Red Moscow

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin tentatively asked after Sokov's words came to an end, "What kind of equipment should we equip the squad that went deep behind the enemy's rear this time?"

What kind of equipment to equip, this question made Sokov embarrassed. In the past, the squads that went deep into the enemy's rear usually disguised themselves as Germans, took captured armored vehicles, and carried a sufficient number of new rockets to turn the enemy's rear upside down. However, the Germans are not fools. After suffering a few losses, they have become vigilant. All troops that retreat from the front line must be strictly checked, especially the armored vehicles.

"I think it should be the same as before, equip the squad with armored vehicles." Ivanov interjected, "With armored vehicles, no matter how fast the march is, they can advance tens or even hundreds of kilometers a day; and they can also carry more A large number of new rockets to better hit the enemy."

"No, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Sokov shook his head and said, "This squad cannot be equipped with armored vehicles."

"Why?"

"The reason is simple." Sokov explained: "The enemy is now short of fuel, and a large number of tanks and cars cannot be driven. If our reconnaissance team operates in armored vehicles, the target will be very large and will definitely be interrogated by the enemy. As for marching on foot, although the speed is much slower and there are fewer things to carry, the target is small, and they can march in the forest to avoid the enemy's interrogation."

What Sokov said, in fact, Ivanov understands, but for a long time, the squads sent to carry out missions behind the enemy all travel in armored vehicles, and they have developed a kind of inertial thinking, thinking that if the squadron Without armored vehicles, mobility is greatly reduced. After listening to Sokov's explanation at this moment, he immediately realized that this mission was different from the previous ones. If he persisted in his previous thinking, something big might happen.

An hour before the detachment set off, Sokov called Guchakov and Kavin to the headquarters. Said to the two: "We can't provide you with armored vehicles for this operation. You can only walk on your own two legs. Since there are no armored vehicles, the number of rockets you can carry will be greatly reduced. You have to be mentally prepared in advance."

Knowing that this operation was unable to take an armored vehicle, Guchakov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But for Sokov's orders, he has always obeyed unconditionally. He didn't ask why he didn't equip himself with armored vehicles, so he straightened his back and replied, "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, we are confident to complete this mission."

Sokov walked up to Guchakov, put his hands on his shoulders, and said to him: "Captain Guchakov, due to the attack launched by our army in the Don River valley, a large number of enemies have retreated to Stalingsk. In the Le area, the number of German troops in some areas has increased dramatically, which doubles the risk factor of your operation."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Guchakov replied without changing his expression, "No matter how dangerous the situation is, we will never shrink back, and we will definitely complete the tasks assigned to us by our superiors."

…………

Guchakov and Kavin led the squad, under the cover of night, through the forward positions, and when they were advancing towards the German defense zone, Sokov received a call from Yakov from Moscow.

As soon as the phone was connected, Yakov asked bluntly: "Misha, is it convenient for you to talk now?"

As soon as Sokov heard it, he immediately realized that the other party must have something important to tell him, and quickly said: "It's okay, the headquarters are full of people I know well, if you have anything, just speak up."

"Something went wrong." Yakov said in a panic: "Our engineer had an accident while developing an incendiary bomb. The entire laboratory was burned down. Fifteen people were killed and more than thirty people were injured. According to Ust Comrade Nov said that this development work may be stopped."

Sokov never dreamed that Yakov really cared about the incendiary bomb when he casually mentioned it at the beginning, and even organized people to conduct experiments after returning home. Now that an accident happened in the laboratory, so many people were killed and injured, and I, the instigator, was somewhat responsible.

Hearing Sokov's silence, Yakov became anxious. He said in a hurry: "Comrade Ustinov wants to see you. Can you return to Moscow as soon as possible?"

Yakov's words made Sokov very embarrassed: "Yasha, you also know that we are launching a counterattack against the German army. How can I abandon my troops at this time..."

"I have already asked my father's permission for this matter." Yakov interrupted Sokov before he could finish speaking: "And I have also understood that your division will not have any big changes in the short term. For large-scale battles, you can completely transfer the command of the troops to the deputy division commander or the chief of staff temporarily."

Knowing that he had obtained the consent of the Supreme Commander himself for his return to Moscow, Sokov did not find any excuses to refuse, but asked bluntly: "Yasha, how should I go to Moscow?"

"Tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning, a new type of passenger plane will land at the temporary airport on the left bank of the Volga River." Yakov said on the phone: "You take that plane and come to Moscow."

A new airliner? Sokov murmured to himself, aren't all Soviet manned planes transformed from transport planes or bombers? What is going on with this new type of airliner that Yakov mentioned?

"Chief of Staff, Deputy Division Commander." Sokov put down the phone and said to Sidolin and Ivanov, "I'm going to Moscow tomorrow. During my absence, the work of the division will be handled by you two. People are in charge of handling it.”

"Go to Moscow?" Sidolin couldn't help showing a surprised expression when he heard Sokov say this: "Mr. Comrade, at this time, the superior asked you to go to Moscow. Why?"

"I don't know either." Sokov shook his head and replied with a wry smile, "Maybe I won't be able to figure out what happened until I arrive in Moscow."

"Comrade Commander," Ivanov said with a complex expression on his face, "under the current circumstances, if we are only on the defensive, then the enemy will not pose any threat to us. You can go to Moscow without worry."

As the chief of staff, Sidolin considered the issue more comprehensively than Ivanov: "Comrade commander, how do you plan to get to Moscow? After all, the distance between the two places is nearly a thousand kilometers. Even in peacetime, it takes a day and a night to travel by train." Time. Besides, this line is not smooth enough now, I am afraid it will take one or two times more time."

"Not by train." Sokov replied: "Tomorrow morning a plane will land at the temporary airport on the left bank, and then I will go there to take the plane."

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin said with concern after confirming the time for Sukov's departure, "You should go back to rest early while it's still early. After dawn, I will send someone to escort you to the opposite bank."

After dawn, Sidolin asked Samoilov to drive a jeep and take Sokov to the temporary airport on the left bank. On the way, Samoilov asked with concern: "Comrade commander, why do you suddenly want to go back to Moscow?"

Due to the many secrets involved, Sokov could not say too much to Samoilov, and could only answer briefly: "I am under the order of my superiors. As for the time I am away, all the work in the division will be done by The chief of staff and the deputy division commander will do it."

"How long will it be?"

"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and replied, "Maybe a day or two, or maybe four or five days or longer."

When the jeep arrived at the entrance of the temporary airport, it was stopped by troops guarding the airport. A second lieutenant walked up to the car, looked down into the car, and saw Samoilov sitting in the co-pilot's seat clearly. After raising his hand and saluting, he said politely: "Please show your ID!"

Samoilov took out his ID from his pocket and handed it to the second lieutenant. After reading Samoilov's ID, the second lieutenant did not return it to him immediately. Instead, he said to Sokov who was sitting in the back row: "Comrade Colonel, please show your ID."

"I am Colonel Sokov, commander of the 41st Guards Division." Sokov forgot to park the gray airliner on the runway of the airport, and began to mutter in his heart: Could it be the plane that came to pick me up? ?

"Hello, Colonel Sokov." After checking Sokov's ID, the second lieutenant took a step back, raised his hand and said in salute, "The plane that picked you up arrived half an hour ago. Please get your grade as soon as possible." After finishing speaking, he held the documents in both hands and respectfully returned them to Sokov and Samoilov.

After the railing in the middle of the road was lifted, the driver drove the vehicle towards the passenger plane. After the car stopped beside the plane, Samoilov immediately jumped out of the car and helped Sokov open the door from the outside. After briefly explaining to Samoilov about work, Sokov walked up the spiral staircase and prepared to board the plane.

Unexpectedly, just as he walked to the door of the cabin, a flight attendant in military uniform came out. She blocked Sukov's way with her hand and asked politely, "Comrade commander, where is your chief?"

"Chief, what chief?!"

Seeing that the other party did not understand her intention, the stewardess repeated again: "Our plane was ordered to pick up Colonel Sokov, did you get on the wrong plane?"

Hearing the flight attendant say his name, Sokov grinned, took out his ID from his pocket, handed it to the flight attendant, and said to her, "This is my ID!"

The flight attendant took a look at the ID and found that the person standing in front of her was Colonel Sokov. She quickly raised her hand and saluted, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Colonel Sokov, I didn't know it was you, please forgive me. It's cold outside. , please enter the cabin."

Sokov followed the stewardess into the cabin, and saw that the seats inside were empty, and there was no one there. Can't help but ask curiously: "Comrade, where are the others?"

"No more." The stewardess shook her head and said, "We were ordered to pick you up, and we will not carry anyone else."

Sokov was very surprised that he had been honored by Yakov and enjoyed the treatment of a special plane. Before the plane took off, he asked the stewardess curiously: "What kind of plane is this, why have you never seen it before?"

"This is a passenger plane that the United States just assisted us a few months ago," the stewardess explained to Sokov. "It is said that it is a passenger plane produced by Douglas Aircraft Manufacturing Plant. It is much safer and more comfortable than a transport plane."

Regarding the stewardess' statement, Sokov nodded in agreement. No matter how good the transport plane is, it is a cargo plane after all; no matter how bad the passenger plane he is taking now, it still transports people. Naturally, the comfort level is not comparable to that of a transport plane.

Nearly a thousand roads away, the plane flew in the air for nearly three hours, and finally landed at a field airport on the eastern outskirts of Moscow. After the plane came to a complete stop, the cabin door opened, and a person rushed in from the outside. He hugged Sokov who had just stood up, and said excitedly, "Misha, you are finally here."

Sokov hugged each other and asked curiously: "Yasha, how is your situation? Have you dealt with the aftermath?"

"Yes," Yakov replied, nodding his head, "We have basically completed the aftermath of the accident." He let go of Sokov, took a step back and said, "Let's go, the car is waiting for you below." .”

Sokov followed Yakov out of the cabin, and sure enough, he saw a black car parked on the runway. When Sokov got into the car, he found that there was no one in it, and the driver was Yakov.

Seeing that Yakov made things so complicated, Sokov smiled wryly and said, "Yasha, you asked me to come to Moscow this time, isn't it too loud? It's a special plane, and a special car, so I can hardly It's embarrassing."

"Misha, what happened this time is a bit big." Yakov said with a nervous expression, "Even Comrade Ustinov can't settle it, so we can only transfer you from Stalingrad. We all believe that, in the future Your ability is fully qualified for this glorious and arduous task."

Yakov's words made Sokov's heart beat faster, and he murmured to himself, "Why does Yakov say that? It sounds like he's making himself a scapegoat."

"We have developed napalm," Yakov said with a serious expression, "but the laboratory was attacked and an explosion occurred inside. Several engineers and technical backbones in charge of the development were killed. And those precious All the materials were also burned.”

Sokov was surprised when he heard this. In the laboratory of the weapons and equipment department, German spies could sneak in and even burn down the laboratory with a torch. This is simply incredible. But it's useless to ask him to do this kind of thing. When it comes to criminal investigation work, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the most expert, so there is absolutely no need for him to come to this troubled water.

"Yasha," Sokov said, "if it's about directing wars or making weapons, I still have some say. But when it comes to solving crimes, I'm an out-and-out layman. You sent me from Stalingrad Called urgently, if it is to solve this case, I'm afraid I really won't be of much use."

"I told you to come here, there must be something important." Yakov replied, "When you get to the place, you will understand."