Before Greitka and Savchenko were leaving, I specifically told them: "Your action tonight is to quietly sneak into the enemy's rear, reconnoiter their forces and weapons, and try not to engage in an exchange of fire with the enemy unless absolutely necessary." Remember, in an independent division, every fighter is precious, don't let them sacrifice worthless. In conclusion, I would like to make it clear that this mission was personally explained by the head of the group army, and it is a test for you. What kind of achievements you can achieve determines whether you can leave a good impression in the hearts of your superiors. Do you understand? ”

"Understood!" Greitka and Savchenko said yes neatly, saluted me, and turned away. Grams, who was very poor in Russian, did not understand what I was telling them, and when he saw his men leaving, he hurriedly saluted us, turned and ran out.

Looking at Grams's back and disappearing into the doorway, Kirillov raised his hand and looked at the watch on his wrist, and then said to himself: "I don't know when this Comrade Ehrenburg will arrive?" ”

"Comrade Political Commissar," Razumeyeva, who was sitting next to the newsie-talkie, suddenly asked in a timid voice: "Comrade Ehrenburg you are talking about, is that the famous Jewish writer and journalist?" ”

"Yes, Lieutenant Razumeyeva." Kirillov asked with interest: "Have you heard of him too?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissar." Razumayeva, who has always been very calm, has a expression on her face when she mentions Ehrenburg's name: "When I was still in school, I read his poetry collection "Song of the Eve". Later, after graduating, I read his new poetry collections "Pray for Russia", "Fire", "Eve", "Caprice" and "Destroying Love". ”

Kirillov listened to Razumeyeva say this. A look of surprise appeared on his face: "Comrade Lieutenant. I didn't expect you to read his book too. These poetry collections that you just mentioned. For a while, it was a forbidden book that was put on the shelf. ”

"Huh?!" Razumayeva was taken aback and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Political Commissar, I think his poems are very well written, why did they become banned books?" ”

In July of that year, after the overthrow of the Tsarist autocracy, Ehrenburg returned to his homeland with a group of political exiles who made a detour through England and Scandinavia. After the victory of the October Socialist Revolution, Ehrenburg had a 'new hope' and worked in the Soviet government's Ministry of Social Security, the Department of Education for Preschool Children, and the Theater Administration. But his thinking is still complex and contradictory. In the face of the fierce and sharp class struggle and extreme economic difficulties of the first years of Soviet power, Ehrenburg's initial hopes and enthusiasm were soon replaced by doubts and hesitation. He has published several poetry collections in recent years. On the one hand, he welcomed the birth of 'another great century', and on the other hand, he said that he was 'both ecstatic and bewildered and frightened by the present reality', and called the revolution 'a bloody whirlwind', 'a love that destroys sex', and so on. As Comrade Ehrenburg admitted when he returned to his homeland again, he 'did not understand the revolution at that time and continued to be shaken and confused. ’……”

Kirillov and Razumayeva talked about Ehrenburg, and even Nadya and Basmanov, who were sitting next to them, came over. Listening to the conversation between them and Ehrenburg, I felt very uncomfortable, and after walking back to the table and sitting down, I looked at the few people who were still talking. I couldn't help but snort heavily.

Akhromeyev, who was standing next to me, heard my snort and was startled. He looked left and right. He walked up to me and sat down, looked at the commanders and fighters who were chatting speculatively, and asked me in a low voice: "Comrade division commander, did you know Comrade Ehrenburg before?" ”

"Of course I do," I said angrily, "if I hadn't known him, I would have the rank of major general now." ”

After a moment of silence, Akhromeyev cautiously asked: "Comrade division commander, as far as I know, you were a major general during the defense of Moscow, and later you were demoted to a major because something happened. Could it be that your major general was stripped of his rank and has anything to do with him? ”

"But no," I had a rare opportunity to complain, and told Akhromeyev, whom I trusted, about the ins and outs of the grudge against Ehrenburg: "...... I was so enraged by the sight of Zoya's body that the Germans had mutilated that I ordered all the captured soldiers to be shot. Unexpectedly, it was so unfortunate that Ehrenburg, who happened to be interviewed, saw this scene, so he took a photo and published the news in the "Red Star". Because this news was reprinted by many bourgeois newspapers, which led to many undesirable consequences, I was demoted and sent to the Leningrad Front. ”

"I see." After listening to what I said, Akhromeyev nodded thoughtfully, and then said to me: "Comrade division commander, I'll go and tell them to stop talking about this nasty journalist." So saying, he was about to get up.

I hurriedly stretched out my hand to pull him, shook my head and said, "Forget it, let them talk." Although there is a grudge between me and Ehrenburg, after all, it is between me and him, so don't affect everyone's mood. Chief of Staff, don't you see how much everyone likes him? After saying this, I fell silent, thinking to myself that this Ehrenburg was far more famous than I had imagined, and that almost everyone knew his name and knew more or less about his experiences. If I continue to treat him as an enemy, will one day I be isolated by everyone? The last time I went to Leningrad, he personally came to the airport to see me off and gave me a bunch of things to try to resolve the conflict between us, but I was carried away by hatred and did not accept his kind gesture. He's coming to my headquarters in a little while, what should I do then?

Just when I was thinking about it and feeling uneasy, Ehrenburg, who had been talked about by Kirillov and his family, came. Perhaps there were too many people talking about him, Ehrenburg, who was wearing a black tweed coat and a black top hat, as soon as he walked into the command headquarters, he sneezed loudly, and then Kirillov and several of them said neatly: "I wish you good health!" ”

Ehrenburg rubbed his itchy nose with his left hand and said "thank you" in his mouth. At the same time, he stretched out his right hand to Kirillov, who was facing him. When the hands of the two were clasped tightly. Ehrenburg said excitedly: "I didn't expect it." Comrade Kirillov, we meet again. The two of us haven't seen each other in eight or nine years, haven't we? ”

"To be exact, we haven't seen each other for ten years." Kirillov corrected him: "When you returned home in 1932, I accompanied you to visit the Moscow-Donbass trunk line project, to visit Kuznetsk and other construction sites of the first five-year plan. ”

Kirillov's words made me break out in a cold sweat, I didn't expect the two of them to be old acquaintances, fortunately I didn't say anything bad about Ehrenburg in front of Kirillov just now, otherwise. Now I'm so embarrassed.

Only to hear Ehrenburg say again: "Yes, dear Comrade Kirillov. Accompanied by you, I visited Kuznetsk and other construction sites of the First Five-Year Plan, and I was deeply moved by the vigorous and thriving scene of the Motherland, which greatly strengthened my understanding of the policy of the Bolshevik Party and strengthened my confidence and enthusiasm for the Soviet socialist system. In this way, the contrast between the two completely different worlds of the Soviet Union and Western Europe, my worldview changed significantly. And it's a 'decisive' shift. ”

When I heard his self-confession, I muttered to myself: "It's good that you were not in the Soviet Union at the time, otherwise you would have been the target of purges." There's your turn to stand here and catch up with your old friends.

"Not bad!" Kirillov also added: "In the days that followed, you created the novel "The Day Two" and the novella "Do it all in one go". According to the comrades of the Central Committee. Your novels swept away the hesitation and bourgeois prejudices of the past, and enthusiastically sang the praises of new people, new things, and new ideas in the socialist construction of the motherland, and were recognized as among the outstanding works of the thirties. Even the great writer Comrade Gorky was full of praise for your two novels during his lifetime. ”

"Dear Ilya. Gregriwich," Razumeyeva walked up to Ehrenburg with a pencil and a book, and begged with a look of adoration: "I like your book of poems, can you sign it for me?" ”

Ehrenburg took the book and pen in Lazumeeva's hand, looked at it and said in surprise: "Comrade lieutenant, I didn't expect you to still have my "Prayer for Russia" in your collection?!" You know, this book is out of print for a long time, and I don't have it myself. When he signed his signature, he continued, "When our motherland is invaded by fascist bandits, we must not only pray for Russia, but also fight tenaciously against the aggressors, and use our blood and lives to defend our great motherland and our great leader, Comrade Stalin!" ”

As soon as Ehrenburg's words fell, there was a round of applause from the headquarters. Originally, I didn't want to applaud, but when I saw that everyone, including Ehrenburg, was malfunctioning, I had to pretend to tap my palm a few times.

Kirillov brought Ehrenburg to me, and just as he was about to make an introduction, Ehrenburg preemptively stretched out his hand to me and said in a friendly manner: "Hello, Comrade Oshanina, we meet again!" ”

"Hello, Comrade Ehrenburg." In front of many of my subordinates, even though I was dissatisfied with Ehrenburg in my heart, a polite smile appeared on my face, and I reached out to shake my hand with him, and at the same time said politely: "Welcome to my headquarters." ”

Kirillov obviously didn't know that Ehrenburg and I knew each other, and when we shook hands, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Division commander, Comrade Ehrenburg, I didn't expect that the two of you actually knew each other for a long time." ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissar." With a smirk on my face, I said perfunctorily: "Comrade Ehrenburg and I have met as early as January during the great counteroffensive in Moscow. ”

Ehrenburg's face flushed when I said this, and after a moment of hesitation, he let go of my hand, took a step back, put his hands to his legs, and bowed solemnly and deeply to me.

His actions stunned all of us.

When he straightened up, Kirillov grabbed his arm and asked in surprise: "Hey, I said old man, what kind of fame is this?" ”

Ehrenburg did not answer his question, and looked at me with his eyes, and said sincerely: "Comrade Oshanina, I once again express my deep apologies for my negligence and arrogance, for the many troubles I have caused you. After saying that, he bowed deeply to me again, and this time when he bent down, he did not straighten up, but kept that fixed position.

Seeing that all the people were looking at me with puzzled eyes, I immediately felt embarrassed, and quickly stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and said in a continuous voice: "Comrade Ehrenburg, what are you doing here?" Now that the matter has passed, why do you still have to worry about it! As I said this, the last shred of resentment in my heart dissipated with the two bows he bowed.

After Ehrenburg stood up straight, he turned his body slightly to the side, and introduced to all of us a middle-aged man standing behind him, wearing a blue tweed coat and a peaked cap: "Let me introduce to you, this is the new Propaganda Minister of the Stalingrad City Committee, Comrade Verdovin, who is responsible for arranging my interview in Stalingrad. ”

After Verdowen and I, Kirillov and Akhromeyev had shaken hands, Ehrenburg said to us, like the owner of the place: "Sit down, everybody." And you, comrade operator, sit down with you. Let me tell you why I apologized to Comrade Oshanina in public. ”

With the acquiescence of Kirillov and I, Basmanov and Razumeeva also sat down at the table, filling the wooden table to the brim. When he saw that everyone was seated, Ehrenburg, who was sitting across from me, stood up, smiled at me, and began to tell everyone about the grievances between me and him.

When everyone understood what was going on, Kirillov stood up and pointed his finger at his old friend and criticized him in a lesson-telling tone: "I said, old man, you are really too much, you don't even understand the indiscriminate articles. Do you know that because Colonel Oshanina was almost expelled from the army and sent to Tyumen? ”

Ehrenburg smiled embarrassedly and replied, "Yes, when I learned the truth of the matter, I was also very sad. When I heard that Comrade Oshanina was going to the Leningrad Front, I personally went to the airport to bid her farewell and personally apologized to her, hoping for her understanding. (To be continued......)