Raisa couldn't help but frown slightly when she heard that there would be four fighter planes flown by male pilots and would fly with them at any time. She was worried that these male pilots would hold them back in the battle. But as soon as he heard that Alexei was leading the team, the heart in his throat returned to his stomach.
"Comrade Captain," Raisa said to Alexei with a smile on her face: "I hope that in the future, we can cooperate with each other and strike hard at the Japanese invaders."
"Captain Alexei," Lilia suddenly said before Alexei could speak, "I have a request that I hope you can convey to the captain."
"Please tell me, Comrade Lilia." Seeing that Lilia made a request to him, Alexey immediately said politely: "I will definitely convey your request to the regiment leader truthfully."
Lilia said: "If I am not mistaken, the enemy should have an artillery position not far from us, right? Because our airport will be bombarded every other day."
"Yes, Lilia, the enemy has a mobile artillery position a few kilometers away from us." Alexey waited for Lilia to finish, nodded, and said helplessly: "The enemy is very cunning. Every time after shelling our positions, they immediately moved and we couldn't find any trace of them."
"Raisa," Lilia stretched out her hand to Raisa: "Please give me the map."
"What do you want a map for?" Raisa asked, but she still stood up, took out the map from the briefcase hanging on the wall, and handed it to Lilia: "Here, this is the map we are using."
Lilia took the map, thanked Raisa, spread it on the bed, and said to Alexey: "Comrade Captain, I have an idea. Tomorrow is another day when the Germans will bombard the airport. We can send two fighter planes." , search the areas where they may appear, and once discovered, destroy their artillery positions."
After Alexey waited for Lilia to finish speaking, he frowned and said, "In such a large area, it may not be easy to find the whereabouts of the enemy's artillery."
"Captain Alexei, you are right. If we rely only on our own strength, it will be very difficult to find the enemy's hidden artillery positions." Lilia smiled and said to Alexei: "But we let The infantry will help us search for it."
Regarding Lilia's statement, Alexey said with some laughter and laughter: "Comrade Lilia, I think it is necessary to remind you that our airport is located in the northwest of the city. We are more than 80 kilometers away from the city, and there are all the roads in between. It's the Germans. How do you get the infantry to cooperate with us in this situation?"
Lilia did not answer Alexey's question immediately, but walked to the door of the room, looked around, then closed the door, walked in and said to everyone: "I have a secret to tell you."
"What secret?" Seeing Lilia acting so mysteriously, Raisa asked anxiously: "Lilia, if you have anything to say, just say it, it's so mysterious."
"When I went to the factory to pick up Katya, I overheard Lieutenant Colonel Sokov calling someone to inquire about the situation of a small unit behind enemy lines." After Lilia said this, in order to increase her credibility, she turned to look Turning to Katya: "Katya, you were also there at the time. You should have heard him call, right?"
Katya thought for a moment and then nodded, saying in an uncertain tone: "That seems to be the case."
After seeing Katya confirming her statement, Lilia continued: "I think about it this way. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov may have a reconnaissance force active behind the enemy's rear. We can ask them to help us conduct reconnaissance. Once the enemy is discovered Once the artillery was located, we immediately dispatched the air force to support..."
"Lilia, wait a minute." Alexei raised his hand to interrupt Lilia before she finished speaking, and asked: "I want to ask, who put such a ridiculous idea in your mind?" mind."
Lilia didn't expect Alexei's reaction to be so strong, and asked confusedly: "Alexei, did I say something wrong?"
"Not only is it wrong, it is simply wrong." Seeing Lilia's confused look, Alexei explained to her: "Lilia, the Lieutenant Colonel Sokov you mentioned is an infantryman." , and we are the Air Force, do not belong to the same system, and cannot share information. If the defenders in the city want to receive support from our Air Force, they must report to the 62nd Army Headquarters at all levels. After obtaining approval, the Army Headquarters will Report to the front army, and the front army headquarters will make overall arrangements."
"Ah!" Lilia couldn't help being surprised when she heard this: "The coordination steps between us and the infantry are actually so complicated?"
"That's not true," Alexei said helplessly: "Even if Lieutenant Colonel Sokov can provide us with the situation of the enemy's artillery, by the time he reports through the layers and passes the information to us, it is estimated that the enemy's artillery will have already been Transferred.”
Hearing what Alexei said, Lilia's heart couldn't help but feel cold, but she still said unwillingly: "Alexei, can't we try?"
Alexei originally wanted to refuse, but when he saw Lilia looking at him expectantly, his heart softened again. He could only nod his head and said helplessly: "Okay, Lilia, I I'll accompany you to the group leader. As for whether he agrees with your proposal, I can't guarantee it."
"Really?" Lilia thought the matter had been ruined, but she saw new hope in Alexei's tone. She grabbed Alexei's arm and said anxiously: " Alexey, let’s go find the group leader now.”
A few minutes later, Lilia followed Alexei to the regiment command post. Khostnikov was sitting at the table, looking at a map and drinking vodka from a stainless steel flask. When he saw Lilia entering the door, he quickly put down the wine bottle in his hand, stood up and greeted her, saying in surprise: "Our ace pilot is here, welcome!"
Seeing that Khostnikov was so polite to her, Lilia felt a little embarrassed. After she raised her hand to salute, she reached out in a panic and took the hand that the other person extended. When Khostnikov asked her: "Second Lieutenant Lilia, what's the matter with you suddenly coming to my place?"
Khostnikov's casual question made Lilia nervous and speechless. She could only turn her eyes to Alexei for help, hoping that the other party could help her explain her purpose. After Alexey saw Lilia's eyes, he nodded slightly, then took a step forward and said to Khostnikov: "Comrade leader, I have something to report to you, and I hope to get your help." license."
Khostnikov was surprised to see Alexei, his most trusted squadron leader, come out to explain Lilia's purpose, but he still said reasonably: "If you have anything, just say it, as long as It is within my ability, and I will definitely satisfy your request. Don’t be stunned, everyone, sit down. Sit down and speak slowly.”
However, when Khostnikov listened to Alexei's words, he couldn't help showing a troubled expression on his face: "Captain Alexei, you should know that we and the infantry have no affiliation with each other, no matter what Whether we cooperate with them in fighting, or they cooperate with us in fighting, it must go through the front army headquarters and the group army headquarters of both sides... In short, this matter is quite troublesome. I think that this matter ends here, so you should not give yourself any more Looking for trouble."
"Comrade Commander," Lilia was a little unhappy when she saw the Commander rejecting her request so simply, "The steps we had to perform in our previous cooperation with the infantry were indeed quite cumbersome. But we can ask our superiors I made a request and tried to cooperate with brigade-level units, but I didn't expect to achieve unexpected results."
If this had been said by another pilot, Khostnikov might have silenced him long ago. But now that these words were spoken by a newly promoted ace pilot, he had to treat them carefully. After some thought, he said tactfully: "Second Lieutenant Lilia, I can report your suggestion to my superiors. As for whether it will be approved, I can't guarantee it."
After saying that, Khostnikov ordered the communications troops to connect the division headquarters phone and reported Lilia's suggestions to the division commander, Major General Boris. Regarding this kind of thing, Boris still did not dare to make the decision, so he reported to Khryugin again. It happened that Khryugin was thinking about how to strengthen the cooperation between the defenders and the air force. After listening to Boris's report, he said three times in a row, and then said: "I will immediately send a telegram to General Chuikov to ask for his opinion. .”
Boris waited for Khryugin to finish speaking and immediately asked for instructions: "Then how should I reply to Colonel Khostnikov? He is still waiting for my reply?"
"Let him wait." Khryugin replied: "It will not be too late to inform him after General Chuikov and I have discussed the final result."
When Khryugin and Chuikov were discussing, Boris did not give any advice to Khostnikov, which made the colonel anxious like an ant on a hot pot, walking back and forth in the command post. Lilia wanted to ask her superiors what kind of reply they would give, but as soon as she opened her mouth, before she could say anything, Alexey shook his head at her and signaled her not to disturb the leader at this time. Lilia was helpless. All he could do was remain silent.
After a long wait, Khostnikov finally received a call from Boris. The division commander said on the phone: "Comrade Colonel, your request has been approved by the superiors. From now on, your regiment will accept the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. In addition to cooperating with their brigade operations, it will no longer accept other combat tasks. Understood. ?"
Knowing that he had to obey the command of a lieutenant colonel, Khostnikov felt a little unhappy, but since his superiors had already issued the order, it was obviously impossible to change it, so he could only bite the bullet and replied: "Understood, Comrade Division Commander. I resolutely obey the orders of my superiors and from now on, I will accept the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. But I want to ask, how can we establish contact with them?"
"You don't have to worry about this," Boris said on the phone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov will send you a telegram soon, and then you can just follow his orders. Good luck!"
After Khostnikov put down the phone, he said to Alexei and Lilia who were waiting aside: "The division commander has given me a clear answer. From now on, our regiment will accept the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Apart from cooperating with them in combat, no other combat missions will be arranged for the time being."
After learning that their proposal was approved, Lilia and Alexei couldn't help but look at each other, and both saw expressions of surprise on each other's faces. Lilia quickly raised her hand to salute Khostnikov and said emotionally: "Thank you, comrade leader! With the cooperation of comrades in the infantry, we will surely achieve greater success under your leadership." results."
Khostnikov originally felt particularly aggrieved when he thought that he had to accept the command of a lieutenant colonel, but after hearing these flattering words from Lilia, he felt better again. He waved to Lilia and said: "Second Lieutenant Lilia, if nothing happens, you can go back and rest. You must be exhausted from today's battle." Seeing Lilia and Alexey, he turned to face After walking out, he added, "Captain Alexei, you stay, I still have something to discuss with you."
