Red Moscow

Chapter 2427

Sokov spent a week on the train, and his mood inevitably became irritable. After all, he and Yakov looked at each other most of the time every day. The topics they could talk about were almost the same, and the journey became boring.

Yakov was obviously aware of this. He looked away from the window and said nonchalantly: "Misha, this journey is really long. I don't know who arranged it for us to take the train." Rush back to Moscow."

After a pause, Yakov asked Sokov tentatively: "Misha, how about we call Bashilashvili and then Bezikov, and the four of us can play cards together, so that we can spend more time." Some."

"Okay." Sokov was indeed bored. Although he couldn't play cards, he still agreed to Yakov's suggestion. At least there were more people in the box and it would be more lively: "Then let Bezikov bring Bashilashwi Li called over, even if we don’t play cards, we can just chat.”

Hearing what Sokov said, Yakov was stunned for a moment, then thought of a possibility, and asked tentatively: "Misha, you won't tell me that you can't play cards, right?"

Sokov laughed dryly and replied awkwardly: "Yeah, I never play cards."

"Well, then I understand." Yakov learned that Sokov couldn't play cards, so he changed his mind: "Then I'll ask Bashilashvili to come over and play chess. Even if you don't know how, you can learn from the side. How we got off.”

"I can play chess." Although Sokov can't play cards, he can play chess. After all, when he had nothing to do, he went to the chess academy with a few friends and watched others play chess. He watched it many times. Yes, I know a little bit. Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I can test my level: "Let Bashilashvili come over and play chess."

 “Bezikov!” Yakov opened the door and shouted outside.

Soon, Bezikov appeared in front of Yakov: "Comrade General, do you have any instructions?"

“Comrade Major,” Yakov said politely, “please call Bashilashvili over and tell him that we are ready to play chess with him.”

“Okay, Comrade General.” When he learned that Yakov wanted to play chess with Bashilashvili, Bezikov agreed very readily: “I’ll call him right away.” ’

 A few minutes later, Bashilashvili appeared in the box with a box of chess flags under his arm.

When Basilashvili opened the flag box and poured out the chess pieces inside, Sokov couldn't help but his eyes lit up because he saw that these exquisite chess pieces were all made of ivory: "My God, Basilashvili... Shilashvili, your chess pieces are all made of ivory!”

"Yes, Comrade General." Regarding Sokov's statement, Bashilashvili did not deny it, but answered truthfully: "This is what my grandfather left behind, and it is made of mammoth ivory. "

Sokov picked up a chess piece and looked at it repeatedly, secretly thinking that Chinese ivory was generally used for decorations, but Bashilashvili's grandfather actually used ivory to make chess pieces, which was a waste of natural resources.

Bashilashvili saw that Sokov couldn't put down the chess piece he brought. Although he was reluctant to part with it, for the sake of his own future, he decided to reluctantly part with it. He said bravely: "Comrade General, if you like this chess set, I will give it to you."

 Hearing Bashilashvili say that he planned to give this chess set to him, Sokov couldn't help but feel ecstatic. Just when he was about to accept the gift smoothly, he saw that the expression on Bashilashvili's face seemed a bit unnatural. He was a smart man, and he understood immediately that the other party was not sincere in giving him this chess set. , just trying to please myself.

After thinking about this, Sokov could only change his mind. He waved his hands and said: "Bashilashvili, thank you for your kindness. But this chess set was left by your grandfather, and you should leave it to you." How can you just give it away to someone else’s descendant?” He said this to prevent Bashilashvili from passing it on to Yakov later if he didn’t want it.

Sure enough, Bashilashvili had an expression of relief on his face after hearing what Sokov said. This shows how important this ivory chess set is to him.

Yakov was originally envious of this chess set, but when he heard what Sokov said, he was not easy to win people's love, so he could only follow Sokov's intention and said: "Yes, Bashilashvili, This is something left by your grandfather, you should keep it well and pass it on to your children a hundred years from now."

After placing the chess pieces, Bashilashvili looked up at Sokov and Yakov and asked: "I wonder which comrade general wants to play a game with me."

Sokov didn't wait for Yakov to speak, and said first: "Yasha, I haven't played chess for many years, and I'm afraid I'm no match for Bashilashvili. Why don't you play a few games with Bashilashvili first, and let I’m looking for a feeling.”

"Okay, then I will play two sets with Bashilashvili first." Yakov said cheerfully: "Misha, if you want to play, just tell me and I will make room for you. "

Yakov moved first with white chess, and Bashilashvili responded. The two played chess very fast, and in less than five minutes, both sides lost half of their pieces. I don't know whether it was Yakov's high level or Bashilashvili's intention to give in. His two pawns quickly reached the bottom square and were upgraded to move horizontally, straightly or diagonally on the chessboard. Unlimited "queens" quickly sealed the victory.

When the two of them rearranged the chessboard, Bashilashvili said flatteringly: "Comrade General, your chess skills are so good that I have no power to fight back."

Hearing Bashilashvili's compliment, Yakov chuckled, and then walked away again with nothing.

After Sokov’s observation just now, he found that Bashilashvili’s chess skills were obviously better than Yakov’s, but he deliberately lost chess to win Yakov’s favor. The second game between the two played slower than the first game, and they soon fell into a stalemate. Yakov found that the opponent's attack was so fierce that it was difficult for him to resist, so he began to think hard about how to deal with it. Bashilashvili, who had a relaxed expression, started chatting with Sokov: "General Sokov, there is the famous Amber Room in St. Petersburg. Have you ever visited it?"

"Bashilashvili, I want to remind you: there is no St. Petersburg today, there is only a heroic city called Leningrad." Sokov reminded Bashilashvili first, and then said: "As for The Amber Room was snatched away by the Germans shortly after the war broke out, and its whereabouts are still unknown."

“What, the Amber Room was robbed by the Germans?” Bashilashvili heard Sokov say this, with a shocked expression on his face: “Is this true?”

"Of course it's true." Yakov raised his head and said: "When the German army besieged Leningrad, even though the local staff used wallpaper to hide the true face of the Amber Room, they were still discovered by the Nazi soldiers. They dismantled and packed the Amber Room. , it was soon transported back to Königsberg by train and was once displayed in the exhibition hall of the Königsberg Museum. But when our army was about to capture Königsberg, the Germans once again disassembled and packed the Amber Room and prepared to ship it Back to Berlin. However, because the speed of our army's attack exceeded the Germans' imagination, our army occupied Königsberg before their plan to transport the Amber Room could be implemented. But regrettably, after our army entered the city, A careful search was conducted, but the whereabouts of the Amber Room were still not found.”

Bashilashvili looked at Yakov and asked in surprise: "Then where did the Amber Room go?"

"There are many legends about the Amber Room." Yakov said: "The first theory is that during the artillery preparations for the offensive, artillery shells hit the room where the Amber Room was stored in Königsberg, causing the destruction of this precious cultural relic. In the flames of war. This theory is that before Königsberg was captured, the castle where the Amber Room was stored had caught fire. After the city was captured, the castle continued to burn for three days, and the Amber Room was burned in the fire."

 After listening to Yakov’s explanation of the first possibility, Bashilashvili couldn’t wait to ask: “What about the second possibility?”

"The Amber Room was dismantled and packed into boxes. Before it could be transported away, our army rushed into the city. The Germans had to hide the wooden boxes containing the Amber Room in the basement of the castle." Yakov said : "But where is this basement? So far, we have not found it."

When he learned that the whereabouts of the Amber Room were unknown, Bashilashvili became emotional: "I lived in St. Petersburg from the time I was born to the time I left Russia. I had visited Catherine's estate many times to visit the Amber Room. I originally wanted to This time I can go back to China and take a look at this miraculous Amber Room, but unexpectedly it has disappeared."

"Yeah, it's missing, which is a pity." Yakov agreed.

When Sokov heard that the Amber Room was transported away from Leningrad by the Germans, he was quite surprised. Why was it not transported directly to Berlin, but to Königsberg in East Prussia? Later I learned that that place was rich in amber and beeswax, and the German emperor ordered the craftsmen there to use local materials to build the Amber Room.

"Comrade General, I want to ask a question." Bashilashvili was silent for a moment, then summoned up the courage to ask: "After you occupied Königsberg, did you conduct a search of the city? Maybe the Amber Room was hidden by the Germans. Somewhere in the city.”

"Bashilashvili, the force entering Königsberg is the Third Belarusian Front, and I am the deputy chief of staff of this force." Yakov said to Bashilashvili: "I can tell you responsibly, In order to retrieve the Amber Room, our country specially dispatched a huge team to conduct a blanket search in Königsberg. However, this team still found nothing after searching all local manors, castles, noble mansions, and basements. The most likely insider, Dr. Rohde, the museum curator in charge of storing the Amber Room at the time, also died mysteriously in a house on the outskirts of Königsberg before the search team was about to find him."

“Ah, the director of the museum died mysteriously?” Bashilashvili said in surprise: “Why do I smell a conspiracy?”

"I think so too." Sokov interjected: "Maybe the Germans, in order to prevent us from getting the Amber Room, deliberately silenced the people who knew the inside story. And this unlucky museum director happened to be the insider who wanted to be silenced. one."

"I remember that the Amber Room weighs several tons. Even if it is disassembled and packed, it will probably occupy a large area. If it is to be moved, it will definitely require a lot of manpower." Bashilashvili explained his point of view to the two people: "Maybe We should start with the officers and soldiers carrying the boxes, maybe we can get useful information from them."

Sokov couldn't help laughing when he heard Bashilashvili say this. Bashilashvili didn't understand why Sokov was laughing, so he cast a suspicious look at him.

After Sokov stopped smiling, he said to Bashilashvili: "Bashilashvili, if you were the German commander and wanted to keep the secret of the Amber Room, what would you do?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Bashilashvili fell into deep thought.

After a while, he said: "Only the dead can truly keep secrets in the world. If I were the German commander responsible for hiding the Amber Room, I would definitely draw a treasure map and give it to a trustworthy person to take away. , and silence all the insiders, including myself. In this way, no one will know where I hid the Amber Room except the person who got the treasure map."

Sokov couldn't help but take a breath when he heard what Bashilashvili said. He didn't expect that Bashilashvili would be so ruthless. In order to keep the secret, he would even silence himself. Perhaps the real reason for the disappearance of the Amber Room was that the German commander responsible for the matter was silenced himself. In this way, the whereabouts of the Amber Room have become an unsolved mystery in history.

“Misha.” Yakov looked at Sokov and asked, “Do you think what Bashilashvili said is possible?”

"Yasha, what do you say?" Faced with Yakov's question, Sokov said hesitantly: "If you want to make the Amber Room disappear permanently, in addition to destroying it directly, you have to hide it in a A place where no one can find it, and all the insiders will be silenced. Dead people cannot speak. Even if our personnel find the bodies of these insiders, we will not be able to get any useful clues from them. "

“So the Amber Room will never be found again?” Yakov asked with some disappointment.

Although Sokov has seen the Amber Room in later generations, it was a copycat made by Russia in the 1990s. The original Amber Room has been searched for decades, but there is still no clue. Therefore, he responded to the question raised by Yakov in a positive tone: "Yasha, from all the current signs, it is unlikely that we will find the Amber Room. If our descendants want to see the Amber Room, maybe we can only See our replica of the Amber Room based on historical documents."

 (End of this chapter)