The Komsomol incident caused an international uproar, and the British and French newspapers, which had been sneering at the Soviet government, were dumbfounded, and the so-called arms ships were full of medicines, which was tantamount to giving the Soviet government an advertisement in the international arena and indirectly enhancing the international prestige and influence of the other side.

"MI6 must give me an explanation! Why do you put such an oolong! ”

M couldn't laugh or cry at all, because the previous intelligence showed that the Komsomol members had indeed loaded the arms, and the Kursk had also unloaded the same arms in Santander, so why did it suddenly become medicine and food?

Not only M, but even Learwin hated it so much, needless to say, this time she was put on the spot by a certain immortal, and those so-called top-secret information were definitely deliberately leaked to her by someone, and they dug a pit waiting for her to jump in.

The fact is also true, Li Xiaofeng knows very well that the so-called gentlemanly and aristocratic demeanor of the British has always been nonsense, and this country is a complete hypocrite. As long as it is helpful to the national interest, even if it is cheated and abducted, it will be done. You can't expect too much from the discipline of a bunch of pirates who make their fortune by robbing and killing. Therefore, the most correct way is to treat others in their own way, to be more despicable and insidious than the British, and to kill these bastards.

Moreover, Li Xiaofeng also knows quite well that the capability of MI6 is still quite strong, and after more than ten years of infiltration and operation, their intelligence network in Russia has basically recovered, and it is time to take another operation to eradicate some poisonous weeds!

Therefore, this time, after he mentioned yì, it was approved by the Politburo. KGB is fully implemented. A counterintelligence operation codenamed "Weeding" was carried out. The action went very smoothly. It was also very successful, marking out a large number of spies and spies hidden within the CPSU.

Why just mark and not eradicate it directly? The reason is simple, as the so-called wildfires are not burned out by the spring breeze, it is very easy to eradicate these known spies and spies. But if they are eliminated, MI6 and other imperialist countries will certainly not stop and will continue to infiltrate, and then they will be even more hidden.

Therefore, it is better to stand still for the time being. It was only a secret surveillance and the outbreak of World War II, when it was impossible for either the British or the Germans to restore their spy networks in the Soviet Union.

Therefore, in this operation, except for a few more dangerous spies who were killed, nothing else moved. And they make full use of it, constantly spreading false news from these channels to confuse the enemy. For example, this time Learvin and MI6 were pitted!

Of course, for an old rascal like the British, such a minor setback is not a problem at all. And this time it was not the British Empire that directly lost face, it was the Spaniards who lost face. So don't look at the Foreign Ministry, which is very dissatisfied with MI6. But that was only internal dissatisfaction, as if nothing had happened to the British.

It's not just pretending to be stupid. The British soon found a way to retaliate as well. On March 20, 1936, the British and the French, in the name of the League of Nations, convened an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers or special envoys of 27 European countries.

The core idea of the conference was a ban on the export of weapons and military materiel to both sides of the Spanish Civil War and the transit of weapons purchased by both sides of the Spanish Civil War. Patrols in the waters around Spain have also been called for to ensure that the arms embargo is fully enforced.

It seems that the attitude of Britain and France is impartial, and it seems that there is pure neutrality. But in reality, private goods are a basket. For example, according to their plan, the patrol area of the Navy of the States Parties was divided in the direction of the Bay of Biscay, from the Portuguese border to the port of Gijón, which was the responsibility of the German Navy, and from the port of Gijón to Bilbao to the French border, which was the responsibility of the Royal Navy. In the southern part of the Strait of Gibraltar, this section of the Strait, including Cádiz, Malaga and Almeria, as well as the Balearic Islands, an important overseas archipelago, remained the territory of the German Navy. From Almeria to Valencia was guarded by the Italian Navy, the rest of Barcelona belonged to the French Navy, and the Soviet Red Navy went home to wash and sleep.

Anyone who knows even the slightest bit about the situation of the Spanish Civil War can see that this division is a malicious motive, that is, a deliberate attempt to kill the government of the Second Spanish Republic. Why?

Quite simply, if you look at the area patrolled by the German Navy, Ferrol in the north was one of the strongholds of the Nationalist Army, and the Strait of Gibraltar in the south was the place where the Franco rebels had to return home. The Balearic Islands were an important springboard for Italy's later aid to Franco. For the Germans to take care of these waters is tantamount to blatantly releasing water into the Nationalist Army, which is equivalent to letting robbers take care of thieves.

Historically, under the cover of the Germans, a large number of arms and military supplies were continuously imported into Ferrol and Cádiz, arming groups of fascist bandits and launching waves of offensives towards Madrid.

If you look at the area under the responsibility of the Italian Navy, this section belongs to the Republic, and it is also the closest route (from the Black Sea) for the Soviet Union to send arms to Spain. The Italians, naturally, will not be polite to the Second Republic and will firmly strangle this lifeline. As for the Royal Navy and the French Navy, they did enforce the law impartially, but the sea area they were responsible for was not the focus at all, and they belonged to the storage of soy sauce, and no matter how impartial they were, they were just covering their ears and stealing the bell.

As for the Red Navy, they were all driven back to their hometowns and were not allowed to get close to the Spanish mainland, what is the purpose of this, do you need to say more?

Anyway, the Soviet Union was quite shocked by the hands of Britain and France, and the "honest" polar bear discovered for the first time that political methods could be played so shamelessly and justifiably, isn't this a clear bully!

When Trotsky heard the news, his face was rather ugly, and it was true that he had not been very interested in participating in Spain, but that did not mean that old Trotsky was a soft bone. He was just considering the national interests of the Soviet Union, and was ready to deal with the construction of the country first, and then talk about exporting the revolution. And he also has an idea that as the legitimate democratically elected government of Spain, Britain and France, which have always flaunted democracy and freedom, must leave a fig leaf no matter how much they don't like socialism, right?

But now, Britain and France have sued him with practical actions. What does it mean to be unscrupulous. What is it called covering your ears and stealing the bell! This is clearly a plan to bully the Soviet Union and the Second Spanish Republic. It's going to blow up his lungs!

Lao Tuo's ruthlessness is also quite explosive!

"I directly refuse to join this shameless so-called "Non-Interference Pact", imperialism is clearly pulling the strings, and we cannot be at their mercy!"

In Trotsky's view, his proposal should soon be approved by the Politburo, after all, both Stalin and Li Xiaofeng had shown great concern for the Spanish question before, and even called for withdrawal from the League of Nations more than once.

However, the facts were not what Trotsky expected. Stalin was the first to reject this proposal: "In principle, I agree with Comrade Trotsky's analysis that this is indeed a gross interference by British and French imperialism in international law and in the internal affairs of Spain. But we must see that 26 countries, including Britain and France, have already agreed with this, and if we oppose it, we are very likely to fall into isolation. At that time, British and French imperialism will again take the opportunity to smear and frame us. I don't think it's a good idea to directly oppose it at this point! ”

Trotsky was a little dumbfounded, Nima, Stalin, you are here to raise the bar with Lao Tzu, right? When I oppose it, you support it, and when I support it, you oppose it again!

It was not only Stalin who was against it. Even Li Xiaofeng objected: "I think we should agree to this agreement, but diplomatically we should try to redefine the area of naval patrols." I don't think the Germans should be responsible for this part of Gibraltar, but should be patrolled by both sides, so that they can monitor each other! ”

The corners of Trotsky's mouth twitched, he really didn't know what to say!

Stalin immediately responded to Li Xiaofeng's suggestion: "I think this is very right, even all the patrol areas should not be undertaken by the navy of one country, but should be jointly monitored by two or even three countries, especially Britain and France, as the defenders of the international order, should undertake more tasks!" ”

It should be said that Stalin's proposal is very clever, and the British and French non-interference patrol zones demarcated according to nationality are actually opening the back door to Germany and Italy, and replacing it with the mixed patrol plan proposed by Stalin, so that no country has the right to patrol alone, and compound supervision is more effective.

Of course, this is more effective and relative, even if Britain and France agree, they can still release water without working and turning a blind eye. However, Britain and France are more likely to refuse outright, because they clearly want to release the water.

"This proposal is good, and if it can be agreed, I have no objection to signing the non-interference agreement," Trotsky replied after a moment's thought, "but what if England, France, or Germany and Italy strongly disagree?" ”

Sverdlov sneered and replied: "If this happens, it shows that Britain and France are ready to make a name for themselves." That being the case, we naturally cannot sign the agreement, and we must mobilize the power of public opinion to expose the despicable means of Britain, France, and Germany and Italy. ”

Speaking of this, Sverdlov glanced at Trotsky, and then said: "But it seems to me that we need to pay more attention to what we should do if England and France agree. ”

This was indeed a problem, because the position of the Soviet Union was clear, it was definitely to support the Second Republic, and once the agreement was signed and the separate patrol program was replaced by the joint patrol program, it was a big problem how to support the Second Republic.

It is conceivable that Britain and France can open the back door to Germany and Italy, but they will definitely not turn a blind eye to the Soviet Union. When the time comes, it will be passive.

Did Trotsky have a way? No. But Li Xiaofeng did, and he said: "I can support the government of the republic under the pretense of countries that have not joined the agreement, and Mexico, for example, is a good choice." ”

Historically, Mexico also sided with the Second Republic, but Mexico's national strength was too weak and the support it gave was really limited, and now, it was completely possible for the Soviet Union to hand over arms to Mexico, and then Mexico to the Second Republic. To be honest, this is much more shameful than a flagrant violation of the agreement by Germany and Italy.

Naturally, the Politburo immediately agreed to this, and soon Litvinov made a strong attack and put forward the opinion of the USSR at the League of Nations, so did the League of Nations agree?

How could it be agreed! Britain and France are clearly releasing water. And there is also the meaning of giving the USSR a little color to see. How could the Soviet Union be allowed to stir up the situation? Therefore, the Soviet Union's mention yì was rejected altogether. Probably the two big hooligans of Britain and France thought that the Soviet Union was not qualified to bargain. However, to their surprise, after the proposal was rejected, the reaction of the Soviet Union greatly surprised them!

Soon the Soviet government made it clear that it refused to participate in the so-called "Non-Interference Pact", not only refusing to do so, but also greatly mocking Britain and France in international public opinion. Of course, the verbal cannon had no effect on Britain and France at all, and the most embarrassing thing for Britain and France was that the Red Navy directly escorted "humanitarian relief materials" into the port of Santander in front of the British and French navies, clearly supporting the government of the Second Republic.

And that's not all. The Soviet government also issued an ultimatum to the Nationalist Army: "Immediately release the Soviet crew and return the Komsomol members, and the perpetrators must also be handed over!" Among them, Emilio was directly ordered. Mora's name, demanding his extradition to the USSR for trial!

Such a tough statement surprised Britain and France, and they found out that the polar bear was still the same polar bear back then, and it was simply soft and hard. And such a diplomatic miscalculation led to the provocation of the old international order dominated by Britain and France!

Because everyone has seen that the so-called League of Nations is simply a shelf, and it has no binding force on a strong country. Even the last force in the middle of the big hooligans like Russia can not be compared to the League of Nations, let alone the rest of Germany and Italy, which are already ready to move, do not take the League of Nations seriously.

In a sense, the USSR said no to Britain and France. It represented the beginning of the collapse of the old international order represented by Britain and France, and in the years that followed. As the actions of the Soviet Union, Germany and Italy became more and more intense, the League of Nations simply became a piece of paper to wipe the butt.

Of course, Britain and France at that time were very angry at the blatant rebellion of the Soviet Union, and once again took up verbal weapons and constantly condemned the Soviet Union. But everyone knows what the lethality of the mouth cannon is, and the strong condemnation of Britain and France seems to indirectly admit the elevation of the statehood of the Soviet Union, at least in the eyes of Europe, a second-rate country, the Soviet Union is no longer the poor ghost that can be bullied casually for more than ten years.

In the case of Spain, the Soviet Union took a big step, and it was stronger and more impactful than what the Soviet Union did in history. Why is there such a difference? The reason is very simple, the Red Navy at that time in history really wanted nothing, and a bunch of old, weak, sick and disabled broken ships really couldn't go to Spain to show their prestige.

And now, the results of Li Xiaofeng's swallowing of the High Seas Fleet have been revealed, and the Red Navy in this era is capable of going to Spain to make a big move, and naturally, the situation is completely different.

However, it must also be noted that Spain was still too far from the Soviet mainland, and even if the Red Navy could send a fleet, it was really a question of how long it could hold out.

On this issue, Li Xiaofeng proposed at a special discussion meeting of the Central Military Commission: "In a three- to four-month cycle, ships from the Baltic Fleet, the Northern Fleet, and the Black Sea Fleet will be transferred to Spain on a rotational basis. It is also possible to negotiate with the government of the Second Republic to borrow the port and simply station a fleet in Spain. ”

The first article was quickly agreed between the Military Commission and the Politburo, but the second was denied, not because of any concern for international opinion, but because the Second Republic rejected it. The group felt that their navy was good enough to deal with the rebels, and they feared that accepting the Soviet demands would lead the Nationalists to attack them and betray the country.

In this way, the Red Navy's ocean-going deployment capability is a major challenge. Because most of the original ships of the Red Navy are short-legged, this kind of ocean-going deployment task poses too great a logistical challenge, especially the two original large fast supply ships of the Red Navy are undergoing aircraft carrier transformation, and the ocean-going supply capacity has become a shortcoming.

"Let's speed up the rotation of large ships," Li Xiaofeng sighed, "On the other hand, this also reminds us that the Red Navy's ocean-going supply capacity needs to be strengthened urgently, and we will build a new large supply ship next year." ”

However, large supply ships cannot save the fire from far water, and maintaining Spain's maritime patrol is an urgent task at present, so what should I do?

Li Xiaofeng's advice is: "I don't think it is very likely that our navy will have a direct conflict with the rebel and imperialist navies, and a few capital ships with Type 36 large patrol ships will be enough!" ”

What is the Type 36 large patrol ship that Li Xiaofeng mentioned? In the thirties, because of the aging of the old ships and the long coastline, the destroyers of the Red Navy were in urgent need of renewal. But as I said before, first of all, there is no money, and secondly, there is no technology. It was only in 1933 that the Type 33 destroyer was started, and the Type 33 destroyer was still being outfitted at this time.

However, the Red Navy could not wait for the Type 33 destroyers to be not, so a new project was started in 1934 to prepare for the construction of a new batch of cheap and low-tech destroyers. At that time, the requirements were that the equipment should not be too advanced and the armament should not be too strong, and the cost should be as low as possible, so as to meet the base protection and patrol tasks of the Red Navy.

After a year of demonstration, several rounds of selection, and several rounds of bargaining by the Central Military Commission, the initial cheap destroyer project was changed into a large patrol ship, the difference is that this large patrol ship is divided into two types according to the needs of the mission.

The first model is a large gunboat for the most basic base patrol tasks, equipped with three 76-mm guns and a quadruple 533-mm torpedo tube, with a maximum speed of 25 knots and a standard displacement of 488 tons and a normal displacement of 800 tons. Later it became known as Type 36A.

The second model is a coast patrol ship, equipped with three 130 mm naval guns and a quadruple 533 mm torpedo tube, as well as a full set of sonar and anti-submarine rocket equipment. The standard displacement is 738 tons, the normal displacement is 1150 tons, and the maximum displacement is 1480 tons. The maximum speed is also 25 knots. Later it became known as Type 36B.

Whether it is Type A or Type B, the tonnage, armament and speed are very average, and in the face of contemporaneous destroyers, it is almost a complete defeat. But they are cheap, and they have one of the biggest advantages, that is, the endurance is quite amazing, they can travel 8000 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots!! (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to Admiral Hood, hzwangdd and Comrade Juventus!