The Prime Minister's Office was so joyful, several big men sang the national anthem, and the ghosts cried and howled as ugly and ugly, and fortunately it was in the garden, otherwise it would be undignified to be heard by others, and this matter could only be kept secret, otherwise the guys like the Entente would go crazy. Then the secrecy was only temporary, and when the British Major General Donsterville, who occupied Baku, was about to advance towards Makhachkala, the Red Russian army, which had been depleted of ammunition and food, suddenly burst into a volley of artillery and machine guns, and the advancing British army and local servant troops fell in large pieces.

Such an unusual behavior made the British scratch their heads, and the unbelieving Major General Donsterville once again ordered his troops to attack, and the Red Russian army on the opposite side once again opened fire, beating the British into the desert and fleeing. Even the most stupid people know that the Red Russian army was reinforced, but the question is where did these supplies come from? With the help of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, the answer soon reached Major General Donsterville.

The winter of 1918 seemed colder than usual in London, and it was going to be another difficult time for the citizens who lacked fuel and food, and although the government and His Majesty promised that it would be the last winter of suffering, the long-suppressed anti-war sentiment finally began to erupt uninterruptedly, with strikes, marches, and the festering question of Irish independence devaluing the entire wartime cabinet.

After the debacle of this summer and the death of the flu in the autumn, Britain had completely lost its offensive capability, and all the expeditionary force could really do was dig deeper trenches and spread more barbed wire mines. Across the continent, the outcome of the war could only be decided by the steady flow of American troops and the Chinese army, which had been doing nothing since the end of summer. This scenario worries all those who know about Whitehall, because it seems to indicate that in the not-too-distant future, the hegemony in the hands of the British Empire will be usurped by the United States and a rising China. One of them will replace the British Empire from the sea, and the other will replace Tsarist Russia from land.

In the strategy developed by the Reich Defense Council. The former will strike back strongly, and the United States will build a battleship. Britain built two ships, and even did not hesitate to give up some Far Eastern interests in order to put Japan on its side; As for the latter, the best course of action is to encourage China to intervene in the Russian civil war, and after the war, whether the Bolsheviks win or the White Russians win, China, which occupies the Russian Far East and all of Central Asia, will be their mortal enemy, and China's power will continue to be consumed in that uninhabited region, and in the event of confrontation between China and Russia, Great Britain and the entire civilized world will be safe.

The strategy devised by the decent and pragmatic English gentleman must be said to be extremely sophisticated. And how about the US Army. Without a navy, they were trapped on that distant continent; And no matter how many Chinese there are, they will be swallowed up by the Siberian snowfields. It's just that no one expected that from Halford. John. Mackinder's strategy to induce China's westward expansion has failed.

In the Prime Minister's Office in Whitehall, Downing Street, the head of Far Eastern Affairs, Victor Brown. Velis and Colonel Edmonds, who had just returned from MI6, were reporting the sad news to the Prime Minister.

“…… According to General Bakuton Stever's report, the Bolshevik army in the North Caucasus was receiving a steady stream of material support from the region north of Astrakhan, and the railway had been in the hands of the Chinese. We have every reason to believe that there has been a rapprochement and a general truce between Chinese and the Russian Bolsheviks......"

After Wellis finished his briefing from the Caucasus, Colonel Edmonds, who was in charge of intelligence, said. "Sir, it has been fully confirmed that last week the Bolsheviks signed a secret treaty with the Bolsheviks in Petersburg, which included an armistice, the demarcation of the border, compensation for Russian property, and food aid. Chinese troops in Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan will be withdrawn for some time to come. Maybe it's being evacuated now......"

"Colonel, where does the intelligence come from?" Originally just Foreign Secretary Balfour was surprised, now Prime Minister Lloyd. George was also surprised.

"Mr. Prime Minister. The news came from Wall Street in New York. Colonel Edmonds replied. After he finished answering, Foreign Secretary Balfour whispered a few words in the Prime Minister's ear.

"So. Can we get the full text of the peace treaty? "Lloyd's. George nodded visibly, he wanted to see something more detailed. in order to make more effective decisions.

"Mr. Prime Minister, MI6 is working on it." Colonel Edmonds said. "As far as is known, China not only had an armistice with the Bolsheviks, but they also provided money and materials to help the Bolsheviks stabilize the situation in Russia. We judge that perhaps as soon as the war in Europe is over, the Chinese will declare their recognition of Bolshevik Russia. ”

"That is, representatives of the Kolchak government will be expelled from the country by them?" The Prime Minister's eyes kept rolling, and after saying this, he looked at Balfour again, "And the Japanese will do the same?" ”

"Yes, first of all, sir." Colonel Edmonds and the Foreign Secretary replied at the same time.

"Can I think that this means that after we lose our influence in Northeast Asia, we are also losing influence in Central Asia and even in the Caucasus?" The Prime Minister's eyes straightened as he spoke, and he stared at Balfour as he asked.

"Yes...... Yes, Mr. Prime Minister. "But I must be reminded that this is just another peace of Brest, an alliance signed under the city of Tsaritsyn by the Chinese army, and the Bolsheviks will not really give in." I think that in a few years, when the situation in Russia stabilizes, there will inevitably be another war between the two countries. ”

Perhaps the situation will really develop as the Foreign Secretary portrays, but Lloyd. "But this means that the White Russian government we support will soon collapse, and without the support of China and Japan, they will not be able to gain a foothold in Siberia," George said. ”

"Yes, Mr. Prime Minister." Balfour had to admit this, "but according to our previous agreement with China and Japan, we cannot ask them to agree with us on the issue of dealing with Russia, and no one expected Russia to be in the situation it is in today, and the most important thing is that it does not involve the British interests that the two countries have promised to protect." In other words, there is no reason why the Chinese and Japanese governments should not do so. As long as they do not send troops to fight the White Russian government. ”

"Of course, they will not send troops against the White Russian government. It was enough for them to supply the Bolsheviks with food and weapons. "Lloyd's. The more George thought about it, the more angry he became, in his opinion. The political landscape and the distribution of power in the whole world must be dominated by Great Britain, but now. The Far East has already jumped out of Britannica's control three times, and it is getting bigger and bigger

- For the first time, the Chinese overthrew the Manchu dynasty and established a new state despite British warnings and obstructions; The second time, the Chinese miraculously won two powerful countries and controlled Northeast Asia; The third time, they actually made peace with the Bolsheviks, which meant that the political landscape of most of Asia would change dramatically, which would probably not harm Britain's interests. But having such a disobedient thorny ally is really a huge headache.

Listening to the chief's complaint, Balfour shrugged helplessly, Sino-Russian relations are even in peacetime, and His Majesty the British Monarch's government cannot interfere, let alone in war.

"Dear sir, shouldn't we do something?" After sending the reporter down, the Prime Minister said.

"Sir, there is very little we can do now." Balfour smiled wryly, "We need merchant ships, supplies, food, and soldiers from China and Japan." If you lose these. It cannot be said that the victory will be lost, but it will take at least a longer time to win. If that happens, it will be a disaster, even if we win. There was no way to keep Britain in its rightful place. I think that just as we can hand over the Americas to the Americans, we can also hand over Central Asia to China completely. As long as they promise to guarantee our absolute security in the South Seas as well as in India. ”

Since the Great War, Britain has been constantly compromising with the countries of the world. Even a decisive concession was made to the Jewish consortium in support of their establishment of their own national homeland in the Palestinian areas. China and Japan have made frequent small moves in Asia. But this is all against Russia, not Britain, which is acceptable and must be accepted.

Looking at Lloyd, who was still dissatisfied. George Belfour had to put another thought in his head, "Although we can't do anything to the Chinese, the French and Americans must be very angry about it, maybe they can do something." At the very least, Americans are bound to protest strongly against this. ”

As soon as Balfour mentioned the United States, His Excellency the Prime Minister thought of Wilson's personal representative, Colonel Howson, and he had to nod his head, "I think I should have dinner with Colonel Howson right away." ”

Chairman of the All-Russian Central Committee, one of the three carriages of the Bolsheviks, and a close comrade-in-arms of Comrade Lenin, Sverdlov brought the news of the signing of the Bolshevik contract with China and Japan to Wall Street, which in turn spread the news to London, and eventually, through Wilson's special envoy, Colonel Hausen, to Washington and inform France, the French did not dare to say anything because they were still in wartime, even though they deplored their property and loans to Russia in Russia.

But the Americans, who represent God and justice, have no such concerns, and on the day the news reached the White House, President Wilson pushed aside important matters and met with Lu Zhengxiang, the Chinese minister to the United States. He said that if China recognizes the Bolshevik government, then the United States will have to regard China as another Bolshevik government, and the new Sino-US treaty, which has been negotiating with China for several years and preparing to make concessions to China, will also be affected, which means that the signing of a treaty between China and the Bolsheviks is a betrayal of the civilized world, and Washington, as the most just American, will reconsider its policy toward China.

Wilson expressed his opposition to China's move in this way, which was simply a big surprise to Lu Zhengxiang, you must know that as a neighboring country, China will eventually sign a border treaty with Russia, Britain, France, and the United States recognize White Russia because of the loan, but China is convinced that the Bolsheviks will win, so it naturally recognizes Red Russia, this is just a matter of betting on the size of the bet, what obligation does China have to support White Russia together with Britain, France and the United States hostile to Red Russia? With this point of view in mind, the somewhat cowardly Shanghainese was rudely interrupted several times by Wilson, a devout Christian, so that he could only listen quietly to Wilson's speech and then leave politely. That evening, the telegram was sent to Beijing.

"It's only been a long time, I really didn't expect the news to leak so quickly, even the reporters of the Imperial Daily knew about it!" Foreign Minister Xie Jintai took the telegram from the embassy in Washington, and looked at Yang Rui with a distressed complaint, he thought that the news could be concealed for several months. But I don't want to be less than half a month, and the news will be known to the whole world.

"It's not normal to know." Yang Rui took the teacup and blew the tea leaves floating on the water. After taking a shallow sip, he said unhurriedly. "If the Persians don't leak out, the Russians will leak out. Sooner or later. ”

"It's a matter of time." Xie Jintai also sighed, "But why did the Americans react so violently? He is almost about to sever diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and it is said that he has the least loan to Russia. Britain and France, especially France, did not protest as much as he did......"

"Then you don't know the Americans." The tea was mellow, and Yang Rui took another sip before saying, "When did Americans value interests?" Facing Xie Jintai's inquiring gaze, he smiled and coughed, very complacent and joking: "Chong'an, you have been doing foreign affairs for so many years." I have been in the West for so many years, why don't you understand what kind of temper the Americans have? If you go on like this, we will suffer. ”

Yang Rui, who has always been serious, actually began to say strange things, especially at this juncture, Xie Jintai suddenly felt that his brain was not enough, he wiped his face and did not speak, but Yang Rui continued to say to himself,

"Never forget that the greater United States of America was founded by the Puritans. This is also the reason why the United States has not had a Catholic president until now. Americans, the lower classes can do anything, but the upper classes must be Puritans. From the standpoint of a country, of course, you think that diplomacy is about interests, and this is the British tradition. If they can make money, they will not hesitate to deal with the devil; But this is not the case with the Americans, especially with those at the top who hold power. You have to think of them as a priest, a priest.

Although the Bolsheviks ......" Speaking of this, Yang Rui looked at Xie Jintai, who was still very dazed, sighed, shook his head and said, "Chong'an." You'd better go back and learn a little about the history of Protestantism before you can talk to me. I would like to remind you that Americans are not a normal secular country. At least that's not the case at the top, and you should keep in mind one thing: the United States of America is actually a theocratic republic. ”

A country that is called by Europeans is full of outbreaks and hillbillies, and a country that pays attention to money everywhere is actually said by Yang Rui to be a theocratic republic, Xie Jintai is puzzled. He didn't want to have any theoretical debate with Yang Rui, he only came to report to discuss countermeasures, so he shook his head and asked, "Then what should you do now?" ”

"What else can I do, since we all know it, let's inform the envoys of various countries in China." Yang Rui said, "There is also a press conference to admit that a border treaty has been signed with the Russian Bolshevik government. ”

"Isn't that tantamount to recognizing Red Russia?" Xie Jintai was a little anxious, he could feel the pressure from various countries, especially in the past few days, the envoys of various countries have talked about this matter intentionally or unintentionally.

"Then ......" Yang Rui has no good plan for this, the premise of signing the contract should be to recognize this government, under the opposition of various countries, before the end of the European war, it is better to remain silent. Now the original text of the two peace treaties is transported to Beijing by plane, and the documents are signed by the Bolsheviks and stamped with the Soviet seal, and once the two peace treaties are stamped with the royal seal of China, that is, the royal seal of the 'treasure of the Min king', and one of them is returned to the Bolshevik government, then the contract will take effect immediately. ”

"And what about food aid, compensation for Russian assets? And how to deliver the arms? Xie Jintai understood that the biggest reason for not recognizing the Bolshevik government now was to do business with the Entente, but even if he adopted the method of not recognizing or denying it, some things would be difficult to hide.

"Pay directly in cash, just in pounds. The grain was delivered in the name of the Chinese Buddhist Church and the Chinese Taoist Church, which was within their scope of business anyway; Arms can only be smuggled, planes and chariots cannot be given, but cannons, guns and ammunition can be delivered on demand, but once the amount of aid is exceeded, it depends on how much money the Bolsheviks can have. Yang Rui said, "Grain goes to the Caspian Sea, arms go to the Central Asia Railway, even if it is found, it can be said that it is a ...... to the Orenburg troops."

"Won't it be leaked?" Arms are a big taboo, and now Xie Jintai is in the limelight and is very worried about what will happen.

"We share a border with the Bolshevik occupation zone, and even if the countries can guess that we are supporting their arms, will they be able to get the evidence? And as soon as we recognize the Bolshevik government. It doesn't matter if you take that. Yang Rui said. Don't be bluffed by the foreigners, and recognize which Russian government is our freedom. It was also our freedom to sign a border treaty, and it was a matter between them and the Bolsheviks if they did not pay back the money they owed. It has nothing to do with us. ”

To put it mildly, Yang Rui is ready to act on his own in disregard of existing international practices and the interests of other countries, which has led to China's criticism in the international community. After some news about the Bolshevik machine-gun requisition squad and the Cheka massacre was disseminated by well-intentioned people, the glass heart in the country could not stand it anymore, and many intellectuals agreed with the views spread by European and American countries, that is, they believed that the Bolshevik government was the devil alive, and the government of the initiative must not recognize this government.

Amid the chaos, a Soviet delegation led by Zinoyevich, a member of the Russian Central Executive Committee and an old friend of the Chinese people, arrived in Beijing on 27 October. Zinoyevich, who was already wearing the same pants as Comrade Stalin, was most anxious about hoping that China would help rebuild the Tenth Army

-- The last time the arms were delivered, Voroshinov talked to Hu Yaowen about this matter. Trotsky denounced them as partisan because this fighting ethos was indeed prevalent in the Tenth Army. The revolutionary party has no artillery and no army, so it can only fight guerrilla warfare. The Baath Army relied on the South African Military Academy and the Russo-Japanese War to build a regular army from the beginning, while the Bolsheviks relied on some low-level officers in Tsarist Russia to reluctantly build an army, why was the number of the Red Army so small? It's not that there aren't enough guns, it's not that there aren't enough soldiers, it's that there are too few high-ranking officers in Tsarist Russia who can be trusted.

In response to this situation, Trotsky believed that the former Tsarist Russian officers should be used on a large scale. In order for these people to be able to use it with confidence, the system of political commissars and officers' families came into being; Stalin and other veteran party members insisted on building the army with party members as the backbone. However, this is completely unfeasible, and a truly high-ranking officer not only needs to be taught by professionals himself, but also has to rely on the officers themselves to summarize and explore for a long time. Apparently. Voroshinov and others also knew that high-ranking officers could not be achieved overnight, so they hoped that China would help the Bolsheviks train a number of high-ranking officers, and at the same time, they hoped that high-ranking Chinese officers would personally serve in the Red Army.

In the case of China and Russia. He would rather sell them Wolf tanks and Ghost 4 dive bombers than help them train senior officers, let alone teach infantry tactics. But at the Standing Committee, Yang Rui was convinced that it would be beneficial for China to help the Bolsheviks build a combat-ready Red Army. Even after the Great Purge, the fighting nations learned war in the midst of war, and the branding of the Baath Army at their infancy was a disadvantage but more a benefit, and a strong Russia was a threat to China, but it was also a threat to Europe and the capitalist world. Only when a person is taller than himself will the sky fall so that it will not hit him.

Yang Rui has the most say in military matters, because the other five people have no objection to this, and Cai Yuanpei, who is already in the United States, even if he has objections, it will be useless. On the first day of November, the delegation of Su Wei, who was staying in the Summer Palace, was cordially received by Yang Rui, and when Yang Rui personally agreed to accept Russian military trainees and send the officer corps, Zinoyevich's eyes lit up.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, you are a true friend of the Bolsheviks!" The emotional words of the Russians amounted to giving the Soviets another way to build their army, which was extremely important for the old Bolsheviks.

"We've always been friends before, but we met because of all kinds of misunderstandings." Yang Rui smiled, "Is it just that the revolutionary military commissar of your party agrees with us to send the officer corps?" ”

"Of course!" Zinoyevich nodded, "Comrade Stalin has been appointed deputy chairman of the Military Council, and he will be responsible for the construction of some armies." ”

"I have always heard that Comrade Stalin of your party was the mainstay of the revolution and, like you, was a close assistant of Comrade Lenin, but unfortunately I was not able to see it in person!" Yang Rui said very regretfully.

"Yes, it's a pity that Comrade Stalin had to cancel the trip because of the needs of work, he originally wanted to come." As he spoke, Zinoyevich asked others to present a photograph and said: "This is what Comrade Stalin asked me to personally present to Your Excellency." ”

In this day and age, it is common for dignitaries to give away photos as a gesture of goodwill. Yang Rui took this five-inch half-length photo, and saw Comrade Iron and Steel wearing a Russian-made military uniform without military rank, standing at the door of the East Palace with a serious expression, the most striking thing was the beard between his nose and lips; Flipping through the back of the photo, there was a line of Russian, and the translator on one side whispered after reading it: "My lord, Mr. Stalin wishes you eternal health." (To be continued......)