In a warehouse district on the outskirts of Moscow, many workers were busy until late at night, and the bustle contrasted with the desertion of the day.

On the rooftops, at the exits, and even in the woods around the reservoir area, many men armed with weapons and dressed as workers were on the alert, and outside one of the cabins, a dozen men with rifles on their backs watched the surroundings with wary expressions.

Four people sat at a small square table in the cabin, and behind each one stood two secretary-bodyguard-like figures. The one with his back to the door seemed to be the owner, his sparse hair already showing a "Mediterranean" tendency, his thin face, pointed chin, and piercing gaze made him look bright, and he was dressed in a very ordinary suit; On the right-hand side is a middle-aged man who looks like a worker, not very tall but with very strong muscles, which may be the result of long-term and high-intensity work; On the left-hand side is a mysterious looking figure, wearing a wide black trench coat and a black hat in front of him, although the weather has gradually cooled, his outfit still makes people feel a little awkward; Directly across the gate sat a Russian officer, a young Russian infantry major, and behind him were two guards with short guns.

"So, let's get started!" The quasi-"Mediterranean" glanced at everyone, and there was not much expression on everyone's faces, "Comrade Khristov, let's introduce the situation first!" ”

The officer on the opposite side nodded, and spoke in a deep and hoarse voice: "In almost two months since the beginning of the war, the tsar has lost about two million troops!" ”

As soon as the words fell, the leader of the workers had a surprised expression on his face, and "Mediterranean" silently rested his chin on his fist, and a smug smile appeared on the face of the man in black.

After a pause of a few seconds, the officer continued: "It is true that we have lost two million of our compatriots, the vast majority of whom were killed and captured in battle with the German-Austrian army, I have no specific figures, but at least 400,000 soldiers were in the German prisoner of war camps, the Austrians were also holding about 300,000, and a considerable number of them were deserters and were hiding from the tsarist government!" ”

"I think Mr. Bird will have a more authoritative message on this point!" "Mediterranean" said to invite the man in black to speak, and the man in black thought for a moment, and said in somewhat stiff Russian:

"Yes! There were a large number of Russian soldiers in the German prisoner of war camps, and as far as I know, in the East Prussian campaign, the tsar lost a total of 420,000 troops of two armies, of which 150,000 were captured, and the Northwest Army Group was completely annihilated; In several large-scale battles near Bialystok, the tsar lost 1 army group and a large number of Guards troops, which meant that he had lost 400,000 ordinary troops and 100,000 Guards, of which 140,000 were imprisoned in German prisoner-of-war camps; In the Battle of Lodz-Warsaw a few days ago, the German-Austrian forces annihilated and captured 600,000 Russian troops, and the Tsar's Southwestern Army Group lost most of its combat effectiveness, and they and the Guards troops retreating from Bialystok are now gathered in Minsk, the exact strength is ominous, but I think the Tsar continues to increase troops there! ”

The man in black glanced at the Russian officer, his expression acquiescing to the information, and he continued his speech:

"According to intelligence, the tsar has mobilized close to 6 million troops, which is already the limit of what Russia can afford in the short term. Of the 2 million people he lost, he has now deployed nearly 1 million people in Minsk and Belarus, 300,000 people in Ukraine have stayed in various fortresses and strongholds, 500,000 people have been deployed on the Caucasus and the Black Sea coast, 600,000 people have been deployed in Asia, and 1.2 million recruits are still being assembled and trained in various places, so the garrison forces everywhere are already very weak, especially Moscow, whose defense force is less than half of what it was before the war! ”

"Well, that's good! Thank you to our German friends for the information! Mr. Bird also brought us five thousand rifles, twenty machine guns and one hundred thousand rounds of ammunition today! "Mediterranean" said with a slight nod of thanks to the man in black, while the leader of the workers and the officer looked more indifferent.

"Comrade Lenin, you are so polite! Here's what we should do! The man in black also owed a slight debt, "Also, there are about 100,000 Russian prisoners who are currently receiving political education from your party, and they will surely be used by your revolution in the near future!" ”

It turns out that this Mediterranean Sea is the legendary Lenin, and his hair is really developing according to the laws of history......

"Indeed, thank you very much for your help! May our friendship last forever! Lenin then turned to the head of the workers, "Then Comrade Todovvich, how is the state of your workers' armament?" ”

"It's good, everything is in active preparation! In Moscow, we have 600,000 workers who can take part in the revolutionary battles! The only thing we lacked was weapons, and most of the workers now only had hammers and wrenches in their hands! "Now that our trade unions across the country are basically ready to fight, it would be nice to give us a hundred thousand more rifles!" ”

"Mediterranean" stood up with a serious expression, propped his hands on the table, "Well, that's a problem! We can't let our comrades go to battle with the tsar's soldiers with hammers! Comrade Khristov, can you still get some rifles there? ”

The officer shook his head in embarrassment, "There is not a single rifle in the warehouse!" ”

"Isn't there a way for the comrades in the military factories to get some weapons?" The "Mediterranean" again reluctantly turned to the head of the workers.

"I'm afraid not, every time a gun or a bullet is produced in the factory, the army will rush to transport them away!" The head of the worker was even more helpless, his fist had already pounded on the table several times.

"So, Mr. Bird?"

"Now it is difficult to bring in weapons from Germany or Turkey, the Russian government and army have completely requisitioned the railways, and the situation of kilometer transportation is very bad! We can only guarantee that we bring so many weapons today every month! ”

"Alright! Even if we don't have enough weapons, we still have an unwavering belief in revolution and truth! The tsar and his army are just paper tigers, everyone don't worry! "Despite the fact that there are not enough weapons, the" Mediterranean "looks very confident.

"That's right! We have developed a large number of comrades in the tsarist army who support the revolution, and the tsarist government has nothing to fear! The Russian officer also stood up confidently, with his fists clenched in front of his chest.

"Comrade Khristov, according to the current situation, how many garrison troops in Moscow will revolt at the time of the revolution? I need a more reliable number! Mediterranean sat back in his chair with satisfaction and continued to pose as a thinker.

"After several years of active work on our part, I am sure that at least 100 battalions of soldiers will be in the camp of the revolution!"

"It's less than one-fifth of the garrison troops!" The head of the workers was not as agitated as the officer, and he said a word warmly.

"No, Comrade Todovvich, many soldiers, although they are not so staunch supporters of the revolution, will not die for the Tsar!" The officer said disapprovingly, "Comrade Lenin, there are many officers and men in the navy who support the revolution, right?" ”

"Mediterranean" nodded, "Their situation is better than that of the army, and most of the sailors on some of the battleships have already joined our party!" As soon as we start a revolution, they will take control of those warships to participate in the battle against the old army! ”

"I would like to know when your revolution is going to take place, and this is what our prince is most concerned about!" The man in black, who had been silent, suddenly interjected.

"Mediterranean" thought for a while, lowered his voice and said: "Then please tell the honorable prince that we are preparing to launch an uprising in early November!" Because according to reliable intelligence, the Tsar planned to launch a full-scale counterattack on the German-Austrian front in November, when his forces would be even more empty! ”

"That's good! I will pass on this message to the Prince! The man in black stood up, stretched out his right hand and said, "It's time for me to go, good luck to you!" ”

"Mediterranean" continued to study some details with the officers and workers, and the man in black and his men quickly disappeared into the night.

It was not only these revolutionaries who did not want to sleep, but also several large rooms in the Tsar's palace were also brightly lit.

The Tsar stood in deep thought in front of a huge map of battle, while several marshals beside him looked tired.

"All the troops in the Far East that can be drawn should be transferred back to Europe and a massive counterattack should be launched against the German-Austrian army in Poland!" The Tsar muttered, "There is also a call order, continue to issue a call order, we need more soldiers to attack!" Engulf Germany and Austria with a sea of people! ”

"Your Majesty......" Grand Duke Ra, a nun who had returned to Moscow in early September because of a serious illness, was on the sidelines, his tall and thin figure stood out in the crowd, and his already emaciated face was even paler and weaker because of his illness.

"Your Majesty, we must guarantee a certain size of troops in the Far East, after all, many potential enemies are still peeping there!" A gray-haired marshal whispered, but his words were immediately refuted by another bearded man:

"Europe is our foundation! We should not give up fertile Poland, where it is even more important than the Far East! Besides, now our biggest competitors in the Far East, the Japanese, have also stood on our front, and there is nothing to worry about! ”

"Your Majesty, are you considering withdrawing troops from the Turkish front......" the white-haired marshal suggested after receiving the tacit approval of the Grand Duke.

"Oh...... Turkey! Damn the Turks! Speaking of Turkey, the Tsar was angry again, in the Caucasus, in Armenia, his soldiers were fighting against these Turks, who he considered the inferior, and did not take advantage of them in the slightest, "The British and French have no way to launch an offensive against the Dardanelles now, and now we have to open up the transport lines there on our own!" We now lack everything, guns, ammunition, medicine and even food! ”

"Your Majesty, now at least half of our newly recruited army is unarmed, so send them to the front......" The Grand Duke coughed desperately before he finished speaking, and the Tsar couldn't help frowning.

"Weapons, weapons again! Let them go and arm themselves with the guns of the Germans and Austrians! ”

"Your Majesty, I still think we should be on the defensive and strike back next spring! At that time, our recruits have already been trained, and the equipment will be better than now......" Before the Grand Duke could finish speaking, Tsar Nun Ra II impatiently stepped aside.

"No! I can't wait that long, and neither can our allies! Britain and France have promised that as long as we can drag the Germans back to the Eastern Front, they will bring in as much as we can! ”

"But Britain and France can't protect themselves......" The Grand Duke suddenly felt dizzy, and then fainted to the ground.

"Grand Duke! Grand duke! The generals all surrounded him, but fortunately the Grand Duke was only very weak and fainted.

"Send the Grand Duke back to recuperate! Tell him that I will personally be the commander-in-chief of the army during this time, and he won't have to worry about it! "The indifference of the tsar gave people a chill.

After thinking about it for a long time, the white-haired marshal still persuaded: "Your Majesty, there has been information recently that the Germans are colluding with our revolutionary party and preparing to plunge our country into civil strife, should we pay more attention, and besides, the current guards in the capital seem to be insufficient......

"Humph! Those revolutionary parties have not yet learned their lesson! It seems that we didn't suppress it hard enough three years ago! The Revolutionary Party had always been a major concern for Nunla, but now he was more concerned about his enemies abroad.

At this moment, a chamberlain hurriedly ran to the Tsar and whispered: "Your Majesty, the Empress, please rest early......"

The Tsar looked at his pocket watch, turned to the crowd and said, "This is the end of today's military meeting!" Let's go back and rest first, and we'll continue the discussion tomorrow! ”

Looking at the back of the tsar leaving in a hurry, the marshals shook their heads helplessly.

In Tver, northwest of Moscow, the whole city has fallen into a deep sleep. On a remote street, a group of dark figures are quietly approaching a small three-story house. In a small room on the third floor, a dozen people were discussing in the dim light, and the table was full of papers and pamphlets.

Suddenly, two gunshots shattered the silence and alerted the people in the room.

"Oh no, the Russian dog is coming! Evacuate everyone! Be sure to protect your list! A middle-aged bearded man drew his pistol while commanding, and while everyone was cleaning up, a man's voice came from outside the door:

"Jump out of the window, everybody! There are a lot of gendarmes down there! ”

The bearded man was stunned for a moment, then pushed open the window, and the roof of a nearby house was outside, when a dense gunfire came from the stairs outside.

"Quick!" The bearded man sent the leaders of the revolutionary party and the trade unions out of the windows one by one, and several gunshots and the sound of people falling to the ground were heard outside the door. The bearded man glanced at the table full of papers, and shouted with a desperate expression: "There is no way! Act ahead! ”

The door of the room was slammed open, and the bearded man had barely raised his pistol when several bullets had pierced his body.

"Quick! Don't let them run! A leader-like man shouted, "Search this place carefully and see what important documents there are!" ”

Outside the window, black shadows disappeared one by one on the rooftops in the distance, leaving behind many leaflets and pamphlets that had not had time to burn.

By the time dawn came, the sound of gunfire had already spread throughout the city of Tver, and the revolutionaries had to revolt ahead of schedule. When the news reached Moscow, the Tsar was furious and immediately sent the cavalry units of the Guards to Tver to suppress it, and at the same time imposed martial law on the city of Moscow, and the spy gendarmes searched everywhere and found a large number of leaflets in a secret printing house southwest of Moscow. At the same time, many cities spontaneously responded to the Tver uprising, and the clarion call of the revolution began to echo on the Russian land.