Under the leadership of Ninelli, the troops smoothly walked through the swamp.

Yang Mingzhi's biggest fears, such as the soldier falling into the mud, happened a few times but it didn't matter. If the most troublesome thing is the wheels of the carriage getting stuck in the mud. In this way, he, as an officer, could not sit idly by, and this cart of ammunition fell into the mud, and if it got into the water, it would be troublesome.

All the officers and men of the 284th Division successfully arrived at Catfish Village, and now the village in front of them has become a large refugee shelter, and with more than 30,000 soldiers joining, it is overcrowded.

Yevlov led his troops to an empty place, which had been a potato field, but unfortunately the land was dug with holes.

What's going on here? "There were so many people coming from the west that everyone almost fled urgently, and food was very scarce, so they attacked our farmlands. "Speaking of which, this man deeply regrets.

There is a saying that when a refugee is like a locust, the hungry will eat everything that can be eaten. It was not until the militia, who could not bear it, fired warning shots and executed a few guys, that the refugees did not further destroy the land. However, robberies and thefts still occurred from time to time, and the militia dealt with the thieves they caught directly as "traitors to the motherland" - they were shot directly.

A lot of people arrive here with their families, but Catfish Village only provides very limited food. The village also provided some freshly caught fish, which gave hope to many of the refugees. There are a lot of large birds and swimming fish in the wetland, and these are all food, and whether you can catch them depends on your ability.

Yang Mingzhi saw a clearing where several people were digging a deep pit, and walked over to see that this was actually a tomb for the deceased. Yang Mingzhi looked down at the deceased, all of them were old people, and there were particularly young babies.

"What a terrible death they had." Star fruit clenched her husband's arm and looked at the victims with regret and sorrow.

"It's not that there's not enough food to eat." Yang Mingzhi said, "You also understand war. The biggest victims have always been civilians, and the first to die are often the elderly and children. ”

It's better not to watch this sad scene, the two returned to the temporary camp, and the officers and soldiers of the 284th Division had already begun to set up the camp.

Some fighters cut down trees to make makeshift sheds, while others began digging pits to make stoves. The soldiers were hungry and had already begun to cook potatoes, and the aroma attracted some refugees.

Since the arrival of the large army in Catfish Village with a large amount of baggage, the problem of food shortage has been immediately resolved.

A considerable number of refugees had already chosen to retreat, and Kuznetsov ordered food to be distributed to the hungry people, giving them more wheat kernels and potatoes, and encouraging them to continue their retreat to the rear.

Yang Mingzhi sat on the ground, a bonfire lit in front of him, and an iron kettle hung from the flame, in which four unpeeled potatoes were boiled. It's his dinner, and it's star fruit's dinner.

The girl was really energetic, and she went to take care of the wounded in the team as soon as the camp was established. Yang Mingzhi smiled bitterly and waited for the food to be cooked.

After a while, the potatoes were ripe. White boiled potatoes, this is the most tasteless food, in the Great Patriotic War, many Soviet soldiers were so hungry. It wasn't until the middle and late stages of the war that the Americans delivered large quantities of supplies through the Lend-Lease Act, and the food of the soldiers improved. Of course, the food of the Soviet soldiers cannot be compared with that of the young master of Citigroup, at least there are enough potatoes and enough luncheon meat.

In fact, Yang Mingzhi now hopes to have some edible oil the most, and the most secondary animal oil is also fine. Cut a shredded potato with a dagger and fry it with a sapper shovel. Now the conditions are really difficult, and when the star fruit is done, the two of them will dip the potatoes in salt to deal with it.

Many Soviet soldiers were even more simple and rude than Yang Mingzhi, throwing potatoes directly into the fire and roasting them. Baked potatoes are naturally delicious, and you can't stand eating a mouthful of carbon.

More soldiers passed through the swamp, and more than 30,000 people poured into the small catfish village at once. So much so that quite a few soldiers had to camp in the woods.

The core of the Pripet Marsh is located at the confluence of two rivers, and the scenery here is very good, and the water and soil are very nourishing. In the original world, this was a very bad Chernobyl polluted area, but now it is a refuge for everyone.

The refugees received a lot of potatoes and left one by one satisfied.

Yang Mingzhi saw the happy expression of the mother returning to the child with five or six potatoes in her arms, and many people would avoid starving to death.

Originally, it was difficult for these women and children to rob the young and strong, but after the arrival of the army, the Soviets were quickly established, and all violations of law and discipline were eliminated. Based on the fact that the troops had a considerable amount of food in reserve, Kuznetsov had already ordered the troops to temporarily rest and recuperate, and to adopt a food rationing system during the period of the major rest.

Yang Mingzhi looked at the dancing flames in a daze, he had already heard the snoring coming from the camp, and some of the soldiers were too tired and had fallen asleep.

Soon, Yang Mingzhi was called over by the herald, and he knew that Kuznetsov was going to have a meeting again.

It was the first meeting after entering the security zone, and the officers and militia representatives were relaxed for the first time in weeks.

"We are in temporary security, this is still close to the enemy-occupied area, and our large forces have to continue to retreat." Kuznetsov looked at the crowd and said. In the Russian tradition, he did not have a hint of politeness and went straight to the heart of the retreat problem. "Now the problem we face remains the direction of the retreat, we will either advance along the Dnieper to Kyiv, or cross the river directly to Bryansk."

These two retreat routes, the closest way to escape, were naturally the main army heading straight for Bryansk. But the militia captain Pobosky shook his head regretfully: "Your army is more than 30,000 people, and the ferry boat for so many people is simply not enough." If you continue eastward you will come across a couple of kibbutz farms, where the ferries are mostly responsible for transporting refugees, and even then many of the refugees are queuing. I've heard that a lot of people have cut down trees to make rafts. ”

Everyone was shocked in their hearts, Kuznetsov's subordinates had to withdraw with him, and all the officers, including the commander, just wanted to withdraw to the interior as soon as possible.

Therefore, there is only one direction of retreat. "To the north, Gomel and Lechtsa have already been occupied by the Germans, and we can only continue south to Kiev. We still have millions of troops there. ”

"Yes, you can continue south and you'll soon reach the Chenobi train station." Pobosky said.

As soon as they heard that there was a train station, the officers' eyes lit up almost in their eyes, and there was nothing faster than running by train!

Kuznetsov looked left and right, he did not immediately decide to go south with the whole army, or also listened to the opinion of the 284th Guards Division. At this moment, he had already noticed the strange expressions of Yevlov and Berekov, who were not ecstatic, but, as always, calm.

"Our Red Army is very coordinated, and my troops have many missions, so I decided to go south to Cherobie. I don't know how the comrades-in-arms of the 284th Guards Division chosen. He had long known that his comrades did not want to leave Belarus, so he emphasized the word "guard" in order to follow.

Yevlov was hesitant at first, but after listening to the opinions of the wounded soldiers and soldiers, most of them were willing to stay.

He immediately gave a military salute and said: "Berekov and I have agreed on this, and we have decided to stay." ”

"Are you sure? In this swamp? ”

"Yes, Davarishi." "My soldiers told me that my comrades-in-arms died in Belarus, and many of them were Belarusians. They're all here, where else can we go? ”

Yevlov continued: "Our 284 Guards Infantry Division, formerly an infantry regiment under the 35th Army of the Far Eastern Front, Pugachev, who died honorably in battle, was our commander from the beginning. Our division joined more than 10,000 Belarusians, and our comrades-in-arms died here, and we must not abandon them from the place where they died. We must unite all the forces we can unite to take revenge on the Germans. ”

This was also said to Pobosky, who was present, and this was a declaration that at least the 284th Guards Division would stay here.

Everyone has their own aspirations, and Kuznetsov does not force it. He had ordered the installation of a large antenna, so that the radio should be able to reach the Kyiv side, and as long as the contact with the Moscow side was made, the troops would return to the command of the Soviet army, and everyone would have a home.

The meeting was dismissed, and Kuznetsov ordered the troops to rest for the night and then continue to retreat, since they could soon reach Cherobi by train under the guidance of the militia, and a lot of food and baggage could be thrown down.

"In the end, it will still be used by the guerrillas." Kuznetsov faced Yang Mingzhi, "Comrade Berekov, you Chinese are legendary. When we break out of the encirclement, you and your troops would better stay here. I will tell the leader that the 284th Guards Infantry Division still exists. ”

Yang Mingzhi left the venue satisfied, and Pobosky, the village chief and militia commander, was the happiest than him. He didn't say anything more, and ordered his men to send two fish. "I heard that you have made a lot of contributions in the war, and you and your wife fought side by side, and these two fish are given to you husband and wife."

Yang Mingzhi smiled decisively, he went back with the fish, and found that his wife had arrived first.

"Why did it take so long?" Star fruit asked, she had already started nibbling on potatoes.

Yang Mingzhi sat next to the girl with his butt and showed the two big fish in his hand.

"Husband, you just went to the pond to catch fish?"

"Of course not, it's a gift from the village chief." Yang Mingzhi didn't talk nonsense, and under the bonfire, he saw his wife's involuntary hara. "Little glutton, I'll slaughter the fish now, and you can wait to eat the grilled fish."

Catfish Village, the reason why it is named is precisely because there are many catfish here. This is the guy who likes to live in the mud, and the catfish is easy to handle, and soon the fish is put on and grilled around the campfire.

The silent night was only the sound of wind and snoring, and the 284th Division decided to stay, and almost all the fighters supported this decision. The flag will remain, and some things will have to be taken with Kuznetsov's evacuation, such as the last five RPG rockets that remain.

Yang Mingzhi was full of food and drink, and his wife was already snuggled up and asleep. Just eating fish, she talked about the wounded soldiers. The 284th Division was able to fight more than a thousand people, and there were more than 300 wounded, of which dozens of seriously wounded had to retreat with Kuznetsov.

The lightly wounded were in good condition, and some fighters were able to return to the battlefield after a period of rest.

Yang Mingzhi estimated that the encirclement of Ukraine would have to be completed in two months, which was the biggest defeat of the Soviet army. On the contrary, in the swamps of Belarus, which became a real vacuum area for the German offensive, this is the most ideal resting place for the 284th Division at present.

What to do in the future? It was probably to find the lone Soviet soldiers, recruit patriots, and then arm the villagers. Here, the Pripet marshes will be turned into a guerrilla base.

Of course, RPGs, an epoch-making anti-tank weapon, must be given to the military, so that the Soviet Union will be able to feel a little better in the Great Patriotic War.