Basikivi and Mannerheim did not wait for the day when Germany attacked Russia, but waited for news of the great chaos in Germany. For them, this is simply five thunderbolts. It was hoped that the Estonian question would be used to put a little pressure on the Russians to give up some unreasonable demands.

But now the Germans were too busy to take care of themselves, and they could no longer put any pressure on Russia on the Eastern Front. Under these circumstances, why should the Russians make concessions and take the opportunity to restore some of the territory of the Tsarist period.

Basikivi and Mannerheim knew very well that from the day of the chaos in Germany, the Russians had fully seized the initiative and would never make any concessions, and even more demanding conditions might be proposed.

"The current situation is quite unfavorable for us." Basikivi said dejectedly, he had not slept well these days, and that almost every minute had been spent in endless quarrels, that he could not stand it and that he had really had enough, "in view of the fact that there is nothing that can be done at present, it is foreseeable that if we do not make a more substantial concession, the evil Bolsheviks will destroy our government and bring Finland back into the clutches of the devil." ”

He glanced at the cabinet officials around him, and continued to speak weakly: "In order to avoid the destruction of Finland, I am determined to agree to the conditions of the Russians!" ”

With a bang, the cabinet exploded, and the voices of protest, opposition, and roars rose higher and higher, and the strange cries of one after another almost drowned out Basikivi. But he just sat there quietly, seemingly indifferent.

In the midst of the uproar, Mannerheim also spoke: "I agree with His Excellency the Prime Minister's judgment on the current situation, in order to avoid a worse situation. Only the conditions of the Russians can be agreed! ”

This time the noise was louder. The other ministers did not understand how Mannerheim, the strongman who had been shouting for his life for Finnish independence and freedom, was no longer a chicken. Immediately, someone accused:

"That's how you defend our Motherland? Aren't you ashamed to be the supreme commander of the army? ”

Mannerheim was as calm as Basikivi, and he said slowly: "I will take full responsibility for military mistakes, and I am willing to take responsibility for a military defeat." But the situation today is that our military power has been destroyed, and our homeland has lost a qiē ability to resist. In order to preserve hope, in order to preserve the independence of Finland. We can only bow to the devil. ”

When he said this, Mannerheim couldn't stop crying, it turned out that his calm just now was the result of strong self-restraint.

The second to cry was Basikivi, the prime minister who hid his face and wept bitterly, letting out a heart-rending howl. Soon, under their example, the bigwigs of the Finnish cabinet hugged each other and cried.

The next day's morning newspaper published a weeping photo with a big headline: "Finland is Dead." Paired with it is another photo of the Volunteer Army.

"Disgusting, put on a show!"

Li Xiaofeng glanced at the caption and photo. Just threw the newspaper aside, and the last thing I could believe was the tears of politicians. I am afraid that no more than three of these people are really saddened by the fate of Finland. Mannerheim may be the only one who has no performance in his heart. Even Basikivi is a bit of an acting.

"Send an ultimatum to the Provisional Government of Finland informing them that they must agree to all our conditions by 12 o'clock this evening. Otherwise the door to negotiations will be closed and we will eliminate their puppet regime! ”

Ubolevich was a little puzzled and asked: "Could it be that it backfired, angered them, what should I do if the dog jumps over the wall in a hurry?" ”

"You don't understand." Li Xiaofeng smiled, pointed to the newspaper and said: "This thing is their declaration of surrender, this is their bitter drama, it is just a trick to shirk responsibility." To put it bluntly, it is the necessary foreshadowing that they made to agree to our conditions! ”

Li Xiaofeng is not wrong at all, why publish such a photo? It is certainly not a call to the people of Finland to stand up and make a final cry. In that case, the title would not be "Finland is dead", but "Finland is not down" or "Finland don't cry for me".

In fact, these politicians know very well that there is no point in continuing to grit their teeth and hold on, and they will not be able to hold on. In this inevitable situation, how to reduce losses is their first consideration. Of course, they certainly do not want to reduce the losses for the country, but to keep their political interests and power from too much loss.

One of the most correct ways to do this is to render the enemy terrifying, even if the enemy is not so terrible, you have to render the enemy as a demon like Lucifer. And then the more important step is to cry, to cry so that the whole country feels that God is dead, and they all think that there is no way to save the situation. It is better to create an atmosphere that is not that politicians do not work hard, but that the destiny of heaven is so irretrievable.

With this qiē foreshadowing, politicians can wag their tails and betray the country in a bright and bright way, and the responsibility will be cleared, and even as long as the traitor succeeds, they may even have a good reputation of turning the tide, so that those who do not know the truth think that they are still great heroes who turn the tide.

This kind of trick is actually very boring to put it bluntly, but what is more funny is that the masses who don't know the truth still eat this set, or they will be fooled again and again. Funny, you say, isn't it funny?

However, Ubolevich still did not know much about this set of political tricks, he was a purely technical officer, and he was promoted too quickly, and he was not tempered by the grassroots level, so that he could not understand the essence of the bureaucratic world.

And Li Xiaofeng is different, he was taught a bad enough lesson in his previous life, and in this life, he slowly learned from his mentor and Xiao Si, and his essence of politics is much more transparent than that of the rookie Ubolevich. So he knows very well that at this time, you must cooperate with those shameless politicians to do something, don't you want to be sad and bitter? Then I will fulfill you!

Soon, Li Xiaofeng's ultimatum was published in the Finnish evening newspapers, and even Finnish politicians hired a large number of gunmen to spread the news among the people.

"The only thing you can do is give in!"

At the time of dinner, Finns with and without food lamented this cry. They have resigned themselves to their fate, they are ready to accept reality.

Ten o'clock in the evening. Negotiations resumed. Basikivi agreed to Li Xiaofeng's condition, asking only one thing: "My compatriots need food, and we will only sign the agreement if you provide the necessary assistance!" ”

After this news broke, Basikivi's prestige among the hungry Finns skyrocketed, and the hungry ghosts felt that Basikivi loved his people like a child. However, Li Xiaofeng said to Mannerheim, who was participating in the negotiations together: "You prime minister can really act!" ”

The corners of Mannerheim's mouth twitched, but he didn't pay attention to Li Xiaofeng. I don't know if it's because Li Xiaofeng broke Ba Xikivi's performance, or if the old man was angry with someone for what he did to his motherland.

"Is Basikivi really acting?" Ubolevich asked curiously.

"Of course." Li Xiaofeng smiled contemptuously. snorted: "If he really loves the people like a son, he will not mention such an empty condition." There is no indication of how much food we have to support, nor is there any specific method or time of delivery. It's just an empty word! How binding are such conditions? How could an old fox like him make such a low-level mistake. ”

Ubolevich would love to ask, so why did Basikivi join this non-binding condition? However, Li Xiaofeng was busy reporting the news to his mentor, and left before he could answer.

Many years later, after a series of complicated struggles, Ubolevich figured out this problem: Basikivi is really a treacherous and cunning, and the empty conditions he joined, even if Russia agreed, there was a way to slowly push off it later. There is no possibility of immediate execution. In other words, the Russians can essentially rely on this account, and naturally they are not afraid to agree. And with this clause. But it is of great benefit to Basikivi's personal prestige, and he can give an account to the people of the whole country - I have done my best, and I am worthy of you.

To put it bluntly, it would only be good for Basikivi to join this article, and after the treaty was signed and entered into force, he could have resigned first, showing his responsibility and repentance, and quietly leaving a time bomb for the next prime minister. Anyway, he won't ask for this account, and if the next prime minister can't ask for it, then the next prime minister is also incompetent. Perhaps, he can make a comeback!

And this is exactly the reason why Li Xiaofeng laughed at Ba Xikivi, this old boy is too dark, and he is born to be a good material for this business!

February 28, 1919, the last day of February, was also the eve of the opening of the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party. After 10 months of fierce fighting, Finland finally returned to peace, and the war did not benefit Finland at all except to turn the country into a mess, except to divide the country into two distinct parts.

A so-called special socialist administrative region was established east of 28° east longitude, in which the Finnish government had no jurisdiction, no executive power, no right to collect taxes, no conscription, no garrison and no military powers. Let's put it this way, except that this special administrative region is nominally part of Finland, and the other qiē is no different from an independent state.

Theoretically, the Special Administrative Region has a high degree of autonomy and practices broad democracy and freedom. But in fact, it was the Russian Bolsheviks who spoke in this area.

"The war in Finland has come to a successful end, and although we have not completely liberated the country, we have ensured the legitimate rights and interests of Finnish fraternal parties in Finland." At the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Li Xiaofeng made a final summary and report on the Finnish issue, "I personally believe that the Finnish Socialist Special Administrative Region will serve as a bridgehead for us to liberate Finland in the future...... If we can set an example for this special administrative region, we will surely show other Finnish people the superiority of socialism......"

The report is long and nonsense, and there is not much dry material in practice. Everyone knows that the future planning of the Finnish Special Administrative Region is a matter for the new Central Committee and the Politburo.

Indeed, Li Xiaofeng's current status is still too low, and for a major event like this, he only has a little power at most.

"I think the most important thing for the Finnish Socialist Special Administrative Region today is to build up strength, to produce more weapons, to arm more Red Guards. As soon as the revolution in our country has won a complete victory, a new military struggle should be launched immediately! Trotsky impassionedly said, "We cannot be satisfied with a small piece of land. There is no intermediate state in the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. We're not going to wipe them out. will be wiped out by them! ”

Trotsky's meaning was quite clear: he still wanted a permanent revolution, regarded the establishment of the Special Administrative Region as an armistice, and as soon as the Russian Revolution was fully victorious, he would immediately turn to a counteroffensive, and he would turn Finland and the whole of Northern Europe into red.

His opinion was probably the mainstream at the time, and most of the Bolsheviks, including his mentor, were not much in line with him. It's just that there is a difference in priorities. Lenin, for example, said: "Of course we cannot compromise with the bourgeoisie, and communism has no middle line." But how to carry out the struggle is a science. A complete revolution in Finland will definitely take place, but that is not the main issue for us to consider now, or even in 1919. ”

After a pause, the Mentor glanced at Trotsky and continued: "In 1919, the core task of our Party was to quell the rebellion, basically eliminate the large white bandits, and achieve peace in the country in an all-round way. Secondly. To carry out the revolutionary struggle in Eastern and Central Europe according to its capabilities, taking advantage of the moment of the collapse of German-Austrian imperialism. Liberate the proletariat in both countries and make military preparations for a counterattack by the Entente bloc. ”

Trotsky's brow tightened at every word Lenin spoke, and it was clear that Lenin had reservations about exporting the revolution with all his might, and that the focus of his mentor was still on Russia, or on his own one-third of an acre. This is fundamentally different from Trotsky's assertion that the key to the future victory of the revolution lies in Germany. The Mentor wanted to be steady and steady, step by step, while Trotsky was like a fire of aggression, eager to ignite all the flames of revolution in the world in one fell swoop, and to win in the midst of chaos.

The difference was fundamental, so Trotsky immediately disagreed: "I disagree. The reason why the proletarian revolution in our country has been carried out so hard is that it is not only because of two reasons: first, the proletariat, especially the working class, is too weak to be able to cope with the enemy's counterattack, and second, it lacks a strong supporting force and only fights alone. It is precisely these two points that determine that the revolution in our country will be repeated and tortuous. ”

Trotsky also glanced at Lenin meaningfully, and then continued: "Therefore, there is only one way to win the victory of our revolution, and that is to carry out the revolution within the imperialist bloc, where the proletariat is stronger, so that the imperialist bloc will not have time to strangle us alone...... Without the support of foreign interference forces, China's white bandit army is simply vulnerable to a chicken, a tile, and a dog! Therefore, there is only one way out of the victory of the revolution in our country, and the only way to carry out the revolution in Central and Eastern Europe is to carry out the revolution! ”

According to Trotsky, the revolution in Russia was nothing more than a piece of cake, not worth mentioning, and the victory of the proletarian revolution must depend on Germany, which is the most important thing.

Lenin did not deny that the German proletariat was stronger than the Russian proletariat, nor did he deny that it was more important to carry out the revolution in Germany. But does this mean that only the German revolution should be focused, and that the revolutionary work in Russia should be relegated to a secondary position?

"Without the revolution in our country, without a solid rear, what can we do with the revolutionary movement in Germany?" Lenin once again stressed that "the fact that Germany has a stronger proletariat cannot be ignored from the situation at home." Once we pay full attention to Germany and use all our forces to support the German revolution, we will inevitably weaken the strength of our counterinsurgency war, and what will we do if the enemy counterattacks? Don't forget that in February we had just driven out Kolchak, and he was not far from Moscow! ”

The public said that the public was reasonable, and the mother said that the mother was reasonable, and there was no result in the quarrel, and in the end it was a vote to solve the problem, but this was not a Politburo vote. This question must be discussed by the plenary session of the Central Committee. And this time, as an alternate member of the Central Committee, a certain immortal finally obtained the qualification to speak.

"There is nothing wrong with launching a world revolution, but there must be a distinction between priority and subordination, and it is not a revolution to make a revolution, but a circus performance. Moreover, such a performance will not only fail to set off a new revolutionary upsurge, but will excessively disperse our already formidable forces...... The power of the proletariat is precious, how can it be squandered at will? Revolution is not fanning the flames, let alone ignoring the flames, and you can sit back and relax! ”

Li Xiaofeng said that it was called painful, and the qualifications to speak in the Righteous Eight Classics were stronger than the previous unserious state, "Judging from the current situation, our country has the greatest hope for the victory of the revolution, and it can even be said that we have seen the dawn of victory. In this case, it is necessary to complete the revolution in our country once and for all! ”

At this, Li Xiaofeng was interrupted, and the Trotskyist continued to repeat the same old tune, but he immediately asked rhetorically: "How could you miss the opportunity?" There is only one opportunity that we can really grasp now -- that is, the best opportunity to wipe out the white bandit army in the country and thoroughly usher in the victory of the revolution! I ask you, what if you miss this opportunity? ”

Judging from this fragment alone, it is inevitable that this Central Committee will be the most quarrelsome Central Committee. As the German-Austrian bloc approached collapse, and as the war situation in Russia improved little by little, it was inevitable that the Leninists and Trotskyists, who had been able to tide over the difficulties together wholeheartedly, would inevitably have disputes. It is foreseeable that the internal struggle will become more and more intense...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you Comrade Juventus!