In the warm and light-proof tent, a kerosene lamp emitting orange light hung on a rough tree trunk. Under the tree, orange-red flames danced in a large cast-iron stove. A squatting figure sat on it. In the small pot, the rising snow has also begun to melt.
The young man Karl, who was kneeling beside the cast-iron stove, was using his Finnish hunting knife with an antler handle to cut frozen venison and potatoes, carefully preparing them for everyone. Food.
On the other side of the tree trunk, Markla was sitting on a bearskin blanket, wiping the huge firearm beside him with a soft cloth. On his leg, a huge trapezoidal metal box contained three scary large magazines, as well as several different styles of muzzle brakes and some small tools for maintenance.
The Pravda reporter Konon was concentrating on writing something in a plastic notebook under a separate small oil lamp.
Seeing Wei Ran entering the tent, Konon immediately raised his head and prepared to continue his interview, but before he could speak, he was overtaken by Markla again.
"Victor, come here and help. There's a lot of snow in this big guy's belly. We have to take it apart and clean it up." While speaking, Markla moved her buttocks to give him a hand. Wei Ran gave up a small space.
Wei Ran deliberately ignored reporter Konon, sat down next to Markla and asked curiously, "This gun looks really big!"
"It It's a good weapon!"
Makra may have thought that Wei Ran was running out of words, so he immediately explained in detail, "We found it in a weapons warehouse left by the Germans. It's the same anti-aircraft shell as the Lati anti-tank gun, but it's much more comfortable to use than Lati, at least your shoulders won't be so painful that you can't sleep after using it."
"But it's also very delicate. , at least you have cleaned up this heavy big guy several times along the way."
Konon took the initiative to come up and said with some pride, "If it is a Degtyarev anti-tank rifle or something. The Simonov anti-tank rifle can be used normally even if it is buried in the snow for a day, and the two anti-tank guns produced by our Soviet Union are not as heavy as this big guy."
"That's right."
Karl, who was cooking, said in a regretful tone without raising his head, "The two anti-tank guns you mentioned are indeed very useful, but it's a pity that we were in the Winter War before. There were too few seized, otherwise there would be no need to bring this heavy guy." "Did you put chili oil on your little mouth?"
Wei Ran held back. He smiled and murmured to himself, Karl, this young man may not look old, but his mouth is damaged as if it has been aged for decades. As for the lethality of this sentence, just look at Konon's red face, which is not clear whether it is from cold or from embarrassment.
In the warm tent filled with an awkward atmosphere, Wei Ran tried to pick up the anti-tank gun on the bearskin blanket. This was more like a small cannon than a gun.The weapon weighs no less than a hundred kilograms.
Putting the anti-tank gun that he had barely picked up, Wei Ran looked at the German inscriptions on the gun curiously. This was the first time he had seen this kind of anti-tank weapon, but Markla had just mentioned it. The Lati L39 anti-tank gun produced by Finland itself had a chance to meet him during the last war between Finland and the Soviet Union.
According to the inscription on this gun, it was produced by a factory called Solothurn. The weapon number is S18/1000. The ammunition used is indeed 20X138 as Markla just said. mm shrink rim bullet.
Just based on this bullet, we know that it should indeed be called a "cannon", because the same kind of shells are also used by the German flak30, flak38 anti-aircraft guns, Panzer II tanks, and various German aircraft. Aircraft guns.
However, even if it can be regarded as a cannon according to the standards of later generations, in 1944, the main tank armor of any country, whether it was the Soviet Union or Germany, could easily block its close range. Range shooting. Even a German half-track armored vehicle would probably have to be close enough to successfully penetrate the armor plate.
Looking suspiciously at Markla, who was holding a tool to dismantle the weapon, Wei Ran secretly thought that maybe it was precisely because he also knew that the weapon in his hand was not powerful enough that he brought his son up. Only a father on the battlefield would deliberately stop chasing the enemy, using the excuse that the huge lake in front of him was too empty, and put some distance between him and the retreating Germans on the other side.
Wei Ran, who thought he had guessed the answer, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. If this was the case, perhaps they would not be in any danger. In this case, the remaining task was to find a way to get rid of the Soviet reporter. Conon borrowed a camera and took ten photos.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to use the Rolleiflex camera in the metal notebook, but the film inside had long been used up, and now it was just a piece of scrap metal.
In the tent with different ideas, Markla, with the help of Weiran, dismantled the anti-tank weapon into parts, carefully wiped them one by one and smeared them with bear-infused After lubricating it with grease, reassemble it.
With the help of Wei Ran, he carefully wrapped it in a rabbit skin blanket and carried it aside. The two of them got out of the tent, carefully scrubbed off the oil on their hands with the snow outside, and then sat down. A simple dining table made of two skis.
Under the dim kerosene lamp, Karl served everyone a large bowl of steaming venison soup and a piece of hard rye bread.
The reporter Konon seemed to be trying to ease the relationship between him and Wei Ran. He generously took out an apple from his sack and handed it to Karl, who used it. The hunting knife was fairly cut into four parts and distributed to everyone.
While eating, Konon promoted the Soviet Union's governing philosophy in a roundabout way, and took the initiative to help Macra and his son and "Victor from Vipri" dream of a happy life in the future.live.
Unfortunately, both Markla and his son, as well as Wei Ran, had a tacit understanding and did not talk about each other. After eating their own food in silence, they lay down on the leather blanket and fell asleep, not even bothering to arrange a night watch.
Konon, who was left alone, frowned and looked at the three people who were already snoring. He secretly clenched his fists, took out his pencil and plastic book again and started writing furiously.
When I woke up, it was still dark outside the tent, and reporter Konon was already wrapped in a wolfskin blanket and snoring.
Wei Ran glanced at the camera placed next to Konon's head. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gave up the urge to take it secretly and click the shutter a few times while the former was not paying attention.
Not long after, Markla and his son also woke up one after another. The old man and the young man seemed to deliberately torment Konon and didn’t want him to rest. The one who cooked, the one who carried the weapons, carried the weapons out. Konon, who had just fallen asleep, was easily woken up by the sound.
"Are you leaving?" Konon asked sleepily.
“It looks like it’s going to snow.”
Markla explained in a cold tone, “We must cross the lake as soon as possible to close the distance with the Germans, and then later, once there are traces of tracks It will be difficult to catch up with them when they are covered in snow."
Just one word made Konon wake up completely, and he quickly helped pack away the animal skins, blankets and other things in the tent.
After dismantling the tent and hurriedly drinking a large bowl of broth, Carl shouted to the reindeer and set off again, following the faint ruts on the snow through the frozen lake and a large frozen swamp, and finally reached safety. got into the forest on the other side.
Soon, a large number of footprints appeared directly in front of the sleigh. Next to a fallen pine tree, there were still bonfires covered by snow and several tin cans.
Karl, who was in charge of driving, wisely did not get close to him. Instead, he softly shouted at the reindeer, which was blowing white breath from its nostrils, to stay away. On the flat snow, he followed the increasingly clear lines. The rutted tracks slowed down and kept going.
In the sleigh, Konon, wrapped in a wolf-skin blanket, once again began to interview patiently, but this time the only response he got was the silence from Markla and Wei Ran in no particular order. sound gesture.
Seeing Konon reluctantly put away the pencil and plastic notebook, Markla and Wei Ran looked at each other in tacit understanding, and then each showed an innocent smile.
After several hours of tracking, the ruts not far from the side of the sled seemed to continue forward without end, but the snowflakes falling above the head and the cold wind blowing on the face were getting bigger and bigger. As the sky got slightly brighter, Carl also shouted to the reindeer to stop again.
"Why did you stop again?" Konon asked dissatisfied.
Karl took a small sack of beans from his father’s hand, held a fist-sized piece of salt in his other hand and brought it to the mouths of the two reindeer, taking advantage of a big head to stretch out. Eat beans in a sackAnother big head came over to lick the salt and turned around and said angrily, "Mr. Konon from a big city in the south, if you think it's too long to pull a sleigh full of various things and four people on it, There is no need to rest for an hour. How about letting the two reindeer sit on the sleigh and pull the sled to catch up with the oil-burning armored car? "
"Karl!"
< p> Markla frowned and shouted. He waited until his sharp-tongued son shut up, then picked up a bundle of fodder used as a cushion from under his buttocks and walked to the side of the reindeer through the snow."Don't look at me," Wei Ran said before Konon opened his mouth, "I won't go pulling the sleigh with you."
"You!" Konon, who had just been speechless by Karl, subconsciously put his hand on the holster of the TT33 pistol at his waist.
"What? You still want to shoot?"
As Wei Ran spoke, he had already grasped the Mosin Nagant rifle that had been lying on his lap, and was Markla, who was feeding the reindeer, also reacted very quickly and grabbed the Bobosha submachine gun that had been carried on his shoulder, and silently pointed the gun at Conon.
"Do you want to kill me here?"
Konon's tone was slightly trembling, but more of it was undisguised contempt and ridicule, "I knew it. You are secretly helping the Germans who are escaping!"