However, although Li Xiaofeng was dismissive of Steel's statement, there were many people in the party, especially among the party's top ranks, who held the same opinion. In this room, for example, Trotsky was not far from his opinion.

Comrade Joseph was right," and this was probably the first time that Trotsky openly supported Stalin's argument, "Imperialist Germany has an enemy on its back, and if it cannot extricate itself from this unfavorable state of affairs, it will have to be passive for one day." Although this imperialist war is something we do not want to see. But we must also realize that this imperialist dog-eat-dog situation is beneficial to us. ”

After a pause, Trotsky said in high spirits: "By taking advantage of this advantageous situation, we can completely circumvent those harsh and predatory conditions. As long as we can grit our teeth for the time being, the German imperialists will inevitably choose to back down and compromise! ”

Immediately there was a chorus of echo in the room: "Comrade Trotsky is right when he says that if we accept these harsh conditions, the people of the last generation will not forgive us. I think it can be delayed and let the Germans know that we will not give in! ”

"That's right, as long as we explain the truth to the masses, they will be able to understand it!"

For such speeches, Li Xiaofeng can only sneer in his heart, the bullshit will not give in, and the bullshit will explain the truth. After the first negotiation broke down in history, when the situation was even more unfavorable, it was not your grandsons who signed an even more unfavorable peace treaty at the end of the day, and then they would not be humiliated?

Isn't it nonsense to explain the truth to the masses? The masses have always wanted only results. It never makes sense. If the Bolsheviks could not end the war soon. Keep them fed. The result is that they will be very "unreasonable" to rise up again, overthrow the former provisional government, and let you get out.

Anyway, Li Xiaofeng felt that the people in the conference room were a little too idealistic, and they were always willing to unilaterally exaggerate the facts that were beneficial to him, while selectively ignoring the realities that were unfavorable to him.

For example, is it so simple to do the work of the masses and win their understanding? If it were really that simple, the Bolsheviks would not have suffered a big loss on the peasants in the Constituent Assembly elections. According to Stalin. Isn't it just a matter of touching the skin of the mouth with the skin of the mouth, and if we do nothing, we will still let the Socialist-Revolutionary Party get enough votes from the peasants and still let them have an absolute advantage among the Soviets of Peasant Deputies?

Strengthening propaganda and persuasion and education has never been a panacea, otherwise what would the police and prisons do in this world? And the propaganda capacity of the Bolsheviks was not strong enough to brainwash. Hoping to solve problems by lip service is pure dreaming.

But these words, Li Xiaofeng just said in his heart, and he really wanted to say them. I'm afraid he's going to offend a large number of bigwigs, and these people are already obsessed. There is simply no willingness to accept the reality that Tsarist Russia has been completely ended, and Russia, which has suffered a great loss of national strength, can only choose strategic contraction. And it should have been contracted, according to the national theory of the Bolsheviks, the territories occupied by Tsarist Russia, such as Finland, Poland, and Ukraine, should have allowed national independence.

However, many of the top bosses of the Bolsheviks did not have a high level of consciousness, and when they respected national independence, they did no different things from the former tsars, and they still wanted to maintain the national borders of the former tsarist Russia, or the territory, and dreamed of great power chauvinism.

It should be said that this is very unrealistic, when there is a strong enemy on the outside, chaos inside, the economy has actually collapsed, and the Finns, Ukrainians, and Poles have separated from Germany, the Tsarist Russian Empire is a broken house, counting on being a mason, sewing and mending to deal with it, then the worst result is that the house collapses and you are buried alive.

Lenin had no interest in building this dilapidated house, and on the national question, the Mentor was not an ordinary enlightened man, unlike Stalin, who respected the right of self-determination of the peoples of the former Tsarist Empire, and even allowed them to become independent. At that time, this was quite rare, and it was also what made a certain immortal feel great.

So for his old man, it is not unacceptable to let Finland become independent, to cede to the Germans what Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and even part of Ukraine is. Anyway, these territories were all grabbed back by the former Tsarist Russia, and if they were lost, they could be regarded as losing the history of aggression.

So immediately after Trotsky had finished his speech, he said: "I must point out that if at the negotiating table the Germans do not achieve their goal, then it is quite possible that they will make a fuss on the battlefield. Comrades, I must remind you once again that the fighting at the front is very bad for us, the front is already close to our capital, and we have little room for manoeuvre! ”

There was a murmur in the room, the bigwigs are not fools, they can still see the reality of the front, if, as Lenin said, the Germans intensify their offensive and break through their northern front in one fell swoop, Petrograd is really in danger. Once the Germans were in the city, it would be very bad for them politically. It is conceivable that neither the Social Revolutionaries, nor the Cadets nor the Mensheviks would make a big fuss about it.

At this time Stalin spoke again: "I don't think the situation at the front is as bad as we thought. Our party is well supported by soldiers who are willing to fight for our party. The October revolution has amply illustrated this, and under the leadership of the Party, the soldiers burst into battle with great enthusiasm, which is not at all comparable in the days of Tsarist Russia. I think that the soldiers led by our party are capable of encircling our motherland! ”

Li Xiaofeng pursed his lips and said in his heart: "It's taken for granted, there is a world of difference between the fighting level and fighting will shown by Russian soldiers in the civil war and the foreign war. ”

This is not nonsense, after the first negotiation broke down, the Germans launched a series of attacks with great speed, causing the polar bear to cry and cry for his mother. The meaning is quite clear - don't accept our conditions, right? Then we will use force to force you to comply.

At the front moment can collapse. And the Social Revolutionaries and the Cadets and Mensheviks in the country were constantly looking for trouble. And with the patience of the common people increasingly limited, in April 1918, at the strong insistence of Lenin, the Bolshevik Politburo adopted the Brest Treaty by an extremely narrow margin.

At that time, the price paid was a lot higher than it is now, and Russia had to cede land and pay reparations, and it was extremely embarrassing. If the bigwigs in this conference room now knew that they had gritted their teeth and endured for the past five or six months, they would have gotten an even more humiliating and unfavorable treaty. It would be better to agree to the Germans' terms now, and the price would be much smaller.

However, except for a certain immortal who crossed over, most of the bigwigs in this conference room were full of confidence in signing a treaty to end the war with dignity, at least the confidence of steel was particularly sufficient, he jumped up and down, constantly emphasizing the advantages of his side, looking at what he meant, it seemed that the advantages of the Russian side were quite large, and signing a fair treaty was enough to cheap the Germans.

"We have to see. The meaning of the entry of the United States into the war will be completely different, and the pressure on the Germans will be much greater than last year. The reason why so many obstacles have been erected now is entirely because we have taken the initiative to throw out an olive branch of peace, making them mistakenly feel that the initiative is with them...... I think we should adjust our posture in negotiations with Germany and make the Germans sober up! ”

Stalin spoke with great relish, but he did not notice that Lenin's face was a little ugly, and I am afraid that this fool did not know what the Taoist Master was thinking. I don't know if he wants to end the war at once at all costs, so that he can immediately take his hands and feet to clean up the opposition in the country, because for for he the Germans are far less terrible than those opposition.

As a matter of fact, the Germans, who were held back by Britain, France, the United States, and Japan, could not take care of Russia for the time being, and the provisions of the Brest Treaty that were unfavorable to Russia were actually not really implemented. The Poles and Finns, as well as the three Baltic states, had been fighting for independence, and it was only a matter of time before they split up. Don't you see that at the end of the 20th century, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, these countries began to stand on their own?

However, Ukraine, which stipulated in the treaty that it must be independent, remained in Russia's territory at that time, and the six billion war reparations were at most in the mirror, and no money was given at the very least. With the defeat of Germany, the Mentor directly declared the treaty null and void, and the treaty existed for eight months.

For the Bolsheviks, eight precious months were bought through a dead letter to prepare for the coming three-year civil war. Such a deal should be worth it. On the contrary, if we continue to persevere, as Stalin said, I am afraid that the result will be unpredictable.

However, there is a slight difference between the current situation and history, Stalin's attitude is resolutely opposed to the immediate acceptance of Germany's conditions, and history should be Bukharin's more fierce opposition to the Mentor, and has been opposed to the end, once Bukharin's opinion has a great upper hand, and the left-wing Communists led by him have made the Mentor very uncomfortable, and if it were not for Trotsky's hasty change of position, it is difficult to say whether the Brest Treaty could have been signed.

And now, Stalin has completely stolen the limelight from Bukharin, and such a situation has suddenly aroused Li Xiaofeng's vigilance, this goods should not be ready to stand on its own, right?

Such a possibility is not impossible, since the beginning of November, Stalin has not been too happy, touched a series of nails, with the urine nature of this goods, it is not a surprise at all to give birth to two hearts. And the peace talks with Germany are indeed an opportunity, for example, the historical Bukharin, who was originally only a member of the Central Committee, but he took advantage of the opportunity to oppose the Brest contract and his prestige skyrocketed.

Come to think of it, Stalin's influence is greater than that of Bukharin in history, and if he had made good use of this opportunity, he would not have had the opportunity to wrestle with Lenin.

This is not a good phenomenon, if Stalin had rebelled against Leninism, then Trotsky would have to make a fuss, because in essence, he, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, would also not agree to the Brest Treaty, and if he had colluded with Stalin, Lenin would have capsized in the gutter.

The most frightening thing is that in the current Politburo, except for Sverdlov, who has always supported the opinions of his mentor on the issue of German peace talks, almost all of the others are in opposition, although Ulitsky is not there for the time being. But Dzerzhinsky was also on the side of opposition.

Arguably. The current situation is three votes to two. It may even be four votes against two, and the situation is extremely unfavorable for the Mentor. However, Li Xiaofeng is in a hurry and can't do anything, he is not even a member of the Central Committee, how can he influence the vote of the Politburo?

There was a lot of noise in the room, and most of them agreed with Stalin and Trotsky that if Lenin had no good idea, the situation would not be good.

"I don't think there's any point in us sitting here talking," Lenin said earnestly. "Based on the information we have now, it is impossible to accurately estimate the mentality of the Germans, which is quite detrimental to our negotiation work. Our actual work cannot be based on guesswork! Therefore, we urgently need to carry out intelligence work against Germany, and it is best to understand their bottom line! ”

At last there was a little quieter in the room, and the bigwigs began to think about Lenin's words, and even Trotsky and Stalin, who did not agree with his line of compromise with Germany, had to admit that they were right. Knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent is the only way to survive a hundred battles, and the same is true for negotiations, and if the Germans can understand the bottom line, then they can take targeted measures. It's better than air-to-air anyway.

But immediately the question arises as to who to send to carry out this task. Speaking of which, there were many Bolsheviks who had ties with Germany. Both Lenin and Trotsky carried out revolutionary work in Germany. But the outbreak of World War I completely disrupted all this, and their ties with Germany were greatly weakened.

And even if there were a connection, I am afraid that neither Lenin nor Trotsky would dare to fully believe the news transmitted back by the German brothers. After all, not all socialists upheld the spirit of internationalism in this war, and many veteran socialist activists chose to be loyal to their country. God knows whether the news given by the other party is true or false.

"Why don't you let Comrade Radek and Comrade Yue Fei think of a way to get to the bottom of the Germans?" Trotsky suggested.

This method can really only be said to be better than nothing, the two are directly facing the German negotiators at the negotiation table, how easy it is to explore other people's old bottoms at the negotiation table, and if they don't get the hole cards of others, they have not found out, but exposed their own truth.

"We can't put all our hopes on the negotiating table!" Although Lenin did not directly reject Trotsky's proposal, in fact it was no different from denial: "We should put more effort under the negotiating table, and we must obtain the cards of the Germans through more direct channels!" ”

Trotsky suddenly grimaced: "But our contacts with Germany are very poor, and the existing channels are unable to obtain such crucial information. ”

"I know what to say," Lenin nodded slowly, and then pointed at Li Xiaofeng: "That's why I called Comrade Andrei, as the person in charge of intelligence work, he should be able to put forward some useful opinions!" ”

Okay! Li Xiaofeng now understands why the tutor wants him to sit in on the meeting, and he dares to do so because he is the head of the intelligence department. But he really thinks this is nonsense, Tekko has not even fully established a domestic intelligence system, so why talk about international intelligence? And it is still necessary to engage in intelligence on hostile countries, isn't it difficult for a strongman?

The big guys here understand this truth, and basically everyone thinks that this proposal of the mentor is very unreliable, how can this kind of big thing be handed over to a little kid?

Of course, not everyone thinks so, at least not the Mentor, Sverdlov and Dzerzhinsky. It's strange, why did Dzerzhinsky also have confidence in someone?

The reason is very simple, the last time I went to Sweden to welcome Lenin back to China, the deeds of someone who molested British spies were very clear. As a pro-German neutral country, Sweden's relationship with Germany in this war was very ambiguous, and Dzerzhinsky and Lenin meant to save the country by curves, to see if they could find a way in Sweden to probe the Germans' hole cards from the side.

"It's a ...... solution."

Li Xiaofeng actually wants to say that this method is too, although the relationship between Sweden and Germany is passable, but it must also be seen that the two countries are not allied, and Sweden has not joined the German camp. Broadly speaking, Sweden was not even an ally of Germany.

Such a big question related to the direction of the war, generally speaking, even the allies will not necessarily tell, let alone the wall-riding faction like Sweden? Going from Sweden to find out the cards of the Germans is like going to the United States to get the Western Meridian, what can be the result.

"It's not about what results you get!"

After the meeting, Lenin once again left a certain immortal in his office and said bitterly: "It is important that you make them feel that you have achieved results!" ”

Li Xiaofeng was stunned by the mentor, it seems that the mentor meant to let him fake?

"It's not a fake! It's a well-intentioned deception! Lenin sighed again, "Some of our comrades are too simplistic and naïve to see how bad the situation we are now facing!" ”

Well, Li Xiaofeng immediately understood, to put it bluntly, what the mentor meant was to let him "engage" an intelligence that was beneficial to his old man, and it was best to let the Germans' bottom line be raised a little higher, so as to promote the negotiation process.

However, this task is not easy to complete, even if a certain immortal knows that the bottom line of the Germans is indeed very high, but he really has no way!

Lenin immediately began to educate him again: "I have just made it very clear that what matters is not the intelligence itself, and it does not matter if there is no way, and anyway, the other comrades in the party do not know this and cannot confirm it, right?" So, your mission is to make a trip to Sweden and pretend to get this information! (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to DougLos and Douglas Fly!