Victory in one battle cannot represent victory in one campaign, and victory in one campaign cannot represent victory in the entire war. Although Zhu Jiandnovsky led a half-baked, half-mutilated armored battalion to wipe out and defeat all the White troops surrounding Tsaritsyn, the Bolshevik Red Army suffered 30,000 casualties under the command of the partisan commander Voroshilov in the defense of Tsaritsyn, while the Krasnov White Army suffered less than 10,000 casualties based on the corpses and seriously wounded left in Tsaritsyn when it retreated in disarray.

According to Zhu Jiande's estimate, the enemy suffered a maximum of 15,000 casualties, so judging from the casualties, the Red Army was a crushing defeat in this battle, and the unwounded White Army was likely to make a comeback.

Zhu Jiande's thoughts can only be told to Hu Wenyao, in the telegram sent to Moscow by Stalin, the Tsaritsyn Soviet, and the Tsaritsyn Military Council, this battle is called a great victory -- surrounded by tens of thousands of white bandit troops, the brave and fearless Red Army soldiers called by the party finally defeated the white bandits and won the victory in the defense of Tsaritsyn.

And then, the victory was only on paper, in telegrams, and Trotsky's confidant, the member of the Revolutionary Military Commissar, Alexei. Ivanovich. Okulov came to Tsaritsyn the day after the end of the fighting, and after seeing the corpses of the wounded all over the city and inquiring in detail about the state of the fighting, Trotsky and Lenin were greatly shaken by the report he sent. Soon, in the name of the Revolutionary Military Council, Trotsky ordered the formation of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front, appointing the former Russian officer Major General Sertin as commander of the front, Voroshilov as deputy commander, and Comrade Iron and Steel and Minin as commissars.

In order to prevent Stalin from meddling in the military again in the name of the Tsaritsyn Revolutionary Military Council. The relocation of the newly formed Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front to the city of Kozlov was tantamount to regaining the military power that Stalin had so easily seized.

In response to this, Comrade Steel, unwilling to accept defeat, accused Trotsky's order of being 'unreasonable'. He then sent a series of telegrams to Comrade Lenin in Moscow expressing his opposition to the transfer of military command to the bourgeois military experts, who often shouted such reactionary slogans as 'Russians do not kill Russians', because this would 'cause discord between the army and the command staff and completely destroy the southern front.' At the same time, he stressed: "Our new army is being built because a new type of revolutionary commander grows with a new type of soldier." ’

No matter how much he argued, Comrade Stalin could not eliminate the huge price paid by the Red Army in the battle of Tsaritsyn, and Trotsky, who at this time defeated the Czech corps and occupied Kazan, was the most crucial savior of the Soviets. Of course. Nor can it be said that what Comrade Stalin did was not important for the revolution, and now the constant flow of grain from Tsaritsyn to the north is saving the lives of the Soviets.

As a result, Major General Serkin, the former Russian military officer appointed by Trotsky and commander of the Southern Front, was soon arrested by Stalin's order. The charge was 'sending a wagon of unidentified goods to Kozlov on his own initiative'. During the purge of the entire North Caucasus Command, Stalin imprisoned all the old Russian officers on an old barge on the Volga River, and one day scuttled the barge, only Commander Snesarev was rescued by Trotsky. Now I see that Stalin wants to use his old tricks again. Trotsky immediately sent an even stronger protest to Moscow. The contradiction between the two suddenly reached a white heat.

Hu Wenyao did not fully know about the struggle at the top of New Russia, but the big-mouthed Voroshinov could not help but curse the bourgeois military experts and their master, Trotsky, who 'just joined the party yesterday', after pouring a few bottles of two-pot heads. Although the language is not clear, it is probably certain that Trotsky was the general backstage of the old Tsarist experts, and Comrade Stalin was the general backstage of the opposition to these old Russian bourgeois military experts, and Tsaritsyn began to kill people every day after Trotsky announced the Red Terror in September because of the murder of his friend Uritsky, and after the approval of the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks.

Hu Wenyao was given the task of supporting Stalin as much as possible, and did not intend to involve him in the internal power struggle in Russia. In these twenty days. The weapons promised before were delivered, but it is strange that Stalin did not ask him again for military supplies. Just let him bring the grain as soon as possible. One day in the tenth month of the Russian calendar, Comrade Steel, who had not been seen for a long time, called him again, and this time he was invited to lunch.

"Comrade Zhang San, if nothing happens, I will return to Moscow the day after tomorrow." Comrade Stalin, who took off his pipe after the meal, said. He likes some real things, and Zhang San provides him with many real things, so he likes this Chinese more and more.

"Ahh Hu Wenyao was shocked, and immediately knew that Comrade Stalin had lost the power struggle against Tsaritsyn.

It was not surprising that Comrade Stalin was surprised by Hu Wenyao, after all, according to the logic of the other party's support for himself, this defeat would definitely disappoint the other party, but he did not want to say anything, but wanted to hear what the other side had to say.

Hu Wenyao was taken aback and immediately realized that he was out of shape, and he immediately smiled, "This is actually not the crux of the problem, after nearly a month of contact, I feel more and more that the Prime Minister's original decision was extremely correct." ”

"Really?" Although Stalin heard what he wanted to hear, he still frowned and said, "You and Your Excellency the Prime Minister of your country must be clear about one thing. Vissarionovic. Stalin was forever loyal only to the Soviets, and he was always loyal only to Marxist communism. Under no circumstances will I be soft on anyone, including my relatives and former friends, Stalin will always be Stalin! ”

"Of course! Comrade Stalin, I fully agree with this, and this is what His Excellency the Prime Minister of our country repeatedly stressed in his telegram. "Hu Wenyao felt that Comrade Stalin was a little angry, no, he should have complained a little." It is because of your iron will and your infallible faith that you can lead the Soviets to strength. This is what His Excellency the Prime Minister of our country would like to see the most, because it is in the interests of our country only if Soviet Russia grows, and both communism and the colonial countries are objects to be exterminated and enslaved by the bourgeoisie. In other words, if Soviet Russia collapsed, the next day imperialism would be hostile to our country.

Unfortunately, this is only the thought of His Excellency the Prime Minister. The other leaders of our country did not fully agree with this, and some went so far as to advocate the annihilation of Soviet Russia together with the bourgeoisie. This is another reason why some of the things I am doing now need to be extremely hidden, and public opinion and the public do not agree that aid to Soviet Russia is warranted. I always feel it. Some people can never get out of a notion that imprisons them, they always think that everything should be good......"

"This is bourgeois hemophobia!" Comrade Iron and Steel was somewhat satisfied with Hu Wenyao's answer, and was not at all like before, constantly admonishing himself to be careful of the other party's omnipresent cunning and temptation. He gave a very precise definition of the people Hu Wenyao described. "An old society must be transformed into a new society as soon as possible and thoroughly, and there is only one way to save it, and to carry out the bloody prenatal pains of the new society -- revolutionary terror!" Only in this way can we eradicate the poison of the old society and quickly transform people from the raw materials of the capitalist era into the new people of communism. ”

Comrade Stalin did not speak quickly. And he said it peacefully, but Hu Wenyao only felt that a layer of blood was diffusing between him and Stalin. He didn't think what Stalin said was wrong, but his slightly fragile nerves couldn't accept it right away.

Comrade Stalin, who had a pleasant lunch, did not notice Hu Wenyao's discomfort. He continued: "I think Your Excellency the Prime Minister would fully agree with this. Because the international situation allows, the revolution in your country can clean up the dregs of the old society step by step, and turn the old society into a new society step by step; Also because the international situation allows, your country will be able to find help from the United States after the success of the revolution. And to gain enormous benefits from the war in Europe. This is what we all envy, and it is also the reason why the revolution in your country kills so little.

But the Russian Revolution was different, and the Bolsheviks were born surrounded by enemies at home and abroad, and revolutionary terror was necessary to survive in order to survive. This will not only destroy the enemy, but also bring internal unity: let everyone in the party know that there is no way back, and that there will be either complete victory or complete destruction. ”

Comrade Steel, who was about to return to Moscow, could not help but say these words in a sullen manner, but after a moment he realized that something was wrong with him. This meaningless emotion was immediately stopped. Adding shredded tobacco to the pipe, he continued: "Comrade Zhang San." I have a few requests that I would like to ask you to help with. ”

"Please, if only I can do it." Hu Wenyao knows Comrade Stalin's style, and he will never come to you for dinner if he has nothing to do.

"Although Your Excellency the Prime Minister has provided 10 million poods of food, this is far from enough, and I hope that from this winter, your country will be able to provide us with another 100 million poods," Stalin stressed with Hu Wenyao's surprised expression, "This is not exactly aid, we will pay for gold, platinum, jewelry, and other valuables." ”

10 million poods is 160,000 tons, and 100 million poods is 1.6 million tons, which is equivalent to 10,000 tons of grain being shipped out of the country every day. Because domestic grain production is increasing every year, for China, which now produces 150 million tons of grain a year, it is absolutely not a problem to provide 1.6 million tons of grain, but transportation and secrecy are absolutely problems. Thinking of this, Hu Wenyao couldn't help but shake his head and said: "The amount of grain is too large, and the railway in the Western Regions of China has not yet been completely completed. The 500,000 tons of grain to support Persia and this batch of grain together represent more than 2 million tons, and the transportation of such a large amount of grain is very problematic, and secrecy is also a problem. ”

"What is the maximum amount of grain that your country can deliver?" Stalin also knew that the other side could not provide this amount, especially since the two sides were still hostile. "As far as I know, your country's Western Regions Railway is a heavy-gauge railway, which can transport more than 1,000 tons per train, instead of hundreds of tons of ordinary trains, and ten trains a day are more than 10,000 tons."

Hu Wenyao didn't expect Stalin to also know the current situation of the Western Regions Railway, he said with a smile: "10,000 tons a day, it will take more than 200 days to transport these grains, even if Persian grain does not take the railway and the sea, it will take more than 160 days to transport these grains, not including the volume of other materials." Therefore, China is building the double line of the Western Regions Railway, but it will take several years to build the double line. With the current situation, another 10 million poods of grain aid is the limit, and if there is more, the matter will definitely not be able to be hidden. ”

"10 million poods of food is definitely not enough." Stalin shook his head, his expression becoming serious, but did not say why.

Hu Wenyao can also guess the reason when he looks at him. The Brest Pact required Russia to supply a billion marks of goods, most of which were grain. Because the whole of Europe is short of food. Although Germany won the victory this year, if the people were left hungry in winter, the war would probably not be fought. That is to say, if Russia did not deliver food in accordance with the treaty, then Germany would attack Russia again, and the Entente forces were now wreaking havoc in Western Europe, and they could not and did not need to stop Germany from attacking Russia. That is, starting this winter, the whole world will encircle and suppress Bolshevik Russia.

"If secrecy is not taken into account. How much food can your country ship? Stalin also understood that without the delivery of grain, Russia would face a general dilemma. What he meant was how much grain China could ship if the two countries signed a treaty to recognize the border.

"If you are desperate to transport food. Considering that the Central Asian region has reduced cotton cultivation since last year, it is likely to be shipped out of ...... About 200 million poods. Hu Wenyao heard the sound and quickly gave a data. Except for the Volga, though. The railway on the Orenburg side needs to be reopened. Otherwise, it would not have been possible to deliver so many supplies. ”

The Central Asian Railway passed through Orenburg, and the city was in the hands of the Baath Army, which was facing the Red Army tens of kilometers outside the countryside, and there were some battles at the beginning of the year, but the Red Army, which did not have the advantage, immediately stopped the offensive, after all, the Chinese who did not have greater ambitions could be temporarily placed compared to the White Army that wanted to overthrow the Soviets.

Comrade Stalin was not happy to hear the name Orenburg, because this was supposed to belong to the Soviets. He endured the discomfort. Then he asked: "What about weapons, how many weapons might your country provide?" ”

"It can fully satisfy your country to quell civil strife and resist the intervention armies of various countries." Hu Wenyao said very solemnly.

"Won't that put diplomatic pressure on your country?" Stalin rarely laughed.

"As long as the Orenburg railway can be opened. At the same time, using container transportation, countries may not be able to find out what we are shipping. However, there is no impermeable wall in the world, and if it is discovered, our government will resist the pressure and finish what it has promised. Hu Wenyao said. He understood that this time Stalin had seen him for Sino-Russian peace talks, and that the things he was asking about now might be discussed at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in four or five days.

"Can it really be done?" Stalin wanted to confirm again, and his eyes were fixed on Hu Wenyao.

"Aid can be fully done, but in order to recognize Soviet Russia with great fanfare, we can only sign a secret treaty first, and then publicly recognize it after the war in Europe is over and our expeditionary force is withdrawn to the country. Hu Wenyao said. "What we are most worried about is this: if the imperialists use force against our country for this reason, the expeditionary force will not be surrounded and annihilated by them."

"I see!" Stalin nodded, and from the Chinese point of view, it was appropriate to first recognize the Soviets in a secret way, although he was not satisfied with this. "Then what are your country's requirements? The Russian Far East? Central Asia and the entire steppe satrapy? ”

"The Russian Far East is just the loss of land in our country, and now that all the Russian immigrants have left, our immigrants have been cultivating the area, so there is really nothing to talk about in this place." Hu Wenyao said. "However, the Trans-Siberian Railway was built by your country, as well as the seaport of Vladivostok, so these can be returned to your country on a lend-lease basis......"

"Since it is recognized that the railway and the seaport belong to our country, it should not be leased, but returned." Stalin said.

"But the problem is that the land belongs to our country, the buildings on it belong to your country, and we lease the land occupied by the railway and the port of Vladivostok, which is completely justified in legal theory, so it can only be leased, and the contract can be renewed continuously." Hu Wenyao said.

"If it is a Lend-Lease, then Vladivostok will always be just a commercial port, and the Pacific Fleet will cease to exist." Stalin Road.

"That's true." This time, Hu Wenyao did not argue that the destruction of the Russian Pacific Fleet was the unanimous desire of China and Japan, and for this reason, the two sides did not hesitate to fight to the death with Russia in Central Asia.

"Without a fleet, there is no way to protect our country's interests in the Great Plains." Stalin further said. "If that day your country repents and does not recognize the lend-lease, then ......"

"The lease of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the seaport of Vladivostok will be guaranteed by the Steppe Governorate." Hu Wenyao immediately remembered a passage in the secret file, so he said. "It may be written in the contract that if our country cancels the lease of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the seaport, then your country has the right to demand that our country return the Steppe Governorate, which is in fact akin to a territorial exchange, in exchange for access to the Pacific Ocean."

"And what about Turkestan and Transcaspian Oblast?" Stalin asked again.

"It's just national independence. Your country, Comrade Ulyanov, has called for and allowed the independence of all nationalities. Hu Wenyao said. Although we all know that this is a stopgap measure, the fact is that Khiva and Bukharin have become independent, and they and Persia have signed treaties with our country. The territory has also been recognized, de jure ......"

"Shit legal!" Stalin's fist slammed into the table, and knives, forks, plates, and wine glasses jumped violently. "You are nothing more than Germany, taking advantage of the weakest time of the Soviets to forcibly give independence to some nationalities, and the law is only within the range of artillery."

"I couldn't agree more." Hu Wenyao was shocked, but still said, "But now the Soviets are in danger." Moreover, our country's original intention was to hope that the Soviet Union would be strong, and although there were territorial contradictions, China and Russia were only a pair of friends with contradictions. This is fundamentally different from other imperialist countries. ”

"Go on. What more do you want? After his anger, Stalin restrained his anger, crossed his hands and smoked his pipe.

"That's all we need." Hu Wenyao said. "East of the South Urals. One hundred kilometers south of the Trans-Siberian Railway. This was originally the border of the Yuzi region in history......"

"Let the artillery decide the borders between the two sides!" Comrade Iron seemed to be about to get angry again, but this time he didn't smash the table. "I will convey all that you have said today to Comrade Ulyanov, as well as to the members of the Central Executive Committee and the Revolutionary Military Council, and they will carefully discuss these matters, and in my personal opinion, it is most appropriate for the border between the two countries to be decided by artillery."

"I agree." Hu Wenyao glanced at Stalin and was not surprised by his words. He then smiled and said, "If the Soviets expend their limited forces in the Yuz region and Mongolia, it will be a great pity for our Prime Minister." Imperialism will also benefit from this. He believed that the war between us would be another European war, and that it would last for years until one of them fell. ”

After Hu Wenyao finished the last sentence, he got up and took his leave. In the afternoon of the next day, after asking to see Stalin, he asked Voroshinov to hand over a letter to say goodbye on his behalf, and then took a plane to leave Tsaritsyn for the area controlled by the Baath Army east of the Ural River, and before he left, Zhu Jiande and others had been evacuated. From the time he arrived in Tsaritsyn to the time he left Tsaritsyn, the time was exactly one month, that is, Tsaritsyn's January tour had nothing but to pay piles of weapons and tens of millions of food.

Hu Wenyao thought it was nothing, but Yang Rui, who received his detailed report, did not see it that way. If the polar bear is really so easy to deal with, then it is not a polar bear, it occupies such a large area of people's houses, and if it does not fight, it will definitely be fruitless. With the character of Mao Xiong and Comrade Stalin, weak people have no right to live in their opinion, and weak countries are even less worthy of respect.

"How many days will it take to run out of food?" In the Yin'an Palace, Yang Rui asked Zhang Shi while drinking tea.

"Probably ......" Zhang Shi didn't expect Yang Rui to ask this, he thought for a while before saying, "There should be fourteen or fifteen days." We were mainly responsible for transporting the grain to Tsaritsyn, and the Russians were responsible for unloading the ships. ”

"Do you think it's necessary to knock Tsaritsyn down?" Yang Rui asked another question that Zhang Shi didn't expect at all. "From the perspective of the previous war, Tsaritsyn's location is very important, and now the whole of Russia is counting on the North Caucasus south of Tsaritsyn and the Don region to the west, so to speak, here is the lifeblood of the Russians. We have fully expressed our goodwill, and the Russians do not appreciate it, so we have to do it first, and the Central Asian side can't passively wait for them to do it, right? ”

What Yang Rui said seemed to be very reasonable, and Zhang Shi was a little confused: "But Mr. didn't say that he wanted to minimize the contradictions between China and Russia, and Stalin, didn't mean to win his friendship......

"Stalin has now been recalled to Moscow by Lenin, as long as he doesn't hurt his descendants in the Tenth Army during the war, if he really gets hurt, then there is no way." Yang Rui said. "For Russia, it is useless to do good instead of doing good, and when it is time to jam the neck, it is better to jam the neck. Kazan has been recaptured by Trotsky, this winter will be the last, it's time to give Moscow an ultimatum! (To be continued......)