The truck drove west along the river, and after driving some distance, it turned around and landed on a stone bridge, and then drove all the way south.

This military parade in 1941 was of great significance to both the Soviet Union and later Russia, and was a major historical event worthy of special mention. And I, as a participant in this historical event, was sitting between the driver and Crochkov, holding a submachine gun in my arms, and closing my eyes without saying a word.

The truck drove and suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes and asked the driver, "Why did you park?" As he spoke, he looked out the window to see if he had encountered a makeshift checkpoint or something. I don't know when the snow outside has stopped, the visibility is very high, the road is empty, let alone checkpoints or barricades, not even a single person can be seen.

"The car broke down, I'll take a look." The driver said, opened the door and jumped in. He walked around to the front of the car, lifted the front cover, and examined it carefully.

I shifted my body to the left, sat down in the driver's seat, peeked out of the half-open door and looked back, except for the car I was sitting in and the other two trucks that were coming with me, all the cars behind me stopped, and the long convoy was not in sight. I turned to Kroschikov and said: "Look, comrade instructor, our car broke down and blocked all the cars. I don't know what's wrong with this car, and I don't know when it's going to be repaired. Do you want to go to the back and let those cars go first? ”

"No problem, I'll go right away." As he spoke, he straightened his military hat on his head, then pulled open the door on his side and jumped off, trotting towards the motorcade behind him.

After a while, the cars behind drove up and passed in front of me one after the other. The driver was still checking what was wrong with the car, and I was bored sitting alone in the cab, so I moved my body to the right side of the car and got out of the car through the door that Crochkov had opened.

I looked into the carriage, and the warrior sat upright, even though his hat, shoulders, and back were covered in thick snow. While admiring the soldiers, I also had a stomach for the leaders who sent us cars: on such a cold day, three open-top trucks were actually sent to us, and the soldiers were allowed to sit in unsheltered carriages and drink the northwest wind.

There seems to be an artificial lake on the right side of the road, and from a distance, except for a small area in the middle of the lake, the rest of the place has frozen. Aren't artificial lakes usually found in forests, and how can one suddenly pop up on the banks of the Moskva River? With this question in mind, I strolled towards the lake.

The artificial lake was about 50 meters from the road, and I walked cautiously through the snow. Just halfway through, suddenly an old-fashioned voice came from behind him: "Hey, I said comrade commander, are you here to participate in the October Revolution Day parade?" ”

I looked back and saw an elderly officer in his fifties, wearing a large-brimmed hat with a red hoop and a gold star on the red diamond collar badge indicating that he was a general. I quickly counted it, and there were four stars, a general. I hurriedly stood up and saluted him and reported: "Hello, Comrade Admiral! I am Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, and I have been ordered to take my troops to Red Square to participate in the review. ”

"Good!" The general nodded and said, "It's a coincidence that you came, there is still one person left in our commander's team participating in the parade, and you can just join us to make up for this position." ”

Commander Platoon?! What's going on? I was confused and asked, "What commander phalanx?" Where are the other commanders, and why haven't I seen anyone but you? ”

"Isn't that right?" As he spoke, he pointed to the surface of the lake with his hand, and I looked in the direction of his finger, and sure enough, a small force, following an officer with a flag, was walking towards me.

In a few moments, a strange procession passed in front of us. I could clearly see that it was a major general who was holding the flag, and the commanders who followed behind him generally had relatively high military ranks, except for a few political workers, and the rest were either generals or colonels, and there were very few people of my rank.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, move quickly, quickly stand in the ranks and go with us to Red Square. If it is delayed any longer, the review should be over. The Admiral spoke to me in a commanding tone, and with that he turned and followed the procession. Without thinking, I followed behind the admiral, one after the other, towards the Moscow River.

"Commander Kirponos!" A shrill voice suddenly shouted from the side, and the sudden sound caused the whole team to stop, and everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came from. I saw the man who spoke in a gray military coat, a dogskin hat, and a pair of round-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. He walked up to us and said in a trembling voice: "Commander Kirponos, didn't you die during the breakout of Kyiv?" Then he turned his face to the major general who was holding the flag and said, "Chief of Staff Tupikov, didn't you also die?" Then he pointed to a political worker with a beard and shouted: "Comrade Military Commissar Burmystenko, I saw with my own eyes that you were blown to pieces by the bombs of the fascist bandits." ”

Yes?! Hearing this, I couldn't help but feel a chill in my vest, and quickly ran a few steps to the side, came to the man's side, and asked in a trembling voice, "What the hell is going on?" ”

"Let me introduce you," he said, pointing to the general who had just spoken to me, "this is General Kirponos, the former commander of the Southwestern Front, and the banner is being carried by Major General Tupikov, chief of staff of the Front, Comrade Burmystenko, the military commissar, and the rest are staff officers from the headquarters of the Southwestern Front. Except for me, Khrushchev, Budyonny and a few others who successfully broke through the siege, the rest of the commanders died heroically in the battle to defend Kyiv! ”

Even if a bomb exploded around me, it would not be as powerful as the message that this eyed officer had told me. I couldn't help but take two steps back, oh my god, I was dealing with a group of ghosts. At this time, I noticed that they were all wearing summer clothes, and so many people were walking just now, and they didn't make a sound at all; After walking through the snow, not even a single footprint was left. Seeing this scene, I really wanted to know if it was real or a dream, so I put my index finger in my mouth and bit it hard, and the pain I felt instantly made me understand that everything that happened in front of me was real, and I was not in a dream.

Admiral Kirponos looked at us, smiled sadly, and said, "I didn't expect us all to die. After a pause, he added: "Comrade Vlasov, the responsibility of defending Moscow is entrusted to you and your living comrades, and you must not fail to live up to our trust!" ”

"Comrade commander, don't worry, as long as I am alive, I will definitely continue to fight."

"Since you say so, I'm relieved!" After the admiral finished speaking, he faced the commanders and fighters who were standing silently next to him and said: "We have fulfilled our oath and defended the motherland with our lives. Now we set off, march towards Red Square, and together with the martyrs who are buried there, we will bless our motherland and nation with our souls. ”

The Admiral and his team quickly disappeared from my sight, as if they had never been there. I took a few steps forward, stopped, faced the place where the heroes had disappeared, raised my hand to my sideburns, and solemnly gave a military salute.

"Hello, Comrade Oshanina!" The shrill voice rang in my ears again, and I remembered that there was another person standing beside me, so I quickly put my hand down and turned to face the person behind me. Seeing that I had turned around, he continued: "I am Major General Vlasov, commander of the new 20th Army. ”

Listening to him identify himself, I realized that there was a major general standing in front of me, so I quickly stood up and saluted, and reported to him loudly: "Comrade General, hello! I am Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, and I am at your disposal. ”

"Do you know what this place is?" He suddenly pointed to the man-made lake and asked me.

I shook my head and said in an uncertain tone, "Maybe it's an artificial lake or something." ”

"No, it's not an artificial lake, it was originally home to the Cathedral of the Resurrection. A few years ago it was intended to build the Palace of Soviets here, so the church was blown up and all the clergy were exiled. However, after the foundation was laid, there were frequent construction accidents, several people died, and the construction site became a lake overnight. Some people say that it is because the gods are angry that this incredible thing happens. At this point, he looked left and right, then walked over, put his hands on my shoulders, and whispered: "I can only know what I saw about Commander Kirponos just now, and I feel that you can't tell the third person, otherwise it will cause unnecessary trouble." Do you understand? ”

"Understood!" I didn't understand why he would say that, but I agreed to him very simply.

"General Vlasov, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, it turns out that you two are here, so we have to look everywhere." I was startled by the sudden noise, and when I turned my head, I saw that the person who had come was Crochkov, who had been involved in the interrogation of me and Bezikov.

Crochkov, dressed in civilian clothes, walked up to me and said dryly: "I came to you on the orders of Comrade Pos Krebeshev and General Vlasov, there is an important task for you to perform. ”

"Okay, I'll go talk to my warriors, and I'll go with you."

Krochkov did not speak, but just nodded in agreement.

I walked briskly towards where the truck was parked, just in time to see Crochkov hurrying over with a few fighters, and when he saw me, he hurriedly walked a few steps, came to my side, and anxiously asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where did you run just now?" I couldn't see you in the blink of an eye, and I thought something had happened to you, so I got all the fighters out of the car and went around looking for you. ”

"Huh?!" I couldn't help but be surprised when he said this, I hadn't gone far just now, no more than fifty meters away from where the truck was, how could they not see me? "I didn't go far, right next to that puddle."

"I've seen it, and there's no one anywhere, that's why the warriors are looking for you." At this point, he leaned close to my ear and lowered his voice and said, "At this moment, I saw a black sedan parked behind our truck, and a general got out of it, and after walking in the direction of the puddle for a while, he suddenly disappeared from my sight. When he reappears, I'll see you with him. ”

My God, what the hell is going on? The more I listened, the more confused I became. However, I couldn't explain this for a while, so I quickly raised my hand to stop Crochkov from continuing: "Okay, this is the end of the matter, don't mention it again." I'm here to tell you that my superiors have important tasks that I need to carry out, and you will be responsible for bringing back these troops who participated in the review, understand? ”

"Yes!"

I walked up to the truck, leaned in through the open door, and pulled out my clothes and submachine gun. When he was about to close the door, he saw the driver get into the car through the other side of the door, so he asked him: "Comrade driver, has the car been repaired?" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you know what to say? It's weird, I just checked it and there was nothing wrong with it. I was thinking about how to fix it, and the motor of the car turned on its own, which is strange to say. ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, please move quickly, everyone is waiting for you!" The voice of that nasty Krochkov came from behind. I quickly and loudly promised: "Here, I'll go right away." Then he waved to the driver, slammed the door shut, turned around and shook Instructor Crochkov's hand again, before striding past the black sedan parked behind.