Moscow, the Kremlin, Lenin's office.

"The Red Cross?" Lenin looked at Sverdlov suspiciously, his face full of suspicion, "Comrade Yakov, are you saying that the Entente will come to our aid in the name of the International Red Cross?" ”

When he first heard the news, Sverdlov was also surprised, although the Red Cross was a good church, but the assistance of the Red Cross of the Entente Group was not so easy to accept, and generally there were certain political conditions attached. For example, for an outlier like Soviet Russia, the political conditions were generally rather harsh, and to put it bluntly, they were deliberately making things difficult.

Both Lenin and Sverdlov had considered asking for help from the International Red Cross, but it was precisely because of those harsh political conditions that they could not accept it, so they had no choice but to give up. And now, the Red Cross has come to the door on its own initiative, which is a novelty.

"What conditions did they offer?" Lenin asked sternly.

In fact, the teacher has already decided that although the famine in the country has become more and more intense, the revolutionaries should not just have enough to eat, ideals and persistence are the most important things. Therefore, once the conditions offered by the Red Cross are still harsh, he will still refuse without hesitation. There is a saying in China -- starvation is a small matter, but a loss of festival is a big matter!

"The International Red Cross offered us food free of charge, but the food could not be used for military purposes and could only be distributed to ordinary Russians in the midst of famine." At the end, Xiao Si also added: "The specific distribution method will be led by the Red Cross, and we can only supervise it from the side." ”

Lenin was once again surprised, and it should be said that these conditions were perfectly acceptable. In contrast to the previous moves, he called for the release of political prisoners. If you move, you will talk about human rights. This time, the Red Cross is truly kind!

"Why did they offer such generous terms?" Lenin suddenly asked, yes, the teacher is not a fool, he will not believe in the beauty of pie in the sky at all. The International Red Cross will never show kindness for no reason, and there must be a deeper reason behind this.

Sverdlov smiled and said: "It seems that Comrade Andrei used the power of public opinion to prevent those imperialists from coming down, in order to calm down the incident as much as possible, and also to get out." They had to reach a compromise with the East Prussian People's Republic. And Comrade Andrei also took this opportunity to knock on a bamboo bar! ”

Lenin smiled, very happily, and to tell the truth, he had rarely smiled in the past month or two, let alone laughed so happily. He said in a joking tone: "I know the level of Andrei's bamboo poles, if the comrades in the party can learn from him and knock the enemy's bamboo poles fiercely, then our life will be much better!" ”

Indeed, in the second half of 1919, Russia's economic situation was still in deep trouble. There was no improvement at all. And as the civil war grows more intense, as the international blockade becomes more and more severe. More important was the spread of bureaucracy, and the crisis of the Bolsheviks was getting bigger and bigger.

Let's put it this way, the working class, which had been closely united around the Bolsheviks, also made a strange noise, and the intense work and poor material life made the enthusiasm and passion of the workers quickly extinguished, and the real problems pricked their nerves so hard that some of the workers began to think that they should change their bosses, or simply rally around the trade unions and replace the brutal Bolsheviks with trade unions.

Little by little, the workers' opposition is accumulating strength, and even though the historical leader of the workers' opposition, Colontai, has taken a break, the strength of the workers' opposition continues unabated. This period of time has caused great trouble and pressure on Lenin.

Although this aid could not fundamentally solve the problem of famine, it could undoubtedly ease and ease the anger of the workers and buy more time for the mentor, which was also an important reason why Lenin was in the mood to joke.

"Andre, this is a charcoal in the snow!"

Lenin sighed, but the good mood of the mentor did not last long, and soon a heated debate broke out in the party over the question of receiving aid.

"Where could the Entente group be so kind? How can they come to our aid with sincerity and sincerity in their bent on messing up our country, I think it's a conspiracy! ”

Ulitsky had defined the nature of the aid from the beginning, which was obviously a good thing, but when it came to his mouth, it turned into a conspiracy.

"Conspiracy? What conspiracy? Ruzutak asked, "Is it good for the Entente to give us food and help us solve the food crisis?" ”

Ulitsky sneered: "For them, of course, it's a good thing!" How to distribute the food is completely up to them, which means that all the Russian people who receive aid will only think of their good. This is their despicable means of dividing, disintegrating and destroying the basis of our public opinion! ”

You can't say this argument makes sense, and there is a little bit of it, objectively speaking, such concerns are very realistic. But the question is, if you don't accept aid, you won't be divided and disintegrated? Once the hungry people knew that there was an opportunity to fill their stomachs in front of them, but they were artificially blocked by the "evil" Bolsheviks, wouldn't the consequences be even more severe!

"We can completely block messages!" Ulitsky said stiffly, "We must not allow the poisonous waters of capitalism to spread in socialist Russia!" It is necessary to keep them firmly out as if they were the beasts of the flood, so as to maintain the stability of society and the authority of the party! ”

Ruzutak rebuked at the time: "Nonsense! The authority of the Party comes from putting oneself in the position of the proletariat for the benefit of the proletariat! It is precisely because we are always defending the interests of the proletariat that the working masses will support us! And what you are doing now is like hiding your ears and stealing the bell, fooling the proletariat who have always supported us with posturing...... A little grain can buy the proletariat, and you underestimate the consciousness of the Russian proletariat! Statements like yours are outright counter-revolutionary arguments! ”

"How can this be counter-revolutionary?" Ulitsky was not convinced, and insisted: "Why did the Entente bloc use good intentions? They are drunkards who do not want to drink, even if they cannot incite the proletariat at home against us. It will also discredit us internationally. The impact is outrageous! ”

"Bad influence? What bad effects? Ruzutak asked with a smile.

"Isn't that obvious?" Ulitsky scoffed. "It is clear that once we accept the aid of imperialism, it will be tantamount to acknowledging to the whole world that socialist Russia is suffering from a famine. What is the nature of this? And what will be the impact? Can't you see that? It is clear that this is the despicable means of imperialism to smear us, this is sugar-coated shells! ”

It has to be said that Ulitsky's words won the approval of a large number of members of the Central Committee, who in the eyes of this group of people, the face is more important than the belly, and they would rather have the grass of socialism than the seedlings of capitalism.

But Ruzutak is not such a person. In his opinion, this kind of trick of pinching his nose and coaxing his eyes is to cover his ears and steal the bell. Even if aid is not accepted, then there will be no famine in the country? Then the international community does not know what is happening in Russia? This is completely to take care of the face of a small number of people, and needlessly sacrifice the interests of a large number of people.

"It's ridiculous!" Ruzutak stood up abruptly and snarled at the somewhat smug Ulitsky: "When the famine is getting worse, as a leader of the party, as a member of the Central Committee, you don't think about how to solve the famine, and you don't think about how to help the people tide over the difficulties. Rather, it is a one-sided and narrow focus on the so-called face issue? You are standing and talking without backache when you have a full stomach, right? I strongly condemn this bureaucratic act, shameful! ”

Ulitsky didn't expect to be scolded by Ruzutak, who was older than Ruzutak anyway. Now in front of most of the members of the Central Committee, this is too much for him to step down.

"I'm ......" Ulitsky was just about to get back on the field. However, he was interrupted by Bukharin, who was the second leader of Trotskyism in Trotsky's absence.

"Comrade Ulitsky, I also think that it is not time to focus only on the issue of face. Our compatriots and comrades are starving, and as Comrade Ruzutak said, we should actively try to find ways to solve problems, instead of deceiving and fooling things! ”

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then said earnestly: "I personally also think that the Entente bloc is uneasy and kind, but compared to the current bad shape, the most important thing is to get food, so that the common people can eat their stomachs, and we should grasp this main contradiction!" So I agree with Comrade Ruzutak that assistance should be received! As for other problems, you can find a way to solve or find a way to avoid some risks! ”

Bukharin had spoken, and Ulitsky could not continue to bite his tongue, but judging by his expression, he was quite unconvinced. In fact, after the meeting, he angrily seized on the Bukharin's theory, believing that Bukharin's decision was wrong!

"How can you be on Lenin's side? How can you help them speak? ”

In the face of Ulitsky's questioning, Bukharin was a little puzzled and asked rhetorically: "How is this talking for Lenin?" I am on the matter, and now that the problem of famine is imminent, how can I be paranoid and stick to factional stereotypes? ”

"You know what?!" Who would have thought that Ulitsky would be on fire, and taught: "Don't you still see it? This is Lenin's conspiracy! He had been in opposition to us before, opposing the full and rapid promotion of the world revolution and attempting to stop the car with his mantis arm! But the wheels of history ran over him, telling him that only by permanent revolution can he have a future and win the victory of the revolution. Now, in order to win back the game, he is constantly engaged in intrigues and tricks, setting up a bureau to send Comrade Trotsky to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for investigation, secretly obstructing the battle to annihilate Denikin, and now he is even trying to win his own popularity by means of the intrigues and tricks of the Entente. How can you just watch and ignore it?! ”

Bukharin was really stunned, he didn't think about it so much at all, let alone think as "far-reaching" as Ulitsky, he felt that Ulitsky was probably persecuted and his mind was no longer sober!

However, Ulitsky was even sicker than he had imagined, and without waiting for Bukharin to explain, he roared to himself: "By the way, you don't just turn a blind eye. Instead, they stupidly sided with the enemy. Wave the flag and shout for the enemy. Comrade Bukharin, are you going to be a traitor? ”

Bukharin really didn't like to hear this, and he didn't want to listen to it, when did Lenin become an enemy? When to judge things is tantamount to being a traitor. Ulitsky's signs of exclamation annoyed and wary. Just imagine that even Ulitsky has shown obvious hostile tendencies, wouldn't the people below be even stricter?

For Bukharin, the controversy and struggle between the Trotskyists and the Leninists was a discussion of revolutionary theory and line within the Party. Didn't that sentence be said? The truth becomes clearer the more it is argued. Bukharin has always believed that the Trotskyists and Leninists are arguing and arguing, but they are always one and the same.

But now Ulitsky's remarks made him break out in a cold sweat. He believes that this sign must be nipminally nippled in the bud immediately: "Comrade Ulitsky, what nonsense are you talking about? Both Comrade Trotsky and I have always admitted that Lenin, Sverdlov, Stalin and other comrades were Bolsheviks just like us. We are a close-knit and inseparable whole! And you call your comrades enemies? What are you trying to do? Is it a blatant split in the party? ”

Without waiting for Ulitsky to speak, Bukharin continued to teach: "I warn you unequivocally that there can be arguments, there can be controversies, and even struggles within the party. But these do not affect the class friendship between comrades, we will always be as a whole. It must be consistent with the outside world! ”

The Ulitsky soldiers were not convinced, so Bukharin had to stress again: "On this point, I have the same understanding as Comrade Trotsky, and I believe that Comrade Lenin also understands this with us. I don't like to hear what you just said, and I don't want to hear it anymore. I hope you also re-understand this issue and avoid continuing to make mistakes on this issue in the future! ”

Ulitsky went away dejected, but Bukharin's worries did not subside, and that night he tossed and turned in bed and could not sleep, and the next morning he went to visit Trotsky at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection with dark circles under his eyes.

"This problem is really worrying!" Trotsky frowned, as Bukharin had expected, "Has the struggle within the party been too fierce in recent times, especially since the beginning of the German revolution?" Is it that we have not done a good job of guiding correctly on this issue? What about some comrades who focus one-sidedly on the struggle and forget about unity? ”

When Trotsky wrote down his worries into a long letter, and when Lenin read it, the Mentor frowned. In fact, he himself was worried about the fierce intra-party struggle, and was very worried that this overly heated atmosphere would lead the situation to get out of control.

"It is necessary to rectify the atmosphere, and some comrades are quite unpleasant!"

Sverdlov was a little surprised, he didn't expect that Lenin would be moved by Trotsky's letter, and he didn't expect that his old man would take the initiative to cooperate with Trotsky, listen to him, this is ready to beat some people?

Sverdlov was not averse to beating some of the overly agitated guys, but he did not like the feeling of being led by the nose by Trotsky.

"You don't understand," Lenin shook his head, "that this is not being led by the nose by Trotsky. Why do you think Trotsky wrote this letter? ”

Xiao Si could not keep up with Lenin's train of thought, could it be said that Trotsky's letter had no deeper meaning?

"Of course there is a deep meaning!" "He wrote this letter not only to express concern about certain undesirable phenomena, but more importantly to express the meaning that he had decided to temporarily suspend the fighting, to accept the current situation, and to say that he would not continue to incite more intense intra-party struggles!" ”

Sverdlov thought about it, and really tasted some of it, and even after piercing this layer of window paper, he thought even further. The reason why the Mentor said that there was an armistice, it was obvious that there would be a possibility of war, and as for when the war would start, I am afraid it would depend on the development of the form.

From the perspective of the general situation, both international and domestic, the struggle between the Trotskyists and the Leninists was still a dichotomy at this time, but compared with 1918, Trotsky had completely shaken off the passivity of the Brest Pact and had already started a war and began to fight back locally. Such signs fully illustrate the change in the shape of the party, that is, the growing strength of the Trotskyists.

Under these circumstances, Trotsky did not take advantage of the victory to pursue the attack, but chose to make peace for the time being, and it must be said that he was still very clear-headed, and knew that continuing to fight hard would probably provoke a full-scale counterattack by Lenin, and the result would be unpredictable. I am afraid that he himself does not have the confidence to win, so he took Bukharin's mention yì and got off the donkey and wrote a letter of high wind and bright festival, so as to retreat as advance!

Moreover, the temporary truce is not without benefits for the Trotskyists, who can take the opportunity to get rid of the passivity of being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and then steadily integrate the Trotskyists, and then only need to welcome the next upsurge of struggle.

It has to be said that Trotsky's calculations were very deep and accurate, because he knew that Lenin would never refuse this idea, and would even cooperate with his plan, because the teacher also needed to regroup and reintegrate the Leninists, who seemed to be a little chaotic.

And Li Xiaofeng didn't know about this, of course, even if he knew, he couldn't put forward any constructive opinions, after all, he was just an alternate member of the Central Committee, and it was not his turn to intervene casually in this kind of heavy affairs, not to mention that he still had a lot of things at hand, and the Polish issue alone was enough for him to be busy...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you xvxinyi, the parasite schistosomiasis and Comrade Juventus!