The political struggle, which lasted from the end of 1937 to the beginning of 1938, took place abruptly and ended abruptly, and the struggle was won and lost almost before the external forces could react.

So much so that this political upheaval, which had a profound impact on the future of Soviet politics, was so unremarkable in 1937 that it would have been ignored by experts who had not focused exclusively on the Soviet Union's international problems.

In 1937, there were two political events that attracted the most attention from the world, one was the Spanish Civil War, and the other was the outbreak of the all-out war of resistance. Much has been said about the Spanish Civil War, and this chapter will deal with the problem of the War of Resistance.

After the outbreak of the Xi'an Incident, China's civil war came to an end temporarily, and the united front of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was initially formed. From 1936 onwards, the contradictions between Japan and China intensified, until the Lugou Bridge Incident led to the outbreak of the all-out war of resistance.

In the past few months, China's political arena has undoubtedly experienced a major earthquake, in which all kinds of rights and wrongs have their own public opinions, not to mention for the time being. What we need to mention is the role of the Soviet Union or Li Xiaofeng's contribution in it.

After the start of the second Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, according to Li Xiaofeng's proposal, in order to hold Japan back, the Nationalist Government should be given appropriate military assistance, which could greatly ease the pressure on the Soviet Union in the Far East.

In accordance with this article, the Politburo, after consulting with the Nationalist Government through diplomatic channels, began to half-sell and half-send large quantities of arms and supplies to the Nationalist Government. It mainly includes 200,000 Mosin Nagan rifles, 3,000 DP27 light machine guns and 1,000 Makqin, with 10 million rounds of ammunition. And that's just light weapons, heavy weapons also include a large number of 60 mm and 82 mm mortars. As well as 50 T-26 tanks and a hundred I-15 and I-16.

Although the Mosinagan rifles were stocked during the Tsarist and Civil Wars. A significant portion of it is used second-hand. However, for the national army back then, it was good to have a gun, regardless of whether it was second-hand or not. As for airplanes and tanks, they were also first-class in the world at that time. At least when it comes to facing the Japanese, they still have a considerable advantage.

As for why it is said to be half sold and half given? The reason is very simple, Li Xiaofeng knows very well that he should not be too polite with the national army, and try to collect money when he can. Maybe at some point he will become the captain of the transport brigade.

Moreover, the price given by the Soviet Union is indeed quite favorable, except for DP27, T-26, I-15 and I-16, which charge costs, and the others are all sold at a preferential price of five or even two discounts.

If it weren't for the poor infrastructure of the Republic of China, which required the Far East Pacific Fleet to transport these arms to Shanghai (the Soviet Union's shipping power was fully used to ensure that the needs of the Second Spanish Republic were met), it would have actually given much more.

Of course, Rao is like this, and Nanjing is also very satisfied, because the so-called German machinery purchased from Germany before, to be honest, is really a black-hearted bun. The Germans got their hands on the much-needed rare metal, but only paid a small amount of 98K rifles, German-style steel helmets, and a small amount of MG18s. The famous German-style 150 heavy gun was purchased by Nanjing with precious gold. Not to mention the small quantity, the price is so black!

In a word. At that time, the so-called German mechanics really did not live up to their names, except for steel helmets, rifles and water bottles, the rest could not see any so-called German weapons. Its combat effectiveness really cannot be overestimated.

Moreover, in this time and space, because Germany, Italy and Japan formed an axis in advance, the mustache was quite "cautious" in selling arms to Nanjing, if it were not for the drooling of China's tungsten ore, he was really unwilling to sell, and even if it was sold, there were still many restrictions. For example, the German-style heavy artillery resolutely refused to be sold, and it was useless to let the Nanjing side kneel and lick.

Because of the strong desire for artillery, as well as the German ban on sales, Nanjing is extremely bad, as if there is no such thirty or forty heavy artillery to resist the war, can not fight, with this heavy artillery war will be able to win, anyway, the whole world is full of relations, begging dad to worship grandma want to buy artillery.

This made Li Xiaofeng quite funny, what can such a little heavy artillery do? In his opinion, what the national army lacks is not a small number of heavy artillery, but mortars at the regimental and battalion levels, which are the biggest gap between them and the devils, and this level of support firepower is the most important thing for the front-line troops.

Instead of buying a small amount of heavy artillery, it is better to say that this money is put in the domestic production of mortars. With the industrial capacity of the national army at that time, it was indeed difficult to produce mortars with a caliber of more than 80 mm, but as long as funds were given, it was still no problem to get 60 mm mortars. Although the power of the 60 force is limited, there is no problem at all with the grenadier canister that can suppress the devil at the company platoon level.

And even if you want to buy howitzers, don't buy expensive large-caliber howitzers, not to mention that thing is expensive, the shells are not self-sufficient, and with the level of infrastructure in China back then, the 150-mm heavy artillery is really difficult to tow, and it is not easy to use at all!

In Li Xiaofeng's view, Nanjing is just ambitious, and then it is a group of compradors in charge, and the purchase of foreign arms is actually a feast for these goods to make money. The most pragmatic way for Nanjing to purchase artillery is naturally to popularize mortars, followed by the introduction of Japanese Type 92 infantry guns. Don't look at the Type 92 infantry gun is inconspicuous, but it is very suitable for the Chinese battlefield, it is very easy to tow, untrained animal power can be pulled, and it can even be disassembled and transported.

And its power may be enough for battlefields outside Asia, but in the Chinese battlefield, there are not so many strong fortifications at all, and the power of the Type 92 infantry gun can fully meet the needs.

At that time, Li Xiaofeng's proposal was to transfer the funds for the purchase of heavy artillery to the surveying and mapping of the imitation Type 92 infantry gun, which could be completely done with the technical strength of Nanjing at that time, coupled with a certain amount of technical assistance from the Soviet Union.

However, it is a pity that Lao Jiang is not interested in this construction at all, and still advocates the introduction of a small amount of heavy artillery to support the façade. In desperation, Li Xiaofeng could only negotiate and sell some of the 152-mm 1910 howitzers of the Tsarist era left over from the Red Army's First World War, a total of 96 were sold, a total of four regiments. Anyway, the price is still relatively favorable, of course, someone must still make a lot of money.

1910 Type 152 Grenades, although a little older. But how to say it is also a large-caliber heavy artillery. And its gun mounts and shells have also undergone a certain modernization. The full combat weight and firing range have been optimized to a certain extent, and there is still no problem in meeting the needs of the national army. Moreover, the Russians were very kind to say that the purchase of four regiments would give a full set of Comintern tractors, and there would be no problems in the supply of ammunition in the future. Anyway, there are after-sales three guarantees.

Although the range of the Russian's 152 grenade is much shorter than that of the sFH18 and it seems relatively old, the gun is not without advantages, in addition to the after-sales guarantee, the total combat weight of the gun is nearly half lighter than that of the sFH18. There is relatively little pressure on transportation. Moreover, the Comintern tractor presented by the Soviet Union was still fully tracked, which was much better than the off-road performance of the German half-track tractor.

96 1910 Type 152 grenades arrived before the outbreak of the Battle of Songhu, and also set aside time for training, with the help of Soviet advisers, the Chinese artillery made rapid progress, and most importantly, under the instructions of a certain immortal, the Far Eastern Red Banner Front hoarded a large number of shells, ensuring that as long as the Nanjing side opened the money box, it would be delivered to the door immediately free of charge.

And then it turned out to be true. In the Battle of Songhu, the little ammunition reserves of the national army were depleted rapidly. At the critical moment, the Vladivostok bulk carrier carrying more than 10,000 tons of shells and bullets arrived in Lianyungang under the escort of the Red Navy at great risk, and then arrived in Shanghai urgently by railway, which greatly supported the Battle of Songhu.

In addition to shipping, the Far Eastern Red Banner Front also used the Li-2 transport plane, which had just been put into large-scale service, to deliver arms and supplies to the Nationalist Government, especially the precious ambrera penicillin, which saved the lives of quite a few soldiers.

With the strong assistance of the Soviet Union, the Battle of Songhu lasted even longer, and six months later, on February 12, 1938, when the Japanese navy strengthened the naval blockade and blocked the most important route for blood transfusion of the Nationalist government, the Nationalist army, which lacked aid, was defeated. Compared with history, the losses of the national army were comparable, but the results were greater, with more than 100,000 enemy casualties killed and wounded.

Moreover, even if the Battle of Songhu failed, the Soviet Union saw a possibility to use the Chinese battlefield to contain a large number of Japanese troops, and it was best to completely trap the main force of the Japanese army. According to the reports of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front and the Soviet advisory group, during the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese army cumulatively withdrew more than 100,000 people from the Kwantung Army. If a full-scale conflict breaks out between China and Japan, with China's huge strategic depth, it should not be a problem to contain a million Japanese troops.

Under these circumstances, the Central Committee of the CPSU made a decision that it was necessary to increase assistance to China and make the Chinese army more combat-ready, which was fully in line with the national interests of the USSR.

Soon the second batch of aid began to arrive, please note that this batch is really all free aid, including 200,000 Mosinagan, 2,000 Maxim and DP27 each, and 100 I-15 and I-16 each.

In addition to providing assistance, the Soviet Union was also seriously considering building a railway from Outer Mongolia to Shanxi via Inner Mongolia, hoping to build this railway into a lifeline for blood transfusion to China. However, in the end, it failed due to the high cost and the opposition of Nanjing.

So why did Nanjing oppose it? The reason is simple: compared with the threat of the Japanese, Nanjing is more worried about the growth of local power. Lao Chiang was worried that the Turkish Communist Party in Shaanxi and Yan Laoxi in Shanxi would use Soviet aid to become stronger.

In this regard, Li Xiaofeng is angry and funny, angry that Lao Jiang spends the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, and laughs like this, he is also worried that the aid will be wasted!

Not only did the Soviets provide a great deal of assistance, but they also sent a military advisory group to China, headed by none other than Blyukher, a marshal who had worked and lived in China, who was best suited for the job, and whom Chiang himself admired.

In addition to the dazzling Blyukhel, there are several other advisers worth paying attention to in this advisory group, such as the commander of the Red Naval Aviation Forces, the mustachioed Sukhoi, and the future Marshals of the Soviet Union Chuikov and Zhukov.

Among them, Sukhoi's main task is to command the Soviet air force to aid China, and the Chinese air force suffered heavy losses in the previous Battle of Songhu, even with Soviet assistance, it is not easy to take a breath, at least there are not enough pilots.

The Soviet aviation units aiding China were equipped with the I-16, Yak-1, SB-2 and Su-1. Among them, fifty-six are the I-16, the Yak-1 is twenty-four, the Su-1 is fourteen, and the SB-2 is twelve. It can be seen that the main force is still the I-16, and there are still very few numbers like the Yak-1 and the Su-1. As for the small number of SB-2. It's not that production capacity is limited. Rather, Tukhachevsky had to take most of the bombers over, and his needs had to be met first.

Of course, don't look at the relatively small number of Soviet air forces aiding China, but compared with Japan's current main force Type 95 fighters, Type 97 fighters and Type 96 carrier-based fighters, it has considerable advantages. In particular, the Yak-1 was able to eat the Japanese aircraft to death in terms of speed and maneuverability, and once made the Japanese pilots flee when they saw the pointed Yak-1, which also indirectly contributed to the birth of the Zero War.

Not only the fighters were excellent, but also the attack aircraft and bomber units were also excellent, especially the Su-1 dive bomber, which interrupted the Japanese attack momentum more than once. Cover the safe retreat of the disadvantaged national army.

Of course, the most brilliant attack of the Soviet air force under Sukhoi's command was the old man, attacking the armored cruiser Izumo anchored in Shanghai. Unlike in history, the national army was purely foolish, and Sukhoi personally piloted the Su-1 to send the Izumo to the bottom of the sea.

As the first long plane to attack, Sukhoi skillfully evaded the Izumo's sporadic anti-aircraft fire, dropping a FAB-500 aerial bomb through the Izumo's chimney with precision, breaking the Izumo's keel in two with just one blow.

Let's put it this way, the wingman who followed Sukhoi didn't really need to waste bombs on the Izumo. However, no one expected that just a few minutes later, the Izumo would be broken in two.

According to the diving expedition of the Izumo after the end of World War II, the Red Army pilots attacked with frightening accuracy. Two of the three wingmen that followed Sukhoi in the attack also hit the Izumo accurately, with only one slightly missed. According to eyewitness accounts, the last bomb fell into the water about 10 meters behind the tail of the Izumo, and the explosion created a column of water that was hundreds of meters high, and the shock wave shook off one of the Izumo's propellers.

The air attack was so effective that it alarmed Chiang, and in Wuhan he personally met with the crew of the sinking Izumo and awarded the Order of Baoding of the First Class to each of the pilots who participated in the operation. It is particularly worth mentioning that when Sukhoi left China and returned to the Soviet Union in 1939, in recognition of his outstanding contributions and the easing of the sharp deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations caused by the Southern Anhui Incident, the elder Chiang reluctantly awarded Sukhoi the Order of the Blue Sky and the White Sun. And this made Sukhoi the first foreigner to receive the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun.

Of course, these are all later words, and in general, because of the assistance of the Soviet Union, the early frontal battlefield of the war of resistance was much better than in history. However, because of well-known reasons, Lao Chiang never started the War of Resistance happily, and after entering the stalemate period, especially after a certain Wang openly surrendered to the enemy, this man began to germinate in a solid state as in history, and a series of means caused a lot of unnecessary losses to the War of Resistance.

These actions also led to great dissatisfaction on the part of the Soviet Union, especially with the dissatisfaction of a certain immortal, and with the German occupation of Poland, the Nazi front had reached the doorstep of the Soviet Union. In order to cope with future wars, the Soviet Union began a series of adjustment measures, including the transfer of elite commanders and fighters from China and Spain who had been tested in actual combat to return home.

On the whole, in this time and space, the Soviet Union did a lot of fruitful work and efforts in the early stage to curb the expansion of the Axis powers, and made important contributions to the victory of the people of the world in the anti-fascist war.

For the time being, however, we are not talking about contributions, but about the little things in the Soviet Union, and after the plenum of the Central Committee at the beginning of 1938, although the two-stirring sticks were removed, the conflict between the Trotskyists and the alliance of Stalin and Sverdlov gradually became more and more intense and clear.

For Trotsky, this was already his third year in power, and he had only been in full swing for just over two years. In the next two years or so, if he could not stand firm and steadily fight back, and if he could not really suppress Stalin and Sverdlov, it would not be surprising that he would be honorably retired in 1940.

But this is easier said than done, and now that he is at a disadvantage in the Politburo, if it were not for the rising internal contradictions between Stalin and Sverdlov, and Dzerzhinsky's help in administering justice, he, chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, would have really become an ornament.

For example, on the issue of Germany, although the two countries have completely torn their faces on the Spanish issue, this does not mean that the two sides do not have a private communication channel. It should be said that the Germans have always tried to use this channel to make a fuss, or rather, put smoke bombs.

There were constantly some so-called pro-Soviet Germans who made some misleading statements in an attempt to ease the sharp contradictions and conflicts between the two countries. At one point, Hitler even made an informal statement that he was willing to have a frank exchange of views with the Soviet Government on the Spanish question, hoping that the two countries would resolve the Spanish question in a more peaceful and positive way.

In Trotsky's view, such remarks were a real joke. Hitler treated him like a three-year-old child, thinking that two sentences could soften the attitude of the Soviet government and fool the Soviet Union?

From the very beginning, Trotsky saw through Hitler's heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, a madman who was extremely hostile to the Soviet Union and communism, and in his mind the destruction of the Soviet Union and communism was absolutely unchangeable and unshakable. There is only one possibility for such a person to speak softly, and that is strategic flickering! It was an attempt to paralyze and relax the vigilance of the USSR!

In response to this, Trotsky made statements in the Politburo on more than one occasion, demanding that the whole party must remain sober and never fall for the Nazis' tricks. However, the Politburo was not subject to Trotsky's will, and the other group of central leaders, headed by Stalin, had completely different views and opinions on this...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to the Frost Magister, Plane Wanted, linyouyi1987, Kill Potato, hzwangdd, Juventus and agz00025 comrades!