Just as Yakov had judged, after the New Year, the phone number left by the city housing management department personnel was still unreachable. After Yakov asked someone to investigate, he found out that no one from the housing management department had ever contacted Sokov to change his house.
Naturally, the story was nothing. Sokov had no choice but to continue living in his current house.
Asia, who stayed in the hospital for more than a month, was finally discharged and returned home in mid-February.
Since Asiya was still too weak to go back to work for the time being, Sokov asked for sick leave from the hospital where she worked, allowing her to stay at home to recuperate.
And Ustinov also paid special attention to Sokov, letting him work from home so that he could take care of Asya more easily.
Time soon came to the end of February, and that day Sokov received a call from Zhukov.
"Misha, are you bored staying at home lately?"
Nowadays, apart from accompanying Asiya for a walk every day, Sokov rarely goes out. When he heard Zhukov ask him this question, he immediately realized that the other party might have some tasks for him, and quickly replied: "Comrade Marshal, I am
I'm almost bored, I wonder what tasks you have for us."
"Misha, there is indeed an important task for you to complete." Zhukov said: "If I arrange for you to go out with the troops and leave Asia alone at home, is that okay?"
"Comrade Marshal, even if I'm not at home, my mother-in-law can come over and take care of Asya." After Sokov said this, he felt quite puzzled. Half a year after the end of the Second World War, he hadn't heard anything.
There was a war going on, and Zhukov was going to send himself to lead the troops somewhere. He asked tentatively with doubts: "Comrade Marshal, where do you plan to let me lead the troops?"
"London!"
"London?!" Hearing the place name mentioned by Zhukov, Sokov couldn't help but be confused: "What are you going to do in London?"
"Misha, it's like this. In London this June, a victory military parade involving all Allied forces will be held." Zhukov said on the phone: "After research, we plan to send you to lead a team to London to participate in this event."
Victory Parade Ceremony. The reference troops have been formed, you can come and take a look tomorrow."
The victory parade held in London?! Sokov's mind quickly recalled the military parade. It seemed that the Soviet troops did not participate. The reason announced to the public was because the organizers included the Soviet troops in the order of appearance when arranging the order of appearance of the troops.
The Soviet army lined up behind the US military and appeared as the second army. The Soviet side felt that this arrangement made it lose face, so it refused to participate in the victory parade in London.
But when Sokov heard Zhukov's arrangement, he couldn't help but murmur in his heart: when the British invited the Soviet side to participate in this victory parade, they would definitely inform the order of the troops in advance. Since the Soviet side had already begun to form a reference unit, what?
Maybe he refuses to go to London because of the order of appearances? There must be reasons that he doesn't know.
"Comrade Marshal," Sokov asked tentatively, "I wonder who my deputy is?"
"Who else could it be? Of course it is your good brother Yakov." Zhukov said with a smile: "You two leaders were personally selected by Comrade Stalin. He believes that you two will lead the expedition and will not give me anything."
The army is disgraced."
"Comrade Marshal, I wonder where the training ground of the reference troops is?"
"In the Kremlin military camp." Zhukov said briefly: "You can contact Yakov. He has a special pass and can take you in and out of the Kremlin at will."
After finishing the call with Zhukov, before Sokov could call Yakov, the other party called Yakov first: "Misha, I have good news for you."
"Is it about participating in the London Victory Parade?"
"That's right, that's right." Yakov said excitedly: "It seems that Marshal Zhukov has called you to inform you. I will pick you up tomorrow morning, and then we will go to the Kremlin together to see the reference troops under our jurisdiction."
"Okay, no problem. Come pick me up tomorrow morning."
"Misha." Asiya waited for Sokov to put down the phone and asked with concern: "Are you really going to lead a team with Yasha to London to participate in the Allied victory parade?"
"Yes, the superior arranged it this way."
After confirming the news, Asiya asked timidly: "I wonder if you can take me with you? You know, I have heard of London for a long time, but I have never had the chance to go there."
"Asiya." Sokov knew that this trip to London would be in vain in the end, but at this moment, there was no one else who knew about it except himself. In order to make Asiya happy, he
He wrote a verbal check casually: "No problem, I will definitely take you with me when I go to London."
Early the next morning, Yakov drove to pick up Sokov.
On the way to the Kremlin, he seemed particularly excited: "Misha, I really didn't expect that our army would have the opportunity to set foot on the soil of Great Britain. Although it is only to participate in the victory parade, I believe it can be recorded in history."
"Yes, our trip to London to participate in the military parade this time will definitely be recorded in history." After Sokov said this, he said silently in his heart: It's a pity that the trip to London that everyone was looking forward to ended up not happening.
It became a bubble.
The car passed through the Red Square and came to the entrance of the Spas Tower.
Although it was not the first time for Sokov to come to the Kremlin, he still felt a little nervous when he saw the officers of the guard regiment walking towards the car.
He originally thought that the other party would strictly check the documents and order him and Yakov to hand over the guns they carried. What he didn't expect was that the guard officer just looked down at the car and then waved to let them go.
When Yakov drove on, Sokov asked in confusion: "Yasha, what's going on? In the past, when I entered the Kremlin, I had to go through strict interrogation and have my weapons confiscated. But.
Why was the inspection so lax today?"
"When you came to the Kremlin before, it was during the war. It is reasonable for the inspection to be strict." Yakov explained: "Now that the war is over, the inspection will naturally not be as strict as before. In addition, I often go in and out of the Kremlin.
They gave me up a long time ago, and my face is a pass. As for you, the Kremlin guards are no strangers to you, so the officer just looked into the car and let us go."
Arriving at the parking lot of the military camp, as soon as the car stopped, an officer ran over, opened the car door, and said proactively: "Comrade General, welcome to your arrival!"
When Sokov saw the officer, he immediately became happy. He turned to Yakov and said, "Yasha, isn't this the Major Bezikov who sent us to the suburban sanatorium?"
"Yes, he is Bezikov, and he was ordered to form this reference unit." After Yakov introduced Bezikov's identity to Sokov, he reminded him specifically: "Also,
He is no longer a major now, but a lieutenant colonel."
"Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov," Sokov shook hands with Bezikov and said politely: "Tell us about the situation of the reference troops."
"Comrade General." Bezikov said respectfully: "The newly formed reference unit consists of 102 officers and soldiers, including 3 flag team members who escort the military flag at the front, followed by 3 command unit captains.
Behind them is an 8x12 formation of 96 officers and soldiers."
Yakov waited for Bezikov to finish speaking, then smiled and teased: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how come you forgot Misha and me?"
"I have not forgotten, Comrade General." Bezikov explained: "I am talking about the newly formed reference troops. When London participates in the military parade, you and General Sokov will follow closely behind the flag group and walk.
In front of the three squad leaders."
"Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov," Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, then continued to ask: "I wonder where the reference troops come from?"
"They are all members of the Central Guard Regiment." Bezikov may be worried about what Sokov would think, so he specifically explained to him: "When it comes to experience in military parades, I'm afraid no force can compare with the Central Guard Regiment.
.”
Sokov agrees with Bezikov's statement. This unit may be a little weaker when it comes to fighting on the battlefield, but when it comes to the experience of participating in a military parade, there is really no other unit that can compare.
Get on them.
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, when can we start training?"
"You can start at any time, Comrade General!"
"Then let's get started." Yakov said, "Misha and I want to see what your real level is."
Following Bezikov's order, the officers and soldiers who were originally scattered on the training ground formed a square formation at an extremely fast speed.
After the formation was completed, Bezikov issued the order again for them to start marching training.
Walking at the front is the flag group holding the military flag. In the middle is a burly flag bearer, and on both sides are flag bearers of similar stature. Behind them are three squad leaders holding command swords. Behind the squad leader are
96 officers and soldiers formed an 8x12 formation.
The uniform troops advanced at a constant speed with a distance of 80 centimeters per step, and the sonorous and powerful footsteps echoed in the square. The soldier held the rifle in the palm of his left hand, and with his right hand parallel to the shoulder, he kept tapping the gun body while swinging, and issued
There was a crisp slapping sound.
Seeing this neatly-organized unit, Sokov couldn't help but nodded repeatedly. He turned to Yakov and said: "Yasha, I think the basic training skills of this unit are very solid. Even if there is no training, they will be sent directly to London to participate."
Military parades can also amaze troops from other countries."
"Isn't the US military known as the most powerful army in the world?" Yakov said hesitantly: "Can we compare with them?"
"Yasha, who told you that the US military is the most powerful army in the world?" Sokov retorted: "Their performance on the battlefield is definitely not as good as the Germans who fought bloody battles with us. Don't forget,
The vast majority of the German troops were wiped out by us on the battlefield. As for the military parade, they paid even less attention to it. As far as I know, they did not hold any decent military parade ceremony at all. Therefore, this victory parade in London
We must surpass the reference troops of all countries."
"I hope so." Yakov looked at the reference troops marching neatly and said thoughtfully: "If this is really the case, when we return from London, these commanders and fighters will all get their own
medal."
"Yasha, I agree with you." Sokov nodded in agreement: "These commanders and fighters have no chance to go to the battlefield, they can only get their honor through this method. I now hope that the London Victory Parade will be
If it goes smoothly, otherwise these commanders and soldiers would be very disappointed."
Sokov's words caused a shocked expression on Yakov's face: "Misha, what do you mean by saying that? Do you think our troops can't participate in the military parade?"
"Yasha, I was just making an analogy." Sokov realized that he had forgotten what he was saying, and he quickly explained: "I'm worried that the British side changed their minds temporarily. Don't wait until we are all ready to go.
But they suddenly and unilaterally announced that the military parade was cancelled."
"No way?!" Yakov said anxiously: "The British side has been preparing for this victory parade for more than half a year and spent a lot of manpower and material resources. How could it be canceled just because it was said to be cancelled? Misha, I
I think you are worrying too much."
"I hope so."
After the troops walked around the playground, Bezikov issued an order again, asking them to stay put. Then he jogged to Sokov and Yakov, raised his hands and said: "Comrade generals,
The troops have completed preliminary formation training, please indicate the next steps."
"Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov, you must have spent a lot of time training before we came." Yakov said considerately: "Comrades must be very tired. Let him rest for half an hour and drink some water.
, eat something and continue training.”
Bezikov agreed, turned around, ran back to the formation of the troops, and issued the order to disband to the commanders and soldiers.
As the commanders and soldiers dispersed, Bezikov returned to the two men again and asked tentatively: "Comrade General, I feel that the existing personnel establishment is not complete enough."
Sokov was stunned after hearing this, and then asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov, tell me what staff are still lacking, and we will replenish them in time."
"We are going to London, and there are definitely not many people there who can speak Russian, so we need to have translators who can speak English." Bezikov said to Sokov and Yakov: "Secondly, after going to London, we will definitely
There will be officers and soldiers who get sick due to acclimatization, so they need a team doctor to treat them. Comrade General, I think your wife is very suitable for the position of team doctor."
The words woke up the dreamer. Although Sokov promised Asiya yesterday to take her with him when he went to London, it was just a verbal check. He didn't know what excuse he should use to take her to London. But at this moment
Bezikov's words suddenly opened his mind: Yes, when the troops go to London, it will inevitably happen that they are not acclimatized to the climate and the officers and soldiers will get sick. It is reasonable to bring a few team doctors with them. And in these team doctors
, and adding Asiya as a military doctor, it makes sense.
Sokov nodded and said approvingly: "Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov, you are very thoughtful. If our participating troops are going to London this time, it is imperative to add translators and team doctors. I will wait for you
I will report this matter to my superiors and strive to improve the organization of the reference troops in a short time."