Just how many Europeans sympathized with the Russian Bolsheviks was a number that greatly exceeded Comrade Lenin's imagination. When a piece of intelligence was sent from London, England to the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Bolshevik Central Committee members who read the intelligence were all furious.

Compared to Comrade Lenin's hair volume, the lion's mane of hair on Military Committee Chairman Comrade Trotsky could be described as insanely voluminous. Reaching out to scratch his hair, Trotsky's sonorous voice echoed in the office, "That warlord finally revealed his true counter-revolutionary face."

Comrade Lenin was not agitated. After reading the intelligence content, he turned to Commissar Joffe, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Amidst the fierce attacks by the comrades on the Chinese warlord chieftain He Rui, Joffe continued reading the document without saying a word.

Although they didn't know who provided the intelligence, the source must have been a high-ranking official within the British government. The Chinese warlord chieftain He Rui had proposed to the British government that weapons sold to the Russian White Army must be paid for by the White Army using internationally accepted gold.

The gold in the White Army's hands had been transported from the Russian Tsar's treasury; this was the wealth of the Russian people. Taking away the Russian people's wealth and selling weapons to the Russian White Army to attack the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) representing the Russian people—Commissar Joffe completely understood the comrades' anger, and Joffe himself was equally annoyed.

Having vented his emotions, Trotsky turned to Comrade Lenin and said, "Comrade Lenin, we must struggle against such a reactionary warlord. China is still divided; we must support He Rui's opposing side. I spoke with Comrade Joffe previously, and according to his analysis, the Beiyang government's biggest enemy is Sun Yat-sen in the south. We should immediately dispatch personnel to contact Sun Yat-sen and have him launch an attack on the Beiyang government."

Supporting one faction to attack another within a hostile country was merely the most basic, entry-level skill for the upper echelons of imperialist countries. The committee members within the Central Committee of the Communist Party all possessed capabilities far exceeding this level of cognition. The reason for adopting such a rudimentary method was simply that the Communist Party currently had limited strength and couldn't implement more effective means.

After listening to Trotsky, Lenin turned to another comrade with thick hair but a thinner appearance. "Comrade Yakov, what do you think?"

Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov, a close comrade-in-arms of Comrade Lenin, possessed extremely high prestige within the Communist Party due to his super-strong organizational skills and was responsible for implementing Lenin's policies throughout the Communist Party.

Seeing Lenin hesitate slightly, Yakov replied, "The Beiyang warlords have completely sided with the Entente Powers. We must support the forces opposing them. Comrade Lenin can express to Sun Yat-sen that if Sun Yat-sen seizes political power in China, we will return part of the Chinese territory encroached upon by the Tsar to the Sun Yat-sen government. This will be beneficial to Sun Yat-sen's influence."

As soon as these words came out, smiles appeared on the faces of many Communist Party committee members. In the *Treaty of Brest-Litovsk* previously signed with Germany under Joffe's responsibility, Russia promised to cede territory and pay indemnities, paying a tremendous price. Lenin had forced the agreement through against huge domestic nationalist pressure, relying on his incomparable prestige.

Because of signing the *Treaty of Brest-Litovsk*, Germany was able to escape the crisis of fighting on two fronts and launch the 'Kaiserschlacht' (Emperor's Battle) against Britain and France. Although the Kaiserschlacht had failed, it was only because they were blocked by a million American troops and had to stop after exhausting themselves. In the first phase of this campaign, Germany's fierce offensive caused 700,000 to 800,000 casualties among the British and French allied forces, and Germany also lost 600,000 troops.

Germany could no longer hold on, and Russia could completely treat the *Treaty of Brest-Litovsk* as non-existent; the previously promised cession of territory and indemnities became completely empty words. Western European powers also suffered huge losses and could no longer attack Russia as they pleased after the war.

Not only that, but because of signing the *Treaty of Brest-Litovsk*, Russia was able to withdraw from the war, allowing it to throw all its strength into the domestic revolutionary war.

With such great success, Comrade Lenin's farsightedness received unanimous praise within the Communist Party, and his prestige was even higher than after the victory of the October Revolution. No one challenged Comrade Lenin's leadership position anymore.

Promising these conditions to Sun Yat-sen was just repeating the old trick of signing the *Treaty of Brest-Litovsk*.

The Communist Party committee members nodded one after another. At this time, they hadn't heard the new term 'path dependence' brought by He Rui, but useful experience naturally had to be used again; this was the most efficient method.

Lenin didn't immediately express his attitude. For the wise Comrade Lenin, a certain intuition arising in his heart troubled him.

Comrade Lenin had great ability to control such intuition. Regarding the timing of launching the October Revolution, facing the treacherous and fluctuating situation, Comrade Lenin had no way to understand the situation that changed daily.

After judging the general direction through theoretical deduction of the system, Comrade Lenin relied on intuition to grasp the timing. Before that moment that no one could explain arrived, Comrade Lenin stuck to his own feelings, patiently appeasing the Bolsheviks and the comrades supporting the Bolsheviks, and constantly strengthening the unity within the organization, drawing closer the relationship between the people and the Bolsheviks.

When things truly reached the moment when his intuition said he should launch, Comrade Lenin decisively launched the revolution and achieved miraculous success.

At this moment, facing a warlord chieftain in distant China, Lenin unexpectedly had an intuitive feeling, which puzzled even Comrade Lenin himself. Finally, Comrade Lenin let the meeting skip this matter and discussed the current situation with the comrades.

After the meeting ended, Lenin kept Joffe and Yakov behind. Lenin asked Joffe, "How much intelligence regarding He Rui has been collected so far?"

Joffe shook his head apologetically. "Very little. Most of it is reports from *The Times* and *Le Figaro*, and there is not much useful intelligence in these reports. What is certain is that He Rui is using the war to strengthen his power."

Committee Member Yakov trusted Comrade Lenin's judgment very much and waited quietly for Lenin to study the matter regarding He Rui. The limited information was just a little bit. After browsing through it, Comrade Lenin felt he had identified his doubts. "Comrade Joffe, do as Comrade Yakov arranged, but also send someone to contact He Rui again to see what requirements he has for our Communist Party."

Joffe immediately expressed agreement. However, Committee Member Yakov asked, "Comrade Lenin, why do this? This might very well make this warlord chieftain He Rui even more arrogantly disadvantageous to us."

"Perhaps so," Lenin expressed agreement.

Both Committee Members Joffe and Yakov stared at Lenin, wanting to know the reason for Leader Comrade Lenin's judgment.

Lenin revealed his humorous smile. "This person's luck is too good. All opportunities in the Far East beneficial to him have fallen onto his head. I don't think this is a kind of luck."

Having been lucky twice in less than a year, the two Bolshevik committee members were stunned for a moment, then soon somewhat understood Comrade Lenin's meaning. Since it wasn't luck, it must be ability.

Committee Member Yakov subconsciously stroked the beard on his chin, feeling the friction between the beard and his fingertips, a thoughtful look on his delicate face. After thinking for a moment, Yakov asked, "Comrade Lenin, do you think He Rui is more dangerous than we imagined?"

Lenin nodded. "Is he or isn't he? It must be determined through contact. Just do it like this."

Joffe was about to stand up when he heard Comrade Lenin instruct, "The person sent this time must maintain politeness. Don't let He Rui think we Bolsheviks are just a group of radical revolutionaries. In addition, send people to collect information on He Rui."

If He Rui knew the news that Comrade Lenin had finally decided to communicate, he would definitely be very happy. Because at this time, He Rui had already concluded negotiations with the British Minister and representatives of British banks in China.

London, England finally gave the order, agreeing to pay partly in gold and partly in pounds. The people handling the matter below finally received the scope of authorization on this decision.

Exactly how big this 'part' was—whether 99% or 9%—made a huge difference. He Rui's bottom line was 50%; at least this time it had to be 50%.

Although Jordan was the Minister, the main content of the negotiation was handed over to that bunch from the British banks. Thus, Jordan discovered that He Rui and the British bank fellows talked from banking history to the Napoleonic Wars, from the nature of currency to Britain's use of Jews. Although issues regarding the ratio were interspersed in between, the direction was changed after just a few sentences.

When both sides finally finished discussing what 'old money' and 'new money' meant with dry mouths, the asking prices of the two sides had reached the difference between 40% and 65%.

Jordan felt that as long as each side took a step back, the meeting could probably end with He Rui getting a ratio of a little over 50%. However, He Rui kept a straight face and firmly refused to yield. Seeing He Rui unwilling to agree, the bank representatives simply expressed they would terminate the meeting.

For the next two days, no matter how the banking consortium requested to continue the meeting, He Rui did not agree. Left with no choice, Jordan was forced to come forward and ask to see He Rui alone.

The old man had been living quite well in Fengtian recently. The living conditions here were very good, and the temperature was lower than in Beijing. For British people, the temperature here was more comfortable.

So Jordan didn't even feel that anxious. When talking with He Rui, he even raised his confusion about the dispute between old money and new money he had heard during the last meeting.

He Rui, however, didn't answer this question. "Your Excellency Minister, the British banking consortium stated that they would purchase weapons from Japan. I am very concerned about this news. I consider this a threat, and I do not accept such a threat. Therefore, I will absolutely not yield on the payment ratio."

Jordan was speechless for a moment. He Rui meant that he had made a judgment based on intuition. However, things were really as He Rui's intuition suggested: someone in the British upper echelon mentioned that they could consider letting Japan produce some weapons for Russia, and had Jordan order the British Minister to Japan to contact the Japanese government.

This news fell into the category of classified information; He Rui couldn't possibly know. Moreover, Jordan himself didn't think the British bank people had made such a statement; even if they did, it was a statement of mutual blackmail in normal business. Because the British banks simply didn't know about this arrangement from London.

No matter how Jordan persuaded, He Rui was like a turtle eating a weight—determined to stick to his view. Helpless, Jordan could only take his leave. When he returned to the consulate, a telegram came from the consul.

The Japanese side had the desire to accept this order, but Japan put forward its own requirements: payment must be in gold. Otherwise, the price would have to rise, and it rose to a completely unreasonable level.

Obviously, Japan knew who these weapons were to be supplied to and prepared to make a big profit from it. Compared to this, He Rui's conditions became acceptable.

Jordan felt he probably couldn't handle this matter alone, so he could only ask to see He Rui again. The old man proposed conditions he could accept: "50% paid in gold, 50% paid in pounds."

He Rui shook his head. "We must have 65%."

"If that's the case, we can only ask Japan to provide this batch of weapons." Jordan stated the impossible as if it were a condition already achieved. This was a small trick of negotiation: maximum pressure.

"Please go ahead," He Rui answered immediately. After speaking, He Rui also implemented maximum pressure in return. "Then let this meeting end here."

Since everyone was a thousand-year-old fox, the *Liaozhai* performance should stop at the appropriate point. Just as if he hadn't made that threat just now, Jordan asked, "Why does General He think we cannot cooperate with Japan?"

He Rui also acted as if he hadn't said the words to end the meeting and asked frankly, "I don't know London's view. I wonder, Your Excellency Minister, does Britain accept Japan gaining territory from Russia?"

Jordan was slightly stunned, and somewhat understood what He Rui was relying on. He heard He Rui continue, "Japan definitely knows who these weapons are sold to. As long as they have the intention to occupy Russian territory... if the White Russians win the Russian Civil War, these weapons will conversely be used by the White Russians to attack the Japanese invasion troops. If the White Russians lose, Japan will have to face the Red Army. At such a time, Japan's best method is to ask for an astronomical price. If it were me, I would definitely do so."

Thinking briefly, Jordan was certain that London would absolutely not be happy to see Japan gain a large amount of Russian territory, so he asked, "General He, do you have plans to acquire Russian territory?"

He Rui smiled slightly. "When dreaming, I often think so. In reality, too many countries want to carve a piece of meat from Russia; I have no interest in fighting with those countries. Your Excellency Minister, do you think those countries would accept it?"

Jordan inexplicably felt that what He Rui said should be his true thoughts. The current China had absolutely no strength to cut land from Russia, and choosing not to get involved in such military actions was a very rational approach.

After taking his leave, Jordan organized the latest news and sent it to London. Two days later, London sent a reply: 'Agree with Minister Jordan's view.'

On June 15, 1918, a train fully loaded with weapons drove out of the Chinese border and entered Russian territory. At the head office of the Northeast Bank in Fengtian, dozens of soldiers with live ammunition guarded several small boxes as they entered the equally heavily guarded vault.

The boxes opened, revealing yellow-orange straw. The soldiers carefully pushed aside the straw, revealing the gold bars inside. The people observing nearby sighed one after another.

This was five tons of gold. According to the standard of one Chinese *jin* being 600 grams and 16 *liang*, five tons of gold was 133,333 *liang*. With a gold-to-silver exchange rate of 1:20, calculating generously, it was at most 2.7 million *liang* of silver.

The observers just hadn't seen so much gold at once, and many came to watch the excitement. As for the money itself, everyone didn't care particularly much. Those sighs were because they felt this money was actually very little.

Now the Northeast Government's annual fiscal revenue, calculated in silver, already exceeded 30 million *liang*. According to the First Five-Year Plan, fiscal revenue calculated in silver might exceed 60 million *liang*.

This gold wasn't obtained for free either; the Northeast had to produce a large amount of weapons and ammunition to sell to foreign countries. For those factories and mines to start work, tens of thousands or even a hundred thousand in money was needed every day.

The high-level leaders and high-ranking officials knew these numbers. Regardless of whether they were happy in their hearts initially, their emotions at this moment were surprisingly consistent. This gold was truly too little.

After seeing the novelty, the leading cadres arrived at the conference room. He Rui asked, "Are preparations for the autumn harvest ready?"

The Director of the Agricultural Department immediately took out a report and reported the preparations for weighing, transportation, and storage to the high-level officials. Seeing that the work was prepared very thoroughly, everyone was happy.

He Rui continued to ask, "How much grain is left in stock?"

The Agricultural Director was stunned. Thinking briefly, he replied, "Less than 70 million *jin* left, enough for the urban population to eat until the autumn grain harvest."

He Rui said, "Allocate more meat and eggs."

The Agricultural Director couldn't figure out what He Rui wanted to do and asked in confusion, "Why?"

He Rui smiled slightly. "Grain might not be enough. We can only adopt one method: why not eat meat porridge?" (A reference to Emperor Hui of Jin's infamous line "Why not eat meat porridge?" when told people were starving, but used here ironically/pragmatically as meat is available.)