Chapter 1585 I Really Hope You Can Help Him

"Yes, that's right, General Malashenko is going in, he's here with me now."

"What? Which Malashenko? Can you please stop asking such stupid questions, which other Malashenko could it be? Of course it's the one, the one whose name alone can scare the shit out of the Germans, yes, that's the one that's often published in Pravda. I'm not wrong, and you didn't hear it wrong, that's it."

"If you want to report, hurry up, Comrade General is still waiting for me, um, hurry up! Okay, that's it for now, I'm hanging up."

Malashenko leaned outside the sentry box, with a suitcase of clothes and personal belongings at his feet. He was a little idle in this early spring cold day that hadn't completely faded away from the winter, but he could only do it for the time being, quietly waiting for the moment when the sentry who went to call to report would tell him the next news.

"Comrade General, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I've already called, and I think I'll be able to let you in in a little while. I'm just following the rules as a matter of routine, and I hope you can understand."

The sentry standing guard at the gate looked a bit like an old soldier, or he was very smart, good at dealing with things, and had a high EQ. When he spoke, his expression was very expressive and not annoying.

Although it was the sentry who was almost a round older than him who stopped him, Malashenko was not angry, let alone blame him, and why was he putting on airs here.

He had no pass and no order. Morozov's Second Design Bureau was a military secret place after all. What if anyone could enter casually? What's more, it was still a wartime background. There was nothing to say about being strict and doing all the necessary inspections. Malashenko, who knew this set of rules and procedures, also expressed his understanding and said that he could just follow the rules.

"Is Morozov in there now? I have something to ask him, and I came here specifically to find him."

""

Malachenko's question came very suddenly and without any reason. The sentry who recognized Malachenko at a glance also looked a little embarrassed.

"He should be there, Comrade General. I have been on guard here all day today, and I haven't seen Comrade Morozov's car go out. He usually takes a car when he goes out to do things. Time is tight, so he doesn't walk most of the time."

"Hmm"

Answers like this are actually not very nutritious. Malachenko didn't have any special reaction after hearing it. He just said "hmm" in a plain way and stopped talking. He held a cigarette in his hand and waited for the time when he could really let himself in.

It was also when Malachenko was about to burn out the third cigarette in his hand that a figure finally ran hurriedly from the inner area at the other end of the checkpoint. Seeing this scene, Malachenko estimated that he should be waiting for the real owner.

"General Malashenko, it's really you! I didn't expect to meet you at this time. How did you get here?"

The person who came was not Morozov. Malashenko had seen Morozov's recent photo at Kotin's place before. The middle-aged man in front of him with glasses and side-parted hair looked more like a middle school class teacher, the kind who taught science.

"I have something to talk to Morozov about. Where is he now? Can you take me to see him?"

Before coming, I had guessed that the purpose of Malashenko's visit was mostly for Morozov. Of course, Morozov was the only one in the entire Second Design Bureau who could talk to Malashenko alone about certain things. The middle-aged man with side-parted hair and glasses was not surprised by this.

"Comrade Morozov is presiding over a meeting and can't leave. He was originally planning to come and take you in personally, but he couldn't get away, so he sent me here."

"Let me introduce myself, Comrade General. I am Morozov's assistant Valokov. Comrade Morozov will come to see you immediately after the meeting. He has already told me to entertain you. Please follow me."

These top tank design masters usually have to take care of production and design at the same time. Regarding this, Malashenko has learned from Kotin before. They are so busy all day that they often don't even have time to sit down and drink hot water. Presiding over production or design meetings is a common occurrence, so this is not surprising.

"Lead the way, I'll go with you to wait for him."

"Okay, please follow me, Comrade General."

Morozov's Second Design Bureau seems to be more shabby and relatively smaller than Kotin's First Design Bureau.

Especially the red brick-concrete building, which is probably the main building of Morozov's office. Even the exterior wall of the building looks a bit dilapidated and old. Compared with Kotin's office building, which is obviously renovated, it is like the difference between an old campus built 20 years ago and a new office building. The difference is obvious.

Malashenko doesn't know whether this is the result of Kotin being favored by Comrade Stalin. After all, if you want to say who is the favorite of Comrade Stalin, if Kotin says he doesn't count, then Morozov can't even get close.

In terms of the degree of love and reuse by the leader, Morozov is far inferior to Kotin, who designed a heavy tank in the name of the leader, not to mention that Kotin's cheap father-in-law is also Comrade Stalin's favorite general: Marshal Voroshilov.

As one of the earliest marshals of the Soviet Red Army, Voroshilov experienced the Great Purge as a veteran of the Red Army, and he was still safe and sound, without any skin scratched. This shows how much Stalin trusted him.

Needless to say, the combined trustworthiness of the father-in-law and son-in-law is naturally high. Malashenko estimated that Morozov, who could not produce any good works, should be in stark contrast with Kotin in Comrade Stalin's eyes.

Needless to say, the problem of production resources and funding allocation is definitely more stable on Kotin's side. It's time to think about how to have a good chat with Morozov later.

"How is Comrade Morozov recently? How is his health?"

Another question was blurted out without warning. The assistant, who was obviously a little stunned by the question, quickly reacted and gave an answer.

"To be honest, Comrade General, it's not very good."

"Because of the design, Comrade Morozov has been working intensively for half a month and has not slept well. The news from the Cherkasy theater is not optimistic. Our new medium tanks are still difficult to match the enemy's old Leopard tanks in terms of performance, not to mention that the enemy has also invested in newer upgraded Leopard tanks and heavy tanks called King Tiger."

"The construction time, consumable materials and costs of a single vehicle are rising, but the actual performance and battlefield performance are difficult to be satisfactory. Complaints from the front-line troops are flying to us like snowflakes. Comrade Morozov is under a lot of pressure. He has been thinking about how to improve the design. I really hope you can help him. If he continues like this, his body will not be able to bear it."