In the warm and light-proof tent, a kerosene lamp emitting orange light hung on a rough tree trunk. Under the tree, orange-red flames danced in a large cast-iron stove. A small pot sat on it.
, the peaking snow has also begun to melt.
The young man Karl, who was kneeling beside the cast-iron stove, was using his Finnish hunting knife with an antler handle to cut frozen venison and potatoes, carefully preparing food for everyone.
On the other side of the tree trunk, Markla was sitting on a bearskin blanket, using a soft cloth to wipe the huge firearm beside him. On his legs, there was a huge trapezoidal metal box containing three items.
A large and scary magazine, as well as several different styles of muzzle brakes and some small tools for maintenance.
Konon, the Pravda reporter, was concentrating on writing something in a plastic notebook under a separate small oil lamp.
Seeing Wei Ran entering the tent, Konon immediately raised his head and prepared to continue his interview, but before he could speak, he was overtaken by Markla again.
"Victor, come here and help. There's a lot of snow in this big guy's belly. We need to dismantle it and clean it up." As Markla spoke, she moved her buttocks to make way for Wei Ran.
A block of space.
Wei Ran deliberately ignored reporter Konon, sat down next to Markla and asked curiously, "This gun looks really big!"
"It's a great weapon!"
Markla may have thought that Weiran was looking for something to say, so he immediately explained in detail, "We found it in the weapons warehouse left by the Germans before. It uses the same anti-aircraft shells as the Lati anti-tank gun.
But it’s much more comfortable to use than Lati, at least your shoulders won’t hurt so much that you can’t sleep after using it.”
"But it's also very delicate. At least you have cleaned up this heavy guy several times along the way."
Konon took the initiative to come up and said with some pride, "If it is a Degtyaryov anti-tank rifle or a Simonov anti-tank rifle, it can be used normally even if it is buried in the snow and frozen for a day. And we have those two
All the anti-tank guns produced by the Soviet Union are not as heavy as this big guy."
“You’re right”
Karl, who was cooking, said in a regretful tone without raising his head, "The two anti-tank guns you mentioned are indeed very useful, but it's a pity that we captured too few in the winter war, otherwise we wouldn't have to carry this heavy weapon.
A damn big guy."
"Did you put chili oil on your little mouth?"
Wei Ran suppressed his laughter and muttered to himself, "Karl, this young man may not be very young, but his mouth is damaged as if it has been aged for decades. As for the lethality of this sentence, just look at Konon's mouth."
You can tell if it's cold or a flushed face.
In the warm tent filled with an awkward atmosphere, Wei Ran tried to pick up the anti-tank gun on the bearskin blanket. This weapon, which was more like a small cannon than a gun, probably weighed no less than a hundred kilograms.
Putting the anti-tank gun that he had barely picked up, Wei Ran looked at the German inscriptions on the gun curiously. This was the first time he had seen this kind of anti-tank weapon, but it was the one produced by Finland that Markla just mentioned.
The Lati L39 anti-tank gun had a chance to meet him during the last war between Finland and the Soviet Union.
According to the inscription on this gun, it was produced by a factory called Solothurn, the weapon number was S18/1000, and the ammunition used was indeed a 20x138mm shrink-rim bullet as Markla just said.
Based on this bullet alone, we know that it should indeed be called a "cannon", because the same kind of shells are also used by the German flak30 and flak38 anti-aircraft guns, the Panzer II tank, and the aerial cannons of various German aircraft.
However, even if it can be regarded as a cannon according to the standards of later generations, in 1944, the main tank armor of any country, whether it was the Soviet Union or Germany, could easily block its close range fire. Even Germany's
A half-track armored vehicle probably has to be close enough to successfully penetrate the armor plate.
Looking suspiciously at Markla, who was holding a tool to dismantle the weapon, Wei Ran secretly thought that perhaps it was precisely because he also knew that the weapon in his hand was not powerful enough that the father who took his son to the battlefield deliberately stopped.
Let's stop chasing the enemy and use the excuse that the huge lake in front of us is too empty to put some distance between us and the retreating Germans on the other side.
Wei Ran, who thought he had guessed the answer, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. If this was the case, perhaps they would not be in any danger. In this case, the remaining task was to find a way to borrow it from the Soviet journalist Konon.
Camera, took ten photos.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use the Rolleiflex double-lens camera in the metal notebook, but the film inside had long been used up, and now it was just a piece of scrap metal.
In the tent with different thoughts, Markla, with the help of Wei Ran, dismantled the anti-tank weapon into parts. After carefully wiping them one by one and applying lubricant mixed with bear grease, this
Just reassembled it.
With the help of Wei Ran, he carefully wrapped it in a rabbit skin blanket and carried it aside. The two of them got out of the tent, carefully scrubbed off the oil on their hands with the snow outside, and then sat on the tent made of two skis.
Simple dining table.
Under the dim kerosene lamp, Karl served everyone a large bowl of steaming venison soup and a piece of hard rye bread.
The reporter Konon seemed to be trying to ease the relationship between him and Wei Ran. Each generously took out an apple from his sack and handed it to Karl, who cut it into quarters fairly with a hunting knife.
The portions were distributed to everyone.
Taking advantage of the meal time, Konon promoted the Soviet Union's governing philosophy in a roundabout way, and took the initiative to help Macra and his son and "Victor from Vipri" dream of a happy life in the future.
It's a pity that neither Markla and his son nor Wei Ran had a tacit understanding and didn't talk about it. After eating their food in silence, they lay down on the leather blanket and fell asleep, not even bothering to arrange the night watch.
Konon, who was left alone, frowned and looked at the three people who were already snoring. He secretly clenched his fists, took out his pencil and plastic book again and started writing furiously.
When I woke up, it was still dark outside the tent, and reporter Konon was already wrapped in a wolfskin blanket and snoring.
Wei Ran glanced at the camera placed next to Konon's head. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gave up the urge to take it secretly and click the shutter a few times while the former was not paying attention.
Soon after, Markla and his son also woke up one after another. The old man and the young man seemed to be deliberately torturing Konon and not letting him rest. The one who was cooking, the other who was carrying weapons were easily woken up by the noise they made.
Konon fell asleep just a short time ago.
"Are you ready to leave?" Konon asked sleepily.
“It looks like it’s going to snow”
Markla explained in a cold tone, "We must cross the lake as soon as possible to close the distance with the Germans. Once the track marks are covered by snow later, it will be difficult to catch up with them."
With just one word, Konon woke up completely and quickly helped pack away the animal skin blankets and various other things in the tent.
After dismantling the tent and hurriedly drinking a large bowl of broth, Carl shouted to the reindeer and set off again, following the faint ruts on the snow through the frozen lake and a large frozen swamp, and finally safely entered the forest on the other side.
.
Soon, a large number of footprints appeared directly in front of the sleigh. Next to a fallen pine tree, there were still bonfires covered by snow and several tin cans.
Karl, who was in charge of driving, wisely did not get close to him. Instead, he softly shouted at the reindeer, which was snorting white breath from its nostrils, to stay away. On the flat snow, he slowed down and continued to move forward, following the increasingly clear ruts.
.
In the sleigh, Konon, wrapped in a wolf-skin blanket, once again began to interview patiently, but this time the only response he got was the silence gestures made by Markla and Wei Ran in no particular order.
Seeing Konon reluctantly put away the pencil and plastic notebook, Markla and Wei Ran looked at each other in tacit understanding, and then each showed a subtle smile.
After several hours of tracking, the ruts not far away from the side of the sled continued forward as if there was no end, but the snowflakes falling above the head and the cold wind blowing on the face became stronger and stronger.
The sky got a little brighter, and Carl called to the reindeer to stop again.
"Why did it stop again?" Conon asked dissatisfied.
Carl took a small sack filled with beans from his father's hand. In his other hand, he held a fist-sized piece of salt and brought it to the mouths of the two reindeer. While one big head reached into the sack to eat the beans, the other
A big head came over to lick the salt and turned to Gongfu and said angrily, "Mr. Konon, who comes from a big city in the south, if you think it's not enough to pull a sleigh full of various things and four people on it for several hours,
If you need a rest, why not let these two reindeer sit on the sleigh and let you pull the sleigh to catch up with the oil-burning armored vehicle?"
"Karl!"
Markla frowned and shouted. He waited until his sharp-tongued son shut up, then picked up a bundle of fodder used as a cushion from under his buttocks and walked to the side of the reindeer through the snow.
"Don't look at me," Weiran said before Konon could open his mouth, "I won't go pulling the sleigh with you."
"You!" Konon, who had just been silenced by Karl, subconsciously put his hand on the holster of the TT33 pistol at his waist.
"What? You still want to shoot?"
While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already grasped the Mosin-Nagant rifle that had been lying on his lap. Markla, who was feeding the reindeer, also reacted very quickly and grasped the Bobosha that had been carried on his shoulder.
submachine gun, silently pointing the muzzle at Conon.
"Do you want to kill me here?"
Konon's tone was slightly trembling, but more of it was filled with undisguised contempt and ridicule, "I knew you were secretly helping those Germans who were escaping!"
