Red Moscow

When Vasily and the others occupied the building, they seized a submachine gun and several rifles from the wiped out German troops. When he was teaching Shulka how to use the German rifle, he asked casually: "Shulka, how many days have you been in the basement?"

Shulka fiddled with the rifle in his hand and replied, "We have been in the basement for a week. If you don't come, we will run out of water and food."

"Is your family here too?" Vasily continued to ask.

"My wife and daughter were evacuated in late August, and my son was serving in the Southwest Front Army. I received his death notice in July." Shulka gritted his molars and said, "I want to kill a few more Germans." Devil, avenge my son!"

Knowing that Shulka's son had been killed, Vasily didn't speak, just sighed softly, reached out and patted Shulka's shoulder twice to show comfort.

Shulka turned his head and looked at the two neighbors sitting next to him, and said to Vasily: "Comrade Sergeant, both of their sons died in Kharkov. The rest of the people in our building have relatives who died in their families." It's in the hands of the Germans, so we have to pay back the blood debt from the Germans."

Don't look at Vasily as the supreme commander here, but he is also an out-and-out recruit, and he can't say anything good to boost morale. However, facing what happened to the residents in the building, he still said with a serious expression: "Comrades, we will severely attack the Japanese invaders here and avenge our dead relatives!"

"Comrade Sergeant," as soon as Vasily finished speaking, a middle-aged woman wearing a headscarf said to him: "I also have relatives who died at the hands of the Germans. Please send me a gun. I want Avenge them!"

Vasily knew very well that it was still very difficult to defend this building with the twenty or so soldiers under his command. But if he can get the help of the residents in the building, then he can have more capital to deal with the German army. Thinking of this, he said to the residents sitting in the corner: "Comrades, although our number is a little smaller, as long as we unite as one, I believe it should be possible to hold this place."

Everyone can shout slogans, but to hold on to this building, there are many things needed: ammunition, food and water, all of which are indispensable. After counting, ammunition and food can last for two days; but the water bottles carried by the soldiers are almost empty.

Shulka saw that Vasily was at a loss about the water issue, and quickly said to him: "Comrade Sergeant, don't worry about the water issue, we have a solution."

Hearing that Shulka could solve the water problem, Vasily felt his eyes light up immediately, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Shulka, where can I find the water source?" According to Vasily's thinking, Shulka might be the suggestion He sent men to the Volga River to the east to fetch water.

Shulka found a stick, drew a sketch for Vasily on the ground, and explained: "Comrade Sergeant, there is a sewer on the ground floor of the second unit, which leads directly to the flour mill. There was serious damage, but we were able to get drinking water from the canteen and a lot of flour."

Vasily thought that he could only find water in the flour mill, but unexpectedly there was still a lot of flour. He couldn't help thinking to himself: As long as there is enough food and drinking water, he can persist here for a longer time . He hurriedly asked: "Comrade Shulka, can you act as our guide to fetch water and flour from the flour mill?"

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Shulka shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Sergeant, I can't take you there. You don't need to worry about such things at all."

Hearing what Shulka said, Vasily felt dissatisfied with him, and he asked with some displeasure: "Comrade Shulka, why can't we go?"

"Comrade Sergeant, I think you should stay here and fight the Germans." Shulka said here, turned his head and glanced at the women and children sitting in the corner, and added: "The work of getting flour and water from the flour mill, Just leave it to us to finish."

"Then how?" After knowing that he had wronged Shulka, Vasily said apologetically, "How can I let you take risks? What if you encounter the Germans in the flour mill? What should you do? "

Shulka patted the rifle in his arms, and said confidently: "Don't worry, Comrade Sergeant, even if we meet Germans, as long as we have guns in our hands, we won't be afraid of anything."

"That's right." The other two middle-aged men echoed: "We are all flour mill workers and are familiar with the terrain. Even if we meet the Germans, we can rely on the terrain to deal with them, and there will be no problems. Dangerous. Comrade Sergeant, don't worry."

After the three of Shulka and five other strong middle-aged women set off in a team, the deputy squad leader walked up to Vasily and said to him, "Comrade Sergeant, may I give you a suggestion?"

Vasily nodded quickly, and said casually: "Comrade Corporal, if you have any suggestions, just ask them."

"Comrade Sergeant, as you know, there are three units in this building." The deputy squad leader said to Vasily: "When we go from one unit to another, we have to go out of the building. Usually it doesn't matter, if the building is destroyed by the Germans Surrounded, we may become the enemy's target if we go out like this."

After being reminded by the deputy squad leader, Vasily immediately realized his negligence, and quickly said to the deputy squad leader: "Comrade Corporal, you are right, if you want to keep this building, you must turn all three units into a whole. You immediately organized your manpower to penetrate the walls so that our fighters can go from one unit to another without going out of the unit door."

Just as the soldiers were drilling holes in the wall with the tools they carried, a soldier who was standing by the window to monitor the movement outside suddenly shouted to Vasily in a low voice: "Comrade Sergeant, how many people are facing the wall?" Here we are."

Hearing that someone was coming towards the building where he was, Vasily asked vigilantly, "Is it a German?"

The soldier stared intently for a moment, then shook his head and replied, "It's not German, it seems to be our own people."

"Understood," Vasily said to the soldiers: "You continue to observe, I'll go downstairs to see who is coming. By the way, you tell the corporals to prepare for battle, and open fire immediately if they find anything wrong. "

Vasily came to the ground floor, hid behind a frameless window, and watched with wary eyes the five or six soldiers who were cautiously approaching the building. With the help of the bright moonlight, he could clearly see that the person who came was wearing a Soviet uniform, but he did not immediately jump out to greet the person, but continued to maintain a concealed state.

When those people were only a dozen meters away from the building, he yelled out, "Stop, no one is allowed to move!"

Hearing Vasily's shout, the soldiers who were cautiously approaching the building fell to the ground in unison. Then a voice came: "Who is in the building?"

Vasily heard that the man spoke in perfect Russian, so he hid behind the window and replied: "I am from the 73rd Infantry Brigade. Which part are you from?"

After Vasily finished asking, the other party was silent for a long time before the original voice sounded again: "We are also from the 73rd Infantry Brigade. Which battalion are you from?"

"Guard company!" Vasily was overjoyed when he heard that the other party was from the same unit as himself, but for the sake of caution, he continued to ask: "What about you?"

"We are from the reconnaissance company." After the other party finished answering, he asked again: "Which platoon are you from the security company?"

"I'm on the sniper team."

As soon as Vasily finished speaking, the other person stood up and asked tentatively in this direction: "Are you Sergeant Vasily?"

Seeing that the other party called out his name accurately, although Vasily did not know the other party, he also confirmed that the other party must be from the reconnaissance company, so he walked to the window and said to the outside: "Yes, I am Vasily, come here Bar."

After the soldiers from the reconnaissance company entered the building, a leading corporal immediately stepped forward to shake hands with Vasily and said, "Hello, Comrade Sergeant, I am Corporal Vostry, and I was ordered to come here to find Kerimo Captain Hu and the guards lined up. I really didn't expect to meet you here."

Vasily shook hands with the other party, and said: "Corporal Vostry, you have worked hard. I was planning to send someone back to contact the brigade headquarters, but I didn't expect you to come first."

Vostry said, "Comrade Sergeant, if I understand you correctly, are you planning to return to Mamayev Post?"

"That's right, Corporal Vostry." Vasily gave the other party an affirmative answer, and then said: "I found that the geographical location of this building is very favorable. The action constituted a threat."

"Comrade Sergeant," Wuster asked expressionlessly, "may I ask, how many people do you have under your command?"

"Including me, there are still twenty people in the class." Vasily replied: "Just armed three more residents in the building, that is to say, we have 23 fighters."

"Comrade Sergeant, please forgive me." Vostry said bluntly: "It is far from enough to hold on to such a building, and you don't have enough ammunition and food to survive. How long we will stay here is still a big question."

"Corporal Vostry," Vasily knew that what the other party said was definitely not aimless, so he asked politely, "Do you have any good suggestions?"

Vostry nodded, and continued: "I can send a telegram to the brigade headquarters to report the situation here to your superiors, and at the same time request them to send reinforcements and replenish us with necessary supplies."

"That's a good idea." Vasily was overjoyed when he heard what Vostry said, and hurriedly urged: "Then please send a telegram to the brigade as soon as possible."