With the reconquest of Popkovo, Sushinich became safe, as the enemy could not find a more suitable place to place their long-range artillery except here. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

When Rokossovsky saw Kazakov walking in from outside, he smiled and asked: "My comrade artillery commander, I wonder how many German artillery pieces you captured in the woods outside the village?" ”

After sitting down in the vacant seat next to Rokossovsky, Kazakov said angrily: "Alas, don't mention it. Although we captured thirty cannons in the woods, they were not usable. ”

"Thirty captured cannons are unusable, what's going on?" When Rokossovsky heard this, he immediately thought that the Germans had stuffed a grenade into the barrel of the gun before retreating, so that the captured artillery could not be used, so he carefully asked: "Have the cannons been destroyed by the enemy?" ”

Kazakov heard Rokossovsky's voice-over, and said with a sad face: "The cannons are all intact, but unfortunately there are no shells and no bolts." The damned Germans removed all the bolts from their guns before they fled. ”

"It seems that the Germans are not reconciled to their defeat, and they still think that sooner or later they will be able to fight back." Ma Linin said in a mocking tone: "So when they retreated, they didn't even destroy the cannons, but only brought the bolts, so that when they came back, as long as they put the bolts on the artillery, they could be used again." ”

"The Germans won't come back." Rokossovsky waited for Malinin to finish speaking, and immediately said confidently: "Our troops will fortify here, and no matter what size of troops the enemy uses to launch an attack on the village of Popkovo, we will definitely not take a step back." ”

Malinin raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, it's already dark, should we stay here, or go back to the headquarters of the army group?" ”

Rokossovsky turned his head to look at Chernyshov and asked: "Comrade General, where are the comrades of the condolence group?" ”

Chernyshov, who had been in contact with the outside world by telephone, hurriedly replied: "Some of the comrades of the condolence group are helping the hygienists to take care of the wounded, some are helping in the kitchen, and some are still chatting with the fighters and telling them about the current situation. Speaking of this, he paused for a moment and sighed, "It's a pity that they will leave tomorrow, if they can stay for a few more days, it must be very effective in boosting the morale of the troops." ”

Although at this moment, Rokossovsky's heart was 10,000 unwilling to let the condolence group leave, but in his mouth, he wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong and said: "Comrade General, this is not good, the time and distance of the condolence group have been arranged by the superiors, and no one has the right to change it." ”

While he was talking, the chief of staff of the division walked in from outside, and Chernyshov hurriedly called him over and ordered: "Chief of staff, it's getting late, you go and arrange a place for the comrades of the condolence group to stay tonight." Remember, big or not big is secondary, the key is to be warm, understand? ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." The chief of staff agreed, and was about to go outside, but was stopped by Malinin. Malinin walked up to him and whispered a few words in his ear, and the chief of staff looked at Rokossovsky with a surprised expression on his face.

Rokossovsky was busy looking at the map in front of him, and he didn't notice anything unusual about the chief of staff of the division, he just saw that Malinin was not by his side, so he called out Malinin.

Ma Lining hurriedly pushed the chief of staff of the division and said in a low voice: "Follow my orders!" ”

The chief of staff of the division raised his hand and saluted, and ran out with a smile on his face.

Malinin walked back to Rokossovsky and asked respectfully: "Comrade commander, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky said to Malinin, pointing to the map in front of him with a red and blue pencil, "you come and see here, there is a gap of up to eight kilometers wide between the right flank of the army group and the 61st army of friendly neighbors. If the Germans had discovered this gap and sent troops to intersperse, it would have been entirely possible to cut off the logistical supply lines of our army. ”

The area Rokossovsky said was discovered by Malinin a long time ago, but unfortunately the troops he could use were limited, so he could only sigh with admiration, and at the same time secretly prayed in his heart that the enemy would not let the enemy discover the gap in the junction of the two army groups, otherwise the troops who were cut off from the logistics supply line would not be able to stop the German counterattack at all.

He nodded and said, "Yes, Comrade Commander, I also found this loophole. But it's all deserted open land, covered with waist-high snow, and it's impossible for Germans to drive through it. As for hiking, it's even more impossible, it's just looking for death. ”

Rokossovsky listened to Malinin's words, and then compared it on the map, and found that this gap with a width of eight kilometers and a depth of seventy kilometers was indeed not used for defense. Now the snow on the plains is waist-high, and the German armored vehicles cannot be driven at all, and if they want to sneak attack the logistics supply line, they can only use the method of marching on foot. If they really do this, it will be just like what Ma Linin said, it is purely looking for death, and it is estimated that more than half of the people will freeze to death before they reach their destination.

Next, Malinin explained to Chernyshov some precautions for garrisoning the village of Popkovo, especially emphasizing that on the slope of the hill where the cemetery is located, it is necessary to build a complete defense system.

After listening to this, Chernyshov said with a wry smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the weather is too cold, and the ground is frozen hard. I saw with my own eyes the fighters digging trenches, with a pickaxe smashed down, and there was only one white spot on the ground, unless the ground was blown open with shells. ”

"No, we have a limited number of shells right now, so we can't waste them like this." As soon as Chernyshov finished speaking, the first person to object was the artillery commander Kazakov: "If the shells are exhausted when repairing the fortifications, how can our artillery provide artillery support to the infantry when the Germans launch a counterattack?" ”

Rokossovsky waited for Kazakov to finish speaking, and then said unhurriedly: "Actually, you can dig trenches in the frozen ground without shells." ”

"Really?" Seeing that Rokossovsky did not look like a joke, Cherneshov hurriedly asked: "Comrade commander, what should we do?" ”

"Comrade General," Rokossovsky said, looking up at Chernyshov, "let your fighters go and cut down trees and make a fire where the trenches are to be dug." The permafrost layer is generally only two feet behind, as long as this layer of soil is roasted soft, the bottom is easy to dig. Do you understand? ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's idea, Cherneshov frowned and thought about it, and then nodded vigorously and said: "That's right, that's right, Comrade Commander has a lot of ideas, and he came up with an idea at random, and he solved a big problem for us." ”

After a simple dinner in the hall of the church, the group discussed the deployment of the fortifications. After all the things that should be discussed were discussed, Malinin smiled and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, you haven't slept for several days, I asked the division chief of staff to arrange a room for you, you can go and rest first." ”

Although Rokossovsky was eager to go back to his room immediately and lie down to make up for the drowsiness owed during this time, seeing that everyone was still in the headquarters, he ran to sleep alone, which was obviously inappropriate, so he hesitated for a moment, but still shirked and said: "Forget it, I'll deal with it all night in the church." Comrade General," he turned to look at Chernyshov, "can you trouble your warriors to give us two more furnaces?" Otherwise, I'm afraid that by the time dawn comes, everyone will be frozen here. ”

Rokossovsky's words caused a burst of laughter, and after the laughter stopped, without waiting for Chernyshov's orders, the chief of staff of his division went to arrange the matter of lighting the stove.

When the two stoves were set up in the hall of the church and became warm, Malinin glanced at Cherneshov, who immediately said to Rokossovsky with understanding: "Comrade commander, then you better go back and rest, we are enough here." ”

Seeing that Cherneshov was also urging him to rest, Rokossovsky did not refuse, and after a few words of advice to everyone, he followed a soldier sent by the chief of staff of the division to the room arranged for him.

The fighters took Rokossovsky out of the church and walked down the street to a nice wooden house not far away. The soldier slowed down and said: "Comrade commander, this is it. ”

Rokossovsky looked around and found that this wooden house was the best compared to the surrounding houses, so he couldn't help but ask: "Who used to live in this house?" ”

"Supposedly the German commander." The warrior replied briefly: "There is a fireplace in the house, and the fire has been made a long time ago." ”

"I'll go over by myself, you can go back first." Seeing that he was not far from the house, Rokossovsky thanked the warrior and sent him away.

After the fighters left, Rokossovsky walked to the door and pushed the door with his hand, but did not push it open. He thought that the force of pushing the door was too small, and the wooden door was also deformed due to the change of climate, so he pushed it again, but unfortunately it was not pushed open.

If, by this time, Rokossovsky did not know that someone had bolted the door inside, the intelligence would have been too worrying. He thought that this was the room arranged for himself by the chief of staff of the Guards Division, but he didn't know who had taken the lead, and his heart suddenly became nameless, and he raised his hand and knocked the door with his fist a few times.

After knocking, he listened to the movement with his ears sideways, as if there was no sound at all. So he raised his hand again and knocked hard, and he made up his mind that as long as the people inside did not open the door, he would keep knocking.

Who knew that this time I just knocked twice, and a familiar female voice suddenly came from inside, and the other party asked vigilantly: "Who is it, who is outside?" ”

"Me!" Rokossovsky was a little dumbfounded when he heard the sound coming from the door, and he replied dumbfounded: "It's me outside!" ”

Because he was so distracted that he didn't even notice that his answer was speechless. Just as he was hesitating, he should decisively turn away or wait for the person inside to open the door and go in.

Before he could make a decision, the door had been pulled open from the inside. Before he could see the people in the room, a small, white and smooth hand had reached out from the door, grabbed his arm, and pulled him hard.

Rokossovsky entered the room by inertia, and the door slammed behind him, and then a soft body threw himself into his arms.

"Borisova, really... It's you... Is it here? "Rokossovsky, who was in his arms, felt that everything in front of him was not very real, as if he was in a dream. He hugged Borisova's body tightly and muttered:

"Little fool! You big fool! Borisova looked up at Rokossovsky, tapped a finger firmly on his forehead, and then gently broke free from his embrace. After looking him up and down, he said softly: "Koschika, take off your military coat, there is a fireplace in the house, and it is very warm." ”

After speaking, without waiting for Rokossovsky to speak, she was like a considerate husband's wife, helping Rokossovsky untie the military coat, remove it and hang it on the coat hook on the wall.

Rokossovsky was like a wooden man, allowing Borisova to take off his military coat and hat, and even the other party squatted on the ground and helped him take off his snow-stained boots.

By the time he sat down on a bench in front of the fireplace, he had finally regained some clarity. He looked at Borisova, who was standing in front of him, and asked, "Borisova, what the hell is going on, why are you here?" ”

Borisova shrugged her shoulders, took a cup of hot tea and put it in Rokossovsky's hand, and continued: "I don't know what's going on, it's the chief of staff of the 11th Guards Division who arranged a place for me to stay. Originally, I wanted to live with the girls in the condolence group, but he said that it was the instructions of his superiors to arrange me here. I asked him who gave the instructions, and he just laughed and didn't say anything. ”

Hearing Borisova say this, Rokossovsky thought about several of the conductors in the church one by one, and felt that the person who arranged this was most likely Malinin, because after dinner, he was the first to urge himself to come back and rest. After rejecting his suggestion, he even glanced at Chernyshov and asked him to persuade him as well. In retrospect, they arranged to live with Borisova, which was premeditated, but this kind of conspiracy is quite useful.

Seeing that Rokossovsky didn't speak, but just giggled vigorously, Borisova asked curiously: "Koschika, did you think of something interesting, why do you always giggle vigorously?" ”