After saluting the two commanders, I went out with Nikishev. I knew that my identity could not pass side by side with the chief of staff of the front army, so I deliberately lagged behind him and followed him.

Before I could reach the stairs, three commanders came up to me, and before I could see what rank the person was coming, Nikishev had already flashed to the side, leaning against the wall and raising his hand to salute each other. When I saw that Nikishev was saluting the people who came, I immediately understood that the other party was a person of higher rank than him, and he did the same, leaning against the wall, straightening up and raising his hands in salute.

Out of the corner of my eye, the three of them moved, and in a few seconds, I realized that there were actually three generals, no wonder Nikishev had to bow to the side. The three of them walked to our side and stopped, and the round-faced, burly lieutenant general who walked in front of us did not even return the salute, and asked Nikishev very unceremoniously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is the commander in his office?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissioner. The commander and deputy commander are in the office, and you can see them when you go inside. "In the Stalingrad Front, Nikishev, as chief of staff, was also considered a high-ranking position, but I felt that he seemed to have an inexplicable fear of this general, and his voice was a little out of tune.

The general nodded, and without even looking at me, he turned back to the two generals behind him, waved his head, and said, "Comrade generals, let's go, General Goldov is waiting for us in his office." ”

Watching the fat general walk unhurriedly towards Goldov's office, Nikishev let out a sigh and whispered to me, "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina." Let's go. ”

I hurriedly followed behind Nikishev. Prepare to go up the stairs. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice shouting from behind, "Hey." Please wait a moment. I looked at the empty hallway in front of me, and I knew that it was us, so I stopped, turned around, and looked curiously at the three generals opposite.

A slightly shorter general took a step forward and asked tentatively: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, may I ask, are you Oshanina?" ”

I heard my name called. I couldn't help but be stunned, and my heart said who is this, how does he know me?

After receiving my confirmation, the general stepped in front of me with an arrow step, raised his hand and saluted a military salute, and said excitedly: "Hello, comrade division commander, it is a pleasure to see you again." Are you okay? ”

Division commander, when I heard this title, my first reaction was that the commander of the 35th Guards Infantry Division had arrived? Otherwise. Why do you just call me a teacher? So after I glanced at his rank, it turned out to be a major general. Hurriedly and politely asked: "Comrade General, are you the commander of the 35th Guards Division?" ”

When I asked this, the general was stunned, and he said a little confused: "The 35th Guards Division?!" Whose troops are that, I don't think I've ever heard of it. ”

This time it was my turn to be confused, and I asked in confusion: "Comrade General, didn't you call me the division commander just now?" I was the new commander of the 35th Guards Division, and I thought you were my colleague. Sorry, I made a mistake. ”

The general took a step back, took off the hat on his head, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "Comrade division commander, you really don't know me anymore?" Seeing that I shook his head again and again, his face became a little embarrassed, and he coughed and said: "Think about it, in the defense of Moscow, your plan for counterattacking Sun Hill City was still formulated in my regimental headquarters. I am the commander of the 1073 regiment......"

"Chistyakov!" Hearing him mention the 1073rd Regiment, I suddenly remembered who he was, I rushed over, grabbed his arms, shook vigorously and excitedly shouted: "It turned out to be you, the commander of the 1073rd Regiment, Colonel Chistyakov." ”

Chistyakov grinned and said, "Isn't that me, Comrade Division Commander?" ”

"General Chistyakov, who is this female commander?" The burly general approached and asked Chistyakov with a stiff face.

I hurriedly let go of Chistyakov's arm and took a step back. Chistyakov pointed to me and introduced to the lieutenant general: "Comrade general, allow me to introduce you. This female commander was the first commander of the 8th Guards Division, Oshanina, who was once promoted to major general by Comrade Stalin because of her outstanding military achievements. Then he pointed to the lieutenant general and introduced me: "Comrade division commander, this is Lieutenant General Yeremenko. He is now the acting commander of the 1st Guards Army. ”

Although I did not know General Yeremenko, I also knew that since he could make General Nikishev feel afraid, then he must be a powerful character, and hurriedly raised his hand to salute him and greeted him: "Hello, General Yeremenko. ”

Yeremenko nodded slightly and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. I've heard about you, and I know that you were demoted because you ordered your subordinates to execute the captives who surrendered. "It made me feel a little embarrassed to hear the other person say my past lightly in public.

Unexpectedly, General Yeremenko went up and slapped me on the shoulder, almost slapping me to the ground. He smiled heartily and said loudly: "Well done, Comrade Oshanina. These damn Germans aren't people, they're just a bunch of brutes with two legs. If it were me, I would have given the same order. ”

Speaking of this, he took a step back slightly, and asked another general behind him to introduce to me: "Comrade Oshanina, come, let me introduce to you, this is Major General Krylov, the chief of staff of the Primorsky Army, because he has rich experience in commanding barricades and street battles, so he was sent by the Supreme Command to the 62nd Army as chief of staff. ”

"Hello, Comrade Oshanina. I've heard of you, too, and you're not easy, and you can be considered the best among the new commanders. ”

I didn't dare to claim to be a leader, especially in front of this future top boss, and I didn't dare to have the slightest support, so I hurriedly and modestly said: "Comrade General, you have won the award, I dare not be ashamed." ”

After a few more pleasantries, Yeremenko waved his hand and said, "Okay, let's talk about it here today." Two comrades generals. We're going to have to rush to see the commander of the front. Subsequently. He turned to Nikishev and said in a stern tone from superior to subordinate: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there is nothing more to do, you go and get busy." With that, he walked towards Goldorf's office with a steady stride, ignoring everyone's gaze.

General Nikishev led me to a room on the first floor and said: "Comrade Oshanina, this is your temporary division headquarters. "Finished. He pushed open the door and walked in.

When I entered the door, I saw that the room was very simple. In the middle of the room was a rectangular wooden table, with a bench on each side, and a single wooden bed in the corner. There was no combat map on the wall, and there was no telephone on the table, so it was more appropriate to say that it was more of a rest room than a division headquarters.

Probably seeing the disappointment on my face, Nikishev went straight to the table and sat down, beckoning me to sit across from him. Fang Cai said apologetically: "Comrade Oshanina, let me tell you the truth. When the 35th Guards Division will arrive, and which operational direction it will be put into after arriving is unknown, so Comrade Commander arranged for you to rest here. In order to be afraid of gossip, it was announced that this was the division headquarters of the 35th Guards Division. In fact, you should also understand that from now until you go to the division to take up your post, there may not be any of your subordinates who will come to report. ”

Hearing him say this, I hurriedly nodded and replied: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, I understand. Xie Lu, thank you and Comrade Commander of the Front Army for thinking so carefully for me. "I hoped that he would leave as soon as he heard me say that, so that I could rest early.

Unexpectedly, Nikishev sat in the distance and did not move, but asked me curiously: "General Yeremenko just now, have you seen it before?" ”

I shook my head and said, "I've never heard of his name." When I said this, I suddenly remembered that Nikishev seemed to be a little afraid of Yeremenko, so I asked tactfully: "What's the matter?" Comrade Chief of Staff, is General Yeremenko not easy to get along with? ”

Nikishev snorted coldly and said: "It's not just that it's not easy to get along with, General Yeremenko has always been keen on educating his subordinates. ”

"Fist and foot education?!" Nikishev's words aroused my curiosity, and I could not help but ask him curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is going on, let's hear it." I saw him cautiously glance at the door, and immediately understood what he was worried about, and quickly got up and closed the door, and then said with a smile: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, the door is closed, so that no one can hear what we are talking about, so you should tell me about this General Yeremenko in detail, maybe I will deal with him again in the future." ”

Nikishev hesitated, but at last he still couldn't save my face, so he gritted his teeth and said: "Well, I'll tell you about General Yeremenko, but you have to promise me that you must not mention this matter to anyone." ”

I hurriedly raised my right hand, palmed it forward, and swore to him: "I promise Comrade Stalin that I will never tell anyone what General Nikishev has told me tonight, otherwise I will be blown to pieces by a bomb falling from the sky when I go out." ”

Nikishev was amused by my ingenious way of swearing, and when he had finished laughing, he said: "At the beginning of the war, General Yeremenko was the deputy commander of the Western Front, and he commanded troops in the Battle of Smolensk. He then took up the post of commander of the Bryansk Front, where he was tasked with covering Moscow's approach from the southwest.

I was working in the base camp at the time, and one day I saw a petition written by the Military Commissar of the 13th Army to Comrade Stalin, which read: On the evening of September 18, 1941, I returned to the combat group with General Yefremov in the forward positions of the Front in order to draw up the next offensive plan. The commander of the Front, Yeremenko, and the member of the Military Council, Mazhepov, also came here. In front of all the conductors, the following farce was performed. Yeremenko, without asking any questions, began to accuse the Military Council of being cowardly and betraying the Motherland. In response to his rude accusation, I retorted on the spot that you shouldn't have said such an over-the-top thing. But without saying a word, Yeremenko rushed at me with his fist, punched me in the face several times, and threatened to shoot me. I said he could shoot me. But he has no right to insult the personality of a GCD member and a representative of the Supreme Council. Then. Yeremenko drew his pistol. On my forehead, fortunately the deputy commander Yefremov stopped him in time and did not let him shoot. After Yeremenko was stopped, he was extremely unwilling, and he pointed at Yevremov and scolded hysterically, saying that he would shoot all the commanders in the command headquarters. After calming down a little, he began to boast that Comrade Stalin was in favor of beating the commanders of several army groups. It doesn't matter if you beat one of them to the head. When he sat down for dinner, Yeremenko forced Yefremov to drink with him, but when the latter showed that he did not want to drink, he began to curse again, saying that Yefremov was against him and was not qualified to be his deputy, especially because of the untimely persuasion of this deputy, which made him unable to slap the commanders of the army groups under him in the face as he pleased. ”

After listening to Nikishev, I probably understood why he was so afraid of Yeremenko, it turned out that this general had such a bad record before. I then asked curiously, "Comrade Chief of Staff." What did Comrade Stalin do with this letter of appeal after he received it? ”

Nikishev shrugged. He said helplessly: "When Comrade Stalin saw this statement, he simply told Yeremenko about the contents of the statement and asked him to give an explanation, while his post of commander of the front army remained unchanged. As for the deputy commander Yefremov, he was sent to form the new 33rd Army. ”

Hearing that Stalin defended the general so much, I couldn't help frowning and cautiously asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to your understanding, what is the level of command of Yeremenko?" ”

Nikishev snorted again and said disdainfully: "Before the Battle of Kiev, many senior generals of our army, even General Zhukov, believed that Kyiv could not be defended, and the flanks of the Southwestern Front were in danger of being encircled. At this time, Comrade Stalin approached Yeremenko and asked him: 'If I give you the Central Front and give you some artillery reserves, will you be able to hold back Guderian and cover the flank of the Southwestern Front?' At that time, Yeremenko said with his boundless confidence: I can not only stop Guderian's scoundrel, but also destroy that scoundrel. ”

"As a result, did you stop Guderian?"

After listening to this, Nikishev looked me up and down with a frown, and said with some displeasure: "Comrade Oshanina, you should have been in Moscow at that time, did our army block Guderian, don't you know what to do?" ”

As soon as he reminded me, I remembered, yes, I had already arrived in Moscow at that time, and I had taken a small force to infiltrate behind enemy lines on a mission. After gathering a force of several hundred men, I once had the idea of leading my troops to capture Tolstoy's manor and capture Guderian alive. I blushed and said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, if you don't say it, I forget that I had already followed General Zhukov to Moscow at that time." Please go on. ”

"Yeremenko's self-confidence turned out to be unfounded, and the assault of the Bryansk Front, which he led, stalled after advancing only a dozen kilometers, without creating much of an obstacle for Guderian. And Guderian's tank group went straight to the rear of the flank of the Southwestern Front, which caused a crushing defeat of our army in the battle of Kiev. Six group armies were completely annihilated, and the commander, political commissar, and chief of staff of the Southwestern Front Army were all killed. "To make matters worse, two weeks after the submission of the statement of the military commissar of the 13th Army, Guderian led his powerful tank group northward, and at the Battle of Bryansk the battle of Bryanko closed Yeremenko's front. ”

I was taken aback, because of a mistake in command, which caused such serious losses in the troops, and was not held accountable by Stalin, this cannot be regarded as a miracle. I asked curiously: "And how did General Yeremenko get out of the siege?" ”

Nikishev snorted for the third time and said angrily, "It's also his luck." During the breakout, he was hit by a stray bullet from the enemy and was seriously wounded, and Comrade Stalin sent planes to pick him up from the encirclement. The plane was shot down by enemy planes on the way and fell headlong next to a village, and our commander was saved by the farmers of the collective farm, with his head down and half frozen to death. Perhaps because he looked so pitiful, Comrade Stalin did not hold him accountable for the defeat of the battle and personally visited him in the hospital. But a lost battle is a lost war, and it cannot go unpunished. When he was discharged from the hospital in December, he was officially dismissed from the post of commander of the Front Army and appointed commander of the 4th Shock Army, which was being formed. ”

After listening to Nikishev's account, I had a preliminary understanding of General Yeremenko, and at the same time I was a little more worried.

Nikishev stood up and said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, Chuikov told me privately that you had asked him to intercede with Zhukov for the sake of General Kolpakchi. Chuikov said that he had a normal relationship with Zhukov, and although he pleaded with Zhukov for Korpakchi, it is unclear whether it had any effect. By the way, there is the telecommunications room not far from the door, I'll go over and say hello to them later, and you can use the communication equipment inside to contact General Zhukov. With that, he got up, opened the door, and walked out.

I knew in my heart what General Nikishev's hint meant, that is, to ask me to come forward and call Zhukov and intercede for Korpakchi. Although I have a good relationship with Zhukov, after all, the identity gap is too big, and if he doesn't call me, I am not qualified to take the initiative to call Zhukov. That is, Chuikov and these people know that I have a good relationship with Zhukov, so they will pin their hopes for intercession on me. Strictly speaking, not to mention that I am a small lieutenant colonel, even if I am a lieutenant general like Chuikov, if I want to call Zhukov, there must be something important, and I can't fight if I want to.

Maybe if I contact Zhukov directly and intercede for Korpakchi, Zhukov may remember his previous friendship and use the power in his hands to give Korpakchi a lenient sentence. But I can't do that, such a thing, once or twice, but after three or four times, it will disgust Zhukov, and there will be no friendship between me and him anymore. Zhukov is the deputy commander-in-chief, and I am just a lieutenant colonel who plays soy sauce everywhere, so they are not equal friendships. Even if Zhukov has always taken care of me and appreciated me, I can't be without self-knowledge.

A call to intercede for Kol Pakchi, I must not call.

With my mind in mind, I stood up, walked over and closed the door. Just as I was unleashing, there was a knock at the door, and someone was asking loudly, "Is Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina there?" ”

I quickly re-fastened the unfastened belt, walked over and opened the door. Standing outside the door was actually Major General Krylov, whom he had just met upstairs.

He looked at me with a smile on his face and asked politely, "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, I didn't bother you, did I?" ”

I was a little surprised by the visit of the new chief of staff of the group army, and I quickly stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation: "Of course I didn't bother. Comrade General, don't stand at the door, hurry up and please come in. (To be continued......)