Yegorov didn't know why Li Xiaofeng would invite him to Finland, but Finland was already independent, and running around as a Russian soldier to other countries seemed to be prone to international disputes.

However, since the inviter is Li Xiaofeng, Yegorov can only go to the appointment, anyway, he has already made up his mind in his heart, so he will accompany someone on this trip, which will be regarded as a formality. When I came back, I just declined the invitation.

However, when he actually crossed the border, Yegorov realized that the situation was not quite what he had imagined. Originally, he thought that he should go directly to the city of Vyborg by train, because as far as he knew, the Red Eagle Regiment was stationed there. And the only person who can impress him is probably the Red Eagle Regiment.

Of course, the Red Eagle Regiment was indeed impressive, as the first armed force in the hands of the Russian Bolsheviks, this force was very different from the original Tsarist army in terms of establishment, personnel and equipment. As one of the few high-ranking people who were qualified to know about this unit, Yegorov was quite greedy for the equipment of the Red Eagle Regiment.

He imagined more than once how powerful the Red Army would be if it could be armed according to the standards of the Red Eagle Regiment. Of course, Yegorov just thought about it, the equipment of the Red Eagle Regiment was really not something that ordinary Red Army could afford, and automatic weapons, while greatly enhancing firepower, also posed a difficult test to logistics, anyway, the replenishment of bullets alone was a big problem.

Yegorov just had a headache when he thought about the number of machine guns that the Red Eagle Regiment was equipped with, and to put it mildly, this regiment had more machine guns than a standard Russian infantry division. If every infantry division of the Red Army had come according to this criterion, then the Soviet government would have to take off its pants.

And the bullet is only a small problem, a bigger problem. The new PK machine gun equipped by the Red Eagle Regiment. Although the performance is advanced. Far beyond its time. But there was a price to be paid for being ahead of the times, and that was that even the Tula Arsenal, the best in Russia, did not have the capacity to produce such machine guns. And the only company that can supply this kind of machine gun is not only a foreign enterprise, but also has a comparable production capacity, and it is a dream to expect them to produce enough PK machine guns to equip the Russian army.

Yegorov felt that the Red Eagle Regiment was also a beautiful dream, in a short time. Well, it should be said that for almost a decade the Red Army was not able to copy enough of the Red Eagle regiments. Therefore, Yegorov felt that the Red Eagle Regiment was very good and powerful, but it did not have the significance of promotion, and for today's Red Army, it only has a sense on paper.

Anyway, he believes that no matter how good the Red Eagle Regiment is, it is not enough to impress him to work for the border police force. He just thought that this trip to Finland was a tour. It just so happens that he is also tired from these days of high-intensity work. It's also a good idea to take a break.

However, what Yegorov never expected was that Li Xiaofeng did not take him on the train to Vyborg, but took a car and drove in the direction of Lake Ladoga. After more than an hour of "wandering", we arrived at a small lakeside town.

That's right, the Finnish base, which was once converted from a lumber yard, has now been replaced after more than a year of construction. The original tents have been replaced by pure wooden houses, and the entire base is completely enough to accommodate thousands of people to train and live.

"Here?" Egorov was stunned by what he saw, he never expected that there was a barracks hidden in the Finnish forest, and at a rough count, there were nearly 3,000 soldiers in this barracks.

"Lagardo Lake Military Training Base, belonging to NORINCO!" Li Xiaofeng introduced with a smile.

Yegorov thought for a moment and asked, "This is the station of the Red Eagle Regiment?" ”

No wonder Egorov thought so, because in the relevant documents of the Soviet Military Commission, there is no such base, but it is roughly called the Red Eagle regiment station.

"No, this is the mercenary training base of EO Company under NORINCO, and its main purpose is to train qualified recruits......" Li Xiaofeng said this, and suddenly smiled: "Of course, this is just a name on paper. In fact, this base will be responsible for the training of the border police force in the future! Hanging under the name of NORINCO is just to avoid some unnecessary trouble! ”

Egorov nodded, so he fully understood, but he still had doubts: "Why don't you directly build the base on the territory of our country?" After all, Finland is independent, even if there is a brand of NORINCO, I'm afraid there will still be trouble, right? ”

Li Xiaofeng nodded and explained: "This is a helpless thing, and when this base was built, it was when the counter-revolutionary forces in our country were at their most rampant. At that time, there was too much resistance to building a truly revolutionary army. It can only be said that the construction of the base is in Finland, where the situation is slightly better......"

In fact, it was not impossible for the base to be built in Russia at that time, but it would be more problematic in the future. For example, Trotsky or any other party bigwig who covets the Lagado Lake base will certainly take away the base without pulling out a dime. Li Xiaofeng doesn't like to do stupid things to marry others, so he built his base in Finland to prevent people from picking peaches.

As he walked, Li Xiaofeng briefed Yegorov on the situation of the base, and he could see that Yegorov listened very carefully, and would stop from time to time to ask questions on some issues.

"As far as I know, most of the comrades in the Red Eagle Regiment are Chinese workers from China, right?" Egorov asked suddenly.

Li Xiaofeng nodded in affirmation. Immediately, Yegorov asked in confusion: "But why are most of the people in this base white?" ”

This question is easy to explain, Li Xiaofeng said with a smile: "You misunderstood, it is true that the Red Eagle Regiment is composed of Chinese working-class brothers, but in the future, the border police force will not absorb Chinese-class brothers, and this force will be composed of young comrades of our country!" ”

Yegorov nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied with this answer, and his attitude Li Xiaofeng was not surprised at all. Classes have no borders, but the same class in different countries still has their own national pride.

This can be seen from the October Revolution, when the Red Eagle Regiment, which was the strongest and best-equipped in combat and well-equipped, was always regarded as a general reserve, not as a last resort. The Soviet Military Commissar would not have put the Red Eagle Regiment on the front at all.

Especially for a military man like Yegorov, who pays attention to a sense of honor. The presence of the Red Eagle Regiment did make him feel uncomfortable. I'm afraid he would have preferred to see an all-Russian force. Although Li Xiaofeng was very unhappy about this, this kind of emotion existed objectively, and if he insisted on going his own way, I am afraid that it would only make the generals of the Red Army draw a line with him.

"This base is very good!" "It is really necessary for the Red Army to build several training bases for recruits according to such standards, and the training plan drawn up by the military council before is too simple, if recruits from Petrograd can be trained here......"

Li Xiaofeng couldn't laugh or cry, and he brought Yegorov to visit. It's not for him to learn advanced experience, but to show the good hardware facilities of the border police force, so as to impress this guy. Now looking at what Yegorov meant, it is very much like throwing the Red Army recruited in Petrograd over for training, this is not good!

"Alexander. Comrade Ilyich, I'm afraid it's unrealistic to let new recruits from Petrograd come here for training. ”

"For what?"

Li Xiaofeng smiled bitterly: "The number of recruits that this base can accommodate is limited, and it is only enough to barely meet the needs of the Red Eagle Regiment and the border police force!" ”

"For what?" Yegorov asked the same question, "I think it is completely possible to give priority to the training of Red Army soldiers, after all, the Red Army is facing combat missions, and the Red Eagle Regiment and the border police units can wait for ......"

Li Xiaofeng immediately corrected Yegorov's statement. "Alexander. Comrade Ilyich, I must correct you a little more. In the planning of the Central Committee and the Politburo, the Border Police Force and the Red Eagle Regiment were given priority over the ordinary Red Army, and the mission of these two units was particularly important! ”

Egorov was a little puzzled, although yesterday he had read the relevant documents sent by someone about the border police force and had a certain understanding of the mission of this unit, but the really key details were not reflected in that document. Therefore, he was very puzzled by Li Xiaofeng's statement.

Li Xiaofeng smiled bitterly: "I can't tell you the specific details for the time being, because this is the top secret of the Soviets and the People's Commissary. Unless you agree to work in the Border Police Force, I can only regret to tell you that I have no right to reveal more details! ”

Yegorov was really surprised, it is said that he was also a high-ranking member of the Red Army, and a political commissar of the All-Russian General Command, and he was also responsible for identifying old officers. In his position, there should be no secrets in the Red Army, or in the Military Council, that he did not know. And now, how could he not be surprised that someone had told him that his authority was not high enough!

"You're not kidding?" Yegorov asked in shock.

Li Xiaofeng simply didn't speak, and directly took out another brown paper file bag from his briefcase. Yegorov didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in the gourd of a certain immortal, so he took the file bag suspiciously, and after just one glance, his face changed greatly.

The file bag was sealed with fire paint and was stamped with the steel stamps of the People's Commissar, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Cheka. Of course, this is nothing, and the most important thing is that there is no level of secrecy marked on the file bag. Instead, there is a list of names of institutions and bigwigs, and it is clear that only these high-level bigwigs and the heads of relevant institutions have the right to open this envelope.

Li Xiaofeng cleared his throat and said, "This file is prepared for you, as long as you sign this letter of appointment and confidentiality agreement, you can open this envelope!" ”

Egorov was visibly hesitant, he knew very well that he was probably involved in some terrible secrecy, otherwise there would be no need to sign a confidentiality agreement so carefully. To be honest, he didn't want to take this hot potato at all. But at the same time, he was really curious, what exactly is this border police force for? How can there be such a high level of secrecy?

Li Xiaofeng didn't urge him, and looked at Yegorov slowly, looking light-hearted. After a long time, Yegorov's curiosity finally overcame his senses, and he signed his name on the letter of appointment and the confidentiality agreement. Immediately after that, he opened the fire paint envelope and couldn't wait to flip through the documents inside.

The number of documents is not large, but the significance is significant, if the document he looked at last night is just a blueprint. However, the documents in the fire paint envelope are real plans, and they have already begun to be implemented.

Of course. That's all. It will not make Yegorov's face change much. What shocked him was that he finally knew the mission of this force, and why the level of secrecy would be so high.

"The central government is secretly importing grain through a third country?" Yegorov's voice trembled a little, as a soldier, he knew very well what the so-called secret import of grain was, and he also knew what grain meant to Russia today.

Li Xiaofeng nodded and said, "Yes, the duty of the border police force is to do everything possible to protect the food security that is secretly imported into the country...... As you should know, the situation in Finland is not very good. There is evidence from the Central Committee that there are already foreign forces interfering in the internal affairs of Finland and preparing to destroy the Soviets by the hands of the Finns! ”

Egorov took another breath and asked: "That is, a possible war in Finland?" ”

Li Xiaofeng shook his head and corrected: "It's not possible, the outbreak of the Finnish civil war is already imminent." And the strength of the Finnish Bolsheviks was weak and not enough to protect our window for importing grain. ”

Yegorov interjected: "Isn't the Red Eagle Regiment in the city of Vyborg?" ”

Li Xiaofeng smiled bitterly: "Although the combat effectiveness of the Red Eagle Regiment is very strong, it is only a regiment after all. This amount of power is completely insufficient in a full-scale war, so we must create a border police force! ”

Egorov nodded slowly. He was fully aware of the situation, and at this moment he felt that the courage on his shoulders was heavy. But now that he's taken it, he's not going to back down.

"When do I start working?"

Li Xiaofeng smiled with satisfaction, "Don't be too anxious yet." Alexander. Comrade Ilyich, we still have some time. First of all, you have to take care of the work at hand. I'm giving you a month to get the handover done during that time! ”

Egorov was a little puzzled, "Aren't we pressed for time?" Isn't the Finnish Civil War about to break out soon? ”

"I know the way!" Li Xiaofeng sighed and explained: "However, the Finnish Civil War has not yet broken out, and I am doing my best to delay the full-scale outbreak of the Finnish Civil War as much as possible, and buy us as much time as possible." In addition, the recruitment and training of recruits also takes time, and we have enough people in this area to complete the basic training of recruits, so we do not need you for the time being. ”

Li Xiaofeng paused and continued: "According to my estimates, in about a month, the first batch of recruits of the border police force will complete their basic training, and at that time, you can take over. ”

Yegorov thought about it and felt that it made sense, he really didn't need to interfere in the basic training of recruits, and it was more logical for him to take over the tactical training after the recruits completed the basic training. During this period, he can also have enough time to complete the handover of work, and it should be said that the other party is really thoughtful.

As a professional soldier, a professional fighter, Yegorov preferred to deal with professionals. And Li Xiaofeng is now acting very professionally and arranging everything in an orderly manner, which greatly reverses his opinion of someone.

Egorov immediately said: "I am very satisfied with this arrangement, and I will devote myself to work as soon as possible!" ”

"Slow!" Li Xiaofeng stopped him, "Alexander. Comrade Ilyich, I'm afraid your task is not limited to this! ”

"What?" Egorov was taken aback again and asked: "Is there any other task?" ”

"Yes!" Li Xiaofeng nodded and said very sincerely: "You should know very well that I am not a professional soldier and have not undergone systematic military training. So I'm not particularly good at the military side. The mission of the border police force is extremely arduous, so the specific establishment of this force, the mode of operation and other related issues need you to make specific planning. So I beg you to take the time to do a detailed plan for troop formation and training during this month......"

Yegorov was a little surprised, not that he was dissatisfied with the extra workload, but that he felt that Li Xiaofeng was too modest, and with his understanding of the Red Eagle Regiment, as someone who single-handedly created the Red Eagle Regiment, he should not be a layman.

That's right, the establishment of the Red Eagle Regiment is indeed unreasonable, but there is no problem with the general direction, what is lacking is only the details. And with more than a year of combat and training, the Red Eagle Regiment has basically supplemented these detailed problems.

According to Yegorov's original idea, the border police force can completely refer to the model of the Red Eagle Regiment, and anyway, the future establishment of these two units will not be too large, and it is completely acceptable to exist as an elite force.

"The Red Eagle Regiment's model is not advisable!" Li Xiaofeng shook his head directly, "The firepower configuration of the Red Eagle Regiment has exceeded our logistical burden. Under the conditions of all-out war, the combat capability of a unit with logistical problems will be greatly reduced. I think that the border police force must reduce the pressure on logistics as much as possible while ensuring combat effectiveness, and we must do what we can! ”

Yegorov was surprised again, his perception of a certain immortal was getting better and better, and the person who could find it and take the initiative to say it was undoubtedly worthy of admiration. This pragmatic style was too much for Yegorov's spleen, and immediately he smiled and stretched out his right hand and said: "Comrade Andrey, I am beginning to feel that I made the right decision!" ”

Li Xiaofeng grabbed Yegorov's palm and said with the same smile: "I think so too!" (To be continued......)