When Rokossovsky heard what Sokov said, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and asked with some surprise: "Misha, did you hear something?"
"No, I haven't heard anything." Sokov, who almost let it slip, heard Rokossovsky's question and hurriedly shook his head in denial and said: "Comrade Commander, except for you and Yakov, I don’t know anyone in Moscow, so I can’t find any gossip.”
"Oh, you don't know anyone in Moscow?" Rokossovsky looked at Sokov and asked with a smile: "But aren't you from Moscow? At least that's what it says on your resume. "
Rokossovsky's seemingly casual words made Sokov break out in cold sweat. He wanted to slap himself twice, but he actually forgot that he was a native of Moscow. He hesitated for a moment, and finally said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, according to my analysis, your superiors may make adjustments to your work after you recover and are discharged from the hospital."
"Adjustment, what kind of adjustment method?" Regarding Sokov's statement, Rokossovsky asked with great interest: "Misha, tell me your analysis."
"Comrade Commander, in the battle to defend Moscow, the troops under your command dealt a heavy blow to the German army, shattered their attempt to seize Moscow, and achieved great military exploits." Sokov first flattered Rokossovsky. After that, he changed the topic and "analyzed" the adjustment of his future positions for him: "Your abilities are all seen by the Supreme Command. Therefore, I estimate that as soon as you are discharged from the hospital, you will definitely be assigned to a certain front army. Commander's position. As you just guessed, our army will have an important offensive operation south of Moscow. Among the several front troops participating in this operation, Marshal Timoshenko, the commander of the Southwest Front , the commander of the Southern Front, General Malinovsky, both of them will not have any changes in their positions. On the contrary, the commander of the Bryansk Front, General Golikov, may be assigned another appointment, and his vacated position , the Supreme Command will arrange for you to take over."
After listening to Sokov's words, Rokossovsky laughed. He believed that appointments and dismissals at the level of front commander, let alone a small major like Sokov, even Voroshilov and Budyonny It is impossible for marshals such as Marshal Timoshenko to know the specific personnel arrangements before their appointments are officially issued. Therefore, he took what Sokov said as his analysis, and said with a smile: "Misha, if I really serve as the commander of the Bryansk Front, then I will definitely incorporate your battalion into mine." Troops. After all, excellent commanders like you and troops capable of fighting are in demand everywhere."
Although Rokossovsky only said this in a joking tone, the stone hanging in Sokov's heart finally fell to the ground. As long as Timoshenko does not assign his troops to the Southwest Front before Rokossovsky is discharged from the hospital, there will be room for change.
After solving the problem that bothered him, Sokov felt happy. Rokossovsky has been unable to find anyone to talk to since he was admitted to the hospital. He was feeling uncomfortable. Finally, he found a subordinate who was relatively close to him, so he naturally had a lot more to say. The two of them became happier and happier as they chatted, completely forgetting the passage of time.
After an unknown amount of time, a doctor in a white coat walked in from the door. Seeing Sokov talking and laughing with Rokossovsky, he couldn't help but frowned slightly. He strolled up to Rokossovsky and said with a serious expression: "Comrade General, it's getting late. In order for your body to recover as soon as possible, please rest early."
After being reminded by the doctor, Rokossovsky quickly raised his hand and looked at the clock hanging on the wall and found that it was already past eleven o'clock. He said to the doctor apologetically: "I'm sorry, comrade doctor, an old subordinate came to visit me today. I was so happy chatting that I lost track of time. Please forgive me, I will rest right away."
When Sokov saw the doctor come in, he knew it was time to leave. He quickly stood up, put the coat on the sofa next to him on his arm, and said to Rokossovsky who was lying on the hospital bed: "Comrade Commander, I may stay in Moscow for a while. Have a good rest and I will come see you another day. Goodbye!" After that, he raised his hand and saluted Rokossovsky, then turned and walked out of the ward.
Seeing that it was getting late outside, Sokov knew that the subways and buses must have stopped. He would definitely not be able to walk back such a long way, so he could only think of other ways. He saw a nurse sitting by the stove to keep warm on the ground floor, so he went up to the nurse and asked: "Comrade nurse, I would like to ask, are you going to the Lenin Street Hospital ambulance again so late?"
When the nurse heard someone asking her, she quickly raised her head. After seeing clearly that it was a major, she said politely: "Comrade commander, all the wounded who were to be sent to Lenin Street Hospital have been sent away this afternoon. Why are you going there so late?" To visit the wounded?"
"No, I'm not visiting the wounded." Sokov quickly shook his head and explained: "I live near the hospital on Lenin Street. It's getting late now, and the buses and subways have stopped, so I want to ask if there are any Ride along.”
Knowing that Sokov just wanted to hitchhike, the nurse's face was covered with frost. Just when she was about to reject Sokov directly, she accidentally saw two medals hanging on the chest of Sokov's military uniform. One of them is actually the highest-level Order of Lenin. Her words of rejection came to her lips and she swallowed them back. She tried her best to put a smile on her face and asked: "Comrade commander, have you just come back from the front line?"
"Yes, I just returned to Moscow a few days ago to escort a leader back." After Sokov said this, he raised his hand and pointed upward and said: "Currently he lives upstairs. I came here on purpose." Came here to visit him.”
"I understand, Comrade Commander." The nurse stood up and said kindly: "You are here to visit your injured superior. Because you were delayed for too long, you missed the bus and subway home. I Is that correct, comrade commander?”
"Yes, that's the case." Sokov didn't know what the nurse meant by saying that, but he still nodded and replied truthfully: "So I asked if there was a ride. If not, I could only walk back. Home."
"Comrade Commander, look at what you said, how can I let you walk back? In such a cold weather and such a long way, you will get frostbite when you walk back. Just wait a minute, I will help you ask, Let’s see if there are any other cars passing by.”
Although Sokov didn't know why the nurse was suddenly so polite to him, he still said gratefully: "Thank you, comrade nurse. If the car doesn't go smoothly, there is no need to force it. You can't disturb the comrade driver's rest because of me." .”
The nurse walked to a desk, picked up the phone on it, dialed a number, paused for a moment, and then asked: "Hello, Boris? I'm Natasha. I want to ask you, Have you finished loading your goods?...What's the matter? There is a commander who wants to go to the hospital on Lenin Street, and I want you to take him there because you will be passing by there later."
After Natasha put down the phone, she smiled and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, you are so lucky. We have an ambulance to deliver to Hospital No. 37. We can pass through Lenin Street. You can take this ambulance." Drive back."
Hearing that Natasha arranged an ambulance for him, Sokov quickly expressed his gratitude to her. There happened to be a piece of chocolate bought in the officer's store in his coat pocket, so he gave it to Natasha to express his gratitude. . Natasha took the chocolate, and the smile on her face became brighter and brighter.
Not long after, Natasha heard two horns blaring outside, and said to Sokov: "Comrade commander, the ambulance is coming. It's parked outside. Come with me."
Sokov followed Natasha to the inpatient department, and sure enough he saw an ambulance parked at the door. A middle-aged driver stuck his head out of the window and shouted to Natasha: "Hey, Natasha, where is the commander you mentioned? Ask him to get in the car quickly, I have to hurry up and get on my way. "
Natasha ignored him, but walked to the car, pulled out the passenger seat, and then made a gesture of invitation to Sokov: "Comrade commander, please get in the car, Boris will take you there." To the destination.”
Shortly after the ambulance left the hospital, Boris, who was driving, suddenly took out a flat stainless steel wine bottle from his pocket, raised it at Sokov, and asked: "Comrade commander, take a sip to keep out the cold."
Sokov knew that the jug must be filled with vodka, so he quickly waved his hand and said, "Thank you, Comrade Boris, I never drink at night."
Seeing Sokov rejecting him, Boris muttered: "This is a good wine someone brought to me. It is said to be from Poland. It would be a pity if you don't drink it." After saying that, he pressed the steering wheel with his left elbow. , twisted open the lid, raised his head, and drank the wine.
"Drive carefully!" Seeing the driver actually drinking while driving, Sokov was suddenly startled into a cold sweat. He quickly reminded the driver: "Don't drink while driving, be careful of an accident."
"It's okay! Comrade commander, I'm an experienced driver." Boris screwed the lid on the bottle, stuffed it into his pocket, and said carelessly: "I drink every time I drive. The more I drink, the harder I drive. The more stable it is." In order to prove his strength to Sokov, he continued, "Once I went to the front line to pull the wounded, and I was bombed by enemy planes on the road. If it were, it would soon be blown to pieces by aerial bombs dropped by enemy planes. I asked Natasha for a small bottle of alcohol at that time. After drinking it, I drove out of the area bombed by enemy planes."
Boris's words not only did not reassure Sokov, but made him even more frightened. Although there were very few vehicles on the streets after dark in Moscow, the speed at which Boris drove an ambulance out of a formula car even made Sokov's hands sweat.
Finally seeing the familiar street appearing in front of him, Sokov quickly pointed there and said to Boris: "Comrade driver, please pull over and stop the car, and I will get off there."
Although Boris was drunk, he was still conscious. He looked at the location pointed by Sokov and then said: "Comrade Commander, it's still four to five hundred meters away from the hospital. Why don't I take you to the hospital?" At the door, it’s just a matter of pressing the accelerator.”
"No, no, no," Sokov hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Comrade driver, I want to go down for a walk, so you can just put me there." Seeing Sokov's stubbornness, Boris did not persuade him, so he designated him Parked the car at the location. After getting out of the car, Sokov closed the car door, thanked Boris, and walked towards his residence with long strides.
Sokov returned home, took off his military coat and hung it on the coat rack next to the door. He went straight into the bathroom and prepared to take a bath. Unexpectedly, as soon as he took off his clothes, he heard someone knocking at the door. Hearing the knock on the door, he was still a little confused, thinking that it was almost twelve o'clock, who would come to the door at such a time.
The first thought that came to his mind was that the other party knocked on the wrong door. He didn't want to answer the door, but the knocking on the door didn't stop. At the same time, a woman's voice came: "Mikhail Mihay Ernovich, are you in the house?"
When he heard someone calling his real name and father's name outside, Sokov knew that the other person did not knock on the wrong door, but came specifically to find him. The voice outside the door was familiar. It only took Sokov a moment to hear that the person knocking on the door was nurse Anne. He quickly replied: "It's Anne, please wait a moment. I'll be right away." After that, he started to get dressed hurriedly. clothing.
In order not to keep Annie waiting too long, he put on his clothes and pants indiscriminately, and then opened the door. The person standing at the door was indeed Anne. Seeing Sokov opening the door for herself, Anne asked a little embarrassedly: "Misha, I didn't disturb you, did I?"
"No, no." Sokov didn't want to have a woman standing at the door talking to him late at night. If the neighbors saw him, he might not be able to explain something clearly. He quickly grabbed Anne's hand and pushed her out of the door. He pulled her in and said, "Annie, if you need something, please come into the room and talk."
After Annie entered the door, she stood in the corridor and said to Sokov: "Misha, why did you come back so late? Do you know how worried I am about you?"
Anne's words stunned Sokov for a moment, and then he said with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander and I haven't seen each other for a long time. We lost track of time when we were chatting. I'm really sorry to make you worry about me." After he said this Finally, I suddenly remembered that I had just arrived home. How could Annie come here in such time?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Annie, how did you know that I went home?"
"I haven't gone home since get off work. I stayed in the mail room of the hospital." Anne explained to Sokov: "I saw the light in your room was on, so I came here to take a look." After she finished, After pausing for a moment, Sokov made another request that was difficult to refuse, "Misha, it's too late now. The subways and buses are stopped. I can't go home. Can you let me stay at your place for one night?" ?"
