Red Moscow

Sokov, who was leading people over, heard Samoilov's question and quickly agreed: "I am here, Lieutenant Samoilov."

"Hello, Comrade Commander." Samoilov quickly came to Sokov, and because he was worried about the German snipers, he did not salute, but straightened his body and reported: "Comrade Commander, the guard platoon Lieutenant Samoilov reports to you, I am at your command, please instruct!"

"Please rest!" After giving the password, Sokov stepped forward two steps, and gave Samoilov a warm hug without any explanation, and said in his mouth: "Thank you, Lieutenant Samoilov .”

Samoilov originally thought that Sokov had come from afar, and he must be looking for him to question him. After all, the deputy division commander he was in charge of protecting was killed by German snipers in front of him. He was already mentally prepared to face a storm of cursing, but he didn't expect Sokov to give him a hug, and his eye circles turned red.

"Comrade Commander," Samoilov said in a crying voice, "I'm sorry, I failed to complete the task you gave me. I failed to protect the deputy division commander and caused him to die. I am willing to accept all your punishment."

"Comrade Lieutenant, I can't blame you for this." Sokov had already figured it out on the way here, and he really couldn't blame Samoilov for this, let alone he didn't know that there were German snipers hiding nearby, even if Knowing that under the circumstances at that time, it was estimated that he still could not save Ivanov's life, so he comforted him and said: "This is an accident, a sad accident. But you have to learn from this and avoid similar incidents." It happened again."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Sokov was going to make the matter trivial, Samoilov glanced at him gratefully, and then replied loudly: "I assure you, it will never happen in the future." Something like this happens again."

"Comrade Lieutenant, what if something similar happens?" Seryozha who was standing by said suddenly, "What are you going to do?"

"If something like this happens again," Samoilov gritted his molars and said after hearing Seriosha's question, "I don't need the commander to send me to a court-martial, I will pick up the pistol and point it to my forehead." Take a shot."

"Okay, okay, don't say these useless words." Seeing that Seryosha and Samoilov were tending to fight, Sokov quickly stopped them, and then said to Samoilov: "Comrade Lieutenant, hurry up and take us to your camp. The soldiers are exhausted after a day's journey. They need to find a place to rest."

Seeing that Sokov had finished explaining the tasks to his subordinates, the commander of the defending army hurried over to report to him: "Hello, Comrade Colonel, welcome to Luhansk. I am the commander of the defending army here. If you need anything , just tell me."

"It's like this, Comrade Captain." Since the company commander of the garrison offered to cooperate with him, Sokov said smoothly, "Please help me settle down these soldiers. They have been exhausted after a day's journey. , I need to drink some hot soup to warm my body, and find a place sheltered from the wind to sleep well."

"No problem," the defending company commander said briskly, "there is enough space for the soldiers to rest in the Workers' Cultural Palace in the city. I'll take you there."

The horizontal bar at the checkpoint was pulled up, and the convoys parked outside the station drove into the city one after another, heading in the direction directed by the defending company commander. When passing the guard platoon's ambush site, Samoilov signaled to the soldiers hiding here that they could lift their guard.

Seeing this scene, Sokov nodded with satisfaction, and said to Samoilov who was sitting beside him: "Comrade Lieutenant, you are very thoughtful. Deploy troops here, even if the enemy breaks through the checkpoint, They will have to pass through your defensive positions if they want to move on."

Soon, the convoy arrived outside the Workers' Cultural Palace, and the defending company commander sitting in the front car got out of the car, and came to Sokov's car with Seryosha. The company commander of the garrison reported respectfully: "Comrade Colonel, the Workers' Cultural Palace has arrived, and you will temporarily settle here. I will adjust the new residence for you after dawn tomorrow."

After thanking the commander of the defending army, Sokov entered the Palace of Workers' Culture under the escort of Seriosha and Samoilov. Since the power plant had been destroyed when the German army retreated, there was no power supply for lighting, and it could only be illuminated by gas lamps and candles sent by the commander of the defending army.

Sokov used the ticket office as his resting place, and after arranging everything, he gave up his plan to check Ivanov's body, but called Samoilov over and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant, are you here?" It's been two or three days, and I have something to ask you."

Although he didn't know that Sokov wanted to ask himself, Samoilov still said respectfully: "Excuse me, Comrade Commander."

"How many residents are there in the city today, and how many defenders are there?"

"Report to Comrade Commander." Samoilov replied respectfully: "Since the city was retaken by our army, about 2,000 residents who fled have returned to the city. The number is about 7,000. As for the defenders, there is only one company with more than a hundred people."

After learning about the situation in the city, Sokov asked Samoilov about the situation of Ivanov's inspection of the terrain, and finally asked: "Comrade Lieutenant, among the terrain you have surveyed, where does the deputy commander think is the best?" Suitable for deploying troops?"

"To the west of the city, Comrade Division Commander." Samoilov replied: "In the direction of the west of the city, there are quite a few hills. Comrade Deputy Division Commander feels that it is very appropriate to establish a defensive position there."

When Samoilov was reporting to work, the commander of the defending army ordered people to bring food and drink to Sokov and the others, so that the hungry soldiers could fill their stomachs.

While Sokov was eating bread, Samoilov came to Sokov with a glass bottle. After knocking off the lid on the table, he pushed the glass bottle in front of Sokov. He said with a smile: "Comrade teacher, you must be thirsty, should you drink some of this?"

"I don't want to drink." Sokov thought that what Samoilov handed over was vodka, so he waved his hand and refused, "Just find me some water."

"Comrade commander, this is not wine." Samoilov replied: "It is a drink aided by the United States."

"A drink aided by American allies?" Samoilov's words aroused Sokov's curiosity. With the help of the dim light of the candle, he carefully examined the glass bottle in front of him. After watching it for a moment, Sokov immediately recognized that this drink from the United States was Coca-Cola, which he was very familiar with in later generations.

Samoilov thought that Sokov had never drunk this kind of drink, so he took a ceramic teacup and poured all the Coke in the bottle into the quilt. Just when Sokov thought that the other party would hand him the tea mug, an amazing scene happened. Samoilov actually picked up the kettle that had just boiled water and poured hot water into the tea mug.

Sokov asked Samoilov in a daze: "Comrade Lieutenant, can you tell me what you are doing?"

"Comrade Commander," Samoilov said eloquently, "you have never drunk this drink. It tastes bitter in the sweetness, and you need to add water and sugar to drink it."

"A bumpkin, what a bumpkin." Sokov scolded the ignorant Samoilov in his heart, and explained to him with a wry smile: "I said, Comrade Lieutenant, Americans drink Coca-Cola directly. Add water and sugar. Understand?"

As soon as Sokov said, not only Samoilov, who was about to add sugar, was stunned, but even the soldiers who were adding water and sugar to the Coke were also stunned. After a long time, Samoilov timidly asked: "Mr. Comrade, you mean that this drink from the United States can be drunk directly?"

"That's right." Sokov nodded, thinking to himself that people who saw Coca-Cola for the first time might drink Coca-Cola in the wrong way. He patiently said to Samoilov and others: "Remember, for unfamiliar things, you should ask more knowledgeable people, so as not to make jokes, understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander," Samoilov replied blushing.

"Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov ordered someone to bring another bottle of Coke, opened the lid, and drank heavily into the bottle. Having the opportunity to drink this familiar cola made Sokov feel his nose sore. After finishing the drink in the glass bottle in one gulp, Sokov burped comfortably, and then asked Samoilov, "Are there many drinks like this in the city?"

"A lot, a lot." Samoilov nodded and said: "There is a warehouse nearby, which contains boxes and boxes of beverages, as well as canned American beef stew."

"Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov couldn't help drooling when he learned that there were more cans of Coke and braised beef in the warehouse. Here come the cans."

Seryozha learned that there were cans of stewed beef in the warehouse, and he was also greedy. In the past few months on Mamayev, it is good to be able to fill my stomach, and meat is simply a luxury. Hearing the order from Sokov, he immediately asked for his order: "Misha, let me take someone to the warehouse to get the cans and drinks."

After getting Sokov's permission, Seriosha immediately left the Workers' Cultural Palace with more than 20 soldiers, and headed towards the warehouse under the guidance of the guide.

After Seryozha left, Sokov suddenly realized that he seemed to have overlooked a key issue. After tens of thousands of troops came to Luhansk, where should the supplies of ammunition and food be sent? If the troops arrive here and find that there is no one to provide supplies for themselves, it will be completely over.

If people have nothing to eat, they can still bear it. But what if the guns are out of bullets, and the tanks are out of fuel and shells? You can't fight the enemy with a bayonet, drive a tank to crush the enemy, right?

He looked at Samoilov and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant, tell me truthfully, how many warehouses are there in the city, and what kind of materials are they hoarding?"

"There are fifteen warehouses in the city." Samoilov is from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and he is naturally much better at observing the surrounding environment than ordinary people. Besides, he has stayed here for two or three days, so he knows the situation in the city well. Hearing Sokov's question at this moment, he quickly replied: "There are five warehouses that store a large amount of weapons, ammunition and fuel. The rest of the warehouses store food and winter clothes. The guard companies that stay in the city are actually It's just for guarding the warehouse."

Hearing that there were weapons, ammunition and food in the warehouse, Sokov felt more at ease. Some time ago, many of the Ignatov brothers’ guerrillas who joined the division were still in civilian clothes. This time when they came to Luhansk, it was just a matter of time to change them into new military uniforms.

Xie Liaosha brought people to the warehouse, and the soldiers guarding the door saw that there were friendly soldiers they knew among the people who came, so they readily opened the door of the warehouse and let Xie Liaosha and others go in to fetch the needed supplies.

When Sokov put the cans and drinks brought back by Seriosha and the others in front of him, he couldn't help frowning slightly: "Seryozha, you mean, when the soldiers guarding the warehouse saw you, Just let you go in to collect supplies immediately, without even basic interrogation and registration?"

"Yes." Seryozha heard Sokov's question, and said quite proudly: "Maybe he recognized us as members of the Guards Division, and out of respect for us, he let us take it casually." Materials in the warehouse."

"Seryozha, have you ever thought about what would happen if the people who entered the warehouse to fetch supplies were not you but the enemy in disguise?" Sokov asked back: "If you were the enemy, what will you do?"

"I will blow up the warehouse and prevent the Soviet troops who will be stationed here from using the materials in the warehouse."

"You're right." Sokov agreed with Seryozha's statement: "If the materials stored in the warehouse were really blown up by the German army, what would the more than 10,000 commanders and fighters of our division eat?" , What to wear? With the weapons in hand, the tanks of the tank brigade have no ammunition and fuel, how can they resist the enemy's attack?"

"Misha, what you said is very correct." Hearing what Sokov said, Seryozha also realized the seriousness of the problem, and quickly stated: "I will immediately arrange manpower to protect all the warehouses in the city."

"I heard from Lieutenant Samoilov that there are fifteen warehouses in the city." Sokov stopped Seryozha, who was about to go out, and said to him, "Even if you send all the people in the company to guard I'm afraid the warehouse is a little short of manpower. Why don't we call the company commander of the garrison army over after dawn to discuss whether we can transfer residents from the city to help us guard the warehouse."

"Now it seems that this is the only way to go." Seryozha calculated silently in his heart. He had nearly 200 people in his hand. If they were distributed to 15 warehouses, no more than 14 people could be assigned to each warehouse. personal. And in this way, there will not be enough power to protect Sokov's safety, and this situation is not allowed.

After making up his mind, he echoed Sokov: "Misha, as soon as it dawns, I will call the commander of the garrison here and discuss with him a proper way to protect the warehouses in the city. The enemy leaves an opportunity to destroy the warehouse."

Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and found that it was already two o'clock in the morning, so he told Sergesha: "Let the soldiers take the time to rest after eating, and they can sleep for a few more hours before dawn. .”