Red Moscow

In the next few days, Sokov and Yakov ran back and forth between the engine factory and the machinery factory, paying attention to the improvement of the rocket propulsion system and a series of tests of the new assault rifle.

On the first weekend of April, considering that he didn't have much work, Yakov decided to call Sokov to a coffee shop in the city for a drink. Unexpectedly, when the two of them arrived on the ground floor and were about to leave the guest house, the waiter on duty hurried over and said to Yakov, "Comrade Captain, I have your number."

"Looking for my phone number?" Hearing someone calling for him, Yakov asked in surprise, "Do you know who it is?"

Hearing Yakov's question, the waiter said in an uncertain tone, "It seems that the engineer Kurk called."

Knowing that it was Kurk's call, Yakov's first reaction was the development of the rocket rocket system, and new progress has been made. He hurried over to pick up the microphone, and said loudly: "I'm Yakov, engineer Kurk? What do you want from me? Has your research work progressed? ... No, what is that?" ?...Someone is waiting for me in your office, who is it?...I see, I'll be there right away."

After Yakov put down the phone, he said to Sokov: "Misha, a leader came from Moscow, and he is now in the office of Engineer Kurk. Let the two of us rush over to see him as soon as possible."

Although Sokov also wanted to know who the leader from Moscow was, since Yakov didn't say it, it might be for the sake of keeping it secret, so even if he asked, it would be useless. So, he just nodded and said, "Then let's go to Engineer Kulk's office."

The two came to Kurk's engineer's office familiarly. As soon as they entered the door, Sokov saw an officer sitting at his desk, chatting with Kurk. According to the three gold stars on the diamond-shaped collar patch of the opponent, Sokov immediately recognized that this was a lieutenant general, but he could not figure out what department he belonged to.

Yakov quickly walked up to the general, raised his hand in salute, and said, "Comrade General, Captain Yakov is here to report. I follow your orders, please instruct!"

"Hello, Captain Yakov!" The general stood up and shook hands with Yakov, saying politely, "It's a pleasure to meet you here."

When the two were shaking hands, Yakov asked again with a smile: "Comrade General, when did you arrive in Nizhny Novgorod? Why haven't I been notified?"

"I decided to come to Novgorod temporarily, so I didn't inform you." After speaking, he turned his gaze to Sokov again, "This is Major Sokov."

Although Sokov didn't know the general, judging from Yakov's attitude towards him, he must also be from the Weapons and Equipment Department, so he raised his hand to salute the general and said respectfully: "Hello , Comrade General!"

"Major Sokov," the general continued after shaking hands with Sokov, "I think you may not know me, so I will introduce myself to you. My name is Bragonlavov, and I am The Weapons Planning Commission's..."

Before the other party could say anything, Sokov remembered who the other party was. When shaking hands, he asked excitedly, "Are you the dean of the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy?"

"That's right, I am the dean of the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy." Lieutenant General Bragonlavov heard Sokov mention his other position, and he couldn't help asking in surprise: "You used to Heard of me?"

Sokov can remember Blagonlavov's name only because of Kalashnikov. The father of the AK47, after designing the first automatic rifle, went to the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy for testing and review, but was rejected by the review committee. But this unsuccessful automatic rifle was noticed by Lieutenant General Bragonlavov. He appreciated the unique design of the rifle and personally recommended Kalashnikov to go to the advanced infantry firearms school for professional further study, thus That's why AK47, a classic military force, can come out.

But at this moment, in front of Bragonlavov himself, Sokov could only say perfunctorily: "Yes, I heard General Kazakov, the artillery commander of the 16th Army, mention you."

After hearing what Sokov said, Bragonlavov really thought that the major had heard his name from Kazakov. After he nodded, he said to Kulk who was sitting beside him: "Comrade engineer, we have something important to discuss, can you avoid it for a while?"

Hearing Bragonlavov say this, Kurk knew that he had something important to discuss with the two young officers, so he stood up and said, "Comrade General, I just want to go to the drawing room next to me to see the new drawing. I won’t be with you anymore. You can talk slowly.” When he left the office, he closed the door.

When there were only three people left in the room, Bragonlavov pointed to the empty chair next to him and said, "You two sit down first, I have something to say to you."

After Sokov and Yakov sat down, Bragonlavov looked at Yakov and said: "Captain Yakov, I am here as a representative of Comrade Ustinov to learn about rocket propulsion. System improvement and new rifle development. After researching the two companies, I am very satisfied with your work. Although we have encountered some small difficulties in the improvement of the rocket propulsion system, I I believe that relevant technicians will be able to overcome these difficulties soon."

After saying this, he turned his attention to Sokov again, and said: "Comrade Major, what surprised me the most was your performance. The new rocket launcher you designed is already surprising enough; I didn't expect After you came to Nizhny Novgorod, you actually developed a new type of rifle. It's called...what's it called, I forgot the word for a while."

"Automatic rifle." Sokov quickly reminded him.

"That's right, that's what you call an automatic rifle." Bragonlavov nodded and said, "Yesterday, Comrade Ustinov informed me that Major Sokov had newly developed a new type of rifle for the I went to Nizhny Novgorod to find out about the situation. As soon as I got off the train, I rushed to the machinery factory and watched the shooting of this automatic rifle in their test gun range. The effect greatly exceeded my expectations. I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but I thought Ustinov’s words were a bit exaggerated.”

"Comrade General," Yakov waited for Bragonlavov to finish speaking, and asked, "Do you think this kind of automatic rifle can be deployed in troops as soon as possible?"

Yakov's words silenced Bragonlavov. After a long time, he said: "Captain Yakov, it is undeniable that this new type of automatic rifle will greatly help our army's combat effectiveness after being equipped with it. However, our current production capacity is seriously insufficient. It is very difficult to put this weapon into mass production in the short term."

Bragonlavov might be afraid that Sokov would be suspicious, so he specifically explained to him: "Major Sokov, although shortly after the outbreak of the war, many of our military enterprises put away all the machinery and equipment in the factory and the backbone of the factory. , were transported to the original area. However, these equipment cannot be put into production immediately after unloading the truck. to a third of that before the war. Therefore, the production of this new type of automatic rifle may be delayed indefinitely."

Sokov agrees very much with Bragonlavov's statement. Many posts he had read before said that the equipment of the Soviet military enterprises was put into production right next to the railway as soon as they were unloaded. This is just the author's imagination. Not to mention that many equipment cannot work without reinstallation. Even the most common equipment such as lathes, milling machines, and planers cannot be produced if they cannot provide a stable power supply.

It was precisely because of this consideration that Sokov waited for Bragonlavov to finish speaking, and immediately went on to say: "Comrade General, I understand the difficulties that military enterprises are facing today. As far as I know, don't talk about such The newly developed automatic rifle cannot be mass-produced in a short period of time, and even the output of the Popov submachine gun that continues to the front line is very limited, so far, only a few troops have been equipped with this powerful weapon."

Seeing Sokov being so reasonable, a smile appeared on Bragonlavov's face again. He looked at Sokov and said, "Major Sokov, judging from the new rocket launcher and new automatic rifle you designed, you are a genius in military industry. How about it, are you interested in working in the weaponry department?"

At the beginning, Ustinov proposed to let Sokov work in the Weapons and Equipment Department, but Sokov refused. Bragonlavov brought up the old matter again at this moment, nothing more than valuing Sokov's ability, hoping to arrange him to work in a place where he can better display his ability.

However, Sokov had already made up his mind that he would not work in the weapons and equipment department no matter what. Not to mention that there are no chances to make contributions here, no matter how well he performs, he will end up being a general in the end, it is better to stay in the field army and have more opportunities to make achievements. More importantly, these are the only two types of new weapons that I belong to. If I really go to the weapons and equipment department, I will no longer be able to "design" new weapons that surpass this era.

It was based on this consideration that Sokov immediately rejected Bragonlavov's proposal: "Comrade General, I designed weapons just on a whim. I want my weaponry department to be a designer. I'm really not that material myself. Relatively speaking, I think I prefer to be on the front line."

"Comrade Major," although Sokov has made it clear that he does not want to go to the weapons and equipment department, Bragonlavov still persuades unwillingly: "These two weapons you designed are enough to prove that you ability. If you are worried that you will not be able to design better weapons in the future, I can arrange for you to go to the advanced military mechanical academy to study first, and then work in the weapons and equipment department after you have mastered more professional knowledge. You see, How about such an arrangement?"

"Comrade General, I still stick to my original opinion." Sokov was afraid that Bragonlavov would misunderstand his meaning and think that he was retreating to advance, so he explained: "I think I am more suitable to stay in the On the front line, fight the Japanese invaders face to face."

Seeing Sokov's stubbornness, Bragonlavov did not give up his last effort. He said, "Comrade Major, this is related to your future. I hope you can think about it when you go back. Well, I'll take tomorrow afternoon The two o'clock train returns to Moscow, and if you change your mind, tell me your final decision before we start."

After finishing all this, Bragonlavov told Yakov: "Captain Yakov, call the officers who are traveling with you. I want to ask how their work is going."

Yakov was about to leave the office, so Sokov naturally couldn't stay. He raised his hand to salute Bragonlavov, then turned and walked out of the office.

Since Yakov could not leave for the time being, Sokov could only leave alone. When he just reached the stairs, he met Kurk head-on. The engineer looked around and asked in a low voice, "Comrade Major, does General Bragonlavov want you to go to the Armament Department?"

Sokov raised his eyebrows and asked back, "Comrade engineer, who did you listen to?"

"Who else can I listen to, of course I can guess it myself." Kurk shrugged his shoulders and said to Sokov: "I have known Bragonlavov for not a year or two. , I understand it very well. And before the two of you came to the office, when he chatted with me, he mentioned you several times, saying that you are a rare talent, and if you cannot be called to the weaponry department, it will be his biggest problem dereliction of duty……"

Kurk's words made Sokov realize that Bragonlavov was bound to win for him. If he didn't have a suitable reason, the chances of returning to the army would be very slim. Sokov didn't hear what Kulk said later, and he didn't even remember how he got back to the guest house.

Lying on the bed in the guest house, Sokov was thinking in his mind: How can he reject Bragonlavov tomorrow so that he can give up the idea of ​​pulling him into the weapons and equipment department?

Leaving overnight without saying goodbye, sneaking back to the army? As soon as this idea came up, Sokov denied it. He is currently on a business trip in Nizhny Novgorod as a temporary representative of the Weaponry Department. If he slipped away quietly, if he is caught, he may be regarded as a deserter. If you deal with it, maybe you will become a wronged ghost by then.

But if he continues to stay, Bragonlavov will try his best to persuade him to join the Weapons and Equipment Department, and even let Yakov be a lobbyist. What should he do then?