Belkin walked with his hands behind his back to the deserters who were tied up, his eyes swept across them one by one, and finally stopped on one of the sergeants. He asked coldly: "Comrade Sergeant, tell me, why do you want to be deserters?"
"Is this more necessary?" Vasily, who was standing beside Sokov, said angrily: "They were all a group of cowards who were afraid of death. They were scared by the Germans, so they became shameful deserters."
"No, Comrade Battalion Commander." The sergeant blushed when he heard Vasily say this. He said excitedly to Belkin, who was standing in front of him: "We are not cowards, not deserters."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Grissa leaned into Sokov's ear and whispered: "This sergeant is Yelizavita. He discovered that the German army had attacked our position two days ago."
Sokov was stunned when he heard Grissa say this. He thought that after he came here, as the company commander of the person involved, Grissa kept silent. This was a bit abnormal. Could it be that there was something hidden in it?
When Belkin heard the deserter shouting injustice in front of him, he laughed contemptuously and asked, "Sergeant, since you said you are not a coward or a deserter, why should you leave the army without authorization?"
Sergeant Yelizavita turned his head and looked at the soldiers next to him, plucking up the courage and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, we are all Kursks. We don't want to leave our homes, and we want to stay here to continue fighting the German devils. Therefore, we were ready to find other troops to contain us, but we were arrested as deserters."
"Do you think the army is driven by your family. Which unit do you want to be? "When Vasily heard Yelizavita say this, he was furious: "Since you have become a deserter, no matter what you say, don't want to survive again." After saying this, Vasily drew out his pistol and said to Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, don't talk nonsense to them, all of them will be shot."
When Sokov heard Yelizavita's defense, he knew that the matter had caused a big mistake. These soldiers were all locals. They heard that the troops were going to be transferred and were unwilling to leave their hometowns and wanted to go to other troops. But they didn't know what to do, but they were actually arrested as deserters.
Sokov looked at Belkin and said with some amusement and laughter: "Comrade Political Commissar, what should you do about this matter?"
Belkin frowned and thought for a while, and said to Yelizavita: "Comrade Sergeant, I want to remind you that you are a soldier now, not a commoner. Soldiers take obeying orders as their duty, and they must go wherever their superiors ask you to go, without any room for bargaining."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Yelizavita, after finishing his speech, pouted and said, "But we really don't want to leave Kursk. Staying here can also fight the invaders."
"If you don't want to leave Kursk, you can apply to your superiors, who will consider your actual situation." Berkin said with some displeasure: "Because you have left the army without authorization, you must be punished."
Hearing Belkin say he wanted to punish him and others, Yelizavita thought the next step was to announce the shooting of him. After sighing softly, he bowed his head with his fate, closed his eyes and waited for the arrival of Death. Unexpectedly, he heard Belkin continue, "But considering that you are the first offender, you will be locked up for two days. If a similar situation happens again, don't blame the ruthless military law."
Yelizavita didn't expect that he could escape death. He opened his eyes and looked up at Belkin, and asked in surprise: "Comrade Political Commissar, just keep us closed for two days and won't shoot us?"
"It's not easy to be shot, I'll shoot you now." Vasily, who was angry and embarrassed, waved his pistol and wanted to rush towards Yelizavita, but was stopped by Sokov.
After Sokov grabbed Vasily, he said to Grissa who was standing next to him: "Lt. Grissa, order your company to disband. In addition, send two more soldiers to take them all to the confinement room."
Seeing the troops disbanded and several "deserters" who were about to be shot were also loosened and sent to the confinement room not far away, Vasily was a little anxious: "Comrade Brigade Commander, will you just let them go?"
"If you don't let them go, can you really shoot them?" Sokov looked at Vasily and said, "The matter has been cleared. This is just a misunderstanding. They are not trying to be deserters, but they are unwilling to leave their homes."
"It's not their turn to stay or not?" Vasily said angrily: "If everyone is like them and is unwilling to leave their hometown, then will our troops be in chaos?"
"Captain Vasily, through this incident, one thing was explained." Berkin came over and said to Vasily: "The political propaganda work in your camp is not enough."
"Brig Commander, Comrade Political Commissar." Hearing Belkin say this, Grissa quickly interrupted and said: "The troops have just been expanded from platoons to companies, and the number of people has increased by nearly ten times, but we have not equipped us with enough political workers. I have an unshirkable responsibility for this kind of thing happening today."
"Lt. Grissa, we cannot provide you with political workers for the time being. But you can choose among the soldiers. Many of them should have done similar jobs before joining the army." Today's "deserter incident" sounded the alarm for Sokov. He said to Grissa solemnly: "It is possible that a big war will be fought, and the troops cannot be in chaos, do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade comrade commander." Grissa replied quickly, "I promise you that there will never be any similar situation in the company again, otherwise you will remove my post."
As the few were talking, a sentry suddenly ran over hurriedly and reported to Sokov panting: "Comrade Brigade Commander, there are several jeeps coming towards us, and there seems to be a big man in the car."
"Is there a big man?" The sentry's words aroused Sokov's curiosity. He quickly turned his head and looked in the direction the sentry pointed, and saw three convertible jeeps racing towards him. Although the distance was long and the speed was fast, Sokov still saw one of the jeeps at a glance, with the Chief of General Staff Wasseyevsky sitting in one of them. He couldn't help but murmur: "Hehe, how could Comrade General Staff come here?" After saying this, he turned his head and looked at Vasily and Grissa standing beside him, thinking in his heart who was one of them and reported to Wasseyevsky.
Vasily seemed to have guessed Sokov's thoughts and hurriedly said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, it's not me. I have only reported to you, and I have never reported to my superiors."
"Yes, comrade brigade commander, I can testify to the battalion commander for this." Grissa quickly helped Vasily smooth things over: "After the incident, comrade comrade comrade has been with me and has never had any contact with outsiders. I guess, comrade comrade comrade s General Staff has his own information channel."
Sokov still agreed with Grissa's statement very much. Seeing that the jeep was getting closer and closer, he quickly sorted out Feng Ji buckles, pulled the hem of his military uniform, and walked towards the jeep with big steps.
Before the car stopped, Huasilevsky jumped out of the car, strided to Sokov, and asked sternly: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what's going on? Why do you see shameful deserters in your army?"
"Report to Comrade General Staff," Sokov hurriedly replied respectfully, "There are no deserters, it's just a misunderstanding."
"What, is it a misunderstanding?" Huasilevsky's face showed a surprised expression: "But someone reported to me that there were five deserters in the fourth company. You and the Political Commissar Berkin came to deal with this matter in person. Why did it turn into a misunderstanding in the blink of an eye?"
"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov and Wasseylevsky finished speaking, briefly introduced the whole story to him, and finally said: "Those soldiers were unwilling to leave their hometowns with the troops, so they took the wrong approach and tried to stay here."
"So that's how it is." After figuring out what happened, the expression on Vasilevsky's face softened: "Then how did you deal with them?"
"Close for two days," Sokov replied briefly.
Vasilevs basically asked why he didn't stay in a few more days. Suddenly, he remembered that the troops were about to set off in two days, so he changed the topic in time: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, your brigade will start a long journey within the next half month to one month. If such a situation occurs again, what do you plan to deal with it?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, please rest assured that this incident was an accident." Seeing Sokov's hesitation, Belkin quickly said: "I promise you that we will strengthen publicity and mobilization work and eliminate unstable factors in the troops in a timely manner, but this mobilization was successfully completed."
"Very good, Political Commissar Belkin, you said it very well." Huasilevsky was very satisfied with Beelkin's statement. He nodded and continued, "I hope the situation will be as optimistic as you said."
Huasilevsky came and went like a flying game. Seeing that the so-called "desergeant incident" was just a misunderstanding, he chatted with Sokov and the others for a few words, and then left in a car.
Looking at the jeep in the distance, Sokov couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart. He didn't expect that what happened in the Fourth Company would have been transmitted to Huaseylevsky so quickly. It seemed that in his brigade, there must be a spy installed by the internal affairs department, and his every move might be under the surveillance of the other party.
Berkin walked to Sokov and said to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, since the matter here has been handled, we might as well go back to the brigade headquarters."
Sokov nodded and agreed to go back to the brigade headquarters. However, before leaving, he once again reminded Vasily and Grissa: "We are leaving Kursk soon. The emotions of the soldiers may fluctuate. You should pay attention to appease their emotions. If something similar happens again, I will remove your post. Do you understand?"
"I understand." Vasily and Grissa quickly replied loudly.
When the two were halfway, Sokov was worried that the other companies would have the fourth company, so he went on a patrol with Belkin. Fortunately, it was gratifying that although some soldiers were reluctant to leave their hometown, under the guidance and persuasion of the company's political workers, they all changed their minds and were willing to follow the troops to the new area.
After the inspection, on the way back to the brigade headquarters, Sokov said to Berkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, it seems that the new soldiers are reluctant to leave their homes. Fortunately, we discovered it in time and made remedies. Otherwise, when we arrived at the new battlefield and faced with fierce enemies, our troops would be shaken in the morale of the army, and we would definitely defeat the war."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Since there are too many new soldiers in Kursk and we do not have enough political workers, we are not doing well in political and ideological work. Today's things are just a lesson for us..." When Berkin said this, he suddenly paused for a moment, and then frowned and asked Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, what did you just say, a new battlefield? Do you really think that after we arrive in Stalingrad, we can get a war?"
"Will there be no wars in Stalingrad?" Hearing Belkin's question, Sokov's muscles twitched violently, and he thought to himself: "When you go to Stalingrad, you will find that the battles of this life have been gathered together." Although he thought so in his heart, he still tried hard to control his emotions so that he would not let it go if he was excited.
The jeep they were riding stopped outside the brigade headquarters. Before getting off the bus, the commander of the guard company Selyosha rushed out of the building and said to the two: "Brig Commander, Political Commissar, you are back."
Seeing Selyosha's anxious expression, Sokov asked curiously: "Shelyosha, what's your origin?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," said Selyosha: "Several local residents came and said they were here to see you."
"I came to see us?" Sokov couldn't help but ask curiously: "Sheliasha, do you know what they have to ask me and the political commissar?"
"I asked, but they refused to say it." Selyosha said hesitantly: "Later I made some talk from a young girl, knowing that they were here to express their gratitude to you."
Chapter completed!