Sokov came out of the post office and looked around, thinking that he would leave the city tomorrow and it would be a worthwhile trip to wander around before leaving.
The soldier following behind saw what Sokov was thinking and said quickly: "Comrade commander, where do you plan to go next?"
"I plan to walk around." Sokov said to the soldiers: "If you don't want to follow me, you can go back first. Anyway, there are our people everywhere in the city, so I shouldn't encounter any danger."
"No, Comrade Commander." The soldier who spoke was very competent. He did not address Sokov by his military rank, but directly addressed him as the commander in general. This way, even if others heard their conversation, they would not be suspicious of Sokov.
Suspicious identity arises: "Our mission is to accompany you, and we cannot leave your side until you return to the guest house."
Sokov had a very good impression of this soldier, and asked with a smile: "Comrade soldier, I don't know how to call you?"
"Kasan, comrade commander." The soldier replied: "Just call me Kasan. This is my fellow countryman, called Mickey Man."
"Kasan," Sokov then asked, "how long have you been in the army?"
"Mitchman and I both enlisted in the army in August 1944, and it will be one year soon."
"What did you do before joining the army?"
"We are both workers at the Moscow Metallurgical Foundry. I am a mechanic and Michman is a sand foundry."
Sokov knew very well that in the Soviet Union, which was dominated by heavy industry, units such as steel plants, foundries and military factories had very good welfare benefits. Being a worker in a factory was far better than being a soldier: "Since
You all have good jobs, so why do you want to be soldiers?"
"How should I put it?" Kasan said hesitantly: "After the war broke out, the main equipment and most of the technical backbone of our factory came to the Far East. In addition, hundreds of people joined the militia division, and only three-thirds
One of them maintained daily production. Michman and I were still young at the time, so our requests to serve as soldiers were rejected and we could only continue to work in the factory. Last year, a commander from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to the factory to recruit soldiers. Michman and I
Man applied again and was lucky enough to be selected.”
"So, after joining the army, you have stayed in Moscow and have never been on the battlefield?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Hearing Sokov's question, Kassan replied with a blushing face: "To tell you the truth, after we joined the army, apart from firing thirty rounds of ammunition during recruit training, we never fired any more
There was no live firing."
"A new battle will begin soon. Although you are responsible for the security of the headquarters and there is little chance of directly participating in the battle, we do not rule out the possibility of fighting the infiltrated enemy. Are you afraid?"
"Not afraid." Kasan shook his head and said, "The other day I heard that you had a gunfight with the spy who had infiltrated in the restaurant. I was quite scared at the time. When I followed Comrade Major to the restaurant, I saw the spy who was killed by you.
At that time, I discovered that the enemy is just like us, they have one nose and two eyes, and they will suffer the same pain and death if they are hit by bullets. There is nothing to be afraid of."
"Kasan, actually I was quite scared when I went to the battlefield for the first time." Sokov has basically stayed in the headquarters in the past few years, and the people he comes into contact with are either commanders at all levels or staff members, and they are basically all for
The other party gave orders, but it was still rare to have casual chats like this: "I am deeply afraid that a flying bullet will kill me."
"Comrade Commander," Kasan said quickly, obviously knowing Sokov's past achievements, "I heard that the first time you joined the soldiers was when you led a garrison squad to block the German reconnaissance camp in the town of Khimki.
With a dozen men and rudimentary equipment, they blocked the attack of a German battalion..."
"Wait a minute, Kasan." When Sokov heard this, he quickly interrupted Kasan and asked: "Where did you hear all this?"
"It's all such a legend." Kasang shrugged and said, "I think it's not wrong."
"Kasan, the first battle I participated in was indeed to stop the enemy in the town of Khimki." In order to prevent rumors from spreading in the future, Sokov explained to Kasan: "But the enemy is not a battalion, but a battalion.
There were only twenty or thirty people in an advance team of the reconnaissance battalion. And until the end of our battle, there were not many people left. At the most critical moment, it was the militia battalion from the instrument factory who arrived and completely eliminated the enemy.
Squad."
"So that's it?" Kassan said with some surprise: "But what we know about the situation is just like what I just said."
"Kasan, I think this may be the need for propaganda to boost morale." Sokov said with a wry smile: "Now that the Germans have been defeated by us, the truth should also surface."
The three of them walked forward and came to a church. Seeing many people coming in and out, Sokov couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face. He clearly remembered that the church was banned in the 1930s.
, all religious gatherings, propaganda and other activities were banned, and all clergy were either executed or sent to Siberia to dig potatoes. After the war broke out, the regulations outlawing churches changed, and some clergy who were sent were allowed to return to
Return to the church where you were originally.
But since Sokov has been on the front line, the churches in the city are usually used as headquarters, and there are no clergy stationed there at all. Therefore, it is a bit surprising to see such a popular church.
Seeing Sokov staring at the church, Kasan couldn't help but ask: "Comrade commander, what are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at this church." Sokov pointed to the church not far away and said, "There are a lot of people coming in and out."
"Comrade Commander, I'm afraid you don't know that you have been on the front line for a long time." Kasan said to Sokov: "Since 1943, the relevant parties have issued new regulations: stop all anti-religious propaganda;
Under certain circumstances and regulations, religious patriarchs can conduct sermons, speeches and other activities in the country; religious publications can be circulated among believers, etc."
"Oh, it turns out there is such a rule. This is the first time I've heard of it."
"Comrade Commander." Michman, who had never spoken, suddenly interjected: "There is a rumor among the people that after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, a bishop in Leningrad locked himself in a stone chamber and prayed devoutly to the motherland.
.Suddenly, a fire was lit in the stone chamber, and the Virgin appeared in the light of the fire and told the bishop that only by releasing all the priests and bishops and reopening the churches and monasteries could the country regain the protection of the Holy Spirit. In addition,
Our Lady also said that Leningrad must not be abandoned, and that the statue of Our Lady in Kazan should be moved to Leningrad to circle the city, then moved to Moscow for prayers, and finally moved to Stalingrad..."
After listening to Mickey Man's story, Sokov couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Mich Man, don't you think the story you are telling is too far-fetched? He carried the statue of the Virgin in processions around three cities.
Can we defeat the enemy by praying?"
After Kasan waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he quickly explained: "Comrade Commander, although this rumor sounds absurd, it spread out from nowhere, and then spread like a plague. You know, although
Religion was restricted and outlawed as early as the 1930s, but most people still retained a sense of identity with religion. In addition, it was a special period at that time, so the influence of this rumor was infinitely magnified. It is said that the Supreme Commander himself learned the news
, after careful consideration, I felt that under such circumstances, the reasonable use of religion would be conducive to uniting the military and the people, so we introduced the regulations I just mentioned.
Later facts proved that this decision made by the supreme commander himself finally achieved a win-win outcome: religion was legalized to a certain extent. With the help of the church, the domestic military and civilians were more united, and the army successfully defended Moscow and Leningrad.
and Stalingrad and other important cities, and finally turned defeat into victory step by step and won the final victory."
"Kasan, Michman, since we have arrived at the church, we might as well go in and have a look."
The three of them crossed the road and entered the church.
Mass was being held in the church at the moment, and the lights in the hall were turned off. Only the candles held by the believers were lighting up. Although Sokov was not familiar with this aspect, he saw that both Kasan and Michman took off their boat-shaped candles.
He quickly took off his big-brimmed hat.
After the Mass, the lights in the hall came back on.
The believers stepped forward one by one, kissed the cross in the bishop's hand and the back of the bishop's hand, and whispered their wishes to him. Usually in this case, the bishop would also lean forward slightly and whisper to the other person.
A blessing.
Sokov watched the believers come forward, kiss the cross and the back of the bishop's hand, express their wishes, and receive the bishop's blessing. The whole process took no more than ten seconds. But soon he discovered a young girl wearing a headscarf.
After kissing the cross and the back of the hand, he whispered several words to the bishop. After hearing this, the bishop frowned slightly, leaned close to the girl's ear and said something. The two of them were like this, you said each sentence and I said it one by one.
A minute or two.
This abnormal phenomenon was not only noticed by Sokov, but also by Kasan. He turned to Sokov and said: "Comrade commander, have you seen the girl? She spent too much time talking to the bishop.
A bit longer."
"Yes, Kasan." Sokov nodded slightly and said, "It looks a bit suspicious."
Sokov originally said it casually, but it aroused Kasan's vigilance. He looked left and right, and then lowered his voice and asked Sokov: "Comrade commander, do you think the two of them are talking to each other?"
"Joining?!" Sokov was startled by Kasan's words. If the girl in the headscarf was really having a joint with the bishop, it would be a bit too bold. In full public view, wouldn't he be afraid of being discovered by others? "Ka
Sang, isn’t this too blatant?”
"This kind of connection is undoubtedly the most ideal, and it is not easy to attract other people's attention." Kasang expressed his suspicion: "You know, even if the two of them are meeting, in the eyes of other believers, this girl is just a
Tell the priest your wish. The more wishes you make, the longer your conversation will naturally take."
"It makes sense, it makes sense." Sokov felt that what Kasan said was very reasonable, so he whispered to him: "When this girl leaves the church later, we will follow her quietly to see if there is anything unexpected.
harvest.”
"Okay, Comrade Commander." After Kasan finished speaking, he touched Mickey Man next to him with his elbow: "Michigan, did you hear that?"
"Don't worry, Kasan." Mickey Man said angrily, "I've been listening."
"It's too conspicuous for us to stand here." Sokov said to the two of them, "We'd better go out and wait."
The three of them came out of the church and saw a small tanker selling kvass. Sokov took the lead and walked over and said to the two of them: "I'll treat you to a drink of kvass." Then he said to the aunt selling kvass, "Excuse me.
Give us three glasses of kvass."
After Kasan took a sip of kvass, he tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade commander, do you need to go back and call a few more people?"
"No need." Sokov shook his head and said, "We just have suspicions, but we don't have any evidence. If we really call for help, if we find out that we have made a big mistake, it will not end well.
Already."
Seeing the nervous look on Kassan's face, Sokov smiled and said, "Don't worry, Kassan. She is just a little girl. Can't the three of us still be able to deal with her?"
"I'm not worried if she's alone," Kasan said. "I'm worried that she will find out later that we are following her and intentionally take us to her accomplices. Then we may suffer a loss."
"Kasan, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov stared at the assault rifle slung on Kasan's shoulder: "The rifle you are carrying was developed by me. As long as you have this gun in your hand, you can count on ten
I won’t take any of the eight enemies lightly.”
"What, you developed this gun?" Kasan's eyes widened in surprise: "Is it true, Comrade Commander?"
"Of course it's true." Sokov handed the cup with kvass in his hand to Michman, stretched out his hand to Kasan, "Show me your gun."
Kasan did not dare to neglect, and quickly took off the assault rifle from his shoulder and handed it to Sokov.
Sokov took the rifle, first took off the magazine and saw that it was full of bullets. He nodded with satisfaction and put it back in. Then after checking it carefully, he handed the gun back to Kasan: "
The gun is well maintained, and even if I go into battle at this time, I am confident that I can use this gun to deal with at least one squad of enemies."
Kasan, who was still a little worried at first, felt more at ease when he heard Sokov said that he could use this gun to deal with at least one squad of enemies. He knew very well that Sokov was definitely not bragging when he said that he could use this gun to deal with enemies.
If you are a class of enemies, then when you follow that girl later, even if you encounter any ambush, you can escape completely. Moreover, this is Khabarovsk under military control. As long as a gunshot is fired, it will only take a few minutes.
The nearby patrol team will arrive to support you, and the enemy who ambushed you will be unable to escape.