After two days and two nights of driving, Manturov and Katya finally arrived in Moscow, the capital and largest city of the Soviet Union. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At that time, the population of Moscow was already more than four million, ten times that of Novosibirsk.

Although the population of Novosibirsk is only 400,000, a tenth of that of Moscow, its population has overtaken the then Belarusian capital Minsk (200,000 to 300,000 people) to become the top 10 cities in the Soviet Union and the largest city in Siberia. "Katyusha, which hotel would you like to stay in?" As soon as he walked out of the train station, Manturov asked this question.

"What hotel to stay in? Come and stay with me. ”

"Your home? Is there a place in my home for me? Now the supply of housing in Moscow is so tight that I heard that the average person has only 10 square meters of living space. ”

Katia kissed Manturov and said, "Yes, what you say is true. But my dad was the first marshal and a member of the Politburo, and our family lived in a luxurious, spacious villa with two empty rooms to greet guests like you. ”

"Okay then."

At this moment, a man wearing a lieutenant colonel uniform and white gloves walked over. He looked to be in his forties and fifties, his skin was dark and rough, and his face had a bullet mark from the Russian Civil War.

He walked up to Katia and said to her warmly, "Katia, you're finally back. The marshal wants you to die! ”

"Really? I haven't received a single letter. Katia said coldly.

"No, Comrade Marshal, he sent you a lot of letters, didn't you receive them?"

Katia glanced at Manturov, then said to the lieutenant colonel, "Maybe the wrong address was delivered." Since January 4th, I have moved to live with Vorodia. ”

"Why didn't you say it earlier? Since January 5, you have not called home or written a letter. Do you know how much Klimante (Voroshilov), and Madame worries about you? ”

"Why didn't you call home? Didn't I hit it once yesterday? Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Katia spoke in a slightly cold tone.

"I'll correct you, you called once, just yesterday, and you haven't called home other than that, am I right?" Although the lieutenant colonel is older, his memory has not been regressed by the passage of time.

"You're right, I'll call home more in the future."

The lieutenant colonel's eyes widened and he turned his gaze to Manturov, and he always felt that this polite man in front of him was a bit like a certain warrior who fought bravely against the White Army and the British Army until the last moment.

"You are the son of Fedor Šimonović?" The lieutenant colonel asked Manturov.

Manturov lifted his glasses and carefully examined the lieutenant colonel's appearance. "That's right, I'm Verradimo, the son of Fedor Simonovich Manturov. Old comrade, you ...... Know my father? ”

"Yes, back then, I also participated in the Battle of Tsaritsyn. At that time, I was a tank driver, your father was the commissar of the Red Army, and your father-in-law, Comrade Voroshilov, was the commander. Almost all the veterans who fought in that battle have heard your father's name and know about his heroic deeds. In our minds, your father will always be a revolutionary hero! ”

"Really? I grew up never hearing about my father's exploits, only that he died in Tsaritsyn. What positions he held, his performance during the war, and his pre-revolutionary experience were heard from Comrade Kaganovich and Comrade Voroshilov. ”

The lieutenant colonel patted Manturov on the shoulder and said: "Normal, you were brought to Siberia since you were a child, and none of the old comrades there participated in the battle of Tsaritsyn and do not know the story of your father. And your mother, who sent you away after the start of the civil war, didn't know anything about the situation on the battlefield, so she didn't tell you this. ”

"I see. By the way, what is your name, comrade? ”

The lieutenant colonel enthusiastically stretched out his right hand and said: "My name is Stepan, my surname is Berezudsky, I am Marshal Voroshilov's chauffeur. ”

Hearing Stepan's last name, Manturov almost laughed. Ski is really a driver, 20 years ago he drove a tank, and now he drives a car, he can be regarded as an old driver.

Manturov warmly shook Stepan's rough, swarthy hand and said enthusiastically: "Comrade Berezudsky, it's a pleasure to meet you. ”

"It's not early, let's get in the car. Madame herself cooked for you today and prepared a sumptuous dinner for you. In addition, Marshal Budyonny and Comrade Lazar Kaganovich were also invited, and I think both of them know what to do. ”

"Don't worry, I know what to do."

Lazar Kaganovich is a man who is no stranger to everyone, and in the Soviet Union he was a big man with more than 10,000 people, but who was Marshal Budyonny? Is he awesome?

This Budyonny, like Voroshilov, became one of the first five marshals of the USSR in 1935. He was a cavalry general who served for his feats in the Russian Civil War, helping the Red Army defeat the forces of the White general Denikin.

However, in the subsequent wars, his performance was not satisfactory, and his defeat in the Polish-Soviet War in 1920 was even worse in the future winter war against Finland.

His poor military prowess was also vividly demonstrated in World War II, when he commanded the Battle of Kiev, the greatest defeat in Soviet history.

Despite this, he still had a high status in the army and was one of the military heroes of Soviet Russia in the Civil War.

………………

After a half-hour drive, they came to a dacha on the outskirts of Moscow.

At that time, it was already half past seven in the evening, and it was already half dark. Budyonny, Kaganovich and other distinguished guests have also arrived at Voroshilov's dacha, attracting the attention of everyone in the house.

Voroshilov was greeting two distinguished guests in the hall; Madame Ekaterina, as well as the servants of the whole house, were busy preparing the Russian feast for the evening. Almost no one noticed the arrival of Manturov and Katya.

The newlyweds, the young couple got out of the car in a low-key manner, walked into the house through the back door with their luggage, and walked quietly to the bedroom upstairs.

After dropping off his luggage, Manturov was about to leave for the hall when he was stopped by Katya. "Volodya, where are you going?"

Manturov, who was standing in front of the door, immediately turned around and replied, "Go to the hall." ”

"Are you looking for death? Now Dad and Budyonny and Kaganovich are talking about it, what are you doing so fast? Do you want to disturb them talking about national affairs? ”

"No, I didn't mean that, I just wanted to go down and have a look."

"What do you see? What's there to see? Wouldn't it be good to stay here first? There's a big beauty here for you to see enough, although you can't touch it. ”

"Okay then."

A middle-aged female voice came from the hallway, "Katia, are you back?" Why don't you tell me? Go down and say hello to Daddy. ”

"Mom, I'll go down later." Katia shouted out the door.

Manturov looked out the door and saw a typical Russian aunt standing outside. She is more than 1.6 meters tall, a little fat, and wears a white skirt with a strong Russian vernacular, and of course, a headscarf that Russian women should "equip" with. He was Katya's mother, Voroshilov's wife, Ekaterina Voroshilovna.

The aunt crossed her waist and said to Katia in a commanding tone: "Go down!" Comrade Kaganovich and Marshal Budyonny want to meet you. ”

Katia replied helplessly, in a low voice, "Okay then, I'll go down now." ”

Manturov stood next to the door, with his hands in his trouser pockets, and took the opportunity to say: "I told you to go down a long time ago, and you can't go." I had to wait for my mother-in-law to come up and urge me to leave. ”