Chapter 142 Deception

   Still far away, Sokov saw Chief of Staff Ma Linin, walking back and forth outside the headquarters with his hands behind his back, looking anxious, and raising his hands to check the time from time to time. As soon as he saw Sokov approaching, he urged: "I said Major Sokov, why are you so dawdling, Comrade Commander has been waiting for you for a long time."

  Malinin took Sokov directly to the door of the small room this time, opened the door, and said to him, "Go in."

  Looking at the door, Sokov saw Yakov sitting facing the door with no bandages on his face, and he couldn't help being surprised. When he entered the door, he was surprised to find that Ma Linin had followed him in, and he began to mutter in his heart: "Could it be that Rokossovsky told Ma Li Ning about Yakov?"

"Misha, you are here!" Just as Sokov was guessing wildly in his heart, Rokossovsky, who was sitting next to Yakov, said, "I have already told the chief of staff about Yakov. He will personally send Yakov back to Moscow tomorrow. I called you here because I have something to explain to you."

  Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Sokov immediately thought in his heart: The commander must have asked me to keep this matter a secret, and it must not be leaked. He immediately stated: "Comrade commander, please rest assured that I will never remind anyone about Yakov's matter."

"It is absolutely necessary to keep this matter secret. But judging from your handling of this matter, you have done a very good job of keeping it secret." When Rokossovsky said this, he smiled and glanced at Malinen : "Even deceived our chief of staff."

Ma Linin grinned and said to Rokossovsky: "Yeah, I saw him bring a man with a bandage on his face to find you, and I asked him specifically, but he kept silent No words. If you hadn't told me about this, I would still be kept in the dark by him."

Rokossovsky continued to say to Sokov: "Misha, Comrade Stalin has agreed to the plan you proposed. At the right time, we will announce that Yakov is in the battle of Smolensk. Wounded, he was rescued by the farmer of the local collective farm and hid in a hidden place to recuperate. Now that his wounds have recovered, he quietly passed through the enemy's line of defense and returned to our army's position. All the German newspapers about him The news of being captured is a complete rumor."

"That's right, Comrade Commander, you are right." Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, and immediately nodded in agreement and said, "The German newspapers are full of lies, and they are trying to take advantage of this matter." to destroy the morale of our army. But when Yakov returned to Moscow from injury, their rumors were self-defeating."

Seeing that Sokov understood his intentions, Rokossovsky nodded again, got up and walked in front of him, put his hands on his shoulders and said: "I was supposed to send Yakov back to Moscow. I want you to do it, after all, you rescued him from the prisoner-of-war camp yourself. But no, your defense zone is too far away from Smolensk, so when we advertise, we can only say that it is Yako The husband was in the forest and met one of our guerrillas, so he was able to return to the army headquarters smoothly. I hope you can understand our difficulties!"

   "Comrade Commander, I understand this very well." Sokov replied calmly: "For the sake of the overall situation, I am willing to be an unsung hero in rescuing Yakov."

"Don't worry, Misha." Rokossovsky patted Sokov on the shoulder twice, and said to him: "We will never forget your credit. After me and Comrade Stalin After consultations, it was decided to award your battalion an Order of the Red Banner."

Knowing that the battalion could get a collective Order of the Red Banner, Sokov couldn't help but feel happy, and secretly said that with this medal, the unit's designation would become "Istria Battalion Awarded the Order of the Red Banner" in the future. If the commanders and fighters in the battalion heard the news, they would definitely feel very proud.

Seeing Sokov's happy face, Rokossovsky added: "When we announced the collective Red Banner Medal you have won, we can only claim that it is in recognition of your surprise attack on the German army's transfer station. Can't mention because of the successful rescue of Yakov. I did it, you understand?"

"Understood, understood." Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish, and nodded quickly: "Only when we attack the German army's transit station and achieve huge results, can we have a chance to get the collective red flag." medal."

   Satisfied with Sokov's cleverness, Rokossovsky took a step back, put his hands behind his back and asked, "Misha, if you have any requests, you can ask me."

   Sokov remembered that before he came here, he had heard Berkin mention that Chernyshov planned to transfer two companies from his battalion to strengthen the defense of the right wing of the army group. He has always wanted to mention this to Rokossovsky, but he has never found an opportunity. Now that the opportunity has come, he will naturally not let it go easily: "Comrade Commander, I heard that the division commander plans to transfer two from our battalion. Company, go to strengthen the defense of the junction with friendly forces."

   After Sokov finished speaking, Rokossovsky turned his head to look at Ma Linin, and asked with some surprise: "Is there such a thing, why don't I know anything about it?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Malinin nodded quickly, and said affirmatively: "Chernyshov said that the strength of the division is limited, so he is preparing to transfer troops from the unnamed highlands, because he believes that the direction will be in the short term. , there will be no large-scale battles for the time being."

"Isn't this nonsense." After hearing this, Rokossovsky said dissatisfiedly: "Although there are many people in the Istria Battalion, they are responsible for a separate direction. If two companies are transferred, the Can the remaining troops withstand the enemy's onslaught? You immediately call Chernyshov and ask him to cancel the original order."

  Ma Lining nodded, got up, opened the door and walked out.

  Seeing that Rokossovsky agreed to his request and no longer drew troops from him, Sokov secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He paused for a moment, then said again: "Comrade Commander, I have one more request!"

   "Any more requests?!" Hearing what Sokov said, Rokossovsky couldn't help but frowned slightly, and said displeasedly: "If you have any requests, just say it."

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Rokossovsky was a little unhappy, Sokov quickly explained to him: "There are no anti-tank weapons in our battalion, and our soldiers can only carry cluster grenades, and The tanks that rushed up all died together."

"I see." Rokossovsky walked to the table, bent down, wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, and then walked over to Sukov: "I will give you twenty anti-tank Rifle, and supporting ammunition, you can immediately go to the warehouse to get these supplies."

Sokov took the note and saluted Rokossovsky. Just as he was about to leave, Yakov, who had been silent all this time, stopped him: "Misha!" Then he came over, and Sokov Cove gave a warm hug, leaned into his ear and whispered: "Misha, I will never forget your life-saving grace!"

  (end of this chapter)