Burning Moscow

The second lieutenant drove the car to a pier where people came and went, and after parking the car next to a two-story building, he turned to Henry and said politely: "Colonel, this is an office on the pier, El Lieutenant Colonel Man should be inside. Wait a moment here, I'll go in and have a look."

"Trouble you, second lieutenant!" Henry looked at the second lieutenant's back and said gratefully.

Seeing the ensign's back disappear from the door of the building, I couldn't help but say to Henry with emotion: "Colonel, the regulations of the U.S. army and our army are really different. If we change our commander, before getting permission from the superior , Is absolutely afraid to leave casually. But look at this ensign," I snorted towards the building, and continued, "If you just say hello like him and leave without permission, you won’t be imprisoned. , Will be severely scolded by the superior commander."

Henry listened to me, only smiled but said nothing. The translator sitting in the co-pilot's position took the cigarette out of his pocket and handed it over to Henry with the box, but Henry waved his hand and refused. The translator stretched the cigarette case in front of me again and asked politely: "General, won't you come with one?"

I waved my hand and said to him with a smile: "I'm sorry, I don't smoke."

When the translator got out of the car and smoked, Henry and I were left in the car. He glanced at the entrance of the building and saw that the ensign hadn’t come back, so he chatted with me: "General, listen to your name, it seems to be your husband’s surname. But I’ve never heard of a name in the Soviet army. General of this surname. Can I ask your husband. That is, officer Oshanin, where is he now?"

"Colonel, you are right. He is indeed not a general, he is just an ordinary captain." From Henry's tone of speech, I heard that the reason why he asked Oshanin was nothing more than trying to make the atmosphere in the car. It was too boring, so I just talked to me about the daily routine, and I replied truthfully: "Before the war broke out, he was a captain at the border post. He was captured by the Germans during the battle, but he quickly fled back. During the defense of Moscow, he joined the canine death squad dedicated to dealing with German tanks. He was seriously injured in the battle and was sent to the rear. Then we lost contact."

"I'm sorry. General, I shouldn't mention your sad past." Henry apologized to me immediately after listening to me, "I was so reckless."

I have a good impression of this well-mannered middle-aged navy colonel. When he heard him say this, I waved my hand quickly and said with a smile: "It's okay, Colonel, you don't have to blame yourself. War. There must be sacrifices. "Because I don't know how I should explain Oshanin's affairs to him next, I changed the subject, "Colonel. How many children do you have?"

Colonel Henry stretched out **** and said with a smile: "I have two sons, both of whom are married."

"You look so young, I didn't expect your two sons to be married." I didn't expect that Colonel Henry's sons, who looked like they were in their early forties, were actually married, so I asked tentatively: "They have children. ?"

"The eldest son has a daughter, who is three years old this year." Hearing me ask about my family situation. Colonel Henry showed a smile on his face and said happily: "The second daughter-in-law is also pregnant. The child can be born in July."

"Where do they work?" The smile on Henry's face also infected me. I was completely relieved from the bad mood of hearing that the Chief of Naval Staff refused me to board a warship. "Is it working in a factory or in the army? in?"

"They are all in the navy." Henry said happily: "The eldest son works on a submarine, and the second son is a pilot on board the Bumblebee." He probably thought I didn't know that the same family was not allowed to serve on the same ship. His common sense, he also specifically asked me to popularize science: "The two brothers were originally on the Hornet, but after the war broke out, the president issued an order not to allow the same family to serve on the same ship, so the eldest son went there. Submarine force."

When he wanted to say something to me, he suddenly heard the translator shout out in a low voice: "Captain, the second lieutenant is out."

The two of us hurriedly looked out of the car window, and saw the ensign hurried out of the building. Only a lieutenant followed. It seemed that he had not found Captain Elman.

Henry pushed the door and got out of the car, standing beside the car quietly. I quickly opened the door on the other side of the car, got out of the car and walked around where Henry was, and waited for the ensign's reply with him.

After the second lieutenant came over to salute me, he reported nervously: "Colonel, this is the Japanese officer on the Eldridge. He said that Lieutenant Colonel Elman has gone on the warship."

The lieutenant with a red armband on his arm waited for the second lieutenant to finish, and stepped forward quickly, and asked respectfully: "Colonel, I am a Japanese officer on the Eldridge. What can I do for you?"

Although the rank of the officer in front of him was much lower than himself, Colonel Henry asked politely: "Lieutenant, I want to see Lieutenant Colonel Elman. I wonder if you can take us to the destroyer?"

The young lieutenant hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and replied, "Yes, Colonel. Please come with me." After speaking, he made a gesture of asking and led us in front.

Henry looked at the ensign and the interpreter next to him, and said to them: "General Oshanina and I will be on the Eldridge. You two will stay here and wait for us."

In response to his order, the two low-ranking officers agreed in unison: "Yes!" At the same time, they raised their hands and saluted Colonel Henry in an American military salute.

Henry turned his head and smiled and said to me: "General, let's go." Then he said mockingly, "The lieutenant who led us is walking fast enough. If he doesn't follow him, he will be gone. Up."

We followed the lieutenant, walked around the building, and down the stairs by the river. I saw that at the end of the replacement, a small motorboat was stopped, and two sailors in white uniforms and ribbon caps were busy on board.

When walking to the side of the motorboat. The two sailors noticed our arrival and quickly stopped their work and raised their hands to salute us. The lieutenant turned his head and said enthusiastically to Henry: "Colonel. You will go on this ship later." Then he ordered the two sailors, "You two are responsible for sending the colonel to the Eldridge, understand? "

"Understood." The two sailors replied in unison.

After giving orders to his men, the lieutenant did not leave immediately. Instead, he watched us leave by boat. He saluted us again before turning around and walking back.

When carrying our motorboat. When he stopped steadily beside the destroyer's gangway, Henry thanked the two sailors. He made a gesture to me and motioned me to follow him along the steep gangway to the ship.

Seeing the two of us climb onto the ship from the steep gangway, a nearby officer on duty immediately walked over. Before he could speak, Colonel Henry, who stood firm, raised his hand to salute the flag hanging on the flagpole. After a while. He saluted the officer and said, "I ask for permission to board the ship."

Ever since I set foot on the deck of the Eldridge, I have been following Colonel Henry's every move. I saw him salute the flag and the officer on duty, and I also learned how to salute the flag and officer of the US Navy.

Although the young officer heard what Colonel Henry said, he took a look at me and said in an official tone: "Agree, sir!"

"My name is Victor Henry!" Colonel Henry didn't go around the circle either. He directly explained his intention, "I have something to find Lieutenant Colonel Elman, do you know where he is?"

"Yes. Sir!" The Japanese officer replied respectfully: "I will send someone to inform him, sir." After speaking these two sentences, he turned and shouted at the people who were busy on the deck. : "The messenger!"

As he shouted, a sergeant wearing a ribbon cap ran over, raised his hand to salute the three of us, and then asked the officer on duty, "Sir. May I ask what instructions you have. ?"

"Sergeant, did you see Colonel Henry next to me? He has important things. Call for Lieutenant Colonel Elman." The Japanese officer ordered the sergeant in front of him harshly: "You go to the cabin and look for the ship immediately. Long, report this to him. Do you understand?"

"Understood, sir!" After receiving the order, the sergeant said aloud, then turned and ran away along the deck.

After the sergeant left, Henry said to the Japanese officer in a negotiating tone: "Your captain may have to wait a while before he can come. I want to walk on the deck first. Do you have any comments?"

Hearing Henry's question, the Japanese officer suddenly became flustered. After a nervous glance at me, he said embarrassedly: "Sir, we can't allow outsiders to walk around on the ship without permission from the superior. ."

Henry stared at the officer on duty and said in a stern tone: "This general is a guest of our country. Today I was ordered to take her to watch the launching ceremony of the Eldridge. Do we need to walk around on the deck? Do you ask for instructions?"

The officer on duty was frightened by Henry’s expression. He hesitated for a moment before he cautiously said: "Sir, before the captain arrives, you can only walk on the deck, but you can’t enter the cabin casually, otherwise it will be triggered. I cannot bear the consequences of this."

"I see," Henry waved at him and said impatiently: "Before Lieutenant Colonel Elman appeared, we were just walking around on the deck." After that, he turned to look at me and said with a smile: " General, under the current circumstances, we can only walk on the deck temporarily. To visit the facilities on the ship, we can only wait until the captain arrives."

The two of us walked forward along the front deck, carefully avoiding the sailors who were squatting on the ground wiping the deck and the workers wearing blue overalls to check the equipment next to them.

Coming to the ship’s gunwale, I held on to the railing, looked at the berth where the Eldridge had just stayed, and asked Henry curiously: "Colon, I can ask you how many ships your shipyard can produce in one month. ?"

As soon as I uttered the words, I realized that I was asking the wrong question. This involved the secrets of the US Navy. How could it be possible to tell me an outsider casually. Just when I was very upset, I heard Henry politely respond: "Richmond Shipyard built 13 freeships in 37 days." He pointed to the distant berth and said in a steady voice, "These freedoms The ship was launched into the water by lateral skidding like today’s Eldridge. I was also at the scene and saw a row of ships standing on the shore, kicked one by one by an invisible giant into the sea. In, that spectacular scene is still fresh in my memory."

Colonel Henry’s answer was very clever, neither hurting my face nor divulging the secrets of the U.S. Navy. I responded with a kind smile to his answer, and suddenly remembered another thing, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "Colon, I would like to ask, what is a freewheel?"

"Freedom," Henry couldn't help laughing when he heard this naive question of mine, and then explained to me: "It's a merchant ship of about 10,000 tons. Because of its rapid construction and low price, except for part of the lease provided to Britain and your country, the rest are used to replace merchant ships sunk by German submarines."

"Sir, hello!" A strange voice suddenly came from behind us.

When we turned around, we saw a short and chubby lieutenant colonel standing in front of us, and behind him was the sergeant just now. I guess the person in front of him might be Eldery. Lieutenant Colonel Elman, the captain of the Odd.

Henry raised his hand to give a gift, smiled and stretched out his hand to the other party, and at the same time said enthusiastically: "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Elman, we have met again. It seems that you have been doing pretty well this year , The last time I saw you, I was a major, and now I am a lieutenant colonel. The advantage of the war period is to improve quickly."

Then he took the initiative to introduce the captain of the Eldridge to me: "General, this is Lieutenant Colonel Elman. He used to be my subordinate and is now a captain." Then he turned to Eldridge again. Man said, "This is General Oshanina from Soviet Russia. She is here today to watch the launching ceremony of the Eldridge."

"Hello~www.NovelMTL.com~ sir!" Lieutenant Colonel Elman saluted me. When shaking hands, he might think I don’t understand English, so he whispered to Henry: "Sir, you have followed The first'Lease Act' mission went to Moscow. Did you know this general at the time?"

"No." Henry answered bluntly: "She came with the Soviet diplomatic corps, and I was ordered by General Marshall to bring her to the Norfolk Naval Base. By the way, she would like to visit yours. Destroyer, you can arrange it as soon as possible."

When Lieutenant Colonel Elman heard this, he let go of my hand and asked Henry in a business-like tone: "Sir, is there a written order from the Chief of Naval Staff or Commander?"

"No." Henry said with some embarrassment: "We also decided to come up temporarily to visit, so we didn't wait for the written authorization of the chiefs at all levels."

"I'm sorry, sir." Hearing Henry say this, Elman said in an official tone: "Without a written order from a superior, I have no right to let you visit the warship." Maybe because of the ugly face of his former superior, He lowered his voice and asked, "Without a written order, you can get the verbal permission of the chief."

"Neither." Henry replied helplessly with a wry smile. (To be continued)