The sun never sets.

Britain not only needs supplies, but also transport ships and merchant ships.

"In theory, I have no objection to using materials to offset debts, but this requires an accounting and financial assessment, and only after both the Union and the British government agree can the loan be issued according to the amount."

“Can you issue a loan first?”

The Allies received a loan of 100 billion US dollars, but the soldiers and civilians of the participating countries were still starving. China's grain production is not as good as that of the United States, and the grain available for export is even less, but it is still a huge country. Together with other countries, it can export one or two million tons of grain every year. If this can really be achieved, it can greatly alleviate the hunger problem of the Allies.

"Not that much. At most, there are only a few hundred thousand tons of grain for export."

"So you agree to issue the loan first?"

"No, I didn't say that."

Lin Yongchang had only planned to talk with the British Foreign Office Deputy Minister for an hour, but because there were too many things to discuss, they had not finished the conversation after two hours. The secretary had to remind Prime Minister Lin twice that he had other things to do, and the people waiting in line in the reception room had urged him several times.

Those who could be received by the Prime Minister were all important figures, including military generals or members of the Anti-Counterrevolutionary Committee. Although those people would not make things difficult for the secretaries, it was not good to keep them waiting.

So Lin Yongchang quickly agreed on a few major principles with the British, and the rest of the matters were negotiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Mr. John Xin, although this is our first meeting today, it feels like we have known each other for decades. If all the diplomats in your country were as reasonable as you are, it would save a lot of trouble."

Johnson immediately responded: "The diplomats of the Empire have always been reasonable."

"Haha, maybe. Xiao Wang, send Mr. Johnson out."

Diplomacy is all about coercion and inducement. The British are now too busy to take care of themselves, so neither coercion nor inducement will work. Lin Yongchang was willing to take time out of his work to meet with British diplomats because of the Royal Navy. Britain's industrial strength has slipped to fourth in the world. After several years of war, Britain has gone from being the world's largest creditor to a debtor country. Its economic hegemony is shaky. It will not become a second-rate country for the time being, but it no longer has the power of the world's hegemony.

In the reception room, Liu Chengxiang was reading the Russian version of "War and Peace". His Russian was pretty good, and he had no problem with basic reading and writing, but he still had some difficulty reading Tolstoy's works.

"Marshal, the Prime Minister invites you to come over."

Liu Chengxiang didn't have to share a reception room with other people. He was the only one in the room. When he heard someone calling him, Liu Chengxiang put the book back to its original place and walked to the Prime Minister's office at the corner under the guidance of the blond secretary.

The door was pushed open and Lin Yongchang's voice came out, "You guys go out and do other things first, don't come in for now."

The secretaries paused for a moment, then quietly packed up their things and left. Liu Chengxiang glanced at the girls and asked, "Another one?"

"There are more and more things to do. I have to find a few more people to help. I have not had a vacation for four consecutive months. Oh, by the way, what did you want to say?"

"The troops are ready. The meteorological department said the light snow will stop the day after tomorrow. It will be good weather, suitable for fighting."

"Since it's suitable, let's set it for the day after tomorrow."

Liu Chengxiang took out a thick document from his briefcase and placed it on the table. "This is the battle plan."

"Please sit down for a while. I'll take a look. It will be quick."

Lin Yongchang read through Liu Chengxiang's battle plan at a glance. This battle plan, called "Operation Mars," would mobilize 60 troops, 1500 artillery pieces (excluding mortars), more than 300 tanks, and more than 600 aircraft, including fighters, bombers, and transport planes. The three major trump cards of the People's Army would participate in the battle, including the Chinese army, ten Russian infantry divisions, and four Siberian infantry divisions.

The combat goal of Operation Mars was to defeat and destroy the Bolshevik army of 600,000 to 700,000 and recapture St. Petersburg. If the situation was good after recapture of St. Petersburg, we would take advantage of the situation to recapture Finland. If the situation was not good, we would defend the swamps and woods north of St. Petersburg and try to keep the Finns away from St. Petersburg.

Chapter 639: Frunze

"Davidovich, Comrade Davidovich Trotsky!"

"Oh, it's Comrade Stalin. What's the matter?"

Joseph Vissarionovich was a loyal follower of Comrade Lenin. After returning to St. Petersburg, he also gave himself a new name, "Stalin", which means "Man of Steel".

"Comrades at the front said that something was not right. We received news from many places that the White Army had made large-scale mobilizations."

Trotsky frowned. "I've also heard that the enemy may launch an attack in the near future. But this has happened many times..."

"We must mobilize immediately!"

Stalin took a few quick steps forward, side by side with Trotsky, and said, "I am sure that the enemy is really going to take action this time!"

“When did they ever stop?”

Trotsky said disapprovingly: "We cannot lose our composure because of the enemy's maneuvers."

"We must mobilize immediately! Mobilize everyone, then launch an attack immediately to disrupt the enemy's war preparations!"

"Comrade Stalin, war is not a joke, and you can't just say it!"

Trotsky did not like to discuss military issues with Stalin. He thought these young people (in fact, they were not young anymore) were too naive and thought things were too simple. Stalin was a good comrade, but he did not have extraordinary military talents. He should have participated in the workers' movement or been a political commissar instead of being responsible for specific military issues.

If Stalin were really allowed to lead the troops, Trotsky thought that it would be good enough if he could lead a division well.

In Trotsky's view, Stalin had learned a lot of bad habits after spending several years in Vladivostok. Not only did he waver in his thinking, but he also developed a fear of the enemy. When did the enemy not mobilize? In the past month or two,

Although the scale of the battles was not large, mostly at the battalion and company level, the Red Army suffered heavy losses.

The Soviet Red Army was inferior to its opponents in equipment and training, and after a large number of peasants defected to the Tsarist government, the Red Army lost even its numerical advantage. And those hateful Cossack cavalry killed and wounded many Soviet soldiers in field battles.

The Red Army lacked heavy artillery, machine guns, cavalry, and even rifles. In this situation, what the Soviet Red Army needed to do was not to attack, but to defend. Why don’t young people understand this?

The two stamped their feet at the entrance of the corridor, cleared the ice and snow on their shoes, and then walked upstairs. In the familiar office, Comrade Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and several others were discussing something in front of the map.

Since the Soviets recaptured St. Petersburg, military issues have been the main problem of the Soviet government. St. Petersburg was surrounded by the former Tsarist army in the west and the Chinese invaders in the east. The former Tsarist army was fine, as they suffered heavy casualties in the long world war and lost their spirit and fighting enthusiasm. The Red Army led by Trotsky could defeat those white dogs.

However, the Chinese army coming from the east was much more terrifying than the Tsarist army. The new enemy was not only powerful militarily, but also posed a great threat to the Soviet government politically and economically.

"Oh, Comrade Trotsky, Comrade Stalin, you are here at last!"

Lenin raised his head, glanced at the two men, and then said to Frunze: "Mikhail, you come and tell everyone about the situation at the front."

Mikhail Frunze picked up his baton, pointed to several locations on the map, and said: "The enemy's 114th Division has appeared in Luga, and Veliky Novgorod has two more infantry divisions and one cavalry division..."

Over there, Frunze was introducing the changes on the front to everyone. Stalin whispered to Lenin: "Comrade Vladimir, I think the Red Army cannot sit still and wait for death. We must break through the enemy's blockade and jump to the enemy's rear, to Kiev, Odessa, and Donbass. We must mobilize the masses and let the flames of revolution burn all over the country..."

"Comrade Stalin, you are an escapist! What will happen to Petrograd if all the troops are transferred away?"

"Petrograd is undefeatable!"

"Even if Petrograd cannot be defended, we can still retreat to Finland."

"Finland...it's useless even if we occupy Finland..."

The two men spoke in a low voice, and Frunze stopped introducing and looked over with dissatisfaction. Lenin apologized and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Frunze, do you think the Red Army can defeat the enemy now?"

".......It's difficult. We will try our best to defend the outer strongholds such as Gatchina and Tosno, but Petrograd must also prepare for war." Frunze paused for a moment, "It is very likely that we will have to engage in street fighting with the enemy."

Kamenev interjected, "There is not much food left in the city..."

The Bolsheviks also had to abide by the Basic Law. They could not conjure food out of thin air. There were ways to solve the food crisis in St. Petersburg, such as collecting food from surrounding rural areas. However, the Red Army's use of machine guns to collect food aroused a lot of resistance, and a large number of farmers turned to the side of Empress Olga.

The most hateful thing is that the Chinese invaders distributed food to the people. This is so vicious.

The Bolsheviks also organized people to transport food, munitions and machinery from northern ports such as Smolensk to Petrograd. This action achieved certain results, but due to the sabotage of the Provisional Government's deserters and reactionaries, the railway's transportation capacity could not be fully utilized, and a large amount of materials were still piled in the open air, now covered by ice and snow.

The military pressure on the Soviet regime was very great. The front-line troops were still insufficient and could not send a large number of troops to suppress the bandits in the snowy forests. There were too many spies in St. Petersburg, and every move of the Soviet government was exposed to the enemy's business.

In fact, the Soviet government also had many spies in Moscow, who could roughly grasp the movements of the Chinese army. However, due to the difference in absolute strength, the Soviet Red Army was always suppressed by the Chinese army.

Even after the snow, the Cossacks were still roaming around. Soviet grain collection teams fought many battles with the Cossacks and Tatar cavalry, sometimes winning, most of the time losing, and later when the Soviet Red Army went to the countryside to collect food, they had to send out a whole battalion, or more.

The Bolsheviks had previously tried to use Nicholas II to buy time, but the enemy was not fooled. The encirclement around Petrograd became smaller and smaller, and the Red Army retreated again and again, not only losing a large number of villages and towns, but also losing morale.

Many people realized that the Soviet government's situation was becoming increasingly worse.

Chapter 640 Suddenly

Even the confident Comrade Vladimir Ilyich Lenin could not turn a blind eye to the enemy's relentless advance. Looking at the flags representing the enemy on the map, Comrade Lenin felt very heavy.

"We should take the initiative to break the enemy's encirclement!"

Stalin still insisted on his opinion, "Break out of the encirclement and go deep into the enemy's rear..."

"Comrade Joseph Vissarionovich!"

Trotsky interrupted Stalin and said, "Don't

Spread your escapist route everywhere! This will shake the morale of the army!"

"Well, I think Comrade Stalin's concerns are justified. Perhaps, we can first agree to the conditions of the Tsarist government..."

"We will never surrender to the Tsar's lackeys!"

"Motolov, you are capitulationist!"

Motolov was not as tolerant as Stalin. When he saw Ruzuk rolling up his sleeves, glaring, and looking like he was about to take action, he quickly explained: "I just want to stabilize the enemy temporarily, I don't really want to surrender!"

"Please don't make a big deal out of it. Motolov was just expressing his own opinion."

Comrade Lenin stepped forward to smooth things over. He was always able to forgive the mistakes of his comrades and was always willing to give them a chance to correct their mistakes. Kamenev and Zinoviev had opposed launching an armed uprising. In order to prevent the uprising, they deliberately leaked the plan, causing great losses to the Bolshevik organization. In theory, Kamenev and Zinoviev's behavior was enough to be shot, but Lenin still forgave them and continued to let them be responsible for the party's propaganda work.

"Comrades, our situation is difficult."

After Lenin spoke, the hall fell silent. The Bolsheviks also had different ideas and interests, and only Lenin could convince them, not even Trotsky.

"The enemy is closing in step by step. It is undeniable that the enemy is stronger than us. Now we need to consider how to survive. As long as we can preserve the flame of revolution, we should not reject any suggestions. However, we cannot surrender to the enemy."

"I do not mean to criticize Comrade Motlov, but I want to point out that the Bolsheviks must not lay down their arms. Not to mention what happened ten years ago, four months ago the Provisional Government told us what would happen if the Bolsheviks lost their arms."

Trotsky asked: "Comrade Lenin, do you have any good ideas?"

“Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This question is the primary question of the revolution. The fundamental reason why all previous revolutionary struggles in Russia have achieved so little is that we have not been able to unite with our real friends in order to attack our real enemies.”

Stalin, who was smoking a pipe, trembled in his hand and the pipe almost fell to the ground. He looked at Comrade Vladimir Ilyich Lenin who was talking in surprise. This was clearly the content of "Selected Works of Lin Yongchang", so why did Comrade Lenin... Stalin's mind was full of confusion.

As if sensing Stalin's shock, Lenin's eyes fell on him and he nodded at him. What does this mean? Could it be? Stalin suddenly realized something.

Comrade Lenin continued: "The Tsarist government and the Chinese invaders are our enemies. Their contradictions with the Bolsheviks are irreconcilable. The British and French governments need Russia to continue to participate in the world war and are not friends of the Bolsheviks either."

"We don't need imperialist friends, all we need is the support of the broad proletariat!" someone shouted.

"Yes, we only need the support of the proletariat, but given the current situation, we still need some external support, some help from other countries."

Comrade Lenin’s eloquence was unquestionable. He always unified different opinions within the party. This is why he became the supreme leader of the Bolsheviks and not someone else.

"The Bolsheviks have no friends, no country is willing to help us."

"No, there are still countries willing to help us." Lenin looked at his comrades and said in a low voice: "The German government is willing to provide us with some weapons and equipment, and is willing to cooperate with us to fight against the Tsar's army together!"

The crowd suddenly became agitated. "How can we cooperate with the Germans? They are the enemy!"

"The revolution has reached its most dangerous moment, we need every bit of strength!"

“Even from imperialism?”

“Even from imperialism!”

The large-scale mobilization of the People's Army cannot be concealed. Although a lot of disguises have been done, it is impossible to conceal so many tanks and planes. This is Russia, and there are Russians everywhere. Sooner or later, the news will leak out.

The Bolsheviks had received a lot of news, and all kinds of information showed that the enemy was likely to launch an attack after the spring. The Soviet Red Army was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of weapons and equipment, and now even the number of people was about to be at a disadvantage. Trotsky had no way to form more troops.

Lack of food was one reason, but the main reason was lack of weapons. St. Petersburg left by the Russian Empire was a mess, and the Soviet government had almost nothing except some rifles. Even with rifles, it was impossible to get one for every soldier. Half of the soldiers in the army had no weapons, and could only use a bayonet tied to a wooden stick, or even no bayonet tied to a wooden stick.

Trotsky was very good at military affairs, but a good cook cannot cook without rice. The Bolsheviks were now surrounded, with raw materials cut off, and the arsenal could only operate intermittently. The People's Party established a household registration system, issued identity cards to everyone, and then issued food coupons, meat coupons, oil coupons, etc. according to household registration. Although the Bolshevik spies had not been completely cleared out, most of the land transportation lines to St. Petersburg were successfully cut off.

“The Germans won’t be that nice.

Support us with your heart!"

"Could it be that..."

There were rumors that Lenin had reached a secret agreement with the German government to cede Poland, Finland and other large tracts of land, and to pay a large amount of war reparations. Comrade Lenin denied it at the time. Now it seems that it was not the enemy's slander?

"The German government does have their demands, but so what? The most important thing is to keep the spark of revolution alive. Comrades, existence is everything, everything for existence!"

After several days of debate, Lenin, with the help of Trotsky, Stalin and others, finally got the majority of the party leaders to agree to temporarily join forces with Germany. During the debate, the German government had already sent two ships of arms, mainly rifles and machine guns, some cannons and mines, and more than a dozen anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns, which greatly alleviated the Bolshevik's shortage of weapons.

But just as the Bolsheviks were rejoicing, the enemy suddenly launched an attack, ten days before Christmas.

Chapter 641 Winter

There were many signs that the People's Army would launch a large-scale attack, but this sign lasted for several months, so many people in the Soviet government became lax. In addition, it cost a lot of money to maintain a high level of combat readiness. Even if the Soviet government could not pay the soldiers, it still needed to provide food for the soldiers on the front line.

The People's Army assembled again and again, consuming a lot of resources, forcing the Soviet government to consume a lot of food, and successfully made the Soviet Red Army relax its extraction.

Lenin, Trotsky and others guessed the intention of the People's Army, but even if they guessed it, there was nothing they could do. When the People's Army really started the attack, Trotsky was still a little unconvinced, "Is it a mistake? The Chinese are fighting in such cold weather? Did the comrades on the front line mistake a small-scale harassment for a large-scale attack?"

".....Tanks, we saw a lot of tanks! Comrade Trotsky, the enemy has deployed a lot of tanks, at least a hundred!"

After hanging up the phone, Trotsky still had some doubts. Why didn't the enemy attack before the snow fell, but waited until the snow and ice were frozen? He thought for a while and decided to go to the front line to see for himself.

"We chose to start the war in winter because this time is favorable for us."

Inside the Kremlin, Lin Yongchang said to the generals who had just rushed over from Yekaterinburg: "The ground has been frozen solid. It is the right time for the mechanized troops to deploy."