"Communists and members of the Communist Youth League, immediately take action, implement the Party's work arrangements and Comrade Stalin's instructions with a high sense of mission and responsibility, and actively, prudently and efficiently assist all state institutions and the masses of the people in need to retreat......"

"We must comprehensively, cleanly, and thoroughly clear the walls and fields, so that the German fascists will not get a grain of grain, a drop of oil, or a clean water source......

"Pack all the things and take them away, destroy those that can't be taken away, and bury those that can't be destroyed on the spot......"

"The garrison command once again reiterates that 12 noon on October 5 is the final moment of Kuibyshev's withdrawal, and that any words and actions that obstruct the retreat and destroy the fortified wilderness are considered sabotage of the revolution, and that any refusal to retreat by any person included in the evacuation list is considered a surrender and apostasy, and can be immediately punished with the highest security measures in accordance with the Criminal Code! (Death penalty)"

"Comrades and the masses, we must believe in the Party and the Red Army, rally further closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Stalin as the leader, fight the fascist bandits by all means, and temporarily retreat today in order to return victoriously tomorrow - the fist that retracts and strikes again is always stronger and more powerful!"

Lieutenant General Simonov, commander of the Kuibyshev garrison, strode in the middle of the city, carefully surveying the place he knew so well, while listening to the high-pitched loudspeakers with wistful, without the slightest certainty of what the future would hold. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

He had been relocated from Moscow to Kuibyshev more than two years earlier, when Stalin ordered the evacuation of all unnecessary state and foreign institutions to Kuibyshev, a beautiful city on the banks of the Volga River, in response to the frenzied German offensive, and even the body of Comrade Lenin was moved from Red Square. In addition to these institutions, all Moscow universities, scientific research institutions, museums, galleries and other important materials and cultural relics were transferred to Kuibyshev.

It had become the rear capital and paradise of the Soviet Union, enjoying the highest level of supply and security in the war, and at the same time having sufficient resources of all kinds (including the army), even when the food supply of the whole Soviet Union was at its most tight, Kuibyshev did not starve to death - how could it be that there were either important international friends, cadres of the Party and the state, or important intellectuals and other supporters of the Party?

Kuibyshev was in a panic at the beginning of the relocation, but with the victory in the defense of Moscow and the consolidation of the fighting on the front, the people left behind in the rear began to be optimistic again, and not only quickly restored the normal order of production, life, and teaching, but even launched voluntary labor to build many new entertainment and leisure facilities - after all, everyone has been in Moscow for a long time, and the especially boring days will not go on.

Since war is the overriding task of the moment, other work that is not urgent and important has begun to take a back seat, and even the supply of resources and funds has been drastically reduced, and all departments have turned their attention to other aspects that have a slight bearing on their functions and are at the same time in line with the realities of war. For example, the art system of the Ministry of Culture has published and printed a large number of propaganda posters and posters reflecting the war on the front line, and the music and drama system is not to be outdone.

Another example is the Department of Religious and Ethnic Affairs, which, on the one hand, looks for evidence from archives and historical documents to argue that all nationalities in the great Soviet Union system are one family, and emphasizes unity against German aggression; On the other hand, he also sought a basis for Comrade Stalin's exile and punishment of some nationalities, which showed that they were the saboteurs of the cause of reunification in history and had the historical tradition and practical behavior of separatism. All in all, what the Central Committee of the Party is calling for, Kuibyshev will soon be able to answer the call and launch propaganda.

Under these circumstances, Kuibyshev's cultural, propaganda, and educational undertakings flourished unprecedentedly, and the city was much smaller than Moscow's, and many departments and personnel with whom they were not familiar with it began to get close to each other, and there were frequent interactions, and the privileges of the leading comrades who were previously high above also disappeared for the time being, and a scene of prosperity appeared in all aspects.

Simonov, who had been the commander of the garrison, thought that this would be just a brief transitional period and that Kuibyshev's institutions and personnel would soon return to Moscow, but he did not expect that more than two years later, these institutions and personnel would not only not be able to move back, but would also have to move to a more distant place - Omsk in Siberia. This couldn't help but make him sad, but he didn't have time to grieve, and the work of organizing the retreat was all on the garrison headquarters. In the past two months, he has spent countless efforts to complete the retreat, and finally nothing has gone wrong.

"Has Comrade Lenin's body arrived safely? How's it going? He turned his head and asked his confidential staff officer.

"Omsk, which arrived nine days ago, is generally in good condition."

"How are the various cultural relics, collections and important archives being transported?"

"It's all shipped."

"What about the evacuation of personnel and institutions."

"The early batch, the first batch, the second and third batches have been completed, the fourth batch is in the process of being transported, and the fifth and final batch is being assembled and transferred in an orderly manner......"

"Are there any emotions or reluctance to retreat among the leading comrades and important personnel of various institutions?"

"It's all settled, no problem." When he heard that the Germans might have to occupy this place and settle the retreat, the old men in the state apparatus immediately exploded: no one was unwilling to retreat, only complained that he was not on the list of priority for retreat -- although the special provision of the leading comrades disappeared for the time being, the power to give priority to retreat would not be reduced.

What gave the command a headache was how to arrange the retreat, and some of the bigwigs were eager to take everything with them when they retreated: high-end furniture, grand pianos, Persian tapestries, precious porcelain, and antiques and oil paintings that came out of the warehouses of unknown countries, "kept for the country", "taken home to learn and appreciate". All kinds of greetings, going through the back door, approving slips, and issuing documents came one after another, and they righteously demanded that the garrison headquarters provide its own organization with more, faster, and more priority transportation capacity, and the garrison headquarters was tossed up and down enough.

Every character here cannot be offended, who knows if anyone will poke the situation to Moscow with their hands and eyes, Simonov was an old Bolshevik, and during the Civil War he was the commander of Stalin's guard battalion, and all aspects of the relationship were handled in an orderly manner, and he was extremely safe in handling things for people - otherwise how could Stalin rest assured that he would be the commander of the garrison in Kuibyshev?

He was not worried that someone would make trouble for him, but at such a critical moment, if someone was still making trouble for Stalin, Zhukov or Comrade Vasilevsky for such a trivial matter, he felt that he was committing a crime against the Party and the people! Comrade Stalin arranged himself in Kuibyshev in order to properly do all this work, and to give himself enough power, that he could not complain, let alone complain about being tired.

He completed all the work with great perseverance and ability, and objectively the rapid advance of the German army also played a role in facilitating it, and when he heard that the German army had reached the other side of the Volga River and was about to cross the river to attack, those middle-level cadres who were chattering and pestering endlessly gave up the idea of moving away all their tattered belongings from their homes, and only thought about slipping away quickly.

After countless sleepless nights, Simonov, who had barely closed his eyes for a minute in the past week, finally found time to rest in the morning, thinking that he would get up in 2 hours, but he was so sleepy that the guards couldn't bear to wake him up, so he deliberately let him sleep for 2 more hours, and didn't get up until 11 o'clock at noon. Fortunately, there was not much to do, his subordinates and deputies carried out the work in an orderly manner, and he did not embarrass his own guard, who was also from the guard army, and only criticized a few words lightly.

There are still traces of the German bombardment in the square in the center of the city, and Simonov stood in the wind, sighed and asked: "Where has the enemy gone?" ”

"The pontoon bridge was basically erected, and the river was about to be crossed, and in order to hinder our rapid retreat, the enemy carried out a large-scale bombardment of the railway line and highway line, and many vehicles were shot."

"All vehicles that have been shot are overturned and destroyed, and nothing useful can be left for the enemy." After a while, he laughed at himself and said, "I guess the Germans don't like those ......."

The confidential staff officer didn't know how to take this sentence. The bell tower rang 12 times, and finally the time for retreat finally came, Simonov's originally relieved expression suddenly became serious, and he turned his head and shouted: "Petrovsky, I'll give you 2 hours, take the guard regiment to search from house to house, if there are still people who have not retreated, they must be forced to retreat, otherwise they will ......"

"Report to the Internal Affairs Forces for verification and implement the highest security measures." The other party immediately added a sentence.

"It's too late!" Simonov gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence from his throat, "Whoever it is, kill it on the spot!" ”

"This ......"

"Is it difficult?" His eyes as sharp as a sword immediately pierced.

"Yes, mission guaranteed!"

"The whole city patrol will end at 6 o'clock in the evening, and the garrison headquarters and guard troops will be the last to retreat at 12 o'clock in the evening, you know what to do, right?"

"Execute the Scorched Earth Plan!" Petrovsky hastened to respond.

"Very well, that's it!" Simonov waved his hand vigorously, signaling that the other party could act.

It turned out that his order was necessary, and indeed there were still fish that slipped through the net and did not retreat, and they all obediently boarded the retreat train at gunpoint of the guards. Beginning at 6 p.m., the Guards Regiment and the Engineer Corps began pouring kerosene and planting explosives throughout the city.

At 11:45 p.m., three red flares flew into the sky, and the sappers pressed down as a huge roar, Kuibyshev was shrouded in a cloud of dust, and the explosion quickly caused a fire, and from a distance, the whole city was boiling and burning......

The last train departed, and Simonov looked at the city that was constantly moving away, and thought to himself: "Farewell, Kuibyshev, one day I will come back ......" (to be continued). )