Red Moscow

The female staff was very efficient. Within ten minutes after leaving, many extras appeared in the originally empty hall, including men and women, old and young. After they entered the hall, some stood there chatting. , some carrying briefcases or holding document bags, walking back and forth in the area that can be captured by the camera. Although it was already October when it was about to snow, they were still dressed in summer clothes.

　　When the female staff member came back, she respectfully asked Petrov: "Comrade director, do you think there are enough people?"

“That’s enough, that’s enough,” Petrov looked at the extras walking back and forth in the hall, nodded and said, “It’s enough for now. If it’s not enough, I’ll tell you again.”

"Okay, Comrade Director." The female staff member said, "I have been ordered to assist you in filming. If you have anything to do, just ask me. I will always be on standby."

After the filming started, the female staff member came to Sokov and asked with some surprise: "Comrade General, aren't you going to participate in the filming?"

Sokov shook his head and said with a smile: "I just came here to watch the fun. By the way, where did you find so many extras?"

"Some of them came from Moscow with Director Petrov." The female staff member replied: "Some are staff members in the building. I sent people to inform them that there is a shooting task in the building today and let them Everyone came down to help with the filming. Just like that, there were more people in the hall."

“What a great job!” Sokov gave a thumbs up to the female staff member, praising her work ability, and then asked politely: “Girl, I wonder what I should call you?”

“My name is Karina.” The female staff member said openly, “You can just call me by my name.”

Karina looked around, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade General, I don't know how long the filming will last. It's not appropriate for us to stand here all the time. There is a bench there, let's sit there."

Sokov once saw Petrov filming and knew that he was a director who strives for perfection. There were many shots that were not problematic, but in order to achieve the best effect, he asked the actors to retake them repeatedly, so as to select the ones he was most satisfied with. lens. As a result, there was no telling how long the filming of the scene in the municipal building would take. Since Karina asked him to sit aside and wait, he agreed naturally.

"Comrade General," Karina said to Sokov after the two sat down: "I heard the Secretary-General said that when he saw you outside the gate just now, he thought you were an actor? You know, Big names like you are rare here."

Hearing Karina mention what happened just now, Sokov just smiled lightly and said: "Actually, the reason why I stayed in the crew was purely coincidental. I went to Crystal City to buy crystals the day before yesterday, and on the way back, I saw the troops carrying the troops. The convoy entered Vladimir. After asking the traffic police, I found out that this troop was here to assist in filming a movie. Out of curiosity, I followed them into the city."

“Oh, that’s it.” Karina nodded and then asked, “Wouldn’t it affect your work if you stay here?”

"I just left the army not long ago, and my superiors haven't arranged a new job for me yet." Sokov said with a smile, "That's why I have enough time to follow the crew and watch them make movies."

"I heard that the name of this movie is "The Battle of Stalingrad"," Karina asked tentatively: "Comrade General, have you ever participated in the Battle of Stalingrad?"

"Participated." Sokov nodded and answered truthfully: "Before the battle broke out, I was the commander of an infantry brigade. Although at that time, judging from various signs, Stalingrad did not seem to be attacked by the German army. Therefore, the defense there was relatively lax. It was under such circumstances that I entered Stalingrad with my own troops and took charge of the defense of Mamayev Hill."

“Mamayev Hill?!” Karina heard Sokov mentioning Mamayev Hill and said excitedly, “I’ve heard of that place.”

 “Oh, you’ve heard of Mamayev Kurgan?”

"Yes." Karina said in a positive tone: "I not only read it in the newspaper, but also heard it on the radio. It is said that it is the commanding height of the city and its geographical location is particularly important. Once the Germans occupy it, There, not only can artillery be set up on the hills to bombard our army's defense area, but it will also split our army's defense line into two areas that are not connected to each other in the north and south, and cut off our army's supply transportation line through the Volga River... "

After patiently listening to Karina's story, Sokov nodded with a smile, and then said: "Karina, I really didn't expect that you know so much about Mamaev Gang. If you hadn't told me in advance, you wouldn't have Having been to Stalingrad, I thought you lived near Mamayev Heights."

While the two were talking, Sokov suddenly saw a lieutenant wearing a collar and military rank, leading a young girl wearing a bragi and running in from outside. As soon as the two entered the door, they grabbed a passing extra and asked loudly: "Excuse me, where is the marriage registration office?"

Carina also saw the two new people entering the door, with a look of astonishment on her face. She turned to look at Sokov and asked: "Comrade General, are these two important actors? Everyone else was walking back and forth in the hall, no one spoke, but as soon as they entered the shooting scene, they started speaking their lines. .”

Sokov was also puzzled. It may be said that the two of them came to board a plane, but the one in the cold weather was wearing summer clothes, and the officer still wore old-fashioned military ranks. Speaking as an actor, he felt that he had never seen such a plot in the script. He could only shake his head slowly and said in an uncertain tone: "I think it might be two extra actors."

　　A staff member who looked like a marriage registration office appeared in front of the two of them and asked them: "Are you here to register your marriage?"

"Yes!" The officer nodded and said in a positive tone: "We are here to register."

 “How long have you known each other?” the staff member asked.

The girl held out **** and said: "Two hours!"

The staff were shocked after hearing this: "What, we have only known each other for two hours and we have to register for marriage?"

“Yes, comrade, we want to register our marriage.”

"Marriage is not a trivial matter. I suggest you spend some time together. After you get to know each other, it's not too late to register for marriage." "No, comrade." Unexpectedly, as soon as the staff member finished speaking, the girl became anxious. He said: "In half an hour, he will get in the car and go to the front line. Please help us go through the registration procedures."

"Yes, comrade, please help me." The officer also said: "My troops will soon go to the front line to fight against the Germans. I don't know how long it will take before I can come back. Please help me. Help us check in."

While the three actors were performing, Yakov, who was sitting not far away, shook his head repeatedly. He felt that the traces of their performances were too obvious, especially the actress's speech, which seemed too artificial and unnatural.

As expected, Sokov, as a bystander, felt that the performance of the three was not good, and Petrov, who had strict requirements, was even more dissatisfied. When he saw this, he stopped the performance of the three people, and then walked over to explain to them the problems in the performance just now, how to adjust their emotions, etc.

“Comrade General,” Karina looked at Sokov and asked, “I want to ask you a question.”

"Excuse me, Karina." Sokov guessed the question the other party might ask, so he asked tentatively: "You want to ask if such a situation happened back then, right?"

“Yes, I just want to ask this question.” Karina said: “I think it is a bit too hasty for two people to go to the marriage registration office to register after they have known each other for two hours, don’t you think?”

"Karina, if it were in peacetime, it would be too hasty to get married after knowing each other for two hours." Sokov stopped the smile on his face and said seriously: "But in wartime, this situation is not the case. For example. As far as I know, during the Battle of Stalingrad, it was very common for people to get married after knowing each other for a few hours. At least I know of dozens of couples."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true." Sokov said with a serious tone: "You also know that the battle to defend Stalingrad was extremely brutal. The survival time for soldiers on the battlefield was no more than 24 hours, and for officers, it was 72 hours. These officers and soldiers and girls After they get married, they separate soon and there is almost no chance of seeing each other again. However, before they leave, they will give the military preferential treatment certificate to the woman so that they can receive various benefits of their own."

“I thought it was all nonsense, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”

Sokov stared at Petrov who was telling the actors about the scene, and couldn't help but murmur in his heart: This plot has never been seen in the 49 version of "The Battle of Stalingrad", but in the 90 version directed by Ozerov It did appear in the version of "The Battle of Stalingrad". Could it be that after this episode was filmed, it was cut out during editing due to various special reasons?

 “Comrade General!” Just as Sokov was thinking wildly, he suddenly heard Karina calling him.

He quickly concentrated, turned to look at Karina, smiled and asked: "Karina, what's the matter?"

"You just said that the soldiers defending Stalingrad can only survive on the battlefield for 24 hours, and the officers can only survive for 72 hours." Karina asked: "You have been stationed in Stalingrad since the beginning of the battle. How can you survive?" You'll be very lucky until the day the battle is finally won."

"Yes, I'm lucky." Sokov did not deny this. No matter what, he has the aura of the protagonist. Which time-travel novel do you think the male protagonist will die? Even if you encounter a dangerous situation, you can still save the day with the protagonist's halo. "Actually, I was injured twice during the battle. Fortunately, I survived."

"Well, let me tell you, you must be lucky." Karina continued: "Actually, there were several people in the building where I lived who participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, but unfortunately, None of them came back, and they all died on the battlefield. There were even some whose bodies were not found. They were not counted as sacrifices, but only as missing. There is a big difference in the treatment of family members who died on the battlefield and disappeared."

This was the first time Sokov heard about this situation, and his curiosity aroused. He quickly asked: "Karina, what is going on, can you tell me?"

"It's like this," Karina said: "I have a neighbor named Lena. Her husband and two sons joined the army after the war broke out. Two of the sons went to Stalingrad with the army, but There has been no news since then, and neither the dead nor the corpses have been seen alive. She went to the army to inquire and was told that her two sons were missing on the battlefield, so she could not be given a pension."

 “What about her husband?”

"He died as early as during the defense of Moscow." Karina sighed and said: "The body was also not found. Fortunately, there were comrades who testified that they saw him being blown to pieces by German shells. Lena just received the pension that belonged to her husband."

After Sokov waited for Karina to finish speaking, he sighed softly, and then said: "Karina, I came down from the Stalingrad battlefield, and I know the situation there very well. As you just said In that way, many commanders and fighters were blown to pieces by enemy artillery shells or aircraft bombs during the battle, and even the bodies could not be found. In this case, it can only be defined as missing. I think Lena's two sons should be This is the case.”

"If a son was blown to pieces and his body could not be found, I believe it." But after hearing this, Karina was a little unconvinced and said: "But her two sons were in different units, how could they both be killed?" How about being blown to pieces?"

Karina’s words reminded Sokov of the battle near the Vasily Building, and he said seriously: “Karina, have you heard of the Vasily Building?”

"I've heard of it." Karina nodded and said in a positive tone: "It is said that more than 20 soldiers, led by sniper Vasily, persisted for two full months in the face of enemy siege from all directions. .”

"It is said that there are only more than 20 soldiers holding on to the Vasily Building. This is just external propaganda and is to boost the morale of our army." Sokov lowered his voice and said to Karina: "In fact, one of our commanders and soldiers died there. Two thousand people, and a similar number of enemies were eliminated at the same time. After the battle, when our people cleaned up the scene, they found less than half of the corpses, and the rest were destroyed by artillery fire and aerial bombs. ”

"Comrade General, after hearing what you said, I suddenly had a bold idea." Karina said hesitantly: "I don't know whether I should say it or not."

"If you want to say something, just say it." Sokov said cautiously: "If I can help you, I will definitely find a way to help you."

"Can you help Lena find a good word with someone from the Civil Affairs Bureau?" Karina said in a pleading tone: "Let them give Lena pensions for her two sons. Since Lena learned about the two sons After the news of the sacrifice, she was so sad that her eyes were blinded by crying, and she was unable to work at all. She only relied on her husband's small pension to survive." After saying that, she grabbed Sokov's hand and shook it vigorously. A few times.

Regarding Karina's request, Sokov was also in a dilemma. Although he believed that Lena's two sons were likely to die on the battlefield defending Stalingrad, he had no basis for it. What qualifications did he have? What about giving orders to the Civil Affairs Bureau?