Red Moscow

"How are you, Comrade General?" Seeing Sokov's delay in speaking, Karina couldn't help but become a little anxious: "Can you help Lena? She lost her husband and two sons in the war. She is really pitiful. .”

Sokov originally didn't want to meddle in such nosy matters. It was a thankless task, and it would not benefit him at all if he offended others. But seeing Karina looking at him with a pitiful look on her face, and thinking about Lena's tragic fate, he couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted.

Just as Sokov was hesitating, he suddenly saw Petrov standing next to the camera turning around, waving towards his position, and at the same time said: "Who is that, come here!"

Sokov pointed his index finger at his nose and asked tentatively: "Comrade director, are you calling me?"

"No." Petrov shook his head and said, "I am calling the lesbian next to you."

Sokov turned to Karina and said: "Karina, Director Petrov is calling you."

When she heard that Petrov was calling her, Karina had a disappointed expression on her face. She glanced at Sokov with a resentful look, got up and walked towards Petrov. After arriving in front of Petrov, she tried hard to smile: "Comrade director, what are your orders?"

Petrov pointed at the extras in the hall, and then said: "Have you seen these extras? It's so cold, and they wear little clothing, so they can easily catch a cold. Go and get them some hot soup. , let them drink to keep them warm."

"Okay, Comrade Director." Karina nodded vigorously and replied, "I'll make arrangements right away."

Sokov, who was sitting not far away, looked at Karina's back and began to think in his mind: "Although I have not known this Karina for a long time, she should not lie to me about this kind of thing." No, let her take her to Lena’s house later, see with her own eyes what Lena’s condition is, and then decide whether she should help her.”

Karina was very efficient. In less than twenty minutes, she came in from outside with seven or eight chefs. The two trolleys pushed by the chefs each contained several large-capacity thermos buckets. and stacks of stainless steel bowls.

"Comrades," Karina shouted to the extras who had just put on their clothes after filming and were still shivering from the cold: "I have prepared hot soup for you. Come and have a bowl of hot soup. "When the surrounding extras heard what Karina said, they all rushed over and surrounded the car with the thermos bucket, waiting for the chefs to provide them with hot soup.

"Comrade Director," Karina came to Petrov with two bowls of hot soup and said respectfully, "This is the hot soup that has just been boiled. How do you like it?" She waited for Petrov to take it. She took the bowl of hot soup and walked towards Sokov carrying the remaining bowl of hot soup.

Sokov watched Karina walking towards him with the steaming hot soup, knowing that she had specially prepared it for him, he quickly stood up to greet her. When he took the hot soup from her hand, he specially thanked her.

Karina served Sokov not a beetroot soup, but a bowl of clear soup. However, although the clear soup is relatively light, the taste is not bland. It is a soup base that is left after the chicken or fish has been boiled for a long time and the soup is removed, and other ingredients such as potatoes are added to it. It is a refreshing soup.

While blowing air, Sokov drank the soup calmly and kept praising: "This soup tastes really good. I didn't expect that your canteen here can actually make such a delicious soup." .”

Hearing Sokov's compliment, Karina smiled lightly and then said: "Comrade General, the chef in our cafeteria is very skilled. Not only does the soup he makes taste delicious, but the other dishes are also very good. You can try it if you have the opportunity." .”

"Really?" Sokov said, "Then when I have the chance, I will definitely taste it."

Karina watched Sokov finish the soup in the bowl and asked politely: "Do you want more?"

Although Sokov thought the soup tasted good, he was embarrassed to ask Karina to make another trip. After hesitating for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Thank you, no need, one bowl is enough."

But Karina had already seen what Sokov was thinking, and said with a smile: "Comrade General, I think one bowl is definitely not enough for you. I will pour you another bowl." After that, she took Sokov's hand. He walked towards the chef in the hall.

When passing by Petrov, she stopped and asked Petrov, who was still drinking soup: "Comrade director, do you want more?"

Petrov raised the bowl in his hand, "I haven't finished drinking yet."

"After you finish drinking, if you still want it, just tell me and I will serve it for you." Karina said: "Anyway, the canteen is not far from here and can provide us with a sufficient amount of hot soup at any time."

When Karina came to Sokov again with hot soup, Sokov reached out to take it, but Karina did not hand it to him. Instead, she smiled sweetly and said, "I'll taste it first." Is this soup hot?" Then she took a sip gently, and then handed the bowl to Sokov, "The temperature is just right, you can drink it now."

If someone else handed him the soup he took a sip of, Sokov would definitely refuse without hesitation, but facing a beautiful girl like Karina, he smiled faintly and then took the soup from the other person's hand. Bowl, he drank heavily.

After finishing the drink this time, Sokov did not immediately hand the bowl to Karina, but simply said: "Karina, if you have time later, can you accompany me to Lena's place? "

"Lena?!" Karina didn't come back to her senses for a moment, and asked in surprise: "Which Lena?"

She asked because the name was too common, just like the Chinese names Xiao Zhang, Xiao Wang, and Xiao Li, so she had no idea who Sokov was talking about.

Seeing that Karina did not come back to her senses, Sokov smiled bitterly and said with some embarrassment: "It's your neighbor Lena, the Lena who you said lost her husband and two sons."

After figuring out what was going on, Karina showed a surprised expression. But after a moment, her expression returned to normal and she asked solemnly: "Comrade General, is everything you said true?"

"Really, of course it's true." Sokov nodded vigorously and said in a positive tone: "It's more real than real money and silver."

"Comrade General, please wait a moment while I find someone to take over my job. Then I can accompany you to see Lena."

Karina took the bowl from Sokov's hand and ran away quickly.

Not long after, she appeared in the hall again, accompanied by a middle-aged man wearing glasses. She brought the man to Petrov's side, introduced him to Petrov, and said: "Comrade Director, I have something important to go out for a while, and this comrade will take over my work. What do you have to do, although Just tell him."

After explaining the work in hand, Karina came to Sokov and said: "Comrade General, let's set off now."

After the two walked out of the municipal building, Sokov asked casually: "Karina, is Lena's home far from here?"

"It's not far." Karina shook her head and said, "It only takes about ten minutes to walk. We'll be there soon."

After the two of them walked forward along the road for a while, Karina suddenly asked: "By the way, Comrade General, I don't know what to call you yet."

"My name is Mikhail, and my surname is Sokov." Sokov said: "You can call me by my nickname Misha, or you can call me by my last name."

"Then I'll call you Misha." Karina said, "It makes you more friendly."

In this way, while chatting, the two came to a residential area.

Karina took Sokov to one of the three-story buildings, pointed to the unit door in the middle and said: "Misha, my family lives here, Lena is my upstairs neighbor, we are now go in."

After entering the unit door, there is a small duty room on one side of the door, with a fat old lady sitting in it. When she saw Karina entering the door, she greeted warmly: "Karina, why are you back so early today?" After seeing Sokov standing side by side with Karina, she asked tentatively: "This Is the commander your friend?"

"Lyuda," Karina introduced by calling the other party's name: "This is General Sokov. He came with me to visit Lena."

Knowing that Sokov was here to visit Lena, Lyuda couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and then asked: "So, is there any news about Lena's two sons?"

"Not yet." Karina said: "General Sokov came with me just to understand the situation face to face with Lena. Only after we figure out what happened can we give Lena a satisfactory answer."

After Karina and Lyuda chatted for a few more words, they took Sokov upstairs.

They came to the door of a room on the third floor. Karina raised her hand and knocked on the door a few times, and said loudly to the inside: "Lena, I am Karina, are you at home?" Maybe she was worried about what was going on inside. No one could hear her, so she repeated her words twice more.

An old voice soon came from the room: "It's Karina, wait a minute, I'll come over and open the door for you right away."

"Lena, don't be in a hurry, take your time, be careful not to fall."

After a while, the door opened, and an old lady with gray hair stood at the door holding the door: "Karina, who is the person next to you?"

After hearing this, Sokov couldn't help but be startled, thinking, isn't this old lady blind? She didn't speak, how did she know she was standing next to Karina?

Karina saw Sokov's doubts, and quickly approached him and whispered quickly: "Her eyes still have a certain sense of light, so she can see you, but she can't see clearly who you are."

After speaking, Karina stepped forward to support Lena and helped her go inside. At the same time, she said: "This commander came with me to understand the situation."

"Understand the situation, what do you know?"

"Of course it's about your two sons." Karina said: "He also participated in the Battle of Stalingrad and knows the situation on the battlefield very well. With his help, I believe the civil affairs forces will definitely give you a satisfactory result." answer."

Knowing that Sokov came to understand the situation, Lena broke free from Karina's hand, groped and grabbed Sokov's arm, and said in a crying voice: "Comrade commander, after the war broke out, I My husband and two sons joined the army and went to the battlefield to fight the Germans. As a result, my husband died and my two sons also died. But people from the civil affairs department said that the bodies of my two sons were not found on the battlefield, so It cannot be counted as a sacrifice, it can only be counted as a disappearance, so I cannot be given their pension, so you must make the decision for me."

"Don't worry, Lena." Seeing Lena's condition, Sokov guessed that what Karina said to him just now must be true. The old lady standing in front of him now is Wife and mother of a martyr, but sadly her son’s sacrifice was not recognized by anyone. In order to help her, it was necessary for her to go to the civil affairs department and ask for an explanation for her son: "Tell me the specific situation first. I can only help you after I figure out what's going on."

Karina was very familiar with Lena's home. She led the two of them to the kitchen. After sitting down at the dining table, she said, "Misha, if you have any questions, just ask. If Lena can't explain clearly, Yes, I will make supplements."

Sokov nodded, took out a notebook and pencil from his pocket, turned to a blank page, and asked: "Lena, which army your two children are from, do you know?"

Lena was stunned. She turned her head and looked at Karina's position, and asked with some lack of confidence: "Karina, which army do my two sons belong to?"

Sokov guessed that Lena might be overly sad because of the sacrifice of her husband and son, which affected her memory, so he turned his hope of understanding the problem to Karina: "Karina, do you know which unit they are from?"

"The eldest son Igor is from the 147th Infantry Division, and the second son Victor is from the 192nd Infantry Division." Karina said: "But the specific time of sacrifice is not clear, it should be the end of August or early September."

After hearing the two numbers mentioned by Karina, Sokov began to remember hard. After all, he had stayed in Stalingrad for so long, and he knew more or less about the troops who had entered the city and participated in the battle.

"Misha!" Seeing Sokov thinking silently, Karina became uneasy. She asked cautiously: "Haven't you heard of these two infantry divisions?"

"Not only have I heard about it, but I have also fought side by side." Sokov began to recall to Karina the content deep in his memory: "The commander of the 147th Infantry Division, Major General Volkhin, and the military commissioner is the regimental political commissar Kotov. After a fierce battle with the Germans, the division was ordered to retreat to the left bank of the Volga River to rest and recuperate on August 30.

The commander of the 192nd Infantry Division, Colonel Zakharchenko, was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Tarantsev on July 25, 1942. On August 1, 42, Colonel Zhuravlev succeeded the division commander. The military commissar is the political commissar at the battalion level. Smirnov. The backbone of the division is the 102nd Marine Brigade. Those who were incorporated into the division before the start of the battle also included the Nalchik Infantry School, the Ulyupinsk Infantry School, the 3rd Ordzhonikidze Infantry School, and the Grenada Infantry School. Cadets of the 3rd Infantry School in Rozny and the Infantry School in Zhytomir. At the beginning of the battle, the division had jurisdiction over the 676th, 427th and 753rd Infantry Regiments, the 298th Artillery Regiment, the 417th Independent Anti-Tank Fighter Battalion, the Engineer Battalion, the Sanitary Battalion, the Reconnaissance Frontier and the Independent Communications Battalion. Shortly after the start of the war, the division was put into major operations. In the defensive direction, due to excessive losses, we were ordered to retreat and rest on August 25. The division changed three division commanders in just over a month after entering the war, which shows that it suffered huge losses. "