Burning Moscow

　　 I don't know how long I have been sitting by the bed, and before seeing the operator and Sapochuk come back, I couldn't help standing up, opening the door and walking outside.

　　 I was standing on the snowy ground outside my house and saw many fires in the northeast, reflecting the sky into a purple-red color. From time to time, there was the sound of roaring cannons, rolling across the sky like summer thunder. But I can't understand the real situation of the war. I don't know if this was a cannon fired by our army or the German army.

　　 There was a sound of footsteps on the snowy ground behind him, from far to near. I turned my head, and with the help of the light from the room, I could see that only Sapochuk came by alone. There was neither a telegraph operator behind him nor the old lady just now. "Where is Orlov, my radio operator?" I asked him loudly.

　　 He pointed to a house in the distance and said, "We have sent the old lady back to her house. Orlov is with him. I'm afraid you are worried, so I will report to you first."

　　 "What do you think I should do with Aggie?" I saw that there were no outsiders around, so I didn't go around in circles, and asked him straightforwardly.

"Dispose of Aji? Why do you want to dispose of Aji?" He listened to my question, staring at me in surprise, and said disapprovingly, "Aji just killed a woman who slept with a German, and he was not a deserter on the battlefield. You have already put him in confinement, this kind of punishment is enough, what else should you do with him?"

　　 Listening to what he said, I also closed my mouth with interest. The cultural differences are too big and the national conditions are also different, so many things are handled differently. If in another army, I was already thoroughly familiar with the way Aji was handled, that would be to summon all the villagers to the Shai Valley Field, and tearfully review their imperviousness to them, and that's what happened. In order to be serious about military discipline, the murderer must be severely punished. Then with another wave of hands, two soldiers immediately took Aji, who was **** with Wuhuada, over. After I had counted the crimes he had committed, I took him aside and shot him to death. Although someone will intercede for him, let me see that he has made great military exploits in the past, hoping that the merits and demerits will offset his death, and give him a chance to make meritorious deeds. At this time, there may be individual villagers who are moved and come forward to intercede for him. But in order to reflect the strict military discipline of our army, in the end I would still slay Ma Di with tears. He is always inevitable to die. But before he died, he would usually yell some clichés such as "Brothers help me kill a few more devils," "Burn a few pieces of paper on my grave every Qingming Festival." But in this country, this kind of thing happened, and the heaviest punishment for the murderer was just to be locked up for a few days and then screamed. Tens of thousands died in the war. Who would make a fuss about the death of an insignificant woman?

I sighed and said weakly to Zapochuk, "You go back and rest, and you have to go to reconnaissance tomorrow." He saluted me, turned around and was about to leave, and I quickly added another sentence. : "Remember to ask Lu Jin to wake me up at four."

　　 Back in the room, I looked at the wooden bed I had sat on in a daze. It is one thing to sit, but it is another thing to let me lie on it to sleep. Although the bodies of the German corporal and the young girl have been removed, and the blood stains on the bed and on the floor have been cleaned up, I still feel a strong smell of blood permeating the room. If I were to sleep in this bed of a dead person or a murderous person, I wouldn't have the guts. I'm afraid of having nightmares in the middle of the night. After thinking about it for a long time, I still sat in the armchair in front of the telegraph machine, and then lay on the table and closed my eyes to rest.

　　 Sergeant Lu Jin woke me up at the appointed time. After a brief wash, I went outside the house and saw that the squad had been assembled. Except for Aji, who was confined, the other eight fighters are here.

I took the gun and walked back and forth in front of the neat team two times. Suddenly I felt that it would not take so many people to conduct reconnaissance, so I began to issue a series of orders to them: "Orlov, you don't need to go to reconnaissance this time. Stay and keep in touch with the group army headquarters at any time."

　　 "Yes." He answered me loudly.

　　 "Saskat, Leon Jeff," I called the other two fighters at the end of the line.

　　 "Here!" The two agreed in unison, taking a big step forward.

"You two stay in charge of guarding Aji, and he is not allowed to leave. Do you understand?" I arranged this because the two fighters have been with Aji, and the relationship between each other is relatively better. Let them take care of Aji. Ji, I believe that the two will not embarrass A Ji.

　　 "Yes." The two answered very simply.

　　 After a short time in the forest, the sky began to snow. The weather was really cold, and the wind hit my face with snow particles, like needles piercing the bone, like a knife cutting the face, we struggled through the knee-deep snow. What is waiting for us on this long road? What kind of hostility will you encounter? What kind of enemy will you encounter, cunning or stupid? This is unpredictable.

　　 "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let's take a break. If we walk in the dark in the snow, it is easy to get lost." Sergeant Lu Jin leaned to my ear and reminded me in a low voice.

　　 I looked back at the soldiers behind me. Although I couldn't see the faces of everyone, I could clearly hear the heavy breathing of the soldiers behind. It seemed that everyone was tired enough. So I decisively issued an order to the back: "rest in place and wait until dawn before leaving."

　　The soldiers smashed the snow away and began to build the snow wall. I used a telescope to observe the terrain in the distance, and vaguely found that there seemed to be a road ahead, but the road was quiet, without any vehicles or pedestrians. After the low snow wall was built, we all squatted behind to avoid the cold wind. After a brief silence, some people began to speak in a low voice to pass the time and wait for the dawn to come.

　　 "Sergeant Lu Jin, how long have you been in the army?" Because it is close to the highway, although there are no vehicles passing by for the time being, I still lowered my voice to prevent the target from being exposed.

　　 "Three years." Lu Jin also lowered his voice and answered me.

　　 "Have you ever fought a war before? I mean, did you fought a war before this war broke out?"

　　 "I have fought, and have been injured in battle."

　　 "Where did you fight it? Was it the Haraha River?" Hearing that he had fought before, I naturally thought of the Battle of Nomonkan that made Zhukov famous.

　　 "No, it's in the Brest area."

"Brest? What are you doing there to fight the Germans?" The place in Brest left me too impressed. The defenders in the fortress fought until the last person, still insisting on fighting. , So when I heard this place name, I was very surprised.

"On the contrary, comrade lieutenant colonel. We did not go there to fight the Germans, but to meet with them and eliminate our common enemy-Polish fascism." Having said that, he began to recall with effort: "I remember that day was 1939. On September 17th, we and the German Wehrmacht met at the victory of Brest, captured tens of thousands of Polish soldiers, and held a joint military parade on the 25th."

　　 "Ah!" What he said surprised me, what's going on? How can the Soviet-German army meet on Polish territory? Hasn't the Brest Fortress been the leader of the Soviet Union?

　　 Before I could think of a reason, suddenly the sound of a car's motor came from far and near, interrupting my thoughts. I quickly stood up and followed the prestige. I saw a few trucks with canopies and strong headlights shooting far away in the dark night. These trucks drove along the road for a while, then suddenly turned around and drove towards our hidden place.

　　 "Strange, what do these Germans want to do?" I couldn't help but mutter to myself.

"No, we decided to stay hidden here temporarily. The Germans would never guess that we would be here." Lukin lay beside me, watching the enemy's vehicle, and said softly to me, while opening his hands. Insurance for submachine guns.

　　 I lowered my head and whispered to the soldiers squatting behind the snow wall: "Everyone is ready to fight!"

　　 "Yes!" The soldiers agreed, bypassing the snow wall and lying on the snowy ground, opening the insurance of their weapons one after another.

"No one is allowed to shoot without my order." Although I just ordered everyone to prepare for battle, I don't know exactly how many people are on these German trucks. I am worried that anyone could not help but shoot rashly. Once our hidden location is exposed, then we have to fight a head-to-head encounter with the superior German army, which is not worth the gain. That's why I will add that I intend to observe the situation and act bye bye.

　　 The lighted truck was driving slowly in the forest. With the help of the car's lights, I unexpectedly discovered that there was such a large open space in the middle of the forest.

　　 The truck swayed for a certain distance, and then stopped. The four trucks lined up without turning off their lights, and a wide, pale fan was illuminated on the snow in front of the truck.

　　 The car stopped steadily, and then many German soldiers in military coats, helmets and submachine guns jumped off the car. After they got out of the car, they quickly ran to the front of the car and stood in a row.

　　 "What are they doing?" Lu Jin asked softly in my ear.

　　 Seeing this kind of formation of the German troops lined up, I was also at a loss. I couldn't figure out what they wanted to do. I just held the submachine gun in my hand tightly and stared silently at the German soldiers ahead.

　　 At this moment, five people in ragged clothes walked out from behind the car. Because they were so far apart and the light was dark, they could barely see that they were soldiers of our army. As for who they were, they couldn't see clearly. Some of them were bandaged on their heads, and some were on crutches. They were forced by guns by the German soldiers to walk forward with difficulty in the knee-deep snow, very laboriously and slowly.

　　 "Ah! They want to kill, what shall we do?" Lu Jin's low and anxious voice came from his ears.

　　 I just stared at the front and still didn't say a word. In my heart, I clearly know what tasks I have, and I also know what I should and should not do in this situation. There are at least fifty German soldiers in front of us. Can the six of us beat them? If you let your feelings go, the consequences will be disastrous. But seeing everything in front of me, I couldn't help my heart beating faster, and the hand holding the submachine gun was shaking constantly because of tension.

　　 Five people stood in a row with their backs to us in front of the German truck. At this time, the door of the cab of the first truck on the right opened, and an officer in a big brimmed hat came down from above and walked towards the captured soldiers of our army. I checked the distance visually, and it was no more than 40 meters. Any one of us here can easily knock him down. Seeing him getting closer and closer to our side, I almost couldn't help but give an order to fire at Aguminte, who was hiding next to him. But in the end, I resisted it. I whispered to the soldiers around me, repeating my command just now: "No one is allowed to shoot without my order."

　　 The German officer walked to the front of the captured soldier and took a look, then turned and walked aside, raised his right hand, and gave orders to his soldiers loudly. Following his order, the German soldiers raised the muzzle of their submachine guns.

　　 "The enemy is going to shoot, what shall we do?" Lu Jin's anxious voice came over again.

　　 "No one is allowed to shoot without my order." I repeated the empty order feebly. Those who are about to fall under the enemy's guns are all my own and our comrades. Seeing one's comrades brutally killed by the enemy but cannot be rescued, is there anything more painful than this? …

　　 As the German officer's right hand slammed down, the submachine guns in the soldiers' hands opened fire violently. The five soldiers convulsed violently and slumped weakly, and fell to the snow.

　　 "Damn German devil." I heard Lu Jin cursing in a low voice next to me, and turned my head to look, just in time to see him holding his submachine gun on the snow, closing one eye and aiming at the enemy ahead who was about to fire. I grabbed his gun barrel and whispered at him: "Didn't I say that shooting is not allowed without my order? Do you want to disobey the order?" Hearing this, he let go of his hand weakly. His submachine gun hit the snow hard with a fist, buried his head in the snowdrift and sobbed silently.

　　 After the execution of the German army was finished, the officer stepped forward again, drew a pistol and shot at each of the soldiers who fell on the ground. After making sure that no one would survive, he turned around to greet the soldiers to get into the car. After all the Germans got on the truck, the truck turned around and drove along the same road.

I watched the truck drive on the highway, driving a distance of about two to three hundred meters, then immediately jumped up from the hidden place, carried a submachine gun and dashed forward desperately, and took the lead to rush towards the soldiers who were shot. Remains.

　　 Several soldiers lay on the gleaming snow, and the blood stains under them were slowly expanding. Lu Jin stepped forward and raised and lowered the body of the first soldier, raised and lowered the body of the second soldier,... After going through the bodies of the five soldiers, he fell to the snow and cried. Said: "They all sacrificed. Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, why didn't you let me shoot?" When he said this, I caught a glimpse of dissatisfaction on the faces of several soldiers around, and they clenched their weapons. .

"Comrade lieutenant colonel did the right thing." Before I could speak, someone next to me started to defend me: "Under the circumstances at the time, the German army was several times larger than us. Even if we fired, we might not be able to save them. Putting our team in for nothing." I looked at the speaker, and it turned out that it was Sapochuk.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if it were not for your repeated orders not to shoot, I would at least kill a few **** German devils!" Perhaps seeing his comrades die in front of him, his anger and sadness dazzled his mind and his emotions. That's why I became so impulsive that I dared to confront me, who had a much higher rank than him.

　　 "You are a veteran, don't be as impulsive as a recruit." I criticized him in a low voice.

　　 He stood up, stared at me fiercely, and yelled: "Did you see what the **** German devil did just now?"

"Take my submachine gun," I threw the submachine gun with the safety open in my hand to him, and said with a sneer: "The German Devil's truck hasn't driven far enough. You can catch up and have a good time. I will take all the soldiers. Cover you! Go, kill them all and avenge these murdered comrades."

　　 Lukin's hands clenched the submachine gun and trembled, and I continued: "Go, no need to think about the tasks we will perform in the future, and no need to think about the other people in the squad, they will take care of themselves."

　　 Lu Jin looked around, and the soldiers who had supported him saw him looking at him, and shook their heads at him one after another. Finally he looked at me helplessly, suddenly threw the gun on the snow, squatted on the ground with his head in his arms and shouted, "They are not humans, they are just a bunch of beasts!"

Sapochuk stooped to pick up the submachine gun, patted Lukin on the shoulder, and said softly: "Get up, my friend! This is not the time for sadness. Our comrades will not sacrifice in vain. We will avenge them." . Now there are more important tasks waiting for us to complete."

"Understood!" Lu Jin stood up with gritted teeth, wiped away the tears from his face, walked to me and stood up and saluted, and apologized to me: "I'm sorry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel! I was too impulsive just now, and I will be determined in the future. He obeyed your orders." Taking my submachine gun from Sapochuk, when handing it to me, he added: "I will never let the German beasts go."

　　 "Aguminte, who are the sacrifices?" Seeing that Lu Jin had been comforted, I asked the sniper who squatted on the ground to check the identity of the sacrificed fighter.

　　 "Comrades, lieutenant colonel, judging from their collar badges, they are all political workers, among them there is a regiment political commissar." Aguminte looked up and answered me.

　　 Hearing that it was a political worker, everyone fell silent. I understand the reason for everyone's sudden silence. In the entire Soviet-German war, political workers have always been a thankless character. They know nothing about the military, but they have absolute command of the military. The reason why some battles are so badly lost is inseparable from the blind command of some political workers on the battlefield.

　　 I remember when I was recuperating in the military hospital in Leningrad, I met a second lieutenant of the tank soldier in the restaurant. He once talked to me about the blind command of political workers. At that time, their regiment was ordered to counterattack the Germans, but due to insufficient fuel and ammunition, the troops were unable to launch an offensive for a long time after gathering. At this moment, a political commissar came to the army, UU reading www.uukanshu. com involuntarily called the regiment commander to scold him and shot him to death, then let the deputy commander take over the command of the regiment and immediately launched an attack on the German positions. The deputy commander had no choice but to lead all the tanks to launch a suicide charge. Many tanks were forced to stop in the middle of the battlefield because they had no fuel and became targets of German aircraft and anti-tank firepower. The tank driven by the second lieutenant was also blown up by German anti-tank fighters. Except for him, the rest of the crew died. The second day after telling me this story, the second lieutenant of the tanker disappeared. I didn't hear any more from him until I was discharged from the hospital.

　　 "What should we do?" Lu Jin asked. He may have become hesitant because he found that the sacrifices were all unpleasant political workers.

　　 "After all, they are all our comrades." Although I also hate these political workers in my heart, as a school-level military officer, I still have to say: "Dig a pit and bury them."

　　 I arrange for Aguminte and Sapochuk to go to the side of the highway to guard, and then let the rest of the people dig the pit. Resdayev and Sgoria worked together, first digging up the thick snow with an engineer shovel, and then digging through the frozen hard ground. It took a lot of effort to dig. A shallow pit that can hold five people. Lu Jin stepped forward to join hands and put the bodies of five political workers into the pit one by one.

　　 buried their remains and marked them on the grave so that they could be identified in the future. After finishing all this, I assembled the small team. Standing in front of the tomb, I took the lead in silently paying a solemn military salute to the comrades of these sacrifices. After the others had finished saluting, I led the small team to move on to the unknown destination.