For the first time, Egorov understood how shameless people in politics are, and just looking at someone's serious appearance, I am afraid that he really thought that this thing was dedicated to public welfare. But if you think about it for a moment, you can see that someone is still playing the sidelines, and it is conceivable that the so-called reserves are simply a trick to fool Trotsky.

In fact, Yegorov is not wrong, this is indeed just a little trick to change the concept. But as the old saying goes, the trick is not new, it works. On the surface, a certain immortal only recruited 6,000 "regular troops," which was completely in line with the regulations of the central authorities, but it was completely possible to set up a "reserve" with 6,000 people who were not in the establishment. Even Trotsky couldn't find fault with it, because someone did not violate the decision of the Politburo, and you Trotsky could not say that it was wrong for the border police to engage in reserves!

Yegorov admired a certain immortal a little, he played the side ball so blatantly, it was impossible to object, no wonder he climbed to a high position at a young age, he really can't underestimate young people these years, otherwise he will help count the money if he is yin!

It should be said that Yegorov underestimated Li Xiaofeng too much, for the sake of a reserve of 6,000 people, he was embarrassed to play this marginal ball, anyway, he would offend Trotsky, so he might as well offend a little harder!

"The highest level of the border police force is the corps," Li Xiaofeng said calmly, "what is the size of the corps?" subordinate a detachment of six thousand people, and two other reserve detachments of six thousand people......"

Before Li Xiaofeng finished speaking, Yegorov was taken aback, as long as he could count with his fingers, he could count it. According to someone's will. There are 18,000 people in the border police force. This is more than twice the amount stipulated by the central government. I rub. This step is too big for Nima, right?

Yes, Yegorov felt that the step was too big, and 18,000 people were unceremoniously equivalent to a standard infantry division of the Russian army. Let's put it this way, the standard infantry divisions of the Russian army are generally around 12,000 people, but in fact, except for a few units that have completed the reorganization, the Russian infantry divisions on the battlefield are generally around 8,900 people, and some of the Russian infantry divisions that have been disabled are even only 35,000 people. Nima, at least, this is the establishment of two whole divisions, which is too out of line, right?!

Of course. This is not to say that Yegorov did not have ambitions and felt that he could not command so many troops. As an officer, no one will think that they have too many troops, and under normal circumstances, all commanders will cry to their superiors in order to get more troops and more support.

Egorov was no exception, however, it became clear that the current situation was not normal. Someone doing this is playing a sideline, taking advantage of loopholes, and violating the central policy! The main thing is that someone is so blatantly engaged in such a blatant way that he is likely to offend Trotsky.

As the founder of the Red Army. and the chairman of the All-Russian Military Council, Trotsky did not at all want to see an independent armed force outside the Red Army. In particular, this unit is not yet at the disposal of the military council, belonging to the shit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Cheka.

Such a strange army is too disgusting, and the reason why he had to agree before was entirely for the sake of food. If the border police force is not mainly active in the Finnish direction, he will not give up a single step.

Trotsky, though he made concessions, also imposed strict restrictions on this uncontrolled force, and made its size so rigid that it was limited in size to 6,000 men for the time being. It can be expanded in the future according to the situation, but it should also be a matter of the future when it is expanded, and there is no reason to immediately engage in reserves.

And now, before the ink on the previous regulations has dried, someone has in fact broken through this limit, one can imagine how annoyed Trotsky would have been.

At least Egorov felt that Trotsky had every reason to be annoyed, and that he would have been mad about it. Moreover, emotionally speaking, Yegorov was also full of admiration for Trotsky, and it must be said that Trotsky's proposal to appoint old officers and old intellectuals won him the gratitude of the old officers, which made a large part of the old officers who had lost their jobs find a place again.

Although Yegorov did not belong to the old army officers, he was a veteran of the October Revolution from the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, but he still appreciated such a policy. Someone's approach is a bit of a nose in the face, and in comparison with the two, he is more sympathetic to Trotsky, and he also hopes that someone can handle the relationship correctly.

"Isn't that a bit too much?" Egorov reminded.

Is it excessive? Li Xiaofeng didn't think it was too much at all, according to the trend of history, Dzerzhinsky's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Cheka should have an exclusive force - NKVD, that is, the later internal guard force of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (similar to the nature of the Harmonious National Armed Police, but with greater authority).

The NKVD was formed in the first half of 1918 and consisted mainly of the forces of the All-Russian Anti-Counterterrorism Committee, the Supply Force, and the Railway and Ship Guard Units. In 1918, the NKVD had more than 100,000 people (and more later, it also served as a warlord in World War II, and shot deserters).

And with the crossing of a certain immortal, this army was not established as in history, and the power of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or Dzerzhinsky was greatly discounted, and the Cheka Iron Mask could not control it, and there were no good guns under his command. If it weren't for the fact that the man in the iron mask was also the secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, he really wouldn't be able to sit in the position of a member of the Politburo.

All in all, Li Xiaofeng felt that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Cheka had already suffered losses in this regard, and the good internal affairs troops would be gone, so he had to help the Man in the Iron Mask get some justice, right? I don't want a large establishment of more than 10,000 people, and you Trotsky can't say anything if you get an elite army of 10,000 people, right?

Therefore, in response to Yegorov's reminder, Li Xiaofeng's answer is: "The spirit of the Central Committee is very clear, and the border police force is by no means just the current scale...... In accordance with the instructions of the central authorities, we should gradually expand the border police force, if we do not do a good job in advance now? How can we quickly complete the expansion in the future? ”

If you say that, you can say the past, but anyone with a discerning eye can see it. Trotsky did not want a rapid expansion of the border police force. But...... Trotsky's meaning is not equal to that of the Centre. Even people outside the party like Egorov knew that the Trotskyists and Leninists were fighting fiercely within the Bolsheviks, and perhaps the instructions and explanations on the expansion of the border police force were what Lenin meant.

So what did it mean to respect Trotsky or what did it mean to respect Lenin? The answer given by Egorov was - I am neutral. You two gods are fighting, I really can't afford to get involved with this kind of small shrimp, anyway, the sky is falling and there is a high top, Comrade Andrei, you are the superior, you are the supervisor, you have the final say. As for whether Trotsky would be looking for trouble. I don't care. I can't do it!

Yegorov chose to make peace with the mud, Li Xiaofeng was not angry, in his opinion, it was normal for Yegorov to be worried, after all, the two sides had just begun to cooperate, and there must always be a process of mutual understanding and adaptation. Moreover, Yegorov's identity is indeed rather embarrassing, and he is a leftist Socialist-Revolutionary, participating in the internal contradictions of the Bolsheviks, and is indeed looking for death.

However, Li Xiaofeng was not the kind of person who did not listen to advice at all, and although he was very eager to expand the ranking, he also knew that Trotsky had a difficult time, and that if he wanted to pass the test successfully, he had to seek the advice of his mentor and Sverdlov.

"You're going to be in reserve?" After Sverdlov heard the news. First of all, I expressed my surprise, who made everyone a smart person. As soon as Xiao Si heard about the reserves, he knew what someone was planning.

However, Sverdlov is not concerned about whether to do it or not, he is more concerned about whether it can be done: "Andrey, have you thought it through? The Central Committee of the Border Police Force basically can't give financial support, do you have the funds to engage in reserves? ”

Li Xiaofeng has considered this problem, to tell the truth, he is really incapable of completely arming these nearly 20,000. However, he did not need to arm 20,000 people in one go, anyway, the central government only approved his regular army of 6,000 people, and first armed these 6,000 people to ensure the combat effectiveness of the regular army.

The remaining 12,000 people can take their time and train first. Anyway, soldiers don't need weapons all the time when they stay in the barracks, otherwise what would they do with the arsenal? The extra 10,000 or so can be procured only to meet the basic training needs, and it will not be too late to fully arm them when the economy is comfortable in the future.

Li Xiaofeng roughly calculated, if it is only to meet the needs of training, this 10,000-person person only needs more than 3,000 people with weapons and equipment, anyway, the tradition of the Russian army is three people and one gun. In other words, if you are full of calculations, someone only needs to purchase 9,000 weapons and equipment, which is only 3,000 more than the original plan, and someone should be able to do it by gritting their teeth.

"That's fine," Sverdlov nodded, and in fact he thought it was good, because, "If the remaining 10,000 or so were largely unarmed, Lotsky's opinion would be a little smaller." ”

The opinion was affirmed, Li Xiaofeng was very happy, and he was ready to go to the tutor in a hurry, and then he would be able to do his old man's work. However, Sverdlov stopped him: "Andrey, that is, the final size of the border police force is eighteen thousand people, right? ”

Li Xiaofeng was a little surprised, didn't he already make it clear just now, six thousand regular troops and 12,000 reserves, don't they add up to 18,000? Do you still need to ask about something so obvious?

Of course, this thing is not despising Sverdlov, he does not mean it at all. Because he knew that Xiao Si was shrewd, how could he have doubts about such an obvious question. Now, since he raised this question, there must be something in it!

Sure enough, Sverdlov asked with a smile: "In other words, you are going to report to the Central Committee for approval on a scale of 18,000, right?" ”

Li Xiaofeng nodded blankly, he wasn't going to do this!

"Tsk!" Sverdlov shook his head and said, "You're still inexperienced, Andrey! ”

Li Xiaofeng's doubts are even greater, is there anything important about reporting a data?

Sverdlov nodded, "That's right, it's exquisite." Let's put it this way, Andrey, we all know where the biggest obstacle is in this matter. Although you have come up with the excuse of the reserves, it is conceivable that Trotsky will be fiercely opposed, and that he will inevitably have to bargain when the time comes......"

Li Xiaofeng suddenly became enlightened, he completely understood, indeed! As Sverdlov reminded, you can't report it on a scale of 18,000. Trotsky would not have relented easily, and he would have to cut off some of the 10,000 newspapers. Otherwise, where will his old face go!

"How much should I report?" Li Xiaofeng humbly asked.

"According to the thirty-six thousand!" Sverdlov directly doubled it. "Twelve thousand regular troops. Twenty-four thousand reserves, you just report it! ”

Li Xiaofeng was really eye-opening, but he had no problem with the number of reserves, but the Central Committee of the regular army had previously stipulated that it could only be 6,000, but now it has been doubled, which seems to be a blatant violation of the spirit of the Central Committee.

Sverdlov laughed: "It's not called a violation, it's about showing your attitude, all you have to do is show that you're not happy with that restriction." You're not satisfied. I can talk to Comrade Lenin! ”

Li Xiaofeng left Sverdlov's office as if he didn't understand, preparing to go back and make a new report, and then submit it to the central government for approval. However, I don't know if it was his luck that was too good or his luck was too bad, so he walked out of the Smolny Palace and bumped into the mentor who came back.

"Andrey, how is the formation of the border police unit going?" Lenin immediately stopped the goods and said, "Go to my office and report the situation in detail!" ”

What else can Li Xiaofeng do, obediently follow, but this guy secretly feels lucky to have Sverdlov's guidance. Mentor-sama should be satisfied, right?

"Thirty-six thousand?" When the tutor saw this data, he frowned. Seems to be very dissatisfied.

A certain immortal has a bottom in his heart, could it be that Sverdlov made a mistake, right? Could it be that the mentor thinks he's too much?

However, the following words of the mentor made someone breathe a sigh of relief: "How can 36,000 people be enough!" ”

The Mentor glared at the guy fiercely, "Didn't the central government already make a decision before?" The establishment of the border police force is an army! Does 36 thousand people meet the standards of the Red Army in the formation of an infantry corps? ”

It should be about the same, a standard infantry corps of the Red Army is generally two or three divisions, and each division is counted according to 12,000, exactly 36,000!

"Play the piano!" Who would have thought that the instructor would not accept this data at all, and said: "Shouldn't an infantry corps have attached support artillery, shouldn't the military headquarters need a soldier, and don't you need to take care of logistics!" Comrade Andrey, the way you think about the problem is too one-sided! As an independent armed force, the strength of the border police force is certainly larger than that of the Red Army at the same level. Otherwise, who will guarantee your troops, how to command the battle?! ”

Let's just say that Lenin was right, as an independent armed force, it is indeed necessary to take all aspects of the problem into account. However, didn't the central authorities plan to completely build up the border police force in one fell swoop, and didn't they prepare to realize it step by step? It doesn't seem necessary to think too far ahead now, does it? Guaranteeing 6,000 people to fight, it's not that complicated, right? And the military artillery or something, a certain immortal really doesn't have so much money to toss!

"You know what!" Lenin glared at the goods, and said in a serious tone: "The border police force has always been a combat unit at the military level, and even if it cannot be fully rolled out for the time being, it must first be put up at the general level!" Not to mention whether there are so many troops, even if the vast majority of the troops are only on paper, the shelves must be so big! ”

Li Xiaofeng understood a little bit what the mentor meant, yes, the border police force did not have those people at the beginning, but it does not mean that this unit is only at the brigade level. The spirit given by the central authorities is very clear, and the maximum strength of this unit is the army. If you only build a shelf according to the brigade level, then it is not very troublesome when you want to expand it in the future? Don't you have to apply for a report or something? It's not about bargaining with Trotsky again!

Lenin did not like such a toss-up, he could accept that the border police force had only 6,000 regular troops, but he would never accept that the maximum strength of this force was only brigades for the time being. Fighting for a brigade for half a day, he really can't afford to lose this person!

He is an old man who wants to solve this problem once and for all, yes, considering your Trotsky feelings, I can accept that the regular army is only 6,000 men, but this frame must be built according to the size of the army. The dignified Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Cheka only have 6,000 guns, and it's a shame to say it! The border police force must be an army, this is the bottom line, even if this army only exists on paper, it must be a military and not a brigade!

However, Li Xiaofeng had doubts about this: "But Comrade Trotsky may not agree!" ”

Lenin glared at them, "Comrade Trotsky is his yes or no, we must adhere to our principles!" Do you know what it means to stick to principles? ”

Li Xiaofeng nodded hurriedly, he understood the principled questions too well, didn't he just stand in line? He never goes wrong in this regard. However, he still asks the question clearly: "So how big should the border police force be?" ”

Lenin glared at him again: "To organize according to the size of the regular army of three divisions, there must be a military headquarters, an artillery brigade attached to the army, a logistics baggage unit, and an engineer and a bridge unit...... You can calculate the specific number yourself, if you can't figure it out, then find someone to help you calculate! I would like to stress only one point: the border police force must be an army, an army that lacks in all aspects. And such an army, with only 36,000 men, is far from enough! (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you Comrade Admiral Hood and Comrade Potato in seconds!