"That's right," Ustinov gave me an affirmative answer, glanced at Fronin next to him, and said meaningfully: "The reason why I want you to be in charge of this secret base, and the most important point is because you are one of the people who know the true origin of Engineer Floning. ”

Ustinov's words made me shudder, and I said to myself, I do know that Fronin is a traverser, but if I don't agree to be the head of this base, then are you going to kill me? Thinking of this, I felt my heart beat violently, and after a few violent twitches at the corners of my mouth, I took a deep breath and asked with difficulty: "Comrade People's Commissar, is this an order that must be carried out?" ”

Ustinov's eyebrows raised, the smile on his face was retracted, and he shrugged his shoulders: "Oshanina, don't be so sensitive, even if you are unwilling to take this position, there will be no bad consequences." ”

Hearing him say this, I immediately relaxed, and said in my heart that I really don't want to be the person in charge of this secret base, since he has said that even if he refuses, there will be no sequelae, I can rest assured that I can choose boldly according to my own heart. I pretended to ponder for a moment, and then said euphemistically: "Comrade People's Commissar, thank you for your kindness, I feel that I am not suitable to be the head of the secret base, I still like to stay at the front and fight the enemy face to face. ”

My reply, as if it had been expected by Ustinov, did not even change the expression on his face after listening to it. However, he did not give up like this, and was still making a final attempt: "Comrade Oshanina, have you really decided not to be the head of this secret base?" ”

"Yes, Comrade People's Commissar." I replied firmly, "I don't think it's up to this important position on my own. I'm sorry! ”

Ustinov couldn't help but sigh after I made it clear again. "Alas, that's a pity," he said regretfully. Comrade Zhukov once said to me that you like to stay at the front to command and participate in battles, and you do not want to stay in the rear to work. Now it seems. Comrade Zhukov is right! ”

"And, Comrade Oshanina." Ustinov may have seen my embarrassment, and hurriedly comforted me and said, "Although you have not accepted the position I have offered you, you should not worry about any undesirable consequences. Perhaps, as Zhukov said, the most suitable position for you is at the front. ”

"Yes, Comrade People's Commissar." Hearing him say this, I hurriedly echoed: "Maybe I have been on the front line for a long time, and I have long adapted to that mode of life, and I was suddenly transferred to the rear. On the contrary, I still have a lot of discomfort. ”

"Oshanina, it's not too early, I'll send you out first." Ustinov patted me on the shoulder as he spoke, and said calmly: "Originally, I was going to wait for you to agree to the position of head of the base and then take you to visit several research laboratories deep underground. Since you've turned down my assignment, I can't take you to these labs. ”

When the three of us walked back to the tanks, Fronin suddenly said to Ustinov: "Comrade People's Commissar, I think it is appropriate to show Leda our new tanks. What do you mean? ”

Ustinov stopped. He glanced sideways at me, then nodded. "Well, let her see what our new tank looks like." Then he shouted at several fighters standing near the tank, "Lift the camouflage net." ”

With Ustinov's order, the fighters stepped forward and lifted the camouflage net covering the tank, revealing the true face of the T-72. Looking at the behemoth in front of me, I couldn't help but think about the purpose for which this tank was originally designed. It is used for large-scale rapid assaults. If it cannot be used in a cluster, it will not be effective to use, and if it is used in small quantities, it is only suitable for low-intensity conflict operations. The T-72s in front of me may be useful on a local battlefield, if they are used on a battlefield where hundreds of tanks are fighting. The role will be greatly diminished.

Ustinov, perhaps seeing me staring at the tank in a daze, deliberately asked: "Comrade Oshanina, what do you think of our new tank?" ”

I quickly replied, "Yes, it looks great!" ”

After hearing this, Ustinov smiled and said to me: "Our new tank not only looks great, but also surprises you when it comes to the battlefield." Not to mention anything else, for the No. 3 and No. 4 tanks common to the German army, we can fight at least ten of them with one of them. ”

I looked at the 125 mm main gun, and I couldn't help but smile on my face, and said to myself, it seems that you don't know the power of the T-72 at all, let alone ten German tanks, even if there are twenty or thirty of them, they still can't help this new tank from later generations.

My smile made Ustinov misunderstand again, and he then asked with a little dissatisfaction: "Why, Comrade Oshanina, don't you believe what I say?" ”

"You misunderstood, Comrade People's Commissar." I hurriedly explained to him: "Since the assault rifles provided by Engineer Fronin have performed well on the battlefield, the power of the tanks produced under his guidance can be imagined." ”

When Floning heard this, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to us: "I have to go back to the anti-tank trench to see if there is anything that needs to be improved, so I will not accompany you." ”

"Please!" Ustinov said to him politely.

After Fronin left, Ustinov led me around the building and towards the place where I was parked. After walking for a while, he looked back at the guards who were following us from a distance, and then whispered to me: "Oshanina, I tell you one thing in advance, in mid-April we will organize a delegation to the United States, and Comrade Zhukov recommended you to the Supreme Commander himself. ”

When I went to the United States, hearing Ustinov say this, I couldn't help but wonder: "Comrade People's Commissar, may I ask, what is the purpose of our trip to the United States?" ”

"Quite simply, the members of the delegation, who were responsible for informing the American people about the great deeds of the Soviet government and people in the heroic fight against the fascist aggressors." Ustinov said this, and habitually shrugged his shoulders again. "Of course, if possible, it is also hoped that they will provide us with more military assistance, as well as convince politicians and the population there to support the Allies' counteroffensive in Europe," he added. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself was very anxious for Britain and the United States to open a second theater of war and force the Nazis to divide their forces, thereby relieving us of the pressure. ……”

Since there is a lot to tell about Ustinov. So much so that we walked to the parking lot, and he didn't finish his words. The major who had sent me saw Ustinov's appearance and wanted to come over to say hello, but he had just taken a few steps towards us when he was waved away by Ustinov.

Ustinov continued to me: "...... At the end of last year, in order to urge the Allies to open a second battlefield, we sent Lyudmila, a female sniper with great achievements, to visit the United States. Not only was she loved by the American people, but she also gained the friendship of Mrs. Roosevelt...... Since the Kremlin was very satisfied with the performance of this heroine, after her return. She was promoted from lieutenant to major, and at the same time awarded the title of 'Hero of the Soviet Union'. ……”

In this way, we stood not far from the car and talked for more than half an hour before Ustinov said: "Okay, Comrade Oshanina, I have finished what needs to be said. If it's possible. You should go back and learn English at a time, maybe it will come in handy then. ”

"Yes!" I'll wait for him to finish. Hurriedly and respectfully agreed: "I will not let you down." ”

When I got out of the secret base and got back into the car that Bezikov was driving, he turned to me and said, "Lida, I just got a call about you. ”

"Something to do with me?" Bezikov's words left me at a loss, and I asked in confusion: "Was it from the hospital?" ”

He didn't reply to me right away. When the car drove to a point where the checkpoint could not be seen, he replied: "It was not a call from the hospital, it was a call from Marshal Zhukov." He knew I was sending you here, so he called directly to the checkpoint. ”

"A call from Comrade Marshal?" Bezkov's words surprised me, and I asked, somewhat confused, "Is there anything he is looking for me?" ”

"It's about the news from Kyiv." Bezzikov replied briefly as he drove.

"Kyiv?!" When you hear the name of this place. My heart hung in the air, and I asked in a bit of a panic, "Is something going on there?" ”

"That's right, one of your former subordinates, a regimental commander, ordered the shooting of all the more than 200 captured German officers and soldiers without asking for instructions." Bezikov glanced sideways at me and said quickly: "When General Rybalko learned of this, he ordered the regimental commander to be detained and reported the situation to Comrade Marshal. Comrade Marshal would like to ask for your opinion on what to do with this regimental commander. ”

Hearing that this was the case, I hurriedly asked with a serious face: "What is the name of the head of which regiment?" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, commander of the 1st Regiment of the 22nd Guards Division."

When I heard that it was Shederikov, I couldn't help but fall into deep thought, in my impression, Sederikov had always been a person with a steady personality, how could he casually order the slaughter of prisoners? There must be something hidden in this. Thinking of this, I then asked, "Colonel, do you know what the reason is?" ”

Bezkov nodded and replied: "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov led his troops to capture the Shilaiz concentration camp north of Kiev, and found a large number of bones of the victims inside. The camp is said to have been built in June 1942 to house prisoners of war, anti-Nazis and Jews, and many people are dying every day. According to statistics, the camps claimed the lives of at least 25,000 people. ”

When I heard Bezikov say this, I immediately understood in my heart why Shederikov was unusual, "Is there anything else? ”

"Also, according to the confessions of the captives, after the capture of Kiev in September 1941, they carried out systematic massacres in the Babiya Valley, not far from the concentration camps." In order to clarify what happened, Bezkov also gave a detailed explanation: "From September 24 to 28, 1941, a large explosion occurred in the buildings used by the German occupation forces in the city, causing a large number of German deaths. Originally, our underground resistance was responsible for these actions, but the Germans put the blame for these things on the Jews, and the head of the occupation forces decided to put all the Jews in the city to death.

There were 160,000 Jews in the city, 100,000 of whom had been evacuated to the rear before the fall of Kyiv. On 28 September, the SS put up notices all over the city, and the Jews came out of their houses the next morning and gathered in the streets. At 8 a.m. on the 29th, all the Jews were gathered into a few blocks, and then the SS drove them to the Babia Valley. The Jews who entered the valley were told to remove all valuable things from their hands and to take off all their clothes, and they went deeper into the valley in groups of ten. As soon as they entered the intended location, they were machine-gunned, and a large number of Jews were killed. In just two days, 33,771 Jews were killed.

Over the next few months, thousands of Jews were captured and sent to death in the valley of Babya. In addition to the Jews, many of our prisoners of war and Gypsies were also killed there......"

After Bezikov explained the whole situation, I couldn't help but get angry, gritted my back molars and said viciously: "If it were me Xederikov, but after seeing the bones in the concentration camp, I would not hesitate to give the same order." Because our fighters killed not people at all, but a bunch of German brutes with no humanity. ”

"Leda, how are you going to reply to Comrade Marshal?"

Although Bezikov asked this question without thinking, I understood in my heart that he was talking about what to do with Sederikov. So I did not hesitate to say: "Colonel, I personally believe that in this incident, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov should not only not be punished, but on the contrary, should be commended. Please tell Comrade Marshal what I mean. ”

After listening to my words, a smile appeared on his face, and he said amicably: "No problem, I will bring your original words to Comrade Marshal." And comforted me and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Marshal knows that this lieutenant colonel is your favorite general, otherwise he would not have asked me to ask for your opinion on how to deal with him." Okay, you should be tired when you come out today, so I'll take you back to the hospital. (To be continued......)

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