Although Fedyuninsky had already said Zhukov's name, Turchinov relied on the fact that he was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and no one dared to provoke them easily, so he still said verbally: "Comrade General, I have never heard of General Zhukov as a deputy commander, and you have no right to prevent me from executing prisoners." ”

"Comrade Lieutenant," Fedyuninsky replied in a stern tone in the face of this officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who did not eat oil and salt, "I repeat again, I am here to stop your criminal behavior by order of the deputy commander-in-chief, General Zhukov. It is important to know that after Comrade Zhukov became deputy commander-in-chief, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was also under his jurisdiction. If you refuse to carry out my orders, I have the right to take the necessary measures against you. Even if your superior knew about it, do you think he would risk offending his immediate boss to stand up for you, the little lieutenant? ”

In my impression, the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs belong to the lord who bullies the weak and fears the hard, and in the face of the tough attitude of Fedyuninsky, Turchinov was finally defeated, and after a short silence, he gave the order to the fighters who were holding me with difficulty: "What are you still doing in a daze, didn't you hear the order of General Fedyuninsky? Don't hurry up and loosen the ties of Major Oshanina. ”

The warrior behind me hurriedly agreed, first untied my hands behind my back, loosened the knot, and pulled the rope off my neck. After loosening the tie, the two fighters hurriedly flashed to the side.

When the ropes were untied, I knew that I had been rescued, and that I had escaped death again, as I had done in the Lubyanka in Moscow. Although last time it was after Stalin personally called. I was released, but if Zhukov had not interceded for me, the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs would not have received the call to release me and Bezikov, and I guess I would have become a pile of bones by now. This shows how important it is to find a solid backer!

As soon as the tense nerves relaxed, I no longer had the strength to support my body, and as soon as the two fighters holding me let go, I collapsed to the ground like a mess of mud. Seeing that I had fallen to the ground, Fedyuninsky and seven or eight fighters trotted over and came to my side. He raised his hand to stop the warrior who wanted to come to my aid. Instead, he personally bent down and stretched out his hand to support me, and asked with concern, "Lida, you are okay, are you?" ”

My nose was sour, and tears almost came out of my eyes. It took a lot of effort for me to control my emotions. Try to squeeze a smile out of your face. Looking at Fedyuninsky with wet eyes, he replied in a low voice: "I don't have anything to do, it's just that my legs are a little weak." Comrade Commander. Thank you for saving my life. ”

Fedyuninsky helped me to stand up slowly, and when I was about to speak, Fedyuninsky suddenly pointed to the side again and ordered Turchinov: "And the two commanders, untie the ropes from their bodies as well." ”

"But, Comrade General." Turchinov seemed to want to refute, but when he saw the serious expression on Fedyuninsky's face, he had to obediently order the fighters over there: "Hey, I said, what are you still doing in a daze, untie those two commanders." ”

I turned my head curiously to see that the commanders in Turchinov's mouth were actually Petrovalov and Sergei, and although they were still standing on the edge of the trench by the soldiers, the executioner had already stood beside them. Hearing Turchinov's order, the fighters hurriedly untied the ropes on their bodies.

I turned my head to look in the opposite direction and saw a commander on the other side with his hands tied behind his back, lying headfirst in a pool of blood. Only then did I realize that the shooting started from the far left, and after shooting one and then the next, and when I shot the first dozen or so people, I was constantly looking back, not noticing that it was actually in such a shooting order. Fortunately, the gun that shot me later jammed, so that when Fedyuninsky appeared in time, he saved not only me, but also Petrovalov and his life.

Fedyuninsky helped me a few steps, looked at the forty or so commanders who were standing not far away, stopped again, and said to Turchinov in an irrefutable tone: "Lieutenant, let all those commanders go and let them all go back to their respective ranks." ”

Turchinov turned his head to look at those people and said with some unwillingness: "But, Comrade General, these people are all suspected of collaborating with the enemy, and they cannot be released casually without the trial of our Ministry of Internal Affairs." ”

"Judgment?!" Fedyuninsky repeated the word, and then said in a mocking tone: "Lieutenant, these commanders were brought here and shot without trial. If I had been one step late, I would have killed all of these 100 commanders. Here it is necessary for me to remind you that they broke out of the encirclement of the Germans after a great deal of hardship, and they not only had a wealth of combat experience, but also unlimited loyalty to the Soviet Motherland, and they were all valuable assets of our Red Army. But look at you, lieutenant, what have you done? You slaughtered these elites of the Red Army with impunity, who did not die on the battlefield against the Germans, but fell at the guns of your own people. Do you know that you are sinning? I will propose to Commander Meretskov that you be removed from the post of Chief of the Secret Service and replaced by someone else suitable for this post. ”

Facing the righteous and awe-inspiring Fedyuninsky, Turchinov did not dare to continue to be arrogant, he waved his hand at his subordinates, and weakly ordered: "Let them all go!" With that, he raised his hand and saluted Fedyuninsky, and left with a group of his men. Rubbing his red and swollen wrists, Petrovalov walked up to me and asked: "Comrade division commander, where should we go now?" ”

I looked at Turchinov and his men in the distance, and replied with a blank face: "Where else can I go?" Of course, go back to the division, back to your combat post. ”

"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Petrovalov straightened up and saluted me, and then left with Sergey.

I followed Fedyuninsky and his guards, slowly approached the group of commanders, and looking at the sparse queue, Fedyuninsky said bitterly: "Comrades, you are all battle-hardened commanders, the treasures of our Red Army. But today he has suffered injustice because of Vlasov, a traitor to the motherland. I came too late, and I let many good commanders fall under the guns of their own people without explanation......"

Before he could finish speaking, the commander immediately shouted: "Comrade General, this is not your responsibility, please don't blame yourself." If you hadn't arrived in time, we would have been shot by the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. ”

"Yes, Comrade General. If it weren't for you, we'd all be shot for no apparent reason! ”

"The people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are really too much, we were only in the 2nd Shock Army. I have not seen what General Vlasov was like at all. How did you become a Vlasovite? ”

Fedyuninsky patiently listened to the commanders vent their displeasure, and after a long time he raised his hands and pressed down on the man. Wait until no one in the line speaks. He said with a serious expression: "Comrade commander. It's all right now, so let's all go back to your respective teams. I assure you that there will be no more Secret Service personnel to harass you. ”

After listening to Fedyuninsky's words. The group of commanders stood up collectively, saluted him with a solemn military salute, and then dispersed in groups.

After everyone had left, I asked Fedyuninsky: "Comrade commander, where are we going next?" ”

"Follow me to the headquarters of the Front, General Meretskov is expected to be back soon." After speaking, he turned around and shook his head at several of his guards, "Let's go." ”

Leaving this place of death in the forest, Fedyuninsky and I sat in the back seat of his jeep and rushed together to the headquarters of the Front in Meretskov.

On the way, it occurred to me how Fedyuninsky could suddenly appear on the execution ground? You know, I'm not his subordinate now, even if I'm caught, it's not his turn to come to the rescue? So I asked curiously: "Comrade commander, I want to ask, what are you doing ......?"

Before I could finish asking, he had already interrupted my next words and took the initiative to take over the topic: "Lida, do you want to ask me how I know that you were arrested by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and appeared at the execution ground in time to rescue you?" ”

I nodded vigorously and stared at him intently, waiting for him to give him the answer I wanted to know.

"That's a long story. Yesterday after you were captured, Captain Boroda immediately called the front command and asked General Meretskov to come forward to protect you. However, the officer on duty at the headquarters told him that Comrade General and the Chief of the General Staff had returned to Moscow, and he did not know when he would return. He had no choice but to call the commander of the 59th Army, Kolovnikov, for help. Kolovnikov wanted to take care of the matter, but when he heard that the Secret Service was arrested in the name of arresting Vlasov, he immediately shrank back in fright. Fortunately, he knew that I was an old acquaintance with you, so he specially called me to inform me. I was shocked when I learned about this, and according to my experience, there is only one way for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to deal with such cases, and those who are caught will be executed in the shortest possible time.

Lida, you also know that as a special security department, the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have a lot of power, and although I am a general, I may not be able to command a low-level officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as you have just seen. Just when I was in a dilemma, Comrade Zhukov called to ask about the preparations for the battle of the Bulge, and I had an idea to tell him about you. ……”

Hearing Fedyuninsky say this, I couldn't help but interject: "Comrade commander, does General Zhukov remember me?" ”

Fedyuninsky, who had a serious expression, was immediately happy when he heard me say this: "Lida, you are thinking too much. Zhukov has always had a good impression of you, and every time he calls me, he has to ask about you by the way. No, as soon as I heard that something had happened to you, Comrade General immediately became anxious, and asked me to immediately take someone to the secret service department to rescue you. When I told him about my worries, he was silent for a long time, and said only one sentence: Wait, I'll settle this matter, and I'll go to Comrade Stalin. With that, he hung up.

I didn't know when he would call again, so I stayed by the phone and didn't dare to leave. It wasn't until almost dawn that he called, and said confidently: "Dear Fedyuninsky, you go to the secret service at once and release Leda."

I asked what I would do if the Internal Affairs officers of the Secret Service ignored me.

He thought for a moment and replied, "If the Secret Service people are making things difficult for you, tell them." Say that you were ordered by General Zhukov to release the arrested so-called Vlasovite. If they don't listen, you can tell them that Comrade Stalin has just appointed General Zhukov as deputy commander-in-chief with authority over the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

After I had congratulated him at that time, he told me that after rescuing you from the special service, I should bring you to the headquarters of the Front as soon as possible, and that Senior General Meretskov had completed his mission in Moscow and would return to his headquarters this morning. Deployment of the upcoming Bulge campaign. ”

Although Fedyuninsky downplayed the whole thing. But I still knew that without him, I would be doomed this time. Of course, the person I am grateful for is Boroda, without his words. The news of my arrest would not have reached Fedyuninsky's ears so quickly. But for now, I want to thank you first. Or Fedyuninsky, who was sitting next to me. Because he saved me from the clutches of death. I grabbed his arm and said gratefully, "Comrade Commander, thank you. Without you, I would have been shot by the Secret Service. ”

Fedyuninsky gently patted the back of my hand with his hand and comforted me: "Don't worry, Lida, it's all over." I listened to General Zhukov's meaning, and the above intends to adjust your position, and the commander of the 378th Division seems that you will not be able to do it, and may transfer you to other positions. ”

"Above?!" I was puzzled and asked, "Who is that?" ”

Fedyuninsky smiled and said, "Who else could it be?" Higher rank than General Zhukov can only be Comrade Stalin. You can't even think of how your brain reacts so slowly. ”

I heard from Fedyuninsky's words that Comrade Stalin, who was high up in the sky, remembered me again because of Zhukov. I thought to myself, if I was not allowed to continue to serve as division commander, was it because I was going to transfer me to another group army to serve as chief of staff or something, and even if I could not be the chief of staff of the group army, it would be a good choice to go back and continue to be the commander of my Eighth Guards Division.

In my cranky thoughts, the jeep in which we were riding stopped at the door of the front headquarters. Fedyuninsky touched me on the shoulder and reminded me: "Lida, don't be in a daze, we're in the place." With that, he pushed the door open and got out of the way. I hurriedly pushed open the door on my side and got out of the car.

We came to the door, and Fedyuninsky asked one of the ensigns on duty at the door: "Comrade second lieutenant, has Senior General Meretskov returned?" ”

The second lieutenant seemed to know Fedyuninsky, and after saluting him, he replied: "Hello, Comrade General. Comrade General had just called from the airstrip, saying that he had arrived safely and was rushing here by car. He also told us that if you came, please wait for him at the headquarters. ”

"Okay, I see." After Fedyuninsky said this, he turned back to me and said: "Let's go, Leda, let's go to the headquarters and wait for Comrade General." ”

In the headquarters of General Meretskov, there was only one captain, who looked like a staff officer, and when he saw me and Fedyuninsky entering, he quickly got up and saluted, and asked politely: "Hello, Comrade General. Is it General Fedyuninsky and Major Oshanina, please? ”

Fedyuninsky nodded and replied: "Yes, I am Fedyuninsky." Then he pointed at me with his hand and said, "This is Major Oshanina." ”

The captain picked up a pile of papers on the table, walked over and handed it to us, and said: "This is the latest battle report, Comrade General has an order, let you and Major Oshanina take a look at it first, and when he comes back later, he will ask you what you think of the current situation." ”

Fedyuninsky took the battle report from the captain's hand, smiled at him and nodded, and said: "I know it, thank you, Comrade Captain." Major Oshanina and I will stay here and read the battle report slowly, and you can go and get busy. ”

The captain saluted us both and strode out of the headquarters.

Fedyuninsky looked at it for a while, threw the thick battle report on the table, and said impatiently: "We are about to launch the battle of the Bulge, and General Meretskov asked us to read these battle reports of the Southwestern Front. ”

Don! As soon as I heard this word, my heart suddenly jumped wildly, and I immediately thought of the name of a familiar city - Stalingrad. Could it be that these war reports are related to the famous Stalingrad that is about to begin? Thinking of this, I hurriedly grabbed the battle report, rummaged through the content related to the Don River, and picked out these battle reports.

As can be seen from the battle report, the Germans thwarted the counteroffensive of the Southwestern Front led by Marshal Timoshenko in the Battle of Kharkov in May. It also encircled and annihilated the 6th, 9th, and 57th armies of the Southwestern Front. On 30 June, the German 6th Army broke through the lines of the 21st and 28th armies of the Southwestern Front in the direction of Voronezh and inflicted heavy losses on both armies. On July 4, Manstein's troops captured Sevastopol, a military fortress in the south of our army. The German Army Group South, which had achieved a series of victories, was advancing frantically to the east. In the arduous process of retreating, the Soviet army continued to lose its troops, and the exhausted troops had become frightened birds, and it was difficult to organize an effective defensive line.

However, I still found a gratifying piece of good news: the German tank 4th Army had already reached the line of the Don River, and with a single strong attack, it was possible to capture Stalingrad, which was now empty and weakly defended, but Hitler, who was so happy, made a wrong decision to transfer this tank army to the direction of the Caucasus.

Fedyuninsky saw that I was intently reading the battle report. I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Leda." Did you see anything from the battle report? ”

I looked at the map spread out on the table, quickly picked up the battle report, walked to the map, and at the same time politely said to Fedyuninsky: "Comrade commander. Please come along. I'll tell you about my analysis of the enemy situation on the map. ”

Fedyuninsky walked over to the table. Bending down to look at the map on the table, with his eyes fixed on the position of Volkhov where our front was located, he said: "I'm ready." You say. ”

I hurriedly put the battle report on the map, obscured his sight, and reminded him: "Comrade commander, don't look at Volkhov, we will soon lose the attention of the high command here, and they will turn all their energy to the new battlefield." ”

"A new battlefield?" Puzzled, Fedyuninsky asked: "Where?" ”

I pointed to Voronezh on the map and said to him: "Comrade commander, please see, according to the battle reports, Voronezh was captured by the Germans on June 30, and now they are launching a fierce attack on the Voronezh-Kretskaya section on the west side of the Don River, intending to break through our defenses from this section. ”

When Fedyuninsky heard me say this, he understood what I meant almost instantly, and he pointed to Stalingrad on the east side of the Don River on the map, and asked tentatively: "Lida, what do you mean, is the next main target of the German Army Group South, and it is possible that it is here - Stalingrad?!" ”

For his rapid reaction speed, I secretly gave a thumbs up, sure enough, there are no weak soldiers under a strong general, he is worthy of Zhukov's right-hand man, I only briefly mentioned it, and he guessed the next main direction of the German army, which may be Stalingrad on the east side of the Don River. I nodded slowly and said, "Comrade commander, it is not possible, the next main target of the German army will definitely be Stalingrad." ”

Fedyuninsky was immediately shocked, but still asked with some unconvincing: "You have only read a few battle reports, how can you be so sure that the Germans will choose the direction of attack in Stalingrad?" ”

I said in my heart, man, I think at least three versions of the Battle of Stalingrad, which is the most familiar part of the history of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR. But I can't say these words explicitly, otherwise I will definitely be regarded as a nervous disorder, and I can only say vaguely: "Comrade commander, this is just my intuition, plus the analysis based on these battle reports in my hand. ”

"Intuition!" Fedyuninsky listened to my answer, nodded and said: "I once heard a rumor that you once told Comrade Stalin that you dreamed that Rokossovsky would be in danger and almost captured by the Germans. Comrade Stalin, however, though he thought it was very absurd, nevertheless sent a force to the village you were talking about. Later it turns out that everything you see in your dreams is true. I want to ask you, is this rumor true? ”

I nodded and honestly replied: "Comrade commander, this is true. ”

Fedyuninsky sat down at the table, looked up at me and didn't speak, and it took at least a minute before he made the last decision and said, "All right, Leda." Since Comrade Stalin trusted your intuition, I chose to trust you this time. ”

After listening to Fedyuninsky's statement, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that these things are unbelievable to say these things, and he can say things that believe me, which shows how much he trusts me. I picked up the important battle reports on the table and asked for his opinion: "Comrade commander, look at this matter, do we need to report it to Zhukov or Commander Meretskov?" ”

"What do you want to report to me?" A familiar voice came from the doorway, and I followed the voice, and it turned out to be General Meretskov and several generals who had entered the headquarters from the outside.

Seeing Meretskov enter the door, Fedyuninsky quickly stood up, raised his hand to salute him, and greeted him politely: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front, welcome back from Moscow. ”

When Fedyuninsky finished saluting, I also hurriedly stepped forward, saluted him, and reported: "Hello, Comrade General, welcome back to the headquarters. ”

After returning the salute, Meretskov walked up to my side, put his hands on my shoulders, and asked with concern: "Major Oshanina, I heard in Moscow that you were captured by the secret service personnel, so you rushed back overnight. ”

I tried to squeeze a smile on my face, and replied as if nothing had happened: "It was General Fedyuninsky who rescued me, and I am now fine, thank you for your concern." ”

After a brief greeting, Meretskov turned to the point: "By the way, when I entered the door, what were you talking about just now, and you said that you would report to me. ”

"Comrade General," said Fedyuninsky, who had already walked up to Meretskov and said, "Let me report this matter to you." Major Oshanina had just analyzed the targets that the Germans might attack next, based on the battle report. At this point, he made a gesture of invitation, "Please come to the map, and I will explain it to you in detail." ”

Meretskov and several of his fellow generals followed Fedyuninsky to the table and bent down to look at the map. Fedyuninsky was about to begin his explanation, when Meretskov suddenly looked up and said to me: "By the way, Major Oshanina, I forgot to tell you that the Supreme Commander has personally dismissed you from the post of commander of the 378th Division, and let you first go to the headquarters of the Front as an operational staff officer. ”

As soon as I heard about the new position, my heart suddenly sank, from acting division commander to operational staff officer, this is obviously a demotion. Although I was dissatisfied, I couldn't show it on the outside, and I replied with a bitter face: "I obey the arrangement of my superiors." ”

At this time, Fedyuninsky began to explain to Meretskov what I had just analyzed, and when he heard that the Germans were storming the Voronezh-Kretskaya section and that it was possible to break through the Don defense line of our army from this area, Meretskov interrupted Fedyuninsky and said in a heavy tone: "Comrade Fedyuninsky, your analysis is quite correct. On my way back to the headquarters just now, I received the latest battle report, the Germans had broken through the sector and approached the Don River, and it seemed that their target would really be Stalingrad. This situation is very important, and I will report it to Comrade Stalin immediately. (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the book friends for the precious monthly tickets voted by the dead hedgehog, the secret history of the golden dragon, the oil paper umbrella & secular, and the Sea Guard, and thank the book friends for the rewards of the Ocean Guard, sfghj, Lao Godfather, and Plunyakov.