Lenin had never liked Kerensky, even though it was the current chancellor who acted as his defense lawyer and exonerated him from the brutal Tsar's majesty. But Lenin always felt that Kerensky was too opportunistic and philistine, and that he could not be regarded as a true professional revolutionary at all.

Especially now, the incompetent prime minister, who was frightened by Kornilov two days ago and asked for help everywhere, thought that he could survive the crisis safely, and even wanted to make small moves behind his back, in an attempt to steal the fruits of the revolution again.

This was completely unacceptable to Lenin, so he cleaned up the mess and ruthlessly smashed the delusions of this fool on the agenda of the Mentor. Of course, it is just a plan, after all, Kornilov has not been defeated, and the current situation is only improving, and the overall situation is not yet decided.

Lenin was not as frizzy as Kerensky, and he knew who his worst enemy was. Lenin would not have taken the next step blindly until Kornilov's great problem had been resolved.

"Comrade Stalin, Comrade Frunze sent another urgent telegram, the situation in Pskov is quite serious, Comrade Frunze is in urgent need of support...... You go and urge Grigory again. Ivanovich, let them speed up the march ......"

Grigory. Ivanovic also wanted to speed up, but he couldn't do it, his boys had not rested for a day and a night, but there was still half the way ahead. If the forced march continues, he is worried about whether the boys will be able to continue to hold on.

"Commander, the city of Luga is ahead, shall we enter the city?"

Grigory. Ivanovich looked at the city of Luga on the horizon, which was of considerable military importance as an important transport hub between Pskov and Petrograd.

"Into town!" Grigory. Without hesitation, Ivanovich ordered, "Let's see if we can find the wagon!" ”

And just like that, after a day and a night of rapid marching, Grigory. Ivanovich arrived in Luga with the exhausted soldiers of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment.

They caused quite a stir in Luga. After all, Luga is just a small place, in a way. At best, it's a small, not-so-prosperous county. So everyone in the city carefully looked at the soldiers of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment with curiosity and caution. Watching their every move with concern, the inhabitants learned that they were Bolshevik troops, and they took to the streets to greet the 1st Machine Gun Regiment.

The secretary of the local party branch in Luga told Grigori. Ivanovich, the city of Luga was completely liberated, the evil capitalists and pseudo-mayors, as well as their lackeys, were driven out by the army of Comrade Frunze.

"Luga is completely free now." The branch secretary said excitedly, "One day, under the leadership of the party." All of Russia will be as free as Luga! ”

Grigory. Ivanovich was not interested at all in whether Luga was free or not, he just wanted to complete his mission as soon as possible, "We will rest here for an hour, and then continue to Pskov." Comrade Secretary, is there still a train in Luga that can be used? ”

"Hehe," the secretary chuckled dryly. "If it is the capitalists and their lackey army, of course there is no wagon, but you are your own comrades, even if you don't, we will find a way to get it!"

Speaking of this, the secretary suddenly asked with his hands: "Comrade Regiment Commander, can you do us a small favor...... At the freight station outside Luga, there was also the remnants of a White Army at work...... Comrade Frunze transferred the workers' Red Guards in Luga. Now the city is air-defense...... Can you destroy them after that. Moving on? ”

"I'm afraid not!" Grigory. Ivanovich shook his head and rejected the offer. "Comrade Lenin repeatedly urged us to rush to Pskov as fast as possible, and I could not waste even a second."

The secretary sighed and begged again: "Comrade regiment commander, I know that you are in a hurry to rush to Pskov to support Comrade Frunze. But it will be difficult for the train to move forward without destroying the enemies outside the city, and if Luga falls into their hands again, you know, the enemy will not be kind to us...... And the trains you need are under their control......"

Grigory. Ivanovich reluctantly accepted the request, destroying the enemy forces outside Luga, seizing the head of the car, and then moving on, it was as simple as that.

He commanded helplessly: "Reconnoiter the enemy's reality!" Let comrades be ready for battle! ”

The reconnaissance mission fell gloriously on the head of the second company of Kozhemiyaka, and under the guidance of the local guides in Luga, they sat on a small hillside outside Luga disguised as ordinary peasants, carefully observing the situation of the white army at the bottom of the hillside with binoculars.

"What do you see?" The guide asked in a whisper

One of the soldiers replied: "The enemy has two Makqins." ”

"Three." Kozhemiyaka revised his conclusion, "There is still a pile hidden in the woods, which looks like a clump of weeds. ”

Hearing his addition, another soldier, who was adding various markings to a makeshift map, stopped his movements and asked: "Comrade Kozhemyaka, are you sure that it was a machine gun and not a real weed?" ”

"I'm pretty sure." Kozhemiyaka affirmed, "I see the barrel." ”

"Yes, there's an ammo box next to it. The grass doesn't need an ammo box! Another soldier watched carefully for a while, then confirmed Kozhemiyaka's account.

The soldier then marked the third Makqin on his map, and then he asked, "What is the enemy's firepower?" Are there a few people? ”

"At least one battalion," said Kozhemiyaka after a careful observation, "there seems to be a company ......of Cossack cavalry." ”

The soldier who drew the drawing added a new line of annotation next to the annotation he had just written down - the enemy has a cavalry company to strengthen, "It seems that the enemy is not weak!" He muttered quietly.

"But we can still easily destroy them." Kozhemiyaka said with a smile, not at all afraid of losing.

There really is nothing to worry about, Grigory. The 1st Machine Gun Regiment commanded by Ivanovich is no longer the same unit as it was a month ago, and this month their strength has been greatly enhanced, and at the Finnish base, Li Xiaofeng reorganized the 1st Machine Gun Regiment according to the standards of the Red Eagle Regiment, each squad is equipped with a PK machine gun, and there are 18 120-mm mortars in the regimental artillery battalion.

Under such strong firepower, even in the face of the Russian version of the standard light infantry division, not to mention that there was only one reinforced battalion defending the railway station. So that's not something to worry about at all – it's not just Kozhemiyaka who thinks so. Company Commander Grigory. Ivanovich thinks so too.

At this time. Grigory. Ivanovich and the three battalion commanders and the secretary of the Luga party committee are discussing the operational plan. The second company gradually brought the information it had obtained back to the headquarters, and the situation of the enemy gradually became clear.

"The enemy was stationed in the railway station, with a strength of about six hundred, mostly infantry, and a reinforced cavalry company, armed with three Makqin."

"Who's the commander?" Grigory. Ivanovich asked.

"Marfa. Major Haridonovich, a damn drunkard! The party secretary said contemptuously. He was the commander of the city defense of Luga, who was routed by Comrade Frunze's army last time, and for the past two days as Comrade Frunze transferred the Workers' Red Guards to Pskov, this undead man has been trying to recapture Luga. ”

Grigory. Ivanovich nodded, and then asked: "How is the enemy's combat effectiveness?" ”

"Like all garrisons, Major Harridonovic's troops were largely ineffective. It can only be used to suppress the unarmed masses. The party secretary shrugged his shoulders contemptuously, "Their biggest skill is to flirt with the little girl, and then drink...... It's all barrels, and more than half of the vodka in Luga is in their stomachs! ”

It is clear that the party secretary comrade has a very strong opinion about the large amount of alcohol consumed by Major Harridonovich's army, and this big fat man with a red nose is probably very angry and has no wine to drink.

Grigory. Ivanovich raised his eyebrows, this kind of thing is too normal for a good Russian to drink, but he is not concerned about this: "How is the enemy's defense system?" ”

"There is no defense system. There are no barbed wire, no trenches, no foxholes. None of the fortifications that we trained at the bases in Finland did not exist. The only thing the enemy could rely on was a few dilapidated houses in the train station. ”

"So, in fact, they can't stop us." Grigory. Ivanovich laughed. "The only thing that can threaten us is the three Maxims."

He immediately came to the conclusion: "We must destroy them as soon as the war begins." ”

"Comrade regiment commander, it is difficult to do this with mortars. I must remind you that our artillerymen did not complete the assessment, their accuracy was limited! ”

"But we have to destroy them," Grigory. Ivanovich was now only worried about the Makqin, which could inflict a lot of casualties on the attacking troops, and he wanted to destroy the enemy without any losses, after all, his most critical task was to rush to Pskov to support Frunze, and before that he had to conserve as much strength as possible, "concentrate all the mortars and suppress the enemy's machine guns." ”

"What about the enemy soldiers?" A battalion commander cautioned, "Their rifles are not children's toys either." ”

"The artillery will deal with them after destroying Makqin," Grigory. Ivanovich lowered his head and thought for a moment, then resolutely raised his left hand and looked at his watch, "Gentlemen, now for the watch." The battle was launched an hour later. ”

At the sentry post at the entrance of the train station.

A few drunken soldiers got together and chatted, chatting passionately about topics of interest to the men. No soldier cares about his duty. This is Luga, it's the big rear, and the Germans are still hundreds of kilometers away, so naturally there is no need to be too conscientious.

"And, if you behave too well, it will make the commander think that you are very motivated, proactive, and want to do something about it, and then you will be sent to the front!" A veteran triumphantly taught several recruits his experience, "Guys, if you don't want to go to the front, don't behave too well, don't behave too badly, in short, don't let Major Haridonovich remember you!" ”

"Our drunkard major?" The other veteran smiled contemptuously, "Come on, it doesn't matter how you behave, he only has wine in his eyes anyway." ”

Although the recruits were very grateful for the advice of the veterans, they were more concerned about the gossip and scandals circulating in the barracks, such as so-and-so and so-and-so were engaged in a base, and so-and-so hooked up with a coquettish widow, so the topic of discussion quickly changed, and several veterans spit and told all kinds of interesting stories about their knowledge, while the recruits listened carefully. Because someday. They will also be like these veterans. Dancing and telling the recruits the stories they heard.

Of course, as is often said, joy begets sorrow, and while the discussion was going on, some voices caught the attention of one of the recruits. He turned to look sideways in the direction the voice was coming from, and then froze for a moment. He saw an army approaching the station, at least a thousand men. This hostile army is constantly approaching them.

"Guys!" He began to pull the uniforms of his comrades-in-arms and began to shout: "Attention, there is a situation!" ”

Several of the other sentries heard this, and they all turned their heads together, equally startled by the first machine-gun regiment that rushed up. Then, of course, the recruits became alarmed: "The enemy is coming. Alert! ”

"Don't panic, guys." The veterans said nonchalantly, "It shouldn't be the enemy, those hard-working workers don't have straight uniforms, they should be their own people from Petrograd!" ”

So, under their watchful eyes, the 1st Machine Gun Regiment quickly approached the station, and finally stopped when the distance was only more than 2,000 meters. Then start regrouping. Form an offensive queue. The artillerymen moved quickly to set up the mortars.

Only five minutes had passed, and everything was ready.

Grigory. Ivanovich looked at his watch. Fifteen seconds remained, and there was still time to make a declaration. He turned to the others, his commissars, staff officers, and the fat secretary of the Luga Party Committee, "Comrades, Comrade Lenin ordered us to destroy all enemies that stand in our way, no one can stop us in our way, for the great proletarian revolution, destroy the enemy!" ”

He paused, and commanded in a sonorous voice: "Attack." ”

Marfa. Major Haridonovich was an out-and-out drunkard, which is why he was sent to Luga. No superior could tolerate a subordinate like him, but the major didn't behave so badly that he could be kicked out of the army, and the Russian army was short on men, so sending him to the rear as the commander of the garrison was the most suitable choice.

Anyway, in a place like Luga, no matter how bad Major Haridonovich behaves, even if he is soaked in a barrel full of vodka all day, the most serious consequence can be only to get himself drunk to death, which is not a big deal, and in Russia, the normal and unnatural deaths of military personnel do not need to be overly surprised.

That's what the old men of the Russian War Department think, but it is clear that the old men are wrong, and they are quite wrong. Two days earlier, the drunken and dreamy Haridonovich had been driven out of Luga by Voroshilov's Workers' Red Guards, who were not worth mentioning at all, and had lost a key node on the line. He could only hold the freight station outside the city with one remaining unit, symbolically causing a little trouble for Frunze, and then soon continued to immerse himself in drunken dreams until the 1st Machine Gun Regiment suddenly arrived.

"Major! Major! Hurry up, Major, we're under attack. Captain Makanov grabbed his superior's shoulders and shook them vigorously, trying to wake Major Haridonovich from his deep drunkenness. But sadly, no matter how hard he tried, the major never showed any signs of waking up.

Captain Makanov was anxious and scared. The explosion outside the window told him that his troops were being shelled. At such a moment, it was undoubtedly extremely dangerous to remain in the station, but before Major Haridonovich woke up and took command of the troops, he had to risk staying here, making futile attempts to wake him up again and again.

"Major! Major Haridonovich! ”

"Captain, leave Major Haridonovich alone, we need a commander! We need you to give orders in place of the major. An equally panicked lieutenant burst into the room, waving his hands at him excitedly.

"I can't!" The captain refused, "I can't do it, I don't know what order I should give you." ”

Like the officers of the other garrisons, Captain Makanov had no combat experience, and before the outbreak of the war, he was an ordinary student at the Conservatory, and he probably thought about becoming a symphony orchestra conductor in the future, but he never imagined that he would command an army. He knew his abilities well, so he now hoped to be able to restore control of the troops to Major Haridonovich as soon as possible - although in reality, the major himself had no combat experience, and the captain only wanted to find someone to give him orders and tell him what to do.

Of course, this was also the lieutenant's idea, and his request was more urgent than Makanov's: "Captain, for God's sake, you must give orders in place of the major." We don't have much time, and the soldiers are running out! ”

As if to confirm his statement, the explosions became more dense, and the screams and screams of the soldiers were equally distinct between the incessant and violent explosions.

But the captain still refused: "I can't!" He shook his head resolutely and shook the Major harder, "God, Major Haridonovich, wake up quickly, we need you!" Major! ”

A shell exploded violently outside the window, muffling Makanov's voice and causing him to panic even more, which eventually led the captain to use a tactic he was unwilling to use - under the lieutenant's astonished gaze, he grabbed the ice bucket of chilled champagne and poured all the icy water mixture on the major's head.

"Damn, is it snowing!" Haridonovich shouted angrily, "Captain Makanov, what are you doing?" Then he noticed something else: "Also, what's so much trouble outside...... Hell, the arms exploded on the military columns? ”

The Major still didn't realize what was happening, and he was even thinking slowly about how to cover up the responsibility for the explosion of the military column. But in the next second, Captain Makanov made him understand a terrible reality: "Major, we are under shelling!" (To be continued.) )