artillery arc

Chapter 497: Going to a Turbulent Distance (Update 18/81)

October 915, 10, 17 hours, Saint Catherine Castle, the capital of Ant.

While Wang Zhong was preparing to launch a large-scale air strike on the supply system of Plossen's Sixth Army, Lyudmila was packing her luggage.

Mikhail, the housekeeper, advised: "Madam, it's been less than three months since you gave birth. You should rest. Winter is coming soon. Maybe this winter will be as cold as last year. It will not be good for you!"

Lyudmila stopped and looked at Mikhail: "Did you know that he has had a close brush with death twice?"

Mikhail: "Didn't the General have more brushes with death last year?"

"I was by his side last year, you know?" Lyudmila said in a very serious voice, "If the god of death wants to take him away, I hope I can be by his side and watch it happen. I hope I can bring his body back personally."

Mikhail: "Madam, I understand your thoughts, but..."

"I order you not to stop me." Lyudmila was about to lower her head to pack her things again, but found that Nelly had already taken over her work. The little maid folded the clothes neatly and stuffed them into the box.

After closing the suitcase and locking it with the combination lock, Nellie looked up: "All the luggage has been packed."

Lyudmila looked at Mikhail again: "Nelly has to go back to him too. Unlike me, Nelly has to take care of his daily life. If he is not in good condition and the command goes wrong, Mikhail, you will become Ant's sinner!"

Mikhail looked helpless: "I don't think His Excellency the Duke would make a wrong decision just because he was not taken care of."

Lyudmila: "Can you guarantee that there is no such thing? Instead of trying to persuade me here, you should think about how to take care of my son."

Mikhail: "Don't worry about that. Our nanny has brought up many young masters."

"Then I'm relieved. Nellie, did you hear the sound of the car?"

Nellie nodded: "I heard it. It should be the reserve army's car that came to pick us up."

Mikhail seemed to be planning to make a final effort: "I heard that the First Mobile Army is mobilizing. Madam, if you go with them, not only will you have someone to look after you on the way, but it will also boost morale."

"Mikhail," Lyudmila smiled, "I am also a soldier. When I told the church that I was going to the front, the transfer order came for me. Do you want me to take the lead in disobeying orders?"

Mikhail shook his head and finally gave up: "No, I didn't mean that."

Just at this moment, the sound of a car braking was heard outside, followed by a horn, causing the cat in the room to stand up suddenly, prick up its ears and be alert to the surroundings.

Mikhail: "Let me carry your luggage for you."

"Thank you." Lyudmila smiled, then put on a boat hat, a cloak issued by the church, and walked out.

Nelly also put on her own boat hat, carried a large suitcase, and followed Lyudmila.

Mikhail picked up the bag on the ground and walked at the back.

He was the last to leave the room and closed the door behind him.

The wind blew in through the forgotten window, swept across the empty dressing table and the empty crib (the baby had been left in the care of the nurse).

In the entire room, only the toy turntable for babies was still spinning gently, making a creaking sound.

----

To get to the departure station for the military train, you need to pass through the square in front of Yebao Railway Station. Before the war, this was one of the most crowded squares in Yebao, and now it is even more crowded.

The car Lyudmila was riding in had to slow down and weave through the crowd. Lyudmila took the opportunity to look out the window and observe those who were seeing off.

“Look at the girls crying,” she whispered, “even though the boy is just going to boot camp.”

These trains are for recruits and all depart from civilian train stations, so although the young men are wearing military uniforms, they have no military rank and are not even privates.

But this did not stop the girls from crying their hearts out.

Suddenly Lyudmila saw that there was a pair that was the opposite. The girl was wearing a military uniform and had a military rank. There was also a red cross of a field nurse on her arm. The boy, who was a head shorter than her, was crying loudly.

The nurse held the boy's cheeks with both hands, wiped away his tears with her thumbs, and said something gently.

Lyudmila kept staring at the couple.

At this time, some people in the square began to sing. It was not the "Song of Young League Members" that had been sung many times, but an old song from the civil war period. Countless young people, with their ideals in their hearts and singing this song, rushed to the turbulent distant places.

The car passed through the square and entered the road on the side of the square. The road was full of large trucks, and the jeep could only run in the gaps between the large trucks and the shoulder of the road, overtaking one after another.

The military vehicles were filled with serious-looking Ant soldiers, all of whom had battle medals on their bodies. They were veterans who had returned to the team after recovering from their injuries.

Everyone had a serious expression. The only few who looked relaxed were leaning against the guardrail of the truck and smoking while looking at the sky.

Someone noticed Lyudmila and whispered to his companion, "Look, isn't that General Rokossov's wife? She just gave birth and is going to the front line?"

Lyudmila just smiled at the soldiers.

Finally, the jeep drove into the military transfer station converted from a freight station. After passing the checkpoint, it drove onto the wide overpass and flew over the busy station.

Under the overpass are platforms lined up side by side, some of which are loading and unloading tanks, while others are loading ammunition and supplies.

The platform on the far left was obviously a special personnel platform, crowded with recruits who had just finished their recruit training and veterans who had returned from their injuries.

The jeep drove down the overpass and stopped in front of a large group of nurses.

The major driving the car said to Lyudmila: "As you requested, no special carriage has been arranged. You will go to the front line with these nurses."

As soon as the major finished speaking, the nurses who had noticed Lyudmila asked in unison: "Are you General Rokossov's wife?"

Lyudmila got out of the car and nodded to the nurses: "I am Captain Prayer Hand Lyudmila Vasilyevna Rokosovna, and I am glad to be with you."

The girls screamed, and at this time a mammy with a scar on her face shouted: "Stop making noise! ​​Be calm! Shouting on the battlefield will attract artillery fire!"

The girls all fell silent and looked at the nanny timidly. The nanny came to Lyudmila and said, "Captain, please don't make the girls scream."

"Okay, I'll try my best," said Lyudmila.

The nanny glared at the girls again and turned around to do her own thing. As a result, Lyudmila was immediately surrounded by the girls.

"I heard that you and the general started falling in love on the battlefield?" asked the freckled girl.

"Well, the general and I are childhood sweethearts. We have known each other for a long time. If nothing unexpected had happened, I would have been engaged to him. But at that time he was not as outstanding as he is now..."

Lyudmila had intended to tell Rokossov everything about herself, but she got excited and started chattering:

“It seems that this version is the real one!”

"Then Miss Lyudmila must have also been favored by the former crown prince!"

"The general and the crown prince have been competing for the young lady!"

Lyudmila: "Uh, this..."

She raised her hand, wanting to interrupt the girls who were discussing themselves, but eventually gave up and just stood aside, looking at the young faces.

----

After 26 hours, we were still 110 kilometers away from Abawahan.

Lyudmila just stood by and looked at the young faces.

They lay side by side beside the railway track, the youthfulness on their faces not even having time to fade.

The surviving girls huddled together and cried.

Lyudmila began to fulfill her duties as a clergyman, reading the eulogy and sending the brave young man on his final journey.

Not far away, male soldiers were shouting slogans and trying to push the sealed tank car that had been destroyed by the Stuka off the railway.

There were already many destroyed carriages lying in the deep pits beside the roadbed. Apparently, the enemy air raids were too frequent and the people repairing the railway had no time to bury these carriages.

Lyudmila finished her final prayers and painted the symbol of the Eastern Holy Church on her body.

She turned around and said to the girls who were still crying: "Come, bury them. It is pitiful to leave their bodies exposed in the wilderness."

Although the girls' faces were covered with tears, they still nodded.

Just as they picked up the shovels, someone shouted in the distance: "They caught a Plosson pilot!"

The anger and hatred of the crowd were immediately ignited, and many people were about to drop their work and rush over to see what kind of bastard killed their friend.

The officers hurriedly shouted: "Keep working! Keep working so that we can better inflict a heavy blow on the Prosens!"

"Find out the whole story!"

Lyudmila did not shout at the girls like the officers did, but said to them gently, "Come on, dig."

At this time, Nellie came back and said to Lyudmila: "The conductor said that the train can be cleared tomorrow morning and we can arrange a carriage then. Let's make a fire here to spend the night."

Lyudmila asked in surprise: "Make a fire? Is it possible?"

"Well, it is said that the Plossom Air Force never raids at night. Let me light a fire, or it will be cold at night. Madam, you just gave birth to a child."

Nellie turned around and went back to work, while Lyudmila picked up a shovel herself and, together with the surviving nurses, buried those young faces in the fertile yellow soil along the Valdai River.

----

Late that night, Lyudmila was suddenly awakened by singing. She sat up, pulled the church's cloak, and looked for the source of the singing.

Then he saw a corporal playing the balalaika, a traditional instrument of Ante, and another sergeant playing the bayan (an instrument like an accordion) by the fire nearby.

They were playing a sad song:
"Tanks roared in the vast plains/Soldiers fought the last battle/They carried the young commander/The bullet shot through his head.

"The raging fire engulfed the tank/The explosion shook the grassland/The young man wanted to live in the world/But he no longer had the strength to open his eyes..."

Lyudmila stood up and listened to the sad melody. At this time, she heard crying. She turned her head and saw the nurses who had just buried their friend sobbing.

Lyudmila waited quietly for the song to finish.

Then she planned to sing a song to change the atmosphere a little, after all, she was Rokossov's wife.

Unexpectedly, a major put away the photos of his wife and daughter and blew the whistle.

It's that song.

The bayan and balalaika players looked at each other and immediately followed the whistle.

Lyudmila silently counted the beats, and when the time came, she spoke: “It is an ordinary wish to always be on our mind.

"May my dear hometown be beautiful, and may our motherland last forever.

"Listen to the roar of the wind and snow, watch the shooting stars flying~
"My heart is calling me to go to the distant place."

……

Amid the gentle singing, the crying gradually stopped and the fighting spirit rekindled in everyone's heart.

(End of this chapter)