There is no difference between being motivated and not being motivated, and Krestinsky began to do so almost as soon as he arrived in Petrograd, eager to get things done overnight.

Of course, in addition to motivation, time is also a major factor, and it is two months before the opening of the conference.

On the evening of his arrival in Petrograd, Krestinsky secretly paid a visit to Zinoviev, and the two sides chatted together for two or three hours, and at dawn the one-eyed Peter watched Krestinsky leave Zinoviev's apartment with great satisfaction.

"Krestinsky and Zinoviev had secret talks?"

When Li Xiaofeng learned the news, his surprise was not the main thing, but a little sigh, compared with Sverdlov, a time-tested political fighter, his sensitivity is still a little worse. Fortunately, he reported the situation to Xiao Si after arriving in Petrograd, otherwise he might have suffered a big loss.

As soon as Sverdlov heard about what had happened, he warned directly: "Be sure to pay attention to Krestinsky!" Andrei, this comrade is not as honest as you see, and don't let your guard down because he has a little friendship with us. You are right to refuse to cooperate with them, but beware of them taking risks! ”

In particular, Xiao Si emphatically warned: "Be especially vigilant against a compromise between Krestinsky and Zinoviev, and beware of them being in cahoots!" ”

I have to say that Xiao Si's prediction is quite accurate, judging from the current trend. These two guys have come together. However, Li Xiaofeng was also a little curious. He was curious to know what the two guys would do to him. From which side will it be moved?

To be honest, Li Xiaofeng does not think that he is easy to deal with, the Cheka belongs to the vertical leadership, he only needs to be responsible for the all-Russian Cheka, and in the field of suppression of rebellion in the Petrograd region, he does not need to pay too much attention to the command of the party committee and the Soviets, he is simply a Turkish emperor. If those two guys want to press him as a superior, it is simply impossible.

Anyway. In the position of Krestinsky and Zinoviev, there is really no way to deal with a thorn like himself. He wished that Krestinsky would come up with some great trick so that he could also open his eyes.

Does Krestinsky have a trick? It should be said that neither did he, the Cheka department was vertically led, independent of the local party committees and Soviets, and to put it mildly, could not be birded at all. It is simply impossible to use administrative means to deal with Li Xiaofeng.

So how is Krestinsky going to open the situation? The solution is very simple, he is ready to leave Li Xiaofeng alone. In his opinion, the Party committee, the Soviets, and the Comintern took the lead. It doesn't matter if you want an immortal or not.

Krestinsky's plan was that the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs fired the first shot, first denouncing the Estonian government for conniving at Yudenich and strongly demanding his repatriation. Of course, the Estonian government may refuse, but it doesn't matter, because all you want is this attitude, and as long as the attitude comes out, the rest will be convenient.

However, it is not easy to achieve this step, for example, Li Xiaofeng is stuck in this step, without the support of his mentor, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs will not sell his face, and the subsequent operation will naturally be impossible.

Krestinsky, on the other hand, had Trotsky's support, and the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs had to sell face to the second tutor, who lost his position as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs because of the Brest contract, but in the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, he was still a bit of a power, and many of his henchmen served in that department. For example, Radek is now one of the Deputy People's Commissars for Foreign Affairs, and it really doesn't need to be too difficult to do this little thing.

After passing the NKVD, the rest will be easy, and whatever the Estonian government may do, it would be better to repatriate Yudenich, and if he is not repatriated, he can start the next step.

The Comintern came in next, and most of the Bolsheviks in Estonia fled to Petrograd after the German occupation of Estonia. All that needs to be done now is to give them a voice. With this voice, the Bolsheviks could intervene more smoothly in the affairs of Estonia. Whether it is the establishment of a regime in exile or the organization of a militia uprising, there are many methods.

In any case, Krestinsky did not find these two things difficult at all, and in fact they were, and immediately after Trotsky's greeting, Radek lodged an informal protest with the Estonian government:

"I strongly condemn the Estonian Government's connivance with Yudenich...... This devil has committed a great deal of blood debt in Russia, and the Russian people have a strong demand that this devil be judged...... I urge the Estonian government to immediately repatriate this devil, otherwise it will greatly hurt the traditional friendship between the two countries! ”

God knows what the traditional friendship between Estonia and Russia can be, but that's the kind of diplomatic cliché you would be foolish if you took it seriously.

It should be emphasized, however, that Raddick made this remark on a very particular occasion, an informal occasion, as if he had inadvertently said it casually. I have to say that the old foxes in the political arena are just particular about it, and even all the details have been taken into account.

It should be said that the official remarks were more powerful and could attract the attention of the Estonian government, but after all, this matter was not approved by the Council of People's Commissars and the Politburo. Raddick belongs to private work, if he said so on a formal occasion, Lenin would definitely not let him go, talking nonsense behind the back of the Central Committee, who gave you this guts!

The informal occasion was much less influential, and even when Lenin asked about it, Trotsky and Radek could prevaricate. Anyway, the responsibility is much smaller! As for not being able to attract the attention of the Estonian government? Hey, it depends on how it works.

As the boss of the Petrograd Party Committee, Krestinsky had a way of hyping up the matter. With the stroke of his pen, he was able to concoct several denunciating editorials and publish them in the newspapers, even if they could not be in Pravda or Komsomolskaya Pravda, but in the Petrograd Daily.

After the party committee fired the first shot, it was natural that newspapers of all sizes would follow suit. The general public had better fool around. The Bolsheviks, who controlled the mouthpiece of the press, would naturally believe whatever they said. Not to mention. Yudenich's crime is still real, and the defense of Petrograd not long ago is still vivid, and many people who participated in the defense of Petrograd at that time naturally hope to punish Yudenich as a devil.

After a few days of news bombardment, the repatriation trial of Yudenich was hyped up, and in the eyes of the people of Petrograd Oblast, not to repatriate and not try this devil is to be sorry to the people and to the party, and not to kill him is not enough to make the people angry. And the Estonian government, which shields this devil, is naturally not a good thing. If they do not hurry up and pull back from the precipice, then it is very necessary for the iron fist of the Russian people to beat them up.

"I said, it's that simple." Krestinsky said to Zinoviev with some pride, "Is there Andrey. Petrovich: We can do it all! ”

Yes, in the initial negotiations, when Zinoviev learned that the "idea" came from a certain immortal, he muttered a little, but he knew that Li Xiaofeng was not easy to deal with, and the things he operated were quite difficult. Or Krestinsky constantly lobbied him. Keep telling him how much it is good, and how simple. That's when he was moved.

To be honest, in the past two days of the operation, the big cake face has always paid attention to Li Xiaofeng's movements, for fear that a certain immortal will suddenly go crazy. He's really scared of someone going crazy. However, he waited left and right, but he never saw Li Xiaofeng make any moves, and he was as calm as if he had nothing to do, as if he didn't care about being pirated by the copycat at all.

At this time, the big pie face was relieved, and even secretly despised a certain immortal in his heart, feeling that a certain immortal was nothing more than that, and he still did not hesitate in the face of Trotsky.

He nodded fiercely and said, "Then let's start the next step immediately!" ”

"What's next?" When Trotsky received Krestinsky's telegram, he could not help but hesitate, because he had more experience than Krestinsky, and knew a certain immortal better, and the calm of a certain immortal made him mutter, so in the reply he warned: "Comrade Nikolai, I think that the preparations should be more sufficient, and the situation in all aspects needs to be considered more carefully. I suggest that it should be gradual......"

Gradual?

Krestinsky thinks that he is doing this step by step. He thinks that he has thought it through enough, and time waits for no one, what a pity to miss the opportunity by procrastinating!

So, he put Trotsky's admonition aside and convened a colloquium of the Estonian Bolsheviks with the face of the pie. At the meeting they cordially met with the leaders of the Estonian Bolsheviks, and in an atmosphere of friendship and harmony they reached a high degree of agreement on the question of the Estonian revolution. After the forum, the comrades who participated in the forum took a group photo and made the front page of the newspaper in a grand manner.

When this newspaper appeared on Lenin's desk, the mentor frowned and made a direct phone call to Bukharin, the head of the Central Propaganda Department: "Comrade Bukharin, what's the headline in the Petrograd Daily? ”

Although the tutor's tone was calm, Bukharin on the other end of the telephone line could hear that Lenin's tone did not seem quite right. He was well aware of the situation, and Krestinsky personally called him and made it clear that Trotsky was supporting. That's why he instructed the Petrograd region to release the news.

Now that Lenin really asked questions, he had no choice but to answer according to the confession he had already made and replied: "Actually, it was a symposium, mainly because with the continuous development of the revolutionary movement in our country, the Estonian comrades could not sit still...... Nikolai. Comrade Nikolayevich is to reassure them......"

After a short silence, Lenin said on the other end of the phone: "It is right to appease the emotions of the comrades, but we must pay attention to the ways and means, and in extraordinary times, all actions must take care of the overall situation, and must be cautious!" ”

When the phone was hung up, Bukharin was a little strange, Lenin's attitude was quite strange, according to his previous temper, he would never be so easy to speak, why was he so restrained this time?

"Presumably, with the improvement of the situation in the Urals, Comrade Lenin's attitude changed." Trotsky, who was on the front, gave such an explanation.

Indeed, with Trotsky, chairman of the Military Commission, personally going to the front to supervise the battle and boost morale, the Ural Front became more and more courageous. Not only has the battle line been consolidated in an all-round way. In local areas, there was even a counteroffensive.

Take Blyukhel, for example. Originally holding on to Kazan, he refused some of the negative remarks of cowardice and avoidance of battle in the face of the unfavorable situation of Kolchak's army, and led a small number of troops to break out of the Kazan encirclement.

And in the direction of Tsaritsyn. Yegorov held Tsaritsyn to the death after a tragic street battle, and the First Cavalry Corps of Budyonny and Voroshilov finally began to exert their strength, and after rapid maneuvering, they rushed all the way from the direction of the Caucasus to the lower reaches of the Volga, greatly alleviating the dilemma of the Don-Volga Army group.

With the situation on the two most important battlefields beginning to improve, Trotsky felt that it was normal for Lenin's attitude to begin to loosen.

"Since Comrade Trotsky thinks so, the possibility is very high!"

When Bukharin relayed Trotsky's analysis to Krestinsky, the latter was somewhat ecstatic, and his previous greatest fear was Lenin's attitude, but now even Lenin's attitude has changed. That's also terrible, do it quickly! Time is not waiting for me!

Stimulated by good news. Krestinsky grew emboldened, and soon the Comintern convened a symposium on Estonia in Petrograd. This conference is completely different from the previous symposium. The symposium was semi-official at best, but this time it was formal under the banner of the Comintern.

At this meeting, the Comintern gave important instructions to the revolutionary work in Estonia - the revolutionary upsurge was approaching, the conditions were ripe for the Great World Revolution, and the Estonian proletariat should take up arms again and overthrow the bourgeois German puppet regime!

After the meeting, the Comintern once again issued a serious warning to the Estonian government through official channels, urging them once again to repatriate Yudenich, otherwise it would be unforeseeable!

This statement was quite formal, and the Germans, the boss behind Estonia, reacted first, and the German ambassador to Russia immediately lodged a strong protest to the Russian government, warning the Russians not to go too far, otherwise they will bear the consequences!

Did Krestinsky heed this warning? No, not at all. According to his understanding, the Germans were having a hard time, and as more and more Americans landed on the European continent, and as the arsenals of the democracies were in full swing, the pressure on the Germans was increasing day by day.

If before the winter of 1918, the Germans still fantasized about victory, after entering 1919, the Germans thought more about how to negotiate a decent peace.

Krestinsky believed that the Germans were under pressure and could not risk offending Russia again to stand out for Estonia, and felt that the Germans were now paper tigers. In this case, if you don't take care of some Germans, you will be sorry for the party and the people!

Soon, at the behest of Krestinsky and Zinoviev, a military exercise was held on the border between Estonia and Russia, and the soldiers of the Red Seventh Army almost stepped on the border line to show force, scaring the small number of Estonian defense forces on the opposite side.

The next day, the newspaper once again appeared with a terrifying headline: "The Last Time to Urge the Estonian Government to Pull Back from the Precipice!" The whole text is full of intimidation, as if the war between Russia and Estonia would start the next day.

This time, the Germans really couldn't sit still, how do you think the Russians are sharpening their knives! Although Estonia is not so important, it cannot fuel the ambitions of the Russians!

Soon, the German troops stationed in Poland began to move, and the Germans deliberately leaked the news and related photos in the newspapers with the headline "The German government will resolutely defend the independence and freedom of Estonia!" Under the newspaper, with a photo of a black hole in the muzzle of a gun, the determination of the Germans was sworn in!

Lenin did not call Bukharin this time, he hung up a phone directly to Zinoviev: "What the hell is going on in Estonia?" ”

Zinoviev is also a little big-headed now, and the reaction of the Germans in the past two days has made him a little frightened, and he immediately returned to lying on the sofa. When Lenin asked me this, I stammered a little: "This...... This ......"

"I don't want to listen to this and that, I want to know what the hell is going on in Estonia?" Lenin's tone, though unwavering, had an indescribable sense of oppression. Anyway, every word he uttered hit Zinoviev's heart like a hammer, making him tremble.

"The Yudenich problem must be properly resolved," Zinoviev said stubbornly, "and we are ready to put pressure on the Estonian government to give in, thus solving the counter-revolutionary head once and for all!" ”

After saying this, Zinoviev waited for Lenin's reply in horror, and ten seconds, twenty seconds, and a minute passed, and Lenin on the other end of the phone did not make a sound. As for the big pie face, if Lenin didn't speak, he didn't dare to speak, so he could only wait with bated breath for the verdict of his mentor.

Anyway, Zinoviev felt that it was probably a century before Lenin spoke again: "The Estonian problem must be taken seriously, you can do it yourself!" (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to the Southern Rangers, Instant Kill Potato and Comrade Juventus!