Red Moscow

Stalin didn't expect that Rokossovsky would suddenly faint. He rushed to the door, opened the door, and said to Poskrebyshev who was sitting outside: "Boskrebyshev, Roko Sovsky fainted, get a doctor quickly!"

In just a few minutes, a doctor with a medical kit appeared at the door and said respectfully to Stalin: "Hello, Comrade Stalin, what can I do for you?"

Stalin didn't bother to think about why the doctor came so quickly, but urged him: "Comrade Rokossovsky fainted, come quickly and see what's going on?" He walked to the meeting table, put the medicine box on the table, opened the lid, took out the examination equipment, and began to examine Rokossovsky's body.

Turning his head, Stalin saw Poskrebyshev standing at the door, poking his head in. He walked over and asked, "Is this the doctor you arranged in advance?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Poskrebyshev nodded quickly, and replied truthfully: "When Marshal Rokossovsky came, his face was very ugly. Called the doctor and told him to wait in the next room."

"You did a good job." After complimenting the other party, Stalin returned to the room and asked the doctor who was examining Rokossovsky: "What's wrong with him?"

The doctor stopped what he was doing and said to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, Marshal Rokossovsky was too tired and under too much pressure, which led to the recurrence of old injuries and fainted. I suggest sending him to the hospital immediately. Going to the hospital for a comprehensive examination and recuperating for a period of time will be very helpful for his recovery."

With Stalin's permission, a stretcher was quickly carried to the office, and four strong guards carried Rokossovsky onto the stretcher and carried him out. Not only the doctor and Fejuninski followed, but even Stalin followed.

The reason Stalin wanted to follow was because the stretcher came out of his office. If he didn't show up in time, there would inevitably be rumors that he was seriously ill, which would be detrimental to the morale of the army. Impact.

Poskrebyshev followed closely behind Stalin, still feeling that Stalin's actions were unnecessary. Even Rokossovsky, as the marshal, did not personally come out with the stretcher that carried him. But soon, he discovered how wise Stalin's decision was. When the military officers or leaders at all levels walking in the corridor saw a stretcher being carried out of Stalin's office, they all showed horrified expressions on their faces. But when they saw clearly that Stalin himself was walking unhurriedly behind the stretcher, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

After watching the ambulance carrying Rokossovsky go away, Stalin turned and returned to his office. He dialed Antonov and said to him: "Comrade Antonov, Rokossovsky fainted at today's meeting. After the doctor's examination, it is a recurrence of an old injury and may be in the hospital rest for a while."

Antonov heard this, and said carefully: "Comrade Stalin, the Belarusian Second Front Army has just changed its commander. I think it is a bit inappropriate to change the commander again at this time."

"You misunderstood, Comrade Antonov." Stalin made this call to Antonov, not intending to change the commander of the front army again. "At any time, it is inappropriate to change the commander of the front army frequently. I I am calling you to tell you that Rokossovsky may have to stay in the hospital for a period of time. During the period when he is not on the front line, you must arrange someone to represent him as soon as possible. If not , first transfer Zakharov back from the First Front Army and let him temporarily act as the commander of the Front Army.”

"Understood, Comrade Stalin." Antonov was secretly relieved when he heard that he did not intend to dismiss Rokossovsky. He quickly replied, "Deputy Commander Trubnikov has already taken office. It has been three days, and he already has a basic understanding of the internal situation of the front army, so it is very appropriate to let him act as commander."

"Okay, let Trubnikov act as the commander of the Front Army." Stalin didn't want the Second Front Army to fall into chaos because of Rokossovsky's absence, and agreed to Antonov's proposal: "In addition, due to Rokossovsky's hospitalization, the five combined armies and one tank army that were originally allocated to the Second Front Army can be postponed for a few days."

"Understood, Comrade Stalin." Antonov replied: "I will arrange for the troops to be in place within a month. By then Marshal Rokossovsky should have recovered and left the hospital."

Antonov is at the General Staff Headquarters, negotiating with Zhukov to transfer the 65th, 48th and 70th Army Groups belonging to the First Front Army to the Second Front Army. After talking with Stalin, after putting down the phone, he said to Zhukov who was looking at a map by the wall: "Comrade Marshal, Marshal Rokossovsky suddenly fainted during a meeting in Stalin's office. For a period of time, he will not be able to return to the front to command troops, and his position will be temporarily replaced by Deputy Commander Trubnikov. According to the wishes of the Supreme Commander himself, the troops that should be handed over to the Second Front Army by your department can be temporarily postponed for a while. slow."

"This is really great." The reason why Zhukov came to Moscow and did not immediately go to see Stalin, but came to see Antonov, was to discuss who would occupy the vacated positions after the three armies were assigned to the Second Front. to defend against the problem. Now that he heard that the deadline for the transfer of troops could be extended, Zhukov couldn't help but be overjoyed: "In this way, we can concentrate the main force in the area where the German army's defense is weakest, and carry out a few assaults appropriately."

Thinking that Rokossovsky was admitted to the hospital, he paused for a moment and asked tentatively: "By the way, do you know what hospital Rokossovsky lives in? I want to visit him later when I have time." .”

Antonov shook his head and said, "Comrade Stalin didn't say where he lives, so I don't know. But don't worry, I'll make a couple of phone calls later, and I'll know where he lives."

...

When Rokossovsky woke up, he unexpectedly found himself lying in a spacious ward with a young female nurse sitting next to him. As soon as he moved, he was spotted by the nurse next to him, who exclaimed, "Comrade Marshal, you're awake!"

Rokossovsky thought that he was still in Stalin's office the last moment, discussing the troops of the Second Front Army with him, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in the ward. "Where am I?" He asked, trying to sit up.

"Comrade Marshal, you are in the military hospital in Lubyanka." But the nurse stopped him and said to him, "What you need is to rest in bed, and you can't get up for the time being. What's more, you are still receiving fluids." As she spoke, she looked up at the bottle hanging on the shelf to see how much liquid was left inside.

Looking at the bottle hanging on the infusion stand, Rokossovsky asked instinctively, "Comrade nurse, what are you giving me?"

"It's disulfide, Comrade Marshal." The nurse explained to Rokossovsky with a smile: "This is the best anti-inflammatory drug at present. The doctor said that you have a relapse of an old injury, and I will give you some anti-inflammatory drug." After a pause, she added, "After the infusion of this medicine, there may be some side effects, and you will feel thirsty. If you need to drink water, just tell me."

The nurse didn't say that the use of sulfa would cause thirst, and Rokossovsky hadn't noticed. Hearing what she said, I really felt a little thirsty, so I said to her, "I want to drink water now."

When the nurse got up to pour water, Rokossovsky remembered that he had mentioned this hospital in the chat with Sokov, so he couldn't help asking: "Comrade nurse, I heard that there is an anti-inflammatory drug called penicillin, which is more effective than Disulfiramide is so much better, why not give me that drug?"

Hearing what Rokossovsky said, the nurse showed a surprised expression: "Comrade Marshal, I really didn't expect that you even know about penicillin?"

She walked up to Rokossovsky with water, helped him to lean against the head of the bed, and then explained while feeding the water: "You are right, the anti-inflammatory effect of penicillin is indeed better than that of two Sulfuramide is good, but because that drug is not used frequently, we haven’t fully grasped its side effects. Out of consideration for your health, military medical comrades did not use penicillin for smoking.”

While talking, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a young major walked in from the outside. The nurse hurriedly put down her teacup to meet her, and said with a stern face: "Comrade commander, you cannot enter here casually, please leave immediately."

But the major ignored the nurse and stood in the doorway like a telegraph pole. The nurse was about to lose her temper when she saw a short officer with a big head walking in from the outside. When she saw the other person's face clearly, she was startled, stood at attention in a hurry, and shouted in a panic, "Hello, Marshal Zhukov!"

Hearing the nurse's voice, Rokossovsky quickly looked towards the door, and seeing Zhukov standing there, he smiled and said politely, "Comrade Marshal, you are here!"

Zhukov walked quickly to the bed, bent down and asked Rokossovsky worriedly: "Koschka, how do you feel?"

"It should be fine." Rokossovsky looked at Zhukov and said, "I remember that I was having a meeting in Comrade Stalin's office. gone."

Zhukov turned his head and asked the nurse, "Comrade nurse, how long does he need to stay in the hospital?"

When the nurse heard Zhukov's question, she quickly replied, "The test results haven't come out yet, and we may need to observe for a few days."

Seeing that he couldn't get the answer he wanted from the nurse, Zhukov waved at her and said, "It's none of your business here, you can go out first."

The nurse glanced again at the bottle hanging on the infusion stand, and before leaving the room, said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I'll be back in five minutes."

After the nurse left, Zhukov said to Rokossovsky: "Koschka, judging from the current situation, our army is not yet capable of launching a large-scale attack on the area occupied by the German army. We need to continue to consolidate the existing forces. Occupy positions, stockpile ammunition and replenish troops. According to my estimation, this process will last at least two months. During this time, you can stay in the hospital to recuperate. You don’t have to worry about the Second Front Army Now, on the orders of Comrade Stalin, Trubnikov will temporarily act as your deputy."

The conversation between the two was short, but when the nurse came in with a new bottle of disulfiramide, Zhukov stood up and said to Rokossovsky: "Koschka, you stay here to recover from your illness, maybe Comrade Stalin I will visit you personally. I am leaving, I wish you health!" After speaking, he shook hands with Rokossovsky, turned and walked out of the ward.

When it was dark, the sound of orderly footsteps suddenly came from the corridor. Rokossovsky heard someone shouting the password in a low voice. Based on his experience, he immediately judged that a sentry was being set up in the corridor outside the door. . He thought to himself: When Zhukov came, he did so lightly, with only a major and adjutant with him. Now that there is such a big commotion outside, could it be that Stalin is here?

As he was thinking so, the door of the ward was pushed open from the outside, and Stalin walked into the room surrounded by two officers. An officer saw the nurse standing by the bed, walked up to her, and whispered something to her. After hearing this, the nurse nodded vigorously, and then left the ward quickly.

After Stalin sat down on the chair beside the hospital bed, he asked with a smile, "Konstantin Konstantinovich, how does your body feel?"

"I'm fine, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky quickly replied respectfully, "I feel that my body has returned to normal and I can be discharged from the hospital at any time."

"Don't worry," Stalin quickly raised one hand, pressed it down, and said with a smile: "Our army needs to digest the existing occupied area, and will not launch a large-scale attack on the German army in the short term, so You can stay here to recuperate in peace, and when you recover, you can attack the Japanese aggressors severely."

After the two sides talked for more than ten minutes, Stalin suddenly sighed and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I know you have emotions in your heart..." Seeing Rokossovsky Ji wanted to refute, so he quickly raised his hand to stop the other party, "Don't talk, listen to me."

"I know that you are blaming me in your heart, thinking that I have adjusted you from the main direction to the secondary direction. I came here today to tell you that the position you are in now is not a secondary direction, but a secondary direction. It is the same important direction as the 1st Front. My intention is to end this war initiated by the Japanese invaders by the joint attack of the 1st Belarusian Front, 2nd Ukrainian Front and the 1st Ukrainian Front. war……"

"Comrade Stalin, please rest assured!" Even if Rokossovsky had any emotions, he could only hide them in his heart in front of Stalin. He said respectfully: "My Second Front Army will definitely cooperate with Marshal Zhukov's troops to crush the recalcitrant terrorists and fulfill your strategic intentions."

After getting the answer he wanted, Stalin nodded in satisfaction, and after exchanging a few words with Rokossovsky, he got up, took his leave and left.