"Mr. Kripeps, this is Comrade Vladimir Manturov, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, Member of the State Defense Committee, and Comrade Georgy Malenkov, Member of the State Defense Committee and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Manturov stretched out his hand and said to the "friend" from Western countries: "Mr. Cripps, I am very happy to meet you, here to talk and laugh with two gentlemen. ”

Compared with before the crossing, Manturov's English level has obviously regressed a lot, after all, he has less time to contact English, and his language level has naturally regressed.

He still has the ability to read English books and write English articles, and he will never make grammatical mistakes, but when he speaks, he is not very fluent.

How to describe it? He spoke English with a strong Russian accent and a hint of southern Chinese elements, sounding so awkward that even the two gentlemen, who were used to Russian accents, barely understood what he said.

"Mr. Manturov, I have heard that your wife, Miss Voroshilova, is very pretty," said Stafford Cripps, the British ambassador to the Soviet Union, "and I wonder if I have had the honour of meeting her." ”

Manturov pretended to be easy-going, and said, "You have complimented you, Mr. Cripps, and if you have time, you can come and see her at any time." Of course, the premise is that her consent must be obtained. ”

"Of course, as a gentleman, I absolutely respect the wishes of the ladies and will never make the ladies feel uncomfortable."

"Alright, gentlemen, let's get down to business now." Stalin brought back the topic and said: "Today we invite you to come in the hope that you will be able to sit together and discuss technical cooperation between the Soviet Union and Britain. ”

"Mr. Stalin," said Cripps, "we attach great importance to the relations between Britain and the Soviet Union, and we hope to strengthen cooperation between our two countries, but I hope that your country will show sufficient sincerity." ”

Cripps's "sincerity" refers to the benefits that the Soviet Union can provide. If the Soviet Union could provide enough benefits to Britain, Britain would naturally be able to provide the Soviet Union with the technology it needed. If the USSR did not give anything, Britain naturally would not send anything good to the USSR.

"Rest assured, Mr. Kripps, we, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also attach great importance to relations between Britain and the Soviet Union, and we will show sufficient sincerity to strengthen cooperation between our two countries."

"That's good," said Cripps, "then, what technology do you want from our country?" ”

Stalin glanced at Manturov and said: "Let Comrade Manturov answer this question, and it is from him that the proposal for Soviet-British technical cooperation was put forward." ”

"Mr. Kripps," Manturov thought for a moment, and said, "as far as I know, Britain's engine technology has always been at the world's leading level, while China's engine research and development is still relatively backward for the time being because it started late and its technology is not mature enough."

Because of the backward engines, our aircraft have always been suppressed by German aircraft in terms of performance. (This sentence was said on purpose)

In order to reverse this situation, we have concentrated a lot of manpower and material resources to develop new liquid-cooled piston engines, but now there are some obstacles in the development progress of the engine, and our R&D personnel have encountered some technical problems, resulting in the development of the engine has not made much progress.

Therefore, we would like to be able to obtain some technology related to aero engines from your country, including drawings and related technical documents for Griffin liquid-cooled piston engines and Merlin liquid-cooled piston engines, and if possible, we hope to be able to obtain production authorization for Merlin and Griffin engines. ”

Cripps was eager to help the Soviet Union, as he was a member of the Labour Party (expelled from the party in 1939 for advocating the formation of a "Popular Front" with the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Liberal Party), a Marxist (although he was a Christian who did not subscribe to atheism) and a socialist country like the Soviet Union.

However, Cripps, the British ambassador to the Soviet Union, could not make decisions on these issues, after all, he was not the leader of the country, nor was he a powerful figure in the ruling party.

At that time, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill belonged to the Conservative Party, and his anti-communist stance was relatively clear, and he even praised the anti-communist policy of the Italian fascist government, and called the Italian fascist leader Mussolini "the genius of the Romans" and "the greatest legislator of mankind" (this "legislation" refers to the anti-communist law).

However, considering the current situation in Britain, Churchill realized the importance of cooperation with the Soviet Union and hoped to mend relations with the Soviet Union and unite against the invasion of Nazi Germany, so he appointed a leftist politician such as Cripps as British ambassador to the Soviet Union, hoping to repair Anglo-Soviet relations.

As an ultra-leftist, Kripps naturally hoped that a socialist country like the Soviet Union would develop, but he also had to consider the position of the Churchill government.

Cripps knew very well that Churchill, as an anti-communist, would never provide anything good to the Soviet Union, unless the Soviet Union could also provide Britain with some good things, such as oil, rare earths, tanks, or directly give money, as long as the amount was attractive enough.

"Well, what benefits does your country offer to our country in exchange for the engine technology that Mr. Manturov is talking about?" Cripps asked.

"As far as I know, Britain's tank technology is currently at a relatively backward level, and it is inferior to Germany's active tanks in terms of firepower, armor and mobility, resulting in your country's armored forces being suppressed by the German army on the French battlefield and unable to exert any combat superiority.

Just a few days earlier, in the North African theater, the German Afrika Korps had launched an offensive against the British, quickly repulsing the British and capturing Agitabia, Mensus, and not long ago Benghazi.

It seems to me that the defeat of your army in the African theater was due to the fact that your country's current tanks could not compete with German tanks, and as a result, they were easily routed by the armored forces of the Germans.

At present, the Soviet tank technology is undoubtedly the most advanced in the world, our T-34 tanks can easily destroy any German tank on the battlefield, if your country is willing to provide our country with the technology of Griffin engines and Merlin engines, we will provide your country with some T-34 tanks (T-34/76 tanks, not T-34/85). ”