Canteen System Assistance Notes

Immediately, the pilots took their positions and flew in three directions under the command of the navigator.

Approach the airport while flying and land smoothly.

"Okay, gentlemen, the plane has landed smoothly..."

Liu Helian had just landed the plane when he saw a GAZ truck rumble toward him in the distance. The Russians in the truck jumped out of their seats and leaned the boarding stairs against the cabin door. Immediately, the leading Russian scrambled aboard and poked his head inside the cabin.

"Liuhe! Comrade Liuhe! Who is Comrade Helian Liudmirovich Liudmir?" (This has been corrected) "Oh! It's me! Dear comrade, you are looking for me? What can I do for you?"

Liu Helian stuck his head out. This awkward name was his full Russian name. "You can just call me 'Liu He'."

"Oh! My dear Comrade Liu He, come with me! I finally caught up with you!" The Russian leader waved the telegram in his hand, "I just received the telegram yesterday.

It’s the Kremlin! The Kremlin invites you.”

Chapter 456: Staring at Each Other in Moscow

In June, the Soviet Union was experiencing a period of long days and short nights. Some cities within the Arctic Circle even experienced "white nights", with the sun circling on the horizon and refusing to set.

Liu Helian sent a telegram to the Central Committee to confirm this matter and found that this was indeed a message sent from Stalin's office in the Kremlin - "Inviting the Chinese Communist Party's representative to the Soviet Union and Comrade Helian Liudmirovich Liudmir to come to the talks." He also asked Liu Helian to come as soon as possible, preferably as soon as he got off the plane.

"That's no problem, comrade. Please inform the Air Force on my behalf." Liu He shook hands with the person in charge of Irkutsk Airport. "We are in a wartime state now.

I don't want our plane to be shot down in mid-air by a MiG fighter.

Come. ”

"No problem, dear Davarishi!"

"Hey, hey, hey! As for the wine, wait until you finish your work!"

The box of vodka Liu Helian had on board the plane served as a good lubricant for the relationship, but it also forced him to personally keep an eye on the airport telegraph operator. Only after the wired telegraph machine transmitted the reply from the Air Force that they had received the "flight report" did he dare to go to the lounge to eat bread and borscht. As a history buff, Liu Helian knew how nervous the Soviet Air Force was at that time.

The fact that their own bombers were mistakenly shot down by their own anti-aircraft artillery was a minor matter. At this time, Moscow was even in a state of shooting down foreign aircraft directly.

If Liu Helian had to use his eMule to test the destructive power of the Schwak cannon and the Skars machine gun because he gave the airport staff vodka, he might as well buy a piece of tofu and get himself killed. Fortunately, everything seemed normal. After a good rest, Liu Helian's eMule was quickly ready and he took off again from Irkutsk.

Passing through Omsk, Kazan, and finally arriving in Moscow.

However, the time traveler Liu Helian once again felt how outrageous and absurd a concise summary in a history book could sometimes become when projected into real historical reality.

Kazan Airport was the last stop on the way to Moscow. Considering safety issues, Liu Helian handed over all the vodka on the plane and "bribed" the local air force commander:

He applied for fighter escort from the Soviet Air Force, and the reason was very

Normal - after all, Soviet airspace is now a war zone. What if we really encounter German aircraft?

Therefore, the Kazan base station dispatched two L16 fighter jets to accompany the escort.

This should be alright now, right?

Liu Helian easily flew the plane westward with the two 16s. The iconic bend of the Moscow River began to appear on the horizon, more than 700 kilometers away.

For a few planes, it only takes a few hours.

The navigator on board pulled out a clipboard and wrote on it, "Thank you for your escort, now preparing to land." Liu Helian then banked and turned, circling the airport. This distance was no problem for him, but for the small L16, it was better to land early.

Soon, the disguised DC3 piloted by Liu Helian began to approach the landing route and gradually descended. With the sharp sound of tires scraping the ground, his plane skidded and braked on the ground, eventually coming to a steady stop.

The anti-aircraft guns surrounding the airport didn't fire, and no aircraft launched an interception attempt. All was well. But just as the disguised eDonkey taxied to the end of the runway and began turning toward the parking area, several GAZ trucks, with a shrill sound of brakes, blocked the taxiway. Liu Helian hurriedly braked the plane, and the next second, a group of soldiers wearing flat caps and brown woolen uniforms jumped from the trucks and surrounded the plane.

? ? ?

"Don't raise your gun! Holding a gun here is tantamount to seeking death!"

Liu Helian shouted sharply, as the co-pilot, Hu Zikun, had already reached for the gun rack on the side of the cabin. "We have done all the required reporting. There must be some misunderstanding!" He glanced at the mechanics who were already tense and ready for battle, and the terrified navigator, grabbed the microphone on the plane - thankfully, it was an eMule-powered airplane that had such a thing - and shouted to the Russians outside.

"Hello, comrade! We are a visiting delegation from the Communist Party of China. We have flown from Kazan and are heading to Moscow at the request of Comrade Stalin!"

Liu Helian saw that two 116 planes flying from Kazan were also surrounded on the tarmac, and the pilots wearing leather hats were blocked in the cockpit and unable to get off the plane, so he roughly understood the situation.

Not long ago, the Germans, under the guise of civilian aviation, carried secret reconnaissance forces to take aerial photos of Soviet airfields, roads, and troop deployments. One of the planes was even shot down by the Soviets. In the past few days, the German Air Force has carried out air strikes on many military targets in the Soviet Union, and part of the intelligence comes from aerial reconnaissance.

Many Soviet cities were cleared of airspace and placed under martial law. Moscow, as the capital, had extremely strict air defense alerts to the point of being harsh and neurotic.

-Now, the Air Force has probably informed us of their itinerary.

The air defense forces and the air force were not notified, but the guard forces responsible for protecting the airport were not notified.

"Before takeoff, we reported our route plan to the great Soviet Red Army. Look! We were landed under the escort of Soviet fighter planes." "Dear comrades, we are comrades fighting together against fascism, not enemies! Don't point your guns at your own people!"

Perhaps it was Liu Helian's speech that worked, or perhaps it was Mr. Steel's reputation with the Kremlin that worked, and the security forces blocking the plane lowered their guns. They drove their cars and gestured, allowing Liu Helian to park the plane on the tarmac.

After waiting for a long time, a boarding ladder finally approached. The Soviet navigator just opened the cabin door and immediately took a step back - the two pilots flying 16 were rushed onto the plane, and the officer in the peaked cap behind him put away his pistol.

"What's going on?" Liu Helian came out of the cab and asked, "Comrade?" He noticed that the officer's peaked cap was not blue, and he should be the leader of the airport guards.

"Your ID." The officer stiffly held out his hand, and the people on board could only pull out their party membership cards and passports and hand them over. "Herrian Lyudmirovich Lyudmir?"

"It's me," Liu Helian replied, "Comrade, we are..."

"Why don't you give yourself a girl's name?" The man in the peaked cap raised his hand to stop Liu Helian from continuing. He didn't even bother to look at their IDs. He simply flipped through them and put them in his pocket. "There's a no-fly zone over Moscow! Any plane that approaches will be shot down. How come you didn't get shot?"

what?

He pointed at Liu Helian's forehead, then at himself: "There's nothing wrong with your documents... But, I can't let you go without orders. You can only stay on the plane and are not allowed to go anywhere." "Only on the plane?"

Of course. Do you still want to go to the Kremlin?" The man in the peaked cap glared at him, turned around and walked downstairs. "Since you said you were invited by the Kremlin, why didn't anyone come to pick you up?" "I'll call the Air Defense Command. Just wait patiently!"

"Comrade Captain!" a pilot from Unit 116 said, "I'm Captain Rovnin of the 773rd Fighter Regiment in Kazan. I can call our regimental commander and verify our identities!"

Hearing this, the man in the peaked cap threw down a few words without even paying any attention to him and walked straight down the stairs. As he walked, he muttered, "This is really strange. The flight is banned. How did they land?"

In the first two weeks of the war, the Soviet command system was plagued by conflicting orders, poor information flow, and delayed communication. Liu Helian knew all this.

But I have never had such a personal experience, and I didn't know that this chaos would be so serious.

Moscow did have a no-fly zone, and it did have a need to defend itself against German air raids. But if the no-fly zone was so strict that no aircraft were allowed to approach, then the Air Force should not have approved its application. And if its application had been approved, then the Air Force, the Air Defense Force, and the airport garrison should have known about it.

What's more, this flight was accompanied by a pilot from the Kazan base, who could definitely prove his identity and intentions.

Now, the Air Force's fighter jets and anti-aircraft guns did not open fire, which meant they successfully identified me, proving that the information transmission was effective; but the garrison at the airport knew nothing and mistook me for an unidentified spy when they came down - I am indeed a person who came from the information age, and I always feel that information is transmitted so quickly.

But if you think about it carefully, it seems that the Soviet General Staff can't even contact the Western Front Command...

"Now, what should we do?" Co-pilot Hu Zikun and the other Russians exchanged glances, their gazes shifting around until they all landed on Liu Helian. "Of course, we'll just have to wait! We'll just have to make do on the plane for a while."

What else could he do? Could he run down and attack the airfield garrison? Liu Helian thought, if his e-Donkey really had to force a transformation, the worst he could do was turn into an LCAC hovercraft and charge into the airfield, or even a helicopter and take off from the spot. But while that would be fun, it probably wouldn't be a good way to end it.

He could only comfort five others:

Don't worry, our plane is well-equipped, enough for everyone to hold out for a while. Even if they don't give us food or water, we won't starve to death - there's a box next to the hot pot in the rear cabin, which should contain tinfoil-wrapped airline meals. The plane's water tank is also mostly full, so if you need water, just come to the front and get it... "

Liu Helian introduced the things in the cabin and pulled Hu Zikun into the cockpit. He closed the cockpit door and took out a small keyboard from the console.

"If we can't solve a problem ourselves, let's ask the organization for help! Come on, let's send a message to Mr. Steel!"

Chapter 457: Meeting Dalin Again

This was Liu Helian's third meeting with Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.

Compared to the previous two times, this time, Comrade Gang Gang seemed a bit rusty. He had dark circles under his eyes, and the fatigue of lack of sleep was evident. The poor situation on the front lines had left him deeply depressed, yet also incredibly busy.

Some later jokes claim that Dalinzi once locked himself in his office for ten days without leaving. In reality, although this was not so exaggerated, Stalin was clearly under tremendous pressure given the surprise, confusion, and even chaos among the Soviet leadership.

"Hello, Comrade Stalin."

"Comrade Liu He, was it Malenkov who brought you here?" In the small conference room known as the "Green Office," there were no longer small glasses of vodka on the table, but only a half-eaten lunch - a few slices of bread with jam, two half-eaten small bananas, and some salted herring mixed with onions. "According to Chinese customs, it seems I should ask, have you had lunch?"

"Comrade Stalin, it was Comrade Malenkov who brought me and other comrades out of the airport."

After sending telegrams to the Chinese Office in the Soviet Union and the Kremlin Liaison Office via the plane's radio, Liu He, Hu Zikun, and several other Russians spent a day and a half eating boxed meals on the plane before finally seeing a ZIS car drifting in. Several men in blue hats and a slightly overweight man emerged from the car—he was Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Council of People's Commissars.

After yelling at the confused captain for a while, Malenkov directed the soldiers to bring the boarding ladder and let the people down.

After a few simple greetings, Liu Helian was dragged into the

The car turned left and right all the way to the Moscow Embankment Building - from here, Malenkov acted as a human pass and brought Liu Helian into the Kremlin through the emergency passage.

"Thank you for your concern. I just had lunch with other comrades before coming here."

Because he was delayed for over two days at the airport, Liu Helian missed the meeting between Stalin and Chen Yunxian and Cai Xianxi, two representatives of the Chinese Communist Party's office in the Soviet Union. Therefore, this meeting between Stalin and Liu Helian was no longer a formal meeting between two political parties, but rather a more informal one.

"Comrade Liu He, how is your business doing in the Western world?"

Because of Liu Helian's unique position within the Comintern—his role as an overseas agent for a friendly party, a foreign exchange provider for both parties, an economic expert, an equipment designer, and an accomplished pilot—Stalin's conversation began with his overseas work. In the early days of Liu Helian and his colleagues' overseas travels, the Soviet Communist Party provided assistance and even invested in them through the Comintern's numerous overseas branches.

The vast majority of industries are doing well, averaging around 10% growth. The prosperity brought on by military orders, partly due to the war, won't last very long, but it can provide sales growth of more than 15% in the short term. Considering the many side effects of excessively rapid performance growth, I haven't recklessly indulged in corporate expansion."

Liu Helian thought for a moment and added, "For example, I'm also looking for suitable investment opportunities for the funds invested by some fraternal parties in America and Europe. I remember that last year, at the request of the French Communist Party, I converted their funds and profits into Swiss francs and US dollars and transferred them back to their accounts. I heard they have some channels in Switzerland, and if they have the money, they could buy some production equipment and raw materials to sustain the resistance movement. Mr. Dimitrov may have mentioned this to you."

"This is a very good thing. Right now, the fascist Nazi forces are rampant, and resistance movements in various countries need support, including funds, weapons, and technology... You can continue to do this."

Stalin nodded. He picked up his pipe from the table, looked at it, and then put it down. "Comrade Liu He, how is the construction going in China? I mean, what do you know about it? Is there anything we can do that requires help from the Soviet Union?"

Um?

Regarding the domestic situation, Stalin's first question was whether there was any further Soviet assistance needed. He had already met with Chen Yunxian and Cai Weixi, and had evidently received reports on the domestic situation. Liu Helian paused, then refrained from a direct response. Instead, he said, "Our achievements in construction are inseparable from the assistance of Soviet experts. Without them, our progress would undoubtedly have been much slower."

While this was just a polite gesture, Liu Helian wasn't lying. For example, the Border Region Welding School was established with the assistance of the Soviet Patton Electric Welding Research Institute. This institute represented the highest level of Soviet welding technology and trained numerous welding technicians for the Border Region. Because electric welding and electric slag furnaces share certain technical similarities, they are currently assisting in the construction of the "5-ton electric slag furnace" for the third phase of the Huinong Steel Plant in the Border Region, and are also conducting reverse engineering research on "electric slag welding" technology.

"No, no, that's not the answer I want." Surprised, Stalin shook his head. "Liu He, I don't want to hear that stupid bureaucratic tone when communicating with you." He paused, as if thinking about something. "Last year, you occupied a new controlled area and built a new aircraft city there—Liyang—Is the name correct?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin, this is our new aircraft manufacturing center. I have added large aluminum processing equipment produced by Alcoa Group to it, and we have also cooperated with Pratt & Whitney.

Chancewater signed an agreement to use the base to control the area

The aluminum ingots produced here are used to manufacture Air Force aircraft.”

Liu Helian replied that Stalin had an excellent memory and would sometimes direct military production with remarkable precision, even down to specific models. For example, in the original time and space, he directly telegraphed manufacturers to address production issues with the Il-21 attack aircraft, a weapon considered "as important as bread and air," even at the expense of reducing MiG fighter production.

Just as the Soviet Union did back then: import equipment, assemble and produce, and become independent. For now, we intend to first maintain existing fighter jets, then move on to assembly and overhaul, and finally design and manufacture our own aircraft.”

"No, no, that's not good."

Surprisingly, Stalin still shook his head and said seriously: "Artillery and fighter planes are essential elements for winning modern wars. We hope that China can have the production capacity of aircraft and artillery. So a few years ago, I asked Voroshilov to arrange an examination for you on the M30 artillery and an examination for the L15 and L16 fighter planes for the National Government." - Unlike the National Government, you have done a good job on this test.

"But if a modern army only has artillery but no fighter jets, it would be like having a limp on one leg.

"Regretfully, the Soviet Union no longer has the resources to provide you with advanced fighter aircraft. Western nations may sell you fighter aircraft to contain fascist Japan, but this won't last forever, Comrade Liu He." Stalin picked up a piece of bread and raised a finger.

"You need to have the ability to design aircraft."

"But with all due respect, Comrade Stalin, this is not easy," Liu Helian retorted. "In China today, finding qualified aircraft workers is difficult outside of the areas we control. Perhaps we should focus on training qualified workers and engineers."

"If we don't have enough strength, we can find a teacher and start as a student." "Perhaps we can start by copying existing fighter jets."

"That's different, my comrade. Learning without a teacher will lead to a wrong path." Stalin said slowly, chewing bread and salted herring.

"The Polikarpov Design Bureau originally planned to go to the Far East, but the conditions there were so poor that they preferred China. At least..." Stalin pointed to his stomach. "I know that in your country, the comrades in the design bureau will have enough bread, jam, and sausage to eat."

Isn't this too... huh? Wait! Comrade Stalin, what did you say?

"At the same time, we can transfer the Touhunhe Aircraft Factory to you. Instead of wasting these valuable aid assets in the deserts of Central Asia, it is better to put them where they can play a role." Mr. Gangtie continued, ignoring Liu Helian's astonished expression.

Kaveh, go contact the People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry and tell them it was me who asked them to send you another teacher besides Comrade Nikolai Polikarpov. Comrade Nikolai has other projects on his plate, so he'll be quite busy and won't be able to teach too many students.

"Okay, Comrade Stalin." Liu Helian quickly agreed.

Stalin also nodded: "This is not an easy task, but I personally believe that you can complete it all smoothly. By then, Liyang Aircraft City will not only be able to produce aluminum ingots, engines and fighter jets for Chinese comrades, but also produce some vital strategic materials for the Soviet Union.

"Oh, Comrade Liu He, you can use the profits from the Soviet funds to pay half of the cost of purchasing the engine license - that will be very useful to the Soviets." "Then, the unbreakable anti-fascist alliance of the Chinese and Soviet peoples will make the evil fascists pay a heavy price!"

Chapter 458: Weird Russian Stories (Part 1) Anti-Heavy Tank

The Soviet Union in July 1941 was in disarray, even chaos. Caught by a formidable enemy, the nation reeled in death, defeat, and sacrifice. This gave rise to the despicable, the cowardly, and the deserting, but also to the brave, the fearless, and the resilient. Meanwhile, the vast state apparatus known as the "Soviet" began to operate at full speed amidst the crisis.

Intelligence about Nazi Germany was gathered at a much faster rate than in peacetime, analyzed by countless brilliant minds, and targeted countermeasures were developed. However, there were always some things that showed strange deviations and errors.

——--——----

During the invasion of the Soviet Union, the "blitzkrieg" tactics, which were systematically applied for the first time and guided campaign planning, played a vital role. Many Soviet troops were bypassed, divided, and penetrated by the highly mobile German army groups, and were ultimately destroyed without playing any role.

Among them, the role of armored vehicles such as tanks is indispensable.

Even though the Soviet Union, which historically possessed 45mm artillery capable of armor-piercing rounds, a small number of 82mm high- and low-pressure guns, and "turtle fist" recoilless rifles, inflicted losses on the German army exceeding historical levels, these quantitative changes were not enough to bring about a qualitative change in the war situation under field combat conditions, given the German army's significant advantage in numbers and training.

However, the Soviet command was somewhat puzzled by the types of German tanks reported from the front. A fast tank with several pairs of small-diameter road wheels and armed with a 50mm caliber gun should be the previously encountered "Panzergasse 3". A reconnaissance tank with larger-diameter road wheels, a 37mm main gun, and riveted armor should be the "Panzergasse 38T" tank produced in Czechoslovakia. But what about the German heavy tanks mentioned in the intelligence?

The Russians were a bit baffled. After all, in March 1941, Lieutenant General Gorikov, the head of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau, compiled a special report titled "The Direction of Development and Changes in the Status of the German Armed Forces." This document, citing "reliable intelligence sources," stated that Germany had begun construction on three new types of tanks.

The report listed the Germans' potential for breaking through the lines by equipping heavy tanks, the most powerful of which was called the "Panzergasse VII", which was said to weigh 90 tons and be armed with a 105mm gun.