Red Moscow

Sergei waited patiently for Sokov to finish his work, then urged him to say, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, this place is a bit far from the headquarters of the Front Army. You'd better start early."

Sokov nodded after hearing this, then looked at him and asked, "Comrade Major, I would like to ask, where can I find transportation to the Front Army Command?"

I thought that Sergei would immediately arrange for someone to prepare a vehicle for him, but the other party shook his head and said to Sokov with an apologetic expression: "I'm sorry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. Although there are vehicles in the town that will drive towards the headquarters from time to time , but I have no authority to mobilize these vehicles."

"What, you don't have the right to mobilize vehicles?" Sokov couldn't help frowning when he heard what the other party said, and asked back: "Comrade Major, aren't you in charge of the town's security?"

"That's right, the superiors did order me to be responsible for the defense of the town." Sergey replied with a wry smile, "But in this town, no one in the army listens to me except the sailors and soldiers under him. If you want If you want to take a car, you can go directly to the side of the road to take a ride, maybe the driver will stop and give you a ride if he sees that you are also from the army."

For Sergey's situation, Sokov was very sympathetic. He didn't make things difficult for the other party anymore, so he took Samoilov and Guchakov to the roadside outside the town and waited patiently for him to pass by. to see if I can get a ride.

Passing drivers saw three military officers blocking the car, and stopped to ask Sokov where he was going. But it is a pity that most of the vehicles are bound for the next ferry. Finally, there was a truck bound for the headquarters, but it was transporting the wounded. Seeing that the truck was full of wounded, Sokov was embarrassed to compete with the wounded, so he waved his hand and let the truck leave. .

After waiting for a while, the three still didn't get the car. Samoilov suggested to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, it is not a problem for us to wait here for the bus. Who knows when there will be a bus to the headquarters. Anyway, it is only a few kilometers away from the headquarters. Even if it takes up to an hour to walk, we might as well walk over.”

Seeing that there was no suitable ride for a long time, Sokov got impatient for a long time. When he heard Samoilov's proposal, he nodded and said, "Let's go, maybe we can catch a ride along the way."

When the three of them were walking along the crude road, Samoilov asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, I would like to ask, we can obviously take a barge down the river and directly reach Mamaye Fugang. Now why go to Red October Town first, then go down the river and cross the river at the next ferry?"

Sokov remembered that when he discussed the route with Vanya and Shamrikh, Samoilov and Guchakov were not around, so it was naturally unclear why such a decision was made. It happened to be walking on the road at this moment, and there was nothing to do, so Sokov explained the reason for choosing this route to the two of them in detail.

As soon as he finished speaking, a truck drove up behind him. Seeing three commanders walking by the side of the road, the driver hurriedly slowed down and honked the horn several times to attract Sokov's attention.

Sokov turned his head and saw the truck behind him, which turned out to be an empty one, and he couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face. He was about to ask the driver where the car was going, but the driver spoke first: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where are you going?"

"We're going to the Front Command!" Sokov asked bluntly, "Comrade driver, where is your car heading?"

"Coincidentally, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. My car is going to the headquarters." The driver said with a smile: "If you don't mind, please get in the car."

The three of them were naturally overjoyed to be able to hitch a ride here. Seeing Sokov sitting in the driver's seat, Samoilov and Guchakov consciously climbed into the rear compartment. After sitting down, Samoilov raised his hand and patted the top of the driver's platform twice, and said loudly, "Let's drive!"

The driver is too lonely to drive alone. It is rare for someone to sit in the cab with him. Finally, he has found someone to talk to. So as soon as the car started, he asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where are you from?"

"We are from Red October Town." Sokov replied briefly.

"No, no, you misunderstood me." The driver shook his head and said, "I know you are from Red October Town, what I mean is, where did you come to the town from?"

Sokov felt that the driver was a talkative soldier, and he didn't want to reveal too many secrets to him, so he said with a straight face: "Comrade soldier, haven't you learned the secrecy regulations, and don't know what to ask and what not to ask? "

Sokov's words made the driver calm down for a while, but after a while, the driver couldn't bear it anymore. He kept looking at Sokov out of the corner of his eyes and asked tentatively, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are you coming down from the battlefield?" right?"

Without waiting for Sokov to answer, he asked himself and said, "You will definitely ask me how I guessed that you came down from the battlefield. In fact, there is no need to guess. I can smell you when I sit next to you." The smell of gunpowder."

"Does my body smell of gunpowder?" Sokov instinctively raised his left hand, put his sleeve close to his nose and smelled it, and there seemed to be no other smell except sweat: "No, why didn't I smell it?" The smell of gunpowder."

Seeing that Sokov was as surprised as he expected, the driver said triumphantly: "There are at least hundreds or thousands of people pulled by my car. Which ones are recruits and which ones are veterans who have experienced many battles? You can see it at a glance. I can tell from the look of your clothes that you were still fighting the Germans on the battlefield yesterday."

Sokov originally thought the driver was a chatterbox and was reluctant to talk to him, but after hearing what he said, he suddenly realized that the driver was still a talent, so he thought of poaching him: "Comrade driver, what's your name, How long have you been a soldier?"

"My name is Sayers, and I just put on my military uniform last month." The driver replied, "Although my military service is not long, I am an old driver. I drove buses in Stalingrad for six years before the war."

"Sayers," Sokov felt that if such a person was recruited into his guard battalion, he would definitely be of great use, so he asked tentatively, "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. Are you interested in coming to our brigade?"

"No!" Sayers shook his head.

Seeing that the other party rejected his proposal, Sokov asked curiously, "Why?"

"I'm from Stalingrad, and I want to do my best to defend this city." When the driver said this, he turned to look at Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since your troops have withdrawn from the battlefield, you should It means that you are about to be transferred to the rear to rest. If I join you, maybe I will stay away from this city, and I will not be able to see with my own eyes that the enemy who attacked the city was defeated by us."

"Sayers, you only guessed half right just now." Sokov smiled and said to him: "It is true that my troops have just come down from the battlefield, but we are not going to retreat to the rear to rest, but to prepare to enter the city again. , to continue fighting the Germans. How about it, do you want to join my army now?"

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I don't understand." Sayers was confused by Sukov's words, and he asked inexplicably, "Since you still have to fight the Germans, and you won't be transferred to the rear for repairs, how about Why are you withdrawn from the battlefield?"

Since the driver hadn't made a statement yet, Sokov naturally wouldn't tell him the truth, but laughed and said, "I'll tell you the answer when you become one of us."

The truck entered the headquarters of the Front Army, and after passing through the long street, the driver stopped the car at a building with wooden fences and sandbags piled up outside the house, and a sentry stood guard at the door. Then he turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the headquarters is here!"

After getting out of the car, Sokov first expressed his thanks to the driver Sayers, and at the same time asked: "Sayers, are you really unwilling to join my army?"

"This," Sayers replied with some embarrassment when Sokov asked, "I need to think about it."

"It's okay, you can think about it slowly." Sokov said generously: "Come to me after thinking about it." After speaking, he led Samoilov and Guchakov into the building .

As soon as he entered the building, a major came up to him, blocked Sokov's path with his hand, and asked blankly, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what can you do?"

"Hello, Comrade Major." Although the other party's military rank was lower than his own, Sokov still raised his hand to salute the other party, and said politely: "I was ordered to see the commander and the military commissar."

After looking at Sokov in surprise, the major asked back, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, your name and position."

"Sokov, the commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade." Sokov replied neither humble nor overbearing: "I was ordered to come here to meet the commander of the front army and the military commissar."

The major obviously knew the news that Sokov was coming, and after hearing his self-introduction, a smile appeared on his face: "So you are Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I have been waiting for you for a long time, please come with me!"

Seeing the major, Sokov turned around and left after he finished speaking, and hastened to follow. Unexpectedly, the major hadn't gone far, so he stopped, glanced at Samoilov and Guchakov behind Sokov, and said to Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please put your body on your body." All the weapons you have are handed over to your subordinates, and I am ordered to take you to meet the commander and the military commissioner alone."

Hearing the major's order, Sokov handed over the assault rifle and pistol he carried with him to Samoilov without hesitation, and said to the two of them, "You two stay here and wait for me."