Sokov and Belkin hurried back to the command post.
As soon as he entered the door, Sokov saw Lieutenant Samoilov holding the door behind him, whispering something to Vanya. As he walked forward quickly, he asked loudly: "Captain Vanya, come out.
What happened?"
Hearing Sokov's voice, Vanya and Samoylov quickly stopped talking and turned to face Sokov.
"What happened?" Sokov asked again.
"Comrade Commander," Vanya did not answer. It was Samoilov who answered the question: "Look, what did we find in the sewer?"
After Samoilov finished speaking, he immediately moved two steps to the side, revealing the position that was blocked by him. "What was found..." Sokov had just finished speaking when he saw Samoilov.
There are four children next to them: three boys and one girl. The oldest boy is six or seven years old at most, and the little girl looks to be three or four years old.
Seeing these four people wearing ill-fitting military uniforms, holding two half-eaten pieces of bread in their hands, and with stains on their faces that had not been wiped off in time, Sokov asked with some difficulty: "Are these children?
It came out of nowhere."
"Report to the division commander!" Samoylov quickly replied: "We found it in the sewer. When I first heard the noise, I thought it was the Germans and quickly ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle. Just as I was preparing
When I was giving the order to fire, I suddenly heard the voice of a little girl talking. I quickly ordered the soldiers to stop the order, then followed the sound and found these children."
Sokov came to the little girl and knelt down, and asked kindly: "Little girl, what is your name, and how old are you this year?"
"My name is Lilia!" the little girl replied tenderly: "I am three and a half years old."
"Where is your mother?" Such a young child was actually hiding in the sewer. Sokov's first reaction was that her family had suffered misfortune, so he then asked: "Why isn't she with you?"
"Mom is dead." Lilia lowered her head when she heard Sokov's question, tears streaming down her cheeks, "She was killed by a German plane."
Seeing Lilia's pitiful look, the softest part of Sokov's heart was touched. He felt that his nose was sore and his eyes seemed to have sand in them. Something was always going to flow out. In order not to lose his composure in public, he
Intentionally diverting his attention, he looked at the other three boys and asked: "What about you, what are your names, and how old are you this year?"
"My name is Daniel, I am five years old."
"My name is Vadim and I am four years old."
"My name is Anton, I am seven years old this year." The oldest boy said, "Our mothers were killed by the Germans."
"Anton!" After hearing several children report their names and ages, Sokov stood up, put his hands on each other's shoulders, and asked softly: "Did you take them to hide in the sewer?"
Seeing the friendly attitude of the officer who asked the question, Anton was not afraid at all, so he nodded and replied firmly: "Yes."
For a seven-year-old child to survive in a war-torn city with three other younger children, Sokov thought it was an amazing thing. He continued to ask: "I want to ask you,
How did you survive?"
"We usually hide in the sewers." Anton replied: "When it gets dark, we come out of the sewers and go through the dead people's bags or backpacks. There will be some food in them. Sometimes we find a lot of food.
, everyone will be able to eat a little full; if there is no harvest, everyone will only be hungry..."
"Captain Vanya," Sokov saw the slices of bread in the children's hands and stuffed them all into their mouths while speaking. Knowing that they must be starving, he ordered Vanya: "Find more for the children."
Order something to eat and a cup of hot tea by the way."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff. The children have been hungry for too long. If you feed them too much, they will burst." Belgin stopped Vanya, who was about to find food, "Give them some food."
Bring a cup of hot tea, I believe they haven't had anything hot for a long time."
Four cups of black tea with honey were brought over quickly. The four children took the tea cups and drank the tea quickly while blowing on the hot air.
"Misha!" Belkin pulled Sokov aside and asked in a low voice: "I want to ask you, how are these children settled? You know, we are at war here, and it is not safe for the children to stay here.
.”
How to settle these orphans who lost their parents in the war also gave Sokov a headache. Without the company of adults, even if he sent someone to take them to the ferry, they would not be able to board the ship. And even if they reluctantly boarded the ship, they would not be able to get on the ship.
What should they do after they reach the other side of the river? Who will take care of them?
"Comrade Commander," seeing Sokov's helpless look, Samoilov, who had brought the children to the command post, said, "I think we can take them back to Mamayev Heights and hand them over to Asya.
They will take care of them. When the time is right, they will send people to send them out of the city."
As for Samoylov's suggestion, Sokov felt that it was quite reliable. Although there was also fighting at Mamayev Heights, as long as the children stayed in the tunnel and did not go out, there would be no danger. Besides, they could still
It is much better to be taken care of by female health workers, including Asiya, than to stay in the sewers and fend for themselves.
Thinking of this, Sokov nodded and said: "Okay, when we return to Mamayev Heights, we will take them back together."
"Misha." Belkin waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and then took the initiative to say: "The battle situation here will not change much in a short period of time. You should return to Mamayev Heights as soon as possible. No matter what,
, you are the commander of a division, you can’t always leave your command post.”
"Second Lieutenant Samoilov," Sokov thought about how he had sent Samoilov to take a detachment of the downsized regiment to survey the terrain in the sewers. If he was asked to follow him back to Mamayev Heights, would he
It had a negative impact on the work of Belkin and others, so he asked: "Have you finished the topographic survey?"
"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Vanya replied first: "The survey work led by Second Lieutenant Samoilov has ended." He picked up a sketch on the table and introduced it to Sokov, "This is
The sewer sketch provided to me by Comrade Second Lieutenant."
Seeing that Samoylov had done all the work he was supposed to do, and that Belkin and Vanya could command the troops to guard the archives building, Sokov felt that there was no need for him to stay any longer, so he nodded and said
: "Okay, as soon as it gets dark, we will return to Mamayev Heights immediately."
Hearing that Sokov was preparing to return to Mamayev Heights, everyone, whether it was Bergin, Vanya or Samoylov, breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. They thought to themselves: As long as the division commander returns to Mamayev Heights,
Yevgan, then his safety can be guaranteed to the greatest extent, and he won't have to be as worried as he is now.
Sokov thought in his mind: Judging from what he just observed, the underwater pontoon bridge should have been completed. When he returned to the division headquarters, he could call Chuikov and ask when the troops on the other side could enter the city.
