red moscow

Chapter 2866

"That's impossible." Belkin raised his voice unconsciously: "Under the circumstances at that time, the soldiers on the position would not shoot at the enemy, but point their guns at their own people."

Considering that this was a field hospital and the wounded were all living in makeshift tents with no sound insulation, Sokov thought that if he and Belkin had an argument here, it would definitely attract a crowd of onlookers, so he quickly stopped Belkin from continuing: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, this is not the place to talk, let's go back to the headquarters first."

After Sokov's reminder, Belkin realized that it was unwise to have an argument here, so he nodded in agreement.

Belkin followed Sokov back to the brigade headquarters and unexpectedly found that the commander of the fourth battalion, Major Vasya, was also here. He couldn't help but frowned slightly. He finally understood why Sokov questioned whether Spinachski was a hero. It turned out that Major Vasya was behind it.

"Major Vasya, why are you here instead of staying in your battalion?"

Seeing that Major Vasya was accused by Belkin, Sokov quickly defended him and said, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I was the one who called Major Vasya here. I think the same as him, that Spinachski cannot be a real hero."

Since Sokov mentioned Spinachski again, Belkin became impatient. Even though Sokov was his superior, he spoke in a very impolite tone: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have reported Spinachski's heroic deeds to the army headquarters. Now you say his record is false. If the superiors know about it, what consequences will it bring? Have you thought about it?"

"A few days ago, Lieutenant Regarin killed 75 German soldiers by himself." Sokov did not argue with him, but said calmly: "In order to ensure the authenticity of the record, you personally led people to verify it, and only after confirming that it was correct did you report it to the army headquarters. Why are you so careless this time?"

Belkin remained silent, but Sokov knew from his heavy breathing that he was very dissatisfied and did not have a conflict with him because he was concerned about his status. In order to avoid endless wrangling over this matter in the future, Sokov decided to make the issue clear: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, why don't we send some people to verify this battle and see what happened?"

Hearing Sokov's words, Belkin raised his head and said with some dissatisfaction: "The soldiers who defended the position have all died, and only Spinachski is left. How can we investigate?"

"That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander." Karsokov also agreed, "The only one who survived on the position was Spinachski. If you think he is unlikely to be a hero who defended the position alone, then it is obviously unrealistic to find him to verify the situation."

Although Major Vasya had doubts about Belkin's belief that Spinachski was a lone hero, he didn't know how to verify the matter. He could only look to Sokov for help, to see if the other party could come up with a good idea.

"Major Vasya." Sokov thought to himself that Corporal Chevaryanag, the deputy squad leader of the eighth squad, was missing now. If he could find him, maybe the truth of this matter would be revealed. So he asked Vasya tentatively: "When you were cleaning the battlefield, did you really search the entire position carefully? Did you really not find any trace of Corporal Chevaryanag?"

"We have searched carefully, and indeed we have not found any trace of him." Vasya was still full of doubts when answering this question. Didn't he report to him in detail when he accompanied him to inspect the position? Why did he ask about this again? However, since the other party asked again, even if he was dissatisfied, he could only answer truthfully: "Comrade Brigade Commander, didn't I report all this to you at the position?"

"In addition to the position, have you searched the surrounding areas?" Sokov said with a fluke mentality: "Perhaps Corporal Chevaryag was bombarded by the enemy while moving his position, and was blown away by the blast and rolled directly under the position. It is also possible."

When Vasya heard what Sokov said, his eyes widened in surprise. He thought to himself that he had only led his men to search the entire position, but had not checked the surroundings of the high ground. If what the brigade commander said was true, perhaps the missing Chevaryanag was really lying somewhere around the high ground.

Thinking of this, Vasya quickly said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what you said makes a lot of sense. I did indeed only lead people to check the entire position, but did not check the surroundings of the high ground. Maybe Corporal Chevaryanag is seriously injured and is lying in a corner around the high ground, waiting for us to rescue him. I will call the battalion headquarters immediately and ask them to send people to search."

"Major Vasya, I think it would be more appropriate for you to be in charge of searching for Corporal Chevaryag," Sokov said with a serious expression. "If we still can't find him after repeated searches around the high ground, then we should follow the deputy brigade commander's suggestion and ask our superiors to award Spinachski a medal."

Vasya understood that this was Sokov's trust in him, and quickly replied loudly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I will go back now to organize people to search."

After seeing Vasya off, Karsokov curiously asked Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, your superiors asked you to report to the army headquarters, so why did you go to Moscow in the blink of an eye?"

Belkin also wanted to know the answer to this matter. He turned his eyes to Sokov, wanting to hear what he had to say.

The mission Sokov performed in Moscow was top secret. Although he successfully completed the mission, he did not receive any reward for the sake of confidentiality. When his two deputies asked about this, Sokov naturally could not tell them. He could only say vaguely: "I went to Moscow urgently to perform a special mission. The nature of the mission is very special. Please forgive me for not being able to tell you."

Fortunately, Belkin and Karsokov both understood the principle of confidentiality, and seeing that Sokov was unwilling to speak, and knowing what confidential mission he might be carrying out, they did not continue to ask.

But Belkin was still curious and asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, when you were in Moscow, did you hear any news about the great counter-offensive?"

"No." Sokov answered simply: "When I returned to Moscow, the city was organizing an evacuation, and I didn't hear any news related to the major counterattack."

As the chief of staff of the brigade, Karsokov analyzed the intelligence he had recently obtained and knew that the Soviet army had no possibility of counterattack for the time being. But when he heard Sokov say this news in person, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

When Belkin learned that Moscow had begun to be evacuated, he was surprised and asked the question that concerned him the most: "Comrade Commander, since the city is being evacuated, what about Comrade Stalin? Has he left Moscow too?"

"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "Although many military and political institutions were moved to the rear, Comrade Stalin stayed behind."

When Karsokov heard the news, he became excited and said to Belkin: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, you heard that Comrade Stalin stayed and did not retreat to the rear."

But Belkin frowned: "The situation is so critical now, how can he stay in Moscow? What if something happens?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander." Sokov said calmly, "Comrade Stalin's stay can help stabilize the people's hearts and boost morale. As for whether he will be in danger, that's simply nonsense. Do you think that when our officers and soldiers know that Comrade Stalin is still in Moscow, he will be in danger?"

Belkin thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I think everyone will try to ensure Comrade Stalin's safety even if it means sacrificing their own lives."

Karsokov said thoughtfully: "Yesterday the enemy dropped a large number of leaflets on our positions, saying that Comrade Stalin had met with an accident. I don't know..." Sokov naturally knew what Karsokov wanted to say, so he interrupted him without waiting for him to finish: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't have to say it. The contents of the German leaflets are all rumors. They are a means to try to undermine the morale of our army."

Hearing what Sokov said, Karsokov asked tentatively: "Comrade Brigade Commander, is Comrade Stalin really okay?"

"Of course I'm fine." Sokov replied with a smile, "I went to the Kremlin two days ago and saw Comrade Stalin with my own eyes. He is in good health and will have no problem living for another few decades. By the way, I returned with Comrade Lobachev, the military commissar of the army group. He told me on the way that Comrade Stalin will come to inspect our army group in the near future."

Belkin was sitting at the table. After hearing Sokov's words, he immediately jumped up from his seat, pointed at Sokov, and said with trembling lips: "Comrade Brigade Commander, is what you said true? Comrade Stalin will come to our army group to inspect in the near future?"

"Yes, what I said is true." To increase credibility, Sokov emphasized, "Lieutenant Regarin was originally going back to the front with me, but Comrade Stalin will come to inspect the army base in the near future, so Comrade Lobachev kept him to strengthen security."

Originally, Belkin and Karsokov had some doubts about Sokov's words, but after learning that Lieutenant Regarin, who was an expert in shooting, was retained by Lobachev in the army headquarters to participate in security work, they believed Sokov's words without a doubt.

……

In the middle of the night, Sokov was awakened by Ekarsokov, who was on duty, while he was sleeping soundly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, there is a call for you."

Sokov struggled to sit up and asked dazedly, "Where did the call come from? Is it from the army headquarters?"

"No, Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov shook his head. "It was Major Vasya, the commander of the Fourth Battalion, who called to say that there was new progress in the search for the missing Corporal Chevaryag."

When Sokov heard about Chevaryanag, he immediately became excited. He didn't even bother to put on his boots. He stood up and walked to the table. He picked up the microphone on the table and whispered in his ear: "Is this Major Vasya? I'm Sokov. How is your search for Corporal Chevaryanag going?"

"Report to the brigade commander, comrade," Vasya said respectfully on the other end of the phone, "Just as you analyzed, we searched around the high ground and found the missing Corporal Chevaryanag."

"What? We found Corporal Chevaryag?" Sokov asked in surprise. "Where is he now?"

"Comrade Commander, when we found Chevaryag, he was covered in blood and in a coma," Vasya said. "I have ordered him to be rushed to the field hospital."

"I'll go to the field hospital right away." After saying that, Sokov dropped the microphone in his hand, bent down and started putting on his boots, preparing to rush to the field hospital immediately.

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov walked to the door of the tent, lifted the curtain and looked outside, and asked tentatively, "Do you want me to call a few soldiers from the guard company to accompany you to the field hospital?"

"No need." Sokov waved his hand and said, "This is our brigade's defense zone, and it's not far from the field hospital. I'll be fine if I go there alone."

Seeing that Sokov was unwilling to take the guards with him, Karsokov did not force him, but he still reminded Sokov: "You have to be more careful."

"I will." Sokov said this, opened the curtain and walked out.

When Sokov arrived at the field hospital, he saw that the lights were on in the tent used for surgery and medical staff were coming in and out from time to time, so he hurried over.

Just then, the head nurse Vera came out of the tent. Sokov quickly grabbed her and asked with concern, "Vera, who is being operated on in the tent?"

"The Fourth Battalion sent a wounded soldier not long ago. His injuries are very serious and he is currently being treated for the disease."

Sokov thought to himself that the wounded man being rescued inside must be Corporal Chevaryango sent by Vasya, and asked quickly: "Vera, tell me the truth, can he be saved?"

"It's hard to say." Vera said with embarrassment, "He was wounded in more than 30 places, including gunshot wounds and shrapnel wounds. Moreover, the wounds were not treated in time, resulting in excessive blood loss. The field hospital is running out of plasma now, so I have to find someone to donate blood."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov was talking to Vera when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and saw that it was Vasya's men who came over with a dozen soldiers. When he came to Sokov, he asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

"I came to see Comrade Chevaryag," Sokov looked at Vasya and his men, and remembered what Vera had just said, and said quickly, "By the way, Major Vasya, the head nurse told me that Comrade Chevaryag needs a blood transfusion immediately because of excessive blood loss, and the field hospital has run out of plasma because of the large number of wounded treated in the past two days. Can you let the soldiers who came with you donate blood for your comrades?"

"No problem, Comrade Brigade Commander." After Vasya said this, he turned to the soldiers he brought with him and said firmly: "Comrades, you all heard it. Comrade Chevaryag, who is now being rescued in the tent, is in danger of death due to excessive blood loss. I hope everyone will carry forward the spirit of solidarity and donate blood for him."

As soon as Vasya finished speaking, the soldiers rushed to say, "Comrade Battalion Commander, I am in good health. Let me donate blood to Comrade Chevaryag."

"I have type O blood, and I am a universal blood donor. Please give me my blood."

Facing such enthusiastic soldiers, Sokov nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Vera: "Vera, take them to have their blood drawn."

(End of this chapter)