The dispute between Sokov and Belkin somehow got out. Early the next morning, Asya, who rarely appeared at the brigade headquarters, actually came to see Sokov.
Although Sokov and Belkin had a dispute last night, it was all for work and did not affect their friendship. So when Asya hurried to the brigade headquarters, she happened to see Sokov and Belkin sitting at the table having breakfast.
Seeing Asiya breaking in from outside, Belgin smiled and greeted her: "Isn't this Asiya? I haven't seen you for a long time. Why are you free to come to our place today?" At this point, he used He glanced at Sokov quickly from the corner of his eye, "You're here to see our brigade commander, right?"
"Asiya, have you had breakfast?" Seeing Asiya rushing into the headquarters in a hurry, Sokov guessed that she might have something to ask him. But he didn't ask immediately. Instead, he picked up the plate with rusks and handed it to Asiya: "If you don't mind, let's eat some together!"
After Asiya said hello to Belkin, she pushed away the plate handed over by Sokov and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Brigadier, I have something to talk to you about."
Hearing that Asiya had something to talk to Sokov, Belkin immediately stood up and said, "Since you have something to talk about, I'll stay away for a while."
"Comrade Political Commissar, please continue to sit down and eat." Sokov raised his hand to stop Belgin from leaving, and said to him: "Asiya and I will go to the next room to talk." After that, he stood up He stood up and grabbed Asiya's arm, and walked towards the cabin next to him where he was resting.
Entering the hut, Sokov closed the door and asked Asiya to sit down on the cot where he usually sleeps, and then asked: "Asiya, what happened?"
"Misha," seeing no one else in the room, Asiya called Sokov by his nickname and asked, "Let me ask you, are all the rumors outside true?"
"Rumors, what rumors?" Asiya's words confused Sokov. He looked at Asiya and asked in confusion: "Asiya, what rumors did you hear?"
"I heard a comrade who went to visit the wounded in the health team say that you had a big fight with the political commissar last night and threatened him that no matter how many deserters appeared in the army, they would all be shot. Even if it was a deserter from a company, , and will never show mercy." After Asia quickly finished what she heard, she asked tentatively: "Misha, did you really say this?"
When Sokov heard what Asiya relayed, although it was somewhat different from what he said last night, the main content was still consistent. He nodded and said expressionlessly: "Yes, I did say that. These words."
"Misha, why did you say such a thing?" Asiya saw Sokov admitting and couldn't help but become anxious: "You know, our company structure is different from other troops. There are four to five hundred people in a company. , if the whole company deserts, can't you really shoot them all? The wounded people recovering from injuries in the health team are now panic-stricken, so I came here to ask you whether this is the case. Explain this to the wounded."
"Asia, do you know why I had a dispute with the political commissar?" Sokov felt that the truth about last night's dispute must be conveyed to the wounded through Asya in order to appease people's hearts. After Asiya nodded to express her willingness to listen, he explained the reason for the dispute yesterday.
Asiya patiently listened to Sokov's story, with a look of realization on her face: "So that's it. Misha, I think you must have said angry words at that time."
Sokov secretly thought that after the Battle of Stalingrad began, Stalin would issue the famous "Order No. 227". Anyone who abandoned his position and retreated without permission would be shot on the spot. If I don't strictly observe military discipline now, not only will many soldiers lose their lives because of this order when they get to Stalingrad, but I will also be implicated, which will have an impact on my future. But at this moment, in front of Asiya, he did not tell his true thoughts, but followed her intention and said: "Asiya, you also know that when there is a dispute, people are more emotionally excited, and it is inevitable that they will Said some exaggerated words. I hope that after you return to the health team, you will tell the wounded about this so that they can feel at ease."
When the two came out of the hut, Belkin looked at them with a half-smile and asked, "Have you finished talking?"
"The conversation is over." After Sokov gave Belgin a positive answer, he asked Asiya: "Asiya, would you like to have breakfast here and then go back?"
"No, no," Asia waved her hand at Sokov, "The health team has so many wounded people to take care of. I want to go back immediately and won't have breakfast here."
Looking at Asiya's leaving figure, Belkin asked thoughtfully: "Comrade Brigadier, if I guess correctly, Asiya came here today because of the dispute we had last night, right?"
"You are right, it is for this matter." Sokov said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, it's getting late, hurry up and eat. After breakfast, we have to go to each unit to inspect them What’s the preparation status?”
The day of departure came quickly. As soon as Sokov left the station with the troops directly under the brigade, he saw the city residents standing on both sides of the street, cheering at the commanders and fighters marching on the street. Hearing someone calling out the names of several soldiers from time to time, Sokov thought in his heart: The people calling out must be the relatives of the soldiers. He looked nervously at the crowds on both sides of the street. He was afraid that an old lady would suddenly appear, rush to the middle of the road, hold the hand of a soldier and cry, and the situation might get out of control.
Fortunately, the situation that Sokov was worried about did not occur. Occasionally, a soldier rushed out of the queue, went to the roadside to say a few words to his family, and then went to chase the team again. Seeing this scene, Sokov's heart hanging in his throat finally returned to his stomach.
Belkin leaned close to Sokov's ear and said loudly: "Comrade Brigadier, did you see it? The residents of the city came out to see off our soldiers."
"I see it!" Sokov nodded vigorously and said: "Comrade Political Commissar, it seems that your political workers have done a good job in the past two days. The mood of the soldiers is very stable. What we are worried about should not be a problem." It's going to happen."
"Yes, I think so too." Belkin agreed: "As long as our troops can leave the city smoothly, desertion incidents will definitely not happen again."
After a moment of pause, Belkin asked again: "By the way, is Comrade Chief of General Staff still in Kursk?"
"No, he left by plane last night." Sokov heard Belkin suddenly mention Vasilevsky, and guessed what he was worried about, so he comforted him and said: "Don't worry, comrade political commissar. Now that Comrade Chief of General Staff has spoken, when we arrive at Yelets, there will definitely be enough vehicles to send our troops to Moscow."
