Chapter 343

Not long after we ran in the forest, we were blocked by a swamp. As soon as I saw the swamp, my heart sank. I thought that the group of prisoners of war officers who ran away last night were trapped in the swamp because they didn't know the way, so they were recaptured by the Germans. If the Germans catch up at this time, we will have to put our hands down.

Just when I was anxious to get on the fire, vaskov pulled out the dagger in his boots, cut off two branches from the trees nearby, and scraped them carefully. Seeing that he was cutting the branches and leaves on the branch, I asked him strangely, "what are you doing, Feijia?"

Vaskov stopped his work, looked up at me blankly and said, "don't you see that, Rita? I'm cutting a branch. "

"My uncle brigadier, don't cut the branches. Let's find our way out of here. Maybe the Germans will come after us soon. " As soon as I was worried, I inadvertently changed my address from "Feijia" to "Zhun Wei Da Shu".

Vaskov began to cut the branches again, and said, "Rita, don't worry. The road is ready. When I cut these two sticks, we'll go. "

"Where is the road?" I looked around to see where I could get around the swamp.

Vaskov pointed to the swamp with his dagger hand and said, "here it is."

I frowned and looked at the vast ocean in front of me. I was very dissatisfied with vaskov's vague answer. I said, "no, uncle brigadier, do you think we should go through the swamp?"

Vaskov handed me a chipped stick, then pointed to the swamp ahead with another stick and said, "Rita, let's walk through here now." Seeing that I was still hesitant, he reminded me, "don't you forget that when we went after the Germans who sneaked into the rear of our army, in order to take a shortcut, we also passed through the swamp."

Listening to what he said, I remembered that there was a plot in the novel about crossing the swamp in order to take a shortcut, so I didn't say anything any more, and obediently followed him to the swamp.

Vaskov stepped into the waist deep muddy water with a stick in his hand. As he walked, he kept telling him, "Rita, be careful. You must follow me. One step is steady, and the next step is steady. You can't do anything wrong, or you'll lose your life. "

A few days ago, I led my troops to break through the encirclement. In order to get around the German position, I once followed the guerrilla guide through the swamp, so today I am much more skillful.

He looked back and saw me closely following him, smiling, nodding and admiring, "good job, Rita. At this speed, we can cross the swamp and reach the forest ahead in ten minutes at most. Out of the forest, there is a small village. When I passed there last night, I saw our troops stationed in the village. "

When I heard that I could find my own troops within walking distance, I put down the big stone in my heart. As I walked forward in the mud with a stick in my hand, I chatted with vaskov: "Feijia, I just heard you say that you are from the sotnikov guerrillas. Where is sotnikov now? Do you stand out?"

Vaskov shook his head without looking back and said, "I don't know where he is. As early as ten days ago, on his order, I went to look for another guerrilla unit and discussed with the commander of that unit about how to cooperate with the second shock group army to break through the encirclement. But when I got to the place, I knew that the guerrillas had been completely destroyed. I rushed back to recover my life, only to find that they had all moved. Then I wandered in the forest for a few days, but I couldn't find them. "

"I saw sotnikov the other day. He led his troops to help the 327th division break through. Because our attack was frustrated, he also sent a guide to lead my troops through the forest and swamp, around to the German rear, caught them by surprise, and then successfully broke through the enemy's line of defense. "

"Through the woods and swamps?" Vaskov stopped and stood where he was, repeating my words to himself. I didn't expect that he would suddenly stop and bump into him. The huge recoil made me shake and then fall back. Fortunately, his quick reaction caught me, otherwise I fell into the water again.

When I got to my feet again, he didn't let go of my arm, but asked anxiously, "was the guerrilla who took you through the swamp named Migao Lin?"

I nodded my head hard and said, "yes, that young guerrilla is Miguel."

"Where is he now?" Vaskov asked again.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I don't know. He took us around to the rear of the enemy's line of defense and took part in the battle to seize the position. After the battle, I don't know where he went. Maybe he died or jumped out of the encirclement with the 327th division." Speaking of this, it suddenly occurred to me that Michael Lin once said that his team leader was a soldier who was very familiar with the forest and swamp. Maybe it was vaskov in front of me. So I tentatively asked, "are you the team leader Michael Lin said?"

Vaskov felt the back of his head awkwardly and said with a shy smile, "Yeah, I'm his captain. In sotnikov's guerrillas, he and I know how to find a way through the swamps. "

Before we knew it, we came to the edge of the swamp. As soon as vaskov stepped on the hard land of the island, he immediately fell over, stretched out his stick to me and said, "Rita, hold on." I grabbed the stick, with his action, set foot on the solid ground. As soon as I was soft, I fell on the ground. I didn't eat or drink for more than a day. After walking so far, it's very good that I can stick to it now. I turned over and lay on my back, exhausted, not even able to speak. Vaskov came over, squatted beside me and asked with concern, "Rita, can you go on?" I waved my hand and said feebly, "Feijia, let me have a rest. I haven't eaten for more than a day. Now I'm tired and hungry. I can't walk."“ My God, look how careless I am. I forgot to ask you if you have eaten Vaskov said, taking the bread wrapped in paper from his arms, opened it and handed it to me. I saw that the paper bag was the kind of sliced dry black bread. I grabbed two pieces and stuffed them into my mouth. As I ate, vaskov sat quietly beside me and said nothing. When I finished eating, he hesitated and asked, "Rita, there's something I want to ask you. I don't know if it's right?"“ Ask, Feijia“ I remember when you shot yourself in the head with my pistol. I thought you were dead. I took that gun and went to the Germans. I didn't expect to see you alive again today. It's incredible. "“ It's no surprise, Feijia I've been preparing this reason for resurrection for a long time, but I didn't expect it to come into use now. "When I pulled the trigger on my head, I was too injured and my hand was weak. The recoil force of the gun made the bullet deviate from its position and wiped it from my brow bone. Maybe you thought I was dead when you saw my face covered with blood, but I'm still alive. " Speaking of this, I raised my hand to lift the hair on my forehead and showed him the scar on the brow bone. "Look, there's a scar here." Vaskov lowered his head, looked at the scar on my head carefully, and said with deep conviction, "blessed by the Virgin Mary, you have survived such a serious injury. Then where did you go? Why did you now appear in the 2nd shock group army and be captured by the Germans? " I sat up and began to tell him about what happened after I was injured and hospitalized. I told him roughly. Even so, it took more than an hour. Seeing that our strength was almost recovered, we set out again to join the troops stationed in the small village outside the forest. As he was about to walk out of the forest, vaskov suddenly stopped without warning and said to me with some embarrassment, "Rita, I didn't do what you asked me to do. I'm here to apologize to you."“ What I asked you to do? What's the matter? Why don't I have any impression? " When I said this, I felt guilty. I didn't know what Lida had entrusted him to do. Vaskov was a real man. Seeing my blank face, he quickly explained, "didn't you entrust me to look for your mother and son alik? When I got out of the hospital, the city was occupied by the Germans. After several inquiries, I know that your mother escaped with her children and went to Leningrad when the city was occupied. " Hearing him say this, I added: "I already know about my mother and son going to Leningrad. I also went to the place where they lived, but soon after the ice transportation line opened, they evacuated to the rear, and then disappeared. " To my surprise, vaskov continued, "I went to the city to find them too. I heard from my neighbors that they had evacuated, and a female soldier went to find them. I guess that woman soldier is you? " I nodded in agreement, and he went on: "I learned from a comrade in arms who was responsible for the evacuation that the evacuees were in the nearby villages and settlements. But I've been looking for them for a long time, but I still can't find out their whereabouts. " When I heard that Rita's mother and son were in a nearby village or residential area, I grabbed vaskov's clothes and asked in surprise, "are you sure that they are in this area?" Because of the excitement, my voice seemed a little shaky and hoarse“ Yes, Rita Vaskov told me with certainty, "that's what my comrades in arms told me."