The operator's call was quickly answered, and Captain Alt's voice came from the earphone: "I am Captain Alt!"

Gorokhov quickly took the earphone and microphone from the operator and asked loudly: "Comrade Captain, how is the situation there? Have you caught the infiltrating enemy?"

"Caught, Comrade Military Commissioner." Art said with a hint of excitement in his tone: "It is only thanks to the comrades left by the commander that we can catch the hidden enemy. To be honest, where the enemy is hiding, my subordinates Passing by there, I was surprised to find no trace of them. But as soon as the comrades from the International Brigade passed by, they found out the enemies who were well hidden."

“Okay, I’ll report the specific situation when you come back.” Gorokhov interrupted Art’s words and continued to ask: “How many enemies are there in total, and how did you deal with them?”

"There are six enemies in total." Alt replied: "Two were killed by our troops during the exchange of fire. The other four were captured alive by comrades from the International Brigade, and they were all shot on the spot."

After finishing the call with Art, Gorokhov came over and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, all the enemies that have penetrated have been eliminated."

 “It’s great that they’re all eliminated.” Yakov said from the side: “Misha, this way you can also take away your bad breath.”

Sokov vaguely heard part of the conversation between Gorokhov and Art. After Yakov finished speaking, he looked at Gorokhov and asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, Captain Art said, they never When we passed by the enemy's hiding place, no trace of the enemy was found, what's going on?"

Upon hearing Sokov's question, Gorokhov shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "Comrade Commander, I'm sorry, I think I can't answer your question. If you want If we know the answer, we can only wait for Captain Alt and others to come back.”

Sokov originally wanted to take a rest after understanding the situation of the search, but at this moment, in order to find out how the enemy evaded the search, he decided to stay and wait for Captain Alt to come back and ask about the specific situation. However, considering that Yakov and Lu Jinzhou were tired from traveling, it would be too selfish to leave them alone just for their own sake. He said to Gorokhov: "Comrade Military Commissar, please arrange accommodation for the deputy commander and chief of staff. They have been riding the train for several days and need to get enough rest."

“Okay, Comrade Commander.” Gorokhov said, “I will make arrangements immediately!”

 But Lu Jin shook his head and said: "Don't worry, I really want to know at this moment how the enemy escaped our army's search, and how the comrades of the International Brigade pulled them out of their hiding places."

Yakov originally wanted to take a rest, but seeing that Sokov and Lukin were waiting for the search troops to return, he had to change his mind: "I think we should wait for the search troops to return. After getting the information we want to know, It’s not too late to go and rest.”

While waiting for the search force to return, Sokov continued to ask Gorokhov about various matters in the defense area so that he could become familiar with the environment as soon as possible and carry out the next step of work.

An hour and a half later, Alt and Captain Feng appeared at the headquarters. What was strange was that Captain Feng was holding a thick bamboo tube in his hand.

Looking at the bamboo tube in Captain Feng's hand, Sokov felt strange in his heart. The shape of the bamboo tube was particularly similar to the kind of hookah smoked by people in Caiyun Province. However, Captain Feng came to report to him, so why would he bring a hookah with him? What about the bamboo tube used?

Not only Sokov felt strange, but also Lukin, Yakov and Gorokhov were very interested in the bamboo tube in Captain Feng's hand.

“Comrade Captain,” Lu Jin asked first, “What is the bamboo tube in your hand used for?”

Captain Feng grinned and did not reveal the answer immediately. Instead, he turned his attention to Captain Alt next to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I think it is more appropriate for Captain Alt to explain to you."

"Tell me, Captain Alt." Lukin turned his eyes to Alt: "What is going on."

"Comrade Deputy Commander." Art said: "I just reported to the Military Commissioner on the walkie-talkie that the enemy was hiding very secretly. My people passed by where they were hiding, but no trace of them was found. Fortunately, Captain Feng and the others are very experienced and can easily see through the enemy's hiding methods, allowing us to catch all the enemies who infiltrated."

As he spoke, he took the bamboo tube from Captain Feng's hand and continued: "The cunning enemy hides in the soil and uses this bamboo tube to breathe. Their strange hiding method successfully deceived our eyes. As for when we passed by them, we didn't find them hiding in the soil. Fortunately, Captain Feng had experience and saw something wrong with the bamboo tubes in the bushes, so he grabbed one and pulled it out of the soil. Pull it out. If the bamboo tube is dropped, the enemy hiding in the soil will not be able to breathe and will have to crawl out, but we will capture him alive."

 After listening to Captain Alt’s introduction, Gorokhov curiously asked Captain Feng: “Comrade Captain, I want to ask you something. How did you discover that the enemy was hiding under these bamboo tubes?”

"The reason is very simple, Comrade Military Commissioner." Captain Feng said briefly: "The area we searched only contained bushes and low trees, and there were no bamboo forests at all. The sudden appearance of several bamboo tubes naturally aroused my suspicion. , I got close to one of them, listened for a moment, and found that there seemed to be the sound of breathing inside. I guessed that the enemy might be hiding in the soil and using the bamboo tube to breathe, so I decisively pulled out the bamboo tube. It turned out that there was really an enemy hidden underneath. So we used this method to dig out the enemies hiding in the soil one by one."

"Well done, Comrade Captain." After Sokov said this, he turned to Gorokhov and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, the weapons used by the comrades of the International Brigade today are all borrowed from the Guard Company. , I hope you can solve the weapon problem for them as soon as possible."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Gorokhov nodded and said, "I will arrange it immediately!"

"Captain Feng," Sokov said to Captain Feng: "You have been riding the train for a few days. You should be very tired. Go and have a rest quickly. Captain Alt, find a place for Captain Feng and others to stay and let them rest well." Take a rest, and no one is allowed to disturb them except eating before noon tomorrow."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." After Alter agreed resoundingly, he turned to Captain Feng and said, "Comrade Captain, please come with me, and I will help you arrange a quiet place to stay."

“Comrade Military Commissar,” Sokov said to Gorokhov after Alt and Captain Feng left: “We are going to rest, and you will have to worry about the work in the headquarters.”

"Comrade Commander, you can rest assured." Gorokhov said: "I will take care of all the affairs in the headquarters." Under the guidance of the staff sent by Gorokhov, the three Sokovs headed towards the new When walking to the arranged residence, Lu Jin said with emotion: "Misha, the Captain Feng you brought back is quite good. The little devil was hiding so secretly that he found him."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, when Captain Feng and others were dealing with the Japs in the Northeast, they had to do everything possible to avoid the enemy's encirclement and suppression." Sokov said with a smile: "This method of hiding is just child's play for them. .”

“Misha,” said Yakov, who was pushing a wheelchair: “I think you value the comrades of the International Brigade quite seriously. What role can a few of them play in the Far East Campaign that will be launched soon?”

"Yasha," Sokov noticed that Yakov seemed to have some prejudice against the soldiers of the International Brigade, and said seriously: "I have always believed that as long as the Chinese army has good equipment, strict training and excellent commanders, , then they will be invincible in the world and become the pinnacle of light infantry in human history."

Sokov’s evaluation of the International Brigade made Lukin and Yakov dumbfounded. They did not expect that Sokov would give such a high evaluation. After a long time, Yakov said unconvinced: "Misha, I don't agree with your statement. If they are really so powerful, how could they be driven to our land by the little devils?"

"Yasha, I have said a few days ago that there are many reasons why they retreated into our country." Sokov said: "Their equipment is inherently poor and they have not undergone rigorous training. Facing strength, The powerful enemy and the interruption of logistical supplies forced them to choose to retreat in order to preserve their strength. As for what role they can play in the next Far East campaign, you might as well wait and see."

The three of them talked and came to the residence arranged for them by Gorokhov.

 The staff officer who led the way pointed out the rooms where they lived one by one to the three of them, then said goodbye and left.

Sokov sent Lukin into the room first, and then returned to his residence.

Going back to his room, Sokov took off his boots and lay directly on the bed. Although he was very tired after a long journey, his unusual excitement made it difficult for him to sleep. He stared at the ceiling, thinking that there was still a month left before the battle against the Kwantung Army, and he still had a lot to do. For example, scouts were sent to conduct reconnaissance to find out the strength and deployment of the Kwantung Army in front of the defense area; roads in the defense area were repaired to facilitate the passage of tanks and transport vehicles, etc. These things are simple to say, but in practice they involve many aspects.

Sokov was lying on the bed thinking wildly when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. He quickly got out of bed, walked to the door barefoot, and opened the door.

A young sergeant stood outside the door. When he saw Sokov opening the door, he quickly raised his hand to salute and said respectfully: "Comrade Major, I am your orderly Sergeant Asser. What do you have?" Please feel free to give me your orders."

Sokov was stunned for a moment when he heard the other party calling him major, but then he thought that he was wearing the uniform of a major at the moment. Although many people in the headquarters knew his true identity, this young orderly did not necessarily know. He originally wanted to send the other party away directly, so as not to affect his rest, but suddenly he thought that he wanted to call Asiya a few days ago, but failed due to various reasons. Now that he is in his defense zone, he should call There should be no problem.

Thinking of this, he asked Asser tentatively: "Sergeant Asser, I want to call back to Moscow. I don't know where I can call?"

“There is a communications room next to it.” Sergeant Asser said with some embarrassment: “The phone inside can be used to contact Moscow, but...”

"But what?" Sokov saw that the other party stopped abruptly in mid-sentence, and asked impatiently: "Are there any requirements for calling here?"

"Yes, Comrade Major." Unexpectedly, Sergeant Athol nodded and said in a positive tone: "Comrade Military Commissar has regulations that only people with the rank of colonel or above can use the phone in the communication room to call other people. The city calls.”

"Take me there." Sokov said to Asel in a commanding tone: "When we get to the communications room, I will explain it to the commander there."

 Led by Asel, Sokov came to a nearby communications room.

There are five or six female operators in the communications room who are busy working nervously. Next to them stands a female second lieutenant, supervising the work of her subordinates. Seeing Asser entering with a major, he frowned and said, "Asser, you are such an unruly guy, how can you bring people to the communications room casually?"

“Comrade Second Lieutenant,” Asel said to the female second lieutenant with a smile: “Comrade Major wants to make a phone call to Moscow. I wonder if you can accommodate me.”

"No." The female second lieutenant replied very simply: "Have you forgotten the regulations of Comrade Military Commissioner? If you are not of a high level, you cannot use the communication lines here."

"Comrade Second Lieutenant," Sokov saw the female second lieutenant rejecting Asel so simply, so he took two steps forward and said with a smile: "I have something urgent to call Moscow. I wonder if you can be accommodating?" In order to prevent it. When the other party rejected him, he deliberately added, "I have been authorized by the Military Commissioner General Gorokhov to use the phone in the communication room at will."

As Sokov had guessed, the female second lieutenant originally wanted to reject Sokov, but she became hesitant when she heard that he said he had been authorized by Gorokhov. I couldn't help but wonder to myself that only commanders with the rank of colonel or above could use the telephone in the communication room to communicate with other cities. This was a rule set by the Military Commissioner General Gorokhov, but how could he make an exception for this major? Well, isn't this major's origin simple?

In order to verify whether what Sokov said was true, the female second lieutenant asked Sokov politely: "Comrade Major, I don't know your name. I want to call Comrade Military Commissar to verify."

"My name is..." Sokov almost revealed his true identity. Fortunately, when the words came to his lips, he adjusted in time: "I am Major Matevosyan. You can call Comrade Military Commissar to verify. My identity.”

"Major Matievosian!" The female second lieutenant nodded and said, "I understand. I will call Comrade Military Commissioner immediately to verify your identity. If you really have his authorization, I can make an exception for you. Use the phone here to talk to Moscow.”