Chapter 1844: There’s no escaping this beating
Lake Ladoga, like Lake Baikal, is also an inland lake in Russia, but it has been a transportation hub since ancient times. After arriving in St. Petersburg, sea cargo can be transported through Lake Ladoga and into the Russian interior by river, so there are relatively more shipwreck treasures there.
However, the shipwrecks salvaged there are actually quite large: although Lake Ladoga is much shallower than the Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal, with the deepest part being only over 200 meters, several large rivers converge there, bringing in a large amount of silt, and the numerous islands there also mean that the seabed terrain is much more complex.
The ice period there is too long: the central part of the lake is frozen for more than three months each year, while the surrounding coastal areas are frozen for about six months. Therefore, the salvage period there is relatively short, which increases the difficulty of the work.
Bruch asked while flying the plane: "Boss, why is Lake Ladoga called the 'Road of Life'?"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng patted Bruch on the shoulder and walked back to the cabin. "I have you Germans to thank for this question. During World War II, Germany tore up the 'Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact' and directly attacked the Soviet Union. At the closest point to St. Petersburg, the German army was only fourteen kilometers away from the city center. At that time, the mustache guy said he wanted to wipe St. Petersburg off the face of the earth."
"Why?" Bruch asked.
Xiao Peng replied, "Of course it's because of St. Petersburg's strategic location. After all, it's Russia's gateway to the Baltic Sea, and it's also the cradle of the October Revolution. Otherwise, why was St. Petersburg called 'Leningrad' during the Soviet era? Russia's original capital was Moscow. In 1712, Peter the Great moved the Russian capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and it didn't move back to Moscow until 1918. Therefore, it's also Russia's cultural and economic center, comparable to Hamburg and Munich in Germany, and the status of Shanghai and Shenzhen in our country is similar."
"At the time, Germany launched a frenzied assault with 40 divisions, 6,000 artillery pieces, and over 1,000 aircraft. Together with Finland, they quickly reached the city, attacking from both the north and the south. St. Petersburg's approximately 2.5 million soldiers and civilians faced the attack, united in their hatred of the enemy, and only then did they mobilise to hold off the first wave of the German offensive. Germany then shifted gears and adopted a siege, encircling the city with land, sea, and air forces. This marked the beginning of one of the most famous sieges in human history, the Battle of St. Petersburg. The soldiers and civilians of St. Petersburg held out from August 1941 until January 27, 1944, when the Soviet army broke through the encirclement and launched a counterattack. The Russians of that time were truly admirable. Despite daily bombardments and airstrikes, they managed to keep theaters packed every night and schools open on time every day."
Bruch whistled, "That's not a bad life!"
"Bruch, I'll give you a chance to say that again. Watch out, Kasim's gonna hit you." Xiao Peng said, "You mean life is pretty good? By the end of the war, only 560,000 people survived in the entire city, of which about 800,000 died of starvation or freezing, and about 1.5 million died in the war. And you say 'life is pretty good'?"
Bruch came to his senses after hearing this: "Boss, you said that Germany surrounded St. Petersburg on three sides by land, sea and air. What did they eat and drink?"
Xiao Peng snapped his fingers. "You've hit the key point: Why is Lake Ladoga called the 'Road of Life'? At the time, St. Petersburg's supplies, aside from a small amount of airdrops, relied primarily on Lake Ladoga. Although it was also under German control, the ice there lasted a long time, so the Soviets used Lake Ladoga to transport supplies. It was a very dangerous route: bombs from the sky from German planes, blizzards, frequent ice breaks... Many died on this route, but they also achieved a miracle. In those nearly three years, they transported six divisions of troops and evacuated 540,000 residents, along with various industrial equipment and important documents. It was thanks to this icy road of life that they were able to persevere until victory. Of course, even with this, over 800,000 people starved to death or froze to death. Just imagine how difficult it must have been there."
Bruch suddenly realized: "Oh, so this time we're looking for four trucks! That's probably when they fell into Lake Ladoga, right?"
Xiao Peng nodded: "That's right."
Bruch asked curiously, "What's in the trucks? Why did the Russians search for them for so long?"
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "I can't say. But this job is not easy."
"It's hard to do?" Bruch asked puzzledly, "Why?"
Xiao Peng explained, "The lakebed's terrain is complex, with thick layers of silt and sand. The convoy back then didn't have a fixed route to evade the blockade, so it's possible to find those vehicles anywhere. You'd have trouble finding four trucks in an area half the size of the Netherlands, let alone the lake itself. And there are probably seven or eight hundred vehicles on the bottom. Russia has never given up searching Lake Ladoga for years. They have a company dedicated to searching the lakebed, but there haven't been any significant discoveries so far."
Bruch said: "Boss, that's because you didn't go there!"
Kasin got anxious after hearing this: "Bruch, I wasn't angry when you said bad things about the Battle of St. Petersburg just now. That was because you were ignorant. But now I'm really angry: How dare you steal my job? Flattering is my job!"
At this moment, a female scream was suddenly heard, which scared Xiao Peng and the others.
"Vera, what's wrong?" Xiao Peng turned to look at Vera. It was she who screamed, but the plane was flying smoothly and there was no problem.
Vera's eyes widened as she said, "You really are the crew! I understand. You are salvaging a sunken ship, right?"
Xiao Peng and the other two all looked very unhappy. Finally, Ka Xin gave a thumbs up and said, "You are really smart."
After all they'd said, even a fool would have known they were salvaging a sunken ship! And they were only realizing it now?
He now understood Xiao Peng's feelings: the two girls' belated realization seemed cute at first, but after a while it became seen as ignorant.
Cute and stupid are really two different concepts.
An awkward silence suddenly fell on the plane, and it was Bruch who broke it: "Boss, the air traffic control department just issued a notice. There's another cold front heading south, and it's still over 40 kilometers away from us."
Kasin frowned slightly after hearing this: "More than 40 kilometers? That close? Is the air traffic control department always notifying us so late? What should we do?"
Bruch said, "It's no big deal. We can get to Ukhta before the snowstorm hits, take shelter there, and then continue on our way."
Xiao Peng sighed after hearing this: "Damn it! Why did I come to Siberia? Who can stand the blizzards every day?"
Bruch smirked and said, "Boss, this is absolutely Kashin's fault. He was the one who encouraged you to come to Siberia."
Before Xiao Peng could say anything, Rosa grabbed Kaxin's hand and said, "Kaxin, we two sisters have to thank you for sending Xiao here for us."
After hearing this, Kasim looked at Xiao Peng in horror.
It’s over. There’s no way to avoid this beating.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
