The next day, Zhukov flew back to Moscow from the front line and reported to Stalin the situation on the front line.
The entire reporting process went smoothly. Within an hour, Zhukov came out of the office, greeted Boskrebyshev who was sitting outside, and was about to leave for the General Staff Headquarters to understand the overall war situation.
Nothing changed. Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked to the door, he met Beria.
Zhukov didn't have a good impression of Beria, so he greeted him politely and was about to pass him by. But Beria stopped him: "Marshal Zhukov, please stay!"
"Comrade Beria," Zhukov looked at Beria and asked coldly: "What's the matter?"
"Marshal Zhukov, do you have time?" Beria said pleasantly: "I would like to invite you to my office for coffee and a casual chat."
Hearing what Beria said, Zhukov couldn't help but feel a little in his heart, wondering why Beria suddenly invited him to his office. Did something happen?
Seeing Zhukov's silence, Beria glanced at Poskrebyshev sitting in the office and lowered his voice and said: "It's about Comrade Sokov."
Knowing that Beria wanted to talk to him about Sokov, Zhukov, who was eager to find out what was going on, nodded and agreed to Beria's proposal: "Okay, I just finished reporting on my work and I'm thirsty."
, go to your office now and taste how your treasured coffee tastes."
Arriving at Beria's office, Zhukov sat down opposite Beria. He asked straight to the point: "Comrade Beria, why did you come to see me today?"
Beria said: "Comrade Marshal, do you know about Sokov studying at the Frunze Military Academy?"
Zhukov nodded and said: "Yes! He was able to enter the school without taking the exam because of my recommendation."
Beria said: "Do you know how he behaved in the academy?"
"I don't know," Zhukov shook his head and said, "You also know that as a representative of the base camp, I have been staying on the front line during this period, and I really don't know much about his situation."
Beria's secretary came in with a tray, placed the coffee in front of the two of them, and turned to leave.
"Comrade Marshal, you also know that General Sokov's injury has not recovered yet, and he goes to class in a wheelchair every day." Beria said: "In order to ensure his safety, I am going to let Lunev send an adjutant to take charge every day.
Pick him up."
Zhukov picked up the cup, took a sip of coffee calmly, and asked casually: "Comrade Beria, is there anything Mischa did wrong?"
Beria picked up a folder and handed it to Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, take a look at this."
Zhukov guessed that the folder must contain intelligence about Sokov collected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and could not help but frown slightly. He opened the folder and saw the top piece of paper, which contained the names, military ranks, and names of more than a dozen people.
Which army are they from?
"Comrade Beria," Zhukov saw that he didn't recognize anyone on the list, so he looked up at Beria and asked, "What does this list mean?"
"These people are all students in the intermediate training class, and they are in the same class as General Sokov," Beria further explained: "Sokov tried to use his method to keep these students after they completed their studies.
In the academy.”
Zhukov laughed: "I understand, Misha wants to form his team."
Beria nodded: "Yes, according to the information we have, he does have such a plan, and even plans to summon these people to meet with Ponejelin."
"His idea is not too much. If you really want to form your own team and win on the battlefield, it is completely necessary to let the commanders you like know each other in advance."
"I have no objection to him forming his own team." Beria said: "But is it a bit too dangerous to bring a problematic person like Ponejelin into his team?"
"Comrade Beria," Zhukov keenly sensed that the point of Beria's point was coming: "Isn't the review of Ponedelin, Muzichenko, and Kirillov ended long ago?"
"Comrade Marshal, you don't know something. The reason why the review of Ponedelin and others was concluded in only a month or two was entirely because General Sokov vouched for them." Beria sighed.
He said in a tone: "Although the nominal review has ended, the private investigation of the three of them has not stopped. Tell me, how can such a person be placed next to General Sokov?"
Beria's words made Zhukov realize the seriousness of the problem. He asked with a straight face and an expressionless face: "Comrade Beria, what are you going to ask me to do?"
Beria smiled and said: "Comrade Marshal, I hope you can persuade General Sokov, tell him the stakes of this matter, and ask him not to put a guy with an unreliable position like Ponedelin in front of him.
By my side."
Zhukov understood what Beria meant and did not want Ponedelin to stay and work with Sokov. However, since the other party did not take action and instead threw this hot potato to him, it proved that he must have some scruples.
"Comrade Beria," Zhukov said, "I will meet Misha at the Frunze Military Academy later and convey your wishes to him."
"Thank you so much." Seeing that Zhukov was willing to help him persuade Sokov, Beria breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully: "Comrade Marshal, you have really done me a big favor."
Zhukov waved his hand towards Beria and said: "Comrade Beria, I can convey your thoughts to Sokov, but I can't guarantee whether he agrees with your views."
Beria's smile froze on his face, and after a while, he forced himself to say cheerfully: "Comrade Marshal, as long as you convey my words to General Sokov, as for whether he is willing to adopt my opinions, that's all."
Just let nature take its course.”
"Your coffee is good." Zhukov picked up the cup and took another sip of coffee and asked, "Is it coffee from abroad?"
"Yes, this is coffee from Brazil. Someone gave me a kilogram as a gift." Beria asked with a smile: "Comrade Marshal, how about I ask the secretary to give you half of it."
"No need." Zhukov stood up and said, "I'm afraid I'll get addicted to it and I won't be able to find it even if I try to find it after drinking."
Zhukov came out of the building, got into his car, and told the driver: "Go to the Frunze Military Academy."
When the driver heard Zhukov's instructions, he was stunned for a moment, and then carefully reminded Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, according to the plan, shouldn't you go to the General Staff Headquarters?"
"The situation has changed. Let's go to Frunze Military Academy first."
"Okay, Comrade Marshal." The driver confirmed that he heard what Zhukov said correctly and started the car.
The car arrived at the entrance of the Frunze Military Academy. The sentry at the door stopped the car and stepped forward to ask the driver for his ID. When the sentry bent down and looked inside the car, Zhukov rolled down the window and said to the sentry: "
My name is Zhukov, and I want to see Dean Verevkin."
When the sentry saw clearly that the person sitting in the car was actually Zhukov, he was immediately frightened. He quickly took a step back, stood at attention and saluted, and at the same time tilted his head and shouted towards the duty room at the door: "Comrade Second Lieutenant!"
The second lieutenant sitting in the duty room heard the sentry's shout, opened the door and walked out, asking unhappily: "What are you talking about?"
The sentry stammered: "Yes, it's Comrade Marshal!"
The second lieutenant walked over casually, lowered his head and looked into the car, and met Zhukov's eyes. The second lieutenant was so frightened that he took a few steps back. While raising his hand to salute, he shouted to the sentry standing at the door: "Are you still stunned?"
What are you trying to do? Hurry up and pull up the railings to let Comrade Marshal's car in."
After the second lieutenant waited for Zhukov's car to drive into the school gate, he immediately rushed into the duty room at a sprint speed of 100 meters, grabbed the phone on the table, dialed a number, and said nervously: "I'm a guard here, help.
I transferred to the dean's office and told him that Marshal Zhukov had entered the academy."
The campus of the Frunze Military Academy is very large. When Zhukov's car arrived at the office building, the dean of the academy, Velevkin, was already waiting outside the door with several subordinates.
As soon as the car stopped, Verevkin stepped forward, opened the door, and said to Zhukov respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, on behalf of all the teachers and students of the college, I welcome you!"
Zhukov stepped forward and shook Verevkin's hand, and said with a smile: "Comrade Dean, I'm here uninvited today. I hope I won't cause you any inconvenience, right?"
"No, no," Verevkin replied quickly: "You are an honored guest that we cannot even invite. It can be said to be our honor that you can come here today."
"Comrade Dean," Zhukov planned to rush to the General Staff Headquarters immediately after meeting Sokov. Therefore, he did not have extra time to talk in circles with the Dean, so he asked directly: "Where is Misha?"
Verevkin knew that Sokov's nickname was Misha, and he hurriedly replied: "The intermediate commander training class he is in should still be in class at the moment. Do you need me to send someone to call him immediately?"
"How long until get out of class ends?"
Verevkin raised his hand, looked at his watch, and replied: "There are still ten minutes."
"Since there are still ten minutes left, I will wait for him for a while." Zhukov said to Verevkin: "Comrade Dean, please take me to your office."
Verevkin called a subordinate behind him and gave a few instructions in a low voice. After the man left, he made an invitation gesture to Zhukov: "Please, Comrade Marshal, I will take you to my office."
On the way, Verevkin specifically explained to Sokov: "Comrade Marshal, I have arranged for someone to stand at the door of the intermediate commander training class. I will push General Sokov over just after the class is over."
After the two came to the dean's office, Zhukov just sat down and asked impatiently: "Comrade dean, I wonder how Misha's performance in the school has been in the past two months?"
"Very good, Comrade Marshal." After briefly answering Zhukov's question, Verevkin said a little shyly: "I think with General Sokov's ability, after completing his studies, even if he stays in the college as a teacher, it will be
Quite appropriate.”
"Oh, he can be a teacher?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Verevkin nodded and said, "With his ability, it is more than enough to be a teacher." After saying that, he walked to his desk, rummaged for a while, and picked up a file.
Caught back in front of Zhukov.
Seeing the folder Verevkin handed to him, Zhukov asked curiously: "What is this?"
"This is General Sokov's test report card during his studies, as well as some new military theories he described in class." Verevkin replied respectfully: "I ordered people to sort it out."
Zhukov opened the folder and looked at the thick stack of documents inside. He was a little surprised. He really didn't expect that during the two months Sokov studied in the academy, so many military theories were compiled by the leaders of the academy.
Into a book.
Zhukov carefully flipped through these documents. They were not so much military theories as they were summaries of Sokov's previous battles. Some of them were perfect battle situations in everyone's eyes, but Sokov could still point out the shortcomings and the shortcomings in them.
Steps on how to improve.
Before Zhukov could finish reading, there was a knock on the door outside.
After getting Verevkin's permission, the door was opened from the outside, and Sokov, who was sitting in a wheelchair, was pushed in. The teacher who came to see Sokov only said that the dean wanted to see him, but did not say anything.
Zhukov is also in the dean's office.
When Sokov saw Zhukov standing in the room with a smile on his face, he was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and saluted: "Hello, Comrade Marshal!"
Zhukov quickly walked up to Sokov, raised his hand and patted his shoulder, and said kindly: "Misha, I haven't seen you for a long time. How is your injury?"
"The plaster on my leg has been removed, and I will be able to walk on the ground soon." Sokov reported to Zhukov: "The injuries on my body are almost better. It is estimated that by the time the intermediate commander training course is completed, I will be able to walk."
I can go through the discharge procedures."
"Comrade Dean," Zhukov and Sokov exchanged greetings, then turned to Verevkin and said, "Can you and your subordinates stay away for a while?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Verevkin knew that Zhukov must have something important to say to Sokov, so he quickly asked the teacher who pushed the wheelchair in to leave with him, and closed the door behind him.
"Misha." When only he and Sokov were left in the room, Zhukov's expression became serious: "I heard that you are in the intermediate commander training class to train your future team?"
Sokov knew that the matter of training his team could not be concealed, and Zhukov would find out sooner or later, but he did not expect that the other party would find out so quickly. Now that the matter has reached this point, Sokov will no longer hide it
, but answered truthfully: "Yes, Comrade Marshal. I found that there were more than a dozen students in the class who were of good quality, so I took it upon myself to ask Lunev for help, and planned to keep all these students until the day of graduation.
Take them with you when I return to the army."
Zhukov knew very well that after graduating from the intermediate commander training course and returning to the army, it would not take long for him to be promoted to regiment-level commander. Sokov recruited a dozen future regiment-level commanders in one go.
This means that when he returns as the commander of the group army, he will be able to firmly control several or even a dozen regiments in his hands.
"Misha, why are you recruiting regiment-level commanders?" Zhukov asked: "You know, if you serve as the commander of a group army again, you can't skip the command and directly skip the corps and division to command the regiment, right?"