Red Moscow

On the afternoon of the day Sokov moved into his new house, Vaserigov took six soldiers to Sokov's new house.

"Hello, Comrade General, we meet again." After raising his hand to salute Sokov, Vaserigov said respectfully: "According to the order of Marshal Zhukov, from now on, the five of us will be responsible for protecting you and Sokov. Your wife’s safety.”

Sokov shook hands with the other party, and then said politely: "Comrade Major, you are welcome!"

"Comrade General, I wonder how you plan to arrange for us?"

"The first floor is the kitchen and three bedrooms." Sokov looked at Vaserigov and the six sturdy warriors behind him, hesitated for a moment and said, "You can live in these three rooms."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Vaserigov shook his head and said: "Comrade General, I think your arrangement is not appropriate."

Sokov was stunned for a moment, then asked: "What's inappropriate?"

"If we occupy all the rooms on the first floor, if we have guests staying overnight in the future, where will they live?"

Sokov thought to himself that if guests really came, they could stay on the second floor. After all, there were four bedrooms on the second floor. He and Asiya would share one room, Asiya's parents would share one room, and another one would stay. One room can be used as a future nursery, and one room can be used as a guest room.

But what Vaselgov said immediately surprised him: "Comrade General, according to Russian tradition, the master's room is on the second floor and the guest's room is on the first floor. If so, we will occupy all three rooms. , then you won’t have a guest room.”

Sokov guessed that since the other party said that, he must have thought of a solution, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Major, do you have any good suggestions?"

"You should have a basement here, right?"

"Yes, yes." Sokov nodded and then asked, "Do you plan to live in the basement?"

"That's right, Comrade General." Vaserigov nodded and said, "According to my understanding of the villa, there are at least five rooms in the basement. The five of us can occupy three of them, and the remaining two can be occupied." Leave it to you to set up the gardener and the cook.”

Sokov originally didn’t want any chefs or gardeners, but then he thought about it. With the seven Vasergovs moving in, there were already nine people in the villa. If Asya was asked to cook for so many people, she would My body will definitely not be able to bear it, and it is indeed necessary to hire a chef to cook for everyone.

"Comrade Major, do you have any good recommendations about chefs?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Vaserigov nodded and said, "I have a cousin who used to be a chef in a restaurant. If you don't object, I can invite him over and serve you as a chef. chef."

"Then let him come over as soon as possible." Sokov said: "As for the reward, I will not treat him badly."

Under Vaselgov's arrangement, a chef came to the villa that afternoon. After trying his cooking skills, Sokov decided to leave him to cook.

The people brought by Vaserigov were not idle either. They brought bricks and cement and built a duty room that could accommodate two people at the gate of the villa.

Sokov asked Vaserigov curiously: "Comrade Major, what are you doing to repair this duty room?"

"Comrade General," Vaserigov quickly explained: "This is also for your safety. Build a duty room at the door, with two people in groups, taking turns to be on duty here to prevent outsiders from breaking in casually."

Sokov originally wanted to tell the other party that there were troops guarding the gate of the villa, and it was not easy for dangerous elements to enter the villa area. But considering that the other party had good intentions, he chose to acquiesce.

After the duty room was repaired, Vaselgov immediately arranged for two soldiers to go in and go on duty. Just like this, he felt that it was not enough, and planned to send two soldiers to patrol the yard, but Sokov stopped him: "Comrade Major, I think it is enough to send two soldiers at the door. After all, the yard is only so big. The soldiers in the duty room can monitor the entire courtyard, so there is no need to send people to patrol the courtyard. "

A week after settling in, Sokov suddenly received a telegram from the Far East.

The telegram was from Lukin. He said that he missed Sokov very much after being separated from him for such a long time, and hoped that he could take Asya to Siberia as a visitor.

After reading the telegram, Sokov asked Asiya for her opinion: "Asiya, Lukin sent a telegram, hoping that we can go to Siberia as guests."

But Asiya shook her head after hearing this and said: "Misha, I still won't go. You know, since the last car accident, my physical condition has not been very good and I can't stand such a long journey. If you want to see Lu Jinzhong General, just go by yourself. For your own safety, take Major Vaselgov with you."

"Okay." Seeing that Asiya was unwilling to go to Siberia, Sokov did not force her, but said to her: "Then you can have a good rest at home, I have to leave for a while."

"Misha, although you don't have a formal job now, you can't just leave." Asiya reminded Sokov: "Even if you are going to Siberia, you still need to say hello to Marshal Zhukov and let him do what he wants. There are a lot of them.”

Sokov has always wanted to go to a prisoner of war camp in Siberia. This has become an obsession of his. Now that he has such an opportunity, he is naturally unwilling to give up.

During the August Storm, the Soviet army captured more than 600,000 Kwantung Army prisoners of war. After being detained and screened in the northeast of the Dragon Kingdom for a short time, they were sent in batches to thousands of prisoner of war camps in the Far East and Siberia for hard labor.

Due to the lack of rail and road transportation at that time, many prisoners of war experienced walking over mountains and mountains and a combination of road and rail transportation. According to the requirements of the Soviet army, the Kwantung Army prisoners of war who escaped from the northeastern part of the Dragon Kingdom on foot must maintain an orderly marching formation, and "anyone who falls behind will be shot on the spot." During the long and difficult march, many prisoners of war died on the way, including the elderly and infirm, and some who were shot by the Soviet army for falling behind.

When the Kwantung Army prisoners of war were sent to Siberia, in order to confuse the prisoners of war, the Soviet army deliberately lied to them and said that they would be transported back to Japan via the Siberian Railway, so that the prisoners of war believed it. Even when the special train for prisoners of war traveled for several days and reached a "vast ocean", many Japanese prisoners of war from the Kwantung Army thought they had arrived at the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan and were about to reach the country on the occasion. It wasn't until they found water for cooking that the "sea water" here was actually fresh water that they realized they had reached Lake Baikal, deep in Siberia.

It had been several months since the prisoners of war had been sent to Siberia, and a harsh winter had just passed. Sokov wanted to know how many Kwantung Army prisoners of war had become potato fertilizer. If the quantity was not enough, he could make another batch of fertilizer in the prisoner-of-war camp managed by Lu Jin this time.

Sokov took the telegram and drove to Zhukov's office.

Seeing Sokov suddenly coming to the door, Zhukov guessed what might have happened and quickly asked: "Misha, what do you want from me?"

"Comrade Marshal, I'm here to ask for leave."

"Ask for leave, what kind of leave?" Zhukov asked puzzledly: "You don't have a formal position now. Whether you stay at home every day or travel all over the world, you don't have to ask for any leave from me."

"Comrade Marshal, it's like this. I received a telegram from Lieutenant General Lukin, hoping that I would go to Siberia as a guest at an appropriate time." Sokov was worried that Zhukov would not agree to his going to Siberia, and he specifically emphasized: "You also know that Lieutenant General Lu Jin once served as my deputy commander, and we forged a deep friendship during the war..."

"Okay, okay, stop talking." Before Sokov could finish speaking, Zhukov interrupted him, "I know very well your relationship with Lieutenant General Lukin, so you don't have to repeat it to me. So, you want to go to Siberia to visit your old friend Lu Jin? "

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, that's how I think about it."

"Who are you going with?"

"Originally I wanted to take Asya, but she said that she was not in good health and could not go to Siberia with me." Sokov replied: "So I planned to take Vaselgov and two others. Soldier, go to Siberia to visit Lukin.”

"I think it's okay. Lieutenant General Lu Jin is your old comrade after all." Zhukov asked reasonably: "I wonder when you plan to set off?"

Sokov thought that after meeting Lukin in Siberia, he rushed back to participate in the actual military exercises on the eve of May Day. Of course, he hoped to leave as early as possible: "I want to leave Moscow as soon as possible."

After Zhukov listened, he opened the drawer and took out a train schedule. After reading it for a while, he raised his head and said to Sokov: "Misha, there is a train to Siberia at eight o'clock tonight. If you don't object, , I will arrange for you to take this train to Siberia."

"Okay, let's take this train and set off."

That night, Sokov took Vasyligov and two other soldiers on a train to Siberia.

Thanks to the care of Marshal Zhukov, the four people were given two boxes. Sokov and Vaserigov lived in one box, while the other two soldiers lived in one. Although there will be no danger on the road from here to the Far East, the three guards, including Vaserigov, all carry assault rifles and two basic amounts of ammunition. With such equipment, Sokov thought that even if he encountered the attack in Poland, it would be enough to support the arrival of reinforcements.

When the train slowly left the station and headed towards Siberia, Vaserigov, who was sitting opposite Sokov, said: "Comrade General, I have heard stories about Lieutenant General Lukin. I heard that if he hadn't been there, He was wounded and captured in the Battle of Vyazma, and maybe he could become a marshal."

"Major, you are right." Sokov was worried that Vaserigov would look down on Lukin, a disabled person, so he vaccinated him in advance: "In the early days of the Great Patriotic War, our army was defeated steadily in Ukraine. Fortunately, a force commanded by Lieutenant General Lukin stubbornly blocked the German offensive in the Shepetovka area, allowing the troops of the Southwest Front in Ukraine to retreat in an orderly manner to the Vinnitsa and Uman areas. And build a new line of defense there.

Later, his troops were transferred to Smolensk. The situation at that time was extremely critical. The German army had occupied the south of the city and concentrated its superior forces to launch an attack to the north of the city. If there had been another commander, the city might have been lost. But under the command of Lieutenant General Lu Jin, the troops of the 16th Group Army tenaciously resisted the German offensive here, and even drove the enemy out of the city several times..."

When Sokov told about Lukin's past glorious achievements, Vaserigov listened quietly on the opposite side. Only when Sokov's story comes to an end does he take the time to ask more detailed questions. In this way, the two of them reached midnight unknowingly while talking.

Vasergov raised his hand to look at the time, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade General, it's getting late, you should go to bed early. Don't worry about safety, we will definitely protect you." "

Sokov trusts Vaserigov's statement very much. After all, even during the Great Patriotic War, this route was the safest rear area. Now that the war in Europe has ended for almost a year, there will be no dangers along the way. So Sokov lay down on the berth with peace of mind, covered himself with a blanket, and began to sleep soundly.

I don't know how long it took, but when Sokov opened his eyes, it was already bright outside.

He sat up straight and saw a hot breakfast already placed on the small coffee table by the window.

Seeing that Sokov was awake, Vasergov quickly said: "Comrade General, you are awake. This is the breakfast I have prepared for you. Please use it."

"What about you," Sokov asked politely, "How about we eat something together?"

"No, no, no." Vaserigov waved his hands and said, "I have already eaten, please use it slowly. I wish you a good appetite!"

"Where are you?" Sokov asked inarticulately while eating.

"I asked the conductor when I was getting breakfast." Vaserigov replied: "In another ten minutes, we will enter Nizhny Novgorod. The train will stop there for about an hour to add coal and water. ”

"Our destination is Yakutsk," Sokov said: "It is almost five thousand kilometers away from Moscow. According to the speed of the train, it will take us five days at the fastest."

"Yes, Comrade General, if the journey goes smoothly, we should be able to reach it in five days." Vaserigov said hesitantly: "But if there is heavy snow and the road is blocked, I'm afraid it will delay some time, so your time will inevitably be It’s a bit compact.”

"I plan to return to Moscow in a month." Sokov asked Vaseligov with some surprise: "What do you mean, time is too tight?"

"Comrade General, I heard the news that we will conduct a large-scale military exercise in Europe in late April." Vaserigov replied: "According to my speculation, you are sure that such a large-scale military exercise will You will also participate. If you want to participate, you must return to Moscow in early April and then go to Europe to meet with commanders at all levels of the troops you will command to increase understanding of each other.”

Sokov suddenly smiled when he heard what Vasergov said: "Major, you know a lot. If you really want to go to Europe in early April as you said, then the time is indeed a bit too tight. . But it doesn’t matter. If Marshal Zhukov really wants me to participate in the exercise, he will send a plane to pick me up, which is much faster than taking a train.”