Sokov and Anne stayed in the Lenin Library until lunch time before getting up and leaving.
After leaving the library, Sokov felt a little hungry, so he turned to Anne and asked: "Annie, let's go get something to eat somewhere."
"Misha, come with me!" Anne took the initiative to hold Sokov's hand, pulled him forward, and said, "I know a place where the baked potatoes are delicious, I'll take you Go eat.”
Baked potatoes are a Russian snack. Usually, the potatoes are cleaned and dried first, and some small holes are poked on the surface of the potatoes with a fork, and corn oil and salt are applied to the surface of the potatoes. Wrap the potatoes in foil and bake in the oven for an hour and a half, until tender. When it's time to eat, open the tin foil wrapping the potatoes, cut the potatoes in half with a knife, put a piece of butter on the surface, stir evenly with a spoon, and then add the vegetable salad to eat.
Sokov often ate this kind of baked potatoes in later generations, and he naturally liked the taste very much. When he heard Anne say that he would take him to eat baked potatoes, he couldn't help but move his fingers.
Crossing a street, we came to the famous Arbat Street. When Sokov and Annie were walking forward hand in hand, a patrol came towards them. The second lieutenant officer leading the team glanced at Sokov, then stopped in front of him, raised his hand in salute, and said politely: "Comrade Colonel, please show your ID!"
Sokov quickly let go of Anne's hand, unbuttoned his military coat, took out his military ID card from the pocket of his hoodie, and handed it to the second lieutenant.
The officer took the military ID card, opened it, checked it, and asked casually: "Comrade Colonel, where is your unit stationed?"
Sokov heard this question and asked alertly: "Second Lieutenant, why are you asking this?"
The second lieutenant raised his head and glanced at Sokov, pointed to the epaulettes on his military coat and said: "Comrade Colonel, haven't you noticed that we are all wearing new military ranks?"
After being reminded by the second lieutenant, Sokov discovered that the patrol team next to him, from officers to ordinary soldiers, wore new military ranks. Their military ranks are all worn on the epaulettes, and my own military ranks are also worn on the collar insignia, which seems a bit out of place.
Sokov laughed dryly twice and replied: "Second Lieutenant, my troops are in Stalingrad, and I was ordered to return to Moscow to perform a mission."
Hearing that Sokov was returning to Moscow to perform a mission, the second lieutenant frowned slightly and asked businesslikely: "Comrade Colonel, since you said you were ordered to return to Moscow to perform a mission, where is your business trip permit?"
"I'm sorry, I don't have a business trip permit." Sokov was temporarily recalled to Moscow, so how could he have a business trip permit? He could only bite the bullet and said: "I was temporarily recalled to perform a secret mission, and I don't have any business trip permit at all. "
"You don't have a business trip permit?!" The second lieutenant was not affected by the fact that Sokov's military rank was much higher than his. He said sternly: "Comrade Colonel, since you don't have a business trip permit, I'm afraid you have to follow us."
When she heard that the second lieutenant was going to take Sokov away, Anne immediately stopped in front of the second lieutenant and said loudly: "Why? He is a hero who defended Stalingrad. You can't take him away."
"Second Lieutenant," Sokov frowned slightly and said to the Second Lieutenant: "Where is your superior? I want to talk to him."
"Follow me and you can meet your superiors." The second lieutenant put Sokov's military ID in his pocket and said in an official tone: "Let's go, comrade colonel. After we figure out what's going on, We will let you back."
"What's going on? What happened here?" Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, a loud voice suddenly came from not far away: "Why did the patrol stop?"
"Comrade Lieutenant," the second lieutenant turned and saluted in the direction of the voice, and replied loudly: "There is a commander here who says he came back from the front line to perform a mission, but he does not have a business trip permit."
Following the sound, Sokov looked towards the front of the street and saw a thirty-year-old lieutenant walking towards his location with two soldiers carrying submachine guns.
The lieutenant came closer, looked at Colonel Sokov, and unexpectedly raised his hand to salute, saying respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Brigade Commander!"
Hearing the other party call him brigade commander, Sokov guessed that the other party might have been his subordinate before. After looking at the other party carefully, he found that he had a strange face, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Lieutenant, were you my subordinate before?" ?”
"Yes, Comrade Brigadier." The lieutenant straightened his back and replied respectfully: "I was originally from the Fourth Company of the Second Battalion. Shortly after the Battle of Stalingrad began, I was injured and was sent back to Moscow. Injured. After he recovered, he was incorporated into the Moscow garrison."
"It turns out it's you, Second Lieutenant Kayugin." Anne on the side said in surprise: "I didn't expect to meet you here."
"Hello, Comrade Nurse." The lieutenant known as Kayugin turned his head and saw Anne next to him. After nodding to her, he explained to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, I was in the military hospital on Lenin Street. After treating the injury, this nurse Anne usually takes care of me."
Sokov remembered that he had heard Tonya and Anne mention last night that a group of wounded people from Stalingrad had been treated in the military hospital. The Lieutenant Kayugin in front of him should be one of them, but it was still Second lieutenant. After being discharged from the hospital, he was incorporated into the garrison and was promoted to lieutenant.
"Lieutenant Kayugin," Sokov said to his old subordinates: "Your subordinates said that I don't have a business trip permit and they want to take me back for review. Please tell me, how should we handle this matter?"
"Nonsense, just nonsense." Kayugin walked up to the second lieutenant and said to him with a straight face: "Don't you always want to know the one who commanded us to hold on to Mamayev Heights and prevent the enemy from advancing even a step? Brigadier? Well, he is right in front of you right now, and you doubt him."
After hearing what Kayugin said, the second lieutenant couldn't help being surprised, and quickly asked Sokov: "Are you Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade?"
"Yes, when I was the brigade commander, I was indeed in the rank of lieutenant colonel." Sokov nodded and replied with a normal expression: "I was promoted to the rank of colonel after I became the division commander."
"Brigade commander, no, comrade division commander." Kayugin said with a smile: "I apologize to you for my subordinate's recklessness. Please forgive him for his rashness."
"It's true that I don't have a business trip permit," Sokov felt that he needed to explain to Kayugin why he didn't have a business trip permit: "Because it was an emergency recall from the superiors, and there was no time to apply for a business trip permit."
Kayudin firmly believed in Sokov's statement. He walked up to the second lieutenant and stretched out his hand: "Do you have Colonel Sokov's ID? Give it to me."
When the second lieutenant learned that the person in front of him was Sokov, whom he admired, he realized that his behavior just now was a bit reckless. At this moment, seeing Kayugin asking for his ID, he quickly took out Sokov's military ID card from his pocket, handed it back to Sokov respectfully, and said apologetically: "Comrade Colonel, I'm sorry for what I've done to you. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask your forgiveness!”
When the patrol resumed its patrol along the street, Kayugin still stood there without moving. With a smile on his face, he asked Sokov: "Comrade division commander, where do you plan to go next?"
Sokov glanced at Anne standing next to him and said, "Anne and I are going to eat baked potatoes nearby. If you have something to do, just go ahead and do it."
"It's okay, Comrade Commander." Kayugin waved his hand and said, "I have nothing to do anyway, so I will just accompany you around. If you encounter a patrol checking your ID again, I can still say a few words to you."
Sokov considered that Arbat Street is close to the Kremlin, and the patrols here are the most stringent. He did not have a business permit, so it would be really troublesome if he was stopped. With Kayukin, the lieutenant of the garrison, by his side, many problems can be solved.
"Okay, let's go together." Sokov nodded to Kayugin and said, "It's just right to catch up on old times while eating."
Seeing that Sokov agreed to accompany him, Kayugin couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly said to the two soldiers behind him: "I want to accompany Colonel Sokov around, so you two don't have to follow me."
Under the leadership of Annie, the three of them came to a coffee shop at the end of the street. As soon as Annie pushed the door open and walked in, she said to the old lady standing behind the counter: "Aunt Natasha, give us three baked potatoes."
"Okay, Annie." The old lady known as Aunt Natasha said with a smile, "Please cook for a few minutes first, the potatoes will be ready soon."
A few minutes later, three steaming potatoes were placed in front of Sokov and the others. Master Natasha said with a bright face: "Annie, and the two comrades commanders, you eat slowly. If you want to eat after eating, I will cook it for you." After that, she turned and left.
"Annie," Sokov looked at Anne and asked, "Do you come here often?"
"Every time I go to the Lenin Library to read a book, I always come here to eat some." Seeing that neither of them used their forks, Anne urged: "Eat quickly, it won't taste good if it's cold."
"Comrade Commander," seeing that there were no other customers in the store except for the three of him, Kayugin lowered his voice and asked Sokov: "How is our army's counterattack in the Stalingrad area going? Can we defeat the enemy?" ?"
"Lieutenant, didn't you listen to the broadcast of the Soviet Intelligence Agency?" Sokov asked strangely: "Our army's counterattack in the Don River Basin is going very smoothly. Paulus's troops have been surrounded by our army in Stalinger. Le area.”
Kayoukin was someone who had been on the battlefield and had a certain understanding of the technical and tactical levels of the German army. He frowned and asked: "Comrade division commander, even if our army encircles Paulus' troops, do you think we have the ability to annihilate them?"
Sokov knew very well that Kayugin's worries were not unfounded. The Soviet army had encircled the German army many times in the past, but in the end not only did it fail to eliminate the enemy, but he suffered heavy losses. Now that Paulus's Sixth Army was encircled by the Soviet army, no one who knew anything about the German combat effectiveness had much confidence in whether they could annihilate this enemy.
"Comrade Lieutenant," although there were some words he couldn't say, Sokov still said carefully: "If it were at the beginning of the war, I think your worries would have some validity. But what is the situation now? Our army's commanders and fighters have gone through After a year and a half of war, they have become mature. The inability to destroy the besieged enemies before does not mean that they cannot be destroyed now. Just watch. If the Paulus troops trapped in the encirclement of our army want to break out, it is not An easy thing. Even if they resist, we will destroy them sooner or later."
As an old subordinate of Sokov, Kayugin admired Sokov very much and always believed in what Sokov said. At this moment, Sokov said that the besieged Paulus troops would eventually be annihilated. He couldn't help but smile: "Comrade division commander, if Paulus's troops are really annihilated, then there will be one less German." A general who knows how to fight will make it much easier for us in the next battle."
"Lieutenant Kayugin, you must not underestimate the enemy." Seeing Kayugin's tendency to underestimate the enemy, Sokov reminded him: "Paulus is not a general who knows how to fight in the German army. Even if we are eliminated His troops captured him, but the next person to attack him was Manstein, known as the 'Conqueror of Sevastopol', who was much more powerful than Paulus."
"What's the big deal?" Kayugin said carelessly: "If we can capture Paulus, then we can also capture Manstein. Once all the enemy's generals and marshals who know how to fight are captured, the Germans will They are vulnerable, and it will be much easier for us to defeat them when the time comes.”
"Misha." Taking advantage of the gap between the two of them speaking, Anne interjected and asked, "How many days can you stay in Moscow?"
"It's hard to say, it depends on how the superiors arrange it." Sokov replied with a wry smile: "Maybe he will stay here for ten days and a half, or he may return to Stalingrad tonight."
"Comrade Division Commander." After hearing the conversation between Sokov and Anne, Kayugin asked in surprise: "You have returned to Moscow, who will command the troops?"
"When I am not in the army, I am usually commanded by the chief of staff and deputy division commander." Sokov replied: "Besides, in urban areas, due to the lack of troops, it is impossible to launch a counterattack against the enemy except for defensive warfare. Therefore, even if I am not in the army, it will not have any impact."
"Comrade Commander, I have a request." Kayugin said to Sokov with some embarrassment: "I hope to get your help."
"Whatever it is, just say it." Sokov did not promise Kayugin anything, but said cautiously: "As long as it is within my ability, I will definitely help you."
"Comrade division commander, I want to return to your unit." Kayugin mustered up his courage and said, "I wonder if you can help me?"
"Go back to my army?" Sokov asked in surprise: "You stayed well in the garrison, why do you want to go back to the combat army?"
"Comrade division commander, the situation is like this." Kayugin said with an embarrassed expression: "Although being in the garrison is safer than being at the front, there are fewer opportunities to make meritorious deeds..."
"Oh, so that's what happened." Before Kayujin finished speaking, Sokov understood what the other party wanted to express. For Russians who love honor, it would be very sad to stay in a unit where it is difficult to achieve meritorious service and see their comrades accomplish meritorious deeds one after another. In order to fulfill Kayugin's wish, Sokov nodded and said: "Don't worry, Comrade Lieutenant, I will find a way to transfer you back to my unit."
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Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: Shukeju
