Timoshenko, who had just arrived at the front command, gave a solemn military salute to Meretskov, who was leaving dejectedly.

"What, are you making fun of me?" Mistakenly thinking that Timoshenko was in a coy gesture, Meretskov squinted at Timoshenko, who remained in a state of respect.

As the commander of the Leningrad Military District and the former front-line commander of the commander of the Kiev Military District, Meretskov inevitably felt rejection when facing Timoshenko himself.

It's not that Meretskov hated Timoshenko as a person, but because Timoshenko's temporary replacement was really insulting to him. The change of generals on the spot has always been a denial of the practice of the previous commander.

As the most proficient master of attacking and defending fortified areas in the Soviet Red Army, Meretskov has always been known for his cautious command and foresight of the battle situation. The task of overcoming the Mannerheim Line was originally the Soviet general's area of expertise.

Replace him, an expert in attack and defense of fortified areas, with a general like Timoshenko, who is good at fighting plains, and continue to command the offensive of the Mannerheim Line. Doesn't this mean that Meretskov, an expert, is not as good as Timoshenko, who made a temporary cameo appearance, in his field of expertise!

"Comrade Meretskov, you misunderstood me." Timoshenko immediately shook his head and explained: "My trip is completely a payment arrangement, and there is no other meaning. On the contrary, without the new troops I brought from the Kyiv Military District and the large reinforcements mobilized from the rear, I might even have refused to accept the mission. ”

Perhaps moved by Timoshenko's sincere expression, Meretskov finally accepted the successor in his heart, and kindly reminded: "Don't underestimate the enemy, I heard that you are fighting well in Poland, but this is Finland, not Poland." You're going to face a terrible enemy. ”

"Are they hard?" As soon as Timoshenko asked this, he immediately regretted it. Asking this in front of Meretskov is not equivalent to asking in disguise: "Can't you get them?" ”

Sure enough, as soon as Timoshenko's words were asked, Meretskov fell into a deep silence.

From the expression on his face, Timoshenko had probably guessed the mental activity of his former front-line commander.

Just when Timoshenko was hesitating whether to find a random topic and divert this awkward atmosphere, Meretskov suddenly spoke: "Yes, they are very difficult to entangle. ”

With a wry smile on his face, Meretskov raised a seemingly inconsequential topic to Timoshenko: "Have you heard of the German unit that alone faced the siege of a Polish army group? ”

"You mean the German 30th Infantry Division?" Timoshenko nodded and replied seriously: "I have experienced the Polish campaign, so I know a lot. I heard that this infantry division of the German army fought to the death without any reinforcements, and faced the siege of more than ten times the Polish army alone, and it gritted its teeth and survived! ”

"Yes," Meretskov continued, "the only piece of advice I want to leave you is to treat all the Finnish army as a stubborn enemy like the German 30th Infantry Division." ”

Timoshenko could see that he was very serious, and he was by no means alarmist!

Before the war, no one would have believed that the Finns would have been so tenacious and so unyielding.

At that time, throughout Europe, when it came to military affairs, Nordic countries like Finland were just the object of ridicule and ridicule. Their servicemen are not like the military, and the way they are trained is more like stuck in the last century. In addition to Sweden, the weapons and equipment of Finland and other Nordic countries are also dismissive.

It is even doubtful that once a war breaks out, there will be no one in such a country who will be able to muster up the courage to shoot at the enemy.

But it didn't take long for people to get an answer. In more than a month of fighting with a huge disparity in strength, the army of a small country like Finland stubbornly blocked the 350,000 troops of the Soviet Union east of the Mannerheim Line.

Finland is a standard small military country with a total population of just over 4.4 million and a standing army of only 32,000. However, the Soviet Union, which has always prided itself as a military power, has been planted one after another.

Once, Poland, which had a million-strong army and was known as the fifth most powerful country in Europe, failed to stop the Soviet army for two months with an army of 200,000, allowing Timoshenko to break through the defensive line.

Now, after the mobilization of the whole people, Finland, which has only expanded its army by 120,000 troops, has almost annihilated four integrated divisions of the Soviet Union, and inflicted varying degrees of losses on other Soviet divisions.

The slogan of the Soviet government also changed from the pre-war slogan: "Just raise the door a little and the Finns will obey." If that doesn't work, you can fire a shot and the Finns will throw up their hands and surrender. The "later" artillery units only had to prepare ammunition for twelve days, and the whole battle would inevitably end in 16 days at most. And now, the Polish conqueror, Admiral Timoshenko, was ordered to conquer Finland in a hurry. ”

Thinking of this, Timoshenko suddenly felt a little ironic. In the face of a weak country that lacks aircraft and artillery, almost no tanks, and has a standing army of less than 40,000, the Red Army, which has always claimed to be tenacious and good at fighting, accompanied by a large number of aircraft and tanks, can not defeat the other side with hundreds of thousands of troops, and now it has to replenish hundreds of thousands of troops?!

Meretskov looked at Timoshenko with a heavy face, nodded, and then reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "It's come to this, it's useless to think about anything else." Concentrate on command and take the Finnish position as soon as possible. ”

"I will ask the division commanders in the remaining troops to cooperate with you as much as possible and do their best to carry out orders." This time, Meretskov encouraged Timoshenko with a sincere face: "But don't expect too much from them. To tell you the truth, the troops I brought out of the Leningrad Military District are now basically disabled. Now the only thing you can really count on is the new army you brought from the Kyiv Military District. ”

"Meretskov, you ........"

Stopping Timoshenko's unspoken words of gratitude, Meretskov smiled a little disappointed: "That's all I can do for you, and the rest can only depend on you." ”

When he said this, Meretskov's heart actually ached like a knife. Putting the goal that had made him fight day and night into the hands of the newcomer, this kind of loss is like a nanny leaving the child he has taken care of for many years, and the reason for leaving is because don't think that he didn't take care of it!

Looking at the back left behind by Meretskov when he left, Timoshenko was suddenly a little confused, even if he brought a powerful new army, could he really easily take Finland? Or maybe he will spend more time than Meretskov!

As the war, which should have ended easily, is still going on, the Soviet Union's international influence has plummeted. What's even more terrifying is that Timoshenko is not sure how long this rapid decline in influence will last?!