The political forces of the opposition have finally taken to the stage. On February 28, the Menshevik leaders, who had just been released from prison, Gvozdev, Bogdanov, Boreidor and others rushed to the Tavlida Palace and, together with the representatives of the Menshevik State Duma caucus, Tsykhze, Skobelev and others, announced the formation of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies. Leaflets were distributed demanding that the enterprises and troops immediately elect Soviet representatives to the Tavlida Palace: one for every 1,000 workers and soldiers of each company. Tiyì was quickly responded, and in the evening of the same day, the first meeting of the Soviets was held in the Tavlida Palace, with more than 1,000 attendees. The meeting elected a formal executive committee, with Tsikhzee as chairman and Kerensky and Skobelev as vice-chairmen.

For the rapidly changing Petersburg, the Chinese who are closely watching the situation are incredible. There were two agents of the Petersburg station who were elected representatives of the Soviets, and Chubov was one of them. Of course, the news was transmitted back to the liaison office as quickly as possible, and Fan Deping lamented the Russians' familiarity with democratic politics, "If we do this kind of thing, we won't be able to make a name for ourselves in a month or two, and it's still not like it." Thankfully, it finally came to fruition. He said to Zhang Xiaoding and Li Sancai, "I have to go to Mogilev, maybe the Russian army has returned to St. Petersburg." The two of you stay here, with Xiao Ding as the main body. Consult the family directly for major matters, and make your own decisions for small matters. Your people are really nice and promising. Ha ha. "Van Deping felt that the opportunity had really come.

Not to mention that Van der Ping immediately set off for Mogilev. Immediately after the formation of the Petersburg Soviet, an appeal was issued, "The struggle continues. It should be carried out to the end. The old regime should be completely overthrown and given way to the new people. So that the Russian side can be saved. In order to complete the struggle for democracy, the people should establish their own political organization. We must make a concerted effort to fight for the complete elimination of the old Government and for the election and convening of the Constituent Assembly on a universal, direct and equal basis. ”

The Soviet Conference also established an army committee headed by the Socialist-Revolutionaries Mskislavsky and Filipovsky, decided to create the Petersburg Soviet Soldiers' Department, and established a committee for the election of companies and battalions in the troops of the front and rear, which held the control of troops and weapons. In order to win over the troops, the meeting declared that soldiers and other citizens had the same political rights.

In order to disseminate these decisions throughout the country, the Conference of Soviets also elected a committee to draft the paperwork. The text was quickly introduced, and it was dubbed "No. 1 Wen Jiàn", and the total number of printed copies was as high as 9 million. These leaflets were sent into the army in various forms. played an important role in the collapse of the Russian army.

Now it is necessary to talk about Nicholas II, who was in the base camp of the Russian army in Mogilev. On the 25th, he gave the order to the commander of the Petersburg Military District, General Khabarov, to restore order in the capital. Leaving this matter behind, attention was focused on the Entente spring offensive, and the plan drawn up under the auspices of the chief of staff of the base camp, General Alekseev. Alekseev vetoed the plan of the General Staff of the Russian Army to focus on the development of an offensive against the Austrian army in the southwest, and still pointed the direction of the offensive due west. General Alekseev believes. When the British and French troops massed on the Western Front. The Germans were bound to withdraw large numbers of troops from the Eastern Front in order to deal with the crisis on the Western Front. In this way, the Russian army was able to avenge Poland's defeat last winter. Alekseev planned to use 70 divisions to attack, including 23~25 Chinese divisions. Alekseev stressed the importance of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, especially since their flight unit already has about 400 aircraft. In the past month, the Chinese army has provided the Russian army with a lot of information that has been proven to be true, and this information has been obtained by aerial reconnaissance. Most of the air battles on the Western Front south of Warsaw were conducted by the Chinese. Their infantry was also heavily replenished, and all but two divisions that had been heavily damaged in the Polish campaign were reinstated. Moreover, the third batch of Chinese troops to aid Russia has entered Russia, and the report is two armies, among which there is the 1st Army, which has their oldest qualification. If the campaign had been launched a little later (General Alekseev had launched a general offensive on April 1, but the commanders of the three fronts had decided that time was too short), the two new forces of the Chinese army could have been used. According to the chief of staff of the base camp, the campaign will be carried out in three directions, and the purpose of the campaign is to defeat the frontal enemy of the Western Front, recover the territory lost last winter, and burn the battle to German territory.

Impressed by this grand plan, Nicholas II proposed to convene a high-level meeting with Chinese to discuss the plan of the campaign. On the evening of the 26th, Mogilev sent a telegram to the headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Lublin, inviting General Wang Mingyuan to come to Mogilev in person to discuss the military situation. The telegram was signed with the name of Nicholas II. Of course, at the same time, the base camp sent telegrams to the commander of the South-Western Front, Brusilov, the commander of the Western Front, the commander of the North-Western Front, Ruzsky, and the commander of the Caucasian Front, Nikolayevich (former commander-in-chief of the Russian army), asking them to come to Mogilev in person or send their chiefs of staff to Mogilev for the meeting.

Only 36 hours later, news came from Petersburg. Having confirmed the inability of the Petersburg authorities to calm down the formation, Nicholas II was furious, and he gave a clear instruction to transfer some reliable troops to Petersburg and arrest all the rebels! To this end, General Alekseev appointed General Ivanov, the former commander of the Western Front and currently idle in the base camp, to replace the incompetent Khabarov (commander of the Petersburg Military District) with full responsibility for the crusade. The tsar agreed to the construction of the chief of staff of the base camp, signed a letter of appointment, and signed a secret order authorizing General Ivanov to apply a field military tribunal to the population.

General Ivanov received this order. In addition to leading the base camp guard troops, he mainly mobilized counterinsurgency troops from the Northwest Front, which of course was to be faster.

Shortly after the base camp troops (less than a regiment) boarded the bus and set off, Lieutenant General Fan Deping, head of the Liaison Office in Petersburg and chief of the General Staff of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, accompanied by Deputy Chief of the General Staff General Artemiev, arrived in Mogilev. Anxious, angry, and hesitant, Nicholas II met them for the first time, and this was the first time he had met people from Petersburg. And it's reliable. Lieutenant General Artemiev gave a detailed account of the current situation in Petersburg: the regime was paralyzed, the army had mutinied, and the opposition parties had gathered day and night at the Tavlida Palace to negotiate the formation of their new government. Artemiev also brought news that disturbed Nicholas II: the British and French military delegations in Petersburg, like China, were very concerned about the uncertainties in Russia that were unfavorable to the overall situation of the Entente, and hoped that His Majesty the Emperor would quickly take strong measures to restore order.

This is not a threat. Britain and France, of course, did not want an armistice clamored by the opposition, and were deeply concerned about the chaos in Petersburg.

Van der Ping pointed out after Artemyev's report that the front-line units of the Russian army are also extremely unreliable. If His Majesty was willing to use the Chinese Expeditionary Force to carry out the counterinsurgency mission in Petersburg, the expeditionary force was willing to carry out the task assigned by His Majesty the Emperor.

Nicholas II, of course, would not use a foreign army to restore order in the capital. So he politely thanked Van der Ping and told him that his generals had the strength to quickly calm the situation. In fact. After sending General Ivanov. Nicholas II also gave General Guò Alekseev an order to the North-Western Front to mobilize reliable forces to Petersburg to quell the unrest, and made it clear that these forces were under the command of General Ivanov.

But things were by no means what Nicholas II had thought. After noon on March 1, Nicholas II, who was anxiously waiting for news from his base camp, finally received a telegram from General Ivanov, on whom he pinned all his hopes, and his train arrived at the Vilizha station, about 100 versts from St. Petersburg, on the morning of March 1. Encounter with a unit of the North-Western Front. The troops stopped advancing. The officers openly refused to carry out the "crusade" mission.

This news gave Nicholas II a blow in the face. The prophecy of the Chinese has been fulfilled, and there is a big problem with the Russian army.

Nicholas II immediately made the decision to return to Petersburg, despite the advice of Alekseev and Artemyev. On the same day, he boarded a special train and returned to Petersburg. He was accompanied by Lieutenant General Artemyev, who was left in the base camp to communicate with the main generals of the Russian front at his request to enlist their support.

Nicholas II arrived at the station of Little Shevela, 200 versts from Petersburg, in the early morning of March 2. The road was peaceful, and it seemed that the unrest in Petersburg had not yet spread elsewhere. But in Petit Chevera, the railway department brought bad news to the emperor, saying that the special train could not go any further, and that the first few stops, Tosno, Lyuban, were occupied by the rebellious army. Nicholas II was frightened, and fearing that little Shevela would not be safe anymore, ordered the train to turn around and go to Pskov, where the headquarters of the North-Western Front was located.

That night, the tsar's special train arrived in Pskov. The commander of the North-Western Front, Ruzsky, was already waiting at the platform, and as soon as the special train arrived, General Ruzsky immediately boarded the train to meet the Tsar and conveyed the opinion of the chairman of the Duma, General Rodchenko: Ask Nicholas II to agree to the formation of a new government responsible to the Duma.

Nicholas II immediately objected. What does it mean to be responsible to the Duma? Isn't this the so-called "monarch reigns, government governs"? Nicholas II said that it is difficult to imagine what a constitutional Russia would look like.

But Ruzsky persuaded the emperor. He was the first general to explicitly urge the tsar to accept a constitutional monarchy. Ruzsky analyzed the situation and admitted that the troops were already under the influence of Petersburg, and they were no longer willing to fight, believing that only the overthrow of the current government and the formation of a new anti-war government would be sufficient. It is difficult to estimate what will happen if the wishes of the troops are not met.

Ruzsky further pointed out that the reason why the troops stationed in Petersburg stood against the government was because they were simply unwilling to go to the front! Those reserve battalions were terrified to death when they heard about the war, and whoever promised to end the war would definitely go with whomever they could.

This is indeed true. If it was the revolutionaries who infiltrated the army in Petersburg, it was the expansion of the facts. In fact, the sudden opposition of the Petersburg garrison to the government was the main factor leading the situation out of control, but the real reason behind it was that almost all the lower-ranking officers and soldiers were extremely war-weary.

Ruzsky's analysis frustrated the Tsar, but he nevertheless listened to General Ruzsky's advice and sent a telegram to General Ivanov on Ruzsky's radio: Do not take any action until I arrive and report to me.

In view of the problems in the army, Nicholas II seems to have changed his decision in Mogilev, and he is ready to compromise with the Duma.

History has long proven it. At the most critical moment in the course of history, the character of the big man who dominated the situation was the key factor that determined the direction of history. At a time when the Russian Empire was facing a heavy test, the cowardly character of Nicholas II was on full display.

If this continues, Russia will become a constitutional monarchy. But there was a change in Petersburg, and the Duma leaders thought that the opposition would be satisfied as long as the tsar promised to form a new government and introduce a constitutional monarchy. But the rally and march in the city gave more pressure and impetus to the opposition leaders, who made it clear that the tsar had to abdicate.

General Ruzsky, who had succeeded in convincing the Tsar to make concessions, spoke on the phone with Petersburg immediately after leaving the special train, and the person who answered the phone was Duma Chairman Rodenko, and the two talked on the phone for four hours. General Rozko said to General Ruzsky. "It's a pity. It's too late. Petersburg believed that the tsar must abdicate, and the throne should be given to his son Alexei, who was regent by Grand Duke Mikhail. ”

Mikhail was the royal family who "surrendered" to the rebels with the Guards.

General Rozko said to General Ruzsky on the phone. "It's the perfect solution. If it is implemented in accordance with it. A qiē will be resolved peacefully. It's over in a few days. ”

General Ruzsky immediately transferred his conversation with Rodchenko to General Alekseev, and the position of the chief of staff of the base camp wavered, and he instructed his assistants to immediately send telegrams to several front-line commanders who held military power. The situation in Petersburg and the attitude of the tsar were informed, and they were asked to take a position on this. Here, the chief of staff of the base camp did not follow the instructions of the tsar to do the work of the commander of the various armies, but only made a sounding board.

It was undoubtedly the army that could turn the tide, but the North-Western Front near Petersburg was like that. The generals of the base camp felt sad and helpless, anticipating the development of the situation, His Majesty the Emperor was finished, no one sympathized with him, even Alekseev betrayed.

On the same day, telegrams from several commanders holding military power arrived at the base camp one after another, the commander of the South-Western Front, Brusilov, the commander of the Western Front, Evert, and the commander of the Caucasian Front, Nikolayevich, were all in favor of the abdication of Nicholas II, and only the Romanian Front, a relatively independent front under the leadership of the South-Western Front, was opposed by its commander, General Sakharov, who openly condemned Rodziko and other Duma leaders and some high-ranking generals (here Ruzsky, Because Sakharov did not know the attitude of Brusilov and others) betrayal.

These telegrams were forwarded to Ruzsky by General Alekseev, who had changed his position. On the afternoon of March 3, Ruzsky went to Nicholas II with a telegram from General Alekseev and bluntly stated that the only way to give way to the crown prince was to do so.

While Nicholas II was silently reading those telegrams, General Artemeyev, who was accompanying him, angrily accused General Ruzsky, "You are ruining Russia!" Do you know the consequences of doing so? Do you know what it means once the Romanov dynasty falls? I don't believe that all the troops have defected, at least my troops in the Far East are loyal to His Majesty the Tsar! ”

With a shrug, Ruzsky replied to General Artemyev, who was not familiar with the lieutenant general and did not bother to explain anything. In General Ruzsky's view, someone should have been responsible for the catastrophe of the past two and a half years in Russia, and it could only be the Tsar.

Also present was General Danilov, chief of staff of the North-Western Front, who, when the tsar's eyes looked at him, made it clear that he supported the opinion of his commander.

The Tsar, who has always been indecisive, appeared calm this time, and it took less than five minutes to make a decision, "I decide, I abdicate." ”

Only General Artemyev and the tsar's attendants opposed it, but the tsar did not listen to them.

Ruzsky immediately drafted a telegram to General Rogenko and General Alekseev. The content is that Nicholas II has decided to abdicate and the throne is given to the crown prince. Before the crown prince came of age, he was regent by Grand Duke Mikhail.

But in the evening, the tsar changed his mind again, and instead of regretting abdicating the throne, he decided that his son could not bear the burden, and he decided not only to abdicate himself, but also to his brother Grand Duke Mikhail on his son's behalf. This decision surprised Ruzsky and others, however, it no longer mattered, Nicholas II had already been abandoned by all Russians. (To be continued......)