At the very first moment when Shaposhnikov announced my name, I was sitting motionless in my seat. It wasn't until there was a slight commotion in the hall and people began to turn around, looking from time to time to look for the speaker whose name had been mentioned, that I took a deep breath and jerked to my feet.

I tugged at the hem of my uniform, straightened my clasp, straightened my hat, and then stepped out of my seat, waving my hands along the passageway, and walking in unison to the small ladder that could be climbed to the rostrum.

I didn't walk so fast that I could clearly hear all sorts of chattering coming from the side.

"Look, it's a female soldier!"

"I'm still a lieutenant. The highest rank of female soldiers in our army at present seems to be lieutenant, right? ”

"It's so beautiful, you see this figure is convex and backward, it's so charming! It's a pity that it's a little shorter......"

Amid everyone's discussions, I strode along the small ladder and walked up to the rostrum. After going up, I first stood upright, then saluted the members of the presidium, and then strode towards the podium. At this time, Stalin walked behind the members with his pipe in his mouth.

I stood in front of the podium, saluted the generals sitting in the audience again, and then said in a slightly trembling voice with a little nervousness: "Hello comrades commanders at all levels! ”

The audience first burst into sporadic applause, and then the audience burst into thunderous applause. I can hear this applause as an encouragement and support for me, after all, not everyone can stand on the podium of the Kremlin, let alone a young woman.

I stood there at a loss, a little unsure of what to do. I didn't continue until the applause had completely stopped. I did not write my speech in advance, I did not even have an outline, but I just spoke out loud the feelings that touched me when I addressed the military commanders in front of me.

“…… Courage alone is not enough in the face of a fierce enemy, we must first know how to preserve ourselves. Only by preserving yourself can you finally destroy the enemy. …… When there is a great disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, it is also beneficial for us to reasonably abandon some places and throw the burden of defense on the enemy......

"Enough!" I was in the middle of my speech, when suddenly someone in the presidium interrupted me, and when I turned my head, it turned out to be Marshal Budyonny, who was sitting in the front row, and he slapped the table and stood up in anger: "Russia has vast land, but not an inch of land is superfluous, and we must not allow the enemy to occupy our land." Shut up, you coward! Don't make such shaky remarks here......"

"Alright, alright! Old man," Marshal Voroshilov, who was sitting near him, also spoke: "Comrade Oshanina is not a coward, don't you see that she has two medals on her chest?" It was after she had personally shot down two German planes and eliminated a dozen German devils armed to the teeth, and I personally awarded her the Order of the Red Banner and the Medal for Bravery. ”

Marshal Voroshilov's direct support for me, but also approvingly mentioning my past exploits, all worked. I saw curiosity and approval in the faces of the other members of the Bureau, and even Budyonny's expression softened, and even a smile flashed in his eyes.

"Allow me to go on?" I looked at the marshal who had helped me out of the siege and asked with some hesitation.

"Go ahead and tell me what you really feel." I was startled by a muffled voice, and when I turned my head again, I saw that Stalin had stood beside me at some point.

"What should I say?" I looked at him and thought to myself, "What do you have to do to gain his favor without touching his scales?" ”

"Comrade Oshanina," said Stalin, in a calm voice that lacked any inhibitions, "then tell me, Comrade Oshanina, what do you think was the unsatisfactory performance of the senior military chiefs of our army in the early days of the war?" ”

"First of all, the loyalty of these military chiefs to the Motherland is beyond doubt." I gritted my teeth, put a high hat on the people here, and then recited some summaries from later history books to them: "But because of their lack of experience in war, they generally made three mistakes, namely, adventurism in attack, conservatism in defense, and escapism in retreat......"

"Wait a minute." Stalin took the cigarette butt away from his mouth, pointed his finger at me, and said with interest: "What you said is very interesting, please be more detailed." ”

"Yes!" I agreed, and then continued: "First of all, the German attack was very sudden, which led to confusion in our army's command system and reconnaissance system. It must be known that without knowing the enemy's strength and the configuration of technical equipment, this hastily organized attack will not have a good effect. "I carefully translate what I want to say with the right words, and strive to achieve the meaning of the words." In the course of defense, the commanders of our army have placed too much emphasis on positional defense, blindly staying in their positions, and defending for the sake of defense. They don't know how to take advantage of the favorable moment, carry out appropriate counterattacks, and recapture some of the lost positions......"

When I said this, I secretly looked at Stalin's expression again, and if I noticed anything wrong, I would immediately shut up. He put his pipe back to his mouth, struck a match and lit the tobacco in the pipe, took a deep breath, and nodded silently. Seeing that he did not have the slightest sense of disgust, I had the courage to continue: "As for the escapism in the retreat, it refers to the fact that when the encirclement is highlighted, because many formations have been disrupted, and the troops at all levels have lost contact with each other, the military chiefs have not actively resumed their command over the lower levels and organized effective breakthrough operations, but have fought separately, resulting in the retreat turning into a rout. As General Konev said: retreat is the most complex form of combat, and it requires high fighting qualities. During the entire retreat, it is necessary to establish defensive positions in a timely manner, organize troops to resist in echelons, and alternately cover the retreat, so as to preserve the vitality of our army to the greatest extent. ……”

After I said this, the hall was silent, and there was not even a whisper, it seems that these earth-shattering remarks still suppressed everyone.

"So what do you think we should do at this stage?" After a pause, Stalin asked again.

"Exchange space for time, and while organizing the existing troops to resist step by step, we will draw troops from other places to form a strategic reserve. When we have accumulated enough strength, we will be able to have a decisive battle with the German devils under the city of Moscow. I replied without hesitation.

"Do you mean: the Germans will still fight to the city of Moscow, am I right?" He paused in a very polite tone, and then asked me again, "Do you think we can stop their attack?" ”

"There's no doubt about that. Comrade Stalin! I, a post-mortem traveler who knows the standard answer, naturally answered this question with confidence: "We will not only be able to stop their frenzied attack under the city of Moscow, but we will also crush them completely." ”

"I remember," he suddenly changed the subject, "you are the anti-aircraft artillery lieutenant Oshanina who came to Moscow with Comrade Zhukov, right?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Zhukov actually mentioned me to Stalin, and it seems that my future prospects are immeasurable.

"It's amazing to hear that you invented the flat-firing tank with anti-aircraft guns and effectively defended the Pulkovo Heights." He pointed at me with his right pipe, "You should be able to get a higher rank." With that, he put his pipe back to his mouth, and calmly turned around and walked to the back of the presidium.