"Citizens of the Soviet Union!" A voice came over the radio: "At four o'clock this morning, without any prior demands on the Soviet Union and without a declaration of war, the German troops launched an attack, attacking many points on the Soviet border and bombing Zhytomyr, Kiev, Minsk and other cities with aircraft. This unprecedented German attack on the Soviet Union was an act of perfidy without precedent in the history of civilized nations......"

Everyone listened in silence until the sound on the radio ended with a few calls, and Jin'er turned into a distracting rustle.

"It was the Soviet Molotov who spoke!" Gavrilov explained: "Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, People's Commissars for Foreign Affairs! ”

When the instructor heard this, he was silent.

Shulka couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although Molotov's speech to the whole Soviet Union did not say that the Soviet troops at the front line had retreated...... Of course, this cannot be said, especially on the broadcast to the military and civilians throughout the country.

But this passage confirms one thing in the first place: the German army launched not a local war against the Soviet Union, but a full-scale, large-scale war.

And this is one of the differences between the instructor and Shulka.

Secondly, the passage also mentions that German military aircraft bombed Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Minsk and other places.

It is needless to say what it means to know that Minsk is located 349 km from Brest, and German planes can bomb the hinterland 349 km from the border...... This passage almost proves that Shulka is right.

The word "almost" is used because the instructor is still reluctant to admit it.

"This does not mean that the Soviet army has retreated on all fronts!" The instructor said: "It was just a bombing of airplanes, and we may have lost our superiority in the air, but our army is heroically resisting the German invasion on land!" ”

"It's possible!" Major Gavrilov said: "But it is more likely that we are already surrounded, and isolated, we must break through!" ”

"No, this is greed for life and fear of death, it is cowardice and cowardice, we should stick to the fortress and defend every inch of the motherland!"

……

The argument between Major Gavrilov and the instructor continued, and Shulka was put back, fully equipped.

"Great!" When Okunev saw Shulka and the gun in his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a warm hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again, my friend!" Okunev whispered.

"Indeed!" Shulka said only one sentence, and nothing else, because he was warned not to divulge anything, especially about "large-scale war" and "total retreat of the Soviet army".

Okunev, of course, understood this, so he didn't ask anything, but took out the newspaper and tobacco from his pocket, crumpled the newspaper as before, and skillfully rolled a cigarette and handed it over.

Shulka took the cigarette, only to find that his hand holding the cigarette was shaking, and the match in Okunev's hand even took a lot of effort to light the shaky cigarette.

Shulka took a greedy deep breath of smoke and exhaled it long.

Shulka thought that the battlefield was the most terrifying, but now he knows that this is not the case...... He would never forget the cold command of the instructor standing behind him, the crisp sound of gunfire, and the indifference in the eyes of the nearby guards as they looked this way.

Shulka could almost see the bullet pass through the back of his head, sending a streak of blood. He couldn't imagine that these people would decide a person's life and death so easily and hastily, especially since Shulka was still his own man, a Soviet soldier.

With another hard puff, Shulka filled his lungs with the spicy, choking smoke of inferior tobacco, which made Shulka feel better.

That's when Shulka understood why so many of them had become smokers on the battlefield.

In the smoky smoke, Shulka forced himself to pull his mind back to the situation in front of him.

Shulka was reluctant to do this, because his previous efforts almost cost him his life, which left a shadow on Shulka's heart.

But Shulka had to do it again, because he knew that if he didn't do something about it, he would lose his life sooner or later.

So...... Will Major Gavrilov be able to convince the instructor?

Shulka doesn't think so.

As I said before, although there is what Molotov said, it does not mean that the Soviet army has retreated on all fronts, especially since the instructor is still standing on the moral high ground, and more importantly, it is ...... The lack of radio contact with the higher authorities meant that no orders were received to retreat.

In the absence of an order, an unauthorized retreat can turn into an escape at any time, and everyone knows what the result will be.

Shulka smiled self-deprecatingly, that is, he had almost fought for his life and got nothing.

While Shulka was thinking nonsense, Okunev handed him an empty lunch box.

Shulka didn't understand what this meant at first, but it was only when he saw two soldiers carrying an iron bucket of food that he realized it was time to eat.

"Puffy!" With a thud, the cook knocked a sticky mass into Shulka's lunch box.

Shulka plucked it with a spoon, he couldn't believe he could eat it, but when he saw everyone around him gobbling it up, he could only frown and stuff it into his mouth...... Maybe it's because I'm hungry, and it doesn't taste as bad as I thought, but of course, it would be nice if I could add some butter or a piece of bread.

At this time, the Germans on the other side shouted again over the loudspeaker: "Soviet comrades, we have come to liberate you, join us, get rid of the oppression and bondage of the Soviet Union......"

"Oh!" At this time, a soldier who was squatting a few meters away eating food said: "Some of us like to hear these words, do you say, Shulka?" ”

Everyone around knew what this meant, and couldn't help but let out a few laughs.

"Comrade Valery!" Okunev objected: "The superiors returned the rifle to Shulka and rejoined us, which proves that Shulka is not a traitor!" ”

"I know!" Valery replied: "But that doesn't prove that he's not a coward, does it?" ”

There was laughter again, and Okunev wanted to say something but was held back by Shulka.

Shulka didn't care about any of this, and the war of words didn't mean anything to Shulka knowing that the vast majority of people were going to die in this war.

Shulka was thinking about how to survive this brutal war.

What's more, whether it's a hero or a dog is not just a matter of words.