Chapter 287

As soon as I sat down and heard hilov ask, I immediately stood up again, straightened up, and answered in accordance with the regulations: "report to general Comrade, i..."

Hilov stretched out his hands, pressed them down, and said, "major oshanina, don't be so formal. I just want to talk to you. Make yourself at home. Don't be so formal."

I agreed, sat down again, and said, "well, during my time on the ice transportation line, I can see a lot of transportation teams every day. There are trucks and sleds carrying grain to the city. At the same time, thousands of residents are being evacuated out of the city in a planned way." Because the next topic was particularly sensitive, I sorted out my thoughts and asked carefully: "Comrade General, I would like to ask, so much food has been transported into the city, and a large number of residents have been evacuated, which has reduced the population pressure of the city. Is the famine situation in the city better now?"

When he heard my question, hilov was silent. He slowly sat down in his chair, took a cigarette out of the cigarette box on the table, lit it, took two hard puffs, and then replied in a low voice, "no, no relief, comrade major. Although there are many transport teams delivering food to the city day and night, it is a pity that the quantity is still too small, which can only barely guarantee that the ration standards of the army and residents in the city will not continue to be reduced. "

At this point, he pressed out his cigarette end in the ashtray on the table, looked up at me and said apologetically, "now you can understand why I would be angry with you after the transportation team suffered huge losses that day." Then the topic changed and asked, "do you think there are any deficiencies in the transportation line?"

This question sounds simple, but it is not so easy to answer. In a country where it is assumed that the enemy may approach a big city, or that they may be condemned or imprisoned, the longer they stay, the more scruples they will have. A careless word will ruin their own future and even their precious lives.

Seeing that I was silent, hilov might have guessed the reason why I didn't speak, so he promptly changed the topic and asked in a relaxed tone, "this time you may stay in Leningrad for a few days. Do you have any plans?"

How many days? I thought I could go back to the ice transportation line that night. It seems that I can't avoid meeting Rita's mother and son this time. Although there was resistance in my heart to this meeting, I had to pretend to be happy on the surface and reply to hilov: "Comrade General, after the official business is finished, I'm going to see my mother and children. They are in Leningrad."

"Really?" When hilov heard me say this, he couldn't help but wonder: "your mother and son are in Leningrad. How is that possible? I always thought your home was in Moscow

When he said this, I was a little flustered. I could only say vaguely, "I used to live in a small city. After the outbreak of the war, I came to lenningrad after several evacuations."

"Where do they live?"

"On Vladimir street by the Neva River..."

Before I could give the specific address, I heard someone at the door say, "who lives in Vladimir street?" We looked at the door. It turned out that the political commissar pushed in. When he heard my address, he asked.

General hilov did not get up either, but pointed to an empty chair beside him and motioned the commissar to sit down. Hilov is a general, equal to the political commissar of Higgins. He can sit still, but I can't put on airs and get up to salute Higgins.

After we all sat down, hilov said to Higgins, "Comrade commissar, before you came, I just talked with major oshanina about her family. Her mother and son live on Vladimir street

Hearing this, Higgins asked with concern, "how are they now, staying in the city or evacuating?"

I murmured, "I don't know that either. Their address is a cook soldier from the women's antiaircraft artillery company. She told me that she used to be my neighbor. But she joined the army as early as two months ago, and she can't tell what happened afterwards. "

Higgins nodded thoughtfully and said, "yes, during the war, it's very easy to lose contact with your family due to the inconvenience of communication." Then he said decisively, "Comrade major, I approve you to stay in the city for two more days to see your mother and children after you finish your business."

General hilov echoed: "the political commissar is right. I agree. When the official business is finished, I will give you two days off to visit your relatives." Then he added, "now that the political commissar is here, let's talk about business." He looked at me and asked, "Comrade major, I'd like to hear your opinion on the air defense of the ice transport line. I remind you that what I want to hear is the truth. Don't use those official articles to prevaricate me. "

The political commissar also said: "yes, comrade oshanina, we want to know the real air defense status of the ice transport line. Please tell us everything you want to know."

It seems that I can't avoid this. I can only stand up and reply with a stiff head: "at present, the air defense force of the ice transportation line is still very weak. It's far from enough to defend such a large area with only three anti-aircraft artillery battalions and several anti-aircraft machine gun companies. If the headquarters can send enough anti-aircraft artillery troops to the ice, then the air defense of the transportation line can be fully guaranteed. "

After hearing what I said, hilov shook his head and said, "in the short term, it is impossible to add new anti-aircraft artillery troops on the ice transportation line. Do you know the number of anti-aircraft artillery units deployed in Leningrad during the outbreak of the war? "“ Comrade general, I don't know that. You know, these military data are confidential. "“ Yes, yes, I know it's confidential. " "To tell you the truth, I still don't know how many anti-aircraft artillery units were allocated at that time," said hilov Speaking of this, he took out two cigarettes from his cigarette box, threw one to the political commissar, lit it by himself, and then said, "as early as last October, according to the order of general Zhukov, commander of the front army at that time, in order to strengthen our army's defense force, most of the anti-aircraft artillery units in the city were transferred to the front line, using anti-aircraft guns or anti-aircraft machine guns to shoot flat at German tanks and armored vehicles." Hearing this, I couldn't help laughing bitterly. I used antiaircraft guns to hit tanks and armored vehicles. I was the initiator. However, judging from the expression of general hilov, the outcome of these anti-aircraft artillery troops is not so good. Sure enough, he continued: "among them, a considerable number of anti-aircraft artillery units were lost in the defensive war. The other part is currently undertaking the air defense task of breaking through the Neva River, so the number of anti-aircraft artillery units that can be transferred to the ice transportation line is quite limited. " Higgins shrugged and said, "no way, comrade oshanina. At present, we hope that your troops can ensure the air defense of the transportation line with the existing quantity and technical equipment. " Listening to Higgin's words, I suddenly had a strange idea at this moment. Why did he say this to me? You should know that there are three anti-aircraft artillery battalions and several anti-aircraft machine gun companies on the transportation line now. I'm just one of many commanders. Except for the second battalion, I can't command any other troops. Does he want to set up a unified anti-aircraft artillery headquarters and let me be the commander? Thinking of this, I can't help shaking my head and trying to get this ridiculous idea out of my mind. To tell you the truth, I'm still a rookie in military command. In the past, I was lucky to have won two battles and won the favor of my superiors. Now I'm dealing with my new superiors in the new environment, and it's almost impossible to encounter the previous promotion opportunity. Seeing my shaking head, hilov and Higgins misunderstood. They asked in unison, "what's the matter? You don't have confidence." I quickly replied, "comrades of the general and the political commissar are not without confidence. I'm just one of the many commanders of the anti-aircraft artillery force. I can only ensure that I am responsible for the air defense in the area. I can't do anything about the rest of the area. "“ You don't have to worry about that. You just have to keep your lot Hilov added, "as for the commanders in other areas, we will negotiate with them." I was a little disappointed by hilov's words. It seems that I think too much. How many days have I been in Leningrad? It is estimated that they only reluctantly let me become the current antiaircraft artillery battalion commander after seeing that I was awarded the rank of general by Stalin and had a good relationship with Zhukov, who is now famous. As he was talking, the telephone on the desk rang. Hilov picked up the receiver and immediately got up and answered in a loud voice, "Hello, comrade commander of the front army, do you have any instructions?" It turned out that the call was from lieutenant general Huo Jin. Put down the phone, he said to me: "Comrade major, originally the commander of the front army wanted to come and have a chat with you, but now he has something to do. He told you not to leave for a while. He will call you when he is free Then he said to me in a friendly tone, "now you go to see your mother and son in Vladimir street. Do you want me to send a car to take you?"“ Thank you, general. No, I'd better take a ride by myself. "“ Well, I won't give it to you. Be careful all the way. Good luck After saluting them, I turned around, took off my coat and hat from the coat rack and walked out of the room.