Outside the window, there were also some White Russian expatriates marching in front of the Russian Consulate General in Shanghai in the spring rain as thin as a cow's hair. Although these White Russian exiles have been living in China for more than two years and most of them have begun to integrate into Chinese society, they have not yet given up the illusion of restoring the capitalist system in Russia. The slogans were all against the Bolsheviks and the dictatorship of the proletariat. It was as if such a protest would really shake the rule of the Bolsheviks in Russia.

Checherin closed the curtain of the Consulate General and seemed to leave behind the White Russian reactionaries who had been isolated by the Chinese police ten meters outside the Consulate General's gates. He did not come to Shanghai to watch the performances of these reactionaries who had escaped from Russia, who had been eliminated by history, and who were now living under the fence by acting as imperialist anti-Russian lackeys.

But the signs of abandoning the class struggle and taking the capitalist road in the Bolshevik Party worried the old Bolshevik. Chicherin knew that a fortress was most easily breached from within, and that Soviet Russia was so strong that no enemy could threaten the working-class Motherland from the outside. But what about from the inside?

With the implementation of the NEP, private ownership has been resurrected on Russian soil, and the sprouts of capitalism have appeared! This was a very dangerous signal, but some comrades in the Bolshevik Party did not think about it, and even thought that it was possible to prosper with capitalism! He also expressed his envy for the abnormal prosperity that had emerged in the city of revisionist China, and actually wanted to copy this backward and degenerate model of the free city back to Russia as a signal of surrender (reconciliation) to imperialism and capitalism!

Although Checherin was not a Trotskyist, he was also very disgusted by the signs of bureaucratic totalitarianism that were now emerging in Russia, and regarded them as a harbinger of capitalist restoration! It is the negative effect of the implementation of the New Economic Policy for more than a year! If the Russian GCD does not find a way to maintain its purity and revolution under the NEP in time, the seedlings of capitalism, which are now just showing their heads, will really grow into towering trees! Perhaps British Prime Minister Lloyd. George's claim that the Russian Empire would be restored by commerce would one day come true, right?

As negotiations with imperialism deepened, Chicherin became more and more aware of Lloyd. George's words were not a dream, but an important policy of subversion of the Soviet state being pursued by the imperialist camp! The Shanghai Conference is a conspiracy of the imperialists to carry out this policy of peaceful subversion! All their conditions and concessions revolved around this conspiracy.

The problem of Tsarist Russia's foreign debt, which had been thought to be a possible stiflation of Soviet power, was resolved more satisfactorily - the American billionaire Dawes proposed a debt moratorium and relief, and the debt of 18 billion gold rubles was halved. It can also be repaid in 30 installments starting after 25 years, while the annual interest is reduced to 3.5%. Although it did not fully meet the requirements of the Soviet government, it was always acceptable.

Britain, the United States and France expressed their willingness to put aside the question of foreign property confiscated by the Soviet Government...... Say it's left to be resolved in the future. This made the very vigilant Russian People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs feel the smell of conspiracy! Future? Did the Anglo-American capitalists think that when in the future they would be able to get the then Russian government to return or compensate them for the loss of their property?

In the negotiations that followed. Britain, the United States and France also made their demands. At the same time, Chicherin also discovered more clues of the conspiracy to peacefully subvert Soviet Russia.

First of all, imperialism showed an extraordinary interest in Bukharin's whimsical expression of the "Special Zones of Freedom" as a precondition for the relief of Soviet Russia's foreign debt! Moreover, he expressed his desire to turn Petrograd, the former capital of Russia, into a "special zone for the restoration of capitalism", and even wanted to participate in the formulation of policies and systems for the special zone!

Secondly. The three imperialist countries insisted on the abolition of the foreign trade monopoly in Russia, and even when the Soviet and Russian sides no longer demanded most-favored-nation treatment for trade with Western countries, Anglo-American law still insisted on this demand. The demands for extraterritoriality and supervision of Soviet Russia's finances were lightly abandoned.

In addition, imperialism has unexpectedly demanded the dissolution or reform of the GC International! If Soviet Russia is really unwilling to dissolve this party within a party, it should follow the model of the Second International. Transform the GC International into a loose coalition of parties, with the Chinese GCD and the Japanese National Socialist Party as full members, preferably moving its headquarters out of Soviet Russia.

Finally, Britain, the United States and France also demanded that Soviet Russia grant a general amnesty to political criminals in its territory! In particular, the Soviet and Russian authorities strongly demanded that the Soviet authorities abolish discrimination against 21 "class alien elements". Equal treatment of all citizens of Soviet Russia, including the former aristocracy, capitalists, landlords, kulaks, intellectuals (non-Bolsheviks), is a bit of a dagger! Differential treatment of people of different classes is the basic principle of the workers' state and the main form of the dictatorship of the proletariat in peacetime. If people from capitalist backgrounds are allowed to enjoy the treatment of the working class, how can it be reflected that the workers are the dictatorship class and the capitalists are the objects of the dictatorship?

Chicherin, who felt the problem was serious, sat down behind his desk and began to draft a telegram to the Russian Central Committee to report on the latest developments in the Shanghai meeting. At the same time, it also reminded the central authorities to maintain a high degree of vigilance against the peaceful subversion policy of imperialism.

At this moment, there was a soft knock on the door, and Checherin, thinking it was his secretary, greeted in a low voice: "What is it?" Come on in! The door was gently pushed open, and a pretty figure stood in the doorway with a smile. Chicherin opened his eyes. It turned out to be Natalie Murphy, the chief representative of GC International in China. Leshinskaya, since CG is not an official member of GC International now, the representative of GC International in CG is also a vase, and it is quite appropriate for Natalie, a big beauty, to take this position.

The beauty walked into the office with a smile. He placed an envelope in front of Chicherin, then pulled over a chair and sat down across from him.

"Natalie. How did you get to Shanghai? Chicherin frowned, opened the envelope in front of him, took out the raft inside and looked at it, it was written in Chinese, and he didn't know it at all. Is it for the letter? What is written above? ”

"This was given to me by Chairman Mao ZD." Natalie said in a sweet and greasy voice, "The letter mentions an imperialist anti-Soviet conspiracy. ”

Checherin was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Natalie with a puzzled look. "Comrade Lesinskaya, I am the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Not NKVD ......"

"It was Comrade Skryansky's instructions." Natalie is of course the Cheka's high-ranking swallow, in fact, her main task in Zhongg is to try to get close to and seduce Chang Ruiqing, who is a member of the Zhongg Political Bureau!

Chicherin sighed. "What kind of anti-Soviet conspiracy? Is it related to the Shanghai meeting? ”

"Yes, there is a conspiracy for peaceful evolution! According to the chairman of the Chinese G, Mao Zd, the architect of this conspiracy was British Prime Minister Lloyd. George. The United Kingdom, the United States, France, Japan, and the Nationalist Government of China are already involved. They tried to export capitalism to Russia by strengthening commerce and people-to-people exchanges. Corrupt the cadres of the party and the state with bourgeois ideology and the decadent way of life of capitalism. At the same time, supplemented by diplomatic pressure and support for certain moderates within Russia, they strive to expand the living space of capitalism in Soviet Russia, and finally achieve the goal of peacefully transforming GCD into a socialist party and Soviet Russia into capitalist Russia. ”

"Is that really the case?" Chicherin glanced at Natalie. Yan Sù's face showed a solemn and suspicious expression. "Could this be another conspiracy? Perhaps the Chinese want to undermine the trend of détente between Soviet Russia and imperialism? Natalie, is there such a possibility? ”

"This is certainly a possibility, Comrade People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. In fact, Comrade Sklyansky is not very accurate, which is why I have asked you to pass on this letter and ask for your own opinion. ”

"That's right...... I think it's very likely that this conspiracy is in existence. Judging from the several conditions put forward by the imperialists in the negotiations at present, they do have this in mind. I am ready to write a report to the Central Committee and ask them to be more vigilant. Chicherin lit a cigarette and coughed. But our foreign policy cannot be changed by a letter from the Chairman of the Central G, and it is natural for imperialism to want to subvert us, just as we want to liberate the people who are oppressed by them. We can't shut down the country just because they have such a conspiracy, can we? This was detrimental to the development of the Soviet state. ”

"Of course yes, Comrade People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs." Natalie paused, frowning. "I am not here to interfere in the foreign policy of the country, but for another appalling thing mentioned in Comrade Mao Zd's letter -- there are now high-ranking figures of the Russian GCD who are taking advantage of the opportunity of the Shanghai Conference to engage with imperialism. Ready to take the Soviet state on the path to the restoration of capitalism with their support! ”

"That person is ......"

"Nikolai. Sergeyevich. Bukharin! ”

"It turned out to be him!"

Hearing the name, Checherin's face did not show any surprise. If there was anyone in the top echelons of the Russian GCD who wanted to restore capitalism, it would be Bukharin. And Bukharin never hid his views, which any Bolshevik who was well versed in Marxist theory could find out from Bukharin's article in Pravda.

He looked at Natalie's beautiful face and hesitated, "What are you going to do?" ”

"The instructions at 2 Rubyanka Plaza were to monitor and look for evidence. I need your cooperation for this, and I would like to work beside Comrade Bukharin as a member of the delegation. Comrade People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. ”

"Okay, I'll figure it out."

……

"Comrade Lesinskaya, what kind of standard does today's reception belong to in China?"

According to the top-secret archives of the NKVD of the former Soviet Union, which was later lifted by Nazi Germany. This is Nikolai. Bukharin with Natalie. Lesinskaya's first question. Natalie, who was publicly identified as the chief representative of GC International to GCD in China at that time, was at the request of Checherin, the head of the Soviet-Russian negotiating delegation. Entered the Soviet-Russian negotiating delegation to assist in the work. On her first day of official entry into the delegation, she and Bukharin attended a reception hosted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. After the reception began, Bukharin asked this question, which seemed strange to Natalie.

"Comrade Bukharin, there are no strict standards for such a thing as a reception in China." Natalie swept the long rows of tables piled high with food and drinks in the middle of the spacious and luxurious ballroom. There are Chinese dim sum, Western cold food, and a variety of fine wines and Dutch water. There was also a band playing upbeat music next to the long table. It's just an ordinary reception, not particularly extravagant and not shabby.

"Aren't there strict standards?" Bukharin muttered in a low voice. "There are many people who say that the eating and drinking trend that has now appeared in Soviet Russia is due to the corruption of bourgeois ideology...... But why didn't the Chinese bourgeois government have a problem of eating and drinking? ”

"Didn't you?" Natalie wrinkled her nose. "Their newspapers have been criticizing government officials for misusing public funds, and several political parties in parliament often attack each other about this kind of thing."

"And how did the Chinese government respond?"

Natalie has been working in China for the past two years and does not know the situation of bureaucracy and privilege in Soviet Russia, so she does not understand why Bukharin asked such a question.

She pondered for a while, but replied truthfully: "The Chinese government has strengthened budget management and clean government to curb such problems, and their budgets at all levels of government, except for foreign affairs-related departments, have only a small amount of money for official entertainment. However, officials at all levels can receive a special monthly payment, which should theoretically be used for official activities, but in practice most of them are put into personal pockets by officials...... There are also strict rules on officials accepting banquets from private individuals or businesses, and each banquet must be reported to the relevant authorities for the record, and China's Independent Commission Against Corruption sometimes examines officials for accepting banquets that exceed a certain standard as bribery cases, and some people lose their hats because of this. As a result, Chinese officials generally do not accept corporate banquets, and they rarely pay out of their own pockets to invite others to eat and drink......"

"Oh." Bukharin answered, turned his head to look at Natalie, who was wearing a beautifully made velvet cheongsam, completely setting off a fiery figure, and said half-jokingly: "Comrade Lesinskaya, it seems that your life in China is a bit difficult!" ”