Red Moscow

"Yes, I'm married." After giving Maxim a positive answer, Sokov asked: "Is there anything wrong?"

"Since you are already married, why do you still have such a close relationship with Comrade Kopalova?" Maxim looked at Sokov with a complicated expression: "You even asked her to move to your box with you. You know, when I heard Comrade Seryosha talk about this, I thought it was natural for you to live in the same box as you were lovers. Who knew that you were already married and you were living together with Kopalova. , not quite appropriate, right?”

"Comrade Maxim, Kopalova and I not only grew up together, but we were also lovers. If the damn war hadn't broken out, maybe we would have gotten married." Sokov said without changing his face: " Now that we finally have the chance to be together, what’s the matter with us sharing a box? Besides, I’m not alone in a box with him. Seryosha and Major Vaserigov also live in that box.”

Seryosha realized that the atmosphere was a little tense, and quickly came out to help: "Yes, Misha is right, we also live in that box. Major, are you right?" He said to Vaserigov When saying this, he kept winking, signaling to the other party to help him cover up his lies.

"Yes, yes, that box is for the four of us." As Sokov's security guard, Vaserigov naturally cannot dismantle Sokov's platform at this time, so he can only follow Seryosha's instructions. Meaning: "We have been staying in that box since we set off from Moscow."

"Oh oh oh, that's it. It seems I made a mistake." Maxim said to Sokov earnestly: "Comrade General, Kopalova is a good comrade. If you are already married, then don't To provoke her. To be honest, there are many young men in our newspaper office who like her. Two days before we set off, someone even proposed to her, but she rejected them all. "

"Oh, someone proposed to Kopalova?" Sokov heard that someone proposed to Kopalova, and he was immediately interested: "I wonder what kind of young man he is?"

"He has been on the battlefield," Maxim said. "He once blew up a German armored car and two trucks during the battle, and was awarded a medal. He would hang up the medal every day when he went to work. On your own chest.”

Knowing that the person pursuing Kopalova was just an ordinary soldier, Sokov felt much more at ease. Even if Kopalova doesn't want to, the other party can't do anything to her.

After dinner, everyone sat in the dining car and started chatting.

Maxim asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade General, you went to Vienna this time. How long will you stay?"

"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said, "I won't know how long I can stay there until I arrive in Vienna and meet General Malinin."

"Comrade General, we are all from Moscow," Maxim said: "When you arrive in Vienna, you are not familiar with the place. If possible, I hope you can come to our place more often." Maybe he was worried that Sokov would not be there. Yes, he emphasized, "I think Comrade Kopalova is very happy to see you."

"Yes, I will visit you when I have time." Sokov said with a smile: "Comrade Maxim, I hope you won't turn me away when the time comes."

Maxim said: "It is said that Vienna has the best vodka. I will entertain you with that wine then."

After chatting for a while, Sokov thought that Kopalova was still hungry in the compartment. After asking the conductor to pack a bunch of things, he said to several people: "You guys talk slowly, I'll go back first."

Back in the box, Kopalova had already woken up. When she saw Sokov coming in, she said feebly: "Misha, have you gone to dinner?"

"Yes, I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you up." Sokov put the paper bag containing dinner on the coffee table by the window and said to Kopalova: "This is my You can eat the dinner I brought you.”

Kopalova glanced out the window, unable to see anything clearly in the darkness: "Where are you?"

"It should be in Ukraine. I can't tell where exactly it is."

"In a few days, we will arrive in Budapest, Hungary." Kopalova asked Sokov while eating: "Misha, have you been to Hungary?"

"No." Sokov shook his head and answered simply: "Never been there."

"The train may stay in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, for more than ten hours. I really want to see this beautiful city."

"If you really have to stay for such a long time, then I will accompany you to the city." Although Sokov has never been to Hungary, he knows very well that Vienna is not far from Budapest, only more than two hundred kilometers away. , even if you miss the train, it only takes a few hours to get there by car.

Seeing that Sokov agreed to accompany her to visit Budapest, Kopalova seemed very happy. She said to herself: "Budapest is located on the Danube River. It was originally two cities facing each other. After several centuries of expansion, it became It was formed in 1873 by the merger of Buda and Old Buda, cities on the west bank of the Danube, and Pest, a city on the east bank.

Budapest is Hungary's main political, commercial and transportation center and largest city. It is an important relay station in Eastern Europe and is known as the 'Paris of Eastern Europe' and the 'Pearl of the Danube'. Budapest has 86 theatres, two opera houses, numerous concert halls, music clubs and theaters, 32 museums and many small art galleries.

In Budapest, we can visit the Chain Bridge, Dohány Street Synagogue, Matthias Church, Gellért Baths, City Park, Buda Castle, Váci Street, Hungarian State Opera House, etc.

Andrássy Avenue is Budapest’s iconic boulevard. From 1871 to 1885, historic residential buildings, as well as the Hungarian National Opera House, the Terror Tower Museum, and Heroes' Square and so on. "

"Chain Bridge?" Sokov couldn't help but interrupt after hearing this: "Is it a bridge similar to the Golden Gate Bridge in the United States?"

"That's definitely not as good as the Golden Gate Bridge." Kopalova said while eating, "If you're interested, I can tell you."

"Well, I'm very interested. You might as well tell me."

"The correct name of the Chain Bridge is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. It is the first bridge across the Danube River in Budapest." Kopalova began to tell Sokov: "There is a very interesting story about the establishment of this bridge. .

In December 1820, Count Istvan Széchenyi, a Hungarian nobleman and young cavalry officer, received news that his father was critically ill in Vienna. He was about to leave immediately to visit his father, but ice floes on the Danube River blocked the way. But no matter how anxious he was and tried every means, he could not cross the Danube.

After the ice floes melted and the pontoon bridge was re-erected on the river, the count finally crossed the Danube and rushed to Vienna. But by the time he arrived in Vienna, his father had passed away, and he ultimately failed to see his father for the last time.

The count, angry and regretful, was determined to build a permanent bridge across the Danube. Szechenyi vowed: "If anyone can build a permanent bridge between Buda and Pest, I will donate my entire salary!"

Széchenyi not only wrote the vow in his diary, but also put it into action. He donated all his salary as a bridge-building fund, established the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and began preparations for building the bridge. He visited Europe many times to inspect various bridges, and got acquainted with William Clark, a famous British steel structure bridge design expert, and hired him to preside over the design of the Danube Bridge.

184 A permanent bridge designed and built by brothers Clark and Adam Clark was finally completed after ten years of construction. This is a three-hole iron bridge with chain cables as its skeleton. It is 380 meters long and 15.7 meters wide. The distance between the two piers is 203 meters. It was the longest span bridge in the world at that time. On the day of completion, a grand celebration was held. In commemoration of Count Széchenyi’s contribution, the bridge was named ‘Széchenyi Chain Bridge’.

The bridgeheads standing on both sides of the strait are two tall and majestic stone triumphal arches. The arches are exquisitely carved, with cascading edges and stable bases, showing the kingly style of classical Europe. There is a huge stone lion on both sides of the bridge, like a guardian angel guarding the bridge day and night. The lion looks up into the distance and looks majestic, symbolizing the unyielding historical courage of the Hungarian people.

Huge steel cables lead from the bridgehead, suspending the stretched bridge deck, outlining a strong curved outline, which is hard yet soft, like a huge art sculpture. It matches the palace of Buda and the commercial port of Pest perfectly and complements each other. When the construction of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge began, it already surprised the world. After its completion, the bridge was of great significance to the entire country's economy and people's livelihood. "

After listening to Kopalova's story, Sokov was full of curiosity about the Chain Bridge on the Budapest River: "Kopalova, after we arrive in Budapest, even if we don't have time to go to other places, this Chain Bridge Must go and check it out.”

“If we want to go, we also need to find a local translator,” Kopalova said: “You know, if it is English or German, I can understand it somewhat, but when it comes to Hungarian, I know nothing. By the way, one more important point is that in Hungary, the surname comes first and the first name comes last, which is exactly the opposite of ours. Don’t make a mistake in order to avoid making a joke. "

Sokov recalled the erroneous saying in later generations that Hungarians were descendants of the Huns. Although he knew this was wrong, in order to find more topics, he still asked deliberately: "I heard that more than a thousand years ago, after the Huns in China were defeated, they fled to Europe, and the country of Hungary came into existence. Does this mean that Hungarians are descendants of the Huns?”

"Of course not." As a journalist, even a photojournalist, Kopalova is very knowledgeable. She explained to Sokov: "Although the Huns and Hungarians have some historical and cultural backgrounds. There are similarities, but from the aspects of language characteristics, physical characteristics and genetic testing, there is no direct correlation between the Hungarians and the Huns.

The main ethnic group of Hungarians originated from the Bashkir area in southwest Siberia. Their mother tongue is Hungarian, which belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family of the Uralic language family. The Xiongnu are a yellow race of East Asian people who emerged on the Mongolian Plateau. Their language and cultural background are significantly different from those of the Hungarians. "

"Oh, that's it." Sokov deliberately pretended to be suddenly enlightened, and gave Kopalova a thumbs up: "Kopalova, you know so much."

"By the way, after we go to Budapest, we can also taste the local food." Kopalova continued: "Potato beef soup is one of the most representative traditional dishes in Hungary. It is made with potatoes, green peppers, tomatoes, and onions. The stewed beef can be made into broth, the juice can be collected and made into a stew, and finally the special chili powder is sprinkled to enhance the taste, both in appearance and taste, it is appetizing.

Fisherman's soup is made with paprika as a base, and freshwater fish such as seabass, carp, and catfish are stewed in stock, and finally onions and red peppers are added. Known as one of the spiciest dishes in Europe, this dish has a much richer flavor than beef soup.

Red pepper chicken is made by marinating chicken thighs with chili powder and stewing them with onions, green peppers, tomatoes, sour cream and egg noodles. The sour cream makes the sauce thicker and the taste smoother. It is served with white pepper. Wine is best. "

Although Sokov had just returned from the dining car not long ago, his mouth started to water after listening to Kopalova endlessly talking about Hungarian food. He was full of expectations at the moment, hoping to arrive in Budapest as soon as possible to taste the delicacies Kopalova mentioned.

After Kopalova finished her dinner and Sokov was packing her things, the box door was opened and Seryosha and Vaserigov walked in from the outside.

Sokov was about to ask the two of them what they were doing here, but he found Maxim who had followed them in. He quickly called to Kopalova: "Kopalova, Comrade Maxim is here. He may have something to do with you."

"Comrade Maxim," when she saw Maxim walking into the box, Kopalova quickly stood up and asked politely, "What can I do for you?"

"It's nothing." Maxim glanced around in the box and said, "I saw that you didn't come out for dinner. I was worried that you might be unwell, so I came here to see you."

"I stayed up all night before departure and felt very tired." Kopalova said: "Misha called me just now when I went to have dinner. I rarely moved, so I asked him to bring me something to eat. ”

"How many people live here?"

Hearing Maxim's question, Kopalova immediately became vigilant: "Comrade Maxim, didn't you see that this box is a four-person room? Since it is a four-person room, of course we will live there as four people."

Maxim laughed dryly, and then said: "I thought you and General Sokov were the only ones living here. It seems I was wrong."

Sokov, who was standing next to him, did not say a word. He knew very well that Maxim came here just to verify what Seryosha and Vaserigov said. Who was he and Kopalo in this box? The baby lives with two people or four people.

Now that he had received a positive reply from Kopalova, Maxim chatted for a few more words and then left.