red moscow

Chapter 2628

Sokov didn't say anything, but reached out to open the door, but unexpectedly found that the door was locked from the outside. He couldn't help but shout inwardly: "Oh no, the door was locked from the outside."

When Yakov heard this, he immediately became anxious: "Misha, the door is locked, we can't get out."

Sokov took a look at the furnishings in the room. Most of the things piled here were cleaning supplies. He thought that the people who often came in and out here were cleaners. So he said to Yakov, "Yasha, don't worry. I think this is a storage room for cleaning supplies. If my guess is correct, cleaners will come in every once in a while to get things."

"What if he never comes?" Yakov said, "Are we just going to stay here and freeze?"

"Close the window first," Sokov walked to the window, raised his hand to close the window, and said to Yakov with a smile: "If we don't close the window, if a few more generals come to climb through the windows like us, the room will be too crowded."

Yakov couldn't help but smile after hearing this.

The two stayed in the room for about half an hour before they finally heard the door open.

Yakov nudged Sokov's arm with his elbow and asked, "Misha, someone seems to be opening the door. Should we rush out as soon as the door opens?"

"We are here to visit Marshal Rokossovsky, but we don't even know where his ward is." Sokov said, "If someone really comes in from outside, we can ask him where the marshal's ward is."

The door opened and a private soldier in military uniform walked in. When he saw the two people in the room, he was stunned.

After a long while, the private raised his hand to his forehead and said in panic, "Comrades General, why are you here?"

"Comrade Private," Sokov stepped forward and pulled his hand down from his forehead, smiling and saying to him, "We came here to visit Marshal Rokossovsky. When we got here, we felt like smoking, so why didn't we violate the rule that smoking is not allowed in the corridor and come in to smoke a cigarette? As soon as we lit our cigarettes, someone locked the door from the outside. We called for a long time, but no one answered us, so we were trapped here. Hey, man, is this what happened?"

Yakov next to him suppressed his laughter and agreed, "Yes, that's right. We wanted to come in and smoke a cigarette, but we were locked in here for no reason."

"Comrade Generals," the private looked flustered when he saw that Sokov and Yakov were saying the same thing, "It may be that my companion was careless and accidentally locked you in here. I ask you to forgive him and do not report this to the dean, otherwise he will be punished."

"If you want us not to complain, that's fine." Sokov put his hands behind his back and tried to put on a serious face, "But you have to answer a question for us."

"Comrade General, please feel free to ask me anything you want. I will tell you the truth as long as I know it."

"Do you know where Marshal Rokossovsky's ward is?"

"The third floor," the private answered without hesitation. "Go up to the third floor and turn right. It's the seventh room on the left side of the corridor. There are two sentries standing guard at the door."

"Can we enter and leave Comrade Marshal's ward as we please?"

The private thought for a moment and replied, "Medical staff have to have their ID checked when they come in and out. I don't know about generals like you, but I heard that all the visitors who came to visit today were stopped outside the inpatient building."

"Okay, Comrade Private, thank you for the information you provided us." Since Sokov had achieved his goal, he naturally did not want to scare the private again: "Your performance has redeemed the sins of your companions. We will not complain about him to the dean."

Coming out of the utility room, as the two walked along the corridor, Sokov said to Yakov proudly, "Yasha, how about it? I found out where the marshal's ward is without any effort."

"Not very good." Yakov said with a wry smile: "Didn't you hear from the private soldier that there are two sentries standing guard at the door of Comrade Marshal's ward? It is still unknown whether we can enter the ward, so don't be too happy too soon."

"Yasha, don't worry." Sokov comforted Yakov and said, "We can enter the building and know the location of Comrade Marshal's ward. This is half the success. If we want to enter Comrade Marshal's ward, it may not be difficult."

"Are you really so confident?" Yakov asked doubtfully.

"You won't go wrong if you follow me."

The troops' martial law in the inpatient department was tight on the outside but loose on the inside. They formed a human wall outside to block the people who came to visit Rokossovsky at the door. There were no soldiers on guard inside the building. The people they met in the corridor were either medical staff or wounded patients who had not yet been discharged. When they saw Sokov and the other man coming towards them, they hurriedly stopped, leaned against the wall, and saluted the two men.

Soon, the two arrived at the door of Rokossovsky's ward.

There were indeed two sentries standing here. When they saw Sokov and Yakov approaching, a sentry with the rank of sergeant raised his hand to block their way: "Comrade Generals, Comrade Marshal is recuperating in there. No one is allowed to visit."

"Comrade Sergeant, I know." Sokov tried to control his emotions and said in a calm tone, "But that refers to ordinary people, not us. Think about it, if we are forbidden to visit the marshal, can we appear in front of you smoothly?"

The sergeant was stunned when he heard Sokov say that. That's right. Since he took up his post, except for a few medical staff who entered the ward behind him, he really hadn't seen any visitors. They must have been blocked outside the inpatient building. The two generals in front of him could appear here, perhaps with special permission. Thinking of this, the sergeant quickly stepped aside, stretched out his hand to push open the door, and made a gesture of invitation: "Please come in, Comrade General."

Sokov and Yakov walked into the room and saw three beds. Rokossovsky, wearing a hospital gown, was lying on the middle bed with his eyes closed. Next to his bed sat a middle-aged woman who looked to be in her forties with blond curly hair.

  Hearing the sound of the door opening, the middle-aged woman stood up, looked at Sokov and Yakov with surprise, and asked in shock: "Who are you and how did you get in?" Seeing that the middle-aged woman was so vigilant, Sokov couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Yakov beside him, thinking that he was quite familiar with Rokossovsky's family, so how come this person, who was obviously the marshal's wife, didn't recognize him?

Noticing that the middle-aged woman seemed to be about to go to the door to call the sentry outside, Sokov quickly said, "Don't get me wrong, we are Comrade Marshal's subordinates. We learned that he was in the hospital, so we came to visit him."

Sokov's voice startled Rokossovsky, who was lying in bed. He opened his eyes and saw that the people standing by the window were Sokov and Yakov. He then said to the middle-aged woman, "Yulia, don't worry. They are all my friends."

After hearing what Rokossovsky said, the middle-aged woman called Yulia gave up the idea of ​​calling the sentry outside the door, returned to the bedside, and said to Rokossovsky: "They are your men, how come I have never seen them before?"

"Yulia, let me introduce you to this man with the rank of general. He is Misha, my most capable general. With his participation in the battles, we not only win faster, but also have significantly reduced casualties." Rokossovsky pointed at Sokov and Yakov and introduced them to his wife Yulia: "Next to him is Yasha, he is a good friend of Misha and he is also Comrade Stalin's eldest son."

When Yulia learned that Yakov was actually Stalin's eldest son, her face was full of shock: "Hello, Yasha, I'm Yulia, nice to meet you!"

"Hello, Yulia." Yakov shook Yulia's hand and said politely, "I have heard of your name for a long time, but this is the first time I see you today."

After Yulia shook hands with Yakov, she turned to Sokov and said, "Misha, it's my honor to meet you."

When Sokov heard Yulia say this, he was stunned. He thought to himself, he was not a big shot, so why did she say that?

"Misha, I've heard rumors about you before." Yulia smiled and said, "It is said that in the late stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, German Marshal Paulus and his headquarters were besieged by your troops in the basement of the department store. Knowing that there was no hope of breaking out, they planned to surrender. After you learned the news, you took only a few soldiers to the basement to accept Paulus' surrender.

When the heavy iron door of the basement was opened, the German soldiers in the corridor stood up and pointed their guns at the door. You were standing at the door at that time, facing the countless guns pointed at you, without any fear, but shouted loudly: "I am Colonel Sokov, the commander of the 41st Guards Division. The troops under my command blocked your attack on Mamayev Kurgan like a gate. Now, I am here to accept your surrender. I order you to put down your weapons and surrender immediately, otherwise I will completely eliminate you."

The Germans who were holding their weapons were trembling with fear when they heard your name. They dropped their weapons and raised their hands to surrender to you..."

When Sokov heard what Yulia said, his eyes widened in surprise. He thought, "Are you sure the person you are talking about is me?" Why do I feel that the person who made the German army surrender voluntarily is more like Superman reincarnated, or at least Captain America reappearing in the world?

"Yulia, it seems that the person you are talking about is not me." After Yulia finished speaking, Sokov said with an embarrassed expression: "Even though the troops I command have been staying in the city since the Battle of Stalingrad, the number of Germans who know my name is still very limited."

"Misha," Rokossovsky said to Sokov with a smile while lying on the bed, "Although the outside world announced that the person who captured Paulus alive was the Chief of Staff of the 64th Army, we all know it was you. Some people felt sorry for you and made up this story to tell how you captured Paulus alive. My wife heard this story on many occasions and naturally believed it."

"Misha," Yulia asked curiously, "Can you tell me what you said to Paulus when you met him?"

"My words are very simple." Seeing Yulia's attempt to capture Paulus, Sokov said openly: "After I met Paulus, I told him directly: Marshal Paulus, I am Colonel Sokov, the commander of the 41st Guards Division of the Soviet Army. I have been ordered to come and capture you. Please give your troops a ceasefire and surrender order to avoid more casualties."

"Is that all you said?" Yulia was obviously disappointed after hearing this: "Didn't you say anything grandiose?"

"No."

"Misha," Rokossovsky interrupted, "I think I told the officer on guard not to let anyone in to see me. How did you get in?"

"We climbed in through the window," Yakov answered quickly.

"Climbed in through the window." Hearing what Yakov said, Rokossovsky's eyes unconsciously glanced at the window beside him, wondering if Misha and the others had climbed up through the sewer pipe?

Sokov saw Rokossovsky looking toward the window, realized he had misunderstood, and quickly explained: "Comrade Marshal, we came here specially to visit you, but when we reached the door, we were stopped by the sentry on duty. I thought since we were here, we couldn't just leave without even seeing you. So Yasha and I came to the back of the inpatient department and tried to enter through the back door, but it was also heavily guarded. Except for medical staff, outsiders could not enter. Just as we were circling the inpatient department, I accidentally saw a window on the first floor open, so I took Yasha and climbed in from there."

"So that's how it is." Rokossovsky nodded and said, "You two really have good intentions."

"Comrade Marshal, why are you suddenly hospitalized? What's wrong with you?"

"It was a stroke," Yulia answered. "Since the war ended, Koschka's health has not been very good. Although he was assigned work, he stayed at home to recuperate most of the time except for reporting to work in the morning. But even so, he still accidentally had a stroke."

Sokov had seen people who had suffered a stroke, most of whom suffered from hemiplegia, facial paralysis, and speech disorders. However, judging from Rokossovsky lying in bed, he did not seem to have these symptoms, which meant that his stroke was not serious.

"Is it serious?" Yakov asked.

"After emergency treatment, everything is fine." Yulia turned her head to look at Rokossovsky lying on the bed and said softly, "The doctor said that you should stay in the hospital for two days for observation. If nothing happens, you can be discharged."

"I told you that my illness was nothing serious, but you made a fuss about it," Rokossovsky said to Yulia in a reproachful tone. "After the news of my hospitalization spread, I don't know how many people would come to visit me. If I hadn't told the officers on duty not to allow visitors in, I'm afraid the room would be full of people by now."

"Koschka, it's a good thing that you're sick today." Yulia smiled and said, "At least it shows that you have a high reputation in the army. When I went to find the doctor just now, I looked downstairs and saw at least dozens of generals standing at the door. They all came here specially after hearing the news that you were hospitalized."

"Misha," Rokossovsky waited for Yulia to finish speaking, then turned to look at Sokov and asked, "After I am discharged from the hospital, I will go to Warsaw to serve as the commander of the Northern Cluster. Are you willing to go with me and serve as my deputy?"