The artillery regiment also came, warmly welcomed by the defenders of the fortress. The artillery was positioned and fired an accurate test shot at the target, bombarding the German trenches and shelters so hard that the defenders were very happy.

For the "521" crew, this was a rare and brief period of peace.

After the start of defensive operations, as an important mobile force of the fortress defenders, the 117 tank platoon played the role of a "fire brigade" and appeared where it was most needed, but fortunately, in these days, the German army suffered heavy losses because of the previous attack, or changed the battle plan, and did not launch an attack, and the combat mission of the "521" vehicle group was not as heavy as the infantry, so that Sun Hui and the girls had a rare leisure rest and relaxation.

Today, Sun Hui was about to go to see the position of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion, but he met the division commander, Colonel Sheplechenko, who was reprimanding the scouts.

Although there was no enemy, the infantry still did their duty, occupying the areas recaptured from the enemy. But the situation of the scouts who "disengaged" from the enemy could not have been bleaker. They seem to have lost the meaning of their existence, and they just walk along the side of the road, like the shell of their souls.

Sun Hui saw the division commander, Colonel Sheplechenko, riding in a jeep, catching up with such a group of scouts. He slowly got out of the car and stood in the middle of the muddy, ruined road, his hands on his hips and a mocking smile.

When the scouts saw the division commander, they all stopped.

"Why," he asked, "you can't find an enemy, my eagle?" Where is the enemy? What are you doing? ”

The division commander remembered the faces of all the officers in his division. He recognized Lieutenant Toltkin, the scout who was leading the team in front, and shook his head reproachfully: "Don't you know either, Toltkin? Then he went on to say harshly, "What a pleasure to fight like this,—— go to the village to drink milk and fool around with the girls...... With a group of treasures like you, you won't find the enemy even if you hit Germany. It's pleasant, isn't it? He asked suddenly, cheerfully.

The chief of staff of the division, Lieutenant Colonel Kazantsev, sat in the car and smiled listlessly, surprised by the sudden change in the colonel's mood. The colonel had just scolded him for his incompetence, so Kazantsev had a sad face and did not say a word.

As soon as the division commander saw the scout, his mood changed. According to Sun Hui's understanding, the division commander, Colonel Sheplechenko, was an infantry scout when he enlisted in the army in 1917, and he was baptized in battle in the scout unit and received the St. George Cross. He had an eternal predilection for scouts, and was particularly pleased to see their green camouflage and tanned faces, one by one, walking along the side of the road with light steps, ready to disappear and disappear into the silent forest, on uneven ground, and in the shadows that loomed at dusk.

However, the division commander's reprimand this time was severe. "Disengagement" from the enemy is a big annoyance, almost a disgrace, for the Scout.

From the words of the colonel, one can sense his anxiety about the fate of his division and the defenders of the fortress. He wanted to find out the intentions and abilities of his enemies. At the same time, he was afraid of encountering the enemy, because his division suffered too many casualties and the logistics troops were far behind. Besides, it's really time for him to put his personnel and belongings in order. Of course, he didn't even want to admit to himself that his wish was the opposite of the strong demands of his superiors, but he always dreamed that the offensive would stop. It's a subtle psychology of professionalism.

The Scouts stood there silently, their legs alternate for support, and they looked strangely pathetic.

"These are your eyes and ears," the division commander said contemptuously to the chief of staff, and got into the car. The jeep started.

The scouts stood for a moment, and then Toltkin walked slowly forward, and the rest of the men followed.

Toltkin habitually listened to every sound, contemplating his platoon.

Like the division commander, the lieutenant also wants and fears to encounter the enemy. He hoped that it was because of his position, and because the days of forced inaction had a very bad effect on the Scouts, and that the dangerous web of laziness and carelessness had bound them. He was afraid, but because when the offensive was launched, there were eighteen men under him, and now there were only twelve left, except for five veterans. The rest, mostly infantry, were recruited from various units during the offensive. At the moment these people were happy to be scouts, and they walked in groups of three or five, one by one, enjoying a freedom unimaginable to the infantry units. Honor and respect surround the camp for them. Naturally, this could not but make them feel happy, they looked like a flock of eagles, but they did not know what would happen when they got to work.

Now Toltkin understands that it is these reasons that make it impossible for him to rush. The rebuke of the division commander made him uncomfortable, not to mention that he knew that Sheplechenko had always had a preference for scouts.

The jeep drove away, and Sun Hui thought about it, but decided to go and say hello to the scouts, and practice his Russian by the way—he and the girls had improved their Russian skills after continuous hard work these days.

The scouts saw him as a lone tankman, but instead of discriminating against him because he was an Oriental, they waved him friendly.

Sun Hui came to them, took out the German cigarettes he had brought with him and distributed them to the scouts, and when they saw that he had taken out German cigarettes, the scouts were surprised and their expressions became respectful, because they knew that there was only one way to get German cigarettes - to seize the enemy's supplies in battle, and usually it was the generals who smoked such cigarettes.

Enjoying the treatment of the generals at once, the distance between the scouts and Sun Hui, an oriental tankman, quickly narrowed.

"It turns out that you are from the '521' crew, hehe, I heard that you are the only man in the crew, no wonder you have this kind of cigarette, you must have destroyed a lot of tanks." Toltkin said admiringly.

"It's not much, counting tanks and various armored vehicles, more than fifty." Sun Hui replied that although the last time he cooperated with the two "T-34" tanks, he did not have a tacit understanding, but his performance had greatly increased.

"You're amazing. By the way, why don't you smoke such a precious thing? Toltkin noticed that Sun Hui didn't smoke, and couldn't help but be amazed.

"Hehe, it's to keep your female comrades-in-arms from getting bored, right? Isn't it? Alexander? Another scout, Semenov, said with a smile, spitting out a smoke ring pleasantly.

"I've heard that they're all as beautiful as the 'Three Goddesses of Beauty,' right? Alexander? Old scout Pyshkov asked with a smile.