Indeed, there was not much that could be done to get the Germans to stop, because the matter was first provoked by the Bolsheviks, and this time the Germans were in a sense passive in retaliation. Second, as the year 1919 passed, a series of profound changes began to quietly undergo in international relations.

As I have said before, the Allied bloc in 1919 was quite difficult, and they were still hoping for victory before, but at this time they really felt that a decent peace negotiation was quite ideal.

However, this ideal peace negotiation is more of an illusion. How could the Entente Group, which gritted its teeth step by step and insisted on the present, allow it to let go of the German-Austrian Group so easily? With the support of the United States, although their life is still not easy, they can still support it. And they are sure that as long as they grit their teeth and stay the course, victory is just around the corner.

Obviously, they can embrace victory, why should they give the German and Austrian Group a chance to breathe, and why should they be given a breath of breath?

Therefore, the Entente bloc has no interest in negotiating peace with Shenma, and only wants to put more effort on the noose of the German-Austrian bloc and strangle these two scourges in one go.

It is precisely because the Entente bloc is not very interested in negotiating peace that the German-Austrian bloc is even more panicked, and it cannot negotiate peace, and it cannot end the war with dignity, which is destruction for the two countries! Who wants to watch destruction befall them?

Inevitably, the German-Austrian Group must save itself and make efforts. How to work hard? On the one hand, of course, the work of persuasion and goodwill is to be done through various channels, and on the other hand, it is natural to find a way to divert the attention of the Entente bloc, if it can divert the attention of these rich wolves, tigers and leopards from their own countries, if they can find a more dangerous opponent. Can the antagonism and confrontation between us be eased?

Even the Germans had such an idea. If you can find a common enemy. Can we move from antagonism to cooperation?

Of course, in order to achieve this, the Germans first had to find the enemy who matched their imagination.

Have it?

Yes! And very obviously. The virus of communism has hovered over Europe, Russia has fallen, and as the Russian Revolution unfolds, it is raging wildly, threatening to sweep across the world!

The Germans were naïve to think that although our two blocs were at war. But our class attributes are the same, we are all surnamed capitalism, and we are all imperialist hooligans. As the so-called smell of the same thing, it is not for the sake of national interests that we are fighting to the death. But now a bunch of barefoot little red guys are going to turn the sky upside down and want to stew us. This crisis is more terrible than the victory of either of us!

The Germans wept and shouted to the Entente about the horror of communism, and turned communism into a flood of beasts. As if communism is not eliminated, if the Entente group wins the battle, they will also deliver food, and if they do not destroy communism, they will be devoured by those devils if they win.

All in all, the Germans used all means and methods to exaggerate the horror of communism. Single-mindedly wanted to turn the guns of the Entente to the east.

And this time, Krestinsky coincidentally gave them an excellent excuse. The Germans had good reason to have a seizure. And even very happy - the Russians are really stupid again.

On the day of the Estonian Bolshevik uprising, they played up the atmosphere of terror in the newspapers, accusing Communism and the Bolsheviks of becoming a serious problem. The devil who declared communism would not be satisfied, and they devoured first Russia, then the Baltic states, Poland again, and even Germany and Austria-Hungary, with the ultimate goal of devouring the entire world.

However, it doesn't mean much to just create a terrifying atmosphere and just babble nonsense on your lips. The Germans had to make real moves, they had to make a real difference.

What practical actions? Naturally, he acted as the vanguard of the extermination of the communist devil and the executioner of the Entente bloc to punish Russia!

That's why the Germans were so impatient to deploy troops and show off their force on the border between Estonia and Russia. All this is actually for the Entente to see!

Knowing this layer of internal causes, comrades should know how tricky and complicated this matter is. It's not easy to end decently, and who has let the nature of things have changed?

Li Xiaofeng was ordered by his mentor to clean up the mess in Vyborg, while he was arranging a strike against Finland. With the onset of winter, the days of the Finns are getting harder and harder, with no food, no fuel for heating, and shells constantly falling overhead. Who can stand this kind of ghost life?

For the first time, Basikivi felt that the position of prime minister was not easy to sit in at all, that there were endless problems to deal with every day, that there were thousands of mouths asking him to eat and drink, and that the most important thing was that militarily, neither the Entente expeditionary force nor Mannerheim could bring him good news.

"The expeditionary forces of the Entente have existed only on paper, and in fact have been destroyed." "The Russians and the cold winter completely destroyed them, and the last American soldier in formation laid down their arms and raised their hands in surrender in Parikala," Basikivi wrote in his diary. Our own army was not much better than theirs, the fighting on the outskirts of Helsinki was largely over, and Mannerheim, despite his best efforts, could not stop the Russians from storming Helsinki...... Sitting in front of the window of the Prime Minister's Office, I could faintly hear the sound of gunfire, and later on, I and the rest of the Cabinet would have to leave Helsinki and move to Turku......"

But what is noteworthy in Basikivi's diary is not pessimism about the future, but anger at the untrustworthy dishonesty of the Entente bloc: "The British and the Americans fooled us together, not a penny of the aid they promised went to the Finnish treasury, everything was a lie, just a trick to coax us into selling our lives!" ”

To tell you the truth, Basikivi's statement is biased, and the Finnish government has not received the assistance it deserves. But that is not the failure of the Entente to keep its word. Rather, the poor traffic situation in Finland in winter caused all this aid to pile up near Murmansk.

According to the recollections of the soldiers of the Anglo-American Expeditionary Force, who occupied Murmansk at that time. Murmansk was piled up with all kinds of supplies, thousands of tons of canned food, flour and cured meat products, wagons of winter clothes, fur shoes, blankets, weapons and ammunition, and countless weapons and ammunition, and the Americans directly sent the Finns the arms that Nicholas II had ordered at that time.

So what about the fate of these materials? was picked up by a certain immortal. After basically annihilating the vital strength of the Entente expeditionary force, the Red Eagle Regiment did not stop there, but went north along the road, capturing Murmansk on January 20. The port of the Arctic Ocean, which had been illegally occupied by the Entente group for almost a year, was recovered.

This feat not only captured a large amount of supplies, but also announced that Russia had regained access to the Atlantic, even if it was only symbolic, but it was enough to exalt!

The mentor, who learned of the good news, personally sent a congratulatory telegram to Ren Fuchen, the main leader of the Volunteer Army and the head of the Red Eagle Regiment. The Red Eagle Regiment was awarded two red flags of revolutionary honor, as well as a weapon of revolutionary honor. This is the first time that a foreigner has received this honor!

However, Li Xiaofeng was not very happy at the time, although the recovery of Murmansk was gratifying, but with the Red Eagle Regiment moving north, the Vyborg region could be said to be a vacuum. With the exception of a handful of border police officers and Jews who are being trained at the Lagado training base, he has no one at his disposal.

That's not a good thing. This was especially tricky when the Mentor ordered him to set about solving the problems of the Germans. He knew quite well what the Germans were thinking about at the moment. It is impossible to expect to talk to them well and resolve disputes. Anyway, Li Xiaofeng is ready to fight, and if he doesn't beat the Germans hard, they won't be honest!

"We don't have many forces at our disposal in Petrograd Oblast," Ubolevich reminded, "except for two regiments of the 1st Guards Infantry Division, plus part of the Red Seventh Army, which was not enough to defeat the German devils in Estonia." ”

"I know the way!" Li Xiaofeng sighed, he didn't know that Lu Dao's troops were tight, but now there was tension everywhere on all fronts, and there were no extra troops to support him, "We can only end the battle in Finland as soon as possible, so that we can take away a division." ”

Ubolevich smiled bitterly, it seems that there is only one way, the question is, the battle in Finland can be ended if you want to? I'm afraid the Finns are not so good at talking!

"Send someone to reach out to the Finns and see if they can negotiate." Li Xiaofeng made a decision.

Lenin also agreed with his decision, and in a telegram to a certain immortal, he said: "I agree with your idea of settling the Finnish question through negotiations. But I must stress a few points, firstly, the negotiations must ensure the real rights and interests of the Finnish Social Democratic Party, and secondly, the leadership of the working class in the Vyborg region must be guaranteed......

"So should we suspend the attack on Helsinki?" Svechin asked.

"You can't stop attacking." Li Xiaofeng replied categorically, "We must put enough pressure on the Finnish White Army, and we must let them know who will take the initiative!" ”

After a pause, he said decisively: "Even, we should put more pressure on us." Just like the Germans did in February last year, we must force the Finns to accept our conditions! ”

Ubolevich asked: "And the problem of Estonia?" ”

Li Xiaofeng thought for a moment and replied: "The deadline given to me by Comrade Lenin is before the opening of the Eighth National Congress, and there is still time. With the strength of the two main regiments of the Red Seventh Army and the 1st Guards Infantry Division, there was no problem in the defense. Let's solve the Finnish side first, and then solve the Estonian problem! ”

I have to say that Li Xiaofeng is now quite authoritative in the Volunteer Army and in the surrounding areas of Vyborg, and it can even be said that on major issues, he, the political commissar, is more authoritative than Commander Svechin.

Not long after Basikivi moved to Turku, he received a telegram from Mannerheim, "The Russians want peace talks? ”

Basikivi was both surprised and delighted by this news, and he and Mannerheim had previously analyzed the issue, and they agreed that in view of the terrible situation in Russia, the scale of the battlefield should not continue to expand, and the Russians should not be able to fully annex Finland again, and it is very likely that the problem will be resolved through negotiations.

But what surprised Basikivi was that. The Russians will propose peace talks at this time. Speak from the heart. He was surprised. However, as a qualified politician, he quickly contacted the friction in Estonia, believing that Russian-German relations were likely to deteriorate.

"That's good news for us!" Basikivi said gleefully at a cabinet meeting, "As the Russians have more and more enemies, the battle line is getting longer." Inevitably they will collapse! In order to avoid collapse, they have to make trade-offs. Judging by the current situation, they are ready to make concessions on the issue of our country! ”

After a pause, Basikivi said excitedly: "This is a good opportunity. We can take advantage of this opportunity to take back Vyborg. Drive the Russians back home! ”

I have to say that Basikivi is too optimistic, how can a certain immortal spit out the Vyborg that he ate again? What's more, Vyborg still has an important role for a certain immortal.

However, Basikivi did not realize this at that time, and he said to himself: "Tell the Russian envoy that our request is very simple, that the Russian army immediately withdraw from Finnish soil!" Only then can peace be restored! ”

Li Xiaofeng, who learned the news, sneered: "He hasn't woken up yet, has he?" ”

As he spoke, he sighed and said, "It seems that we have to make the Finns sober up and let them know who has the right to speak." Step up the assault on Helsinki! Capture it! ”

In the early morning of January 23, the Volunteer Army suddenly launched a general attack on Helsinki. It took only four hours to completely crush the Finnish White Army. Completely occupied the city.

"It's not enough to take Helsinki!" Li Xiaofeng said to Svečin with a smile, "You can also draw out some troops to pursue in the direction of Turku, and scare the Finns again!" ”

Basikivi was indeed frightened, and he had just sworn that the Russians could not hold on, and who would have thought that before the words fell, the Russians would capture Helsinki, and even advance quickly along the railway line towards Turku. The cities along the road are looking for the wind, and if this continues, it is only a matter of time before Turku falls.

"Where is your army?" In desperation, Basikivi could only send a telegram to Mannerheim that was a bit of a slap in the face.

It can be seen how disappointed and anxious Basikivi is. However, Mannerheim did not have much to do, and it was not easy for the White Army to hold out for a month in the absence of food, clothing, guns and ammunition. His lads are people, not machines, and you can't expect them to be so hungry that they can't stand up and pull the bolt of a gun and still be able to do ten, right?

Therefore, his reply to Basikivi was also a slap in the face: "Where are the arms? Where is the grain? And where are the winter clothes? ”

Fortunately, these two are still sensible, except for the verbal fight, they have not really turned their faces. After meeting in Turku, the two men talked at length for a whole night, and the next day Basikivi convened an emergency meeting of the Cabinet: "The situation is very critical, and Finland's survival is at stake. In order to avoid further deterioration of the situation, we can only negotiate with the Russians......"

The Finns were finally brought back to the negotiating table, but Li Xiaofeng asked Svečin not to be busy with the truce, let the troops continue the pursuit, and must advance to Turku!

"We strongly protest against what you are doing, calling for an armistice on the one hand, and continuing to use force on the other! Is this what you call sincerity? Basikivi shouted angrily.

Li Xiaofeng replied indifferently: "We had sincerely suggested that the two sides cease fighting and then negotiate, but you arrogantly refused. At this time and then, I suspect that you are using the guise of negotiation to delay the army! ”

"This is slander!" Basikivi protested again.

Li Xiaofeng just smiled coldly and asked, "So you didn't ask for military assistance from the Entente bloc, and didn't urgently purchase arms from Sweden?" ”

Basikivi suddenly stopped talking, and a qualified politician, naturally, would not hang himself from a tree, and his calculation was to negotiate on one side, and to hurry to rearm the army on the other. Now that Li Xiaofeng is breaking it at a glance, he is a little embarrassed.

But as a qualified politician, this embarrassment is nothing. Immediately Basikivi flatly denied it: "This is nonsense, a despicable means of justifying your shameless actions!" ”

Li Xiaofeng smiled and said disdainfully: "Then you should treat us as despicable and shameless." A real villain is better than a hypocrite, isn't it? As he spoke, he said without question: "Let me make it clear, there will be no truce until you agree to our conditions!" If you don't agree, we'll attack for a day, maybe it's easier to kill you directly, at least you don't have to grind your teeth with the hypocrites! ”

As he spoke, Li Xiaofeng left the negotiation table directly with all the negotiators, without even looking at Basikivi. I was so angry with the latter that I almost turned my back on it.

"Is that really good?" Ubolevich and Svechin were a little worried, "Will it force them to jump over the wall?" ”

Li Xiaofeng sneered: "If they could jump over the wall, they would have jumped a long time ago, whether it is to seek aid or buy arms, they are far from quenching their thirst." Basikivi is a smart man, and what he does is more like a bargaining tool. And what we have to do is to debunk their fantasies without mercy! ”

Li Xiaofeng is right, buying arms and applying for assistance will not solve the current crisis in Basikiwi, think about it, even if you buy arms, it will take time to rearm the army, right? The combat effectiveness of the rabble has been proven to be unable to deal with the volunteers, and even if Basikivi captures more strong men, he will only have to deliver food.

As for kneeling for assistance from the Entente, it would be even more unrealistic, Murmansk was lost, and the Baltic Sea was under the control of the German Navy, and no aid could be brought in!

Looking at the sad face of Basikivi, Mannerheim sighed: "In this case, I will personally go and talk to Comrade Andrei, we still have a little friendship......" (to be continued......

PS: Bow and thank you to Terde and Comrade Juventus!