As soon as Sokov and Anne returned to their residence, the aunt on duty at the door stopped Sokov and said to him: "Comrade Commander, someone just came to see you. Seeing that you were not here, I left you a note."
"Where's the note?"
"Here, here it is." The aunt handed a square piece of paper to Sokov.
Sokov took the note, unfolded it, and looked at the contents carefully with the help of the faint light in the corridor: "Come to my office at eight o'clock tomorrow morning." The signature at the end was "Yakov."
"Misha, what's wrong?" Annie asked curiously.
"My friend asked me to go find him tomorrow." Sokov didn't say much to Anne. He crumpled the note into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket: "Let's go back first."
"You are back." When the two entered the door, they found that Tonya had already gone home and was cooking in the kitchen. Hearing the sound of opening the door, Tonya ran out of the kitchen and asked curiously: "Are you going today?"
Where is it?"
"We went to the Lenin Library," Sokov answered first: "After reading the book, we went shopping on Arbat Street and had something to eat in the restaurant with one of his former subordinates."
"You guys sit down for a moment, I'll be cooking soon."
Seeing Tonya busy in the kitchen, Anne asked Sokov in a low voice: "Misha, will you leave suddenly?" She asked this because Sokov left too suddenly last time. Originally, today
Sokov went shopping with her for a day and felt quite happy. However, her good mood was ruined by the note in the duty room. She was deeply afraid that Sokov would leave without saying goodbye like last time.
"Annie," Sokov said with some embarrassment: "When I return to Moscow this time, in addition to burying my mother, I actually have other tasks. But what the specific tasks are, I can't tell you and Tonya, do you understand?
?”
"Understood." Anne nodded and said, "I have learned confidentiality regulations and know that some things cannot be asked casually."
"How long I can stay in Moscow depends entirely on the arrangements of my superiors." Sokov said in an uncertain tone: "Maybe I can stay for a week or two, or even longer; maybe I will go back directly tomorrow.
Stalingrad."
"You are a division commander. Is it really okay to leave the army for a week or two?" Anne asked curiously.
"Now the fighting in the city has reached a stalemate. We are temporarily unable to attack the German army and rush over to join forces with friendly forces." Sokov explained: "If it is just a defense, the situation will be the same whether I am here or not."
"It's time to eat!" Before Sokov could say more, Tonya had already poked her head out of the kitchen and said to Sokov and Annie who were standing in the corridor: "Wash your hands quickly, and then come over to eat.
.”
While eating, Tonya noticed something strange about Anne, so she stared at Sokov and asked: "Misha, have you made Anne angry?"
"No." Sokov replied with a blank look on his face: "Isn't Anne fine?"
"Nonsense, look at her almost crying." After Tonya said this, she stopped talking to Sokov and asked Anne with concern: "Annie, tell me, what happened?"
"It's nothing, it's really nothing." Annie tried her best to put a smile on her face, shook her head vigorously and said, "I was just thinking about one thing, and I was too absorbed in it. Okay, stop talking, and eat quickly.
The food is getting cold."
Anne finished her meal hastily, put down the fork in her hand, turned around and went back to the bedroom. She didn't even wash her face and just lay down on the bed. Seeing that Anne was going to bed, Sokov took the initiative to take on the responsibility of washing the dishes.
.
Tonya walked out of the kitchen, glanced into the bedroom, and then returned to the kitchen, facing Sokov with a straight face: "Misha, tell me truthfully, what happened, why is Annie so abnormal?
Woolen cloth?"
"It's okay, it's really okay." Although Sokov didn't think that Anne's gaffe was related to the note he saw in the corridor, he still told Tonya truthfully, and finally emphasized: "I think
The reason why Anne lost her composure was probably because of that note. She was worried that I would leave without saying goodbye like last time."
After figuring out what was going on, Dongnia sighed and said: "Misha, I want to tell you that Annie and I both like you. But I think you seem to like Annie more, otherwise you wouldn't take the initiative to let her move in.
This house. When we lived here, she almost regarded herself as the hostess. Even when the aunt in the duty room downstairs asked you if you were her husband, she did not deny it. Now that she knows that you may suddenly
She will definitely feel sad if she leaves."
"I don't have the final say on how long I can stay in Moscow." Sokov replied with a wry smile: "Sometimes I can't help myself."
Tonya and Sokov chatted for a while and felt a little sleepy, so they left the kitchen and went back to the bedroom to rest. Sokov turned off the light in the kitchen and lay on the bed made of chairs, thinking in his mind: just
A note made Anne so rude. If she told the two of them that she was married, she didn't know what kind of negative impact it would have on them. Forget it, it's better not to tell them about her marriage for the time being.
.
A night of silence.
When Sokov woke up in the morning, he found that the house was quiet. He got up and ran to the bedroom next door. He found that Tonya and Annie were not there, and he didn't know when they had gone to work. Sokov asked
He looked at his watch and found that it was already past seven o'clock. If he didn't hurry up, he might not be able to reach Yakov's office before eight o'clock.
After a simple wash, Sokov left the house. He knew that compared with later generations, it was very difficult to take a taxi, so he could only choose to take the bus.
After driving around twice, Sokov finally arrived at his destination. However, when he entered, he was stopped by the guard at the door. After looking at the commander wearing the old military rank, the guard said politely:
"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, you are not from us and cannot enter casually."
"I want to see Lieutenant Colonel Yakov." After Sokov was stopped, he did not get angry. Instead, he said to the guard in a friendly manner: "Please give Lieutenant Colonel Yakov a call."
"Comrade Colonel, please wait a moment." The guard said politely: "I will contact my superiors immediately. As long as they agree to let you go, I will let you in."
After the guard finished the phone call, he said to Sokov with a smile on his face: "Comrade Colonel, please wait here for a while. Lieutenant Colonel Yakov will come out to greet you soon."
Sokov waited for a while and saw Yakov running over panting. After greeting the other party, he said jokingly: "Yasha, you didn't think carefully. If you prepared a special pass for me,
You don’t need to make this special trip.”
When the guards saw Yakov personally coming out to greet him, they pulled up the crossbar and let Sokov in.
When Sokov and Yakov were walking towards the building not far away, Yakov suddenly asked: "Misha, can you tell me what happened to the two women living in your house?"
"Ah, you know everything?"
"Yes," Yakov nodded and replied in a positive tone: "I went to see you yesterday and heard from the aunt in the duty room downstairs. She said that two medical staff from the hospital opposite lived in your house.
.I have been living here from the beginning of the year until now, and one of them even claims to be your wife."
For a moment, Sokov didn't know how to answer Yakov's question, so he just grinned.
"You still have the nerve to smile," Yakov scolded Sokov when he saw his playful face: "Have you ever thought about it, if Asiya knew that there were two strange women living in your house, you would
How are you going to explain it to her?"
"Yasha, the situation is not what you imagined." In order to avoid Yakov's misunderstanding, Sokov felt that some things should be explained to him: "I originally planned to lend the house to Anne, but she moved in
On the first day of the war, I received an emergency order and returned to the front line. I didn't come back until yesterday."
After hearing Sokov's explanation, Yakov felt that he might have misunderstood Sokov, so he coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment: "Okay, that's it for now. Now you follow me back to the office."
, I have something important to tell you."
After the two came to the office, Sokov couldn't wait to ask: "Yasha, you said there is something important, what is it?"
"Look at this." Yakov picked up a folder, placed it in front of Sokov, and said to him: "This is information on some self-propelled artillery recently produced."
Sokov opened the folder, looked through the information inside, and found that the style of the self-propelled artillery was basically the same as the drawing he gave Peter, so he asked curiously: "Yasha, where did you get the drawing?"
"Where else, of course, from Director Peter." Yakov said with some surprise: "Don't you even know the self-propelled artillery that you designed yourself?"
"Yes, it was indeed designed by me." Sokov asked rhetorically: "Are you planning to mass-produce it based on this drawing?"
"Yes, I called you here today just to ask for your opinion." Yakov said: "How do you think these self-propelled artillery should be organized after they are produced?"
Sokov stared at the markings on the drawing and planned to produce self-propelled artillery in five calibers: 76 mm, 85 mm, 100 mm, 122 mm and 152 mm.
After watching for a while, Sokov raised his head and said to Yakov: "I think that to form a self-propelled artillery unit, it should be divided by the caliber of the artillery, so as to facilitate logistics supply. To prevent the logistics from sending 76 mm caliber artillery shells to
85 mm caliber self-propelled artillery."
"What you said makes sense." Yakov said while writing down in his notebook: "If the caliber of the artillery shells is different from the artillery, then these self-propelled artillery will become a display. I will report your opinions to the
Before that, let our self-propelled artillery be organized according to caliber."
"Yasha, I would like to ask, when can the development of hovercraft begin?" Sokov thought of the Soviet army's attack on Manstein's troops after the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad.
It had a numerical advantage, but the logistical supply lines were too long and the roads were muddy and difficult to navigate, resulting in poor supply for the Soviet army. As a result, the troops were defeated by Manstein. Once the hovercraft was available, the supply problem could be greatly alleviated.
situation.
"Hovercraft?" Yakov heard this question and said disapprovingly: "Misha, please forgive me, this kind of hovercraft is of no use to our army. If we want to force it now, we will only waste a lot of money."
Rather than spending so much energy on something that is not applicable, it would be better to concentrate on something more practical."
"Yasha, you are wrong." Sokov saw that Yakov did not attach any importance to the hovercraft he proposed, so he said sternly: "I believe you know the road conditions in Russia as well as I do. Once there is a spring melt,
With the accumulation of snow or the rainy season in July and August, our roads will become muddy. At that time, the mobilization of troops and the transportation of supplies will become a headache for us. But if we develop a hovercraft, it can be alleviated.
Our army’s logistical supply pressure.”
Sokov's words made Yakov ponder for a long time. Finally, he finally nodded and said: "Misha, you are right, we do need to develop a hovercraft to ease the logistical pressure on our army.
"
"Hovercraft can be used in summer, even in winter, they can also fly on the snow." Sokov said to Yakov: "For example, in the current battle in the Stalingrad area, if we have this kind of hovercraft, our army will be able to fly on the snow."
The speed of gathering troops and supplies will be greatly improved."
After Yakov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he picked up the high-frequency phone on the table, dialed a number, and said respectfully: "I am Yakov, please help me find Comrade Ustinov.
I have something important to report to him immediately."
Not long after, Yakov got through to Ustinov: "Comrade People's Commissar, I have talked with Colonel Sokov, and he firmly believes that the development of hovercraft is completely necessary. The new type of hovercraft,
The transportation of soldiers and supplies will be completed as quickly as possible in areas with complex roads."
It may be Yakov's last words that moved Ustinov. He thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "I understand, I will immediately report this matter to the Supreme Commander himself to get his
Authorization. In this way, we can focus on the development of hovercraft."
After Yakov put down the phone, he proudly said to Sokov: "Misha, have you heard everything? Comrade People's Comrade also agreed to my proposal and is ready to arrange the development of the hovercraft."
Seeing that his lobbying finally paid off, Sokov showed a knowing smile on his face. He began to think about whether his troops would be dispatched to participate in Kharkov after the Battle of Stalingrad.
In the counterattack, as long as there are hovercrafts to help replenish supplies, the outcome of the Soviet army's disastrous defeat may be rewritten.