red moscow

Chapter 2665

Shekhovtsov readily agreed to Sokov's order: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I will prepare a vehicle for you right away."

After making a few phone calls, Shekhovtsov said respectfully: "Comrade Commander, the car you requested is ready and parked outside. Please follow me and I will take you to the car."

There were two jeeps parked outside the door, with a driver and an armed soldier standing beside the cars.

"Comrade Commandant," Shekhovtsov said to Sokov, "here is the car for you!"

Vaseligov took a look at the vehicle that the other party had prepared for him and couldn't help but frowned: "Major Shekhovtsov, is it safe to go to the troop station from here? Won't we encounter any bandit attacks on the way?"

"Austria has been under the control of our army since last year." Shekhovtsov said confidently: "I can assure you, Comrade Major, Comrade Commander will not encounter any danger on the road."

"Forget it." Vaserigov said disdainfully, "We came here from Budapest by train yesterday, but as soon as we entered Austria, we were attacked by a group of gangsters. Almost all the passengers on the train were killed. Fortunately, we carried enough weapons to avoid the same tragedy."

"What? You were attacked by gangsters on your way to Vienna by train yesterday?" Shekhovtsov's rank was too low, and he was not qualified to know many things. Naturally, he didn't know about the attack on Sokov's way. When he heard Vaserigov mention it, he even thought the other party was joking: "I don't think it's possible. The war is over. We have put all the living Germans in prisoner-of-war camps. Where did the gangsters who attacked you come from?"

"Major, do you think I'm lying?" Seeing Shekhovtsov's attitude, Vaserigov seemed very annoyed.

"Major Shekhovtsov, what my men said is true." Sokov was worried that the two would quarrel, so he began to defend Vaseligov, saying, "We did encounter an attack on the way here. Fortunately, the reinforcements arrived in time, otherwise you should have changed someone to be the army commander."

He looked at his watch and said, "It's getting late, let's get going." After that, he opened the side door of the back seat of the jeep and got in.

After the vehicle started, Shekhovtsov, who was sitting in the passenger seat, seemed a little restless.

After a long time, he finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Comrade Commander, did you really encounter an attack by bandits on the way here?"

"Of course." Sokov nodded slightly: "Would I lie to you about such a small matter?"

"No, no," Shekhovtsov said hurriedly, waving his hands. "Comrade Commander, you are joking. How could you possibly be lying to me?"

Sokov turned his gaze to the window and looked at the scenery outside.

Ever since he watched "Sissi" when he was a child, he has been attracted by the beautiful natural scenery of Austria and has dreamed of traveling here. Unexpectedly, what he failed to achieve in later generations was inadvertently realized after traveling through time. If nothing unexpected happens, he may stay in this beautiful country in the next few years.

When the vehicle was driving into a small forest, a fallen tree trunk suddenly appeared on the road ahead.

Vaserigov, who was sitting in the lead car, immediately shouted to the driver: "Stop the car, stop it quickly!"

The driver quickly stepped on the brakes and stopped the car just seven or eight meters away from the tree trunk.

Vaserigov opened the door and jumped out of the car. He walked quickly to Sokov's car and said loudly, "Comrade General, there is a fallen tree ahead. I am worried that someone may be ambushing in the nearby woods, so I came here to inform you."

Onishchenko, who was following behind, also got out of the car he was riding in, walked up to Sokov, and asked him: "General Sokov, what should we do next?"

"The location where this tree fell is too strange. Maybe there are people lurking nearby who are against us." Sokov said thoughtfully, "Unfortunately, there are too few people around me to enter the forest to search."

Onishchenko escorted Sokov to his post with three jeeps and five guards, while Shekhovtsov only prepared two jeeps and two guards, which was indeed a little less.

"General Sokov," Onishchenko suggested to Sokov, "I don't think it's necessary to search in the woods. As you said, we have too few people, and a few of us going into the woods won't be of any use at all. So I suggest that we move the tree trunk away and then continue on our way."

"Vaseligov, Seryokov!" Sokov felt that what Onishchenko said made sense, so he turned around and called the guards he brought with him: "While the other comrades are moving the trees, you are responsible for guarding on both sides to prevent possible attacks. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Vaseligov and Seryokov agreed, picked up their weapons and came to the two sides of the car to take up guard duties.

Onishchenko and Shekhovtsov gathered the rest of the guards and went to lift the tree that was blocking the road.

The tree trunk moved away and no bullets were fired from either side.

Seeing this, Sokov thought that he might be a little nervous because he had been attacked too many times, so he quickly asked everyone to get in the car and continue on their journey.

For Sokov's safety, Vaserigov got into Sokov's car and sat next to him. He said with lingering fear: "Comrade Commander, why is there no one shooting in the woods on both sides of the road? Could the fall of the tree be just an accident?"

As soon as Vaserigov finished speaking, Shekhovtsov retorted: "I think it's impossible. It hasn't rained recently, and I just looked carefully and there is no sign of insects on the tree. Its fall must have been caused by human beings. As for why no one shot at us when we used trees to block the road, I really don't understand this."

Sokov naturally wouldn't think about things he couldn't figure out, lest he kill a lot of brain cells. Ten minutes later, the convoy arrived at a checkpoint.

Just as a sergeant came over to stop the car, Shekhovtsov, who was sitting in the passenger seat, stuck his head out and said, "It's me! I want to see your commander."

Although Shekhovtsov's rank is not high, he often travels around and many people know him.

When the sergeant saw Shekhovtsov's face clearly, he raised his hand and saluted him, saying, "Hello, Comrade Major. Our commander is now at his headquarters. If you need anything, you can find him there."

The convoy continued to move forward. Shekhovtsov turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade General, Lieutenant General Felix, commander of the 20th Guards Army, will hold a division commanders' meeting today. If you go there now, their meeting may not have ended yet."

Just as Shekhovtsov said, Lieutenant General Felix and several division commanders under him were studying the exercise plan. Suddenly, he saw a group of people breaking into his meeting room. He asked with some displeasure: "Who are you and why did you break into my meeting room?"

Onishchenko stepped forward and said to Felix: "Comrade General, I am sending General Sokov here to serve as the commander of the 4th Guards Army on the orders of Comrade Commander. Since there is no one in the headquarters, we have no choice but to come here."

"What? No one is in the headquarters?" Felix said in shock. "Where's the chief of staff? Where did he go?"

"Comrade Commander," Shekhovtsov stepped out of the crowd and greeted awkwardly, "The Chief of Staff and his men went to inspect the troops. I thought he would choose this place as his first stop, so I brought the new commander here."

"The Chief of Staff has not come to our place." Felix explained quickly: "I think he may have gone to the 21st Guards Army first. If you are willing to wait for him here, I believe he will bring people here in no time."

Sokov thought of the fallen tree he saw on the way here, and felt that something was wrong. If he rashly ran to the 21st Guards Army to look for the chief of staff, he might not find him, but instead put himself in new danger. Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "General Felix, what you said makes sense. I'd better stay here and wait for the chief of staff."

After learning of Sokov's true identity, Felix took the lead in saluting him, and then said: "Hello, comrade commander, welcome to the 20th Guards Army. My men and I extend a warm welcome to you."

Sokov knew very well that while the other party said he was warmly welcomed, he might actually be cursing him in his heart.

After his eyes swept across the faces of the commanders standing at the conference table one by one, he cast his gaze on Felix: "General Felix, since I am now your commander, can you introduce me to the commanders under your command?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Felix did not dare to delay and quickly introduced the commanders at all levels present to Sokov.

After listening to Felix's report, Sokov learned that the people attending the meeting were all commanders at or above the regimental level. If Felix was willing to help introduce him, his identity would be known to more people in a short time.

After Felix introduced all the commanders of the 20th Guards Army at the regimental level and above, Sokov walked over and sat in the seat Felix gave him. After everyone was seated, Sokov said, "Comrade commanders, I believe you already know that in less than a month, our army will conduct a large-scale live-fire military exercise in Europe. As participants, what do you think?"

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, a division commander stood up and asked, "Comrade Commander, I don't understand. The war in Europe has been over for almost a year. Why do we still need to conduct such a large-scale military exercise? What is the purpose of this exercise?"

Hearing the division commander's question, Sokov showed a puzzled expression on his face: "Why, don't you know why we have to conduct the exercise?"

In fact, Sokov was just pretending. When he met Malinin, he already knew the reason for the exercise. Not only did the commander of the Guards division under him not know, even Malinin, the commander of the Austrian group, did not know.

In order to dispel everyone's doubts, Sokov said, "Comrade commanders, what the division commander said is right. The war in Europe has ended for almost a year. Logically, we should have started to enjoy a peaceful life. However, some people in the world are dissatisfied with the current situation and intend to start a new war. The purpose of this exercise is to show the strength of our army to deter some people with ulterior motives and make them shut up and stop stirring up trouble."

"Comrade Commander," after Sokov finished speaking, Felix asked a new question: "Can you tell me who made what statement that prompted the Supreme Command to make the decision to conduct this exercise?"

"It was Churchill, former British Prime Minister Churchill." Sokov knew that only by making everyone understand the real reason for the exercise could they take it seriously: "When he visited the United States, he delivered a speech that was extremely unfriendly to our country. In this speech titled Iron Curtain, he maliciously slandered our image and even promoted us as an enemy of the Allies. In response to his irresponsible speech, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a serious protest, but it had little effect. So the Supreme Command decided after research to conduct a large-scale military exercise at the end of April to use our strength to deter the Allies and let them know that we are not easy to bully."

"So that's how it is." Felix, who had figured out the reason, showed an angry expression on his face. "I never thought that my comrades who once fought side by side would start to trip me up less than a year after the war ended. If our army hadn't conducted this large-scale military exercise, who knows how many more shady tricks they would have come up with later."

"Comrade Commander," the division commander who had just asked the question stood up again and said indignantly, "If the allies still wantonly provoke us after the exercise, please allow my troops to take the lead in launching a real attack on them and teach them a lesson."

Sokov knew very well that the situation in Austria was more complicated than that in Germany. At the same time, several countries had troops stationed here. If many things were not handled properly, large-scale military conflicts might occur. Sufficient vigilance must be exercised in this regard.

"Comrade Commander," Sokov raised his hand and pressed it down, motioning the commander to sit down and talk. After the commander sat down, he continued, "The purpose of this exercise is twofold. One is to deter the Allies with force, and the other is to test whether the combat effectiveness of our troops has been affected after the war."

After hearing what Sokov said, the commanders present had complicated expressions on their faces. They looked at each other, not knowing how to respond to Sokov's statement.

Seeing that no one was talking, Sokov realized that something was wrong, so he turned his head and asked Felix: "Comrade Commander, is there any problem with your troops?"

"How should I put it, comrade commander?" Felix said awkwardly, "Since the war ended and we no longer have to fight, the combat effectiveness of the troops has inevitably been affected. Many officers and soldiers do not attend training every day, but go out to buy alcohol and drink. Some people even get drunk for many days. Although I have ordered people to carry out rectification, it has achieved little effect. Sometimes I even think that fortunately the war is over now, otherwise if the current situation continues, once the enemy attacks, my troops will have no ability to resist."

(End of this chapter)