"No, no, no," Bezikov waved his hands and said, "I know what they want to eat. I know how to buy it."

 In addition to Bezikov, the people who followed Sokov and Yakov to the dining car included three other soldiers.

After Sokov and Yakov found a seat to sit down, Bezikov and others found an empty seat nearby to sit down, so as not to disturb the two generals for two days.

After ordering the food, Sokov waved to Bezikov: "Comrade Major, please sit over here, and we can chat by the way."

 After several months of getting along, Bezikov and Sokov have become quite close. Faced with Sokov's invitation, he did not refuse, but readily sat down.

"Comrade Major." After Bezikov sat down, Yakov smiled and asked Bezikov: "During your stay in Shenyang, you have gained a lot, haven't you?"

Hearing what Yakov said, Sokov couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked: "What gain?"

"Of course they are the trophies he collected while in Shenyang." Yakov said: "When we got on the train, I saw that Comrade Major was carrying a large and heavy box. There must be a lot of good things in it."

Sokov couldn't help but frown slightly, thinking that since entering Shenyang, he has emphasized military discipline every day and has not allowed officers and soldiers to go around harassing the people and snatching their things as trophies like they did after entering Germany. I really didn't expect that Bezikov would go outside and collect so many trophies behind his back.

Just when Sokov was dissatisfied with Bezikov, he suddenly heard him say: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there is nothing, just a few Kwantung Army command knives."

“Oh, command sword?” Yakov asked in surprise: “Is there Yamada Otsuzo’s command sword?”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are kidding." Bezikov replied with a smile: "He didn't surrender to us in Shenyang. How could I have his command sword? I only have a few of the generals of the 44th Army. The official sword, and a few assistant official swords.”

Hearing that the trophies Bezikov collected in Shenyang were only a few Japs' sabers, the expression on Sokov's face softened. He thought that he had accepted the surrender of the Japs, but it was a pity that he did not think of collecting the commanders' sabers.

“Comrade Major,” Sokov asked casually, “Which commander’s sabers have you collected?”

"The commander of the 44th Army, Lieutenant General Hongo Yoshio, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Nobura Obata, the 63rd Division Commander Lieutenant General Kishikawa Kenichi, the 107th Division Commander Abe Koichi, and the 117th Division Commander Suzuki Lieutenant General Keijiu’s command sword.”

After hearing the name Bezikov reported, Sokov couldn't help but laugh: "Comrade Major, you are really worthy of me. You actually caught all the command knives of all the lieutenant generals of the 44th Army. These command knives are very valuable. It has collection value, if you keep it well, it may be of great use in the future."

Sokov did not tell Bezikov about the specific purpose of the mission. What he was thinking was that when the Soviet Union disintegrated in the future, the command knives of these devil generals might be exchanged for some money to solve Bezikov's aftermath. People's urgent needs.

When Bezikov heard Sokov's last words, he couldn't help but become curious: "Comrade Commander, I wonder what the great use you mentioned is for sending troops?"

Sokov did not answer his question, but checked the topic in time: "By the way, have you collected their united flags?"

"Union flag?" Bezikov may have heard this word for the first time, and asked with some confusion: "What is a unit flag?"

Seeing that Bezikov did not understand the regiment flag, Sokov explained to him: "The regiment flags of the island country are all awarded by the emperor of the island country personally. The flag of each regiment is unique and is the most precious symbol of the island country's military personnel. The flag they attach great importance to, they believe that this flag is more important than life, so they arrange a special flag protection team to protect the flag. In the island army, if the regiment flag is there, the establishment of the unit is there; if the regiment flag is not there, then This force organization would not exist.”

When Yakov heard this, he couldn't help but interjected: "Isn't this similar to the flag of our Guards Division? Before the appearance of the Guards Division, each division had its own flag. Once the flag was lost or damaged, the division's The organization will be revoked, the officers will be court-martialed, and the soldiers will be dispersed and organized into other units."

"That's true." Bezikov added: "I heard that shortly after the war broke out, a unit that actually fought on the border was deactivated by the Supreme Command because it lost its flag, and all the surviving officers were dismissed. Sent to military court, the soldiers were separated and organized into different units. Until the second half of 1944, when our troops returned to the border, with the help of local people, our army recovered from a cemetery where fallen commanders and soldiers were buried. , only to discover the hidden military flag. With this military flag, the disbanded troops can be rebuilt."

After hearing this, Sokov nodded and continued: "In the island country's army, many veterans who participated in the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, and World War II usually have the regimental flags of the units with strong combat effectiveness. It is in dilapidated condition. Because in the island army, as long as the crown, tassel and flagpole of the regiment flag are not damaged, the regiment flag will not be replaced with a new one. Therefore, many island armies are proud of the tattered regiment flag.

It is precisely because the significance of the regiment flag is very important to the island army, so when an island army is about to be completely wiped out, they will hold a 'burning' ceremony to burn the regiment flag. So so far, No military has ever captured the island nation's flag. "

Yakov asked in surprise: "Is it true that not a single aspect has been captured?"

"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "Not one side has been captured."

Yakov scratched the back of his head and said: "Misha, listening to what you said, I feel like we really didn't capture any coalition flags when we surrendered. Tell me, the little devil will hide all these coalition flags. Where did you go?"

"It is impossible to hide." Sokov looked at Yakov and said: "No matter how concealed they are, there is still a possibility of being found by us. So the greatest possibility is that they put these things before they are ready to surrender to our army. All the regimental flags were burned." "Oh, what a pity, what a pity." After hearing this, Yakov said regretfully: "If we can capture one or two flags, we can take them back and put them in our museum and display them as trophies. Come out and let our descendants see the great achievements we have built."

"Comrade Commander," Bezikov asked tentatively after waiting for Yakov to finish: "If I remember correctly, the little devil's regiment is roughly equivalent to our regiment. Their regiment-level combat units are all If there is a flag, then the brigade or division will not have a flag?"

“The flag used by the brigade or division is the military flag often used by island countries.” Sokov said briefly: “Compared with the regiment flag, it has no characteristics and does not have any collection value.”

Bezikov was silent for a moment, and asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Commander, do you think there are people who are reluctant to burn the regiment flag, but hide it privately?"

Sokov thought that after Tianhuang announced his surrender, in order to prevent the regiment flag from falling into the hands of the enemy, all the island troops began to destroy the regiment flag, even the royal family was no exception. The only exception was the regimental flag of the 321st Infantry Regiment. Because the commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Shiro Goto, could not bear it, only the flagpole was burned during the burning ceremony. The other parts were kept by a private group called Shinto Tenkyoju. The noodles are cut into several large pieces and kept separately. It was not until 1951 that this broken united flag reappeared and was donated to the Yasukuni Shrine. After careful repair, it was displayed as a cultural relic.

"I think there should be some." Sokov said vaguely: "But there are more than 600,000 Kwantung Army prisoners captured by our army. How can you know who has the regiment flag hidden on his body? "

"Comrade Commander, I heard that after returning to Moscow this time, you and Comrade Chief of Staff may be asked to go to Siberia to manage the Kwantung Army prisoners of war." Bezikov said proactively: "If you really want to come to Siberia, remember to If you want to take me with you, I want to try my luck to see if I can find the regiment flag you mentioned on a prisoner of war."

When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help laughing. He knew very well that Bezikov was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If he wanted to get something from the prisoners of war, he would definitely use some special means. Evil people will find their way. The little devils have done so many bad things in China, and it would be a good thing to let Bezikov torture them when the time comes. It was out of this consideration that he said very readily: "No problem, Comrade Major. As long as the superiors really send me and Yasha to Siberia to manage prisoners of war, then they will definitely take you with them."

Seeing that Sokov agreed to his request, Bezikov couldn't help but be overjoyed. He turned to look at the three warriors sitting at the table next to him, and continued to ask: "Then can I bring a warrior I am familiar with?"

"Of course." Although Sokov didn't know how his superiors would arrange work for him after he and Yakov returned to Moscow, he naturally would not refuse Bezikov's request, so he simply He replied: "You can choose whoever you think is suitable and follow us to Siberia."

 After everyone finished their meal, they returned to their respective private rooms.

As soon as the box door closed, Yakov asked Sokov eagerly: "Misha, we are all very busy during this period, so I haven't had time to ask you. Did you collect anything interesting during your time in Shenyang?" The spoils of war?”

"No, I didn't collect anything." Sokov shook his head and said truthfully: "China is our ally, not our enemy. How could I collect so-called trophies from their people? "

"As soon as I made a guess, I knew that you came back to the Far East empty-handed this time." Yakov shook his head and said: "When you return to Moscow, you are empty-handed. I'll see how you go to see Asya."

Sokov could only smile bitterly after hearing this, not knowing how to answer the other party.

After a while, Sokov decided to turn his back on guests and asked: "Yasha, I wonder what interesting trophies you have collected?"

"There really is one." Yakov bent down and pulled out his box from under the seat. After opening it, he took out a book-sized box and placed it on the coffee table between the two of them: "This is the trophy I collected. , you can open it and take a look."

Sokov opened the box out of curiosity, and quickly placed several small objects wrapped in silk. When he opened one of them, he found that it was an exquisite snuff bottle. He asked in surprise: "Yasha, where did you get these snuff bottles?" Judging from the design style of these snuff bottles, they were definitely not produced in China. On the contrary, they had many Russian elements, so he asked Such a problem occurs.

"I got it from a White Russian." Yakov said proudly: "That White Russian family turned out to be a count from the Tsarist era, and later fled to China and settled down. This time we saw us defeat the Kwantung Army. , he asked someone to find me privately, hoping that I could find a way for him to return to the Soviet Union, and these were the meeting gifts he gave me."

After confirming that these snuff bottles were not snatched from the hands of the Chinese people, Sokov suddenly felt more at ease. While playing with the snuff bottles in his hand, he asked casually: "Yasha, have you promised him?"

"How could I not agree to such an expensive gift from someone else?" Yakov said: "After I learned the news that we were returning to Moscow yesterday, I went to his house overnight and met with him in person. Tell him that I am going back to China, and if he can come with me now, he will pack his bags immediately. If he doesn’t want to leave, it will not be so easy for him to return to the Soviet Union after I leave.”

When Sokov heard this, a bold idea immediately came to his mind: "Yasha, you won't take him into the car, will you?"

A smile appeared on Yakov's face, and then he gave Sokov a thumbs up: "Misha, you are so smart. You guessed it right, he was indeed taken into the car by me, but he is not the same as us. In the same carriage. I arranged him and his family in a box for four people. If you want to see them, I can take you there."

"No, no, no." Sokov's expression became serious: "Yasha, you brought people back to the country without authorization. If the superiors find out, will they cause you any trouble?"

"Misha, you are worrying too much." Yakov explained to Sokov: "I got the news that because our country suffered a lot of population losses during the Great Patriotic War, the higher authorities are considering allowing the Belarusians who fled that year to return to their own country. Home. When I brought Belarus back to my country, even if the higher-ups knew about it, there would be no problem."

Hearing what Yakov said, Sokov secretly thought that Yakov had a special status, and he would definitely be able to know information that he did not know through some special channels. Thinking of this, he nodded slowly and said, "Yasha, if there is a chance, I can meet this White Russian."

 (End of this chapter)