The Ural Mountains stretch for more than 2,000 kilometers from the bay of the Kara Sea in the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Kazakh steppe in the south, between the East European Plain and the Siberian Plain. The entire mountain range www.biquge.info is divided into five sections: the polar region, the subpolar Ural Mountains and the northern, central and southern Ural Mountains from north to south. The mountains are generally not high, with an average altitude of 500-1200 meters; The 1,894-meter People's Peak in the subpolar region is the highest peak of the Urals. The width of the mountain range is 40-150 km. The middle section is low and flat, and it is an important passage for Europe and Asia.

The western slope of the Ural Mountains is gentler and the eastern slope is steeper. Due to the different geographical conditions, there are obvious differences in the distribution of mineral resources and flora and fauna on both sides of the Ural Mountains. The Ural Mountains are a treasure trove of minerals in the Soviet Union, and its eastern slopes contain magnets, copper, aluminum, platinum, asbestos and other minerals; The western slopes were rich in potash, oil and gas, which created unique conditions for the Soviets to establish a heavy industrial base in the eastern part of the southern end of the mountain range.

Lin Jun stayed in Stalingrad for only three days, and on February 6 he embarked on a "journey" to the Ural region, the farthest part of the "inspection" of this time. It is not an exaggeration to say that this trip is a "journey", and the three destinations that Lin Jun wants to go to are all at the eastern foot of the south-central section of the Ural Mountains, namely Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk and Nizhny Tagil, and the first destination will be Chelyabinsk.

On this freezing day, a day's drive north along the banks of the Volga River to Saratov, more than 500 kilometers away, and then a day to the northwest, to Chelyabinsk, which is more than 50 degrees north latitude, is definitely not a "pleasant" journey, and there are usually some problems in crossing the Ural Mountains by train during this season, although it is not very high. And from Chelyabinsk to the city of Sverdlovsk either by train bypass Kurgan, there are more than 700 kilometers. Or take a bus more than 300 kilometers directly from Chelyabinsk to Sverdlovsk, but basically no one wants to rush on that road at this time. And from the city of Sverdlovsk to Nizhny Tagil, you can only choose more than 300 kilometers of car mountain roads or planes, and if you want to get there in the warm compartment of the train, you will get 1667 kilometers away Moscow in circles, which is simply unrealistic. No way, the distribution of railways in the Soviet Union is a bit like a "three", due to the topography, many railway trunk lines do not have a meeting point until thousands of kilometers away.

"Grandma, the Soviet Union is too big!" Lin Jun, who was extremely bored, could only think so. Originally, Stalin only needed Lin Jun to "inspect" Sverdlovsk, but later Lin Jun himself called Stalin and said that he wanted to see Chelyabinsk and Nizhny Tagil, on the grounds that they also had rich resources and a heavy industrial base. Stalin, of course, agreed to the "love general's" "initiative to ask", and he was very happy: he also knew that the journey would not be easy, and it was a good thing that little Andrei could take the initiative to ask for it. Stalin also made a point of sending the office to greet the Chelyabinsk and Nizhny Tagil sides.

Why did Lin Jun "ask for his own hardship"? Because Chelyabinsk was later known as the "Tank City", and the tank factory in Nizhny Tagil would become the largest tank factory in the world, Lin Jun naturally had to "inspect" it.

The comrades from Stalingrad sent special people and special cars to put Lin Jun on the train from the Saratov railway station to Kuibyshev, from which he would transfer to the city of Bugulima, the "oil city" of the Tatar Autonomous Republic, 300 kilometers away, and from there transfer to a train to Chelyabinsk, a thousand kilometers away.

It's definitely a toss-up schedule, because from Saratov you can transfer directly to Sverdlovsk and you don't need to transfer trains at all. But the problem is that Chelyabinsk and Nizhny Tagil are directly south of Sverdlovsk and north of the other, as mentioned earlier, if you go to Sverdlovsk first, then the north-south run will be more "toss-up" people.

Lin Jun has always liked "bitter first and then sweet", and when formulating the itinerary, he "gritted his teeth" and decided so. Fortunately, Lin Jun did not have a lot of luggage, only a suitcase, and he "declined" the "innumerable" souvenirs given by the comrades of Stalingrad, because he really couldn't take it, so the "action" was relatively "easy and fast". Moreover, there are "superior commanders" like Lin Jun at all stations (this "superior" is not an ordinary concept of "leadership", but a special term for the administrative level of the Soviet army, and Lin Jun's rank of colonel is in the category of "superior"). Comrade workers who carry luggage, and it's free, which makes Lin Jun's "difficult" transfer trip much easier. Every time, Lin Jun would express his gratitude to these comrades of the workers who helped him, of course they would not accept money or goods, but it was still okay to smoke a high-quality cigarette made in Georgia handed to them, and it would also make them feel that the young comrade colonel was a kind and enthusiastic person.

It is very lonely to travel alone in the vast land of Russia, but fortunately, Lin Jun is "well-known" enough that he can often meet some travelers who recognize his identity. Since getting on the train to Kuibyshev, Lin Jun has not eaten out of his own pocket for three days, either the comrade conductor on the train is treating guests on behalf of the railway department, or he is "targeted" by the staff there when he changes trains at the station. At the bus station in Kuibyshev, Lin Jun was also "forced" to give a patriotic speech to the comrades at the station, which was the common demand of all the leaders and employees of the station, and as a result, it also alarmed the local city party committee. If Lin Jun hadn't used "having a task in his body" as a reason to shirk it, the local party committee would have kept this "Hero of the Soviet Union" comrade for a few days to "visit." But Lin Jun also seized the short time to discuss the work with the local leaders - that is, production is the first priority. Of course, Lin Jun will not come to "suppress" like in Kharkiv, but this has already made the local "leaders" feel something.

On the bus to Bugulima, Lin Jun also tasted pickled cucumbers and hard-boiled eggs delivered by fellow passengers. It should be said that the people of the Soviet Union are very simple, especially when traveling long distances, and it feels really good to be like a family.

Late at night on February 9, the car arrived in Bugulima. Although this small city has a population of only a few tens of thousands, it is a well-known "oil city" in the whole of the Soviet Union, built in 1736, founded in 1781, and is also a major railway station.

Under the guidance of the passengers in the same car, Lin Jun walked into the best oil complex hotel in Bugulima.

It is a new building, typical of modern Soviet architecture, with a row of columns in front of the door. The hotel has more than 1 hundred rooms, a reception hall and a restaurant.

As soon as the porter saw a dusty colonel officer coming in, he hurriedly greeted him, "Comrade Colonel, is there anything you need our help with?" ”

"Please help me prepare a room with hot water for bathing, and help me book a ticket for the first train to Chelyabinsk."

The porter hurriedly took Lin Jun's suitcase, "Please follow me, Comrade Colonel." ”

The comrade at the registration office informed the duty manager, because the comrade colonel needed to book a sleeper ticket to Chelyabinsk, and the manager had to deal with this problem: it was very difficult to make such a hasty reservation.

"Hello, Comrade Colonel, I heard that you need a sleeper ticket to Chelyabinsk at the earliest?" The manager asked very politely.

"Yes, I'm on a mission, so I'm in a hurry."

"That's right, Comrade Colonel, our hotel has always been in the business of booking tickets for travelers, and tomorrow afternoon there will be a train from Ulyanovsk to Novosibirsk to Chelyabinsk. But as far as I know, there are very few sleeper tickets reserved for us at Bugulima station on this bus, and you are in a hurry, so I don't know if I can help you book a sleeper ticket. If you can slow down, there is a train from Ulyanovsk to Chelyabinsk the day after tomorrow, and I guarantee that I will be able to book you a sleeper ticket for that train. "The duty manager said cautiously.

"I can't stay here for too long." Lin Jun took off his coat, because the previous paragraph was a long-distance bus, so he didn't wear a medal on his uniform, but the manager, waiter and porter were still startled by the pistol on his waist, "There are not many officers who travel with guns with them now, this comrade colonel must be on an important mission." "They want to.

Lin Jun took out one of his documents from the jacket pocket of his uniform and put it on the service desk, "Comrade manager, I think the comrades on the railway side will have a way." ”

The red document had the words "Hero of the Soviet Union" prominently on it.

(Note: Kuibyshev is now known as Samara, and Sverdlovsk is now Yekaterinburg.) ）