Sverdlov soon realized that Li Xiaofeng had something to say and it was inconvenient to talk to him in public, so he pulled out some nonsense security issue as a cover.

Sure enough, after sitting in Xiao Si's office, and there was no third person in the office, Li Xiaofeng asked bluntly: "Comrade Yakov, how did Comrade Lenin arrange it?" ”

As soon as he heard this, Sverdlov felt a little more comfortable, when someone was dismantling Trotsky's platform with Stalin in the Military Commission, although he was happy to see the Leninists attack the Trotskyist forces in the Military Commission, but someone who cooperated with Stalin so openly still made him unhappy, no matter how open-minded and how much I comforted myself, I still had a pimple in my heart.

This is also the main reason why Xiao Si suddenly wants to publicly "show affection" with a certain immortal, not only because of a sense of crisis, but also because of this to explore someone's true thoughts.

Don't be surprised, this is politics, even if it is the relationship between Xiao Si and a certain immortal, if some small things are not handled well, it will also affect the "feelings". And now someone is arrogantly asking Lenin about his arrangement, and it is obvious that he still recognizes him as a big brother and is ready to mix with him.

"Comrade Lenin has not arranged anything," Sverdlov also sighed, yes, as I said earlier, although Lenin has already made up his mind, and everyone has basically decided that Trotsky will succeed him, but how to get it, the specific constitution is not discussed, Lenin's secretive attitude makes people anxious, "None of us know how to distribute the specific work next year!" ”

Li Xiaofeng bared his teeth and complained: "Isn't this nonsense!" ”

Yes, Li Xiaofeng just felt that Lenin was messing around. The question of succession concerns the country's social security. It's always been a big thing that can't be sloppy. Lenin has now decided to retire. Now that the successor has been chosen, some things must be arranged in advance, such as the distribution of power, such as letting everyone use the precious time of the year to familiarize themselves with the new power structure, which is also regarded as running-in.

But Lenin was fortunate that his successor was chosen, but he did not say how Trotsky would succeed him, let alone how such a core assistant as Sverdlov would be arranged. Hiding it made everyone feel uneasy.

Anyway, Li Xiaofeng doesn't like this weird state now, it seems to be calm, but in fact, it is secretly turbulent, and the big guys are all triggered, just waiting for a fire to come at the end, isn't it fatal!

Li Xiaofeng hates this method the most, because the current situation reminds him of the situation in the last years of Kangxi's marijuana, obviously he has an idea in his heart, but he doesn't pick it out, and let his sons eat each other dog-eat-dog with ill intentions. In the clouds, in order to fulfill his own good reputation. This approach is too selfish and too ruthless.

Li Xiaofeng thought that Lenin did not need to do this at all, with his old man's authority in the party. I'm worried about Mao, he's just retiring, and his influence is still here, if the successor behind him makes him unbearable, his prestige is just a matter of words. What kind of fuss is this, old man!

"Comrade Lenin, this is just nonsense, so it's better for him not to retire, so that everyone can be happy!" Li Xiaofeng went crazy directly.

Sverdlov likes to watch Li Xiaofeng go crazy, especially like to see him go crazy at Lenin, why? Because Lenin hasn't retired yet! In front of him, Chi Guoguo complained about it, this is the best loss of sincerity.

Anyway, the more Li Xiaofeng complained, the happier and more relieved Sverdlov became, which fully showed that Li Xiaofeng was still on his side!

In fact, Li Xiaofeng did not have the meaning of acting, the politics is actually a scene, the actors wear masks and pretend to say their lines, and the words they say on stage, I am afraid that even they will not believe it. Of course, Li Xiaofeng was indeed not very satisfied with Lenin's methods, and he did not mean to complain. But complaining is complaining, complaining is over, after the performance is over, it is natural to return to the topic.

Li Xiaofeng straightened his waist and asked very sternly: "Comrade Yakov, what are you going to do?" Just wait? ”

Sverdlov pouted, if he could, he really didn't want to wait, but Lenin told him to wait, and the current situation made him have to wait, so what else could he do?

"Comrade Lenin meant to make me wait." Sverdlov replied with a wry smile.

Sometimes Sverdlov is quite speechless, since 1917 he has been conscientiously and diligently following the mentor, basically the mentor asked him to go east, he will never go west, and now the mentor is retiring, but he does not give him a clear statement, what is the matter with this Nima?

So what exactly did Lenin think? In fact, Lenin at this time was also very entangled, you asked him to tell the truth and speak from the bottom of his heart, do you think Lenin wanted to retire 100%?

This is impossible, no one wants to admit that he is old, especially the more powerful the person is, the more unwilling to admit it, because the subtext of old is that he is not good, and if he is not good, it means that he has gone to the grave. Do you think Lenin was the kind of person who voluntarily went to the grave?

He certainly didn't want to, but as a politician and a great teacher, Lenin also knew very well that it was not possible or good for him to always hold power. It took great perseverance to restrain the idea of continuing to hold on to power, and at the same time, of course, Lenin was inevitably confused and apprehensive himself.

He had to think about what he would face if he handed over all his strength, but it was clear that he was not as confident as Li Xiaofeng thought, or that after tasting the supreme power, it was hard for anyone to believe that others would be sensible and polite in the face of such power, and a former supreme leader like him was undoubtedly the last person his successor wanted to see.

Moreover, Lenin was not willing to be a marginal figure in politics generously, and he felt that even if he quit politics, even if he handed over the supreme power, it did not mean that he could not make any noise, and did he not allow his old comrades to express their opinions?

What's more, as the boss of the Lenin faction, he naturally has to think about the younger brothers when he retires, and he can't care about the life or death of the younger brothers, right?

In this way, Lenin was entangled. Power naturally has to be handed over. But how to hand it over is a problem. And Lenin wanted the next leadership to be more balanced, which meant that things would be more complicated and troublesome. Because everyone wants their power to be as great as possible, and to be as limited as possible, who will accept Lenin's methods?

For this, Lenin spent a lot of brains, and in fact he has been thinking about this problem since 30 years, hoping to come up with a perfect solution. But in fact, after thinking about it for almost four years, Lenin found that there was no such thing as a perfect solution. It is also impossible to save zài what is perfect!

But the deadline for retirement is approaching, and whether he wants to come up with the perfect plan or not, he must have an explanation. In desperation, Lenin could only buy himself a little time, and at this plenary meeting, he announced the choice of a successor, but did not give a specific plan for the succession.

Lenin also knew that this would cause some problems, but there was really no way to do it, right?

"And what are you going to do?"

In the face of Li Xiaofeng's question, Sverdlov was silent, if you want to say that he has no idea at all, it is definitely impossible. Lenin retired. And Trotsky's lead is almost no longer there, in this case you let him wait in peace? How can it be?!

Sverdlov's hesitant appearance made Li Xiaofeng speechless for a while. In his opinion, Xiao Si's biggest shortcoming is here, he is too indecisive enough. If Stalin had faced his question, then Steel would never hesitate, but would have resolutely decided to do something, if not to overturn Lenin's decision, but to gain more bargaining chips for the future.

To put it bluntly, Xiao Si is too stable, and even a little indecisive, which is really a shortcoming for the superiors, and it is a very fatal shortcoming.

Li Xiaofeng sighed in his heart, it seems that he can only take the initiative in this matter, "I think we should strive for the initiative!" ”

Sverdlov modestly asked: "How do you take the initiative?" ”

Li Xiaofeng sighed again, didn't Xiao Si really know how to take the initiative? Definitely not, with his political wisdom, if he couldn't even see this, he really didn't deserve to sit in his current position, and he couldn't stand for so long. To put it bluntly, Xiao Si still hesitated and refused to make up his mind.

There is no way, Li Xiaofeng can only do it for him: "I think the most important thing at present is the Military Commission and the Party Committee, if we can occupy a certain advantage in these two departments, then even if Comrade Lenin retires, we don't have to worry too much!" ”

This is too straightforward, almost not artistic at all, and it really does not conform to the way the big leader says it. But this has to be forgiven Li Xiaofeng is not, Xiao Si wants to pretend to lead Fan to speak vaguely, if he is the same as Xiao Si, then everyone will not talk about business, and they will be busy talking nonsense together!

After being stunned for a moment, Sverdlov cautiously asked, "Is this appropriate?" ”

Li Xiaofeng really felt that he couldn't complain, Lao Tzu said that this is the part, you still ask if it is suitable or not, and pretending to be forced is just like that!

But who let Li Xiaofeng follow such a big brother, he could only pinch his nose and endure it.

"It is not a question of suitability or inappropriateness, judging from the experience of the past ten years, Comrade Trotsky's ideas are problematic, and as old comrades and revolutionaries, we cannot watch him go his own way, it is necessary to take the helm on the question of principle!"

Sverdlov nodded, seemingly satisfied, and in fact satisfied, "And how are you going to proceed?" He asked again.

This question still makes Li Xiaofeng's egg hurt, because you Xiao Si is the boss, how to proceed you have to set goals first!

In fact, Xiao Si soon found that his question was very inappropriate, so he quickly changed his words: "My opinion is that in the long run we must cooperate with Stalin!" ”

Li Xiaofeng has alpacas galloping in his heart, but he doesn't have to cooperate with Stalin, isn't this TM nonsense! The question is how to cooperate!

In fact, to put it bluntly, it is the question of how to distribute the power between the two sides in the Military Commission and the Party Committee, judging from the current situation, Stalin is the general secretary of the party, and it seems that he is the boss of the party, but the Organizational Bureau Riesverdlov has a first secretary (Ruzutak) and a Li Xiaofeng, that is, the crucial Organizational Bureau, Xiao Si has a greater say. Of course, both the general secretary of the party and the actual controller of the organization bureau are nonsense, and the most important thing is the Politburo. In this respect, Stalin and Sverdlov are evenly divided.

Of course. This is also temporary. Because next year Lenin will retire. The Politburo was about to face a reshuffle, and Stalin and Sverdlov were largely free to keep their positions as Grand Elders, but it was Lenin's vacant position and the change of alternates that were worth considering.

Who will Lenin step down? In the past, Bukharin's hopes were quite high, but since the beginning of the 30th year, Bukharin has been losing points on the question of whether industry or agriculture is preceded, especially this year on the question of collective farms, although for the time being Lenin has not expelled him from the Politburo. But it is almost certain that Bukharin has no chance to go further.

In addition to Bukharin, the alternates are Kalinin, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Ruzutak. Among them, Kalinin is a fairy faction, belongs to the good old man, does not have a strong sense of zài, although he belongs to the Lenin faction, but he maintains neutrality between Xiao Si and Stalin, for a wall-riding element like him, it is difficult for Xiao Si or Stalin to make up their minds to support.

Of the few remainders, Kamenev was close to Trotsky. Neither this Stalin nor Sverdlov will support, as for Zinoviev. With the bad relationship between him and Li Xiaofeng, Li Xiaofeng will block his progress.

And the last remaining Ruzutak, in terms of ability and influence, was suitable to take the throne in 1935, but he was too close to Sverdlov, and Stalin probably didn't want Xiao Si's power to be too strong, so Ruzutak was no play. In other words, it seems that none of the current alternate members can be accepted by Xiao Si and Stalin.

"Actually, it's useless for us to think so much," Sverdlov suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly, "Comrade Lenin probably would have preferred someone close to Comrade Trotsky to take his place......"

Yes, from the point of view of the balance of power, I am afraid that Lenin's position is more likely to belong to the Trotskyists, otherwise the three Leninists in the position of the Great Elder will absolutely let Trotsky die and come back to life, which is unscientific, at least not in line with Lenin's original intention.

Think about it, the two Trotskyists in the Politburo, the two Leninists, plus an impartial Dzerzhinsky, are perfect!

"The problem is, Trotsky has to find such a man!" Li Xiaofeng sneered.

It must be said that his words hit the nail on the head, Trotsky had only a few hardcore allies, and the only Bukharin, who had previously had great hopes, parted ways with him and had effectively withdrawn from the competition. Among the remaining good friends, Ulitsky did not enter the Politburo, and Lunacharsky has really become a complete educator, leaving only a less reliable Kamenev.

The problem is that Lenin had a very poor impression of Kamenev and said more than once that the appearance of stones in the October Revolution was not accidental. It is already unprecedented for Kamenev to enter the Politburo as an alternate. Let Lenin give his place to this traitor, do you think Lenin was so generous?

Moreover, Kamenev has always been a man of great ambition, and the reason why he has been Trotsky's horse boy honestly in recent years is very simple, and that is because Trotsky can protect him and have power above him. And once this thing becomes the Great Elder, do you think he will willingly be Trotsky's little friend?

Whether others believe it or not, Lenin did not believe it anyway. And once Kamenev can't firmly support Trotsky here, then Lao To's position will be very unstable, and then he won't want to stabilize the situation at all, and with Kamenev's essence of stirring up, in order to realize his personal ambitions, he will stir the Politburo into a pot of porridge!

Lenin had an idea of what the Soviet Union would face in the future, the Germans were hysterical, while Britain and France were very unreliable, and in the long run it would not be a new war of the century, but a German-Russian war. How terrible this German war plane was, Lenin was clear.

In this case, the Soviet Union must be internally stable in the future, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable, and with Kamenev, a-stirring stick, can it be stabilized?

Exclude Kamenev and let Ulitsky go on top? Ulitsky, though of average ability, was loyal to Trotsky, and it seemed fitting for him to go up?

That is, it seems, because Ulitsky faced an obstacle when he went up, he had not entered the Politburo before, and he was not even an alternate bureaucrat. Who said that the Communist Party is not senior, at least in this year, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union still talks about seniority.

As is customary, if there is a vacancy in the Politburo, it should be filled by an alternate member. And if you want to enter the Politburo, you first have to mix with an alternate member to do it. Let Ulitsky cross two steps in one go, this is not in order!

Especially when the alternate members of Kamenev, Zinoviev, Kalinin, and Ruzutak have not retired, why let Ulitsky take the lead?

Even Lenin was speechless on this question, and at this plenary session of the Central Committee, he raised the question of whether to consider adding one or two new alternate members to the Politburo, whose work is very heavy and the existing comrades in the Politburo are under great pressure.

At that time, Lenin's proposal received an enthusiastic response, and a large number of candidates were proposed, among whom was indeed Ulitsky, but it is interesting that a great battle broke out in the Central Committee about who to add. Stalin nominated Ordzhonikidze, Sverdlov nominated Li Xiaofeng, and Trotsky nominated Ulitsky, but neither of the three parties could convince anyone to let the proposal fall through.

And what amused Lenin in particular was that at the height of the controversy, he was already hinting at Trotsky, and if you put a lot of effort into supporting Ulitsky, I would support it. But who would have thought that in the end Trotsky would shrink his eggs, what do you think this is! (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you Comrade Juventus!