Chapter 72 Classmates
Was it a coincidence or a premeditated plan? Was there any connection between the Suya on Qiao Liya's note and the Suya who appeared in front of him seemingly by chance? Yuri had no answers to these questions, but he knew one thing, that is, as long as there was a trace of suspicion, he had to be extremely careful.
During the more than ten minutes' journey from Solhansk to Solnechnogorsk, Yuri's mind was full of random thoughts. Julia's note flashed through his mind , then Beria's seemingly harmless smiling face, then Suya's stunning little face appeared again.
What is the most disturbing thing for a person? Obviously, it is knowing that danger is around and being unable to avoid it.
Fortunately, Yuri is also very clear that all the arrangements made by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs for him are just to improve safety and effectively control and supervise him, which may be what every NKVD official needs to face. In other words, the NKVD does not suspect that he has any problems, but is just worried that he will have problems in the future.
But the problem is, being watched by such a notorious and huge organization, I'm afraid no one would feel at ease, right?
Solnechnogorsk is a small town. It is said that it was once a royal estate during the Russian Empire. In 1882, Alexander III, who had just succeeded to the throne, established the Oroninbaum Infantry Officer School here in order to strengthen centralized rule and increase the influence of imperial power in the army. Later, when the Soviet Union was established, it was renamed the Senior Infantry School for Commanders of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in 1918. In the 1930s, it was renamed again and became the Tukhachevsky Senior Infantry Command School.
In fact, the current name of the school should still be named after Tukhachevsky, but considering Tukhachevsky's identity, no one dared to use this name. Therefore, the second principal of the school, Comrade Pavlov, named the school after his old superior Shaposhnikov. Unfortunately, Pavlov was also executed some time ago, so the current principal Koshyagin was a little frightened and was not sure whether the name of the school could be officially adopted.
The school is very large, with almost half of Solnechnogorsk falling within its scope. Because most of the people who come here for training are middle and senior-level generals, the school adopts an open teaching approach, allowing students to enter and exit freely. At the same time, conditions in all aspects are very favorable.
Due to the frequent bombings by the German army in recent times, the school has taken a series of measures to ensure safety. For example, there are three medium-sized anti-aircraft artillery positions on campus. At the same time, camouflage nets have been installed on the tops of most buildings.
Yuri drove directly into the school and registered at the school office first. Then, led by the school receptionist, he went to the logistics department to pick up some daily necessities. In order to facilitate his future study and life, the receptionist also took him around the school. Finally, he took him to the dormitory specially assigned to him.
From the receptionist, Yuri learned that there were 30 students in his training class. In order to facilitate their future studies, the school made overall arrangements for them: students were divided into groups of three, and each group included artillery, tank and infantry commanders. Each group of students shared a three-bedroom dormitory and lived and ate together, so that they could communicate and learn from each other.
In addition, since the trainees were all middle and senior commanders, some were at a higher level and some were at a lower level, in order to avoid estrangement between trainees due to different levels, when each trainee reported, their epaulettes, collar flowers and other things that could indicate their level were taken away, and replaced with collar flowers and epaulettes that were exclusive to trainees. In addition to these, Yuri's car keys, various certificates, and even his ration card were also taken away, but the school logistics gave him 70 rubles in cash for his daily expenses, which every trainee had.
Yuri's student number is 001735. The dormitory he was assigned to is on the east side of the school's sand table demonstration hall. There is a row of bungalows there, and the suite on the easternmost side of the bungalows belongs to him.
Under the guidance of the receptionist, Yuri found his dormitory. On the door painted in earth-gray color, there was a sign with the rules and regulations of the academy. The first one was that smoking and drinking were strictly prohibited, and violators would be severely punished.
"Well, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich , this is your dormitory," the successor said politely. After all, every student who comes here is not a simple character. "I won't go in. Well, finally, on behalf of the academy, I welcome you again. I hope you will have a pleasant study and life here."
"Thank you," Yuri said, shaking the other person's hand.
The receptionist smiled back and turned away.
After watching the receptionist walk away, Yuri came to his senses. He looked at the discipline sign on the door, fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one out and put it in his mouth, thinking: Severe punishment? How severe? Dismissal? What a joke.
With a cigarette in his mouth, Yuri was looking for a lighter when the tightly closed door of the dormitory was suddenly opened from the inside. A handsome face poked out from inside. He first glanced at Yuri furtively, and then peeked towards the corridor in front of the dormitory. Until he saw the back of the receptionist walking away, he sighed and said, "Leaving?"
"Oh, let's go," Yuri was stunned for a moment, then he understood. He hurriedly took out the cigarette from his mouth and said.
"I know you," he seemed to have turned his attention to Yuri, looked Yuri up and down through the door, and said, "Are you Yuri Arkhipovich? Comrade Kulyokov, I saw it in the newspaper..."
"Peter, what are you doing there?" He hadn't finished his words when someone inside the door suddenly shouted, "Close the door quickly! Are you going to wash the gun carriage again?"
"Come in, come in," the guy blocking the door suddenly came to his senses after hearing the person inside shouting. He hurriedly opened the door and motioned Yuri to go in.
Yuri nodded and stepped through the door.
As soon as he entered the door, Yuri couldn't help raising his eyebrows. The living room inside the door was filled with a strong smell of vodka. It seemed that he was not the only student who did not follow the rules.
Since it is a dormitory, the living room must not be very big. At a rough glance, it is only about 30 square meters at most, and the furnishings are very simple, with only a table and a few chairs, and a demonstration sand table placed under the window.
At this time, there was another person sitting at the only table. This person looked very interesting. How should I put it? At first glance, he looked very much like Budyonny, with a similar face shape and the same two big mustaches, but he had a pair of glasses on his face and a shiny forehead.
Seeing Yuri coming in, the man stood up, but refused to put down the glass full of vodka in his hand.
"Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov, I'm Mitrofan," the handsome man who welcomed Yuri into the room first extended his hand and said with a smile, "Mitrovian Ivanovich Nedelin, an artillery student in our group. I also worked in the Southwestern Front before, and I've heard of you a long time ago. Shaws did a great job and bought precious time for our entire Southwestern Front."
"Thank you, just call me Yuri," Yuri shook hands with the other party and said to himself, "I have heard of your name a long time ago, and much earlier than you heard mine."
"I'm Pavel, Pavel Alexievich Rotmistrov, a tank cadet," the funny-looking guy took two steps forward, shook hands with Yuri who came over, and said with a smile, "I worked in the Western Front before, and I've heard of your name a long time ago. That Red Star Medal is really enviable."
Yuri shook his head and smiled, thinking that this relatively unfamiliar guy in front of him was quite direct in his words. However, if he wanted this medal, he would have to work hard on his own, and he would not be able to get it just by envy.
"Look at us, now all three students in the first group are here, shouldn't we celebrate?" Nedelin seemed very cheerful. He pushed Yuri's shoulder and asked him to sit down at the table. He then washed a glass and filled it with vodka, indicating that everyone must have a couple of drinks.
The Soviets liked cigarettes and alcohol even more. Although there was a ban on smoking and drinking in the academy, for these students who were already middle and senior commanders, this ban was equivalent to nothing, and they had to smoke and drink.
Seeing Nedelin filling the glass in front of him with wine, Yuri couldn't help but express his opinion. He felt in his pocket, took out half a pack of cigarettes and put it on the table.
"Oh, this looks like an American product. Where did you get it?" Pavel is the oldest of the three. He is exactly 40 years old this year. He has been smoking for 23 years, so he can tell at a glance where the cigarettes Yuri took out came from.
"Seized from the enemy," Yuri would certainly not say that the cigarette was given to him by Beria, otherwise, the two brothers in front of him would probably stay away from him. After all, in the army, no one liked Beria and the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs he led.
"Good stuff," Pavel said without hesitation. He reached out to take the cigarettes and took one. He did not put the cigarette box down, but held it in his hand and pushed the half pack of "Cavalry" in front of him to the middle. At the same time, he said, "It's a pity that there are not many left."
Nedelin originally wanted to take one to try, but seeing that this guy had no intention of putting it down, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head.
Yuri didn't mind too much. He took out the last pack of cigarettes he had left and put it on the table. They were all commanders and now they were classmates. If this kind of relationship was maintained well, it would be of great use in the future. Two packs of cigarettes were nothing.
