Red Moscow

When Sokov called Asya and Gavrilov over, Ustinov had already left accompanied by several staff members, leaving only Yakov standing there waiting.

"Let's go, Misha!" Yakov shook his head towards Sokov and others and said, "I will take you out of here."

Sokov came to Yakov and asked worriedly: "With so many people, it might not be that easy to get out."

"Don't worry about this." Yakov said confidently: "We have a special passage to avoid the crowds."

Next, Yakov led the three people past the stage, and then along a passage reserved for the actors to the adjacent Agricultural Achievements Exhibition Hall. There was a cordon at the entrance of the exhibition hall, and several policemen and militiamen stood guard to prevent anyone from approaching.

But seeing Yakov and others coming, a policeman let them go and led them to the entrance of the exhibition hall. After forcefully opening the tall and heavy oak door, he politely said to Yakov: "General Comrades, please come in."

After Sokov and others filed into the exhibition hall, they suddenly felt that everything was dark in front of them. Just when Sokov was worried about how to find the way in the unfamiliar exhibition hall, he saw a flashlight illuminating the road on the ground. It turned out that the policeman followed him into the exhibition hall and used the flashlight in his hand to illuminate everyone.

Under the leadership of the police, several people successfully passed through the exhibition hall and arrived at the back door.

There was a man in civilian clothes outside the door. When he saw the policemen walking out with several people, he saw that General Yakov, whom he knew, was among them. He thanked the policemen and then said to Yakov: "Yakov." General Kove, Ustinov has returned to the car, please come with me quickly."

Under the guidance of the man, the group arrived at the parking lot.

There were more than a dozen black cars parked here. The man led them straight to one of them. After stopping outside the car, he said respectfully: "Comrade People's Commissar, General Yakov has brought General Sokov." !”

The window at the back rolled down, and Ustinov stuck his head out and said to Sokov: "Misha, come to the car."

Sokov agreed, stepped forward, opened the car door, bent down and got in.

"Hello, Misha!" Ustinov stretched out his hand to shake Sokov's hand and said with a smile: "Nice to see you here."

"Me too, Comrade People's Commissar." Sokov asked politely: "I wonder if you asked me here for something important?"

"Well, of course there is something important." Before Ustinov explained to Sokov the reason for calling him here, he first said to the driver sitting in the driver's seat: "Comrade driver, please step aside first, I have We need to discuss the matter with General Sokov!”

Hearing what Ustinov said, the driver did not dare to neglect, and quickly opened the door and got out of the car. After closing the door, he stepped back and stood a dozen steps away from the car.

When only Ustinov and Sokov were left in the car, Ustinov said: "Misha, you must know that after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, most of the domestic factories switched production. .”

Sokov was a little surprised. Could it be that Ustinov specifically asked Yakov to call him here just for such a trivial matter? This doesn't seem like his character? Although he was full of doubts, he still nodded and said, "Yes, Comrade People's Commissar, I heard about this."

"After the war broke out, most of the factories and enterprises in the country switched to the production of munitions. Some manufactured rifles, machine guns and submachine guns, and some manufactured cannons. Even those factories, manufacturing plants, workshops and factories that only manufactured peaceful products Handicraft cooperatives, whether they used to produce turbines, lathes, kerosene stoves, or children's toys, the workers in them learned to repair tank engines and aircraft engines, and produce artillery shells, mines, and bombs in just a few days casing, flamethrower, military radio, etc.”

"Yes," Sokov said with emotion after hearing this: "It is the timely conversion of these civilian factories and enterprises that ensures that we have enough weapons and ammunition on the battlefield. They have established an immortal foundation for us to completely defeat the enemy." meritorious deeds."

When Sokov said this, he was murmuring in his heart. What on earth did Ustinov ask him to come here for? It couldn't be just for such a trivial matter. But until the other party didn't explain the reason for calling him here, he could only remain silent and wait patiently for the answer.

Ustinov said some more seemingly irrelevant words, and finally got close to the topic: "Now that the war is over, we have restarted a peaceful life. The civilian enterprises that originally converted to production will officially stop the production of military products and restart their production. Convert to the production of civilian goods.”

"This is a good thing, Comrade People's Commissar." Sokov said with a smile: "After these civilian factories and enterprises that produce military supplies are converted, the shortage of supplies in the world will soon be reversed."

"Misha, you are a good general. Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Konev, Vasilevsky and others have all said this to me." Ustinov looked at Sokov asked: "When do you think our next war will begin?"

Hearing Ustinov's question, Sokov hesitated for a moment, and then asked cautiously: "Comrade People's Commissar, are you talking about the Third World War?"

"Yes." Ustinov affirmed Sokov's guess: "Less than fifty years after the 20th century, two world wars broke out, involving dozens of countries. The war has caused countless casualties. When do you think the next war will start?"

"I think World War III will never start." Sokov muttered in his heart. At least when he traveled through time, there was no sign of World War III breaking out. However, in front of Ustinov, he could not easily draw this conclusion. If the other party asked him why he said that and what the basis was, he would be speechless.

"Misha, why don't you speak?" Seeing that Sokov remained silent, Ustinov continued: "If you have any ideas, just say it. There are only two of us here, so you can say whatever you think of. Even if you say something wrong, I won’t blame you.”

"The axis of evil composed of Germany, Italy, and Japan has been defeated. I'm afraid they won't have another chance to launch a new war." Sokov had an idea and came up with an idea that seemed far-fetched, but it had to be said. A reasonable reason: "A strong country needs a strong leader. Once this leader is lost, the country will inevitably decline. For example, after the death of Napoleon, the French army never dominated the world again. The strength. Similarly, without the failed art students, Germany will not be able to become strong again. Therefore, I think it is unlikely that another world war will break out."

"A failure in art?!" Ustinov repeated the term Sokov mentioned and said with a smile: "Misha, you described it very aptly. Isn't Mustache a failure in art? But What is unexpected is that this failed student plunged the entire world into a war, resulting in hundreds of millions of casualties."

"The war in the future may take a different form." Sokov said cautiously: "The new war may no longer be the type of fighting we are familiar with."

"You should know about the two super bombs dropped by the United States on the island country, right?"

"Of course I know, Comrade People's Commissar." Sokov muttered to himself, before you defeated the Germans, I knew that the United States was going to drop atomic bombs on the island countries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "Two days before the Far East campaign began, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the island nation."

Ustinov had a look of surprise on his face, because he had just stated that the United States used "super bombs" instead of "atomic bombs" when bombing the island nation, but Sokov casually said "atomic bombs" "name. He looked at Sokov and asked tentatively: "Misha, how do you know the name 'atomic bomb'?"

Sokov realized that he was speaking smoothly and accidentally said the word "atomic bomb". You know, although it was three months ago that the United States dropped the atomic bomb on the island country, the Soviet media still mentioned it "Atomic bomb" is called "super bomb". He quickly said perfunctorily: "Comrade People's Commissar, wasn't I in the Far East at that time? When we defeated the Kwantung Army and occupied Fengtian in China, I once saw a report in a local newspaper about the US bombing of the island country. In In Chinese newspapers, they called this super bomb the atomic bomb."

Ustinov nodded: "Oh, that's it, I understand."

After Sokov brushed off the matter, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he was a little anxious. He wanted Ustinov to quickly explain the reason for calling him here so that he could accompany Asya home early: "People's Commissar Comrade, did you call me here just because of the atomic bomb?"

"Misha, you guessed it right. I called you here just for this matter." Ustinov explained to Sokov: "Today, only the Americans have atomic bombs in the world. If we fight with them in the future, They are turning against each other, and they want to throw atomic bombs at our land. Faced with this super weapon that can destroy a city with one single bomb, we currently have no power to fight back, so we must find a way to change this unfavorable situation. .”

After hearing this, Sokov finally understood why Ustinov called him here, and asked with a wry smile: "Comrade People's Commissar, you won't tell me that you plan to let me participate in the research and development of the atomic bomb, right?"

"Well, that's how I think about it." Ustinov said to Sokov with a solemn expression: "Misha, the assault rifles, new rockets, rocket launchers and hovercrafts you designed have all been proven to be effective after battlefield tests. Equipment ahead of its time.”

After hearing Ustinov's praise for himself, Sokov was still thinking secretly: It's a pity that the technology of this era is too backward. For example, vehicle-mounted radar cannot be produced, otherwise he would have raised the Shilka River on his own. The gun was developed. Although this self-propelled anti-aircraft gun has limited effectiveness against jet aircraft, if it were released in advance during the Patriotic War, it would be a nightmare for German pilots.

A German flying wing is composed of three or four brigades. Each squadron has three squadrons, and each squadron has three four-machine formations. A flying wing of this size only needs 12 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns to form two hexagonal air defense positions, which is enough to deal with them.

Ustinov did not notice that Sokov was distracted. If the Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns were allowed to enter the Soviet-German battlefield in advance, the number of fighter planes lost by the German army would at least quadruple. He continued: "If you can join this R\u0026D team, you may be able to speed up R\u0026D."

Sokov confirmed that the other party indeed wanted him to join the research and development team of the atomic bomb. He was immediately startled and quickly waved his hands and said: "Comrade People's Commissar, you really think highly of me. I have only developed two models suitable for use on the battlefield. Weapons used on the atomic bomb, if you really let me participate in the research and development team of the atomic bomb, I don’t think I can be of any help. In order to complete the research and development work as soon as possible, I suggest that you recruit scientific researchers from across the country. Maybe you can find a decision-maker among them. Functional person.”

Ustinov did not expect Sokov to refuse so simply, without even giving himself a chance to continue persuading him. But he still asked reluctantly: "Misha, don't you really think about it? You know, if the research and development is really successful, you will have the opportunity to go down in history."

If someone else heard Ustinov say this, they would definitely be moved. After all, Russia values ​​honor more than its own life. If there is a chance to go down in history, I am afraid that countless people will sharpen their heads and dig into it. But what is regrettable is that Sokov happens not to be this kind of person. He feels that it is a good choice to stay at home and write novels every day. Not only will he get royalties, but he will also have the opportunity to become famous all over the world.

"Comrade People's Commissar, thank you for your kindness." Sokov knew very well that if he could not stop thinking about Ustinov once and for all, he would probably ask many people to persuade him to participate in the research and development of the atomic bomb. team. But Sokov didn't dare to agree. First, he was really lacking in talent and knowledge. Even if he joined the team, he wouldn't be able to help at all. Another point is that once you enter such a confidential institution, many things will be restricted and you need to be more cautious in doing things. It is best to describe it as walking on thin ice or facing an abyss. Sokov does not want to live such a life, so he is decisive He rejected Ustinov's proposal: "I feel that my ability is insufficient and I cannot play any role in the team. Therefore, I cannot accept your proposal. Please forgive me."

Seeing Sokov repeatedly rejecting his invitation, Ustinov's face turned livid. If it weren't for his good self-control, he might have roared at Sokov, this ungrateful guy. He turned his head to the side, waved to Sokov, and said feebly: "Misha, you can leave. But I hope you will keep our conversation confidential and don't tell anyone, including Asya." .Understand?"

"Comrade People's Commissar, please rest assured." In order to dispel Ustinov's doubts, Sokov assured him: "As long as I get out of the car, I will completely forget everything that happened in the car. net."