From the second half of 1938 onwards, one event after another, as Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, an atmosphere of impending rain made the world extremely depressed. It's easy to get to the end of the year and the beginning of the year, and the festive atmosphere somewhat dilutes the tense atmosphere. But who would have thought that just when the peace-loving people of the world breathed a sigh of relief, with the President of the East Prussian People's Republic Ben. Gurion made a surprise visit to the Soviet Union, and the two countries quickly reached a package agreement.

The most important of these was the trade agreement on the export of arms from the Soviet Union to East Prussia, according to which the Soviet Union was to export 150 KV-1 heavy tanks, 300 BT-7 fast tanks and more than 300,000 SKS20 semi-automatic rifles, 10,000 DP light machine guns and 5,000 PKM general-purpose machine guns to East Prussia. In addition, 20 battalions of anti-aircraft artillery units will be procured in East Prussia. These weapons were enough to rearm the entire East Prussian Wehrmacht.

Not only ground weapons, but also a staggering number of air weapons purchased by East Prussia, 100 MiG-1,300 Yak-1,150 SB-2, 50 Russian B17s, and 200 Su-1 dive bombers.

According to the agreement, all weapons will be delivered within two years, which means that by 1941 at the latest, the East Prussian Wehrmacht will become a major armed force in Eastern Europe.

This super-large arms order shocked the whole world, and the Jewish tyrants told the world with a lot of money that they did not intend to submit to Germany lightly, and that they were determined to defend their country.

However, not everyone in the Soviet Union liked this deal, for example, Stalin complained about it, because he negotiated with the Germans very well at one point. According to him. As long as the USSR did not interfere in German interests in Eastern and Central Europe. Then the two sides can coexist peacefully.

It is not known how much Ecstasy the mustache poured into Molotov, anyway, Molotov's sincerity towards the Germans was quite sure. But who would have thought that at this juncture, the Jews suddenly appeared, brandished a checkbook, and used the gold dollar offensive to defeat the Politburo (Stalin's quote).

When the Politburo voted on this, Stalin was firmly opposed, believing that the Soviet Union should not be put in opposition to Germany in order to protect a few Jewish profiteers, and that the Soviet Union was mixed with the Jews at a time when the whole world was seeing how the Germans hated and rejected the Jews. This is tantamount to helping the Jews to pull hatred!

However, Stalin's opposition had no effect, as both Sverdlov and Trotsky supported the deal. Why did Xiao Si support it, and why did Trotsky agree to it?

The reason is simple: Trotsky had been keeping an eye on Stalin's side and was very nervous about the consensus between the goods and the mustache, and that if Stalin got things done with him, his course would be completely repudiated. In any case, he had to drag Stalin back, so he deliberately created an obstacle on the question of the Jews.

So does this trick work? Judging from later developments, it was of little use. Because the mustache has been fooling Stalin, the heart of the Soviet Union from the beginning is not dead. The reason for the pretense of negotiations was to stabilize the Russians before the Western Front was settled. The reason for Germany's defeat in World War I was the unexpectedly rapid entry of the Russians into the war was an important reason. And now the mustache wants to try his best to avoid fighting on two fronts, and he does not intend to turn against the Soviet Union until Britain and France are dealt with.

In other words, even if the Soviet Union suddenly sold a large amount of arms to East Prussia, the mustache still chose to be patient and still fooled Stalin, so Trotsky's hope of using the Jews to sabotage the negotiations between Stalin and the mustache was bound to fail.

By March 1939, Stalin had almost communicated with the mustache, and what was needed now was to turn the secret negotiations into formal negotiations, which was quite unfavorable to Trotsky, because with the signing of the Munich Agreement, the appeasement policy of Britain and France reached a new peak, and Chamberlain was so fooled by the mustache that he could barely find the north, and after betraying Czechoslovakia, this goods still had the face to say that after his unremitting efforts finally avoided war.

At this time, Britain and France were quite satisfied with the agreement reached with Germany, and were wholeheartedly prepared to continue to be drunk and dream, and naturally had no interest in Trotsky's proposals. Negotiations between Lao To, England and France have reached an impasse!

Sverdlov said worriedly: "As it stands, Trotsky's line of alliance with Britain and France is almost bankrupt. In other words, our only competitor in the future will still be Stalin. Let's talk about it, how can we stand up to Stalin? ”

It is not difficult to see from Small's statement that he is not optimistic about the future, and even thinks that he is already behind Stalin, and even thinks: "Is it necessary to communicate with Trotsky, and if necessary, can we cooperate?" ”

Xiao Si's suggestion won the approval of many people, but Li Xiaofeng expressed his resolute opposition: "The form is far from being so bad as to Cheng Dù, I don't think Stalin has any advantages at all!" ”

Ruzutak frowned and asked puzzledly: "Comrade Andrei, now the whole party is very much in favor of signing a non-aggression pact with Germany to avoid war. Isn't that an advantage? ”

Li Xiaofeng snorted contemptuously: "This is not an advantage!" Or was Stalin's so-called advantage based on the fact that Britain and France were still carrying out a policy of appeasement towards Germany, and once Britain and France abandoned the policy of appeasement, would Stalin still have an advantage? ”

Sverdlov exclaimed in surprise: "Do you think Britain and France will abandon appeasement in the future?" ”

Li Xiaofeng nodded: "This is inevitable!" In fact, the Germans, through the previous rogue methods, had almost exhausted all the patience of Britain and France. In the future, as long as they break through the Munich Agreement again, or break the pattern of Central and Eastern Europe again, the inevitable Britain and France will not be able to bear it! ”

Sverdlov and Ruzutak glanced at each other, they didn't really believe in the categorical nature of a certain immortal, how could they see that the Germans had made enough catches, and it was time to eat enough? Again take a risk. Is this possible?

"Totally possible!" Li Xiaofeng said categorically. "The Munich Agreement. The Germans gained the Sudetenland, but this did not satisfy the Nazis, who, according to the intelligence I have, whose real goal was the annexation of Czechoslovakia, no! Not just Czechoslovakia, but Poland, and even their ultimate goal is to swallow the whole of Europe, including Britain, France and our country! ”

Such a categorical statement was shocking enough that even Sverdlov and Ruzutak did not dare to fully believe it. Germany wants to annex Czechoslovakia and Poland, but it is too terrifying to attack Britain, France and the Soviet Union.

"It's not about whether the Nazis can eat it, it's about whether they dare to do it. Through the observations of Guò over the years, we can conclude that the Nazi ambitions are endless, and after successful gambling again and again, they will only choose to take risks! ”

Sverdlov and Ruzutak looked at each other again, and then Ruzutak asked, "Comrade Andrei." According to your estimates, when will Britain and France be completely enraged? ”

Li Xiaofeng replied confidently: "After the Germans annexed Czechoslovakia. Britain and France will be highly dissatisfied, but will not take direct countermeasures. They will immediately revise their previous policy of appeasement, they will begin to try to exert pressure on Germany, and they will also seek other means of suppressing Germany. ”

Li Xiaofeng glanced at Sverdlov and Ruzutak in thought, and continued: "But I want to emphasize that this pressure is limited, and it can still be called empty talk, and Britain and France will not have any substantive punishment. However, this would be very beneficial to Comrade Trotsky, as it would free him from passivity, and his negotiations with Britain and France would be much smoother. ”

"Is it possible to agree?" Sverdlov asked.

Li Xiaofeng sneered: "It is completely impossible, Britain and France are extremely inadequately prepared for war, and they do not want to take the risk of war in their bones, I am afraid that they will still ask Trotsky to bear heavier obligations." And Trotsky would never accept such conditions. ”

Sverdlov nodded: "Then what do you think we should do?" ”

Li Xiaofeng replied firmly: "We should carry out the established policy, on the one hand, unite with those friends who are threatened by Germany through the Comintern, for example, we can strengthen aid to East Prussia and East Poland, help them prepare for war, and build an iron wall against German invasion as much as possible." On the other hand, we must also intensify our preparations for war, because East Prussia and East Poland alone will not be able to stop the Germans, and we are the only ones who can solve the problem! ”

After a pause, Li Xiaofeng continued: "As for the domestic situation, for the time being, maintain the balance between the Stalin clique and the Trotsky clique, so as to prevent them from separating the winner too quickly!" ”

Indeed, the victory of either Stalin or Trotsky was not good news for Sverdlov, and it was better to maintain the status of the Big Three for the time being and wait for the outbreak of war. At that time, the situation should be in Sverdlov's favor, and it should not be a big problem to go up the stairs.

Under Li Xiaofeng's advice, Sverdlov chose to wait with peace of mind, and Xiao Si's silence made Stalin's second monk scratch his head. Originally, under the estimates of Zhdanov and Mikoyan, when Stalin opened a breakthrough in the German question, Sverdlov should probably move closer to Trotsky. In response to this situation, they have already thought of a comprehensive response, and now, these measures have completely failed.

"What the hell is Sverdlov doing?" Ordzhonikid asked, confused, "Is he really going to sit still?" ”

To tell you the truth, no one believes this, and if Sverdlov had such a weak will, he would not have become the Grand Elder of the Politburo.

Mikoyan muttered, "There must be something wrong with this!" There is a conspiracy! ”

Zhidanov sighed and asked helplessly: "But what is the conspiracy?" There must be some clues, right? Now we don't know anything, how to deal with it? ”

Stalin's henchmen stared at each other and couldn't figure it out at all, but Stalin himself was calm: "Whether it is a conspiracy or not, now we have no reason to retreat, and we will act according to the original plan!" ”

The so-called act according to the original plan was to push forward the negotiations with Germany and Japan strongly, for which Stalin made a great deal of preparations, and he himself broke his leg just to convince the Central Committee.

March 10th. The plenary session of the Central Committee was held as scheduled. Stalin's mention was passed by a slight margin. Molotov was appointed plenipotentiary envoy for negotiations with Germany and Japan, while People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Livinov was thrown aside because of his pro-Anglo-American position.

That night, the Stalin clique celebrated this victory with great fanfare, as if they were about to touch the fruits of victory, but what they did not expect was that on March 15, the German army entered Prague without blood, and Czechoslovakia was destroyed!

This time the Germans angered Chamberlain, the prime minister of the British Empire, who thought he had been fooled. An unprecedentedly tough statement was made against Germany. At the same time, negotiations between Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, which had been put on hold, were immediately resumed, and the British and French foreign ministers arrived in Moscow for a high-profile visit. Although the governments of both countries have repeatedly declared that this is just a normal state visit, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is aimed at Germany.

Soon Trotsky took advantage of this east wind to make a big fuss, and with the support of Sverdlov, Trotsky's proposal for in-depth contact with Britain and France to prevent German aggression was told, and Litvinov, who had been left behind, was resurrected on the spot and began to actively campaign for the alliance of the three powers.

Years later, Ulitsky wrote in his memoirs: "It was a war about time. Whoever can get an agreement first will have the upper hand. At one time, our shape shì was very bad. Stalin, who was inclined to compromise, had the overall upper hand. However, under the correct leadership of Comrade Trotsky, we pushed the negotiation process as far as possible, eliminating all kinds of interference and difficulties......"

But Ruzutak did not see it that way: "Trotsky's first degree shì is very bad, and according to Comrade Andrei, we always give the most valuable support when Trotsky is in danger...... Of course, the non-cooperation of the Germans was also one of the factors that made Stalin scratch his head, and after the annexation of Czechoslovakia, the Germans still did not know how to retreat, and even looked at Polish land, which was a desperate move......"

The nerves of the entire Soviet Union were tense around the German question, well, there may be one exception, and that was Li Xiaofeng, who, in his opinion, had a fixed outcome of events, and it was by no means possible that Stalin and Trotsky would have had the last laugh.

During this period, he paid more attention to the issue of war readiness, and began to purchase materials that were in short supply in the Soviet Union on the international market, such as bauxite, such as natural rubber, which once caused the two industries to "skyrocket".

Of course, materials are one thing, and more importantly, the enterprises he can lead have entered the final period of war readiness. NORINCO's tank production line and helicopter production line were in full swing, and a large number of new tanks and helicopters came off the production line in batches, and only the T-54 produced a full 1,000 units in 1939!

Mass production has fully integrated the production line, trained a large number of skilled workers, and initially entered the wartime production state.

However, there were many things that made Li Xiaofeng dissatisfied, such as the fact that a considerable number of grassroots comrades had a fluke mentality about peace, especially people in Stalin's line, who complained about the sudden increase in arms production, and even went so far as to play official in a way that was contrary to the yang and the yin, which really caused a lot of trouble.

Thanks to Trotsky, although he was not the same as Sverdlov, he actively supported the Soviet Union's own efforts to strengthen itself, and at Trotsky's insistence, any individual or collective that hindered the Soviet Union's preparations for war would be punished with the most severe punishment.

In June 1939, the Soviet war machine had already started its initial operation, and at this time, the battle for the route between Trotsky and Stalin had entered the final and most critical moment!

Why? In 1940, however, there was a change of office, and if we did not gain the upper hand in 1939, it would be very difficult to say. On August 15, Molotov flew urgently to Berlin, and on August 16, Litvinov also rushed to Paris without stopping. On the 17th, the two rushed back at the same time as if they had discussed.

For a time, the entire Communist Party (CPB) was watching Stalin and Trotsky who could laugh in the end. Interestingly, Sverdlov is invisible. In the past three months, Xiao Si's faction has not been inconspicuous, and it seems that they are indifferent to the next year's re-election, so that a large number of middle-level cadres who follow Xiao Si are anxious, and they don't know what kind of madness Xiao Si is smoking!

However, in contrast to the apparent calm, only the top of Sverdlov's inner circle knew that they had not done nothing, and that they had in fact followed Stalin and Trotsky more than anyone else. All kinds of information are constantly gathered in Xiao Si's place for Xiao Si's reference.

"For the time being, it seems that Stalin still has the upper hand, that the draft non-aggression pact with Japan and Germany has been reached, and that all that is needed is the Central Committee and the Soviets. Progress on Trotsky's side remained uncertain, and Britain and France had set up a great deal of obstacles, and in a short time there seemed to be no possibility of reaching an agreement......"

When Ruzutak said this, the expression on his face was not very good, and it was clear that once Stalin preemptively signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, it was obvious. Xiao Si naturally understood this truth, he looked at Li Xiaofeng, hoping that someone could give an explanation.

At this time, Li Xiaofeng was still not in a hurry, and at the moment of this meeting, he also took a nap, and during this period of time, in order to track the progress of Stalin and Trotsky, he was tired of being an immortal. However, although tired, it was not without gain, and looking at Sverdlov, he said very calmly: "It's time to pass on the news of the non-aggression pact to our British friends!" (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to llklui, Admiral Hood, maoooo, Spike Potato, agz00025, Southern Rangers and Comrade Juventus!