After the meeting, several commanders left the office one after another. When General Frolov wanted to leave like the others, he was stopped by Yumashev: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry about me, I have something to ask you."

Frolov, who had already walked to the door, stopped immediately, turned and walked back to us. Standing straight in front of Yumashev, he respectfully asked: "Comrade Commander, do you have any instructions?"

Yumashev glanced at Khrulev, and then asked Frolov with a serious expression: "Did you inform the army of the terrible incident that happened today?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Frolov replied immediately and bluntly: "I have notified the army units of my neighbors to prepare them for all battles to prevent possible provocations by the Japanese nation. At present. In addition to preparing for the defense of the enemy’s landing on the coastline, in the area close to the Japanese Army’s defense area, the garrison has entered the defensive position and is ready for all battles. As long as they dare to act rashly, then deploy in our defense Hundreds of cannons in the depth will blow their positions into a sea of ​​flames, and then a huge armored force will launch a full-scale counterattack against them."

"What about our navy aircraft?" Perhaps it was the lesson of Germany's undeclared war against the Soviet Union, which left a deep mark on the hearts of these commanders. Yumashev, after listening to Frolov's reply, But there was not the slightest relaxed expression on his face, and he continued to ask: "Are they all evacuated and concealed?"

"Don't worry, Commander." Frolov said confidently: "The tragedy of the plane being blown up by the enemy before takeoff will never happen again. All planes are concentrated in military airfields and carefully disguised. To prevent sneak attacks by enemy aircraft, the Air Force will dispatch a two-aircraft formation to conduct 24-hour non-stop patrols over the airport."

"What is this. Are you going to fight?" Khrulev, who was standing next to me and listening for a long time, suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two, and asked bluntly.

"I don't know." Yumashev hurriedly replied: "But I think we should make the necessary preparations, because from today's Japanese fighters intercepting your plane, it can be seen that they have the intention of provoking us. "

"Before receiving the latest order from the Supreme High Command, the Far East must maintain its original state of preparedness, and must not arbitrarily raise the level of preparedness." I heard Yumashev's arrangement next to him, and there are still some to please Khrulev. It’s a pity that Khrulev didn’t appreciate it at all. He actually asked with a strong attitude, "Do you understand?"

After Khrulev finished speaking, the room fell silent.

But not long after being quiet, Khrulev turned his head and glanced at me. Said to me: "Comrade Oshaninna, do you know why I don't allow them to increase their combat readiness level at will?"

I shook my head and answered honestly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Minister, I don't know. But I know that if I were in the position of Commander Yumashev, I would certainly not hesitate to issue relevant information to the troops. Order to prepare for war.” This is not what I said casually, but I really don’t understand why Khrulev did this. We must know that the Japanese government sent a fighter plane to attack our special plane without authorization, which is tantamount to declaring war. Yumashev informed the Army that there was nothing wrong with the response measures.

Khrulev did not expect me to answer this way, his eyebrows were raised high, and his face looked at me with a strange and dissatisfied expression. He said bluntly: "We and the Japanese country now have a friendly treaty. If we raise the level of combat readiness on the border at will, we will be regarded as a provocative act by the other side, so there is a danger of war. You know, although not long ago, We just won the victory in the defense of Stalingrad, but in the Kharkov area, we suffered a big loss from the Germans. That is to say, for a long time, our defense focus is on the west. It’s not the Far East. We don’t yet have the power to fight on two lines.

After hearing what he said, I retorted in an annoying way: "Comrade Minister. After experiencing today's dangers, do you think that our patience to the provocations of the Japanese people will not encourage their arrogance?"

After I finished speaking, the room fell silent for an instant, and all eyes were on me. Khrulev, who was close at hand, looked at me intently, as if thinking about the few words I just said.

After a while, Khrulev sighed and said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, I understand your mood at the moment. I was also on the plane today, or was I almost shot down by a Japanese plane? But we I can’t be arrogant. I’ve reported this matter to Comrade Stalin. If it can be resolved by diplomatic means, try not to resort to force."

Perhaps to divert our attention, he suddenly asked Yumashev: "Where is that American pilot?"

Although he asked a little bit abruptly, everyone knew that he was asking the American pilot who landed on the naval base airport in his plane. Yumashev turned his gaze to Frolov and motioned for him to answer Khrulev's question. Frolov took a step forward quickly, straightened his back and said to Khrulev: "Report to Comrade Minister, that American pilot is resting in the naval aviation base. Do you need to see him?"

Hearing his question, Khrulev nodded and said affirmatively: "Okay, General Frolov, please send that American pilot here as soon as possible. For his heroic performance, I want I personally awarded him the medal and expressed my gratitude to him personally."

"Yes, I'll make arrangements right away." Frolov agreed and walked outside the door.

As soon as Frolov left, Khrulev asked Yumashev: "Did you find the parachuting pilot?"

Yumashev shook his head and replied with a wry smile: "In such cold weather, if the pilot falls into the sea, even if he does not drown, he will be frozen to death."

"Has the searched speedboat come back?" I asked anxiously, looking at the sky that was completely dark outside.

"I haven't got the latest report yet, General Oshanina." Yumashev replied politely. "But I have notified the coast patrol. Once there is news about the search for the speedboat, I will report it to me immediately."

"Have you not called yet?" Khrulev also asked uncomfortably.

"Did not call me, Andrei Vasilyevich," Yumashev replied. "It's been a long time since you arrived at my office. If there is a call, you should know it."

Khrulev looked at his watch. Then he turned his gaze to me, and said with emotion: "Comrade Oshanina. After such a long time, if there is no whereabouts, it is estimated that the pilot will be more fortunate." Then he turned to the side. The seat pointed and gestured to please sit down. "Sit down all of you. We have to save our energy and wait for the arrival of the American pilot who saved our lives."

After the three of us were seated again, Khrulev suddenly smiled and said to Yumashev: "Dear Ivan Stepanovich, I think I would like to congratulate you in advance."

Yumashev heard Khrulev say so. He raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Are all the rumors from the Far East Front Army headquarters true?"

"Yes," don't look at the appearance that the two of them just didn't deal with each other, and now they have become good friends who talk about everything, as if nothing unpleasant happened at all. "If nothing happens, you will get the order in early May."

"Comrade Minister and Commander," I saw the two talking very happily, as if they had forgotten me, I couldn't help but ask: "What are you talking about, why don't I understand at all?"

Hear my complaints. After the two looked at each other, Khrulev made a gesture of inviting Yumashev and said at the same time: "You should tell Oshanina about this."

Yumashev did not refuse. He smiled and said to me: "General Oshanina, that's it. According to the news from the Far East Front, I will be promoted to the rank of general in the near future."

Hearing that Yumashev was about to be promoted, I quickly got up from my seat, extended my hand to him, and said in a friendly manner: "Comrade Commander, please accept my congratulations. Congratulations on your achievement. Military rank."

After I shook hands with Yumashev, Khrulev continued: "Comrade Yumashev. Oshanina and I want to get back to Moscow as soon as possible. Can you arrange a plane for me tomorrow?"

"No problem. Andrei Vasilyevich." Yumashev agreed very readily: "In addition, I will arrange four fighters to **** you. Avoid another attack by the Japanese air force."

Although Khrulev did not reject Yumashev’s kindness, he still said casually: "Ivan Stepanovich, don’t be too nervous. According to my estimation, the main force of the U.S. has already moved south. Going to compete with Britain and the United States for oil and rubber, they do not have the strength to provoke us at this moment."

When I heard Khrulev say this, I couldn't help but be full of admiration for him. I didn't expect him to see the situation so thoroughly that he could know that the Japanese Kingdom had no strength to go north.

"But, what should be explained for what happened today?" Yumashev still missed the incident, and as soon as Khrulev finished speaking, he immediately raised the question again.

"It should be just a misunderstanding." Khrulev frowned and said in an uncertain tone: "You must know that the United States and the Japanese are at war. The Japanese sent planes to block the US air routes and attack the US as they see it. Airplanes are all justified, and what we were flying on at the time was indeed an American airliner."

From Khrulev’s tone, I heard a tinge of calmness, and when I was about to say a few words, the phone on the desk rang. Yumashev stood up, walked to the table, picked up the phone, and said into the microphone: "This is Yumashev, what can I do?"

"...Hey, what are you talking about? Keep talking, keep talking!..." Yumashev suddenly cried out excitedly after a pause.

His abnormal behavior immediately attracted the attention of Khrulev and me. When we turned our heads to look at him, we heard him still saying: "...great, this is great. Captain Smurray, please thank your soldiers for me, they They are all good, send someone to send him here immediately..."

When I heard Yumashev say this, the first thought that came to my mind was that the American pilot who was parachuting found him. Because when he waited for the smiling Yumashev to put down the phone and walked towards us, he asked first: "Comrade Commander, what's the matter, did you find the American pilot who jumped?"

"Yes, that's right, General Oshanina." Yumashev said excitedly to me: "Captain Smurray just called and said that the speedboat he sent had found the American pilot who had parachuted at sea. ."

After getting his confirmation, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, I felt that the life of the American pilot was really big enough. He survived soaking in the cold water for a few hours. This is nothing short of surviving. A miracle.

When I just wanted to ask for the details, Khrulev rushed in front of me and said, "Yumashev, where did this pilot find him? In such a cold weather, he was in the cold water. It’s a miracle to survive for a few hours."

Yumashev waved his hand ~lightnovelpub.net~ and explained: "Comrade Minister, you guessed it wrong. When you found him, he didn't run in the sea. You must know that in such a cold day, even the gods are descending from the earth. He was probably frozen. When our soldier found him, he was staying on a reef out of the water. Although he wrapped his body with a parachute, when he was rescued on the ship, he was almost completely frozen. If it’s a few minutes later, it’s bound to freeze to death."

Hearing that the conditions of the U.S. pilots were very bad, Khrulev asked anxiously: "Did our sailors take any first aid measures?"

"Don't worry about this," Yumashev said with a grin. "Our sailors are very experienced with these. They stripped the pilots and wiped his whole body with vodka. They didn't help him again until his body was warm. Put on the clothes. I have ordered Captain Smurray to personally send the American pilot to my headquarters immediately."

At this moment, the door that was closed when General Frolov left was silently pushed open. Yumashev saw the officer on duty appearing at the door and immediately raised his voice and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Comrade Commander," the officer respectfully reported: "The American pilot has arrived. Do you need to let him in right away?" (To be continued.)