red moscow

Chapter 2621

Just as Yakov had judged, after the New Year, the phone number left by the city housing authority was still unreachable. After Yakov asked someone to investigate, he found out that the housing authority had never contacted Sokov, and the idea of ​​changing his house was naturally a lie. Sokov had no choice but to continue living in his current house.

After staying in the hospital for more than a month, Asia was finally discharged and returned home in mid-February.

As Asia was still too weak to go back to work for the time being, Sokov asked for sick leave from the hospital where she worked so that she could continue to recuperate at home.

Ustinov also took special care of Sokov and let him work from home so that it would be convenient for him to take care of Asia.

Time soon came to the end of February, and that day Sokov received a call from Zhukov.

"Misha, are you bored staying at home lately?"

Sokov rarely goes out now except for taking a walk with Asia every day. When he heard Zhukov ask him this, he immediately realized that the other party might have some tasks for him, and quickly replied: "Comrade Marshal, I am almost bored, I wonder if you have any tasks for us."

"Misha, there is indeed an important mission for you to complete." Zhukov said, "If I arrange for you to lead the troops to go to war and leave Asia alone at home, is that okay?"

"Comrade Marshal, even if I'm not at home, my mother-in-law can come and take care of Asia." After saying this, Sokov felt puzzled. Half a year after the end of World War II, he hadn't heard of any wars going on anywhere. Where was Zhukov going to send him to lead the troops? He asked tentatively with doubt: "Comrade Marshal, where are you going to let me lead the troops?"

"London!"

"London?!" Hearing the place name mentioned by Zhukov, Sokov couldn't help but be confused: "What are you going to London for?"

"Misha, it's like this. In June this year, a victory parade will be held in London with the participation of all Allied forces." Zhukov said on the phone: "After research, we plan to send you to lead a team to London to participate in this victory parade. The participating troops have been formed, and you can come and take a look tomorrow."

The Victory Parade held in London?! Sokov quickly recalled the military parade in his mind. It seemed that the Soviet army did not participate. The reason for the announcement was that the organizer arranged the order of the participating troops to appear, and the Soviet army was placed behind the US army as the second army to appear. The Soviet side felt that such an arrangement made them lose face, so they refused to participate in the Victory Parade in London.

But when Sokov heard Zhukov's arrangement, he couldn't help but wonder: When the British invited the Soviets to participate in the victory parade, they must have informed them of the order of appearance of the troops in advance. Since the Soviets have already started to form the participating troops, how could they refuse to go to London because of the order of appearance? There must be a reason that he didn't know.

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov asked tentatively, "Who is my deputy?"

"Who else could it be? Of course it's your good brother Yakov." Zhukov said with a smile, "You two leaders were personally selected by Comrade Stalin. He believes that you two will not bring shame to our army if you lead the team."

"Comrade Marshal, where is the training ground for the review troops?"

"In the barracks of the Kremlin," Zhukov said briefly. "You can contact Yakov. He has a special pass that can take you in and out of the Kremlin at will."

After finishing the call with Zhukov, before Sokov could call Yakov, the other party called him first: "Misha, I have good news for you."

"Is it about attending the Victory Parade in London?"

"That's right, that's right." Yakov said excitedly, "It seems that Marshal Zhukov has called to inform you. I will pick you up tomorrow morning, and then we will go to the Kremlin together to see the review troops under our jurisdiction."

"Okay, no problem. Come pick me up tomorrow morning."

"Misha." After Sokov hung up the phone, Asiya asked with concern: "Are you really going to lead the team with Yasha to London to participate in the Allied victory parade?"

"Yes, that's how the superior arranged it."

After confirming the news, Asia timidly asked, "I wonder if you can take me with you? You know, I've heard of London for a long time, but I've never had the chance to go there."

"Axia." Sokov knew that this trip to London would be in vain in the end, but at this moment, no one else knew about it except himself. In order to make Asia happy, he casually wrote a verbal check: "No problem, I will definitely take you with me when I go to London."

The next morning, Yakov drove to pick up Sokov.

On the way to the Kremlin, he seemed particularly excited: "Misha, I never thought that our troops would have the opportunity to set foot on the land of Great Britain. Although it is only to participate in the victory parade, I believe it will be recorded in history."

"That's right, our trip to London to participate in the military parade will definitely go down in history." After saying this, Sokov said silently in his heart: It's a pity that the trip to London that everyone was looking forward to ended up in vain.

The car crossed Red Square and arrived at the entrance of the Spasskaya Tower.

Although it was not Sokov's first time to visit the Kremlin, he still felt a little nervous when he saw the guards officer walking towards the car.

He thought the other party would strictly check the documents and order him and Yakov to hand over the guns they carried. But he didn't expect that the guards officer just lowered his head to look into the car, then waved and let them go.

As Yakov drove on, Sokov asked in confusion: "Yasha, what's going on? In the past, when I entered the Kremlin, I had to go through strict inspections and my weapons were confiscated. But why is the inspection so lax today?"

"You came to the Kremlin before during the war, so it was understandable that the inspection was strict." Yakov explained: "Now that the war is over, the inspection will naturally not be as strict as before. In addition, I often go in and out of the Kremlin, so they have long accepted me as their defeat. My face is my pass. As for you, the Kremlin guards are no strangers to you, so the officer just looked into the car and let us pass."

Arriving at the parking lot of the military camp, as soon as the car stopped, an officer ran over, opened the car door, and took the initiative to say: "Comrade General, welcome!" Sokov was immediately happy when he saw the officer. He turned his head and said to Yakov: "Yasha, isn't this the Major Bezikov who sent us to the sanatorium in the suburbs?"

"Yes, he is Bezikov. He was the one who organized the parade troops this time." After Yakov introduced Bezikov's identity to Sokov, he reminded him, "Also, he is no longer a major, but a lieutenant colonel."

"Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov," Sokov said politely after shaking hands with Bezikov, "please introduce us to the review troops."

“将军同志。”别济科夫态度恭谨地说：“新组建的参阅部队由102名官兵组成，其中包括3名旗组成员护卫军旗走在最前面，3名指挥分队长紧随其后，再后面是96名官兵编成的8乘12的队列。”

Yakov waited for Bezikov to finish, then laughed and teased, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how could you have forgotten about Misha and me?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Bezikov explained, "I am talking about the newly formed reference troops. When we attend the parade in London, you and General Sokov will follow behind the flag group and walk in front of the three squad leaders."

"Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov," Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking and then continued to ask, "Where are the participating troops from?"

"They are all members of the Central Guards Regiment." Bezikov was probably worried about what Sokov might think, so he explained to him: "When it comes to experience in military parades, I'm afraid no other unit can compare with the Central Guards Regiment."

Sokov agrees with Bezikov's statement. This unit may be a little weak in combat effectiveness when it comes to participating in military parades, but when it comes to experience, no other unit can compare to them.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, when can we start training?"

"We can start anytime, Comrade General!"

"Then let's get started." Yakov said, "Misha and I want to see what your true level is."

Following Bezikov's order, the officers and soldiers who were originally scattered on the training ground formed a square formation at an extremely fast speed.

After the formation was completed, Bezikov gave the order again and asked them to start marching training.

Walking in the front was the flag group holding the military flag, with a burly flag bearer in the middle and flag guards of equal stature on both sides. Behind them were three squad leaders holding command swords, and behind the squad leaders was a 96x8 formation of 12 officers and soldiers.

The troops marched in unison, at a constant speed of 80 centimeters per step, and the sonorous footsteps echoed in the square. The soldier held the rifle in the palm of his left hand, and his right hand, parallel to his shoulder, kept slapping the gun while swinging, making a crisp slapping sound.

Seeing this well-organized army, Sokov could not help but nod his head repeatedly. He turned to Yakov and said, "Yasha, I think this army has a solid training foundation. Even if they don't train, they can be directly sent to London to participate in the military parade, and they will be able to surprise the troops of other countries."

"Isn't the U.S. military known as the most powerful army in the world?" Yakov said hesitantly, "Can we compare with them?"

"Yasha, who told you that the U.S. military is the most powerful army in the world?" Sokov retorted, "Their performance on the battlefield is definitely not as good as the Germans who once fought bloody battles with us. Don't forget that most of the German troops were wiped out by us on the battlefield. As for military parades, they don't take them seriously. As far as I know, they have never held any decent military parades. Therefore, in this victory parade in London, we must surpass all the participating troops of other countries."

"I hope so." Yakov looked at the review troops marching in neat steps and said thoughtfully: "If this is true, when we return from London, these officers and soldiers will all receive their medals."

"Yasha, I agree with you." Sokov nodded and agreed, "These officers and soldiers have no chance to go to the battlefield, so they can only get their honor in this way. I hope the London Victory Parade can go smoothly, otherwise I don't know how disappointed these officers and soldiers will be."

Sokov's words made Yakov look shocked: "Misha, what do you mean by that? Do you think our troops can't participate in the military parade?"

"Yasha, I was just giving an analogy." Sokov realized that he had let something slip because he was too distracted, and quickly explained, "I'm worried that the British side changed their minds at the last minute. Don't wait until we are ready to set off, and then they suddenly unilaterally announce that the military parade is cancelled."

"No way?" Yakov said anxiously, "The British side has been preparing for this victory parade for more than half a year, spending a lot of manpower and material resources. How can it be cancelled just like that? Misha, I think you are worrying too much."

"I hope so."

After the troops walked around the playground, Bezikov issued another order, asking them to stay where they were. He then trotted over to Sokov and Yakov, raised his hand and said, "Comrades Generals, the troops have completed the initial formation training. Please instruct us on the next steps."

"Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov, you must have trained for quite a while before we came." Yakov said considerately, "The comrades must be very tired. Let him rest for half an hour, drink some water, eat something, and then continue training."

Bezikov agreed, turned around and ran back to the troop formation, and ordered the officers and soldiers to disband.

As the officers and soldiers dispersed, Bezikov returned to the two men and asked tentatively: "Comrade General, I feel that the current staffing is not perfect enough."

Sokov was stunned after hearing this, and then asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov, tell me what positions are still lacking, and we will fill them in time."

"We are going to London, where there are definitely not many people who can speak Russian, so we need to have English-speaking translators." Bezikov said to Sokov and Yakov, "Secondly, when we go to London, some soldiers will definitely get sick due to the unfamiliar climate, so we need a team doctor to treat them. Comrade General, I think your wife is very suitable for the position of team doctor."

The words awakened Sokov. Although he promised Asia yesterday that he would take her with him when he went to London, it was just a verbal promise. He didn't know what excuse to use to take her to London. But at this moment, Bezikov's words made him think clearly: Yes, when the troops go to London for the inspection, it is inevitable that they will suffer from acclimatization and the soldiers will get sick. It is reasonable to bring a few team doctors. And among these team doctors, it is also reasonable to add Asia, a military doctor.

Sokov nodded and said approvingly, "Lieutenant Colonel Bezikov, you have considered it very carefully. If our participating troops are to go to London this time, it is imperative to add translators and team doctors. I will report this to my superiors later and strive to improve the organization of the reference troops in a short time."