As soon as Zhang Shi reported the actual strength of the Red Army, Yang Rui stood up from the rosewood throne. What else did the Bolsheviks fight with this little force? The Revival Army and the Japanese Army alone had 200,000 men, and this was still only the strength of Tsaritsyn, not including the Orenburg direction. And Kolchak, with the support of various countries, had an army of more than one hundred thousand; Denikin's 40,000 troops in the Caucasus in the south, and at the same time, under the patronage of the tsar, had sufficient armament and powerful firepower, and the will to fight of the troops should not be underestimated; Krasnov on the Don River, although his forty or fifty thousand men were supported by the German army, but now is a good time to fish in troubled waters, and he will definitely make some moves when he fights here; Arkhangelsk to the north had more than 10,000 White troops and British, French, and American intervention forces, which would also attack in the event of an attack from the south and east.

Siege on three sides, if the relationship with the Central Powers is more stiff, then the possibility of the Bolsheviks stepping down is extremely great, even if they do not step down, it will be much weaker than the original history, whether they can withstand the German attack in World War II is another matter. However, it is also possible that the data obtained is inaccurate, and it is said that the Bolsheviks have fully mobilized the trade unions, and they claim to build a Red Army of three million men. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, counting the 11th Army and the defeated 10th Army in the North Caucasus, plus the troops from Petersburg and Moscow, the number of the Red Army does not exceed 500,000 at most; It is completely unknown how many reservists there are and how many new barracks there are.

"Is there any situation over there, have the Russians come to the door?" It is said that after the ultimatum was issued, it was to retreat, but now Russia is surrounded on all sides, and the country is in chaos. Rail transport was also intermittent, so after receiving the ultimatum, Chen went to St. Petersburg. Ready to take a ship from there to Sweden, but they are now blocked in St. Petersburg.

"Found." Xie Jintai also just received the telegram. The high-powered radio station of the Legation was destroyed, and what Chen Quzhi sent back through the international telegraph network was just a simple cipher, and the plenipotentiary became a real plenipotentiary. "They are negotiating, and we don't know if it's going well. When the time comes, the Bolsheviks want us to retreat, but the British are behind us or what if we retreat? ”

"That's a problem!" Yang Rui also had to pat his head and think about a tricky thing. This is not the Russo-Japanese War for more than ten years, when the plaintiff ate the defendant after eating. It's just a change of vest; And now, the Reconstruction Society is the ruling government of a country, and although the expeditionary force has such a thing, it can only mean that it cannot be spoken, after all, no country goes to war with selfish motives, and in terms of behavior, the expeditionary force is beyond reproach. But it was completely different with the Bolsheviks, a heresy rooted in the West but different from the West, and the superior people could not tolerate him at all. It's okay if you don't go to war because of your interests. If you participate in the war but play double-faced, then China's reputation ......

Yang Rui's worries are also everyone's worries, and when a few people were worried, Yang Rui made a phone call and asked Bei Shoutong of the General Staff to come over. Half an hour later he arrived. Xie Jintai told him about the situation, but Pei Shoutong said, "Sir, the latest news." The Turkish army has now withdrawn from Baku, which is again occupied by the Socialist-Revolutionaries. ”

"What's going on?" Turkey occupied Baku in order to get oil for Germany. What does it mean for them to retreat.

"I just received information that the British routed the Turkish army on the American Supotamian front. So they had to retreat. "Fellow Soldier Pei Shou, the General Staff and the national commands exchanged news, and at the moment he was concerned not only about the war in Tsaritsyn, but also about the war in the whole world.

After Bei Shoutong finished speaking, Yang Rui was thinking so, but Xie Jintai said: "That's not right! The Misopotamian side lost, why retreat on the Baku side? Baku is related to the oil of the German army, and the oil is related to the victory or defeat of the big war, and the Turkish army in Baku is not very large, so why retreat these people? There must be a problem here. ”

Xie Zhangtai didn't say that it was okay, but when he said that Bei Shoutong and Yang Rui were also stunned, Yang Rui said: "You don't mean that Turkey and the British are negotiating peace?" ”

"I think it's possible." Xie Jintai said. "Of course, it is also possible that this is just a gesture, just like we and the Bolsheviks, we are only negotiating peace, but the war is going on, but no one wants to fight anymore."

After Xie Jintai finished speaking, Yang Rui looked at Zhang Shi, but Zhang Shi was full of shame - compared with using the Poles to infiltrate Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, the intelligence bureau's spying on Turkey was extremely limited, and he did not know the movements of the Turkish high-level.

"If Turkey surrenders, what will happen to the war in Europe?" Yang Rui's gaze crossed Zhang Shi's face and asked Bei Shoutong.

"Morale must have plummeted, for fear that this time it will cause a chain reaction." Bei Shou is the same way. "Especially Austria-Hungary, the emperor did not want to fight, but after the German army occupied Paris, they had to suspend the peace talks due to the situation. Now that the Turks have been defeated by the British in the Mesopotamian Plain, it is very likely that they will use peace talks as a threat - either Germany will send troops, especially armored troops, to help the Turkish army; Either he will completely fall to the Entente. Based on the analysis of the intelligence provided by the Intelligence Bureau, I am inclined to the former possibility; As for oil, since Turkey has been transporting oil day and night after occupying Baku, I think that the oil transported is enough for the German army for a year. ”

A year? About half a year is enough. Yang Rui thought about the big war that would end in the middle of next year, and thought so in his heart. He said to Xie Jintai and Zhang Shi: "You must inquire more about the situation in Turkey during this time, if Turkey really talks with the Entente, then the war will be over." At present, most of the entire country is revolving around the war in Europe, and once the war in Europe ends ahead of schedule, all aspects will have to make great adjustments. Our ship doesn't mean that it can turn a corner, so we must know the news earlier. Yang Rui reminded his secretary again, and said: "Remember to remind the Ministry of Commerce later, what kind of aircraft and combat vehicles, even if you grab orders from the army, you must sell them to South American countries first, and enter the market early, so that South Americans have the best idea of the first ......."

The real war is over, and the things to be explained can't be said even in three days, Yang Rui only said this one, and then turned back to the topics discussed before. He said to Bei Shoutong: "Ji Mei." Now the situation is different from before, the British, the French, the Americans saw that we occupied Tsaritsyn. Just want to fight with us and subvert Red Russia. Now the matter has stabbed ...... Chong'an. Of course, he and I did not agree to anything, but since the matter has come to this point, if the peace talks are completed and the Bolsheviks are signed and the troops are withdrawn, the international impact will definitely be bad. I now want a decent, blameless withdrawal, and you'll see what to do here. ”

"Decent, unreproached withdrawal ......" Bei Shoutong repeated these two words, and after a while he smiled and said: "Sir." If we want to give an account to the Entente, we can only feign a big defeat once......"

"Now that the Turks in Baku have retreated, Denikin, the Social Revolutionaries, the British army, it is very likely that they will soon go north to Tsaritsyn." Xie Jintai reminded: "With them, plus our people, I'm afraid we can't be defeated." ”

"Then we'll hand over the line of defense to them." Pei Shoutong didn't have as many concerns as Yang Rui and Xie Jintai, and his answer was very relaxed. "Now we have two cavalry divisions, an armored division, an infantry division on the Tsaritsyn front. Because the Japanese army mobilized late, now it is all Japanese troops. The retreat of both cavalry and infantry divisions was not difficult, that is, the armored divisions had to pass by rail. But we can transport them into Astrakhan and return to Atyrau by the same route. ”

After Bei Shoutong finished speaking, Yang Rui glanced at Xie Jintai, hesitated and then said: "After all, the matter of signing the contract cannot be hidden." I think it's better to be above board, and after the contract is signed, it is better to directly announce the withdrawal from the Russian civil war. ”

"But ......" Xie Jintai knew that things were not so simple. only said: "What about the White Russian side?" We don't recognize them, and the Entente must have an opinion on their side. Then there is aid to Russia. If we had handed over a large number of weapons to the Bolsheviks, the Entente would have protested; and the redemption of those Russian assets in the lands we occupy. There are also loans. These things were quietly delivered before, but now they are going to war with great fanfare......"

"Weapons, conspicuous things like airplanes and chariots, could not be delivered to the Bolsheviks, but artillery and rifles could be delivered on a small scale, but no longer in the name of aid, but in the name of arms sales. I don't believe that the Allies would not sell arms to the Bolsheviks. Yang Rui said. You call Peren right away, and ask him to talk there, and be careful not to make enemies of the Allies over the matter of arms assistance. ”

Yang Rui originally wanted to return Tsaritsyn to the Bolsheviks in its entirety, but the current situation did not allow him to do so. When the instruction reached Petersburg, Chen was not much surprised. At this time, a delegation of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was negotiating with him in Petersburg, led by the head of the first Brest delegation, Adolf. Abramovich. The more you fly.

After the Baath Army made a surprise attack on Astrakhan and stormed and occupied Tsaritsyn, the voices of peace talks within Russia and Brazzado became louder and louder. At this time, it was the old Russian military officers appointed by Trotsky who were in charge of the southern front, and Comrade Stalin, who had long been in favor of peace talks and opposed to the old Russian military experts, immediately criticized that it was precisely because these old Russian military officers, who claimed to be military experts, were slack and irresponsible that Astrakhan and Tsaritsyn fell so quickly. Now that Tsaritsyn is occupied by the Chinese, it is equivalent to saying that the 11th Army of the North Caucasus will be completely destroyed, and at the same time, the Kolchak White Army in the east and the White Army in the North Caucasus and the Don River will be integrated, and then the southeast will be pinched, and Kazan will be occupied by the White Army again.

One of them is to criticize the deterioration of the strategic situation on the entire southeastern front, and the other is that the grain in the south has just been harvested, and there is a shortage of food in all parts of the country, and in particular, the fall of Tsaritsyn will cause the Soviets to lack food to pay the Allies, which will not only cause military intervention by the Allies, but will also be satisfied with the urban workers, and when the time comes, the offensive of the White Army will be easy to succeed in, and the party's leadership over the workers and the masses will be even weaker......

Stalin's criticism was directed at Trotsky's vital point, especially the appointment of the old Russian officers, which was a dispute over the line of the Red Army's construction. From the point of view of conspiracy theories, Comrade Iron has long known that the Chinese will launch an offensive on the southern front if they do not get the desired result, but it is really unexpected to be able to occupy Tsaritsyna so quickly. However, he and Voroshilov, who was dissatisfied with Trotsky, were completely cleared, and the fall of Tsaritsyn really had nothing to do with them.

Stalin did this, and Trotsky, unwilling to be defeated, still insisted that as long as the five armies of the eastern front went south and the eleventh army went north, the Chinese would soon retreat under the attack from the north and south.

Retreat. Mere retreat, Trotsky used the word. And when Comrade Lenin asked him how quickly he was "very fast" in "retreating very quickly". Trotsky could not answer the exact time. Maybe a month, maybe two months. It was not enough to rely only on the five army groups in the east. Moreover, the 80,000-strong men of these five group armies still have to defend in two directions, and although the Red Army is being formed in various places, it will take at least one to two months to transfer the Red Army to the Tsaritsyn defense line with the current traffic situation, and then it will take at least another month to launch an offensive. Even if Tsaritsyn was taken three months later, how many Red Army would it take for the already strong White Army to be wiped out?

Moreover, there was not a single mistake on the part of the Allies - in July. The German ambassador Mirbach was very dissatisfied with the Bolsheviks coming to power, and wanted to replace them and remove them, but fortunately he was assassinated by the Socialist-Revolutionaries. In more than two weeks, the time will come for the delivery of a billion marks of goods, and if it is really impossible to get the goods, then Germany will be furious.

With such concerns, and without Lenin's resignation as a threat, the delegates quickly voted on the decision to negotiate peace with China and recognize China's previous conditions. However, since the war has begun, the terms of the peace talks are not the same as they used to be.

The head of the delegation flew more and more. As soon as Stalin, Zinoevich, Sokolnikov, military adviser General Samoilo and others arrived in Petersburg to begin negotiations with Chen, they found that the conditions of the Chinese had changed. First, the western border between the Yuz region and Russia was originally bounded by the South Ural River, which flows into the Caspian Sea. But now the border crosses the South Urals, borders on a distance of 100 to 150 kilometers from the Volga, and turns in the direction of Orenburg until Barakov.

That's tens of thousands of versts more than before. The worst thing is that the South Ural River actually flows into the Caspian Sea along the remnants of the Ural Mountains. Beyond the Ural Mountains is Europe, and such demarcation is tantamount to the Chinese reaching into Europe; And the border is just too close to the Volga. Whether it is cavalry or armored fighting vehicles, it can rush to the Volga in a day. This river was originally a communication artery for Russia, how could it be under the threat of the Chinese.

In addition to the western border, the previous food and weapons aid has also been greatly reduced, and China will no longer promise to deliver as much food and weapons as it wants, but as much as the Central Asian Railway can transport; The redemption of Russian assets remained unchanged, but the loans were not paid until years later, apparently because the Chinese feared that the Bolsheviks would be overthrown by the White Army.

Whether it is the border, aid, or loans, these can all be discussed, but Chen Quai, who rejected the so-called condition that after the signing of the peace treaty proposed by Yue Fei, the Chinese army immediately return Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan to Russia. What he meant was that China had only the obligation to withdraw its troops and return the prisoners of war, and that if Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan were taken over by the White or British forces, China could not be responsible for returning them.

Everyone hurriedly made peace in order to take back Tsarizin and Astrakhan, so as to quickly stabilize the situation in the south, but Chen Quai's evasion of this obligation made the Russians hesitate, in case after signing the contract, the Chinese deliberately handed it over to White Russia or Britain, it would be better not to sign the contract and fight directly.

In the East Palace of Petersburg, faced with such a situation, the head of the delegation, Yue Fei, proposed to adjourn the meeting. When Chinese left, he said to Stalin and the other members of the negotiating team: "I really don't know what should be and what should not be......

Comrade Yue Fei said that based on the last negotiations with Germany, he did not know how to deal with the Chinese this time. Whether to sign the contract immediately or wait for the results of the offensive on Thorsky's side -- upon receiving the news of the occupation of Tsaritsyn, Trotsky immediately dispatched his troops and arranged an attack on Tsaritsyn.

"You don't have to wait for Trotsky!" Comrade Stalin understood what Yue Fei meant, and immediately denied it: "With his military experts and bourgeois elements, he will not be able to take back Tsaritsyn." ”

"But Chinese do not promise to return Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan to us after the peace treaty is signed, if they hand Tsaritsyn over to the White Army......" said Sokolnikov, a member of the delegation. Indeed, the original intention of the peace talks was to avoid a rapid deterioration of the situation in the south, but if the Chinese did not promise to return Tsarizin and Astrakhan, what was the point of the peace treaty?

"If Tsaritsyn is really going to be handed over to the White Army, then why should they make peace with us? Isn't it good to join forces directly with Kolchak and attack Kazan? "Stalin was well aware of the situation on the Eastern and Southern Fronts and could not help but ask loudly." As long as the peace treaty is signed quickly enough that we take over Tsaritsyn before the White Army comes up, there will be a great chance that the situation on the southern front will be stabilized. After Comrade Stalin finished speaking, he looked at Yue Fei, the head of the delegation, and said: "We should sign a peace treaty as soon as possible, and the sooner the better!" ”

"Comrade Stalin, but they have new territorial claims, the western border is too close to the Volga." General Samoilo, a military adviser, said, "Besides, if we agree to the other party's conditions immediately, what will the comrades in the party think?" ”

"Boundaries are not an issue, and I don't think the other side will dwell on them. If they really care about the land, why should the northern border be 200 kilometers away from the Trans-Siberian Railway? Stalin asked rhetorically. I think the bottom line of the Chinese is very clear, they don't want to be too tense with us because of the border issue, so there is a 200-kilometer concession, so according to this bottom line, it is possible to determine the border between the two sides at 200 kilometers east of the Volga - even 300 kilometers - if everything is negotiated in the end, and the remaining border issue is not resolved, they are also very likely to back down. The real reason is that the Chinese do not want to be our enemy, otherwise why would they help us to buy a loan? ”

Obviously, some of Hu's actions changed Stalin's perception of China, but more importantly, the Chinese sent troops against his political opponent Trotsky, which was of great benefit to the party's agreement to build the new army he advocated and composed entirely of Bolshevik officers, and that, according to Hu's last letter, would be armed with Chinese and would be his men.

After Comrade Iron refuted Sokolnikov's suspicions about China, he looked at the regiment commander Yue Fei and said: "Dear Adolf, if you don't think that this is another Brest peace treaty, we can wait for Trotsky and his military experts to attack before signing the contract." But I am sure that even if the Chinese do not change their conditions, the situation in the south will become even more unfavorable to us, and I have great doubts about whether Tsaritsyn will be able to take it back from the White Army at that time. ”

"I agree with Comrade Stalin." On the eve of the revolution, because they did not agree to the armed seizure of power, Zinoyevich and Kamiev actually leaked the information of the uprising to the Menshevik newspapers in advance. For this reason, the political future of Kamiev and Zinoyevich was clouded, but the lenient Comrade Lenin finally forgave them, and this time he worked very hard to fully cater to Comrade Lenin's wishes in the peace talks with China.

"The Chinese didn't want to be hostile to us, but they waited a long time for the executive committee to disagree to negotiate with them, so they got angry. It's not that we are afraid of the Chinese, but apparently the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army has been fully tested in the European theater, and they are not even worse than the Germans. Think about it, if they and the Japanese really fought from Tsaritsyn along the Volga to Kazan and to Nizhny Novgorod, then the defeat of the revolution would only be a matter of time......"

Although Zinoyevich was a veteran of the Bolsheviks, his words had no longer carried much weight in the party since that incident. After he finished speaking, the head of the delegation, Yue Fei, said, "I think that while we continue to negotiate, we should pray that Trotsky will attack quickly." ”

When the delegation was entangled in the signing of the peace treaty with the Chinese, Trotsky, the commander of the Soviet and Eastern Front Kamenev, the revolutionary military commissars, the commander of the Tenth Army, the commanders of four of the five armies under the command of the Soviet and Eastern Front, and the commander of the Volga District Fleet gathered on the Trotsky special train at the Dubovka railway station, fifty kilometers north of Tsaritsyn, for a pre-war meeting.

It's just that it is not too difficult for the commander of the army group to reach Dubovka in a few days, but except for half of the collected Tenth Army, it is simply impossible for other army groups to reach Dubovka in a few days. With the victories over Kazan and Samara five weeks earlier, all four armies, with the exception of Tukhachevsky's First Army, were trapped in the long front east of Kazan. (To be continued......)