In the quiet classroom, Wei Ran stared at Nikolai across the table in silence for a long time, and finally said truthfully, "The records I found show that you were once the correspondent of Don Position 19. According to this clue, I It was also found that you attended the Suvorov Junior Military Academy and was sent to work in East Berlin after the war. But after that, your clues were lost.”
Nikolai Wei. Unsearchable nodded, and did not continue to ask how the young man opposite found him after the clues were broken. He just picked up the cup again and took a sip of the tasteless water-mixed vodka before continuing, "Then you want to know What?"
Wei Ran pushed the photo frame on the table towards the other party, "About the war at Don River Position 19, and all the history you are willing to tell me."
Nicholas put down the cup, slowly stood up and walked to the window, silently looking at the yard outside the window. After a long time, he said in a voice full of regret and remorse, "I... am Deserter at Position 19."
Wei Ran raised his head fiercely, "You..."
Nicholas sighed and said tremblingly, "I was indeed. Postman at Don Position 19. But on the morning of July 28, 1942, before the Don Position was captured by the Germans, I left that position."
"July 28. No!"
Wei Ran stood up suddenly and asked tremblingly, "Mr. Nicholas, what day did you say it was July 28th? Position 19, which we left on the 28th?”
Nicholas looked at Wei Ran strangely, then turned around completely and leaned against the window sill and said, “Even if you forget my birthday, , I will never forget this time."
Compared with the determination in Nikolai's eyes, Wei Ran's heart was already filled with huge waves. In the No. 19 position he experienced, Nikolai was in a state of despair. On the 23rd, he had been coaxed to the rear. On the 28th, just before Position 19 was breached, Aleutian bluntly said that he could be a deserter!
Could it be that those letters have been taken away by Nicholas?
Wei Ran's heart moved and he was about to say something when Nikolai lit a cigarette and continued, "But until the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, even until the end of World War II, and until today, I dare not I don't dare to recall everything that happened there again."
"Sorry..."
Wei Ran stood up, and he only realized it later. He realized that he probably shouldn't have come to meet Nikolai. Everything about Position 19 might just be a week-long memory fragment for him. But obviously, for the elderly Nicholas, that memory is definitely unforgettable but heartbreaking.
Nicholas waved his hands carelessly in the smoke, and continued in an erratic tone, "I was only 13 years old at that time, and I was a field postman at the field post office in the Don River position. My daily job was to deliver Letters sent to every soldier still aliveThey would then deliver the letters they wrote to the field post office, and occasionally help carry artillery shells or wounded soldiers or even corpses.
Young man, you won’t believe it. At that time, even though I had to run back and forth countless times every day in the trenches full of wounded and corpses. But the memories of delivering letters to those soldiers, reading letters to those illiterate soldiers, and even writing letters for them are really the most precious memories of my life. "
As Nicholas murmured to himself, the old but sturdy figure standing in front of the window gradually merged with the skinny little postman. At this time, Wei Ran was already sure, This old Nikolai is the person he is looking for.
But what makes Wei Ran worried is that the other party's memory of Position 19 is very different from his own experience in Nikolai. In La's memory, the field post office did support positions 14, 18 and 19 at the request of Captain Aleut, but he did not mention the person "Postman Victor" at all.
Even the person who handed him the letters home from the soldiers at Position 19 and asked him to move with the rear was not the postman Victor, but the female reporter Zoya
And that’s it. As Nikolai mentioned at the beginning, he did not leave on July 23, but persisted until the morning of July 28, and then under the compulsion of the Aleutian company commander, he ignored Stalin's Order No. 227 issued that day. , as a postman, on the pretext of delivering letters, he escaped alive from Position 19 and returned to the rear.
When Nicholas ended his long memories, the classroom became filled with smoke. . The two people in the classroom fell into silence at the same time.
After a long time, Wei Ran picked up the hot water bottle at his feet, filled his cup, and took a sip to moisten his throat. , then asked hesitantly, "Mr. Nicholas, I want to know the letter you sent back to the rear..."
Nicholas shook his head sadly, "After I was sent to Su After studying at the Wolov Junior Military Academy, I sent all those letters to the corresponding people, except for the Aleutian Company Commander’s application report for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. "
"Why? "Wei Ran asked nervously.
"Why? "
Nicholas asked strangely, and then said lonelyly, "The Germans had already crossed the Don River at that time, and there was no way to verify what happened at Position 19. So what if I have that application report? The witness was just a 13-year-old child, not to mention that the acting company commander Aleutian who submitted this report was an inmate from a correctional camp. "
"So..."
Nicholas sighed, "Until the end of the entire Battle of Stalingrad, the soldiers in Position 19 did not receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. . Since then, I have never dared to go to Position 19 on the Don River. I... did not complete the task assigned to me by the Aleutian company commander. I am just a deserter who is greedy for life and afraid of death. "
"But they are indeed heroes." Wei Ran picked up the wine bottle and poured a full glass for the other party, "BaoIncluding you too. "
"Hero? "
Nicholas shook his head noncommittally, picked up the enamel jar and drank it all in one gulp, "Young man, this land is now called the Russian Federation. The Soviet Union that those at Position 19 fought for is long gone, so what’s the point of being heroes? Could Stalin still live to award them a Gold Star medal? Forget it, it's just a bigger regret than not being able to get the title of hero. "
"Is Suvorov considered a hero? "Wei Ran asked abruptly.
"Of course! Nicholas replied without thinking, "Of course he is a hero!" Forever hero! "
"So Tsarist Russia is still there? Wei Ran asked with a smile, "If Tsarist Russia is gone, then Suvorov is no longer a hero?" "
"This..."
Nicholas was speechless when asked. Of course, Tsarist Russia is long gone, but Suvorov is a person in the hearts of Russians. The fact that he is a hero and even a military god will never change.
"Mr. Nicholas"
Wei Ran took a piece of paper with his phone number and the other person when he entered the door. He pushed the silent pistol handed to him to the other party, then stood up and walked outside the classroom and said, "Heroes will not disappear just because a rightful person disappears, and the evaluation standard for heroes is not the golden five-pointed star. Just like Brezhnev, even if he has enough medals to block direct fire from anti-tank guns at close range, I am afraid that in the eyes of you Russians, he is far from a hero. "
At this point, Wei Ran has already taken one foot out of the classroom, "I have got the history I want to know. Maybe soon, my customers will use the ZIS-3 The anti-tank gun became a monument to Position 19. If you want to take a look, you can call me anytime. ”
As the words fell, the wooden door of the classroom was gently closed by Wei Ran, leaving only the elderly Nicholas sitting in the classroom and staring blankly at the desks that were still there.