Goria said in a panic: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we are more than 20 kilometers away from our destination. At our current speed, we will have to walk at least seven or eight hours. During this period, as long as even a soldier accidentally speaks, it may lead to exposure."
"Comrade Captain," Sokov was worried about what Goria was worried about, but now it was already difficult to ride a tiger. He could only say calmly: "You know very well that the enemy is following us, and as long as someone in our team speaks, the enemy can hear it. In this case, how can we convey orders to the soldiers?"
"What should we do?" asked Goria, the Lordless Goria.
"Stay on the status quo and keep moving forward." Sokov said expressionlessly: "I hope we can have good luck and can reach our destination smoothly without being noticed by the enemy."
In this way, this army composed of Soviet troops disguised as German troops and real German troops headed north along the bumpy road. Although he encountered several German checkpoints along the way, when the enemy saw a unit of this size, he didn't even ask questions, and then moved the obstacles on the road and let them go.
Seeing that the troops passed many German levels so smoothly, Goriya felt much more at ease. He felt that Sokov's words were very reasonable. Marching with the enemy's troops could indeed confuse the public. But after being happy for a while, he began to worry again. He asked Sokov in a low voice: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we can certainly pass various levels smoothly. But have you considered how to get rid of this enemy when we arrive at the receiving location?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Captain." Although Sokov didn't know where the German army was, he calmly said to Goria: "There are so many forks ahead, and maybe as he walked, the enemy would separate from us."
"I hope so." Goria murmured: "If we arrive at the meeting place and they still follow us, we can only find a way to eliminate them."
When the troops walked about two-thirds of the way, the radio operator handed over a telegram to Sokov and said in a low voice: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is a telegram just sent by the Army Command."
Heard that it was a telegram from the Army Command. Sokov guessed that the content might be related to friendly forces, so he quickly browsed the content with a flashlight. The telegram said that the troops that broke through the German defense were the 67th Tank Brigade commanded by Colonel Shidjayev. The entire brigade had 35 tanks and a company of infantry. They successfully broke through the German defense line and were rushing quickly to the Orlovka area, ordering Sokov's troops to join them after dawn.
After reading the contents of the telegram, Sokov handed it to Goria and began to think about how to get rid of the German troops that were marching with him. This place is already in the depth of the German defense. If a war with the German troops behind him is impossible to destroy them in a short time, when the enemies around him surge like a tide, the one who will be destroyed will be his 200-man army.
Just when Sokov was worried, Goriya had read the contents of the telegram. He said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, this is really great. A tank brigade and an infantry company, plus our troops, can establish a support point in the Orlovka area and create conditions for the meeting of the main forces of both sides."
After Sokov waited for Goria to finish his speech, he whispered to the German troops behind and said, "Comrade Captain, the first thing we need to do now is to find a way to get rid of this enemy."
Goria turned her head and looked at the enemy behind her, with a embarrassed expression on her face: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this enemy has followed us for about twenty kilometers. It seems that we are going in the same direction as us. How should we get rid of them?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Ernst, who saw Sokov and Goria were helpless with the Germans following behind and remained silent from the time they set out, "I think the best way is to order our troops to stop and let the German troops continue to advance."
Hearing Ernst's suggestion, Sokov's eyebrows couldn't help but tilt up, and then asked, "Corporal Ernst, I wonder if you have considered how we should order the troops to stop? You must know that except for those you trained, other soldiers cannot understand German at all."
Ernst grinned at Sokov's concerns and then said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, it doesn't matter whether our comrades can listen to German. As long as all the armored vehicles are ordered to stop, don't the soldiers behind understand what's going on?"
"It makes sense, it makes sense." Sokov immediately realized that he was in a slight position when he heard Ernst say this, and quickly ordered the radio operator: "Send a report to the armored vehicles in front, order them to stop and stand by in place."
After the armored vehicles driving in front of the team stopped one by one, the infantry following the vehicles also stopped moving forward and stood there waiting for further orders. "What's going on?" Seeing that the troops in front suddenly stopped, a German lieutenant walked out of the German troops behind, shouting at the Soviet commanders and fighters in front: "What happened? Why stop?"
"Sorry, Mr. Lieutenant." A Soviet soldier in the uniform of a German lieutenant walked out of the queue and replied in skilled German: "We don't know what happened. We stopped just when we saw the armored car in front stopped."
Seeing that the reason was not answered from the infantry, the German lieutenant quickly crossed the infantry's queue, walked towards several armored vehicles, and asked loudly: "Who can tell me what happened?"
"Corporal Ernst," Sokov saw a German lieutenant coming and shouting, and kicked Ernst gently with his toes, and whispered: "You can find a way to send this German officer away."
Ens nodded, stood up, and asked at the German lieutenant under the car, "Lieutenant, what are you calling out there?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Captain." After seeing Ernst's rank, the lieutenant quickly stood attentively and said respectfully: "I want to ask, why did the troops stop advancing?"
"We walked all night, and the soldiers were tired." Ernst and the lieutenant finished speaking, pretending to be impatient, "So I ordered the troops to stop and let them have a good rest. It's not too late to continue on the road when dawn. Lieutenant, if you are in a hurry to go, you might as well leave first."
The German lieutenant standing under the car, after hearing Ernst's words, raised his hand and saluted him, turned around and walked back to his troops quickly. Not long after, Sokov and his friends saw hundreds of German officers and soldiers walking past the armored vehicles in neat formations.
Seeing that the enemy was gone, Goria breathed out a breath of turbid air and said to Sokov with relief: "Thank God, comrade comrade, the enemy has finally left. If you walk with them like this, I am really worried that something will happen."
"Corporal Ernst, you're doing a good job." Seeing Ernst sending the enemy away after a few words, Sokov raised his hand and patted him twice, and said with praise: "If we can successfully meet with friendly forces after dawn, you should be the first."
Ernst praised Sokov with a faint smile, "Comrade Brigade Commander, it's just a simple task."
After Sokov sat down again, Goriya leaned close to his ear and whispered: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how long has Ernst been trying to surrender?"
Sokov didn't expect Goriya to suddenly ask about this, and he calculated it silently in his heart, then lowered his voice and replied: "Shortly after the large counterattack under Moscow began, he surrendered to our army. It has been nine months since then. Comrade Captain, what do you ask about this family?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Goria glanced quickly at Ernst, who was sitting not far away, and then whispered: "Don't you think his rank is too low?"
After Goria reminded him, Sokov realized that Ernst had the rank of corporal so far. Although he had the right to be promoted to the rank below the school level, due to Ernst's sensitive identity, if he wanted to be promoted to the rank, he had to obtain the consent of Belkin and Cidolin. He thought to himself that when he completed this task, he would immediately discuss with Belkin and the others that he would be promoted to Ernst.
Although the German troops had gone far away, Sokov did not immediately order the troops to set off. He knew that the soldiers had been away for the middle of the night and must be very tired at this moment, so he decisively ordered everyone to rest on the spot, seize the time to sleep, and prepare to set off after dawn.
Regarding Sokov's decision, Goria once again raised his own question: "Comrade Commander, did the superiors order us to join the tank brigade that broke through the German defense line after dawn? If you order the soldiers to rest now, I am worried that I will not be able to reach the designated location after dawn."
"Comrade Captain, have you not seen that the soldiers are tired? If you continue to rush, they will become exhausted until dawn. If a fight occurs, do you think their physical strength can hold on?" After Sokov said this, seeing that Goria was still hesitant, he added: "I am the brigade commander. If I miss the opportunity for the fight because of letting the soldiers rest and the superiors blame it, I will bear all the responsibility."
"Well, comrade comrade commander." Seeing Sokov's attitude so firm, Goria knew that nothing he had said was useless, so he called a correspondent soldier and told him, "Immediately go to the troops behind to convey my orders, everyone rested on the spot, and set off after dawn."