Red Moscow - #2397 - Chapter 2396:

Two days later, after Captain Feng and Lieutenant Chen completed their mission of rescuing and arming the miners, they returned to Fengtian City and reported the situation to Sokov at the Fengtian Imperial Hotel, where the 53rd Army Headquarters is located.

Seeing the two people walking into his office, Sokov quickly stood up to greet them. While shaking hands with the two of them, he said with a smile: “Comrade commanders, it must be very hard after staying outside for so many days. After you finish reporting on your work, you can go back and rest first.”

“Comrade General,” Lieutenant Chen suddenly said as he shook hands with Sokov, “I have a question to ask you.”

“Lieutenant Chen, if you have any questions, just ask.” Sokov said with a smile.

“On our way back to the city, we passed the Tiexi factory area.” Lieutenant Chen said with a serious expression: “I saw the door of the factory was closed, with a seal sign nailed on the door, and Soviet soldiers were still standing guard at the door. I felt Out of curiosity, I got out of the car and went to find out more about the situation. It turned out that these factories had been taken over by the Soviet army. All factories that had served the Kwantung Army were classified as military factories and were ‘trophies’ belonging to the Soviet army, and troops were sent to them. Guard and strictly prohibit outsiders from entering.”

Sokov’s smile froze on his face. He didn’t expect that Lieutenant Chen would suddenly ask about this, and for a moment he didn’t know how to answer him.

“Why don’t you speak?” Seeing that Sokov did not answer him, Lieutenant Chen couldn’t help but raise his voice: “The Northeast has been occupied by the Japs for 14 years. During such a long period of time, as long as there are factories opened in the Northeast, there are Which company hasn’t cooperated with the Japs? You can’t just accept them as trophies, right? I’m very grateful to the Soviet army for helping us defeat the Japs, but before we could laugh out loud, you came to take advantage of them and take advantage of them. Everything that belongs to the Chinese people is taken away in the name of spoils of war…”

“Lieutenant Chen, please pay attention to your words.” Captain Feng saw Sokov’s face getting more and more ugly, so he decisively interrupted Lieutenant Chen’s words and said apologetically to Sokov: “Comrade Commander , I’m really sorry, Lieutenant Chen lost control because he was worried when he saw that the factory was not operating and the workers’ food, clothing, housing and transportation were not provided.”

“Captain Feng, you don’t have to say anything.” Sokov raised his hand to signal the other party not to continue talking: “Two days ago, when I learned about this, I got angry at the military meeting. If I really said that The Japanese factories are all spoils of war and should be used as war compensation, so the Chinese people should be the first to receive compensation, not the Soviet army who only fought the Japanese for a few days. Although I am the commander of the group army, in this case I am not qualified to speak on the handling of the matter. You may not know yet, but starting yesterday, all the factories in Fengtian Railway West District have been taken over by people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Not to mention you, even I went to the Railway In the West District, you can’t enter those factories.”

 After hearing Sokov’s words, the two of them couldn’t help but be shocked. If Lieutenant Chen was not familiar with Sokov and still had doubts about what he said, then Captain Feng was convinced, because after spending this time together, he found that Sokov, like himself, had the same attitude toward The little devil was full of hatred, and he repeatedly restricted the troops, not allowing anyone to do anything that violated military discipline against the Chinese people in the occupied area.

It is precisely because of knowing Sokov that Captain Feng feels that what Sokov said is true. He hesitated for a moment and asked: “Comrade Commander, what should we do? Are we just going to watch the equipment in these factories being dismantled and shipped away?”

Sokov did not answer his question, but sighed softly, and then asked: “I asked you to go to the coal mine in the suburbs to rescue the miners there. How is the situation there?”

“Comrade Commander, after we went to the coal mine, we seized Japanese archives and visited many miners, and we got a general understanding of the situation there.” Captain Feng reported to Sokov: “The labor of the miners The environment is harsh and lacks proper safety guarantees. Miners face not only long working hours, but also a huge workload. High-intensity work brings them heavy pressure and injuries. In the harsh environment, The miners also suffered abuse and abuse from their bosses and overseers.

 The harsh environment has a great impact on the health of miners. Not only are the temperatures and humidity high in the mines, but there are also coal dust and even gas. Most miners suffer from skin diseases, malaria, influenza, and bronchitis. According to the mine’s files, 57,269 of the 71,437 miners were sick. According to this statistic, the prevalence rate among miners is actually as high as 80%. Limited food and poor living conditions made the health of the sick miners even worse.

In order to obtain more coal, the little devils adopted primitive and predatory coal mining methods without good safety measures. However, accidents such as gas explosions, underground fires, roof falls, and water leakage occurred frequently in the mines. According to the archives: ‘In the ten years from 1932 to 1942, the death toll was as high as 78,096. Among them, in the four years from 1939 to 1942 alone, 37,486 people died.

 This is only the number of deaths recorded, and the actual number of casualties may be far greater than this number. Faced with frequent mining disasters and the abnormal deaths of a large number of coal miners, the managers of the Little Devils ignored the miners’ lives and did not take any remedial measures. Instead, they continued to implement the wrong mining model indifferently. “

 After listening to Captain Feng’s report, Sokov was filled with hatred for the little devil. If there were still little Japs who were stubbornly resisting, he wouldn’t mind personally leading his troops to destroy them.

After a pause, Sokov asked: “Captain Feng, how many soldiers have you recruited this time?”

“A total of six hundred people.” Lieutenant Chen replied quickly: “What you gave us is a strengthened battalion. I think six hundred people are already quite a lot.”

“No, six hundred people are too few.” Sokov shook his head and said: “To maintain the security of a city as big as Fengtian, you six hundred people are just a drop in the bucket and won’t make much difference at all.”

“But you will give us a strengthened battalion?” Lieutenant Chen said.

After hearing this, Sokov couldn’t help but shook his head secretly, thinking that you didn’t understand the meaning of his words at all, so he explained to him: “Lieutenant Chen, you are right, I did give you a strengthened battalion. But I have not limited your number, that is to say, your reinforced battalion can have 400 soldiers, 4,000 soldiers, or even 40,000 soldiers, but it can only be declared as a battalion to the outside world.”

 Both Captain Feng and Lieutenant Chen were confused about Sokov’s statement. The two looked at each other and saw only confusion in each other’s eyes.

“Comrade Commander,” Captain Feng finally asked tentatively, “Why do you allow us to expand our military without limit?”

“Captain Feng, I have told you more than once that our army’s presence in Fengtian is only temporary and may be withdrawn in a few months.” Sokov looked at Captain Feng and said: “After we withdraw, Fengtian will become a In the vacuum zone, if your strength is not enough to defend the city, it will be taken away by other forces. For example, those bearded people hiding in the mountains and forests will see that the little devil is gone and there are no troops stationed in the city. They took the opportunity to storm the city to burn, kill and loot. Do you understand?”

Sokov knew very well that under the current circumstances, many things could not be explained too clearly, otherwise it would bring trouble to himself and Captain Feng, so he could only vaguely talk about the problems Fengtian was currently facing. situation.

Fortunately, Captain Feng was the chief of the intelligence section and his brain was better than ordinary people. After thinking about it carefully, he understood what Sokov wanted to express. He nodded quickly and said: “I understand, Comrade Commander, I will definitely We will think of ways to expand our power. If you allow it, I would like to recruit a group of new soldiers in Fengtian City?” “No problem.” Sokov replied readily: “I still say the same thing, as long as you command a Strengthening the battalion, I won’t ask how many soldiers there are. As for the required weapons, equipment and various military supplies, you can go to the military warehouse outside the city to get them. Just say hello to the director of the logistics department. “

Hearing what Sokov said, Captain Feng did not show much excitement, but asked cautiously: “Comrade Commander, what should we do if we are blocked by the Ministry of Internal Affairs when we receive supplies at the military warehouse?” manage?”

“You need to figure this out on your own.” Sokov said implicitly: “For example, Soviet soldiers like to drink some wine, and they must also be very interested in the local wine in the Northeast. You can find local wine. Entertain them. As long as they have a good time, it’s not a matter of saying what supplies you need from the warehouse.”

After hearing this, Captain Feng nodded repeatedly and said with some emotion: “Understood, Comrade Commander. The soldiers guarding the warehouse must be working very hard. I will bring wine and men to comfort them.”

Seeing that Captain Feng understood what he wanted to express, Sokov smiled and nodded, and then continued: “By the way, I have another task for you.”

 “What mission?” the two asked in unison.

“Since there are not enough troops to maintain security in the city, General Afuning, the commander of the 18th Guards Army, used a lot of soldiers from the Kwantung Army.” Sokov said to Captain Feng: “I hope you can mobilize people as soon as possible and replace them. Lost these little devils with sticks. I get upset when I see them.”

“But our troops have just been formed and have no combat effectiveness at all.” Captain Feng said with concern: “Is it appropriate to let them take over the patrols from the Kwantung Army soldiers?”

“There is nothing inappropriate.” Sokov said: “They are just patrolling the streets with weapons, and they are not allowed to go to the battlefield to fight the enemy who is armed to the teeth. What is wrong? The Northeast is ruled by little devils. In 2014, although they have been defeated by us now, your people still hope to see their troops appear in the city as soon as possible. If possible, each of your patrols will fly a red flag with your serial number on it. , let the common people see that it is China’s own army patrolling the streets.”

“Then what flag should we use?” Captain Feng asked cautiously: “We can’t use the flag of the Anti-Union, right?”

Now that the Kwantung Army has completely surrendered, it is obviously inappropriate for Captain Feng to use the banner of the Anti-Alliance. After Sokov walked back and forth indoors for a few times with his hands behind his back, he stopped and said to Captain Feng and Lieutenant Chen: “I think I’ll just write ‘Fengtian Garrison Headquarters Independent Battalion’. What do you think?”

“Fengtian Garrison Headquarters?” Captain Feng asked in surprise: “When was it established?”

“I plan to establish the garrison headquarters tomorrow.” Sokov said to the two men: “The commander will be Major Bezikov, and Lieutenant Chen will serve as the deputy commander of the garrison headquarters and the commander of the independent battalion.” He saw Seeing the confusion on Captain Feng’s face, he explained specifically, “Captain Feng, since you are the political commissar of the independent battalion, I think it is most appropriate for Lieutenant Chen to hold the position of deputy commander.”

 After seeing off Captain Feng and Lieutenant Chen, Sokov picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. Hearing a voice coming from inside, he said: “I am Sokov. Ask Major Bezikov to come to my office.”

Soon, Bezikov came to Sokov’s office.

“Comrade Commander.” Bezikov thought that Sokov called him here to learn about the takeover of the coal mine. Just as he was about to report, Sokov raised his hand to stop him: “Major Bezikov, I am here today. I called you to my office to prepare you for appointing you to an important position.”

“Important position?” Bezikov said with some confusion: “What position?”

“I plan to establish the Fengtian Garrison Headquarters tomorrow, with you as the garrison commander.”

“I will serve as the garrison commander of Fengtian?!” Bezikov felt very sudden when he heard Sokov’s appointment. After a brief panic, he asked: “Comrade Commander, I want to ask, what about me?” How many troops can the garrison commander command? Also, have I been assigned a deputy?”

“The troops under the jurisdiction of the garrison headquarters are drawn from the troops directly under the group army, mainly the troops from the security department. You are familiar with these commanders and fighters, which will facilitate your management.” Sokov said: “As for the assistants, I plan to let Lieutenant Chen from the International Brigade serve as your deputy commander to assist you in the war effort. What do you think?”

Seeing that Sokov had arranged all the things that needed to be arranged, Bezikov could only touch his heels and stand at attention, and then replied loudly: “Comrade Commander.” , I will resolutely obey your orders.”

“Very good, very good.” Sokov was originally worried that his appointment would be resisted by Bezikov. Unexpectedly, the other party agreed so readily. He walked to Bezikov’s side and raised his hand to the other party. He patted his shoulder and said kindly: “Major Bezikov, you must be exhausted these two days. Go back and rest quickly. I will order someone to prepare your office as soon as possible. You can come directly to take office tomorrow.” That’s it.”

“Yes, Comrade Commander.” Bezikov raised his hand and saluted Sokov, then turned and left the office.

 After Bezikov left, Sokov felt that his decision was too hasty and that he should discuss it with Lukin and Yakov, so he walked to the desk and picked up the phone on the table.

 (End of this chapter)