Red Moscow

Looking at the order in his hand, Sokov felt happy.

In this way, he can leave Vlasov justifiably. As for whether he will become a prisoner of the Germans after the Battle of Lyuban, it has nothing to do with him.

"Comrade Commander," Potapov is now the commander of the 1st Guards Corps. Sokov also adjusted his title in time: "I wonder when we can set off?"

"I'm afraid we have to wait a few more days." Potapov sighed and said: "Although the 1st Guards Infantry Corps has the designation, there are currently no troops except the corps headquarters. We have to wait until the Supreme Command Only after the troops are organized can I officially fulfill my duties as commander."

Sokov thought to himself that according to relevant records, Stalin and Shaposhnikov really wanted to use five days to form the troops. However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. Due to the sharp deterioration of the situation, the formation time of the troops was shortened from five days to one or two days.

At this moment, a lieutenant colonel suddenly burst in from outside the restaurant and shouted loudly: "General Potapov! Where is General Potapov?"

When he heard someone calling him, Potapov immediately stood up and said to the lieutenant colonel: "I'm here!"

The lieutenant colonel officer came to Potapov, raised his hand in salute, and said respectfully: "Comrade General, I am Lieutenant Colonel Yuri from the General Staff. Marshal Shaposhnikov comes to see you in an emergency. Please ask. Come with me now."

"I just came back from the Marshal, less than an hour ago. Do you know what's the emergency?"

Lieutenant Colonel Yuri shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I don't know. I was just ordered to ask you to go to the General Staff Headquarters."

Potapov saw that he could not ask what he wanted to know from Lieutenant Colonel Yuri, so he did not continue to ask. But before leaving the restaurant, he still specifically told Sokov: "Captain Sokov, you must not leave the garrison headquarters before I come back. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Sokov quickly replied: "I will never leave the garrison headquarters until you come back."

Potapov left the restaurant and came to the yard of the garrison headquarters. There was a black car parked here, and the driver was standing next to the car. When he saw Yuri coming out with Potapov, he quickly opened the back door and asked Potapov to get in.

The car drove away from the garrison headquarters and drove forward along the street.

After driving for a certain distance, Potapov was surprised to find that the car was not going to Gogol Boulevard on Frunze Street. He quickly asked Yuri, who was sitting in the passenger seat: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, this does not seem to be going to the General Staff." Where are we going?”

At that moment, a creepy thought came to Potapov's mind: "Could it be that a German spy pretended to be an officer of the General Staff and wanted to kidnap him?"

He couldn't help but secretly regret that he shouldn't have left the garrison headquarters alone. If Sokov was by his side, he would definitely have a way to avert the danger when encountering this kind of situation.

Just as Potapov's hand reached his waist, Yuri turned around and said: "Marshal Shaposhnikov is in the Kremlin at the moment. I will send you there."

Knowing that the other party was going to send him to the Kremlin, Potapov realized that he had misunderstood. He quickly took his hands back from his waist and said coquettishly: "It turns out that he was going to the Kremlin. I thought he was going to the General Staff Headquarters." Woolen cloth."

Ten minutes later, Potapov met Shaposhnikov in an office in the Kremlin: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I have been ordered to come and ask for your instructions!"

"General Potapov, you came just in time." Shaposhnikov stood up and said to Potapov: "Follow me to see Comrade Stalin."

On the way to Stalin's office, Potapov asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, has there been any unexpected change in the situation?"

"Yes, the situation is developing in a direction that is not conducive to our army, and the original plan must be adjusted urgently."

Shaposhnikov led Potapov along the red-carpeted corridor and walked forward for a few minutes before entering an office with an open door. Behind the desk in the room sat a bald man. Potapov recognized him at a glance as Stalin's secretary Poskrebyshev.

Seeing Shaposhnikov walking in, Boskrebyshev quickly stood up and greeted politely: "Comrade Marshal, you are here!"

Shaposhnikov nodded and then said: "Boskrebyshev, I brought General Potapov. Comrade Stalin, does he have time?"

"He is discussing matters with the two marshals Voroshilov and Budyonny." Poskrebyshev said: "But he once told me that once you come, please come in."

When the door opened, Potapov saw at a glance a rectangular table with a huge map spread out on it. Stalin sat facing the door, while the two marshals Voroshilov and Budyonny were standing at the table with their backs to the door.

Seeing the door open, Stalin looked up and saw Shaposhnikov walking in the front. "Boris Mikhailovich!" He called Shaposhnikov's real and patronymic name and asked politely: "Has General Potapov arrived?"

Potapov, who was standing behind Shaposhnikov, heard Stalin address the Chief of General Staff and said to himself that the rumors outside were indeed true. When Stalin called Marshal Shaposhnikov by the name It’s my birth name and my father’s name, which is a great honor.

When he heard Stalin calling his name, he quickly stepped forward and raised his hand to salute Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, Lieutenant General Potapov, commander of the 1st Guards Army, has been ordered to come. I am waiting for your order. Please give instructions." !”

Because it was his first time meeting Stalin in person, he was inevitably a little excited, so his voice trembled a little when he spoke.

Stalin nodded to Potapov and said in a serious tone: "General Potapov, according to our original plan, we are going to use five days to form the 1st Guards Army in Moscow, and then go to the front line. But. Now the situation has changed unexpectedly, and I can give you only two days. Now Guderian's tank troops are rushing towards Orliol. You should immediately fly to the Orliu area to figure out the situation there. , and organize an active and effective defense.”

Potapov stared at the map on the table for a while, and then expressed his opinion: "Comrade Stalin, please allow me to report my personal opinion."

After getting Stalin's permission, he continued: "It makes no sense for me to fly to Orliol now. There are no available troops there. In order to organize a defense as soon as possible, I ask you to send the 36th Motorized Force as a reserve force. The regiment and the Tula Artillery School were placed under our command. I led them to meet Guderian's troops and made every effort to hold off the enemy."

Voroshilov waited for Potapov to finish speaking, then leaned over and looked at the map on the table. After briefly thinking about Potapov's proposal, he looked at Stalin and said, "Comrade Stalin, I think Potapov The general’s proposal is acceptable.”

Stalin tapped his fingers on the table a few times, then nodded and approved Voroshilov's statement: "Okay. You must do everything you can to stop Guderian, and you must not let his troops cross Mtsensk. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Stalin." Potapov nodded and said: "As long as we are alive, we must not let the enemy cross our defense lines."

"Boris Mikhailovich!" Stalin turned his attention to Shaposhnikov again: "Later, you will arrange for someone to take General Potapov to receive the 36th Motorized Regiment. In addition, Call the garrison headquarters in Tula and ask them to prepare for the handover of the Tula Artillery School.”

"Okay, Comrade Stalin." The old marshal said slowly, "I will arrange everything."

Coming out of Stalin's office, Shaposhnikov said to Potapov: "General Potapov, I will ask Lieutenant Colonel Yuri to take you to the station of the 36th Motorized Regiment later and officially take over. This force."

"Then when do we set off?"

"The situation on the front line is tight, so of course the sooner the better."

Lieutenant Colonel Yuri accepted Shaposhnikov's order and was about to take Potapov to the station of the 36th Motorized Regiment. Potapov thought of Sokov and quickly found a phone and called directly. Arrive at the garrison headquarters.

When Potapov heard a voice coming from the receiver, he said directly without asking who it was: "I am General Potapov. Please inform Captain Sokov who stayed at the headquarters two days ago. , let him wait for me at the door immediately, there is an important combat mission that requires his participation. "

The person who answered the phone waited for Potapov to finish speaking and did not dare to neglect at all: "Okay, Comrade General, we will notify Captain Sokov immediately and ask him to rush to the gate of the headquarters to wait for you."

After Lieutenant Colonel Yuri waited for Potapov to finish the call, he asked with some surprise: "Comrade General, are you planning to transfer manpower from the garrison headquarters?"

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"No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Potapov shook his head and said: "This captain escaped from the German encirclement with me and temporarily lived in the garrison headquarters. He is a very good man. A capable commander, I will lead the troops to the front line immediately. Having a trustworthy commander beside me will make it easier to command during the war. "

When the car passed the garrison headquarters, Potapov saw Sokov standing at the entrance of the courtyard looking around. He quickly rolled down the window and shouted to him: "Captain Sokov, I'm here!"

Sokov, who was waiting at the door, saw Potapov sitting in a black car across the street. He quickly ran over, bent down and asked Potapov: "Comrade Commander, we are leaving now." ”

"Yes, we are leaving now." Potapov opened the car door and moved his body back: "Hurry up and get in the car. We have to rush to the barracks as soon as possible to take over the troops."

Sokov didn't dare to neglect, quickly bent down and got into the car, and closed the door.

After driving for more than ten minutes, the car entered a barracks and stopped in front of a two-story building.

At the entrance of the building, there were more than a dozen officers standing, mostly all school-level officers. It seemed that they were here to greet Potapov.

Sokov waited for the car to stop, opened the door and got out of the car. Then he stood next to the car, holding the door with one hand and blocking the top with the other to prevent Potapov from hitting his head when he got out of the car.

The officers standing at the door saw Potapov getting out of the car and immediately came up to greet him.

The leader was a lieutenant colonel. He raised his hand to salute General Potapov and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander! I am Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, the commander of the 36th Motorized Regiment. From now on, I will officially become your subordinate."

After shaking hands with Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, Potapov looked at the group of officers standing next to him and asked tentatively: "Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, are these all the commanders of the regiment?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Gu Xin hurriedly introduced Potapov: "This is the regiment chief of staff, this is the regiment political commissar, the deputy commander, the commander of the first battalion..."

After shaking hands with the battalion commanders in the regiment one by one, Potapov turned to Gu Xin and asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, the situation on the front line is critical now. I wonder when your regiment can set off?"

"Comrade Commander." Hearing Potapov's question, Gu Xin hurriedly replied: "After we received the order from our superiors, we immediately began to gather Since we are a mechanized unit, most of the transport vehicles are still refueling and transferring supplies. It will take at least an hour and a half before we can set off. "

Potapov raised his hand to check the time, and then said: "I will give you two and a half hours to prepare, and I hope you can prepare as much as possible."

After Gu Xin asked the battalion commanders to return to their respective troops, he smiled and said to Potapov: "Comrade Commander, it's a bit cold outside, let's go inside and have a cup of hot tea."

Faced with the enthusiasm of Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, Potapov turned around and invited Yuri who brought him here: "Lieutenant Colonel Yuri, let's go in and have a cup of tea together?"

"No, Comrade General." But Yuri shook his head and said: "Thank you for your kindness, I don't have time, I still need to go back to report to Comrade Marshal." After that, he raised his hand to salute Potapov, turned around and walked back to the car parked not far away.

After the car left, Potapov said to Gu Xin: "Let's go, Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, let's go to your headquarters and sit down."

When the few people walked inside, Gu Xin glanced at Sokov, who was following Potapov closely, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, is this captain your guard company commander?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, let me introduce him to you." Potapov tried his best to transfer Sokov to his side, but not to make him his guard company commander. However, at this moment, the 1st Guards Infantry Army was still an empty shell, and he could only temporarily assign Sokov a separate position: "This is my adjutant Captain Sokov, I specially transferred him from the 37th Army."

For Lieutenant Colonel Gu Xin, he had no idea what the 37th Army was and who the commander was. But since Potapov mentioned this unit, it must have something unique about it, and he, as a subordinate, must agree with it. So he took the initiative to extend his hand to Sokov and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, Captain Sokov! I have heard of the 37th Army. You have performed very bravely on the battlefield."

Gu Xin's words were all clichés. No matter what unit he mentioned, as long as he said that the other party performed bravely on the battlefield, it was absolutely correct.

Suokov shook Gu Xin's hand with both hands and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel! It's a pleasure to fight side by side with you!"