Red Moscow

  Chapter 33 Defending the Dam (Part 2)

   Ernst and Lin Hua sat across the table, with Pavel standing behind him with a submachine gun. Asiya, who was the translator, originally wanted to stand on the other side of the table so that both parties could hear her translation clearly. However, out of safety considerations, Lin Hua still let Asiya stand behind him, in case Ernst suddenly exploded and took Asiya hostage.

  After the interrogation started, Lin Hua didn't ask the other party's name, military rank and position as usual. He felt that these were superfluous, but asked bluntly: "How long have you been here?"

  Ernst was slightly taken aback when he heard Lin Hua's question. He didn't expect the other party to ask this question, so he immediately replied: "We moved here on November 29, and it has been ten days now."

Seeing Ernst's cooperation, Lin Hua continued to ask: "Where are the explosives that you plan to blow up the dam buried?" Unexpectedly, after talking for a long time, he didn't hear Asiya interpreting for him. Turning to look at Asiya, she asked strangely, "Asiya, why don't you translate?"

   "Misha," Assia replied with some embarrassment, "You know, the German I learned is all related to medicine. I can't say the words 'dam' and 'dynamite'."

   "Mr. Officer," Ernst, who was sitting across from Lin Hua, suddenly said in Russian unexpectedly, "Of course I know where the explosives are, but this is a military secret of our army, so I can't tell you."

  Hearing Ernst suddenly speak Russian, Lin Hua was stunned for a while, and then said in an unbelievable tone: "Corporal Ernst, you can actually speak Russian?"

   "I once studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow for two years," Ernst shrugged and said disapprovingly, "it's not uncommon to be able to speak Russian."

Seeing that Ernst can speak Russian, and his level seems to be not low, Lin Hua did not ask Asiya to act as an interpreter, but talked directly with Ernst: "Corporal Ernst, this outpost of yours is far away from the university. The dam is not too far away. Once the dam is blown up, you will be swept away by the torrential flood. If you are willing to tell us where the explosives are, you will save your own lives. "

Unexpectedly, when Ernst heard Lin Hua say this, he sneered twice, and then said disdainfully: "Since we have fallen into your hands, can we still live?" He turned his head and glanced at Baba standing behind him. Weir, "Maybe as soon as the interrogation is over, you will order your men to take us out and shoot us."

   "Corporal," Lin Hua waited for Ernst to finish speaking, and then asked back, somewhat dumbfounded, "Who told you that we were going to shoot you?"

   "Don't you shoot us?" Ernst asked in surprise.

"That's right, you won't be shot." Lin Hua nodded and comforted the other party, saying: "Our army treats prisoners preferentially. As long as you lay down your weapons, you can get the treatment that a prisoner of war deserves. For you, the reality of war The war is over." At this point, he couldn't help smiling slightly, and added, "Corporal, I believe that as soon as the war is over, you still have a chance to fulfill your dream of becoming a musician."

   Perhaps it was Lin Hua's last sentence that moved Ernst, and he fell silent. After a long time, he asked with some difficulty: "Can I have a cigarette?"

  Lin Hua heard Ernst say this, and guessed that he was a little shaken, so he needed to smoke to calm down. In order to get the information he wanted to know from Ernst's mouth, he turned to Assia and said, "Assia, go outside and see who wants to smoke, ask him for a cigarette. "

"Comrade hygienist," seeing Assia turning to leave, Pavel stopped her and said, "I have cigarettes here." Then he took out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, took out one and handed it to Ernst .

After the cigarette was lit, Ernst took a few puffs, threw the cigarette **** on the ground, rubbed it with his toes a few times, and said: "I saw two truckloads of explosives brought in by the engineers yesterday, which may have four or five tons, so I placed them on the ground." On the west side of the dam."

Knowing that the explosives arranged by the German army on the dam were actually four to five tons, Lin Hua couldn't help but gasped. Once the explosives were detonated, the Istria Reservoir would cease to exist, and it would take at least a few years to recover. During this period, the important military enterprises in Moscow will be in a state of serious shortage of production capacity for a long time due to insufficient power supply.

  Lin Hua took a few deep breaths to stabilize his emotions, and then asked, "Do you know where the engineers will detonate?"

  There are several teacups on the table. Before Pavel rushed in, these captured German soldiers were drinking tea. Ernst put his fingers into a teacup, dipped in some cold tea, and drew a sketch on the wooden table: "The sappers are responsible for the location of the detonation, on the west bank of the Istria River, about 500 meters northwest , there is a bunker built by you, and the engineers detonated at this location."

  Lin Hua saw that the position of the German engineers was too far away from him, so he considered approaching the area where the explosives were piled up from the dam, destroying the control wires, and defeating the German bombing plot. So after a short pause, he asked, "How is the defense on the dam?"

"There is a company of troops." Ernst seemed to be a roundworm in Lin Hua's stomach, and immediately guessed his intention from his question: "Mr. Lieutenant, there are machine gun fire points at the entrances on both sides of the dam. If you attack, you will definitely pay a heavy price."

  Lin Hua asked how many defenders there were on the dam. The purpose was indeed to seize the dam and cut off the detonation line of the German engineers. Hearing what Ernst said at this moment, he immediately realized that the situation was more serious than he imagined. Quickly told Assia: "Call the two platoon leaders in, I want to discuss with them."

   Not long after Asiya went out, two platoon leaders followed her into the room. Seeing the two people coming in, Lin Hua quickly greeted them: "You guys are here, please sit down. Let's discuss how to proceed with the battle."

  Vanya stared at Ernst with vigilance, and then asked: "Comrade company commander, why is this German guy sitting here?"

"Comrade Second Lieutenant," Lin Hua looked up at Vanya and said, "This is Corporal Ernst. He knows the situation of the dam very well. If we want to stop the German army's plot to blow up the dam, we need his help. "

After Lin Hua and the two sat down, he introduced what he knew to them, and finally asked: "Comrades, two platoon leaders, let's talk about your opinions. What should we do to destroy the bombing of the German army?" The conspiracy of the dam to ensure that the main force of our army can cross the Istria River smoothly?"

  (end of this chapter)