red moscow

Chapter 2655

"Misha, shall we go back to the train station now?" Seeing that Sokov was in a hurry to return to the station, Seryosha reminded him, "Didn't you promise Captain Seryokov that you would go to see him after you left the headquarters?"

"Yes, yes, that's what I said." Sokov nodded and said, "Then let's go find Captain Seryokov now."

Captain Bisenbin, who happened to be there to pick up Sokov, was nearby, and Seryosha quickly asked politely, "Comrade Captain, could you take us to Seryokov's place? You know, we are old friends. We haven't seen each other for so many years, and we have a lot to talk about."

"No problem." Bisenbing said readily, "I happen to know where he lives. I'll take you there now."

Under the guidance of Bisenbin, the few of them soon arrived at a nearby building.

Seryoelkov had been feeling uneasy since he had just met Sokov and Seryosha. When Sokov was still the commander, he took extra care of him. After Sokov left the army due to injury, the person he had the best relationship with was Seryosha. Later, when he learned that he had died on the battlefield, he was sad for a long time. Unexpectedly, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, which surprised him.

Seeing Bisenbin bringing Sokov and others to his residence, Shelyoerkov first thanked Bisenbin, and then invited Sokov and others into the house: "Comrade Commander, don't stand at the door, please come in."

Sokov walked into the room and found that it was a suite. Not only was it quite large, but it also had a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. He couldn't help but say, "Sheryoelkov, your room is nice. If I wasn't in a hurry to go to Vienna, I would have wanted to stay here for a few days."

"Comrade Commander, what are you doing in Vienna?" As soon as Seryokov asked this question, he realized that he had made a low-level mistake. How could he casually ask about the whereabouts of his superiors? He quickly apologized and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, maybe I shouldn't ask such a question, but I really want to know everything about you."

"In fact, it's no secret that I'm going to Vienna," Sokov said. "Perhaps Moscow has officially announced that I'm going to Vienna to take over the 4th Guards Army and command this unit to participate in the actual military exercise to be held next month."

When Seryokov learned that Sokov was going to Vienna to take up his post, a bold idea suddenly came to his mind. After a brief ideological struggle in his mind, he gritted his teeth and said helplessly: "Comrade Commander, I want to go to Vienna with you, do you agree?"

Seryoelkov's request made Sokov somewhat excited. He was going to Vienna to serve as the army group commander, and he was only accompanied by Seryosha, Vaserigov and a few others. If the others did not cooperate, he would easily become a commander without troops. If he had an old subordinate like Seryoelkov by his side, he could still be of use at a critical moment.

But before Sokov could speak, Seryosha said, "Seryoelkov, I think Misha would also like you to go to Vienna with him. But no matter what, you are now a member of the 27th Army. How can you just leave?"

Seryoelkov was silent. What Seryosha said made sense. If he really wanted to follow Sokov to Vienna, he would first need Trofimenko's consent, and then he could go through a series of transfer procedures. It would take at least several days to complete these things.

Although he knew that it would be very difficult to accomplish this, since Seryokov had made up his mind, even nine bulls could not make him change his mind. He stood up and said to Sokov, "Comrade Commander, I will go to General Trofimenko now and tell him that I want to follow you to Vienna. I hope he will agree."

"That's not a good idea." Seryosha said hesitantly, "Will General Trofimenko think that we came here today to steal his girlfriend?"

"Seryosha, since Seryokov has made up his mind, let's do what he wants." After Sokov said this to Seryosha, he turned to Seryokov and said, "Seryosha, go talk to General Trofimenko now and see if he is willing to let you go."

He raised his hand to check the time, and said to Shelyokov, "It's getting late, I'll go back to the station first. If you're still in time, come directly to the station to find me. If you miss the train, come to Vienna to find me another day. According to the arrangement of my superiors, I will take over the post of commander of the 4th Guards Army, and you can come directly to the army headquarters to find me."

After Seryokov sent Sokov and the others out, he said to Bisenbin who was standing outside: "Bisenbin, I have something urgent to do to the commander. Please take General Sokov and the others to the station."

"This is my duty." Bisenbin turned to Sokov and said, "General Sokov, the car has been prepared for you. Please follow me."

Half an hour later, Sokov and others returned to the station.

As they entered the carriage, Vaseligov came in.

Seeing Sokov sitting by the window, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Comrade General, you are finally back. I was worried that you would miss the departure time of the train."

"Don't worry, Major. When we were visiting the 27th Army Headquarters just now, the commander of the army, General Trofimenko, called the station dispatch office and said that the train could not leave until we came back." Sokov explained, "So you don't have to worry that we will miss the departure time of the train."

Just as Vaseligov turned around and prepared to leave, Sokov suddenly remembered Seryoelkov and hurriedly stopped him: "Major, I just met an old subordinate of mine at General Trofimenko's place. His name is Seryoelkov, and he has the rank of captain. He wants to go to Vienna with me. He is probably discussing with General Trofimenko at the moment to see if the other party is willing to let him go. Go ask the conductor how long it will take us to leave, so that I can make sure whether he can catch up."

"Your old subordinate?" Vaseligov was somewhat surprised when he heard Sokov's words. "I wonder what position he held in the army before?"

"Major, to be precise, he should be my subordinate." Seryosha interrupted and said, "When I was the commander of the guard battalion at the army headquarters, he was a company commander under me, and now he is also the commander of the guard battalion."

"Okay then." After Vaseligov figured out Shelyokov's identity, he nodded and said, "I'll go find the conductor now and ask how long the train will take to leave. I hope this Shelyokov can catch this train, otherwise he will have to stay."

"If General Trofimenko agrees to let him go to Vienna with me," Sokov continued, "it doesn't matter if he misses this train, he can still get to Vienna by other means of transportation. Of course, it would be best if he could leave with us." After Vasherigov left, Kopalova, who had remained silent, asked, "Misha, do you think Captain Seryokov can catch this train?"

"It's hard to say." Sokov was not a fortune teller, so he had no idea whether Seryokov could catch the train. He could only resign himself to fate and say, "Let everything take its course."

As they were talking, the door of the box was suddenly opened.

I originally thought that Vaseligov had something to do, but when I looked closely, it turned out to be Kopalova's immediate superior Maxim.

Maxim saw Sokov, Seryosha and Kopalova sitting in the box and chatting. He smiled and said, "So you are in the box. I thought you were not there."

Sokov had never had a good impression of Maxim. Seeing him barge in without even knocking, he was very dissatisfied: "Comrade Maxim, what are you doing here?"

Sokov's words were very impolite, but Maxim didn't seem to hear the hidden meaning. He even walked a few steps inside, found a seat and sat down, and said with a smile: "Did you go out? I didn't see you at lunch, so I came to look for you, but there was no one in the box. I guessed you might have gone out."

"Yes, Comrade Maxim, we did go out." Going out for shopping is not something shameful. Sokov said openly: "Budapest is a beautiful city with its own unique charm. Since we have come to this city, it would be a waste if we don't go sightseeing. Moreover, as the capital of Hungary, Budapest not only has many cultural relics, but also countless delicacies..."

When Maxim heard Sokov mention Hungarian food, he slapped his leg and said in annoyance: "General Sokov, why didn't you call me when you went out? You know, I have longed for Hungarian food for a long time and wanted to taste it. If you had called me, I would have been able to enjoy a feast."

Sokov laughed dryly and pretended to be apologetic. "Comrade Maxim, I'm so sorry. We left in a hurry and forgot to ask if you wanted to go with us. But don't worry, if we go to taste Hungarian food next time, we will definitely invite you."

Hearing Sokov say this, Maxim didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In another hour or two, he would have to leave Budapest. He didn't know when he would come back here again. But knowing that Sokov was just trying to fool him, he could only swallow his words: "General Sokov, let's make a deal. Next time you go to eat Hungarian food, remember to call me."

"Don't worry, Comrade Maxim." Sokov knew very well that even if he came to Budapest next time, he would not go with Maxim. Anyway, it was a blank check, so he could say whatever he wanted: "I will definitely treat you to a delicious meal at the most luxurious restaurant in Budapest."

"General Sokov, I will be the host then." Maxim said with a smile: "I will invite you to have coffee at the New York Cafe."

"New York Cafe?" Sokov was stunned and asked, "We were talking about Budapest. Why did you change the topic to New York, USA?"

"General Sokov, you are wrong." Maxim explained quickly: "The New York Cafe is not in New York, USA, but in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The original site of the New York Cafe was once an insurance company building. The interior of the building was decorated in royal style. It is a typical royal palace-style building. Later, the insurance company building was abandoned and converted into a cafe in 1894.

Today's New York cafe is not just an ordinary cafe. The decoration style inside is very sophisticated, combining elements of Renaissance, Rococo and Baroque, which can be said to be very exquisite.

As soon as you enter the cafe, you will be shocked by the royal atmosphere. The large crystal chandeliers, murals, and platinum reliefs on the walls are all very exquisite. It is more appropriate to call it an art palace than a cafe. When you are in it, you will not feel that you are here to drink coffee and kill time, but more like you are in a famous palace or museum, enjoying elegant works of art. "

Sokov didn't expect that Maxim also knew about Budapest, but he didn't show any surprise. Instead, he pretended to be calm and nodded from time to time to show that he agreed with Maxim's statement.

After Maxim finally left, Seryosha said with emotion: "I never thought that Maxim knew Budapest so well."

"This is normal," Kopalova said casually. "As a senior journalist, I may go abroad for interviews at any time. If I don't prepare a strategy in advance and understand the local customs and practices, I will be dumbfounded when I get there. When I knew I was going to Vienna, I also stayed in the library for a few days to learn about the conditions of some major cities along the way, so as to avoid being completely in the dark when I get there."

"Comrade General," Vaseligov walked in from outside while the three were chatting and reported to Sokov, "I have asked the conductor, and he said that today's train may be delayed and will depart in about three hours."

"Yes, there are still three hours." Sokov nodded slightly after hearing this: "This way, Seryokov will have plenty of time to take care of his own things, and the chances of him leaving Budapest with us will be much greater."

Seeing that Vaserigov was about to leave, Seryosha felt that he had been a light bulb here for long enough, so he stood up and said to Sokov: "Misha, you have been wandering around the city for a long time today, and I am sure you are tired. Take a rest and I will come to call you when it is time for dinner."

"Okay, okay." Sokov naturally understood that Seryosha wanted him and Kopalova to be alone, so he nodded and said, "You go back first, and call me when it's time for dinner."

After the door of the box was closed, Kopalova pouted and said to Sokov: "Misha, do you think Maxim is annoying?"

"Well," Sokov nodded and said, "I don't like him very much."

"I don't like him as my boss either," Kopalova sighed. "But there's nothing I can do about it. He's my superior. I'll have to work under him for a long time. If he makes things difficult for me, I'll just have to swallow my anger."