Steel Soviet Union

Haze accumulated in the sky, and heavy rain continued to fall.

But all this still failed to stop Malashenko and his comrades from their determined pace.

Vatutin, who raised his hand in military salute, walked at the front of the team, followed by Malashenko, Lavrinenko, Kulbalov, Varosha and Iushkin who carried the coffin on their shoulders. and Seryozha.

They lined up in two columns, three on the left and three on the left, holding the coffin on their shoulders with both hands and moving forward steadily.

On both sides of Malashenko's group, there were gun-wielding guards who held the butt of the gun with one hand, raised it to the upper waist, and pointed the SVT-40 semi-automatic rifle with the bayonet 90 degrees straight into the sky, guarding them all the way. Come.

The original victory flag, which was specially taken from the Leader's Army Memorial Hall, and the military flag that has been used by the Leader's Army since the days of the Leader's Division, were held up by two flag bearers at the front of the team as they marched forward.

Crowds who came specially to see him off lined both sides of the road to the Martyrs Cemetery.

Among them are old comrades who have known the political commissar for many years, and some old comrades who have fought side by side with him to defeat the white bandits.

There are ordinary friends who have known Comrade Political Commissar for a long time, and there are colleagues who worked with Comrade Political Commissar in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

There are also countless ordinary people who know the deeds of the Leader's Army and remember the name of Political Commissar Petrov, who came to see this Soviet hero on his last journey in the heavy rain.

When Malashenko arrived at the grave that had already been dug, he, together with Lavrinenko directly opposite, Kulbalov and Iushkin behind him, and Varosha and Seryosha diagonally opposite, The coffin they carried on their shoulders fell steadily and was put into the pit with their own hands.

Vatugin, who had already arrived directly in front of the tomb, raised his chest and raised his head, and stood in the heavy rain wearing the uniform of a marshal.

Even though the cold rain continued to fall along the brim of the hat and filled the whole body, he still shouted the sonorous, powerful and powerful slogan.

"Shot!"

Bang bang bang——

The soldiers who had already lined up raised their guns to the sky and pulled the triggers. The uniform sound of gunfire echoed in his ears. Malashenko knelt down again and kissed the coffin goodbye in the rain falling all over the sky.

"Have a good rest, Comrade Comrade, you are a hero to us all."

Lavrinenko and the other five people, who had already taken off their big-brimmed military caps first, were still waiting at the edge of the pit. They held the military caps that they had taken off with their left hands and held them parallel to their chests.

Malashenko, who was the last one to get up from the pit, also completed this action, and Vatugin's shouts as he stood tall in the rain echoed in everyone's ears.

"salute!"

Swish swish——

Just maintaining the saluting posture, he watched the piles of soil being filled into the pit until the coffin was completely covered and disappeared.

Natalia, who had already been waiting not far away with a poncho in hand, stepped forward and put it on her newlywed husband's shoulders with her own hands.

"Don't be too sad, my dear, take care of yourself."

Malashenko, who put his military cap back on his head, declined the guard's offer to hold an umbrella for him.

He continued to stand in the rain, motionless looking at the backfilled grave pit and the erected tombstones, speechless for a long time.

"Cheer up and don't be depressed because of this. He definitely doesn't want to see you depressed because of his departure. Comrades still need you, and the motherland also needs you, so take care of yourself."

Vatutin, who knew he should give Malashenko some time, finished speaking, patted Malashenko firmly on the shoulder, then passed by and left.

After a while, the person who came forward again was Malokov.

"Do you know? You are the most important person in the last few years of his life. He has always regarded you as a family member, even more than me as a student."

Hearing this, Malashenko remained noncommittal and continued to stand in the increasingly heavy rain for a long time. Then he turned around and answered.

"He also treats you as a family member. If anyone besides me gets real teachings from him, then that person can only be you."

""

Malokov, who was quite touched, could no longer tell whether the rain falling down his face was rain or tears, or whether the two were mixed together. He took a deep breath with sadness and then spoke.

"It's a pity that I couldn't catch up with him for the last time. The mission came at that time and I couldn't leave. You were waiting until the last moment of his life, right?"

Malashenko nodded quietly in the rain.

"That's enough, that's enough."

"Having the most important person in his life with him until his last moments was enough."

With the familiar words echoing in his ears, Malashenko did not stay too long and passed away, leaving Malokov alone to continue to stand in the rain, staring at the tombstone and crying quietly.

"When you two come back this time, who is in charge of the army now?"

"Leave it to Comrade Chief of Staff. The matter is important and must come back. It has been reported to the military district headquarters and approved by Marshal Vasilevsky. Comrade Commander -"

"Don't go, let him be alone."

Lavrinenko grabbed Kulbalov who was about to go up to find Malashenko, looked at the lonely and lonely figure, sighed softly and then spoke.

"He accompanied Comrade Political Commissar on his final journey alone. He has experienced and endured more than any of us. It is not convenient to disturb him at this time. Give him some time of his own."

"What? This"

After hearing this, Kulbalov was startled, his words and expression full of surprise.

After thinking about it again, I felt relieved.

Just looking at the back of Comrade Commander in the rain again, there were indescribable complex emotions in his eyes.

Malashenko seemed to be able to hear the conversation not far behind him, but also seemed not to be able to hear it.

In my mind, I recalled every bit of the past years, vividly recalling the journey together with my comrade political commissar, and recalling all the turbulent years we have experienced fighting side by side so far.

Up to this moment, every thought was clear and never dimmed in the slightest. Malashenko still clearly remembered every word that Comrade Political Commissar said to him when he said goodbye.

How should a true proletarian warrior finish his life?

Malashenko once had doubts, but now, perhaps there is a real answer in this story that ended in the rain.

We have gone through countless difficult, bumpy and thorny roads, and witnessed countless moments of glory and heroism.

But the road to pursuing truth is still long and the future belongs to the younger generation, and it depends on generations of people full of hope to pass on the fire and work hard.

Malashenko doesn’t know how far he can go in the future and what he will face.

But only one thing is certain.

I will continue to walk on this unknown road until the end.