Kovola is about 27 degrees east longitude, very close to the red line drawn by a certain immortal. The town is also located on the halfway line between Helsinki and Vyborg, which are connected by rail. To put it mildly, this is the gateway to Vyborg, and if Kovola is lost, then Vyborg will be in danger too!

When Kuusinen retreated to Kovola, the remnants of his army were defeated by less than 10,000 men, and the morale of his troops plummeted. With this group of frightened birds, it is almost impossible for the Red Guards to turn defeat into victory.

In fact, Kuusinin had already erased "almost" in his mind, and he also knew that it was impossible for the troops to turn defeat into victory. Therefore, after retreating to Kovola, he repeatedly sent telegrams, letters and letters to the Central Committee of the CPSU, crying and hoping that his mentor would send troops to save him.

Kuusinin felt that the Mentor and the Bolsheviks would not be able to die without help, and if he was finished, then the northern gates of Russia would be completely open, and the risks would be great, and one could think of it with his ass.

Kusinen was confident in this, and of course he was concerned about how many troops the Mentor would send to save him, and who would be sent to command the relief force.

Of course, Kuusinen hoped that the more people sent by the Mentor, the better, and it was best to send a hundred thousand people in one go to directly help him push the White Army and the German devils into the sea. Of course, he also knew that this kind of thinking was more of a lust, and he knew how jealous Russia was of Germany, and that under the embattlement, it was impossible for the Mentor to risk the resumption of the war with Germany to support him with all his might.

Kuusinen knew that the size of the support force might not be very large, and at most it would help him stabilize the situation. However, it is already very ideal for him to be able to stabilize the battle situation. As long as the Russians can hold back the advance of the White Army and the German devils. He will have time to regroup. You can make a comeback.

Therefore, Kuusinen was extremely concerned about who the Mentor would send to command the reinforcements, and of course he hoped that there would be a few people with whom he had a good relationship to work together. That would greatly reduce his troubles, and he hoped that Stalin himself would come, and that he would be able to talk to him.

In the previous telegram between Kuusinen and Stalin, Iron and Steel also revealed to him a similar meaning, and Comrade Iron seemed to have plans to come to Finland to farm monsters. It is better to achieve a battle that turns the tide. In recent times, because of the passivity of the lower reaches of the Don, Stalin has been very waxy.

Of course, Kuusinen welcomed Stalin, and even felt that if Stalin took the initiative to ask for help, with his prestige and power, it would not be a piece of cake. Even Kuusinin had already begun to welcome Stalin.

"Looking for a quieter place to live, Comrade Joseph was most impatient with the noise and noise...... Well, this manor is not bad...... Also, be sure to prepare the best shredded tobacco, the kind imported from Cuba? ”

Kuusinin devoted all his energies to welcoming Stalin. It was really intimate and meticulous, and he even had to ask how thick the mattress was.

And in the midst of this intense busyness. There are also "eye-open" people who come to disturb his work: "Alto. Comrade Virigrimovich, in accordance with your order, I gave NORINCO an ultimatum to them to deliver enough weapons within a time limit, but they ruthlessly refused! ”

Kuusinen glanced at the secretary angrily, it was really not annoying enough, and he couldn't do a little thing. He snorted and asked, "You didn't sue the bourgeois aristocratic lady, but I was giving her orders on behalf of the Finnish people and the Finnish Social Democratic Party?" ”

The secretary said honestly, "I said it, but she didn't pay any attention to us at all. ”

Kuusinen was very annoyed, this was not the first time he had hit a nail with NORINCO, a few months ago when the revolution had just broken out, he tried to take over the capitalist enterprise, but he was met with a head-on blow, and the other party did not even want to bird him, so he almost told him to get out.

At that time, in order to give this unknown enterprise a little color, he mobilized the guild and the Soviets, preparing to seize the enterprise in a two-pronged manner. Who knew that he had just started to start, and he was hit on the head. The Bolshevik Thong Guò Communist Liaison Office gave him a message and told him to stop the operation immediately.

Although the Central Bolshevik Committee did not say what would happen if it did not stop the operation, Kuusinen was taken aback, especially when thousands of well-armed mercenaries arrived in Vyborg and began to take over the defense of North Industries and several other enterprises. Kuusinen knew that he had made a big mistake, and it was really unforgivable for him to blindly shoot without even figuring out the other party's backstage.

Soon he learned about the backstage boss of NORIN, a hairy boy who was too young to talk to. He didn't pay attention to a hairy child like this before, and he has been in the party for less than a year, so he is a hairy child!

But if behind this hairy boy stood Sverdlov and Lenin, the situation would be completely different. Anyway, after figuring out how awesome someone is, Kuusinen was scared into a cold sweat, fortunately he hadn't taken drastic actions yet, otherwise wouldn't this be a hornet's nest!

Anyway, since that time, Kuusinen has taken a detour to Northern Industries and Victoria, and he can't afford to provoke him and can't hide? For a few months, it can be regarded as peaceful. But with his fiasco this time, with him losing even his pants. Kuusinen, who lost red-eyed, began to prepare to turn the tables at any cost.

If you want to turn the tables, you must first have an army and weapons. Naturally, Kuusinin once again hit the idea of NORINCO. He felt that the time had come for him to save the Finnish revolution at all costs. In that case, what is a little weapon from the factories of the capitalists? What can't be requisitioned in the name of the revolution?

And Kusinen feels that there is no better time than now, for the sake of the overall situation, I am afraid that even the mentor can only acquiesce to his approach, as for that little child, the mentor is not angry, how old is he?

With such an idea, Kuusinen reached out to NORIN, of course, he did it smartly. There was no overt robbery under the banner of nationalization, as was the case last time. Instead, under the banner of revolution, the North Industries supported weapons.

Of course. He will definitely open his mouth widely, and the amount he wants must be unacceptable and unsatisfactory to NORINCO. And then, he became famous, you don't support the revolution, shouldn't you clean it up?

It has to be said that Kuusinen's idea is very good, and the big abacus is also very fine, but he did not take one thing into account. That is, NORINCO is not a fish on the chopping block, it is protected by armed forces!

It was not that Kusinen did not think of this, but that he believed that the Red Eagle Regiment was the army of the Bolsheviks, and it was subordinate to the leadership of the party, and it should not be directed to outsiders, and without the order of the Mentor, the Red Eagle Regiment did not dare to use force lightly.

But the truth gave him a heavy slap in the face, and he saw his secretary crying and saying: "According to your orders, the Red Guards are ready to take over the factory, but they are intercepted by the Red Eagle Regiment. What they didn't expect was that they would dare to shoot...... Alto. Comrade Virigrimovich. The comrades who went to take over the factory suffered heavy casualties! ”

"Tsk!" Kuusinen first took a breath of cool air, the reaction of the Red Eagle Regiment was too unexpected for him, but immediately he was furious and slapped the table: "Send a telegram to Comrade Lenin, strongly accusing the Red Eagle Regiment of atrocities, and the murderers must be severely punished!" ”

Once again, Kuusinen took it for granted that Lenin would take care of his feelings in order to take care of the overall situation, but he did not think that things were not like that at all.

"The central government's requirement is to ensure the security of Vyborg and the shores of Lake Ladoga, and to ensure the security of grain import channels. You are fully authorized to take the necessary action to maintain the stability of Finland! ”

When Sverdlov read this order to Li Xiaofeng on behalf of the Political Bureau, a certain immortal was actually not very happy in his heart. A few days ago, he had worn his tongue up and down, but no one was indifferent to his warnings, but now it was good that Finland had become a mess, but he was asked to turn the tide.

Nima, it takes time to turn the tide, so what's the point of letting him lead a border police force to Finland in such a hurry, who has not received all the training and is not even armed? And what's the use?

Sverdlov didn't care about the face of a certain immortal, and continued to read out the order on his own: "The Central Committee has appointed Comrade Yegorov as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian People's Volunteers, Comrade Tukhachevsky as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and you as General Political Commissar and Commander of the Logistics Command...... The Central Committee demanded that the volunteers must arrive in Vyborg by 15 May to assist Comrade Kuusinen and the Finnish Red Guards in restoring peace and freedom in Finland ......"

In fact, this appointment was also a compromise between the Leninists and the Trotskyists. It should be said that the big guys are still acceptable, and Stalin, the only one who may express dissatisfaction, has also been appointed by the Central Committee. Na Xiang was appointed as the general political commissar of the newly formed Southwest Front Army and assisted the commander-in-chief of the Southwest Front Army, Frunze, in carrying out the work of suppressing bandits.

Li Xiaofeng was not satisfied with this seemingly happy arrangement, but he also knew that there was no way to refuse, and Xiao Si did not want him to refuse.

"The border police force and the Red Eagle Regiment alone are not enough to stabilize the situation in Finland." Li Xiaofeng decided to talk about the difficulties first.

Sverdlov nodded and said: "The Central Committee also knows this, so it has decided to transfer a division from the Red Eighth Army to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Volunteer Army, and this division will be commanded by Tukhachevsky!" ”

Li Xiaofeng naturally knew what Sverdlov's last sentence was trying to emphasize, which was nothing more than to say that he should be polite to Tukhachevsky, who was Trotsky's man. Li Xiaofeng never thought of being polite to Tukhachevsky, although in the years when he was defense minister, he did a lot of brainless things in the army building plan. But overall, in terms of military capabilities, he can be thrown a few streets.

Li Xiaofeng still admires capable professionals, at least he will not be persecuted like steel. With a master like Tukhachevsky, he can be a lot easier.

Just when Li Xiaofeng was "reluctantly" discussing the final details with Xiao Si, the tutor suddenly called him over and directly threw Kuusinen's protest message to him.

Li Xiaofeng is really inexplicable, the central government has already made arrangements for the North Industries Company, but Ku Xining has always been reluctant to make a bad idea, and the wicked person sued and made a small report first, which is really unbearable for his grandmother.

He said angrily: "Kusinin is making trouble, who gave him the power to give the North Industries Company a quota, and it is still a lion with his mouth open." This is clearly ill-intentioned! ”

He looked at the Mentor. Seeing that the old man didn't react much. Immediately, he was even more annoyed: "I strongly demand that his nonsense be refuted, and that he be sternly warned not to interfere again!" ”

The expression on Lenin's face became more and more tangled, and after looking at a certain immortal for a long time, he sighed and said: "Before, Comrade Yakov recommended you to take charge of the military work in Finland, saying that you are most familiar with the situation there, and whether it is the Red Eagle Regiment or the border police force, you have brought it out. It's best for you to command. At that time, many comrades also supported his opinion, but in the end I thought that you were not suitable, do you know why? ”

Li Xiaofeng pouted and said: "I am not familiar with military command work, I have no experience in commanding large troops, and my temper is not very good. ”

Lenin nodded and said, "What you say is true, but it is not exact. Who is born to fight? Comrade Mikhail is not as literate as yours, and he is not as knowledgeable about military affairs as you are, but I am assured that he is in charge on his own. Because being the commander-in-chief is far more than just fighting. If you don't understand military affairs, you can have staff officers to help you, but you don't know politics. If you don't take care of the big picture, it's terrible. ”

As he spoke, Lenin sighed and added: "Your temper is too stinky, and you like to cause trouble. And this time it was a war abroad, although many of our comrades believed that Finland still belonged to Russia, and only temporarily became independent. But I would like to say that since we have recognized Finland's independence and self-determination, we must respect the authority of Finland's fraternal parties and not deal with them in the same way as we treat our comrades at home! ”

"Diplomacy is no small matter," said Lenin very heavily, "especially now that our regime is still very precarious, even precarious. In this case, one more friend is better than one more enemy! ”

Seeing that Li Xiaofeng was still not convinced, Lenin said earnestly: "I know that Kuusinen is a little unreasonable, and I also know what kind of calculus he is making. However, after all, he represents Finland, and there are times when he has to be given a little. ”

Li Xiaofeng really felt unhappy, but he had to understand the hard work of the mentor, and after a moment of silence, he said sullenly: "Okay, I'll try to restrain myself." But for NORINCO and several other enterprises, it is impossible for me to let Kuusinin come to me. This involves the issue of grain import channels, and I can't joke about the grain issue! ”

Lenin smiled: "The Central Committee also understands that the smooth and safe passage of grain imports is always in the most important position. In a sense, ensuring the victory of the Finnish revolution was also about protecting food security. The Central Committee will not make fun of this, as long as you let Comrade Kusinin in other aspects a little bit and accommodate him a little, the Central Committee will unswervingly support you on this issue! ”

Li Xiaofeng sighed leisurely and said, "If that's the case, then I'll have no problem." ”

Lenin nodded with satisfaction, patted Li Xiaofeng's shoulder, and encouraged: "That's good, go to Finland to work as much as possible, and we must ensure the safety of our northern gate and grain import channels, I won't say much about the importance of it, I wish you a victorious return!" ”

When Li Xiaofeng was about to leave for Finland, the fierce fighting on the lower reaches of the Don River was also coming to an end, and in the direction of White Kalitva, the Red Navy and the Petropav's regiment were still holding out with great perseverance, and in the rear of the White Army, tens of thousands of Red Army troops were galloping forward.

The battle became a complete race against time. White Kalitva was held, the White Army was finished, and on the contrary, the Red Army's campaign attempts would be completely frustrated.

"The enemy has shifted the focus of the attack!"

Blyukhel's eyes were bloodshot, and he was already a little thin, but now he only had a handful of skin and bones. As one of the commanders who had fought the longest among the commanders present, he was simply gritting his teeth.

"Since last night, the enemy has intensified its attacks on our southern urban area, and at one time established defensive support points on the shore...... My troops are left without reserves, and if the enemy continues to intensify their attacks on me, there is a high probability that the defense line will collapse! Is it possible to consider that this is a breakthrough for the enemy to prepare to open an eastward escape from the southern city? ”

Frunze's face was not much better than that of Blyukhel, who suffered from stomach problems, and he had not rested well these days, nor had he eaten on time. The harsh combat environment squeezed his already small appetite clean.

Now his voice seemed a little out of breath: "There is no evidence to support your speculation for the time being. Without the support of the railway line, it is difficult to flee east quickly and calmly on the scale of the enemy. Even if the enemy captures the southern city, will they dare to throw off their arms and flee directly? ”

Eberhardt also lost the appearance of the nobles before, his military uniform was crumpled like pickles, the beard on the side of his mouth was covered with dust and oil, and his old eyes were full of eye droppings, and he said very tiredly: "It is very likely that this is the enemy attacking the east and west, deliberately storming the southern city to attract our attention, once we have shifted the focus of defense, they will storm the western city again." This trick is more likely! ”

Blyukhel thought about it and felt that this was more likely, but he was still very worried: "If we don't strengthen the defense of the southern city, once we lose it, there will be a crack in our defensive line, and if the enemy attacks north from the southern city, the tributary will not be able to stop their pace, and then the northern city will be dangerous!" ”

In fact, both Eberhardt and Frunze knew that it was dangerous, but they couldn't help it. When the battle was fought to this point, even the cooking squad and guard company of the headquarters were pulled to the front line, where are the troops to strengthen the defense of the southern city?

The only thing they can do now is to grit their teeth and hold on, as long as they can...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to the breeze eagle, the wind drifting shadow, the million, the power generation ignition point, hzwangdd, the second kill potato and the Juventus comrades!