Chapter 1188 T-34 tank painted with a white cross (below)

   Knowing that Sokov was going to inspect the defense in his division, the division commander, Colonel Khokhlov, and the political commissar, Colonel Shepilov, took people to the edge of the defense zone early to wait.

When they saw the convoy appearing on the road in the distance, Shepilov also jokingly said to Khokhlov: "Comrade commander, it seems that our commander still has a sense of crisis. Take a tank with you."

Khokhlov grinned and was about to echo a few words when he suddenly saw a white cross painted on the tank turret sandwiched between four jeeps. : "It's a German tank, siren, battle siren, get ready for battle now!"

  Following his shout, the soldiers who were guarding him and Shepilov immediately scattered around, looking for a suitable place to hide, and set up their guns, ready to shoot.

  Everything that happened here was seen by Sokov. He knew that the commanders and fighters who came to greet him must have seen the tank with a white cross in the convoy and regarded themselves as Germans. "Stop!" After Sokov stopped the vehicle, he ordered Samoilov who was sitting in the co-pilot seat: "Comrade lieutenant, take a car to negotiate, so that your own people won't fight with your own people."

   Samoilov agreed, opened the door and got out of the car, then got into the second car, and drove towards the Soviet commanders and fighters who came to meet him in the distance, hoping to resolve the misunderstanding as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Khokhlov saw that the convoy stopped far away, and then only one jeep drove towards his position, and quickly shouted at the commanders and fighters hiding around: "Attention everyone, no No one shoots with my order. I repeat, no one shoots without my order."

  As the jeep approached, a lieutenant with an assault rifle jumped out of the car, and as soon as he got out of the car, he shouted: "Who is in charge here?"

   It was clear that the person who came was Sokov's most trusted guard platoon leader Samoilov. Khokhlov and Shepilov quickly stood up to greet him. After following him far away, Khokhlov stretched out his hand and said enthusiastically, "Hi, Lieutenant Samoilov, nice to meet you!"

After Samoilov raised his hand to salute the two colonels, when shaking hands with them, he asked dissatisfiedly: "Have you not been notified that the commander is going to visit you? Are you doing this now?" What, are you going to fire on us?"

Hearing Samoilov's question, Shepilov replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade Lieutenant, we saw a German tank approaching, so we ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle. Unexpectedly, that tank actually It's with the Commander."

"Are you talking about the tank with the white cross painted on it?" After hearing Shepilov's explanation, Samoilov immediately understood that the other party had misunderstood: "That tank was captured by the Germans some time ago. Several captured personnel of our army escaped from the enemy in this tank."

  After listening to Samoilov tell the story in detail, the two colonels suddenly realized why a tank with a white cross was walking with Sokov. After the misunderstanding was resolved, Khokhlov asked the signalman to signal the convoy in the distance, informing them that they could come.

  After arriving by car, Sokov got out of the car, shook hands with the two colonels, and asked straight to the point: "How is your fortification repaired?"

"Reporting, Comrade Commander," Khokhlov replied respectfully, "We cleverly used the terrain of Shumakovo to build three lines of defense here, and each line of defense deployed a regiment of troops for defense. .”

   "Comrade Colonel," Sokov asked calmly, "I want to ask, how do you use the terrain?"

"Comrade Commander," Khokhlov said with a smile on his face after hearing Sokov's question, "have you seen the hills on both sides? We have set up anti-tank positions on the hills, waiting for the enemy Our anti-tank fighters can commandeer and destroy tanks as they advance along the road."

   Before Sokov could speak again, Khokhlov continued: "Comrade Commander, the detailed deployment map is at my division headquarters. Please come with me to have a look."

When getting into the car, Sokov suddenly remembered the tank with him, and quickly said to Khokhlov: "Comrade Colonel, the situation of the tank that came with us must have been told by Lieutenant Samoilov." Are you?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Samoilov has already told me everything." Khokhlov quickly replied: "When we arrive at the station, I will immediately arrange for someone to change the paintwork of the tank."

"Of course the paintwork of the tank needs to be changed." Sokov was always dubious about Gu Kejin's statement. He felt that if he wanted to let this person join his army, he had to go through screening and inspection in advance, so he ordered Khokhlov : "But for the three people who escaped from the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp, you should arrange special personnel to conduct an audit as soon as possible, and I will send Lieutenant Samoilov to assist you."

After returning to the station, Gu Kejin and Rikov came out of the tank. Immediately, a second lieutenant wearing a blue hat came over and said to them: "I'm still from Special Qin, please come with me." Let's go."

When Gu Kejin heard that the other party belonged to Special Qinco, he couldn't help but seem a little nervous. It happened that Samoilov came over, and after whispering a few words with the Second Lieutenant of Special Qinko, he comforted Gu Kejin: "Gu Kejin Comrade, since you have been captured before, it is a necessary procedure to examine and screen you, I hope you can understand. Don’t worry, I will always be with you.”

"What about Katayeva, is she going to be censored too?" Gu Kejin said to Samoilov with a smile when he saw Katayeva was taken away by two blue hats as soon as she got out of the jeep : "She is not a soldier, can she be exempted from review?"

  Second Lieutenant Special Qinke shook his head and said: "No, we have to examine all those who escaped from enemy-occupied areas. This is our duty."

Hearing what the second lieutenant said, Gu Kejin knew that he had taken it for granted. All those who escaped from the enemy-occupied area would be subject to censorship. This has long been a law that cannot be changed. He could only sigh inwardly. I hope that the censorship will end soon, so that Katayeva won't be disturbed.

  Not long after the three of Gu Kejin were escorted away by the second lieutenant, several workers from the maintenance station came to the tank. After a simple inspection, a special person drove towards the maintenance station.

  (end of this chapter)