In January 1940, the Winter War had entered a white-hot phase. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

When the Soviet Red Army advanced to the Mannerheim Line, it encountered stubborn resistance from the Finnish army. After many shelling and charges, the Soviets still did not open a single gap, losing a large number of soldiers and a large number of tanks.

Even if the Soviet High Command had taken back command, the army had been placed under the direct command of Voroshilov, Stalin, Shaposhnikov, and others, and Timoshenko had been appointed commander of the North-Western Front, the war had been carried out without progress, and the only effect was to reduce some unnecessary casualties.

For this war, the whole of Finland has entered a state of intense combat readiness, and supplies are being sent to the Mannerheim Line from all over the country. News of the valorous battle of the Finnish soldiers spread throughout the country and boosted the morale of the Finnish military and civilians. The whole army and the people were united in the battle, and under the leadership of Field Marshal Mannerheim, they stepped up their response.

However, in Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg), just 80 kilometers from the Mannerheim Line, the atmosphere was unusually calm. Next to the railroad tracks, you can see trains full of munitions rumbling by, and military planes can be seen taking off and landing frequently near the airport, but in the city, there is hardly anything related to the war.

For the citizens of Leningrad, it was just an ordinary day, people went about their lives as usual, all the buildings in the city were unscathed, and not even the slightest sound of artillery could be heard.

Sitting in a café with a leisurely view of the banks of the Neva River, Manturov also seemed to be infected by this calm atmosphere. But in fact, the purpose of his visit this time was precisely for this thorny war.

He frowned, thinking about the way to break through, with his identity and ability, it is absolutely impossible to bring any help to the tactics of the Soviet army, but it can play a very important role in the logistics supply, weapon use and overall strategy of the Soviet army.

"Sir, your coffee." A soft female voice reached Manturov's ears and woke him up from his daydream.

"Comrade, you are mistaken."

The "waitress" didn't seem to hear Manturov, and still put the cup of coffee on the table.

"Comrade Manturov," the woman said, sitting down, "I did not expect to see you here." ”

Manturov turned his gaze to the woman sitting across from him, her turquoise eyes, long blond hair, and tall, plump figure that felt both familiar and stunning. "Comrade Ustnova, I didn't expect to meet you here. Aren't you from Tyumen? How did you come to Leningrad? ”

"Can't you?" Veronica Ustinova smiled coldly: "I'm here for a vacation. ”

"Vacation? Now that the weather is so cold, the river is frozen, and the summer palace is not open, how can you choose to come here for a vacation at this time? Isn't it good to go to such places as Sochi, Yalta, Sukhumi (in Abkhazia) on the Black Sea coast? It has beautiful scenery and a warm climate, and many leaders like to go there. ”

Veronica snorted coldly and said, "Do you think I'm going to like those places?" Besides, it's so hot there, I, a Siberian woman, am not used to it, or is it better here, isn't it good to have minus seven or eight degrees? ”

Veronica is indeed not afraid of the cold, and in temperatures of minus a few degrees, she can still wear a tight short skirt, revealing a pair of big white legs, obviously adapted to the weather.

"Don't you know there's a war going on here? 80 kilometers away is the place where the Soviet-Finnish war is fighting, and you still want to go on vacation? ”

"What about you?" Veronica looked at each other with her seductive turquoise eyes and said, "Aren't you supposed to be in Moscow?" How did you come to Leningrad? ”

"I'm here for a business trip." Manturov's expression looked a little helpless, and at a glance, he knew that he had encountered something troublesome.

"On a business trip? What is the job to send you, the first deputy People's Commissar for Construction, to Leningrad? It's definitely a big deal. If I'm not mistaken, it should be related to this war. "Ustnova's analytical skills are really admirable, but then again, anyone who has been in the CPSU for a while will know that a First Deputy People's Commissar will not go on a business trip at all because of any sesame mung bean thing, and at the moment, the most important thing for the country is this Soviet-Finnish war.

In the course of these two months, the losses suffered by the Soviet army were far from expected, the Mannerheim Line could not be attacked for a long time, and Britain and France also had a tendency to enter the war.

In the unlikely event that the Soviet Union could make a breakthrough in the short term, the Soviet Union's international prestige would suffer considerably.

It is also possible that Britain and France will step in and provide weapons and resources to Finland to improve Finland's chances of victory. In this way, when Finland wins, they can also get a piece of the pie, and at the same time they can get Finland as an ally.

"Clever," Manturov knew, and what such a competitive woman needed was the approval and approval of others, "no wonder you became the secretary of the city party committee at a young age." ”

Actually, Manturov is younger than Veronica, but he has already become the first deputy people's commissar, has also been elected to the Central Committee of the CPSU - Committee, has entered the central part of the CPSU power system. Veronica, on the other hand, was just the second secretary of the municipal party committee in a small city in Siberia.

However, judging by his appearance, Manturov's clothes and expression do not look like a young man in his twenties, but like a "quasi-uncle" in his thirties and forties.

And Veronica Ustnova, who loves beauty and is good at dressing up, looks like she is only about twenty-three or four years old, in the prime of her life, and is in the knowledge of youth and beauty. But in reality, she is already twenty-seven or eighteen.

"Comrade Manturov, what am I compared to you? In terms of talent, maybe the two of us are at the same level, in terms of status, in terms of grades, then you are much better than me. ”

"So what?" Manturov's face was a little melancholy, "The higher the position, the greater the responsibility." ”

Manturov pointed to the cheerful group of children on the street and continued: "If the war is lost, they can stay out of it and play in the snow on the street, but I can't. Don't think that being a People's Commissar for Construction will get rid of the war, the construction of the military industry, as well as the construction of roads, railways and telecommunications are all important and within the scope of my work.

At present, our army's communications and logistical support are very bad, but the number of troops participating in the war has reached 700,000. The weapons, ammunition, and munitions of the 700,000-strong army were all transported to the front through those roads, and the existing roads and railways were already overloaded.

Just now, I discussed this issue with Comrade Zhdanov (then secretary of the Leningrad City and Oblast Party Committee, and political commissar of the Red Army), and we will take urgent measures to increase the width of some roads.

Thanks to the efforts of the comrades, the roads from Murmansk to Kodor and Petrozavodsk to Suoyervi were built, which eased the supply problems of the 8th and 14th armies. But the situation still needs to be improved. ”

Veronica glanced at Manturov and took a sip of her coffee. "Actually, from the very beginning, I expected that this war would not go so smoothly."