The train carrying Comrade Joffe, Chairman of the Bolshevik Foreign Affairs Committee, raced across the Siberian land. None of the group wore Bolshevik military uniforms; instead, they were dressed like wealthy people, carrying large leather suitcases. To make them look more like rich people fleeing Bolshevik tyranny, there were also quite a few female Bolshevik comrades in the group pretending to be female relatives.

Since the train crossed the Ural Mountains, the anger in Comrade Joffe's heart had been accumulating continuously. The Czechoslovak Legion had marched east, crossed the Urals, and destroyed the Bolshevik government in Siberia, turning the entire region into a White area. A large number of White Army troops gathered in this area, received the weapons transported from China, and prepared to attack the Red Army.

Watching the White Army soldiers looking satisfied with their brand-new Mosin-Nagant rifles, Commissar Joffe wished China only had the ability to produce crude and poorly made weapons, and wished those weapons would explode immediately in the hands of the White Army.

But Commissar Joffe had to meet with He Rui, this dangerous warlord chieftain, because as more and more news about He Rui came in, Comrade Lenin increasingly believed that He Rui harbored no hostility toward the Soviet regime. Even so, the comrades in the Soviet Central Committee who considered He Rui a dangerous enemy were still the majority; only Comrade Trotsky had changed his view. Another one who changed his view was Comrade Stalin.

If it weren't for Comrade Stalin's usually impatient personality, and that he would absolutely not curry favor with the powerful, Joffe would have even suspected whether Stalin was speaking sincerely.

When Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, and Joffe held a meeting, Stalin immediately stated, "I think He Rui wants to negotiate with us, but he must be preparing some conspiracy."

Joffe hadn't expected Stalin to actually agree to negotiate with He Rui, which was truly surprising.

Trotsky scratched his thick, lion's mane-like hair. "He Rui's policies within China have considerable merit. In the report sent recently, He Rui claimed to be a die-hard communist..."

Joffe was somewhat annoyed about this matter. Because the initial report sent by the Bolshevik Far East Branch was entirely personal opinion, describing He Rui as a vicious and rude warlord chieftain. Although the second report wasn't much better, it attached a 'memorandum' in Russian.

This matter made Comrade Joffe feel deeply that the level of the organization members was too low. In formal diplomatic occasions, both sides should have their own meeting minutes, and even exchange minutes to ensure the precision of the conversation content.

The second set of meeting minutes sent was made by He Rui's side; this fact alone made Commissar Joffe, who presided over the *Treaty of Brest-Litovsk* negotiations, feel He Rui's sincere attitude.

As for the content of the meeting, it left Joffe even more speechless. Joffe certainly didn't think the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was an imperialist party, nor did he think the Communist Party was following an imperialist line. But looking only at the content of the conversation, He Rui's evaluation of the Far East Bolshevik representatives was correct; what they said indeed proved they adhered to imperialist diplomacy.

At this time, Trotsky had finished speaking. Unlike Stalin, who thought He Rui was a dangerous conspirator, Trotsky felt He Rui was constantly advancing the revolution and might really be a communist.

Thus, everyone's gaze fell on Comrade Lenin. Comrade Lenin did not oppose Trotsky's view, nor did he oppose Comrade Stalin's view.

Believing in communism is a personal faith; having cold and cruel means and being adept at manipulating conspiracies are personal abilities. There is no necessary opposition between the two.

Stalin's tough pragmatism and Trotsky's enthusiastic romance were both fine. As for Lenin's personal feeling, He Rui's image remained ambiguous. Based on He Rui's speeches and articles collected so far, one could only judge that He Rui was a scholar. The name 'Civilization Party' sounded like it had a petit-bourgeois flavor, and He Rui's economic policies could only be described as ambiguous.

The policy of distributing land to the people was not new; the Russian Tsar had done it, and the Stolypin reforms had done it. This policy had no necessary connection with communism. Otherwise, the Tsar and Stolypin would be communists.

Many of the White Army soldiers fighting bloody battles with the Red Army now were Mensheviks. There was no lack of people among the Mensheviks who advocated for equal distribution of land. If advocating for distributing land to farmers and improving the miserable lives of Russian farmers, this was the majority view among Mensheviks.

As for the reactionary landlords, aristocrats, and capitalists in the White Army, few openly opposed distributing land to the Russian people either.

This was the result brought by the wave of revolution. The old ownership of means of production brought contradictions that could not be eliminated, and the revolution was triggered because of these contradictions. Before these demands were basically met, the revolution would not end. Anyone attempting to stop the revolution would be destroyed, just like the Romanov family that had lasted for hundreds of years.

The core point of the revolution is: to whom do the benefits ultimately belong? The Bolsheviks could shout without concealment, "Everything belongs to the people, everything belongs to the Soviets." If He Rui really had the excellent ability rumored, he must have considered this question, must have understood this question, and made his own choice.

As for what He Rui's choice exactly was...

Comrade Lenin asked, "Comrade Joffe, are you willing to go to Manchuria, China, to meet with He Rui?"

Recalling Comrade Lenin's entrustment, Commissar Joffe was prepared in his heart to sacrifice himself to complete the mission. If it were only to see He Rui, the danger Joffe would encounter would only be safety along the way. But this time Joffe not only had to see He Rui but also requested to see China's current government leader Duan Qirui, as well as the Southern Revolutionary Party leader Sun Yat-sen. Such danger could not be assessed.

The train entered the next station. Bodies were seen hanging from streetlights, eyes rolled back, tongues sticking out long, obviously hanged alive rather than hung up for display after death. Signs reading 'Bolshevik Thug' hung on the chests of the bodies. Joffe watched for a moment, then withdrew his gaze. The people on the train had similar expressions; it was too tragic. This was the current struggle environment in eastern Russia.

There were few dangers along the way, and Comrade Joffe's party arrived safely at the Sino-Russian border. Soon, He Rui on the other side of the boundary river sent people to escort Joffe across the border. bravely stepping onto the boat, Joffe watched the figures of other comrades on the opposite bank becoming smaller and smaller. Compared to the more than a hundred thousand troops under He Rui, bringing all the comrades along would be useless.

Commissar Joffe no longer considered his own safety but began to observe the Chinese people he saw, in accordance with Comrade Lenin's request. The Chinese people looked indifferent, maintaining vigilance toward Joffe and the two Bolsheviks, but without any hostile actions.

When the group went ashore, a truck was already waiting by the riverbank. The group got into the truck and drove bumpily toward Harbin.