Kondrachenko took the revolver and looked at it, a typical French pistol, with a barrel and handle with fine engravings, which should have belonged to a high-ranking Satsuma samurai. Nauminko didn't know how he got the gun, probably because the gun was very beautifully made, so he took it everywhere to show off.

"The enemy's weapons and equipment look better than ours!" Kondrachenko sighed.

"That's right, their equipment is better than ours and the army loyal to the Japanese government, I really don't know how they prepared before the war." Naumenko nodded, agreeing with Kondrachenko's statement. He took another revolver and handed it to Kondrachenko, "This one has no patterns on it, but it's as good as the other, you can take it!" I think you're going to use it. ”

"Thank you!" Kondrachenko thanked him, and now he had some affection for the nagging young man.

"Our enemies are very vicious and well-armed, they are armed with French Grasse rifles, which shoot farther than ours, they are well trained, and the marksmanship of ordinary soldiers is very good," Naumenko told Kondlachenko what he knew, "They also have cannons, and they are German-made Krupp cannons, and then there are some British Armstrong guns, although there are not many of them, but they use them very well, unlike our artillery, and their superior firepower often cannot suppress the enemy." ”

"It sounds like the enemy is strong, and it seems impossible for us to defeat them!" Kondrashenko said with some amusement.

"Of course, their weaknesses are also obvious." Nauminko said with a smile, "So we need to defeat them." ”

"In your opinion. What are their weaknesses? Kondrachenko asked.

"They're too small!" Nauminko burst out laughing. Listen to his answer. Kondrachenko also laughed.

Truly. Compared to the Russians, a fighting nation with tall cattle and horses, the Japanese are simply too small.

"Their weaknesses are now being exposed." Nauminko laughed and began to express his opinion, "They are under-manned, there are too many non-combatants in the army, and after a year of fighting with the Japanese government army, although they have made great progress, many samurai with high combat effectiveness and rich combat experience have been killed. The newly replenished soldiers did not have much training, so the combat effectiveness showed a downward trend. In addition, they do not have many artillery pieces, and they may not have enough ammunition, because when they fight, they often engage in white-knuckle combat, and we have to admit that compared to their samurai, our soldiers are inferior in white-knuckle combat. ”

"Maybe, but I've heard. In the Battle of Nagoya not so long ago, we lost almost 3,000 men? Kondrachenko asked again. Is this really the case? Is the failure exaggerated? ”

"The real situation may be even worse." Nauminko sighed and said, "These people were killed by the mines planted by the enemy, and the corpses were all mutilated, and the enemy cut off their heads with knives and piled them up into a large pile that the Japanese call 'Kyokan', and they are still there." ”

"All killed by mines planted by the enemy? How is this possible? Kondrachenko was taken aback.

"That's just the way it is." "I've seen reports about that battle, as well as reports from Japanese officers, that the enemy first laid a large number of mines under their defensive positions, and then lured our troops to attack, and they withdrew from their positions as if they were defeated, and when all our men entered the positions, they detonated the mines one after another, and all of our men were blown up with blood, and most of them died after two explosions, and the enemy returned to their positions after the explosions stopped. Kill those who are badly injured and have no ability to resist. ”

Hearing Naumenko's story, Kondrachenko's face changed.

"I think that's why the command transferred you here." "Our enemy is extremely proficient in sapper tactics, and we are very lacking in this area. ”

"Indeed, with such tactics, it is almost impossible for us to do it now." Kondrachenko sighed as he remembered the drill that injured him.

"Since the outbreak of the rebellion, the enemy has won a series of victories, occupying nearly half of Japan's territory, supposedly relying on elite engineers." "Many fortified Japanese cities and fortresses were breached by enemy sappers, and the main casualties of the Japanese army were also caused by enemy sappers. ”

"In that case, I should go to the front line, why should I go to the 'Hound Dog' unit?" Kondrachenko asked, puzzled.

"Because although our enemies have retreated from outside the city of Tokyo, they have sent a large number of saboteurs, not only laying a large number of mines on the outskirts of the city and the countryside, but also secretly killing the Japanese who are cooperating with us, so it has caused great panic, and our most urgent task at the moment is to eliminate these enemies and eliminate the panic." "During our work, reinforcements from the country will continue to arrive, and when we have enough troops, we will be ready to attack." ”

Kondrachenko understood, and felt a little heavy in his heart.

He never imagined that he would encounter such a terrible enemy.

Probably because he had noticed the changes in Kondrachenko, Nauminko didn't want to put more pressure on him, so he told him about other things about Japan. The two of them chatted and walked, and after a short time they arrived at the Japanese house where Nauminko was staying.

Entering the house, they were greeted by the owner, a kind Japanese city official, who welcomed Kondrachenko's arrival, served them with tea and coffee with sugar, and introduced Kondrachenko to his mother and sister. The Japanese girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and she was very shy and quiet. However, his mother was a very decent person, a teacher. If you have a female teacher in front of you, you can completely follow her every move and every word. Or you can guess it with a single look. Is this teacher good? The class loves her and doesn't love her, or the class just acts like they love her. The mother of this Japanese official was undoubtedly a good teacher, with a thin figure and big eyes, and she looked dignified and kind. Such a demeanor can never be pretended. It would be terrible if a teacher tried to pretend to be very different from him in the classroom...... Kondrachenko was even a little envious of this Japanese, how good his mother was! He accidentally spilled the sugar in the bowl, and she smiled at him with a kind, comforting smile. She seems to be saying: it doesn't matter. Never mind! This is a common occurrence.

At night, Kondrachenko and Nauminko lay on the floor of one room, and the mother and daughter slept in another room. The first time he slept on a Japanese-style tatami mat, Kondradchenko was a little unaccustomed to it, but because of fatigue, he fell asleep quickly, although Naumenko still wanted to talk to him heartily, but he was too sleepy.

Kondrachenko had listened to what Naumenko had just said, and he no longer had the heart to make small talk with him, and his life had taken a big turn in this angel. And so it goes. He may not live to end the war.

The current task is actually very difficult to complete, and the major general will say goodbye to him. He was given a brief, but resolute instruction. His current mission was to protect the inhabitants of the suburbs of Tokyo from mobs at any cost, to arrest enemy spies, spies, and saboteurs, to assist the Japanese government in maintaining law and order, and so on. "Therefore," said Panteleov, raising a finger and raising his voice, "law and order must be resolutely defended. We will not tolerate any excesses, we must never offend the dignity of the Japanese people, and we must be polite in our interrogations,......"

Law...... As soon as he heard the word, Kondrachenko always recalled the dimly lit room in the civil registry office. That was a long time since he was a kid. Once he and his mother went there to take out a copy of the birth register, and the two of them were really choked that day. An old man who was a big smoker, with a short yellow mustache on his upper lip, smoked almost as if he had lung disease. He rummaged through thick, dusty books. "Everything has to be done according to the law," he babbled, "everything has to be done according to the law." From then on, Kondrachenko had the impression that the law was hidden in a thick book, and that to engage in law was to deal with official documents, archives, and dust.

…… Defenders of the law! Kind, polite. Kondrachenko sighed inwardly.

In the morning, when Kondrachenko left to take his leave, Nauminko said to him: "Oh, I will visit you. Listen to me, you may encounter some difficulties, this work is new to you. We'll go to you and summarize the experience of the Hound unit. ”

"Okay," Kondrachenko nodded, "I hope you come soon, and bring some more capable people." ”

"We're going to be good friends!" Before leaving, Nauminko spoke out loud.

He stood in the doorway, casually draped over the yellow leather jacket with a white mark on his shoulder, and the collar of his white shirt fluttered in the wind.

On the road to the village where the "hounds" were located, Kondrachenko came across a one-eyed, bearded old man. He had been transporting potatoes to the Russian barracks in the city of Tokyo, and was now drunk and returning in an empty car. He was singing at the top of his lungs. His shriveled body, lying on the empty sack on the board of the cart, was throbbing up and down.

"Can you take me to the village ahead?" Kondrachenko recognized it as an old soldier, but he asked politely.

When the old man saw Kondrachenko, he shouted at the horse and stopped.

"Come on! As long as you can resist the bumps! ”

He flashed his one-eyed like an aggressive rooster, and Kondrachenko would not be surprised if he lacked an arm or a short leg. The prisoners in the Far East, as long as they do not lack anything, have gone to the front; The rest of the rear are only those who are qualified to go to the scrap yard.

"Which side are you going?" The old soldier asked, glancing at the rifle on Kondlachenko's back.

"Over there. It should be on the way with you. Kondrachenko said, pointing in one direction.

"Good! Let's go! The old soldier waited for Kondrachenko to get into the carriage, waved his whip, and let the carriage go on.

"Can you please keep quiet? To tell you the truth, you're singing too badly, you're going to sing it. It's best to go home and sing it. Kondrachenko couldn't stand his singing. Said.

If any of the thugs wanted to see who was on the road. Then the rifle on Kondlachenko's body may not be able to help him. He didn't want his new future to be ruined at the beginning.

The old soldier changed from singing loudly to humming in a low voice, and Kondrachenko felt better, and he began to observe his surroundings.

The woods that clinged to the sandy road from both sides seemed to change after a gust of wind blew. Although the day was high, the woods looked eerie and black. Kondrachenko knew everything he had seen on the road since he had a letter of appointment from the chief of the security forces in his pocket, since he had a rifle on his shoulder. Including the nature of this grove, it changed.

The carriage descended the slope to the valley below. The pine forest was gone, replaced by an aspen forest. The aspen forests are so colorful that it seems that someone has tried a different color on each leaf. The leaves of the aspen are thick and hard, and the colors change instantly, as if they are constantly winking at you. But the Japanese don't seem to like the poplar tree because it doesn't serve much use: it can't be used for wood or firewood. But Kondrachenko has always been fond of the aspen forest. Without it, large areas of forest would look monotonous and boring. Poplar trees are chattering, even on windless days. It will also sway the leaves and buzz and whisper. Have it around. I feel happy......

At this moment, Kondrachenko pricked up his ears and listened to the rustle of the poplar trees. Even the sound of the big wheels, the heavy sound of the horses' hooves, could not drown out the whispered conversations of the trees, and their melodious whispers: "rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle...... Ahead was a swampy area with a smell of moisture and mint. The hairspring of the breeze fluttered high above Kondlachenko's head, glistening in the inconspicuous sunlight. The cart drove up a dilapidated sidewalk made of logs. The wheels clattered against the logs, and the cars leaned east and west, squeaking and twisting, and drove straight in the direction of the riverbank.

The sidewalks on the river were like a rotten yarn that broke in the middle, as if to isolate the countryside across from the civilized world of Tokyo, from the cities large and small. Not a single carriage was able to cross the river, as several avenues leading to the banks of the river turned into swamps.

Kondrachenko saw the broken wooden beams, and he knew that these should have been used to support this side road before the outbreak of the war, and that the carriages could still pass on it at that time, but after the outbreak of the war, this side road was bombarded by artillery fire many times, and there were constantly run over by passing people and horses, so that now, only the light cart of the one-eyed old soldier can pass.

But even such a cart, when it got to the vicinity of the swamp, got stuck and had to push it out with its shoulder. The cunning old man only pretended to be a cart, and Kondrachenko had to sell a little more strength, and he could not talk about his patched belly when he met people.

Eventually, the wheel, trapped between the two half-rotten logs, was back on the road, and the cart staggered forward again. They crossed the sidewalk and followed the sandy bank that was not too steep to the river. This section of the river is very water-saving when it is flooding, but in normal times, wading through the water can get by.

Kondrachenko was gasping for breath, but suddenly he saw something stuck in the side of the road, and his eyes couldn't help but shrink.

"What's that?" Kondrachenko asked the old man as he removed his rifle.

The old man quickly swept the place with his one-eye, and a contemptuous smile appeared on his face: "That's the enemy scaring us!" ”

Kondrachenko walked over cautiously, he saw clearly, there was a wooden sign with Japanese and Russian words written on it, Kondrachenko did not understand Japanese, but he could see what was written in Russian.

It reads, "Beware of mines".

"Why is the enemy scaring us?" Kondrachenko asked, his eyes still fixed on the wooden plaque.

"At first, when the enemy retreated, they left some mines and killed some people, but there were not many of them, and a lot of them were removed, but later the saboteurs used this way to frighten our people, forcing our people to make a detour when marching, and some Japanese villagers also used this method to prevent our people from entering their houses and land, and I have met many times that our people dismantled these things casually, and nothing happened."

So saying, the old man drove the horse into the river, made it drink, and whistled himself. A thick layer of white foam floated on the surface of the river. In this way, to the accompaniment of whistles and surrounded by white foam, they celebrated the grand crossing of the river. Kondrachenko knew that he had crossed an unmarked, but important, line. After crossing the river, he may no longer be able to count on anyone's help.

The horses mustered up their strength and pulled the cart up the muddy right bank. Further on, the road branched off, and the relatively flat road, skirted a sand dune, and went to the left, leading to a large village called Xiji. On the sand dunes, there are wilting little white leaves and small pine trees, which is an ideal place to set up an observation post. This terrain was discovered by Kondrachenko mechanically and naturally.

"All right, that's where you're going," said the old man, "I'll have to go this way." ”

"That's right," Kondrachenko said, jumping out of the cart. "Have you ever encountered an enemy spy in this area? Like, right on this road? (To be continued......)

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