, I left my troops last night and broke through straight to the siege, and if it weren't for Leviakin's luck and the help of the 7th Guards Division, maybe they would have been wiped out. I don't know if the commander knew that I had abandoned my troops and fled for my life, but called Xingshi to ask for the guilt.

"Leda," Rokossovsky's voice was steady, and he didn't seem to have the slightest hint of settling accounts, "I'm glad you made it back to your own command alive." How's the injury? ”

I smiled wryly and said, "It's still the same, the wound hasn't healed for a long time, and my left hand has never been able to move freely." ”

The other party was silent for a while before a voice came: "I have consulted Comrade Zhukov, he is going to let you go back to the city to recuperate from your injuries first, and then meet the Eighth Guards Division after your injuries have healed." Do you have any comments? ”

"I obey the arrangements of my superiors." Although he was asking for my opinion, I knew very well in my heart that it was already an ironclad matter, and whether I agreed or not could not change the established facts, but it was better to be obedient and leave a good impression on my superiors.

"Alright then!" Rokossovsky did not politely greet me either, and continued to ask: "During the time you are away, who do you think you should give the command of the division to?" ”

Hearing what he said, my heart was much more balanced, and it turned out that it was not to dismiss me, but to really let me heal. Almost without thinking, I replied: "I think General Leviakin is suitable for this position." ”

"Then it's decided. You rest for the night first, and then leave early tomorrow morning to return to Moscow, and be safe on the way. Good luck! After speaking, without waiting for me to make a statement, he hung up the phone directly.

Putting down the phone, the commissar asked with concern: "What did the commander say?" ”

"Let me go back to Moscow tomorrow to get my injuries treated." After saying this, I turned my face to Leviagin and said with a solemn expression: "General Leviakin, during the period of my absence, the command of the division will be handed over to you, I hope you will not let me down." ”

Leviagin stood up abruptly, gave me a military salute, and said loudly: "Comrade division commander, please rest assured!" As long as there was still one man in the 8th Guards Division, not even a single German soldier would be allowed to swagger through our lines. ”

Seeing his attitude, I nodded with satisfaction, sat down again, beckoned him to sit down, and began to chat with him: "Comrade General, can you tell me about the battle in the city last night?" Although Grissa said it once during the day, it was not very detailed, and I would like to hear you say it again. ”

"No problem, as long as you're interested, I'll tell you." Leviakin readily agreed to my request.