Red Moscow

After driving for more than an hour, the convoy entered the Kursk region.

After Sokov traveled through for the first time, he once came to Kursk Oblast, participated in the famous Battle of Kursk, and achieved great military exploits here. In later generations, he had to pass through this place every time he went to Ukraine. What he felt at that time was that the land was vast and sparsely populated. Both sides of the road were either grassy plains or endless forests. Driving far away, Only occasionally can you see a village or a small town. Of course, if you take the train, you will find that the railway lines are relatively prosperous. Most of the state's population is concentrated in the towns along the railway lines.

Nowadays, because it is during the war, this state located south of Moscow seems more and more desolate. There are basically no traces of residents in the villages and small towns passing through. It must be that the relevant departments are worried that the residents will fall into the clutches of the Germans, so they are evacuated one after another. Went to the east of Moscow.

The road the convoy was traveling on was a dirt road that was covered in dirt on sunny days and mud on rainy days. Although it didn't rain, you could see craters blown up by German aircraft everywhere on the road, as well as bombed-out trucks and carriages, as well as abandoned refugees. suitcases and parcels. Poor road conditions and many obstacles seriously affected the speed of the fleet.

Vlasov's car was driving at the front of the convoy. When he saw the scene on the road, he couldn't help frowning and asked the driver with slight dissatisfaction: "Comrade driver, how much time do we have before we can reach Moscow?"

"Comrade General." After hearing Vlasov's question, the driver said with a grimace: "Originally, when driving on such a road, the maximum speed could not exceed fifty kilometers per hour. Now the road is full of craters and various obstacles. It’s considered good if the speed can reach 30 kilometers.”

Vlasov raised his hand and looked at the time. It was already nine in the morning. "It's still almost 600 kilometers from here to Moscow. If we drive at this speed, wouldn't we have to wait until tomorrow to get to Moscow?"

The driver shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "Comrade General, if we keep driving at this speed, I'm afraid we really won't be able to reach Moscow until tomorrow."

"Comrade General," the guard sitting in the co-pilot's seat turned around and said to Vlasov: "Almost twenty kilometers further, there is a train station. How about we change trains so that we can catch up? Arrive in Moscow before dark.”

Hearing what the guard said, Vlasov secretly thought that if he continued to drive along the road, not only would his speed be slow, but he might also be discovered by enemy planes at any time. If you can take the train instead, it might be the most correct choice.

After thinking about this, he nodded slowly and said, "Okay, then go to the nearest train station."

Sokov, who was sitting in the car behind, didn't know that Vlasov now wanted to take the train to Moscow, and kept looking into the sky.

When Andrei saw this, he couldn't help but laugh: "Sokov, you are so cautious. This place is already far away from the battlefield, and I don't think there will be any more German planes."

But as soon as his words came out, Sokov retorted: "Andre, didn't you see the craters on the road and the bombed trucks and carriages? The existence of these things shows that the German Air Force You can penetrate into this area at any time and launch attacks on ground targets.”

Before Andre said anything, the driver next to him spoke: "Comrade, your friend is right. I often run on this road, and I am bombed by German planes almost every day. At first, I ran with him There are at least fifty vehicles on this line, but now there are only a few vehicles left to transport you. "

Just at this time, a burned-out truck wreckage appeared on the side of the road ahead with only its pitch-black frame left. The driver pouted towards it and continued: "Did you see that? The driver of that car was a good friend of mine. He was attacked." When the enemy planes were bombing and strafing, he didn't even have time to get out of the car and died on the bridge. "

Sokov sighed softly and said: "Without air superiority, German planes can attack our transportation lines at any time, causing us huge casualties."

Andre, who originally thought Sokov was a bit unreasonable, became nervous after hearing what the driver and Sokov said: "Comrade driver, why are you driving so slowly? At your current speed "When can we get to Moscow?" He looked at the sky in a panic, "If we are attacked by the Germans, we will be in trouble. I didn't die on the battlefield, but I don't want to lose my life here. On the road.”

"Andre," Sokov knew the reason for the slow speed and quickly helped the driver explain to Andre: "Look at how bad the road is. There are craters everywhere, as well as the damage of destroyed trucks and carriages. It’s a wreck, and the driver can’t drive even if he wants to.”

Although he heard what Sokov said, Andre reluctantly asked the driver: "Comrade driver, can't we go faster?"

"I'm sorry, comrade, I can't go any faster." The driver raised his chin towards the car in front of him: "Didn't you see that the car in front of you was also driving very slowly? I think the general must be more anxious than you."

"Is there no way to get to Moscow as soon as possible?"

Hearing Andre's question, the driver turned to look at him, and then said quietly: "There is a train station not far from here. If you take the train instead, I believe you can shorten the time to reach Moscow."

When Andrei heard this, he immediately became excited. He turned his head and looked at Sokov, and said excitedly: "Sokov, you heard it, there is a train station not far from here. If we can change trains, we can get to Moscow as soon as possible."

But Sokov's attitude was also very cold: "Andrei, the person who decided the itinerary is not me, but General Vlasov sitting in the car in front. As long as it is his order, whether it is by train or by car, I will resolutely obey the order."

He knew very well that taking a train to Moscow would definitely be much faster than taking a truck. But the German Air Force is now frantically bombing the Soviet supply lines, and the railway must be their main direction of attack. Don't think that the speed of the train is faster than the truck, but if a train is destroyed in an air raid, the transportation of the entire railway line will be interrupted. On the road, even if a vehicle is blown up, other vehicles can bypass the destroyed vehicle. The train on the railway was blown up, and other trains cannot bypass it before the cleanup work is completed.

Unexpectedly, a moment later, the driver shouted excitedly: "Look, the car in front has turned into a fork in the road, and that road is to the train station."

"Sokof, what should we do?"

Although Sokov felt that taking a train to Moscow was somewhat unreliable, he saw that Vlasov's car had already driven towards the train station. His guard unit protecting Vlasov's safety naturally had to follow him wherever he went: "Comrade driver, follow him."

The convoy followed Vlasov's car and arrived at a remote small station.

The station was under military control. When the military representative saw a convoy coming to the station, he hurried out to greet it. Seeing Vlasov coming out of the car, the military representative hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Hello, Comrade General! I am the military representative of the station. Are you here to inspect our work?"

"No, Comrade Military Representative." Vlasov shook his head and said, "I am not here to inspect our work, but to take the train."

"Take the train?" Hearing Vlasov say this, the military representative showed a stunned expression on his face: "But, Comrade General, a month after the outbreak of the war, only military trains occasionally stop here to replenish coal and water, and civilian trains have long stopped at the station."

Knowing that civilian trains do not stop at the station, Vlasov did not panic, but smiled and said: "Comrade Military Representative, don't you see that I am with a troop, there are not many civilian vehicles There is not enough space for so many people. We are going to take a military train. "

"Comrade General," the military representative looked at Vlasov and said politely, "Please wait a moment. I will call and ask when the military train will arrive."

Vlasov nodded slightly: "Go."

After Sokov and the other military representatives left, he came to Vlasov and asked, "Comrade General, are you going to take the train to Moscow?"

"Yes, Comrade Sokov." Vlasov nodded and said in an affirmative tone: "You didn't realize that the convoy is moving too slowly. At this speed, if you want to get to Moscow, you have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest."

After hearing this, Sokov didn't say anything, but he was thinking in his heart whether he should persuade Vlasov to continue to take the car to Moscow. Taking the train may shorten the time to reach Moscow, but if something happens halfway, you will be trapped on the road.

"Comrade General," before Sokov could persuade him, the deputy company commander, Lieutenant Denis, came over and asked tentatively, "Are we going to take the train to Moscow?"

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant." Vlasov said with a smile, "There are still about 600 kilometers from here to Moscow. If the car is driving at this speed, it will take at least 20 hours to reach Moscow. I am going to Moscow to report on my work and accept a new appointment, so I can't waste too much time on the road."

"Great, this is really great." Denis' face showed joy when he heard Vlasov say this: "The road conditions on this road are too bad. I am almost torn apart sitting in the driver's seat, not to mention the soldiers sitting in the car. If it continues to bump like this, if something happens on the road, the soldiers may not be able to immediately engage in battle."

Dennis's words made Sokov next to him shudder. Then he began to pray secretly in his heart: the bad ones don't work, the good ones work, Dennis must not be a jinx, otherwise he will really encounter a German in disguise on the road later, which will be troublesome.

After Vlasov and Denis chatted for a while, the military representative came out of the stationmaster's office and said to Vlasov: "Comrade General, can you please excuse me for a moment?"

After Vlasov and the military representative walked aside, Denis whispered to Sokov: "Sokov, I didn't expect that General Vlasov is so approachable. You know, the commanders I have met before, let alone generals, even a major, would put on an air of authority when talking to me, which put a great psychological burden on me. If possible, I would like to follow General Vlasov forever."

Hearing what Denis said, Sokov's facial muscles twitched, thinking that if you really follow Vlasov, there will be only two endings in the end, one is to become a prisoner of the Germans; the other is to be arrested as a minion of Vlasov, or even sentenced to death. Anyway, no matter what the ending is, it will not end well, and if you have a chance, you must find a way to get rid of him.

After Vlasov chatted with the military representative for a while, he walked back expressionlessly and said to Sokov: "Sokov, let the soldiers get in the car, and we will continue on our way."

After hearing this, Dennis looked shocked and asked: "Comrade General, didn't you say that we need to change trains here to go to Moscow?"

"The situation has changed, Comrade Second Lieutenant." Vlasov said with a serious expression: "The military representative told me that if nothing unexpected happens, the military column returning to Moscow will not arrive until after ten o'clock tonight. We don't have After spending so much time waiting here, I decided to take the bus back to Moscow.”

After figuring out what was going on, Dennis's face was full of disappointment, but he still reluctantly agreed: "I understand, Comrade General." Then he went back to greet the soldiers to board the car.

When the soldiers began to board the car one after another, Sokov said to Vlasov: "Comrade General, since we are your guard force, our car should go in front, and the car you are riding in will walk in front. in the middle of the entire convoy to ensure your safety.”

When Vlasov heard this, he felt that what Sokov said made sense. Since the convoy following him was here to protect his own safety, his car was in the middle of the entire convoy to facilitate their security work, so he was very happy. He agreed: "Okay, Comrade Sokov, I will do as you say, my car will be in the middle of the entire convoy."

The convoy set off again, and Andrei asked Sokov curiously: "Sokov, why did you think of letting Comrade General's car drive in the middle of the convoy?"

"Andrei, I always have an ominous premonition in my heart." Sokov said solemnly: "I feel that the journey will not be peaceful. If Comrade General's car is in front, who will bear the responsibility if something happens? Should we take this responsibility? Now let the general's car be in the middle of the convoy. No matter it is attacked from the front or the rear, we can form a battle formation in time to ensure the safety of the general."

After listening to Sokov's words, Andrei smiled bitterly and said: "Well, Comrade Sokov, since you are the company commander now, you have the final say in everything in the company."

The convoy drove along the road for nearly two hours and was about to reach Oboyan when a truck full of soldiers appeared in front of it.

"Sokov, look quickly. There is a truck coming from the opposite side. The truck is full of soldiers. It seems that they are preparing to go to the front line."

Sokov's eyes were fixed on the truck, and he carefully counted the soldiers sitting in the truck. There were 16 soldiers in total, plus the three people in the driver's cab, the total number was 19. He thought to himself, if according to Andre's statement, these people went to the front line, but the number would be too small, right? Not to mention encountering large German troops, even just one airborne team is enough to annihilate them all.