After the soldier had left, Serov walked up to me and assured me in a low voice: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I assure you that as long as it is within my ability, not a single female soldier will ever be harmed." ”

The solemn promise he made to me made me feel a little good about him. Since he took the initiative to admit his mistake to me and made concessions, I have to say something. Although military commissar Abramov said just now that after they are detained, he will ask the front army headquarters for instructions on how to deal with them, but from what I know about the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this matter will still be resolved at the very least, and it is better to be a good favor now than to have to release them after tossing for half a day. I said to him in a friendly manner: "Lieutenant Serov, when the female soldiers come, you can leave with your men." ”

"Is it really okay to leave?" Serov retorted in disbelief, "What if Commander Shumilov is held accountable?" ”

"I'll take care of this." Because it was the military commissar Abramov, not the commander Shumilov, who had just ordered the fighters to surrender Serov. From this it can be seen that Shumilov did not have the courage to resist the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and I took it upon myself to release Serov, and when I went back to report to him, he would not say anything.

After a short period of effort, the soldier who had been sent by Serov to lead the female soldiers returned, and behind him cowered five female soldiers who did not wear military caps and were obviously in shock.

Seeing the female soldiers coming, I hurriedly carried a submachine gun to meet them, and comforted the frightened female soldiers as soon as possible. When I was still a few steps away from them, suddenly "Ah~~" let out a miserable scream. At her cries, several female soldiers fell to the ground. Then several people hugged each other. Hug your head and cry.

They wept. It made me cry, what's going on?

Not only me, but also the commanders and fighters around me, whether it was the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the guard company or the commanders and fighters of the 208th Division, were all dumbfounded, everyone looked at each other and asked in a low voice: "Is something wrong?" Why are they crying for? ”

I took two more steps forward. Leaning down and leaning over to pull the arm of the female soldier closest to me. Unexpectedly, she shook her arm out of my hand and cried louder and louder.

I didn't understand why she was so afraid of me, sighed, and reached out to pull the other female soldier. The female soldier with beautiful short blond hair found out that I was going to arrest her, and quickly let go of the hand that was holding her companion, sat on the ground and stepped back with her hands and feet, while shouting in horror: "Go away, you go away!" Please, don't. Don't kill me! ”

Kill you? Why do you want to kill you? The shouts of the female soldier made me stunned again, and I kept leaning over with a submachine gun in one hand. The other hand is stretched out to pull the person.

I only held this position for a moment, then I stood up straight, looked down at the female soldier sitting on the ground, and said to her with a straight face: "Little girl, why do you say that I will kill you?" You know, I'm here to save you. ”

The female soldier was originally curled up in a ball, her hands tightly clasped her legs, and when she heard me ask her, she stretched out a finger and pointed at me, and said tremblingly: "Comrade female commander, you said that you won't kill us, why do you still have a gun in your hand?" ”

I looked down, but I forgot that I still had a submachine gun in my hand, no wonder these female soldiers were so frightened, I guess they were already frightened by the tragic death of their companions. I hurriedly bent down and gently placed the submachine gun at my feet, and in order to reassure them, I even took out the pistol in the holster and put it on the ground. Then he took a step back, spread his hands, and said kindly, "Little girl, you see, I have no weapons on me." ”

Seeing that I had put all my weapons on the ground and kept a distance, the female soldier's vigilance relaxed, and she asked tentatively: "Comrade female commander, you said that you are here to save us?" That means we're safe and won't be shot, right? ”

I didn't speak, just nodded vigorously.

"Comrade Female Commander." The female soldier shouted, jumped up from the place, threw herself into my arms, and began to cry bitterly.

I gently patted the female soldier on the back and comforted her, "Okay, little girl, you are all right, you are safe, I will protect you well." With that, I broke out of her arms, looked at the young female soldier in front of me, and wiped her tears in distress, like my own child.

The female soldier wiped her tears, and inadvertently caught a glimpse of the neatly standing team next to her, and couldn't help but get nervous again, she grabbed my arm with both hands, and asked vigilantly: "Comrade female commander, what are they doing, aren't they here to shoot our firing squad?" ”

"Follow me, little girl." I put my arm around her shoulders and walked towards the group. As I walked, I could clearly feel the female soldiers trembling with fear from nervousness.

The blonde soldier and I came to the front of the team, and after my eyes swept over the faces of hundreds of commanders and fighters, I said loudly: "Commanders and fighters, everyone has seen it. The female soldier standing in front of you is a student who has only recently left school. I ask you to care for them as if they were your own sisters, even at the cost of your own lives, to ensure their safety, because they are the mothers of the future, and the hope of our country rests on them. Can you do it? ”

After a short silence, the ranks rang out with a sparse shout: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, we can do it!" ”

Then the shouts grew louder and more neat, and almost everyone was shouting, "We can do it!" We can do it! ”

I raised my hand to stop everyone's shouting, and then gave them another order: "Disband!" "Because their presence will terrify these five girls who have survived.

Lieutenant Serov walked up to me, raised his hand to salute me, and said politely: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, my men and I are leaving, and I hope we will see each other again." ”

I also smiled politely and politely said, "Good luck, Comrade Lieutenant!" With that, he stretched out his hand to him.

After the commanders and fighters had dispersed, the other four female soldiers walked over slowly. I walked over and picked up my own gun. Insert the pistol into the holster. A submachine gun was carried over the shoulder. Then ask the blonde soldier: "What's your name?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commanderess, my name is Vera!" She was obviously a little bolder than just now, and she pointed to the female soldier who had just screamed and introduced me, "This is Galka. ”

After I took the short, dark-haired female soldier up and down, I couldn't help but say to myself, "Like, really like, really like?" ”

"Comrade Female Commander, what is too similar?" Vera asked curiously.

I coughed quickly. Explained to her: "There was also a female soldier named Jiarka in my previous class, who looked about the same as her, and she was also small, with black hair, and very timid. ”

"Comrade female commander," the Garka in front of him asked curiously, "the female soldier you said with the same name as me is the Garka, what happened to him?" ”

"Sacrificed. She died in one of our encounters with the Germans, and she died heroically, in the face of the enemy. Killed by a bullet. "Actually, I know that the timid Garka was frightened by the enemy and ran around on the battlefield screaming. Killed from behind by the Germans. However, in front of strangers, I still have to maintain the image of Leda's comrade-in-arms.

"What's your name?" I asked the long, maroon-haired female soldier who had just broken free of my arm.

The female soldier hurriedly stood up and saluted me, and reported in a proper manner: "Report to the female commander, comrade, my name is Nakia. I'm sorry I ...... just now."

I raised my hand and waved it to prepare for the apologetic words she was going to say later, and said, "Don't keep calling me Commander, it sounds too awkward, you can call me Leda or Oshanina." With that, I turned my attention to the other two female soldiers.

The two female soldiers hurriedly stood up and reported: "Warrior Lyudmila, warrior Vanya." ”

I looked at these five female soldiers carefully, and said in my heart that the tenth grade in Russia is equivalent to the second year of high school in the Celestial Empire, and they are all seventeen or eighteen-year-old children, but they have become soldiers who defend their families and the country by mistake. Not long after he went to the battlefield, he almost lost his life, alas, there is no way, this is war.

I shook my head at them and said, "Don't stand here in a daze, come with me." ”

Vera was the latest to recover from finding herself out of danger, and on the way, she kept chattering me with different questions.

"Leda, when you were a soldier, were you an infantryman?"

I shook my head and patiently replied to her, "Vera, not an infantryman. I, like you, am in the anti-aircraft artillery unit. The only difference is that you are anti-aircraft gunners, and I am an anti-aircraft machine gunner. ”

"Have you ever shot down an enemy plane?"

I nodded vigorously and replied in the affirmative: "Yes, I have shot down several German planes." ”

"Wow, Leda, you're amazing!" When Vera heard me say this, she exclaimed, and then asked, "But how did you become an infantry soldier and a commander?" ”

"yes, Leda, tell us about it." Vera's words elicited a response from the other female soldiers.

I didn't immediately satisfy their curiosity, after all, with my experience, not to mention just a few minutes, even three days and three nights can not be finished, I diverted the topic and said: "This matter is a long story, not a few words can explain it clearly, when I have time, I will tell you slowly." ”

Seeing the disappointed looks on the faces of several female soldiers, I quickly changed the topic to distract them: "Do you know why I can come to rescue you in such a timely manner?" ”

"For what?" The female soldiers asked rhetorically very cooperatively.

"Because of your anti-aircraft artillery regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Gorman, of course."

"Lieutenant Colonel Gorman! Is he alive? Vera screamed excitedly again, and she touched Garka next to her with her arm, and said proudly, "Do you hear that?" Garka, Leda says our captain is still alive. ”

Garka could only mum twice, and did not answer her words.

Vera explained to me: "Lieutenant Colonel Gorman was a good man, when the enemy pounced on our positions. The lieutenant colonel came running and said that we were future mothers and that we should save our lives well, and told us to leave the position immediately and go to the rear. ”

"We left the position with more than thirty sisters, but now there are only five of us left, and the rest have been killed by the Overseers." When Nakia said this suddenly, she wiped away her tears.

Najia's words brought tears to the eyes of the other four female soldiers.

I was about to comfort them with a few words. Suddenly, I saw the staff officer who had reported the news. I am running from the direction of the headquarters. I guess he might have something to do with me. Then he stepped out of the crowd and walked towards the staff officer.

When I was still a few steps away from the staff officer, I raised my voice and asked, "Comrade Captain, do you have something to look for me?" ”

The staff officer nodded, walked quickly to my side, and said hurriedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, General Chuikov asked me to tell you, wait until the female soldiers are rescued." Take them to the anti-aircraft machine gun company of the headquarters. ”

"Anti-aircraft machine gun company?" For the first time, when I heard that there were air defense units in the headquarters of the 64th Army, I asked rhetorically: "Comrade Captain, where is the anti-aircraft machine gun company?" ”

"Please come to me, I'll take you." The staff officer replied politely, turned and left.

I hurriedly turned around and shouted at the female soldiers who were still far behind: "Girls, hurry up, I will take you to the new combat post." ”

The staff officer quickly took us to a camouflaged anti-aircraft position, lifted the camouflage net outside, and revealed an anti-aircraft machine gun, which he slapped at me and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." It's this anti-aircraft machine gun, will you use it? ”

I smiled and stepped forward to stroke the gunshot. To the staff officers and also to the female soldiers, he said: "You see, this is a 14.5 mm quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun, which is composed of four 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine guns, which is a combination of gun body, scope, gun mount, and four-wheel two-axle saddle, which is towed by a car when moving. ”

After I finished speaking, I grabbed the gun and stood up, sat down in front of the scope, skillfully operated the machine gun, and continued to explain to them: "This anti-aircraft machine gun has a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, an effective range of 2,000 meters, and can also fire flat. The machine gun is equipped with two magazines, each containing 150 rounds. ”

When I explained, the female soldiers listened attentively. After a few turns of my machine gun, Vera volunteered, "Leda, can I try it?" ”

I nodded, stepped out of the AA-gun seat, and put Vera in the operator's seat. I have to say that Vera learns things quickly, except for the fact that her hands and feet seem a little rusty at the beginning, she will soon be able to operate proficiently. He spun the machine gun, which was aimed at an angled angle to Vera as Vera turned.

The staff officer saw that the female soldiers had already begun to try to operate the anti-aircraft machine guns, so they did not stop any longer, quietly saluted me, and turned away.

After all the female soldiers had tried to operate it, I began to explain the essentials of its use: "Comrades, everyone has operated this anti-aircraft machine gun and has a certain understanding of its performance. I remind you that when fighting, please turn down the elevation angle of your machine guns and shoot head-on when the enemy dives towards your muzzle! Do you understand? ”

"Got it!" The five female soldiers replied neatly.

Then Vera said happily, "Lida, actually, I thought so when I operated the machine gun just now. ”

I nodded and said, "The five of you will be members of the women's anti-aircraft machine gun squad in the new city from now on. With that, my gaze swept over the faces of the five men, and finally settled on Vera's face. I pointed my finger at Vera and said, "Vera is your class leader. ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Vera said, perhaps nervously, instead of calling me by my name, but directly by my rank, "the five of us enlisted together, and I have never led anyone else!" ”

"It doesn't matter if you haven't led others, start learning from now on." I smiled and encouraged her, saying, "Before I became an officer, I was just a squad leader. Okay, you guys keep practicing, I'll go first. Good luck! "With that, I left the air defense position under the watchful eyes of five female soldiers.

When I returned to the headquarters, I saw that the commander of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Gorman, was gone, and Chuikov, Shumilov, Serdyuk, Abramov, and Ruskin were gathered around the table, studying something.

I stepped forward, raised my hand and saluted, and then reported loudly: "Report to Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina......"

Before I could finish speaking, Chuikov had already raised his hand to interrupt my words and beckoned me over: "I'll talk about your affairs later, you come and take a look first." ”

I walked over to the table and realized what the others were discussing. Judging by the distribution of forces on the map, there were troops of the 64th Army everywhere in the wide positions between the Don and Volga rivers, but in fact the army group could command less than a third of the troops. And what they are discussing at the moment is how to gather these troops scattered within a radius of several hundred kilometers as soon as possible.

"Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, what about the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?" I was looking at the map when I suddenly heard a familiar voice asking me, and when I looked up, it was none other than Abramov, the military commissar who had ordered the arrest.

I hurriedly stood up and reported: "Report to Comrade Military Commissar that I have already let Lieutenant Serov and his men leave after resolving the conflict and rescuing the female soldiers. ”

Before Abramov could speak, I heard another voice: "Comrade Military Commissar, I think Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina has done the right thing, and in the present situation, we should not offend the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, otherwise we will get into trouble." "I looked at the person who was talking and saw that it was Commander Shumilov who had said good things for me, and it seemed that the decision I had just made was correct.

At this time, I only heard Chuikov say again: "Don't talk about these useless things first, I suggest that the work of collecting the troops be handed over to Comrade Raskin, Chief of Staff." Everyone's okay, right? ”

"No comment." The first to speak was Shumilov. Then Serdyuk and Abramov also expressed their support for Chuikov's proposal. (To be continued......)