In the face of the courtesy of his front subordinates, General Afanasyev did not show the slightest arrogance, but smiled kindly and thanked him, took the telephone in Boroda's hand, and put it on the table. He picked up the microphone and dialed a number and said in a deep voice: "I am General Afanasyev of the 2nd Shock Army, please pick me up from the commander of the Volkhov Front, General Meretskov." ”

After a while, the phone seemed to be connected, and he said in a somewhat excited tone, "Hello, Kirill. Afanasyevich, I'm Afanasyev. Yes, I highlighted the encirclement. Xie Lu, thank you for sending troops to meet me, I am currently at the division headquarters of the 378th Division, with your appointed acting division commander, Major Oshanina, and acting chief of staff, Captain Boroda, and they are ......"

When Afanasyev was talking to Meretskov, I asked Boroda in a low voice: "Comrade Captain, you used to be a guard for Comrade General. ”

Boroda glanced at the general who was on the phone, and also replied in a low voice: "Yes." I stayed with the general for five years, first as a guard and then as a guard squad leader, until the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish war. ”

"What did he mean by saying he'd be glad to see you alive? You once told me that when you were working in the 7th Army, you were wounded near Petrozavodsk, and did not recover quickly, and you also became the commander of the guard company of the military council of the army. Could it be that General Affanasyev didn't know all this? ”

In response to my questioning, Boroda patiently explained: "Comrade General was wounded that time, and he didn't know anything about it. He knew that it was another time. ”

"Oh, you've been injured once?" His words aroused my greater curiosity. I just wanted to know what happened to Lu Dao. "Tell me about it. As a partner. I want to know more about you. ”

Hearing my question, he blushed and said a little embarrassedly: "It happened at the end of 1941, when I had just been transferred to General Meretskov's side, and I once accompanied him to inspect the vicinity of Tikhvin. When we arrived, the attack of the division under the command of Koshevoy against the Germans was thwarted, and the troops withdrew to the point of departure of the attack. Seeing this, General Meretskov decided to cheer up the fighters. So he personally went to the forward troops. When the fighters saw the commander, their morale was boosted, and they immediately got up and threw themselves back into the assault. This time, they smoothly rushed through the enemy's positions. However, there was a fascist machine gunner who hid in the woods and fired heavily at us. I and another guard, Private Xie Liujing, threw ourselves on the general and protected him with our own bodies. I saw a 45mm gun next to me, so I got up, rushed to the gun, and knocked out the machine gun with direct aim fire. But I didn't expect that I was after the shot. He was seriously wounded by the enemy's last point shot before he died. ”

Hear him say that. Only then did I understand why Meretskov would let a lieutenant take up the position of division leader, although it was an acting position, but it could also be seen that the comrade commander valued him. And I may have been impressed by the performance of the second lieutenant training team in the 52nd Army last time when he was in the 52nd Army, which made a deep impression on him, and this is why the appointment of the acting division commander was issued.

While I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard the voice of General Afanasyev calling me: "Major Oshanina. ”

I looked up and saw that the general was holding the microphone with his hand and calling to me: "Major Oshanina, come and answer the phone." ”

I pointed to my nose and asked uncertainly, "Comrade General, are you calling me?" ”

"Yes," he replied with some impatience, "Comrade Commander of the Front Army wants to speak to you." ”

I quickly stood up, took the microphone from his hand, put it to my ear, and then respectfully said into the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I am the acting division commander, Major Oshanina, and I am waiting for your orders. ”

Meretskov's voice came from the microphone: "Comrade Oshanina, I heard from General Afanasyev that you personally led the troops to rescue him, and you did a good job, good job!" I'm very happy with your performance! "The general's praise made my heart flutter, and although I tried my best to control my emotions, the corners of my mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly. I only heard him go on to say: "Immediately hand over the command of the division to Captain Boroda, and you accompany General Afanasyev to the headquarters of the front army immediately." ”

I looked out the window at the already dark sky, and estimated that it was about ten o'clock in the evening, and if there was nothing important, Meretskov would not let me go to the headquarters immediately. So I couldn't help but ask: "Comrade General, can I ask if there is anything important?" ”

"Tomorrow morning a meeting will be held at the headquarters of the front, which will be attended not only by the commanders of the armies, but also by the commanders of the divisions. We will review some of the problems that were exposed during the 2nd Shock Army's breakout battle, as well as some of the arrangements for the new campaign. "Although my question was asked a little abruptly, I was flattered by the patience of General Meretskov in explaining it to me.

I hurriedly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander. As soon as I handed over the command of the division to Captain Boroda, I accompanied General Afanasyev to the headquarters of the Front. ”

When I heard a beep in the microphone, I put the microphone back on the phone. Turning to Boroda, he said solemnly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have received an order from Commander Meretskov to immediately rush to the headquarters of the Front with General Affanasyev to attend an important military meeting, and everything in the division will be handed over to you for the time being. ”

"Comrade Division Commander," Boroda stood up and replied politely, "you can go to the meeting with confidence, and I'll leave it to me." After a pause, he added, "By the way, there's one more thing I haven't had time to report to you yet." During the day, several regiment commanders called me one after another to report that the troops had basically been assembled and that they could immediately leave for a new battlefield as soon as they gave your order. ”

I am very satisfied with the rare high efficiency shown by these new subordinates. I nodded and said, "You let them stay in the original defense area for the time being." When exactly will it depart. Wait for the next order from the division. "Speaking of which. I suddenly remembered that I did not know where the headquarters of the Shodao Front was, and that General Afanasyev had not learned of the new location of the Shodao Command, so I had to ask Boroda: "Comrade Chief of Staff, are you worthy of the location of the Front's Command?" ”

Boroda nodded vigorously and said, "I know the way." A few days ago, I set out directly from the front headquarters with my troops to rescue the personnel of the command of the 2nd Assault Army. I will call a warrior to be your guide. After speaking, he raised his voice and shouted outside the door: "Xie Liujing, come in." ”

With his shouts. A sergeant came in from the outside. He walked up to us, stood upright, raised his hands and saluted, and reported loudly: "Report to the commanders, comrades, Sergeant Xie Liujing has been ordered to come and wait for your orders. ”

Hearing that this was the soldier who had saved the life of General Meretskov with Boroda, I couldn't help but look at him a few more times. He was of medium build, with a round face, and a long scar on the left side of his face, which I don't know if it was from shrapnel or from a bullet.

Boroda nodded at him and said, "Xie Liujing." I now give you a task to be a guide for the generals and division commanders. Take them to the front headquarters. ”

Seryutin glanced at me and Afanasyev, and immediately stood up and replied loudly: "Guarantee to complete the task." ”

I didn't want to go through all the trouble of breaking out of the encirclement and then being ambushed by the Germans on the way to the headquarters for a meeting, and I was captured or killed, so I deliberately strengthened the guards. So I asked the commander of the guard battalion, Captain Gusev, to prepare a motorcycle, a jeep, and two trucks for me. Xie Liujing and two other soldiers of the motorized company from the headquarters of the Front Army, led the way in front on motorcycles; Then there was a truck, which was occupied by the guards of the former 2nd Assault Army, who had broken through with Afanasyev; In the truck behind the palace, sat two squads of guards soldiers, led by the new lieutenant Vaskov. And the jeep in which General Afanasyev and I were traveling was in the middle of the two trucks.

General Afanasyev and I sat in the back seat of the jeep, and after the convoy departed, we both looked out the window and neither of us spoke.

After about an hour, General Afanasyev suddenly asked, "Major Oshanina, is what you said today true?" ”

"What are you talking about?" I remember that since I met the general, I seemed to have talked to him a lot, and I don't know what he was referring to when he suddenly asked this, so I had to ask clearly. So I politely asked him: "Comrade General, we have talked about a lot of things today, I don't know which one you are referring to?" ”

General Afanasyev said with a serious expression: "It's about General Plivalov, are you sure that what you said to me is the truth?" ”

Hearing him ask this, I immediately understood that he wanted to confirm whether General Plivalov had committed the mistake I had said, so I nodded earnestly and replied: "Comrade General, what I said is true, and you can ask him for confirmation on this point when you get to the headquarters of the Front and meet Colonel Zhicholiv." ”

The general nodded with an expression on his face and said, "In that case, then when I see Commander Meretskov, I will definitely ask him to deal with this matter seriously......"

As soon as I said this, the jeep suddenly braked suddenly, and I was caught off guard, and my body slammed forward, hitting the back of the seat in front of me hard. While rubbing my sore chest, I angrily asked the driver, "What's the matter?" Why do you stop suddenly? ”

The driver turned around and said aggrievedly: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, it was the car in front that suddenly stopped." ”

I turned to General Afanasyev and said, "Comrade General, stay in the car first, and I'll go down and see what's going on?" Seeing the general bowing slightly, I opened the car door and walked down.

As soon as I took a few steps forward, I saw Xie Liujing running towards me. He ran up to me, raised his hand and saluted, and reported: "Comrade division commander, there is a big tree in the middle of the road at the turn in front, blocking the way of the convoy, and a few more people need to move away." ”

A tree fell in the middle of the road? Hearing Xie Liujing say this, I immediately became vigilant, in those film and television works, those guerrillas usually put a tree in the middle of the road before an ambush, waiting for the enemy to enter the ambush circle. When someone was sent to try to move the trees. before suddenly firing. But at the moment. It was the Germans who were in ambush on both sides, and we became the targets of ambushes.

The fighters under General Afanasyev got out of the car, and Vaskov also got out of the car with the fighters of the guard platoon, and a large crowd gathered around the car. Seeing all this, I was so anxious that I shouted, "What are you doing here?" Do you want the Germans to target you? Disperse quickly. Ten people went to help Xie Liujing move the tree away, and the rest went to the forest to search to see if there were any German ambushes. ”

As soon as I reminded you of this, everyone immediately became alert. All of a sudden, they all dispersed. Seryutin took ten fighters to move trees, while Vaskov left a squad of fighters to stand guard around the jeep, and he himself took the rest into the forest to search for possible Germans. General Afanasyev, who was sitting in the car, wanted to get out of the car to take a look, but I stopped him on the grounds that it was dangerous outside, and told him to bend down and hide in the car, so as not to become a target for German snipers.

The trees blocking the road were quickly removed, and the German ambush, which I guessed, did not appear. Seeing Xie Liujing standing in front of me and resuming his life, I couldn't help but doubt my judgment, could I have guessed wrong, is it really just a tree that fell in the middle of the road due to an accident?

Maybe it's because I heard that there was nothing going on outside. Afanasyev sat up straight and poked his head out of the window. Asked me, "Major Oshanina, what's the matter?" Where are the Germans you are talking about? ”

My face flushed, and I replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade General, maybe I made a mistake. ”

The general said with a displeased face: "Then when can we start again?" ”

I hurriedly replied: "Please wait a moment, and when the warriors of the forest search return, we will set off immediately." ”

The general raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said impatiently: "Hurry up and call them back, we still have a long way to go." ”

"Yes!" I agreed, turned around and ordered Xie Liujing: "Comrade sergeant, you immediately call back Lieutenant Vaskov who is in the forest, and then we will set off." ”

Xie Liujing agreed, turned around and was about to leave. A gunshot rang out, and Xie Liujing covered his legs and fell to the ground. A thought popped into my head: "Not good, it's a German sniper." ”

I threw myself on the ground, and just as I was about to open my mouth to warn the rest of the fighters, Xie Liujing had already shouted loudly: "Everyone hurry up and lie down, there are German snipers in the forest." ”

There was a snap, another gunshot, and a bullet hit me not far away, and a cloud of dust exploded, and the small stones that splashed hurt my face, and I couldn't help but snort in pain. Xie Liujing, who was lying not far away, asked with concern: "Comrade division commander, are you injured?" ”

I shook my head and said, "No, it's a splash of pebbles that hit me in the face." ”

As I spoke to Xie Liujing, the soldiers who were on guard all fell to the ground, their guns crackling in the direction where the bullets were flying.

I trembled with anger when I saw the soldiers shoot out the bullets as if they didn't need money, I had never seen such a loser, and I hadn't seen what the enemy was like, and hundreds of bullets were fired. I shouted repeatedly: "Don't shoot in bursts, shoot spot, shoot spot!" "But the crisp and dense gunfire made my shouts inaudible to the soldiers.

"Don't shoot bursts, shoot with bursts, hear me, you damn guys!" Xie Liujing, who was lying next to him, repeated my words loudly, his voice was louder than mine, and after shouting a few times, the fighters stopped shooting blindly, but shot one shot after another.

At this moment, I clearly saw that seventy or eighty meters away from us, a figure was running among the trees, hiding its figure in a zigzag shape, and rushing towards the depths of the forest. The figure moves so quickly that it may disappear from our sight in a matter of seconds.

At this moment, a gunshot rang in my ears, and Xie Liujing took off the rifle he was carrying, aimed at the figure and pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed the enemy's head and hit a tree. The man was stunned, paused, and before he could move again, another bullet struck him in front of him, shaking the bushes in front of him.

The man was so frightened that he hid behind a tree, and Xie Liujing and the soldiers shot at the tree one after another, blocking all the retreats on both sides of the tree, and covering Vaskov, who sensed that the enemy was rushing there.

Vaskov was moving fast, and in less than two minutes, they pounced on the vicinity of the tree. From a distance, I saw Vaskov leap to the back of the tree, and then he and another man fell out in their arms. The surrounding soldiers hurriedly stepped forward, separated the two of them with their hands and feet, and escorted the guy who was shooting the cold gun to our side with his hands cut behind his back.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the captives being brought over, and I got up from the ground. Just as he was about to walk over, he heard the voice of General Afanasyev again, and he asked a little nervously: "Major Oshanina, how is the situation?" ”

I turned my head to look at him and replied: "Comrade General, the sniper of the Germans, has already been caught by us. ”

After a while, the captives were brought to me. I looked contemptuously at the young soldier in the German uniform, and then asked Vaskov, who was standing next to me, with concern: "Fija, you are not injured, are you?" ”

Vaskov grinned silently and shook his head, indicating that he was not injured.

Xie Liujing, who was supported by his comrades-in-arms, asked me angrily: "Comrade division commander, what to do with this prisoner." ”

What we didn't expect happened, the captive knelt in front of us and shouted: "Comrade commander, spare me, I was forced." I am Ukrainian, my own. ”

Ukrainians, Ukrainians in German uniforms. I looked viciously at the soldier kneeling in front of me, and understood that the sniper turned out to be a traitor after being captured, so I mercilessly gave the order to Vaskov: "Lieutenant, you are not polite to this traitor to the Motherland, drag him into the forest - shoot." ”

Vaskov excitedly agreed, and asked the two fighters to carry the sniper into the forest.

Soon, I heard a crisp gunshot. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you book friends: the Tian family girl, the secret history of the golden dragon, and the monthly ticket support of the dead hedgehog, and the reward and encouragement of the round golden egg of the book friend.