Sokov's words shut up those students who were worried that they would not be selected. They knew very well that what Sokov said was true. The intermediate commander training class trained regiment-level cadres. If all of them were selected
If Sokov is taken under his command, other commanders will definitely be dissatisfied and will try their best to sabotage this matter.
Seeing that the students had become quiet, Sokov began to name the students he remembered. Originally, he thought that recruiting these students would be a very difficult task, but he did not expect that Verevkin announced his identity in public.
After that, all the students took the initiative to ask to become their subordinates.
The students whose names were called by Sokov were all ecstatic. But the students whose names were not called looked depressed. Especially the students who were ranked in the top twenty this time, because
I was not selected by Sokov, but I was upset and thought that if I had established a good relationship with Sokov earlier, I might have been selected this time.
Krezhiow, the monitor of the training class, unfortunately became one of the unsuccessful trainees. He looked at Sokov standing on the podium, his old face turned red and his intestines turned green. Ordinarily Sokov was there.
His usual performance is outstanding, and he is no ordinary person at first glance. In addition, he is picked up and dropped off by officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs every day. It is obvious that he has a background. But as for himself, he is always against him, and his defeat this time has become inevitable.
.
Vadim on the side came over and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Major, why wasn't your name called?"
"Isn't this normal?" Krezyowf replied with a wry smile: "Think about how I usually treat him? If it were you in his place, would you choose me in this situation?" Thinking of it
Not long ago, Vadim was inciting him to attack Sokov. If he really did this, his future would probably end here.
"Oh, that's not possible." Vadim also thought of how not long ago he was instigating Krezhiow to attack Sokov. Thinking of it at this time, he couldn't help but feel scared. He was so scared that he even felt cold on his back.
Breaking into a cold sweat.
"Comrades, the students whose names have been called please stay!" The dean said to the students present: "Students whose names have not been called can leave and come here at the same time tomorrow to receive their graduation certificates."
After all the students who were not selected by Sokov were gone, the remaining students turned their attention to Sokov and wanted to hear what arrangements he would make next.
But before Sokov could speak, Dean Verevkin spoke again: "Comrade students, I congratulate you on becoming General Sokov's subordinates. I hope you will achieve greater results and build a better foundation in the coming days."
Many meritorious deeds.”
As soon as the dean finished speaking, there was warm applause in the classroom. The students present knew that what the dean said was not a routine blessing, but a fact. Judging from the series of achievements achieved by General Sokov, everyone
There will be many opportunities for meritorious service and honors in the future.
After the classroom quieted down, the dean said to Sokov politely: "Comrade General, can you come to my office first? I have something to do and I want to talk to you alone."
"Okay." Sokov readily agreed to the dean's invitation, and before leaving, he said to the students sitting in the classroom: "Students, please wait for me here for a while until I finish talking to the dean.
, I’ll come back to see you.”
The dean brought Sokov to his office. After arranging him to sit down, he poured a cup of hot tea himself and placed it in front of him. Then he said: "Comrade General, you know why I asked you to come.
?"
Sokov shook his head and picked up the tea cup on the table: "I don't know. Please tell me, Comrade Dean."
"That's right, Comrade General." The dean said politely: "Among the 30 students you selected, why is there no training class leader Krezhiow?"
"Major Kryzhiow?" After Sokov repeated the name, seeing the dean nodding, he continued: "He does not meet my requirements."
"Why?" the dean asked puzzledly: "You know, he has been in the military for twenty years, and he is also a commander with rich combat experience. It's really too bad that such a person has not been favored by you.
It surprised me.”
When Sokov saw that the dean actually spoke well of Krezhów, he asked tentatively: "Comrade dean, I wonder what your relationship is with Major Krezhów?"
"He is my old subordinate." The dean explained to Sokov: "When I graduated from the military academy and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Corps in Budyonny as the platoon leader, Krezhiow was in my platoon.
A soldier. We fought side by side for three years. Once I was wounded on the battlefield, and it was he who carried me off the battlefield..."
From the dean's story, Sokov found out that Krezhiow once saved the dean's life on the battlefield. No wonder, as soon as the intermediate commander training class was established, the elderly major was directly appointed as
The monitor of the training class turned out to have a good personal relationship with the dean.
"Comrade Dean," Sokov thought for a while and decided to tell the truth to the dean: "You may think that the reason why I did not choose him today is because he often targets me in everything, and even does things behind my back.
Some little moves.”
The dean did not expect Sokov to speak so directly, so he nodded and acknowledged his statement: "Yes, I was just worried about your daily conflicts that made you give up and choose him."
"Comrade Dean, your guess is wrong." Sokov shook his head and said: "Although Major Krezhiow usually targets me, opposes me, and even makes small moves behind the scenes, I can still pretend
Invisible. But the reason why I didn’t choose him was not because of these things.”
"What's that for?"
"Comrade Dean, I want to ask you." Sokov did not immediately answer the dean's question, but asked instead: "What do you think my criteria are for selecting my subordinates?"
"It should be based on the students' usual performance and their ranking in this exam." The dean asked carefully: "Am I correct in guessing?"
"It's not just the two points you mentioned." Sokov explained to the dean: "I also use various channels to understand the previous performance of these students in the army to decide whether he should be recruited into my army.
Under his command."
"Oh, so you've also investigated Krezhiow?"
"Yes, Comrade Dean, I did investigate Krezhiow through my own information channels." Sokov said seriously: "It was through this investigation that I decided to give up on Major Krezhiow."
.”
The dean sat down opposite Sokov and asked curiously: "Comrade General, can you tell me what exactly made you give up on Krezhiow?"
"During the Battle of Kursk, Krezhiow was still a deputy battalion commander." Sokov began to describe what he had investigated: "They were ordered to conduct reconnaissance on an enemy position, but Krezhiow
After receiving the report from the scouts, the information was passed back to the division without verification. As a result, based on this erroneous information, the division thought that the German positions in front were weak and selected that area as a breakthrough point for the attack."
"What happened next?"
"When the offensive battle began, the division commander discovered that the number of German troops holding their positions was several times greater than he expected. However, at this time, there was no retreat at all, and he could only bite the bullet and attack the enemy." Soko.
The husband said: "After a battle, the German position was not conquered, but two elite regiments were crippled and their combat effectiveness was completely lost, so that in the following battles, the division would not be able to participate in new battles.
fighting."
"Comrade General, it is inevitable that the reconnaissance information is wrong. After all, the enemy is not a fool. Sometimes they will deliberately spread some false news to confuse our scouts."
"It was later proven that the scout who provided intelligence to Krezhiow had mutinied after being captured by the Germans and deliberately provided false information to allow our troops to fall into the enemy's trap." Sokov specifically emphasized: "I feel that the division
Major Kryzhiow was not free of involvement in the huge price paid in this battle. If he had followed the regulations and verified the intelligence provided by the scouts, such losses could have been completely avoided."
"Comrade General, I think that after Major Krezhiow experienced this incident, he will definitely learn a lesson and avoid similar things from happening again." The dean continued to intercede for Krezhiow, hoping that Sokov could change.
The idea was to integrate Krezhiow into the new army: "I think you should accept him?"
"Comrade Dean, it stands to reason that I should give you face to accept the person you recommend to me." Sokov shook his head and said: "But Krezhiowf is not good, his commanding ability is not good.
The tactics used on the battlefield are too rigid. If you are only a battalion-level commander, the impact will not be great. Once you become a regiment-level commander, or even a division-level commander, using his ability to command operations, big problems will definitely occur.
"
The dean was stunned for a moment, then asked: "Comrade General, can you tell me why you said that?"
"There was another important battle. Krezyowf and the second battalion commander each led their troops to attack the enemy's defensive areas. Before the battle started, Krezyowf and the second battalion commander had differences of opinion.
The second battalion commander felt that the stronger enemy should be attacked first. When the weaker enemy saw that their friendly forces were being attacked, they simply could not spare the effort to support them. But Krezyowf was stubborn and felt that he should attack first.
Fight weak enemies and defeat them, then attack strong enemies.
After the battle started, the first battalion commanded by Krezhiow took the lead in launching an attack at a position where the German defenses were relatively weak. However, as the commander of the second battalion expected, the powerful German troops sent troops to support the friendly forces and attacked the friendly forces.
The Krezhów Battalion carried out a pincer attack from both front and rear.
Krezhiow saw that the situation was not good, and without consulting his superiors for instructions, he led his troops to withdraw from the battle and retreated to a relatively safe area to regroup the troops.
The second battalion commander led his troops to launch an attack on the powerful enemy. Since the German troops on the flanks were relatively weak, they had to adopt a wait-and-see attitude when they saw friendly forces being attacked by our troops. The second battalion, which had no worries, continued to attack the enemy.
After two attacks, we finally succeeded in breaking through the enemy's defense."
After listening to Sokov's story, the dean was silent. He thought in his heart that the reason why he repeatedly tried to persuade Sokov to recruit Krezyow into his staff was actually not because he was interested in Krezyow.
It is because this man is not only his old subordinate, but also saved his life on the battlefield. Doing so can be regarded as a favor.
But seeing Sokov's resolute attitude, the dean knew that it would be useless to say anything else. He was racking his brains to find a reason for himself to step down, when the phone on the table rang.
The dean grabbed the phone, put it to his ear and said, "I'm Verevkin, what can I do?"
A strange voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Dean, I am the guard at the door. Three officers came outside. They want to enter the college, but they don't have a pass."
"What's wrong with you?" The dean heard what the guard said and said unhappily: "Didn't I say hello that no one without a pass will be allowed to enter the college?"
"Comrade Dean," Sokov vaguely heard the dean's opponent and asked quickly: "Are there three officers outside?"
"Yes, Comrade General." After hearing what Sokov was asking him, the dean quickly covered the phone with his hand and replied, "They plan to enter the college, but they don't have a pass."
"Comrade Dean, I think I may know these three officers."
"Do you know these three officers?"
"Yes, Comrade Dean." Sokov nodded and said, "I made an appointment with three commanders to come to the academy. Maybe they have arrived."
"What are their names?"
"The leader is named Ponedelin, and the other two are named Muzichenko and Kirillov."
"What, Ponejelin?" Hearing the three names Sokov said, the dean shouted in surprise: "Comrade General, the person you are talking about is Ponejelin, the commander of the 12th Group Army at the beginning of the war.
General Jerlin?"
"Yes, it's him." The dean's performance made Sokov feel a little surprised. He asked curiously: "Comrade dean, do you know General Ponedelin?"
"Yes, I know him." The dean nodded and said in a positive tone: "Before the war broke out, I once invited Ponejelin to give a lecture in the college. Later, it was rumored that he told Germany
He surrendered and became a shameful traitor, but when I heard the news, I felt extremely sorry."
"Comrade Dean, General Ponedelin is not a traitor. These are all rumors spread by the Germans." Sokov thought this was a good opportunity to clear the name of Ponedelin and others, so he said to the dean.
: "He was captured by the Germans only after he was seriously wounded in battle. During the two years he was held in a German prisoner of war camp, he never surrendered to the Germans."
The dean hummed softly, then released his hand covering the microphone and asked: "Comrade guard, ask those three officers if there is one named Ponijelin?"
"Okay, Comrade Dean, I'll ask right away." After the guard said this, he poked his head out of the duty room and asked the three people standing outside the door: "Is there any one of you named Bonej?
Lin’s?”
Hearing the guard ask this question, a major came out and replied loudly: "I am Ponijelin."
"Comrade Dean, there is indeed an officer named Ponedelin." After confirming Ponedelin's identity, the guard asked into the microphone: "What should we do next?"
"What else can we do? Of course let them in." The dean was worried that Ponejelin and others could not find his office, so he specifically ordered the guard: "Send one of you as a guide to bring them to my office.