"Comrade General," said Belkin with a smile: "We came from Kursk on foot. Since the road is not easy to walk, we will inevitably waste more time on the road."
After Kazakov called the two to sit down, he walked back and forth in the room, saying, "The situation is really a coincidence, the convoy that was originally planning to transport you back to Moscow has now left Yeretz. If you want to return to Moscow according to the order, you can only continue to marching on foot."
"What, hiking marching?" Sokov heard Kazakov say this and suddenly jumped out of his seat: "Comrade General, don't you know that there are more than 500 kilometers from here to Moscow. If we hike, we will have to walk at least ten days before we can reach Moscow."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, you sit down first." Belkin may have been worried that Sokov would be impulsive and then drew his gun at Kazakov, and hurriedly pulled him to sit down again. Then, he asked Kazakov tentatively: "Comrade General, is there really no other way?"
Sokov just pulled his gun outside and pointed it at the lieutenant colonel on duty. It was not impulse, but thought about it carefully. Because he knew very well that if he hadn't done this at that time, he would not have had the chance to see Kazakov. As for the re-use of the same trick and threatening Kazakov with a gun, he had never thought so. Just kidding, pointing a gun at a lieutenant colonel, its nature can be compared with that at a lieutenant general? If he did this again in the house, he would wait until his trial in the military court, even if Rokosovsky came forward, he would not be able to save himself.
However, when Sokov thought of letting the troops walk more than 500 kilometers to Moscow in such a hot season, Sokov felt particularly uncomfortable. If he swallowed his anger this time and let the troops march to Moscow, then after arriving in Moscow, if the superiors cannot provide the troops with car wands, would he have to walk to Kazan again? There is no transport fleet in Kazan again, will the troops still have to walk to Stalingrad? When his troops have completed the nearly 2,000 kilometers of road, they will be in the most intense day of the battle. The exhausted officers and soldiers rushed to fight and could only become cannon fodder. In order to avoid such a tragedy, Sokov decided that no matter what, Kazakov would also ask him to find a way for himself to solve the transportation problem of the troops today.
After hearing Belkin's question, Kazakov shook his head and said in embarrassment: "Comrade Deputy Battalion-level Political Commissar, this is not easy to deal with. All the trucks have been driven away. I will definitely not be able to provide you with transportation in a short period of time. If you want to return to Moscow, maybe hiking is your only choice."
After receiving Kazakov's affirmative answer, Belkin's face was full of disappointment. He looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, what should we do? Do we really have to walk ten days to return to Moscow?"
"Comrade Political Commissar, after two and a half days of marching, the commanders and soldiers were very tired. If they had to walk more than 500 kilometers, there would definitely be a large number of non-combat reductions." After Sokov said this to Belkin, he looked at Kazakov again and asked: "Comrade General, if I am not wrong, Yeretz should be an important transportation hub, right?"
"Yes, this is indeed an important transportation hub," Kazakov nodded and replied: "Our military supplies are transported here first and then to other areas..."
"Comrade General, since it is an important transportation hub," Sokov said first without waiting for Kazakov to finish his speech: "Then in addition to road transportation, railway transportation should also be very developed. Now our brigade is going to take a car to return to Moscow, which is obviously no chance. I wonder if you can arrange a military train for us and send us back to Moscow?"
When Belkin heard Sokov say this, his eyes lit up. He said in his heart: "Yes, although the convoy has already driven away, we can still return to Moscow by army. It will take only a few hours to arrive." Thinking of this in his heart, he stared at Kazakov intently and couldn't wait for his reply.
Kazakov stood there thinking for a moment, then turned around and walked to the desk, picked up the phone and dialed a number, and said to the microphone: "I am Kazakov, pick me up the station immediately and find a military representative."
When the military representative answered the phone, Kazakov raised his voice and asked, "Comrade Military representative, tell me, are there any empty trains to return to Moscow?... When will the train be departing?" Kazakov turned his head and asked Sokov in a low voice, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where is your troops?"
Although Sokov did not hear the answers from the station military representatives, he also guessed that the departure time of the military train was coming. As soon as he heard questions such as Kazakov, he immediately replied: "Our troops are currently on standby a street from the headquarters."
"Very good." After Kazakov said this, he said to the microphone: "Comrade Representative of the Army, I order you to delay the departure for half an hour. An infantry brigade will take the army to Moscow to report... What, you don't have the right to change the departure time of the train?... Although you don't have the right, I think as the commander of the garrison, I should have this right... That's it, when will the infantry brigade arrive and when will the departure be done!"
When Kazakov got angry at the station military representative, Sokov and Berkin couldn't help but smile because in this way, the troops would not have to walk to Moscow.
After making the phone call, Kazakov turned to Sokov and Berkin and said, "Two commanders, according to the dispatch plan, the army in Moscow should be departed in ten minutes. I have asked the military representative to postpone the departure time. You should take the troops there immediately."
After expressing his gratitude to Kazakov, Sokov and Belkin left the garrison headquarters and hurried back to the place where the troops rested. After learning about the location of the station from a patrol, the infantry brigade drove towards the station in a mighty manner.
Sokov originally thought that when his troops arrived at the station, the stationmaster and military representatives would come out to greet him. But after arriving at the station, he found that he was thinking too much. A series of military vehicles kept driving into the station and parked on the platform. Not long after, with the long whistle, the army full of technical equipment and soldiers drove towards the Zhen front line. Some trains carrying wounded returned from the front line and slowly stopped on the platform. As soon as the train stopped, the medical staff waiting here opened the car and carried the seriously injured lying on the stretcher into the car.
Seeing the endless stream of flowing on the platform, Sokov seemed a little confused. He called out to an officer passing by in front of him and asked loudly: "Comrade Lieutenant, do you know where the stationmaster's room is?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the officer waved his hand to Sokov and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, comrade Lieutenant Colonel, my army is just temporarily docked here, and I don't know where the stationmaster's office is!"
Sokov asked several people again, but no one knew where the stationmaster office he was looking for. Fortunately, Belkin's brain was very good, so he called a middle-aged man in the uniform of a railway worker and asked where the stationmaster office was.
The platform was full of soldiers, and the officers were shouting loudly. The soldiers who heard their orders hurriedly ran to the designated meeting place. Sokov and Belkin squeezed around in the crowd and finally arrived at the door of the room with the sign "Website Manager's Office". After revealing their identities to the sentry standing guard, they walked into the Website Manager's Office.
As soon as he entered the spacious stationmaster's room, Sokov felt that he had come to the vegetable market. Countless people were holding phones and shouting at the microphone. Sokov's eyes swept quickly from the room. He found that most of them were wearing railway employees' uniforms, and only a few people in military uniforms, but these people had very low military ranks, and it was obvious that they were not the ones he was looking for. After scanning the room twice, his eyes finally stopped on an officer in the corner. The officer who was talking on the phone was wearing the rank of captain. According to Sokov's analysis, he should be the military representative he was looking for.
Sokov gave a wink at Belkin and walked quickly towards the captain. The captain who was on the phone felt someone walking in front of him, so he looked up at them. After seeing the ranks of the two, the captain quickly said a few words, put down the phone, looked at Sokov and asked, "Are you the commanders of the infantry brigade?"
"Yes, I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, this is my political commissar Berkin." Sokov replied: "We are here to return to Moscow by car."
Who knew that after he finished speaking, the captain nodded lightly and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how many people are there in your brigade?"
"There are almost five thousand people." Seeing that the captain looked lukewarm, Sokov withdrew his hands that he stretched out and replied dryly, "There are no heavy weapons."
"What, you have about five thousand people?" The captain was stunned by Sokov's words. He looked at Sokov and asked in surprise: "Aren't you an infantry brigade? Why are the number of people similar to that of an infantry division?"
Sokov was anxious to get the troops on board, but did not explain in detail to the other party. He just said briefly: "Our brigade was personally ordered by the Supreme Commander himself, so it is different from other troops in terms of organization. Comrade Captain, don't know where we will board the train?"
"The army you are riding in is parked at Platform 5. I will send someone to take you there..." Before the captain finished speaking, he changed his words and said, "Forget it, I'll take you there in person. Please wait for me, I will explain something, and I will take you there."
While the captain was explaining to his subordinates, Belkin approached Sokov's ear and whispered: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I wonder if you have noticed that this military representative did not want to take us to Platform No. 5. But when he heard that our troops were formed by the Supreme Commander himself, his attitude changed."
Before Sokov could speak, the captain who had finished his work had returned to the two of them and said respectfully: "Two commanders, let's go to the No. 5 platform now. By the way, where is your army now?"
"Outside the station." Sokov replied briefly.
"I understand, comrade Lieutenant Colonel. I will arrange for someone to take them to Platform No. 5 immediately." The captain said with a smile: "Now, please ask the two commanders to follow me."
Following the captain to Platform No. 5, this place seemed much deserted compared to the place just now. The captain explained to the two with a smile: "This military train is to deliver ammunition to the front line. It was supposed to be departing ten minutes ago and returning to Moscow. But since General Kazakov personally said hello, the departure time will be postponed until you boarded the train. However, the two commanders, please ask your troops to move faster. The train is delayed within an hour and there will not be much impact. However, the delay of too long will affect the overall transportation dispatch work. I hope you can understand."
"Understand, understand. I understand completely." As soon as the captain finished speaking, Belkin nodded and said, "We will get on the bus in the shortest time."
Sokov suddenly remembered a joke from later generations, saying that no matter how long it takes for the Russian Airlines plane to take off, it will always arrive on time. I wonder if this military train can leave one hour later, so can it also arrive on time?
When the troops started boarding the train, the station military representative apologized to Sokov and Belkin: "According to the practice, two commanders should prepare a special private room for you. But I didn't expect that there would be so many people on your voyage that we transferred a few car wigs from other places to fit everyone down. Therefore..."
"Comrade Captain, you need not say anything." Before the military representative finished speaking, Sokov raised his hand and interrupted the words behind him: "We can all understand your difficulties. Since the car is so nervous, there is no need for a special private room, and we are huddled in the same car with the soldiers."
The captain thought that he could not provide a separate car for Sokov and the others, and would be scolded, but he didn't expect that the two of them were so easy to talk to, which surprised him. The captain turned around and waved to a subordinate not far away. When the other party came to him, he leaned close to the other party's ear and whispered a few words. The subordinate nodded, then turned around and left.
The scene where the captain and his subordinates chatted privately was seen by Sokov, but he didn't care. His main focus was on the commanders and soldiers who were boarding the bus, thinking to himself: It would take almost a day and a night to get from here to Moscow, and the soldiers could sleep in the bus until dawn.
At this moment, the captain's subordinates ran back from not far away, holding a paper bag in his hand, which was bulging inside, and I don't know what was put. The captain took the paper bag from his subordinate's hand, handed it to Sokov, and said with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, this is my wish, please accept it."
Belkin took the paper bag and looked inside. Seeing that there were more than a dozen apples in the paper bag, he said politely: "Comrade Captain, you have arranged a military service for us. We have not had time to express our gratitude to you. How can we still accept your gift? Please take it back."
Chapter completed!