Steel Soviet Union

When the door opened, Malashenko never expected that the person standing in front of him would be Vatutin who made a sudden visit.

"Comrade Commander, what are you doing at this time?"

"What? Can't I come to the home of the most important commander under my command? Or do you think you don't welcome me as a leader?"

Vatutin's joking tone was obvious, and Malashenko could certainly hear it, and he didn't say he didn't welcome it.

With a smile on his face, he quickly turned sideways and made an invitation gesture. This was considered as an invitation to his immediate boss, Vatugin, who was at least his immediate boss two hours ago, to be invited into the room.

As soon as Vatutin entered the door, before he had time to rest, Malashenko's two sons, one big and one small, ran over, grabbed Vatutin's trouser legs and started calling for a hug from his grandfather.

This was not the first time he came to Malashenko's house. Vatutin, who was very familiar with the two children, immediately smiled and squatted down, just like when Malashenko first came home, he took Nikolai and Kiri one by one. He held them all in his arms, letting the two children pinch his face and just laugh.

"Okay kids, come to mom. Dad and Grandpa Vatutin want to talk about something, come here quickly."

Natalia guessed that Vatutin suddenly came to visit her husband shortly after he came back, and she never heard her husband tell her about it beforehand, so she must have come here for something urgent. Then he walked out of the bedroom and took away the two children, giving Malashenko and Vatutin space to talk.

In the living room on the other side, Vatutin, who had just sat down, knew that time was tight and the situation was urgent, so he immediately spoke to Malashenko straight to the point.

"You must know why I'm here, so I'll keep it short and highlight the key points."

"I just took turns with Comrade Chief of Staff to persuade Comrade Zhukov. He is still very stubborn, but he agreed to cancel the order to transfer the Leader's Army back to Moscow and modify the victory flag. The honorary title of the Leader's Army still needs to be withdrawn. I guess this matter also It’s not entirely up to him, it’s your personal issue.”

Vatutin, who paused for a moment, still felt that this was a great injustice to Malashenko.

Just because he was forced to get involved in such a mess, and was dragged and used as a tool by Zhukov, Malashenko lost his two important positions as commander of the Berlin Garrison and commander of the leading army. This kind of thing simply sounds like It makes people shake their heads.

But the matter has come to this point and there is no other way. Vatutin, who has tried his best, can only say to Malashenko with guilt.

"Comrade Zhukov still insists on removing you from your post, but agrees not to use you as a negative teaching material to criticize you."

"Comrade Chief of Staff and I have tried our best to persuade him. I'm sorry, Comrade Malashenko, but there are some things that can no longer be done."

Malashenko, who had already calmly accepted the reality, smiled and did not feel that there was anything unacceptable to him.

Perhaps it was the heart and will that did not belong to this era that enabled Malashenko to face and accept all this more calmly, and then quietly spoke to Vatutin.

"I had already guessed that the final result might be like this, but I don't regret doing it and there is nothing unacceptable."

""

The silent Vatutin didn't know what to say now. He had already thought about how to comfort Malashenko and cheer him up so that he wouldn't sink into depression.

But Malashenko's psychological and mental state were obviously much better than he expected, and the words of comfort he had prepared in advance were useless now.

Malashenko's speech continued.

"I actually expected that things might evolve to this point a long time ago. You know some things, and you can see the signs."

"But I always remind myself that Marshal Zhukov has been kind to me no matter what. Indeed, as he said, my ability to reach this point is inseparable from his cultivation of me. It is he who gave me The opportunity after opportunity has allowed me to grow to this day.”

"I haven't forgotten any of this, so I can't just watch him rushing into the abyss while I do nothing. It may even seem like I'm helping him, but actually hurting him makes him sink deeper and make him even more unable to extricate himself. , destroy myself, I can’t do this kind of thing no matter what.”

"So I decided that I would rather put my future on the line and the friendship I had with him over the years to try and get him back. Whether I succeeded or not, this was what I had to do. It is not based on success or failure. This is not only for the leadership of the army and the honor of the soldiers, but also for Marshal Zhukov."

"It's a pity that I failed. Even if I risked my future and our friendship, it was still not enough. It was still not enough to make Marshal Zhukov stop heading towards the road of no return, let alone to make him look back and see where we had gone. The road he has passed and how different it is from the road behind him to the road in front of him.”

"--Why"

After listening to Malashenko's true thoughts from the bottom of his heart, Vatutin, who also knew exactly why all this happened and what was going on, not only sighed, but also shook his head in regret and helplessness.

"But I still insisted on doing something for you, Malashenko. Just like what you said just now, I can't do this and just watch you fall into a desperate situation and ignore it."

Unexpectedly, Malashenko would follow him after he was dismissed. Then he looked at Vatutin with a somewhat stunned look, not knowing what to say.

Just listen to Vatutin's next words coming quietly.

"I want to take you back to East Germany. Only there will you not be drawn into this vortex anymore. Only then will you be able to stay away from it all and continue to do what you should do and what you have not yet done."

"It is too dangerous for you to stay in Moscow now. No one can predict what will happen next, especially after you are dismissed."

"Comrade Zhukov has been informed of this matter and he has not raised any objection. Now pack your things. My special plane is on standby at the airport. We will leave as soon as you are ready."

Malashenko, who did not expect that he would be transferred back to East Germany, was not only surprised, but also worried about what would happen after he left. He couldn't rest assured at all.

"What about my family? Comrade Commander, my wife and children, what will they do?"

"I'm like this now. I was originally a negative example that was criticized by the whole army. If I abandon them now, I-I-"

The more he spoke, the less he could say anything. He saw Vatutin's gesture to stop, and after a moment's thought, he gave a matter-of-fact reply.

"I will make arrangements for your family, but they must not go to East Germany with you. You know why. If this is too sensitive at this point in time, it will be more detrimental to you and your family." "

"Believe me, I will do my best on this matter. You just need to go to East Germany and continue to do what you have to do and do everything well. I promise you that as long as I don't retire, your family will not If something happens, I will guarantee it with my military honor.”