The sun never sets

Instructor Wang Guo looked at the captured officer and asked amiably, "What's your problem?"

"Your army...how are you going to deal with us?"

"Well, you are usually sent to a prisoner-of-war camp first, and then you will be screened when the war is over. As long as you have not committed any war crimes, you will be allowed to go home."

"really?"

"Of course it's true!" Wang Guo said confidently, "When did our People's Army break its promise? But I have to make it clear that as prisoners of war you have to work. The working hours are eight hours a day, and in case of emergency it may be extended by two hours. And the salary is not much, only fifty cents a day."

"Ah, the eight-hour workday? I've heard of that."

"I'm glad I heard about it! Do you have any other questions?"

"Well... I heard that in Siberia, as long as you apply to the government, you can get land for free..."

"This is real!"

The kingdom said loudly: "Not only in Siberia, but anywhere under the rule of Her Majesty Olga, you can get at least thirty acres of land for free! And you only need to pay twenty kilograms of grain per acre per year!"

The people's government implemented a grain monopoly system. Farmers were not allowed to buy and sell grain privately. After paying the public grain tax, the remaining grain could only be sold to grain monopoly stores set up by the state in various towns.

Since it is a monopoly, it is inevitable that people will buy low and sell high, which is a disguised form of exploitation of farmers, and it is inevitable that some people will buy and sell grain privately. But for the government, this is a very necessary measure, even if there are some disadvantages, it is within an acceptable range.

The problem of the black market can never be completely eliminated. All we need to do is suppress those who come out and pretend not to see the rest. Running a country is not a business for small businesses. There is no need to be stingy.

They are very frugal and don't care about the balance of income and expenditure. As long as the country can continue to operate, borrowing money every year is not a problem.

However, Wang Guo did not know much about economics. He just preached to the prisoners what he had said countless times. The prisoners gradually gathered around him, which made the soldiers around Wang Guo a little nervous. It was not the first time that cadres and instructors were killed. Although the murderer could be identified and punished afterwards, the dead could never come back to life.

But the kingdom was not worried about this. The prisoners had already laid down their weapons, so what else could they do? They not only had more than a hundred soldiers armed with live ammunition, but also three tanks.

Those steel monsters look scary, but if they are on your side, they feel very reliable.

Chapter 644: Airborne

While the kingdom was explaining the policy to the prisoners of war, the First Assault Regiment of the Imperial Guards was flying towards St. Petersburg. Among the three major trump cards of the People's Army, the Mongolian Iron Cavalry was a traditional cavalry. Although it was equipped with a lot of machine guns and cannons, it was still a cavalry.

The Imperial Guards and Imperial Yulin Army developed two new arms. The former developed into an armored force, and the First Armored Division belonged to the Imperial Guards. The latter developed an air force equipped with a large number of fighters, bombers and transport aircraft, as well as assault troops that launched attacks from the air using parachutes and gliders.

Before this, there had been no paratroopers in the world, and even airplanes had only been deployed on the battlefield for a short time, so no one had thought about defending against attacks from the sky.

The attack on the front line attracted a large number of Soviet Red Army troops, and the defense force in the rear was inevitably empty. When a large number of parachutes bloomed in the air, everyone on the ground was stunned.

"God, what is that?"

"God!"

"God!"

Many people kept making the sign of the cross on their chests. The Soviet government's attitude towards religion was more radical than that of the people's government, but Russians have a tradition of believing in Orthodox Christianity, and it was impossible to change people's attitude towards religion in just a few months.

"Damn it, that's the enemy!"

"Citizens, take up arms, defend the Soviets!"

There were still some smart people, but the scene before them was so shocking that most people fell into panic and could not organize a defense. Besides, there were neither troops nor weapons in Pulkovo, so what could they use to defend themselves?

More than a dozen gliders flew straight to the castle where the Tsar and his family were imprisoned. After fierce collisions and shocks, soldiers of the Yulin Army assault force rushed out of the gliders.

Each glider has a squad of paratroopers in it. They are the heavy weapons group of the paratroopers, equipped with air-cooled machine guns and 82mm mortars. They are mainly light machine guns, and the number of mortars is very small.

"Hurry, hurry up!"

"Bring the machine guns and mortars, follow me!"

Without waiting for the riflemen to join them, the paratroopers who landed on the ground immediately launched an attack on the target. The main purpose of this assault operation was not to capture the enemy's supply center or transportation hub, which was the task of other assault regiments. Their primary task was to rescue the Tsar and his family.

The family of the former Tsar Nicholas II was under house arrest, but there were no troops guarding them, so the soldiers of the Imperial Guards completed the first step of the mission without much effort. The next thing was to defend the castle and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

According to the plan, the Mongolian cavalry is heading this way. It would be better to use the 1st Armored Division to support them, but the armored forces have more important tasks.

"Your Majesty, please ask you and the Queen to take the others to stay in the room to avoid being injured by stray bullets."

Faced with the sudden change, Alexandra remained calm and just hugged the children tightly. Just now she thought that the Bolsheviks were going to kill her. These days, she had been thinking about the French Revolution over and over again. If it was just her and Nicholas II, it would be fine to die together, but what about the children?

The Soviet government cut off their contact with the outside world, but some news still came in. Queen Alexandra learned about Olga's ascension to the throne in Vladivostok, and later learned that Olga I had led troops to Yekaterinburg. Since then, the news from the outside world has been intermittent and full of contradictions.

When the warriors with weapons rushed in, Alexandra was almost overwhelmed by fear. However, her greatest fear did not happen, but an unexpected turn of events occurred.

Hearing that these ferocious soldiers were here to save her family, Alexandra almost cried for joy.

Nicholas II was much calmer than Queen Alexandra. After all, he was a former Tsar. He suppressed his shock and excitement and asked, "When will the reinforcements arrive?"

"Two days at most. If it's fast, it will arrive tomorrow night."

The Mongolian cavalry had a strong impact force, and was very effective against the Soviet Red Army, which had no armor and lacked machine guns and rapid-fire cannons. Especially in field operations, the impact force of the cavalry group was difficult for Soviet soldiers to resist.

Nicholas II asked a few more questions, then took the queen and the children to the room in the castle. The castle they were in was built several centuries ago and once had a good defensive effect, but with the development of artillery technology, this kind of castle has completely disappeared.

It is outdated and not comfortable to live in. Now it can only serve as a symbol of status and wealth.

However, the Soviet Union lacked heavy artillery, and the few artillery units that were available were all sent to the front. In order to fight against Empress Olga's army, the Soviet government removed some cannons from warships and placed them in the front-line artillery forts and Petrograd. Those big guys were very difficult to move, and by the time they were transported, the Mongolian cavalry had already arrived.

The Mongolian cavalry arrived faster than expected. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, a cavalry regiment arrived. They brought cannons and radios, as well as news of victory. The Yulin Army Assault Regiment originally brought a radio, but it was damaged during the airborne landing and could not be used normally. In Russia, there was no way to find parts to replace it.

"Yes, the enemy has been completely defeated."

Ulemuji said in Russian with a heavy accent: "The First Armored Division defeated the reinforcements of two enemy armies, surrounded all the enemy troops on the front line, and also sent some tanks to attack the city of St. Petersburg."

"Then can we go to Moscow?"

Nicholas II had already learned about the liberation of Moscow from the Imperial Guards, and it was said that Olga I would also return to Moscow soon.

"It's better to wait a few days."

Ulemuji was not very respectful to the Tsar, but he was a Mongolian and was rude. Nicholas II had seen many Tatar generals, so he did not take it seriously and just asked, "Why?"

"There are too many fleeing soldiers, and the road is full of people with guns. It's safe to stay in the castle."

What Ulemuji did not say was that the Germans had launched a new offensive on the Eastern Front, hoping to keep the Soviet regime going. The Russian army under Grand Duke Nicholas was beaten back, and he did not know what the situation was. It was said that the Germans had deployed a lot of tanks, and they might come directly here.

To be on the safe side, we should wait for instructions from the military headquarters.

The instructions came very quickly, as radio transmission was close to the speed of light. After confirming the order again and again, Ulemuji led a brigade of cavalry to escort Nicholas II and his entourage to Moscow the next day.

Chapter 645: Road

"........Our army has collapsed across the board. We only have seven divisions left to contact... Together with the militia in the city, there are only 110,000 people left..."

".......Former Tsar Nicholas II was rescued by the enemy............"

"I've long said that the reactionary Tsar should be shot!"

"........We still have hundreds of thousands of troops. It's not time to completely despair!"

"Wake up! The enemy's artillery is at the gates of Petrograd!"

The Soviet government's top brass had anticipated the defeat, otherwise they would not have signed an agreement with the German government, but they did not expect such a disastrous defeat. The 50,000-strong army was almost completely annihilated by an enemy armored division, and more than 300,000 troops on the front line were all surrounded.

The failure of the war led to the outbreak of internal conflicts. Kamenev and Zinoviev took the opportunity to accuse Trotsky and Lenin of their tough policies. Stalin and several other senior officials claimed that Kamenev and Zinoviev had leaked military secrets, which led to the disastrous defeat on the front line.

The argument grew louder and louder, the men's faces turned red and their expressions became excited, and they all rolled up their sleeves, as if they were trying to turn the argument into a fight.

"enough!"

Trotsky slammed the table and shouted: "The Germans are attacking, everything will be fine!"

Comrade Lenin kept frowning, thinking. The current situation was very unfavorable to the Bolsheviks. He and Trotsky thought that the enemy would not launch an attack until the spring, but they did not expect Olga's lackeys to fight in the temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius.

It was minus thirty degrees Celsius, and all the water would freeze into ice. Many people and horses froze to death, and countless others suffered frostbite.

Trotsky said that everything would be fine as long as the Germans launched an offensive. The Germans did defeat the reactionary army of Grand Duke Nicholas, but the reactionary army of the Tsar was defeated but not collapsed.

The German army did not expect the People's Army to launch a general offensive in the middle of winter. After receiving the news, they rushed out hastily, and their combat efficiency was very low. The number of American troops in Europe exceeded 400,000. Together with the British and French coalition forces, the total strength of the Allies on the Western Front was close to 3 million, while the Central Powers had only 2.2 million troops.

The German army had an advantage in machine guns and artillery, but the Allies had more planes and tanks. Germany had nearly 100 planes, while the Allies had more than 600. The number of tanks was :. Germany once led in planes and tanks, but Germany was blockaded, and its resources could not keep up, and its production capacity could not match that of the Allies.

In the face of absolute numerical superiority, the German Air Force and tank forces often won and then lost. The doomsday weapons made by Germany, including the "Paris Cannon" and tanks weighing more than 50 tons, were all sent to the Western Front.

This resulted in the German army suffering heavy casualties when defeating the Russian army on the Eastern Front, and failing to defeat the enemy. They only occupied a dozen towns and then lost the momentum of the offensive.

After the outbreak of the war, Lenin saw with his own eyes how quickly Germany became depressed. He lived in Germany for many years and shared

Many contacts, comrades sent news that the situation in Germany is getting worse. Germany's manpower has been used to the limit, a large number of young and middle-aged people have been drafted into the army, and now even teenagers and old men have been pulled into the army.

Lenin had said before that if the situation got bad, they could retreat to Finland, but the situation in Finland wasn't good either. Mannerheim of the White Army was an excellent commander, talented in both politics and military affairs, and under his leadership, the White Army grew rapidly.

Mannerheim was a nationalist who was hostile to Tsarist Russia, but even more hostile to the Soviet Union. Trotsky and Lenin expressed pessimism in private conversations that if the Finnish Red Army was not given strong support, the White Army would most likely occupy the entire Finland after the spring.

"Comrade Lenin, please say a few words!"

"What do we do now?"

Lenin still frowned. He sighed and said, "It seems that we can't defeat the reactionaries for the time being. The enemy is too strong. We need to think of other ways."

Stalin took off his pipe and said, "The enemy is strong and we are weak, so we have no choice but to give up Petrograd. Comrade Lenin, we must transfer our manpower as soon as possible to those places where the enemy is weak."

"It's useless."

Lenin shook his head. “We did the same thing ten years ago. Although it created some momentum locally, it was eventually suppressed by the Tsar’s army.”

“Things are different now…”

Stalin wanted to clarify, but Lenin interrupted him, "There is no difference. Petrograd... St. Petersburg and Moscow are the places with the largest working class. If we cannot gain a foothold in these two places, then there is no way to talk about the victory of the revolution."

"We can go to the countryside, to the mines in the Caucasus and Donbass... As long as we can keep the flame of revolution alive. Didn't you say it? Existence is everything, everything for existence!"

"Well, preserving the flame of revolution is necessary, but that is the last resort."

Lenin's eyes swept over the crowd, "There are two paths before us now. The first is to hold out here to the end, inflict a heavy blow on the enemy, and let the enemy know the power of the proletariat. Although we will suffer heavy casualties, the enemy will definitely not have an easy time either."

"That's how it should be!"

"But......."

Lenin stretched out his hand and pressed down in the air. When the room was quiet, he continued, "The second way is to abandon St. Petersburg and bring the power of the revolution to Finland! Just like a few months ago, we will first gain a foothold in Finland, and when the time is right, we will counterattack!"

"this........."

"With all due respect, Comrade Lenin, the workers of Petrograd will not go with us to Finland. Even if some will go with us, the majority will choose to stay."

The world is big, but food is the most important thing. If you stay in St. Petersburg, you may still have a job and something to eat. But where can you get bread if you go to Finland?

People think about steamed buns, and people think about bread.

People in this era did not have high demands and were satisfied as long as they had enough food and clothing.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin gave two options, but the comrades were not satisfied with either. The first one was to sit and wait for death, and the second one was to give up Petrograd and go back to a remote place like Finland.

As for Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin's suggestion, it was not a good idea either, just like fleeing to Finland.

The people started arguing again, and the room was filled with a buzzing sound. Someone shouted loudly: "Comrade Lenin, is there no other way?"

"Other ways? Yes, there are, but I'm afraid the comrades won't accept it!"

Chapter 646: Qualified

"Comrade Lenin, please speak!"

"Comrade Lenin..."

"How do you know we won't accept it if you don't tell us?"

"Be quiet and listen to Comrade Lenin!"

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin then said: "The third way is to join the Tsarist government and attack the enemy from within!"

"........."

The crowd fell silent, quieter than ever before. Silence, silence. Either they explode in silence or perish in silence. Someone muttered, "Isn't this capitulationism?"

"No, this is not capitulationism, but to preserve the revolutionary flame to the greatest extent possible!"

Lenin said to the crowd: "As long as this can be achieved, what does it matter if my personal reputation is damaged? If you are worried that doing so will lead to misunderstanding and misconception, then let me bear the blame."

"We must be clear about the ends and means. The Bolsheviks must always adhere to the ultimate goal of liberating the world, but we might as well be more flexible in the means."

"Comrades, don't be sad. We have not failed. Compared with ten years ago, the revolution has achieved great success. This time we liberated Petrograd. When the next revolution actually comes ten years later, we will be able to liberate Moscow as well! By that time, the revolution will be victorious!"

"The Tsarist government offered the Bolshevik party members the opportunity to join the Russian People's Party. This was a great opportunity to infiltrate the enemy..."

“This is still capitulationism!”