While Floning was muttering to himself, I filled the empty cup in front of him with coffee and asked him again: "Comrade Senior Engineer, have you found that Mikhail?" ”

The old engineer was stunned for a moment, "Mikhail? Which Mikhail? Then he understood who I was talking about, nodded sharply and replied: "Oh, you're talking about Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov, who has already been found, and who has been placed in a formal school, and when he is finished, he will be appointed as a technician at the weapons testing field." ”

I asked tentatively, "Are the assault rifles you are making today exactly the same as those of later generations?" ”

"The construction of the firearms can be said to be exactly the same." He replied confidently: "Because of the intermediate power bullet used in the AK47, it will not be developed until 1943." At first, we tried to use Mosin Nagant rifle rounds instead of these bullets, but after testing, we found that not only was the speed of continuous fire slow, but also there were frequent jams, so we finally used a dedicated intermediate power bullet. ”

I didn't seem to understand everything he said, but I couldn't help but ask curiously: "Is there a difference between the Mosin Nagant rifle cartridge and the bullet used by the AK47?" Aren't they all 7.62 mm caliber bullets? ”

In response to my question, the old engineer's bad habit of being a good teacher returned, and he said proudly: "I'll explain to you what an intermediate power bullet is." In order to balance the power and control the shooting accuracy during continuous shooting, the research and development of short cartridge rifle cartridges, this kind of short cartridge ammunition is called intermediate power bullets. It can also be said to be an intermediate bullet with power and size between a pistol bullet and a rifle bullet. Although I didn't fully understand what he said, he still nodded vigorously without pretending to understand, and seeing my unusually cooperative expression, he continued: "Since the regular bullet used in AK47 is 7.62*39 mm, while the Mosin Nagant bullet is 7.62*54 mm, the two bullets cannot be used universally, so we shortened the length of the cartridge case from the original 54 mm to 39 mm, and the charge was also reduced from 3 grams to about 1.6 grams." In this way, although the bullet charge is smaller, and the power and recoil are much smaller, it can be fired quickly and continuously. With the same load, the fighters could carry a much larger amount of ammunition. ”

"Is it easy to make special bullets for assault rifles?"

Florin shook his head unexpectedly and said: "The production of this kind of bullet is not high, each gun is only equipped with four magazines, that is, 120 rounds, so you have to save a little when you use it, otherwise when the bullets run out, this gun can only be used as a burning stick." ”

"Why is the yield so low?" I really wonder in my heart, since it can be mass-produced, why can't the output go up, it's really puzzling.

He sighed and said: "The existence of our people is a high-level secret, except for the soldiers who escorted us to the factory in the first place, we can't meet with anyone, otherwise we will be killed." In the same way, the skills we have mastered are only limited to the use of our production workshop, and cannot be passed on. Due to the limited manpower and the lack of manufacturing equipment, the production of power bombs is so low. Also for reasons of secrecy, in order to prevent leakage, when the new rifle was advertised to the outside world, it was said that the gun used Mosin Nagant rifle cartridges. ”

I looked at the old man in front of me and couldn't help but ask suspiciously: "Since you can't contact outsiders, how can you leave the factory?" ”

The old man showed a sly expression, and said mysteriously, "I am different from them! I'm an old guy with amnesia, and I can't remember anything other than knowledge about the military industry. That's why Colonel Bezikov dared to take me out to meet you, the savior. ”

This old guy, when I was in the subway station, I thought he was an old fool, but I didn't expect him to be a pig and eat a tiger all the time. I pointed my finger at him and jokingly said, "What an old fox you are!" I didn't expect you to fool everyone so easily. Then he changed the subject: "Comrade engineer, there is something I have been wanting to ask you since I saw you, and I wonder if you can give me an accurate answer." ”

Fronin couldn't help but be stunned, and asked in some surprise: "What's the matter?" ”

"Where are you now?" As soon as I said this, I immediately realized that there was a speech problem, and hurriedly added: "I mean, you were at the time of the Great Patriotic War, where are you at the moment?" ”

After listening to the question, he frowned and thought for a moment before he replied leisurely: "I joined the 18th Infantry Division under the command of Colonel Chernyshov in late October, and although we were only a militia division, we were awarded the honorary title of the 11th Guards Division by the Supreme Command for our bravery and tenacity in the defense of Moscow. Now we are in the operational sequence of the 16th Army, launching a fierce assault on the remnants of the German forces on the Rama River. ”

"Have you made a mark?"

The old man shook his head and said: "No, the day after the start of the great counteroffensive, I was wounded and sent to the rear hospital, and I did not return to Moscow until the summer of 1943. Speaking of this, he suddenly gasped as if he remembered something, looked at me with strange eyes and asked, "The unit you are in now is the 20th Army?" The commander is Vlasov? ”

"Yes! I am now the Chief of Staff of the 20th Army and the commander of the 8th Guards Division. Although I didn't know what he suddenly remembered, I nodded honestly and identified my current identity.

"I remind you to keep your distance from Vlasov, otherwise you will be killed in the future."

"For what?" Floning's brainless words made me more and more confused.

"Vlasov!" The old man gritted his teeth and said: "This damned shameful traitor, as a high-ranking general, in the most difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, his conviction was shaken. In the Nazi concentration camps, he turned from a hero of the Red Army into an accomplice of the fascists, collected and organized the scum of the Soviet prisoners of war, and formed the anti-Soviet military organization 'Russian National Liberation Army', like many people in that crazy era, he fired at his compatriots with guns and ammunition provided by the Germans, hoping to rely on the Germans to transform the Soviet social system. This was not only in vain, but also nailed himself to the pillar of shame of history forever. ”

"And what happened to the 20th Army?" I don't know anything about the history of the Soviet counteroffensive after the start of the great Soviet counteroffensive, which was limited to the fact that the Germans were pushed back a few hundred kilometers to the west.

"What else?!" The old man said angrily: "In mid-January, the 20th Army and the Soviet armies of all directions attacked separately and surrounded some units of the German 9th Army and the 4th Panzer Army in the Vyazma area. But when victory was in sight, the Soviet High Command made a fatal mistake. Ignoring Zhukov's strong opposition, the Soviet High Command prematurely withdrew Kuznetsov's 1st Shock Army and Rokossovsky's 16th Army west of Moscow to reinforce the northern and southern flanks, causing Vlasov's 20th Army, which was trying to attack from east to west, having to widen the frontal width of the offensive and gradually lose its sharpness, which relieved the pressure on the east side of the besieged German army. While the Soviet paratroopers and partisans were trying to close the gap between Yukhnov and Vyazma, they were suddenly met with a fierce counterattack by the German 4th Panzer Army. On 3 February, the besieged Germans had opened up contact with the outside world. By 5 February 1942, Moder's German 9th Army had instead surrounded the Soviet 20th Army, cutting it off from friendly forces and quickly annihilating it. Only about 5,000 men of the army group narrowly escaped the encirclement. ”

After listening to him tell the history that was about to happen, I couldn't help but worry about my future, and I couldn't wait to ask, "What about my Eighth Guards Division?" ”

"Originally, in mid-December, the Eighth Guards Division was transferred to the reserve of the highest base camp, but I don't know what your troops will now be in the sequence of the 20th Army, is there a deviation in history? ……”

I was anxious to know my future fate, so I couldn't wait to interrupt Floning's thinking and continued to ask: "Comrade engineer, don't care about any deviations, I just want to know where my Eighth Guards Division is when the 20th Army is completely annihilated?" ”

"If nothing else, your division will be transferred to the Northwest Front in the middle of this month. In February-March 1942, he took part in the battles against the German fascist army Demyansk Group in the formation of the 2nd Guards Infantry Army of the North-Western Front and the Kalinin Front. ”

Knowing that he could escape the fate of being captured, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and was about to continue asking, but he heard a movement at the door, as if it was Vlasov and they had returned. I sighed and realized that I would never have the opportunity to ask Floning about the future history today.

The door opened, and it was Vlasov and the others who entered. Bezikov, who was at the forefront, put the rifle he had just taken out on the table and said excitedly: "This assault rifle is really amazing. We just went out to test the gun, and the hit rate of hitting a 150-meter target was similar to that of the Mosin Nagant rifle, and when attacking close targets, its lethal effect was much greater than that of a submachine gun. ”

Vlasov asked me with a smile on his face: "Leda, what did you and Engineer Floning talk about when we went out to test the gun just now?" Bezikov, who had been a little carried away, also quieted down when he heard him ask, and turned his attention to me, waiting for my answer.

I glanced at the old engineer sitting next to me, and saw that he was drinking tea with a teacup, and his eyes were fixed on the tea in the cup, as if he wanted to see what was in the water. I tried to squeeze out a smile and said: "Actually, I didn't talk about anything, I just listened to Comrade Engineer explain to me the characteristics of this new assault rifle, and I knew it when I used it in the future." ”