I leaned over and looked in the direction of the Vasily slope and saw a T-72 parked there, with smoke billowing from the tail, apparently due to engine failure. The tanker lifted the top hatch, jumped onto the car, took the fire extinguisher from the soldiers who arrived nearby, and nervously extinguished the fire.

"Hell, what the hell is going on?" When Katukov saw this scene, his brows suddenly locked, he turned his head to look at me, and asked puzzledly: "Is this what you said about the failure caused by the immaturity of some technology?" ”

"Yes, Comrade General." I looked up at the viewing platform on Lenin's tomb, and saw that Stalin and Zhukov were also pointing in that direction, knowing that they had also discovered this situation, so I turned back and explained to Katukov: "Although this tank is very advanced and is the nemesis of all tanks in the German army at present, due to various technical reasons, this model is not perfect, and there are still many design flaws, so it cannot be put into actual combat for the time being." ”

After saying this, I glanced at the high platform again, and saw that Ustinov was gone, probably to deal with the tank failure himself. However, the misfire tank was far away from the parade area, so it did not cause much panic, and the rhythm of the military band was not affected at all.

After the parade, before I could leave the viewing platform, an officer of the guard regiment crowded to our side against the crowd, approached Bezikov's side, and whispered a few words to him. Bezikov nodded, then turned to me and whispered: "Lida, there is an order for you to go to the Kremlin to see Comrade Stalin later." ”

Katukov walked a few steps, and when he saw that I hadn't followed, he guessed that there must be something wrong with me staying, and he didn't force it, and held out his hand to me, smiled, and said, "Leda." It seems that you should stay and have something to do, so I'll go first, and we'll have a date later. ”

While shaking hands with him, I politely said, "Comrade General, we will meet later." ”

Twenty minutes later, I appeared in Stalin's office. Stalin sat behind his desk. Unhurriedly smoking cigarette butts, in addition to me, there were Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Ustinov, Kosygin, and a strange general in a military uniform full of medals and a pair of round-rimmed glasses.

Seeing my arrival, a smile appeared on Stalin's face, he raised his hand and pointed at the general, and said to me: "Lida, this is Beria, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, member of the State Defense Committee, Minister of Internal Affairs. You probably haven't seen it before. Then he turned to Beria and said, "This is Oshanina, and you must be familiar with him." ”

Of the long list of titles that Stalin reported, the one that scared my heart the most was the last: Minister of Internal Affairs! When I heard the other party's name as Beria, my legs couldn't help but go limp.

Although I was terrified, since Stalin had introduced us, it was impossible for me not to greet him, so I leaned forward slightly. Stretching out his hands to Beria, he politely said, "Hello." Comrade Minister. ”

Beria took my outstretched hand, turned to Stalin and said, "Comrade Stalin, you are quite right, I am indeed familiar with General Oshanina. When he had finished speaking, he turned to me and said, "Hello." Comrade Oshanina, although I have seen your information for a long time, today I have the opportunity to meet you for the first time. ”

Stalin was amazed by Beria's performance, and he asked curiously: "Comrade Beria, tell me." What kind of information do you have in the Ministry of Internal Affairs about Leda? ”

Hearing Stalin's question, Beria let go of my hand, walked over to Stalin's desk, and reported to him: "Comrade Stalin, it is like this, during the liquidation of the 'Vlasovites' last year, because Comrade Oshanina had too close contacts with Vlasov, she was arrested as an important member. ”

"Nonsense, it's nonsense." Stalin took off the pipe in his mouth, tapped it on the crystal ashtray on the table, and said dissatisfiedly: "How can Leda be a 'Vlasovite'?" You must know that although she has had a lot of intersections with Vlasov before, it was all a superior-subordinate relationship. And at the critical moment when Vlasov defected to the enemy, she risked her life and escaped from the enemy's encirclement alone. On this basis alone, she could not have been in the same league as Vlasov and his ilk. ”

When Beria heard Stalin publicly justifying my innocence, he quickly squeezed out a smile and said to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, you are quite right, Oshanina is indeed not a 'Vlasovist'. Originally, we had planned to release her immediately after we found out about the matter, but our grassroots workers made a mistake in their work, and still put Comrade Oshanina together with those stubborn 'Vlasov elements' and put her on the execution ground. ”

Stalin, who was filling his pipe with shredded tobacco, stopped moving his hand when he heard Beria do this. He looked up at Beria and asked in surprise, "Why did you never report this to me?" Well?! ”

Seeing that Stalin showed signs of anger, Beria hurriedly defended: "But fortunately, Comrade Oshanina was blessed by the gods, and the pistol that shot her was jammed, and General Fedyuninsky, who came to rescue her on the order of Marshal Zhukov, arrived just in time, so she was able to escape from death." ”

Stalin threw his pipe on the table, stood up on it, and said angrily: "Can you just execute a good commander with a lot of combat experience without the necessary interrogation?" ”

Seeing that Stalin was going to come out from behind his desk, Beria hurriedly stepped forward to help. From the way Stalin limped along, I could imagine the severity of the injuries he had suffered during the first two days of contact with horseback riding.

After Beria helped Stalin to sit down at the conference table, he explained to him: "Comrade Stalin, there must have been an interrogation, but the negligence of the investigators led to the mistake of sending Comrade Oshanina to the execution ground. ”

Stalin took the cigarette butt in his mouth, struck a match, lit it, and said to Beria: "Tell me about the information during the interrogation." ”

Judging from Stalin's tone, I could tell that I had been arrested as a "Vlasovite" and even taken to the execution ground and almost shot, and it seemed that Stalin did not know anything about it.

Beria took one look at me. He began to brief Stalin and those present about my trial. When everyone heard that the interrogators had learned that Stalin himself was among the people who called me by my nickname, they burst into laughter, and even Stalin could not help laughing. He took a puff of his cigarette and said to me, "Leda, if someone interrogates you next time." Again, I should say that when confessing to the list of people who have called you by your nickname, don't forget to mention my name. ”

"Comrade Stalin," Zhukov interjected, "I think that with my friendship with Leda, I should also be included in the list of the secret service personnel." ”

Stalin laughed at Zhukov's words, and several of the people around him, all of whom were smart people, also expressed their positions and demanded that I be included in the list of my close associates when I was tried in the future. Seeing that everyone's opinions are surprisingly unanimous. Beria also smiled and said to me: "Lida, if you are questioned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the future and ask who you are close to, please be sure to add my name as well." ”

"Now that the matter has passed, and Lida is safe, then we have turned the page over, and it is time to talk about something important." Stalin turned his head to look at Ustinov and asked with a little dissatisfaction: "Young Comrade People's Commissar." I'd like to hear your explanation of why our state-of-the-art tanks break down downhill. Or even spontaneous combustion? ”

Actually, I know this answer very well, Engineer Froning came from 1975, although the T-72 tank was developed in 1967, equipped with troops in 1971, and officially finalized in 1973, but considering that he had retired. The technology of the T-72 tank that he mastered was not complete, and in addition to the existing production technology, there was still a big difference between it and later generations, so the tanks produced were out of order. It's just fine.

When Ustinov reported the situation to Stalin, I looked at Zhukov not far away, trying to understand the real purpose of calling myself to the Kremlin, but there were Stalin and Ustinov between us, and in this case, I didn't have the courage to go directly to Zhukov to ask what was going on, so I could only stand there and wait anxiously for the answer to be revealed.

I don't know how long it took, Ustinov stopped talking, Stalin nodded, and said to him: "Comrade Ustinov, after you go back, you must organize the experts of the base to work out a solution as soon as possible, and strive to equip the troops with this new type of tank by the end of the year." ”

"Understood, Comrade Stalin." After Ustinov straightened up and answered, he respectfully asked Stalin: "I wonder if another model of new tanks and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns can be put into mass production in order to equip our troops as soon as possible." ”

"Yes." After saying this, Stalin lit him twice with his hand holding the cigarette butt and added: "In parallel with the production of new tanks and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, do not forget about the production of supporting ammunition." ”

"We have already decided on factories for the production of ammunition, and we will start work as soon as the production of tanks and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns begins." When Ustinov said this, his voice became quieter again, and I only vaguely heard the words: armor steel plates, tractor factories, etc., and I guess he was reporting to Stalin where the production of the above-mentioned equipment was carried out.

After Ustinov's report, it was Vasilevsky's turn. In accordance with the usual practice, he reported to Stalin on the holding of the military parade, and while praising the troops under review, he also put forward his own views on some existing problems.

Listening to Vasilevsky's mouth-wrenching report, I was really anxious, Stalin hastily summoned me, introduced me to Beria, and then there was no follow-up, he would not want to transfer me to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, right? With my character, it is estimated that it will not be long before Beria is legitimately purged in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Finally, when Vasilevsky's report was finished, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief in my heart, saying that I had finally come to an end, and when Stalin had finished explaining what he was going to do, I could leave justifiably. I had only been complacent for a few seconds when I heard Zhukov's voice: "Comrade Stalin, allow me to report to you on the situation in Kiev that I have just received. ”

I used to seem impatient, but when I heard the name of Kyiv, my nerves tensed. I listened intently to Zhukov's briefing to Stalin, to find out what was going on with Kirillov, Romanov, and Rybalko, with whom I was acquainted.

I only heard Zhukov say slowly: "...... For the time being, General Rybalko remains in the Reserve Front, and I intend to wait for him to rest for a while before assigning him a new position. ”

In response to Zhukov's arrangement, Stalin nodded, and then asked: "And what about the situation with the commander of our partisan army, Lieutenant General Romanov?" ”

Zhukov walked to the map next to the conference table, pointed to the map with his baton and introduced it to Stalin: "General Romanov has broken through the encirclement with about 4,000 troops and is retreating towards Cherzobyl in the north of Ukraine, according to his report, he intends to establish a new guerrilla base in the region and integrate the Ukrainian and Belarusian partisans in order to form a strong fighting force." ”

"Our Dnieper cluster, at its peak, used to have more than 30,000 people." After Stalin waited for Zhukov to finish speaking, he raised his own question: "And the troops that broke through with the Romanovs were only 4,000 people, so where did the remaining 20,000 people go?" ”

Zhukov put down the stick in his hand, straightened up and reported: "Comrade Stalin, our troops have suffered constant losses in fierce battles, and the casualties of the troops are very large. According to the latest information, there are only more than 4,000 troops that have formed a formation to break out of the encirclement, and as for the remaining 20,000 or so, they have either been sacrificed or ...... Scattered. Zhukov hesitated for a moment when referring to the latter possibility, and finally used the word "scattered" instead of "captured."

Hearing the conversation between Zhukov and Stalin, another thought suddenly popped into my head: "Is Stalin going to send me to Chernobyl to assist Romanov in commanding the troops?" "As soon as I thought of this possibility, my heart beat faster and faster, and I said that it was an enemy-occupied area, and that if we were not familiar with the place where we were born and where we could not get any supplies, wouldn't it be tantamount to sending me to death? Even if I have the aura of the protagonist, I can't die, but in the next two years of war, it will be difficult for me to achieve any remarkable results, so how can I realize my dream of being a marshal?

While I was thinking nonsense, the words of Stalin and Zhukov were finally finished. Stalin beckoned to me and said amiably: "Come to me, Lida, I have something important to tell you." (To be continued.) )