In the early morning of October 14, the German offensive on Borokino began.

The rumbling sound of cannon in the distance woke me from my sleep. I sat up from my bed and looked out through the window, and although it was not yet dark, the reflection of the fire on the southern horizon stained the sky red.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Zhukov's voice sounded outside the door: "Leda! Lida! Are you out of bed? ”

Could it be that Zhukov is ready to go to the front? I guessed this, jumped out of bed, and hurriedly got dressed and promised loudly: "Comrade General, I have already gotten up, and when I am dressed, I will go out." ”

After putting on my uniform, I opened the door and walked out into the outer room. I saw Zhukov walking around the room with his hands rubbed together, looking uneasy. What's going on? You must know that Zhukov is the kind of character who collapses in front of Mount Tai and does not change his face and heartbeat, what would make him so out of shape? My heart was full of curiosity, but I couldn't ask directly. After standing there for a while, seeing that Zhukov did not notice my presence, he took the initiative to greet him: "Good morning, comrade general!" ”

"Leda!" Zhukov heard my voice, stopped, turned his head to look at me, and asked with concern: "Get up, did you sleep well last night?" ”

"Very well, Georgi Konstantinovich." I simply answered his question, knowing that he called me, there must be some important task to arrange, so I asked straight to the point: "Do you have any tasks to assign to me?" ”

Zhukov hesitated for a moment, and then said slowly: "I have a special task for you, but I have to ask your opinion in advance to see if you are willing, if not, I will go to someone else." ”

"What are you talking about? Comrade General. Seeing that he was so polite to me, I couldn't help but replace "you" with "you" as an honorific title when I replied, "You are the commander, you can arrange any tasks directly, and you don't need to ask for my opinion." Then he cautiously asked, "Do you intend to send me to a specific position in which combat unit?" ”

"Where, where." Zhukov shook his head and said: "I have no plans to arrange for you to join the combat unit for the time being, and I called you here today because I want to ask you for help in a personal matter." ”

"Please help me with private matters?!" Hearing Zhukov say this, I couldn't help frowning, racking my brains for a long time, but I didn't think of anything I could do for Zhukov.

"Yes, Leda." Zhukov returned to his usual calm expression, and said slowly: "Do you remember the other day when we were on our way from Moscow, when we crossed a wooden bridge, I talked about my mother and sister still living in a nearby village? ”

"Remember, remember very clearly, Comrade General!" When I heard him say this, I had already vaguely guessed what kind of special task he was going to give me, so I asked tentatively: "Is my mission related to this matter?" ”

"I have just received information that the vanguard of the German army has approached that area, and that perhaps tomorrow, or even today, they will occupy it. So I would like to send you to the village of Strelkovka, help me transfer my mother and sister out of the village, and then send them to Moscow. ”

"Understood, Comrade General." Then I asked, "Who am I going with?" After taking your mother and sister out of the village, where should I send them to Moscow? ”

"The driver Sayt is going with you, I've already told him, he's waiting for you outside. After receiving my mother and sister, you only need to send them to the edge of Moscow, where we last left the city, and naturally someone will come to pick you up. ”

At this moment, the phone rang on the table, and Zhukov walked over to pick up the receiver and said, "I'm Zhukov." ”

I heard the voice of General Rokossovsky, commander of the 16th Army, over the microphone: "Comrade General, just now the infantry of the German devils, under the cover of fifteen tanks, launched a fierce attack on the positions of the Porosouch Division. Our fighters behaved very valiantly, and the enemy, leaving behind the burning tanks and the killed soldiers, retreated in disgrace, and the position was still firmly in our hands. ”

"Okay, keep fighting. However, don't be proud, take advantage of the enemy's retreat, seize the time to strengthen the fortifications, and prepare for the battle ahead. Zhukov thought about it for a moment, and then told the other party: "Hold Borodino, monitor the Minsk automobile road, and be sure to lay mines along the way." Also, a mobile sapper detachment carrying mines and explosives was organized and set off in cars and horse-drawn wagons with the task of intercepting the path of enemy tanks. Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, smiled bitterly, and said helplessly: "I don't have reserves." Well, so be it. With that, he hung up the phone.

Seeing him look at me again, I quickly stood up and said, "Are you allowed me to prepare?" ”

"Hmm," he nodded, "go ahead." ”

When I got back to my room, I tied the belt hanging from the head of the bed around my waist, and before putting on my military coat, I pulled out the pistol from the holster and checked it, and replaced it with a new magazine. Then I put on my coat, put on my shoulder bag with round magazines, and carried a submachine gun, and returned to the outer room in full gear.

Zhukov walked up to me, stretched out his big warm hand, took my hand and shook it vigorously, and said in a grateful tone: "Lida, be careful on the road, this matter will be entrusted to you." Good luck! ”

As soon as I walked out of the headquarters gate, I saw the driver, Sayt, who was leaning against the half-open door and smoking. I walked over to him and asked, "Sayt, how are you ready, can we go right away?" ”

Sayt threw the cigarette butt in his hand, walked around the front of the car and opened the door for me, and replied confidently: "You can go at any time, Comrade Major!" Please get on the bus. ”

"What about the others?" Before I got into the car, I looked around, but I didn't see anyone else except the driver in front of me and the guards standing guard at the door, so I couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Others?! Didn't Comrade General just arrange for the two of us to carry out this special task? ”

After listening to Sayt's words, I silently sat in the co-pilot's seat, did not speak, but closed the car door with my hand. It seems that the war is tight now, and Zhukov may not be able to draw more manpower, so he gave this special task to us, whom he trusted.

The weather has been bad lately, with either rain or snow, and the already muddy road is full of potholes. We were both silent in the car, and Sayit drove the car with full attention, deftly winding around puddles, mounds, and dry bushes, heading straight for the village of Strelkovka.

After more than an hour of bumpy driving on the road, we finally reached the village of Strelkovka. As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the village, the car was stopped by a middle-aged man in civilian clothes. As soon as the car stopped, Saeit and I opened the door and stepped out. Said walked up to the middle-aged man and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Istinia Artemiana's home is?" ”

"Ustinia Artemiana?! I don't know what to do. The man replied blankly, and then asked us, "Who are you?" What are you doing here? You know, the German devils are only a dozen kilometers away from here, and we are organizing the evacuation of the people in the village. ”

"I was sent by General Zhukov." I guess that what Said just now may be the name of Zhukov's mother, but it is estimated that no one has called her by this name for many years, so it is normal to say that I don't know the way, so I directly indicated our intention to the middle-aged people.

"Oh, I see. It turns out that you are here to find the relatives of General Zhukov, and I will take you there. When the man heard me say this, it dawned on him, and while leading the way, he introduced himself to us: "I am Pugachev, chairman of the village Soviet, and I have been organizing the evacuation of the villagers since yesterday. ”

"How's the evacuation going?" I asked as I walked.

"Most of the people have been evacuated. Zhukov's sister also left yesterday with her two children. But the mother of Comrade General refused to leave, saying that she would not leave until her son sent someone to pick her up. I'm worried about this, if the enemy finds out that she is the mother of General Zhukov, he will definitely be shot. Thankfully, you're here, and the rest will be easy. ”

After a while, we came to a dilapidated house. Pugachev knocked on the door, and without waiting for an answer from inside, he pushed open the door and entered. The room was dimly lit, and I walked in, and it took me a moment to see an old lady who looked to be in her seventies sitting at the table, and Pugachev was standing beside her, pointing at me and bending over and whispering something to the old lady. I hurriedly stepped forward to salute the old lady and said loudly: "Grandma, I have come to pick you up on the orders of Comrade Zhukov and send you to Moscow. ”

The old lady, supported by Pugachev, slowly stood up, walked up in front of me, looked me up and down, and then said in a satisfied tone: "It seems that my son has not forgotten me as an old lady, and has sent a beautiful girl to pick me up." Okay, I'll go with you. ”

"Don't you pack up your things in the house? Even if you bring a few pieces of luggage and go. Pugachev reminded her from the side.

"No, when I get to Moscow, will I still lack what I use?" After saying this to Pugachev, she turned to me again and said, "Let's go, girl." I quickly grabbed her arm and helped her out.

Helping the old lady into the back seat, I had just returned to my passenger seat when sporadic gunfire rang out in the village. I poked my head out of the window of the car to look for the source of the gunfire, and Sayt had already started the vehicle and said loudly at me: "Comrade Major, it's the gunfire of the German MP40 submachine gun, it seems that they have entered the village." As he spoke, he quickly turned the car around, leaned back and opened the rear door, allowing Pugachev to get into the car as well. Then, with a slam on the accelerator, the car we were in quickly rushed out of the village.

The car drove far away, and there was no shadow in sight until the village of Strelkovka, and my heartbeat had not yet returned to normal. I stole a glance back at Pugachev, who was sitting in the back, and saw that he was also bloodless, shaking like chaff. Looking at Said again, he was still calmly and concentrating on driving the car, and there was no expression of fear in the slightest. I looked back at the old lady sitting in the back, and I was even more impressed that she fell asleep with her eyes closed.

A few hours later, our car approached the outskirts of the city. From a distance, I saw a checkpoint in front of me, with a lot of soldiers standing there, and two black cars also parked there. Said gradually slowed down and stopped more than twenty meters from the checkpoint. When the soldiers standing at the checkpoint saw our car stopped, several people immediately walked briskly towards us. I quickly got out of the car and walked towards them.

As I got closer, I realized that the person who was at the forefront I knew was Colonel Bezikov of the Central Guard Regiment. I hastened to salute him and said, "Hello, Comrade Colonel. I didn't expect us to meet here. ”

He did not return the salute, but stretched out his hand to shake it with me and said: "I came here to pick up the mother and sister of Comrade General Zhukov on the orders of Comrade Stalin, where are they?" ”

I pointed to the car behind me and said, "General Zhukov's sister was evacuated yesterday, and I only picked up his mother. The old grandmother was in the car. ”

After seeing Zhukov's mother and Pugachev, accompanied by the fighters, get into a black car parked at the checkpoint, Bezikov shook hands with me and said goodbye, saying: "Comrade Oshanina, your task has been completed, leave the rest to us, and you can go back and report to Comrade Zhukov with peace of mind." Before turning to leave, he added: "I have been transferred out of the Kremlin and now work at the garrison command in Moscow." And," he said, pointing to his badge, "my rank is no longer colonel, but lieutenant colonel." After shaking my hand again, he strode towards the checkpoint.

I stood there in a daze, not thinking that the last time a German bomb fell on the Kremlin, so many people would be punished. It is reasonable for the commander of the antiaircraft artillery unit to be transferred from his post because of the unfavorable air defense. But the colonel of the Central Guard Regiment was also demoted inexplicably, which is too chilling.

"Comrade Major." At some point, Sayt stood beside me and asked, "What are we going to do next?" ”

"Get in the car and go back to the front headquarters to report to Comrade General." With that, I turned around and walked over to the parked car.