In December 1916, the haze hung over London throughout the winter and never dissipated.
The course of the war that has lasted for two and a half years appears to be very unfavorable to the Allies. The Germans seem to have emerged from the shadow of the defeat in the Battle of Verdun and have regained their vitality. On the Eastern Front battlefield, Romania joined the Allies in August.
, but suffered a major defeat shortly after entering the war. The German-Austrian forces occupied most of Romania's territory. The British and French forces could only watch the Romanians flee all the way, unable to provide any assistance at all.
Coupled with the previous huge losses of the British and French forces in the Dardanelles Strait, the cabinet with a majority of the Conservative Party joined forces to force Prime Minister Asquith to resign. On December 6, King George V appointed Liberal Party leader Lloyd George as Prime Minister.
Form a new cabinet.
At No. 10 Downing Street, the newly appointed Prime Minister was having dinner with Cabinet Foreign Secretary Balfour and Conservative Party leader Bannerman, discussing how to reverse the current unfavorable situation on the battlefield. Balfour brought an encouraging news,
The Americans are preparing to directly enter the war. Due to the unfavorable situation of the Allied Powers, American bankers are worried that the 35 billion US dollars of Allied War Bonds they purchased will become useless paper, and are trying their best to encourage President Wilson to declare war on Germany.
At this time, the intelligence department sent an urgent telegram. After reading the contents of the telegram, Lloyd George's face turned pale. He dropped the table knife in his hand and knocked a small gap on the delicate porcelain plate.
.
"The Russians are preparing to withdraw from the war, and the Tsar is trying to make peace with Germany alone!" After a long silence, the Prime Minister raised his head and said slowly.
"What?" Belfort was also shocked. The situation on the European battlefield is very difficult now. If the Russians withdraw from the war and the Germans transfer their troops from the Eastern Front to France, I wonder if the British and French coalition forces can withstand this situation.
pressure. "The Russians must not be allowed to reach a peace agreement with Germany!"
"But what can we do to stop it now?" Lloyd George said, "Even in Britain, where supplies are relatively abundant, there are waves of strikes everywhere. More than two years of war has brought Russia to the brink of collapse. We
There are vast colonies that provide all kinds of materials, but the Russians can only struggle in the war, with a lack of materials, factories do not have enough raw materials to operate, no one cultivates the land, and even their soldiers on the front line cannot get enough food.
.In a country that is hungry, anything can happen.”
"For the benefit of the British Empire, we must do our best to prevent the Russians from making peace, even if it means overthrowing the Tsar!" Bannerman said, "The Russian socialists are making trouble, and we can unite them with the pro-British nobles and military officers to act together.
Form a new government."
…
The Russian army suffered a fatal defeat on the front line, there was a shortage of food, and the whole of Russia would fall into famine. Rumors flowed out from the British and French embassies in Petrograd and spread quickly to the outside world. People began to panic buying food, and brewing
There's a big storm.
The real situation is that although Russia lost Poland and Silesia, the Russian Southwest Front commanded by General Brushilov severely damaged the Austro-Hungarian army in the 1916 offensive and had stabilized Russia's defense line. The German-Austrian Allied Forces were no longer able to deal with it.
Russia launched a large-scale offensive. And although Russia's domestic grain reserves declined, it did not reach the level of causing famine. However, the low efficiency of the tsar's bureaucracy made the grain and meat produced in the Far East, Siberia, and the Caspian Sea coast
Products cannot be shipped to large northern cities like Petersburg and Moscow in a timely manner.
The tsar's bureaucrats were divided into two groups, one was the pro-German faction headed by Queen Alexandra and the "Miracle Doctor" Rasputin, and the other was the pro-British and American faction headed by Foreign Minister Guchkov. Rasputin
and the empress were trying their best to persuade the tsar to make peace with the Germans and end the war as soon as possible to stabilize the domestic situation. However, pro-British and French elements such as Guchkov, Duke Lvov and Duke Yusupov advocated continuing to fight against Germany and Austria in order to
Get the maximum benefit after the war.
Guchkov, Lvov and others were supported by most senior military officers. Duke Yusupov, instigated by the British and French ambassadors, assassinated Nicholas II's "sycophants" and "witch doctors"
The pro-British and French faction in Rasputin's cabinet gained the upper hand.
Under the seemingly calm situation, there is an undercurrent surging.
On March 8, 1917, a revolution broke out without warning.
"Down with the Tsar and end feudal autocracy!"
"Down with the German woman, the Tsar abdicates!"
"We want bread and a wage increase!"
"Get out of this war and put the damn officers on the front lines! Our kids want to go home!"
This wave of strikes, initiated by female workers on International Women's Day, soon spread throughout the city and turned into large-scale riots, bringing the entire Russian capital to a standstill.
The army refused to carry out the tsar's order to quell the riots in the capital, and in desperation ordered the State Duma to elect a provisional committee to form a provisional government to maintain the overall situation.
The Tsar, who was on the front line, took a train back to the summer palace in Pskov outside Petrograd. The ministers and military officers who greeted him here were trying to persuade him to hand over power. The provisional government sent Guchekov and Surken to the Maria Palace.
Negotiating with Nicholas II, after two days of deliberation, the Tsar decided to abdicate in order to maintain domestic stability and gave up the throne to his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail. In view of the domestic situation, Mikhail announced that he would give up the throne.
.
The 300-year rule of the Romanov family over Russia ended and power was transferred to the provisional government.
Cheng Yimin took the train for more than a day to Yekaterinburg, and then took a bus to the Chinese Consulate on Przewalsky Street and the headquarters of the Russian-Chinese Labor Administration.
"What happened these days? All telegraph connections with Petersburg were cut off. The company called me to request a detailed report. I don't know what to do." When they got upstairs, Shen Gang asked impatiently.
.
"The workers are on strike, and the electricity and communications in the entire city have been interrupted." Cheng Yimin took off his shirt, "Just as the big boss predicted in advance, the tsar abdicated, and now the provisional government has taken over the power. But what the big boss said did not happen.
That kind of big turmoil. Order in the city of Petrograd is being restored, but there is still a 'Congress of Workers and Peasants' representatives in the city controlled by the broad wing of the Socialist Party, which stands side by side with the provisional government. The two regimes stand side by side, and sooner or later there will be trouble.
Big trouble is coming."
Cheng Yimin's public identity is an official of the Labor Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia, but in fact he is the head of the Chinese Baath Party's intelligence department in the Petersburg area. Since Petersburg's current telegraph communication is interrupted, he can only go to Yekaterinburg in person to report to his superior department.
Give an oral report.
"Well, you will make a detailed report later." Shen Gang lit a cigarette, "The country is preparing to declare war on the Germans. When the big boss arrives in Xinjiang, the country is preparing to send two divisions to join the Russian battlefield in advance. The request
We have prepared food and lodging for at least 200,000 people for the winter, plus the 350,000 laborers we have on hand, this is a very arduous task."
"Based on the situation, Russia will soon fall into civil strife. Why does the country continue to send workers?" Cheng Yimin said, "I think we should arrange the withdrawal of workers in Europe as soon as possible."
"This matter has already been arranged. Your task now is to use all the funds you have when you return, collect as many weapons as possible, and send them safely to my warehouse!" Shen Gang puffed out smoke and continued. Said, although I don’t know Shangfeng’s intention, it can be seen from these arrangements that the big boss may make some big moves in Russia. According to the instructions, the General Administration of Labor in Russia has taken control of the four-quarters of more than one million Chinese workers in Russia. become.
What can the commander do with these migrant workers?