Chapter 24 The wish is to slap your feet on the Red Square
An hour after the little postman Nikolai left, Captain Aleutian and Vanya, who had been following him, once again found Wei Ran who was doing nothing at the ammunition dump.
She calmly stuffed a small bag wrapped in raincoat fabric into Wei Ran's pocket. Vanya, who looked fierce, then handed Wei Ran two gold rings and whispered at the same time, "If you can survive, please put those
Just send the letter, if... forget it, that's it."
Wei Ran took the gold ring and held it in his hand, and at the same time he hammered his chest hard, "I'll definitely deliver them!"
"I hope so"
The Aleutian company commander smiled and said nothing more. He just directed everyone to continue to reinforce the trenches and dig new artillery positions for the only three anti-tank guns remaining in Position 19.
As everyone was busy, the sky gradually became dark, and the heavy rain suddenly arrived after the sun set. At the same time, the explosions in the direction of the Don River became more and more intense, so that even the night sky due east was reflected into a flashing orange.
red.
But apart from that, there was also a lot of good news. At least the Germans on the opposite side of the position rarely launched an attack. By midnight, veterinarian Cyril brought back a full 100 additional troops and two guns to Position 19.
Risking the use of drawn anti-tank guns and two 120mm heavy mortars, and of course, a large amount of ammunition to go with them.
Even the communications soldier Beshev, who had not been seen all day, finally connected the telephone line with the rear headquarters. Not only that, he also brought back an artillery observer Kaze from the rear with a radio on his back.
But such abundant reinforcements made Aleutian and Vanya increasingly uneasy. If there had been such ferocious firepower last night, it would have been impossible for the German tanks to drive to a position less than 10 meters away from the barbed wire fence.
.
But what about tonight or tomorrow night? What kind of surging enemy does the headquarters want them to use these reinforcements to resist?
This question still did not have a clear answer until the Aleutians settled the two newly added anti-tank guns and heavy mortars.
Fortunately, thanks to the reinforcements, Wei Ran and others were finally able to get into the bunker on the side of the trench and have a good rest.
Wei Ran took off his boots and canvas leggings, rubbed his wrinkled feet that had been soaked, and then lay down on a bunk barely made of empty ammunition boxes.
"We have so much supplies this time, we will definitely be able to push the Germans back!" A young recruit who survived last night's battle said excitedly to an acquaintance of his companions.
In the dim light provided by the kerosene lamp, Wei Ran and the veterinarian Cyril not far away looked at each other, each shaking his head with a wry smile.
"Victor, you are a postman, you must have been to many places, right?"
Cyril, the veterinarian, said with deep yearning in his tone, "Unlike me, until the war started, I spent most of my life dealing with cattle, sheep, and horses."
"Yeah, I've been to many places..." Wei Ran took off his wet and smelly boat cap and put it on his face to block the dirt falling from his head. The memories of his years studying abroad in Russia also appeared in his mind.
Traveled city scenery.
"Victor, Moscow, have you been to Moscow?" Cyril, the veterinarian, suddenly became interested. He half sat up and leaned against an ammunition box and asked enthusiastically. Even several soldiers who were also resting around him lowered their voices.
, raised his ears.
"Been there"
The Weiyan fan who had no idea that he had become the center of attention said in confusion, "I have been to Moscow many times. It is a very beautiful place."
"What's there?" Cyril, the veterinarian, asked after him.
"There is everything there," Wei Ran said, and added silently in his mind, "There is just no red Soviet."
"Can't you be more specific?" Cyril, the veterinarian, dissatisfied and pulled off Wei Ran's boat cap from his face.
It was only then that Wei Ran noticed that almost all the soldiers resting in the underground bunker were looking at him. Even the kerosene lamp originally hanging above his head had been taken off and placed on the empty box next to him.
"Yes! Tell me in detail!" a soldier with a strange look on his face urged yearningly, "Have you been to the Red Square? Is it big there? Have you ever met Comrade Stalin?"
"Fart! Victor is just a postman, how could he have met Stalin?!"
Another unnamed soldier corrected the former, and then asked, "Where is the Kremlin? Is it bigger than Red Square?"
"Can't you just shut up and listen to Victor quietly?"
Cyril, the veterinarian, knocked the empty box under his butt with a badly chipped enamel jar, and then whispered, "Who still has wine? It seems that our comrade postman didn't plan to tell us about Moscow before he drank vodka.
What’s there?”
"Forget it about the wine." Wei Ran, who had recovered his senses, quickly waved his hand. He couldn't get used to drinking cold water with the right amount of alcohol.
"Victor, have you never been to Moscow?" Veterinarian Cyril said suspiciously.
"Been there, of course I have been."
Wei Ran smiled bitterly, trying not to look into the expectant eyes around him, and introduced in an erratic tone, "Red Square is very big, about eight or nine hectares in size. Its ground is all paved.
There are uneven stones. If you walk there at night, you may even get a sprained foot if you are not careful."
Such a simple description elicited muffled laughter from the surrounding soldiers, before one of them asked, "Where's the Kremlin? How big is it?"
"It's almost as big as three or four Red Squares."
Wei Ran simply sat cross-legged on the wooden box, while squeezing his soaked and wrinkled feet, he tried his best to describe everything he saw to the people around him based on what he saw during his summer vacation in Moscow.
"After the war is over, I really want to visit Moscow."
A soldier with a stubble on his face held an enamel jar and said with a longing face, "I'm going to go for a walk in the Red Square to see if it really hurts my feet like Victor said."
"Do not be silly"
Another soldier who looked slightly younger drank the water mixed with vodka from the enamel jar in one gulp, and said with some disappointment, "By the time the war is over, we will probably be dead long ago. It is impossible to see Moscow in this life."
No matter what, there is no chance of spraining my ankle in Red Square."
"so what?"
The stubble-faced soldier from before put down the porcelain jar nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter if I can't see it, my son will definitely have a chance to see it. He is only five years old, and he has already hid with his mother in Saratov.
Even if I don’t live to end the war, at least I can’t let the Germans reach Saratov!”
"Saratov? Humph!" Cyril, the veterinarian, lit up his pipe and took a deep puff. "Don't even think about crossing the Don River!"
