Stalin stood at a long table with his back to the door, leaning forward, examining the map that was spread out on the table.

I walked briskly to a distance of two or three meters from him, stopped and took a deep breath, then raised my right hand to the brim of my hat and saluted him while announcing my arrival. Because of nervousness, not only did his voice tremble, but he also stammered when he spoke: "Report...... Report! This...... This...... Stalin with ...... Homosexuals! Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina was ordered to come and listen...... Waiting for you...... Your instructions! ”

Hearing my voice, Stalin turned around. He wore a gray uniform shirt, wide breeches at the top and narrow at the bottom, trouser legs tucked into his boots, and a pipe in his fist. After looking me up and down, he learned my tone and said, "Report ...... Report! This...... This...... Stalin with ...... Homosexuals! ……”

Although he had a serious expression on his face, he learned my tone vividly, which made me laugh, and the atmosphere in the room became relaxed. He changed his pipe to his left hand, then extended his hand to me and said kindly: "Comrade Leda, welcome back to Moscow." ”

After shaking hands with Stalin, I was supposed to be in an upright position, my hands naturally hanging down with my fingertips against the seams of my trousers. However, because the injury to his left shoulder had not healed, his left hand could not be fully straightened, so he had to bend it and put it on his waist.

Stalin looked me up and down again, and then asked me with concern, who was uneasy at what he looked at: "Lida, I heard that you were wounded at the front. How's the recovery going? ”

I quickly supported my left arm with my right hand, raised it slightly, and replied in a loud voice: "Report to Comrade Stalin, you are recovering well, and it will not be long before you will be able to take up arms and fight the enemy, as before." ”

"Leda, come and sit here!" Stalin pulled out a chair from the table and beckoned me to sit down.

I couldn't help but be a little flattered to see that Stalin was so polite to me. Even though he said it twice, I still stood still. It wasn't until he sat down at the other end of the long tweeded table that I stepped over and sat down in his assigned seat.

He put his pipe to his mouth, picked up the matchbox from the table, struck a match, and carefully moved the match back and forth over the tobacco until all the tobacco was red. Lighting his pipe, he took a puff, spat out the smoke ring, and said to me straight to the point: "Leda! Some time ago, we formed a women's group with a pool of volunteers. When the Supreme Soviet was discussing who should be the supreme commander of this unit, Comrade Voroshilov recommended you. Because of your outstanding performance on the Kremlin podium, which was recognized by everyone, the proposal was unanimously adopted. When this appointment was communicated to Zhukov, it was revealed that you had been appointed acting commander of the 8th Guards Division, and that you had been wounded in battle. It was I who personally ordered Zhukov to arrange for you to be sent back to the city to recuperate. ……”

Listening to what he said, I understood why the notice to return to Moscow to recuperate from my wounds came so suddenly, and the respectful attitude of those soldiers towards me when I passed the checkpoint on the way back to the city, turned out to be related to the supreme commander in front of me.

I was just about to say a word of thanks to him, but he had already changed the subject: "You have been at the front for so long, I would like to hear your opinion, analyzing the current situation, do you think we can defeat the Germans?" ”

This abrupt question made me a little overwhelmed, I didn't know why Stalin would ask me like this, and for a while I didn't know what to say, just looked at him in a daze.

He stood up, took the pipe from his mouth, held it in his hand, and walked slowly back and forth around the table. Seeing that I didn't speak for a long time, he stopped and asked strangely, "Comrade Lida, why don't you speak, do you have any scruples about me?" ”

Hearing what he said, I said in my heart that I don't care about you, if you say the wrong thing, your old man dragged me out of the gang and shot me in a fit of anger, then how wronged I am! Although I thought this in my heart, I didn't dare to say it, and I had to squeeze out a smile on my face and say, "I'm thinking about how to report to you." ”

"Then let's talk about it," said Stalin, holding his pipe to his mouth, and continuing to walk around the table, "and we talked like old friends." ”

Having said this, I did not dare to take it lightly, reorganized the words in my head, and then cautiously said: "Comrade Stalin, although the present situation is very unfavorable to us, in the face of the increasingly ferocious offensive of the German army, our army's defensive line is still constantly retreating. However, according to the analysis of various situations, in another half a month, or even less, we will not only be able to hold back the German attack, but also be able to push them back to a considerable distance from the city. ”

Hearing this answer to him, Stalin involuntarily stopped, and looked at me, his beard slightly curled. He raised his hand to remove his pipe, lit it with the side of the mouthpiece facing me, and said, "Tell me about your reasons!" ”

"The fascist bandits waged an unjust war of aggression, while our great Soviet motherland waged a just war against aggression, a war in which almost all the people fought against the fascist bandits. ……”

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stalin interrupted me and said with some displeasure: "I want to hear what is in your heart, and not the kind of clichés that everyone would say!" ”

Seeing his attitude, I knew that I could no longer use clichés and empty words to perfunctory him, so I thought about it for a while before continuing: "...... The fascist bandits, who had suffered from the stubborn resistance of our army, had become tired after months of fighting, and their originally frantic offensive was gradually beginning to weaken. Far from their homeland, they fought deep into the hinterland of our country, and they relied heavily on logistical supplies. However, since their troops were advancing too fast and did not leave enough forces to consolidate the occupied areas, and on this supply line, which stretched for more than a thousand roads, there were always our guerrillas and sabotage groups active, and it was not easy for the enemy to transport material from the rear to the front. ……”

"Wait a minute." Stalin interrupted me again, he walked to the table, leaned down to look at the map in front of him, pointed his finger at the location of Moscow, then drew a dotted line to the west, and said thoughtfully: "You mean to say that this supply line of the fascist bandits is actually in our hands?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" I replied confidently: "The fascist bandits did not have both defensive positions and campaign reserves, nor were they prepared to fight in winter conditions, because the battle line was too long, the supplies were insufficient, and the consumption was too great during the campaign. Once the cold hits, their soldiers will suffer a large amount of non-combat attrition due to the lack of winter clothing. Their tanks and other vehicles were immobile due to the low temperatures. ……”

"The analysis makes sense!" After listening to my analysis for almost half an hour, Stalin straightened up with relief, knocked his long-extinguished pipe on the ashtray, and then pointed his finger at me with the finger holding the pipe, prompting: "Is there anything else to add?" For example, what measures can be taken to exacerbate the current predicament of the fascist bandits and hasten their demise? ”

I thought for a moment, and then slowly said four words: "Solid wall clear!" ”

Stalin nodded and said: "The Supreme Command has long considered this method you are talking about, and issued Order No. 0428. The order mentions: the destruction and burning of all residential areas with a depth of 40-60 km along the front...... Immediately throw in all aircraft, concentrate on artillery and mortars, use scouts, skiers and partisans...... All residential areas must be destroyed, ...... without reservation. At the same time, the troops who accepted the task were asked to complete it within 10 days from November 21 to December 1. ……”

He spoke slowly, but every word he uttered hit my heart like a bombshell. Even though it was warm in the room and I was wearing a thick military coat, I couldn't help but shiver when he talked about it lightly. This short command means that tens of thousands of people will be left homeless. Although I also understand that this is a last resort in war, I still have some unbearable feelings in my heart. The numerous settlements around Moscow were the natural support for the German army to hide and protect themselves from the cold, and only this kind of impersonal order could achieve the goal of driving the German army from the warm houses to the ice and snow.

"Leda! Lida! "Stalin's shouts woke me from my contemplation, and just now I had been so distracted that I didn't even hear what he was saying later. I quickly turned my gaze back to him, waiting for what he would say.

"What are you thinking?" He didn't raise his tone and asked me with concern, "I called you so much and I didn't hear it." ”

"Nothing, Comrade Stalin!" I replied with some embarrassment, "I just thought of something and walked away for a while." ”

Stalin stared into my eyes and asked with some curiosity: "What do you think of that can make you distracted?" ”

Although there was no special expression in his eyes, I felt that this look was warning me: don't lie, you can't fool me. I hesitated, stood up abruptly, coughed clearly, and hid my panic: "I remembered a dream I had in the morning, in which I saw General Rokossovsky in danger, and the car in which he and the other commanders of the army group were traveling was trapped by German tanks. ”

When Stalin heard what I said, he actually laughed. I didn't expect him to react like this, and I couldn't help but be stunned. His laughter was so loud that even Poskorebeshev outside the house heard it, and opened the door and peeked in to see what was going on. Stalin found him standing at the door, waved him out.

After Boskorebeshev went out and closed the door, Stalin stopped laughing and said to me with some seriousness: "Comrade Leda, it's just a dream, don't be distracted by such inconsequential things." ”

"But, Comrade Stalin!" I tried to defend myself, saying, "What I saw in my dreams was very real, and I had never heard of the place where the command was staying. It's just a dream, but it's not to be taken lightly. Then I told him exactly what I had seen in my dream.

Stalin's face sank, probably because of my unknowing attitude, which provoked him to change his face. He put his empty pipe to his mouth and spun it in circles with his hands behind his back, as if wondering if the dream I was telling was credible. After a long time, he stopped, looked at me, and asked me in an unusually serious tone: "Are you sure that the places you see in your dreams are places you have never been to, or even heard of?" ”

"Yes." I answered him in the affirmative.

"Then repeat the names of the places you heard in your dreams, and the names of the officers you met."

"The name of that village is 'Peshki', and the heads of the investigation team of the front command are General Carmela and General Kurkin."

After listening to the names of places and people, Stalin nodded slightly, and then, with calm and confident steps, walked gently to the other end of the large room. He walked over to the lap chair next to the desk, sat down, removed the headset from a telephone, and whispered: "I am Stalin." ”

After a while, I heard him raise his voice a little, and he said in the microphone: "Comrade Shaposhnikov, you should immediately call Comrade Zhukov of the Western Front and ask him if he has sent an investigation team to the front today, and who is the officer in charge of the team?" At the same time, do you know a little more about the village of Peshki, located north of the Leningrad highway, where are our troops located? I await your reply. ”

Putting down the microphone, Stalin sat down in his seat and did not get up, put the tobacco in his pipe, lit it again, and sat there and smoked. And I stood there, looking at him with trepidation, regretting in my heart that I had been a little too reckless, but it was only a dream, but I told it to Stalin in all seriousness, as if it were the real thing.

It only took a few minutes, but for me, it was as long as hours. My heart beat faster when I heard the phone ring on my desk, and I knew exactly if what I had just said was true or if it was just a dream.

Stalin took the microphone and did not speak, but listened quietly. Putting down the microphone, he stood up, walked up to me unhurriedly, and said slowly, "Leda! Just half an hour earlier, Zhukov had sent General Carmela and General Kurkin to the front with a temporary investigation team from the Front Command to find out about the unauthorized withdrawal of the 16th Army from the existing defense area, and their destination was the village of Peshki. The chief of staff also reported that there were our troops in the village, as well as a certain number of tanks. It seems that the dream you are talking about is true. ”

I didn't speak, but stared nervously at Stalin to see what he would decide. He took the pipe from his mouth, thought for a moment with a frown, and then said: "If it is really as you dreamed, Comrade Rokossovsky will be in danger." Reliable troops should be brought in from nearby to help him out of danger. ”