It was a little farewell party at Smolny Palace, in a rather gorgeous dining room with fine cutlery and food. Hersmann could see that Lenin and his comrades were indeed looking forward to making peace with Germany. Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin and Koluntai (a lady with a glass of water had a high status, she was a member of the Central Committee and People's Commissar) all attended, as did Lenin's wife and lover. Trotsky's wife, Natalia, and his father, Blomstein, also joined in the fun. The former is the daughter of a banker, and although she is a little older, she still has the same demeanor. The latter looked like a peasant, a very wealthy rich peasant from Ukraine (he claimed to own 300 Russian acres of land, equivalent to 5,000 Chinese acres). In addition, five young and beautiful ladies came and took turns to dance with everyone.

In the corner of the dining room there is a very beautiful piano - the Smolny Palace was originally a noble girls' school, and there are many very high-end musical instruments in it. Feng. Heinsberg was sitting there playing. The diplomat had never shown her musical talents, but this time she played Beethoven's "To Alice" very well.

Ludwig. Feng. Hersmann, on the other hand, took off his yellow-green Russian suit, his time as a Russian revolutionary was over, and now he was a friend of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. His friendship with them was not disguised, because he was well aware that Russia and Germany were not real enemies...... At least until the future Third Reich overthrows the British Empire, Germany must maintain relations with the Soviet Union - a war on two fronts, against Britain and the United States and against the Soviet Union, and the Germans have tried twice in history, but nothing has come to fruition! So Hersman is determined to stop the second adventure of a two-front war!

And for the USSR, the same was true. When the nationalist Germany was destroyed by Britain and the United States, two countries manipulated by capital, the tragic end of the Soviet Union was actually doomed -- the international capitalist bloc controlled most of the world, and had an overwhelming advantage in terms of population, capital, resources, and technology, and it was only a matter of time before the Soviet Union was destroyed!

In the dining room, cocktail parties and dances alternated, and Chloe and two other Russian girls played the piano one after the other. Hersman danced with every lady present, and was poured plenty of wine—perhaps to talk to him about something, but the Russians did not bring out vodka, or Hersmann would have been too drunk to wake up.

"Maybe it's time for us to go out and blow the night breeze," Lenin said to Hersmann, who had also drunk a lot, but not much. "It's a warm night, and when you get back from Germany, it's time to get a taste of Russian winter."

From the large large stone balcony, the view is an empty square, opposite the blue Smolny Monastery, solemn and luxurious, showing the splendor and wealth of the Russian Empire, as well as the potential of the future Red Empire. This is the largest territorial (native) country in the world and the most populous country in the entire white world. Industrialization had already been achieved before the First World War, and the total mileage of railways in operation was second only to that of the United States. Once such a huge country was integrated by the Bolsheviks with an iron fist, any idea of easily defeating them was very unrealistic. If you add the United States and the British Empire, it will be harder for Germany to win than it is to ascend to the sky!

Moreover, Hersman was well aware of the end and weakness of the USSR, a country that in an era of peaceful development, did not have much advantage to speak of. If Germany can replace the United States as the master of the world, it will not be much difficult to dismantle this red empire.

"Ludwig, I know you really want to make peace." Lenin sat down in a comfortable easy chair, a solemn look on his face. "And I am also willing to promote peace, which is good for you and me, so I also gave quite good conditions, which is already our bottom line."

The conditions given by Lenin are composed of two parts, light and dark, and on the surface there are six:

1. Both sides renounce the territories seized during the war and withdraw their occupying forces as soon as possible.

2. The complete restoration of the political independence of the peoples lost in the course of the war;

3. To guarantee the right to self-determination of peoples that did not attain political independence before the war;

4. Legislating the cultural independence and administrative autonomy of ethnic minorities;

5. Abandon the recovery of reparations and "war expenses" from other countries;

6. To grant autonomy and political independence to the colonies in accordance with the principles of points 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Such conditions, of course, are foolish, and if they were before the Kerensky offensive, they might be able to be taken out and talked about. In the current situation, it can only be said that it is politically incompetent to prescribe such conditions again.

Therefore, the Bolsheviks also prescribed secret conditions for peace talks, which were also six:

1. Both sides immediately cease fire and withdraw 5 km from their respective fronts;

2. To hold referendums on the principle of national self-determination in Russian Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Livonia, Livland, Courland, etc., in order to decide whether or not to secede from Russia and establish an independent state;

3. Germany and Austria-Hungary shall not annex Russian Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Livonia, Livran, Courland, etc., and shall not make new territorial claims against Russia;

4. The return of the borders of Russia with Turkey and Romania to the pre-war status;

5. The withdrawal of German and its allies from the territories of Russia except Russian Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Livonia, Livland, Courland;

6. Russia made a one-time payment of 600 tons of gold to Germany.

Hersman knew that there was room for concessions from the Bolsheviks, such as agreeing to the independence of Ukraine and Finland. But this was meaningless for Germany, which would be defeated in a little more than a year.

For Germany now, there are only two things that are meaningful, one is to achieve a draw on the Western Front -- when a large number of American troops are about to arrive, Britain and France will definitely resist desperately, and it is impossible to achieve a quick solution with the style of a static war in World War I. It can only drag on and drag out a draw. Of course, this is hard to do!

The second is to lay out the layout for the revival after the defeat, if Germany is defeated, then the previous treaty with Russia will be waste paper. For Germany, only benefits that could still be guaranteed after defeat were meaningful, such as gold that had already been obtained; German interests in Estonia and Latvia, for example, Hersmann remembers that the Soviet Union did not annex these two small states on the Baltic coast until World War II.

Thinking of this, Hersman replied in a very sincere tone: "I understand the concessions made by the Bolsheviks...... Given the tension on the Western Front, we in Germany should restore peace on the Eastern Front as soon as possible! When I return to Berlin, I will definitely do my best to convince my superiors. If they still want something, I will advise them as much as possible to claim the tsar's treasures instead of the territory of Russia. ”

Treasure is easy to say, just like the gold of Kazan, it is normal to lose it in the chaos of war, and it is not to blame the Bolsheviks, but if the territory is lost in large areas, the nature is completely different.

"Well, I know you're our true friend, but it's a pity you're just a captain." Lenin said in a melancholy bass voice, "If your efforts do not succeed in the end, you are still our friend, and I hope you can return to Russia." ”

At this moment Lenin stood up, stretched out his right hand, and shook it with Hersmann.

"It's a deal!" Hersmann felt Lenin's hand held very strongly, as if he was reluctant to leave. "And I'm not going to come back empty-handed...... I'll bring artillery, machine guns and ammunition to your army! If you need it, I will also bring military advisers and engineers to help you train the army and help the factories in Petersburg to resume production as soon as possible! ”

Lenin suddenly accentuated, "Moreover, I hope that one day you will become the leader of Germany!" ”

The silence on the balcony lasted for a long time, and Hersmann did not say a word, as if shocked by Lenin's words, and then Lenin added: "Ludwig, you took part in a real revolution and played a huge role, without you the August Revolution would not have succeeded at all." In terms of political means, you are better than Karl. Liebknecht didn't know how much smarter! ”

――――

On the bookshelf pushed, Luo Luo first yelled twice to be happy, and then still cried, begged, begged for recommendation tickets and collections, and those who have not yet collected it, now put Luo Luo's books away. Thank you all for your support.