Chapter 5

Looking at the world's most luxurious dog food bowl, Li Xiaofeng had an immediate urge to pounce and snatch it. He knew the significance of the treasure pot, and while this magical item might seem neither offensive nor defensive to true immortals, it was indeed a bit of a chicken rib. However, for Li Xiaofeng, he didn't need a world-destroying, god-slaying weapon. The treasure pot was perfect for him.

Li Xiaofeng liked it more and more. With the treasure pot, living a life of luxury in this world would be a piece of cake. As he daydreamed, his saliva slowly dripped down.

"Comrade Andrei Petrovich, pay attention to your image!" Dzerzhinsky was very dissatisfied with Li Xiaofeng's greedy look. He still had some hopes for this young comrade, but being envious of dog food was indeed a bit unseemly. Although that bowl of dog food was indeed better than what they ate, who didn't know that the food in the Peter and Paul Fortress was so bad that even stray dogs would only disdainfully urinate on it.

Li Xiaofeng didn't bother to explain. Even if he did, Dzerzhinsky, a staunch atheist, wouldn't believe him. After all, no one would think that this shabby bowl was a treasure. They might even believe it was a chamber pot. He didn't want to be seen as a lunatic.

"Come and meet our comrades!"

Dzerzhinsky pulled Li Xiaofeng into a small circle. Only then did Li Xiaofeng notice that the people in the courtyard had formed different factions, clearly demarcated, and they didn't interfere with each other.

"Who are those people over there?" Li Xiaofeng asked.

"Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, and Populists," Dzerzhinsky replied.

Someone immediately added, "A bunch of naive people who still have illusions about the noble lords."

Well, Li Xiaofeng was purely a humanities novice. He could talk about Chinese history, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Sui, Tang, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, but he was completely clueless about Russian history. His knowledge was limited to the fact that the Bolsheviks were the majority and the Mensheviks were the minority. What puzzled him was that, judging by the number of people in the small circle, the Bolsheviks didn't seem to be the majority. Instead, the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries appeared to be "strong and numerous."

"So?" someone suddenly asked, "Comrade Andrei Petrovich, which faction do you belong to?"

Since he knew he had returned to Russia in 1917, Li Xiaofeng had carefully considered this question. As someone who wanted to make a difference, it was important to stay in step with the victors. He was well aware of the outcome of the Russian Revolution. Although he wanted to live a life of luxury, standing on the wrong side at this moment seemed to offer no benefits.

Li Xiaofeng immediately answered shamelessly, "Although I haven't joined any party, I believe in Marxism."

"Is that so?" the questioner seemed somewhat skeptical, "Forgive me, Comrade Andrei Petrovich, but you are too young. I don't think you can understand Marx's theories at your age!"

"At what age do you think one can understand Marx's theories? Or who do you think is a true Marxist revolutionary? I believe your statement is purely idealistic. Because you don't believe a young person can understand Marxism, you rashly conclude that I am not a Marxist. Does Marxism only make sense to people in their seventies or eighties? Or do I have to recite the 'Li Xiaofeng Manifesto' or 'Capital' to prove myself?"

"No! That's not what I meant."

Li Xiaofeng's confident demeanor probably intimidated this person. He didn't know that, whether it was the 'Li Xiaofeng Manifesto' or 'Capital,' the shameless liar had only heard of them but never read them. He didn't even pass the open-book exam in Marxist philosophy in college.

However, this person didn't give up and asked, "What are your views on the future revolution? I don't want to argue with a populist!"

Li Xiaofeng took a deep breath. The main event was here. He tried to recall the little he had learned in his political classes and prepared to deliver a grand speech on revolution.

"The future revolution will certainly be a violent revolution led by the proletariat!" Li Xiaofeng said confidently. "Now, our revolutionary task is to use revolutionary violence to overthrow the tsarist feudal rule and establish a proletarian dictatorship republic! I believe the first stage of this revolution has already arrived. The broad masses of workers are taking to the streets to oppose the tsarist autocratic rule. The decadent and corrupt tsarist regime is about to collapse. At that time, we who are in prison will have to take on the responsibility of leading the revolution and guiding the revolutionary masses onto the right path!"

Li Xiaofeng expected his grand speech to be met with applause, but to his complete surprise, he was greeted with looks of astonishment. Even the future master of the Red Terror looked at him as if he were an alien, clearly shocked.

Li Xiaofeng felt a bit uneasy. Wasn't this how the history and political textbooks described the Bolsheviks during the February Revolution?

He asked, puzzled, "Did I say something wrong?"

What he said wrong was that ignorance and superficial knowledge were truly harmful. Since the failure of the 1905 Revolution, the Bolsheviks had realized that the conditions for revolution were poor, and a socialist revolution in Russia was premature. Even Lenin believed that the future Russian revolution would first be a bourgeois revolution. The Bolsheviks planned to be a legal opposition within a bourgeois government, waiting for the masses to become more awakened and the material foundation to be more solid before launching a new revolution.

What Li Xiaofeng knew was just the embellished version of the Bolsheviks' image after the October Revolution. In reality, even most Bolsheviks, including Dzerzhinsky, did not realize that the February Revolution would succeed. At the beginning of the demonstrations, the Bolsheviks, like the Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, and liberals, planned to persuade the workers to stop the demonstrations and strikes to avoid brutal suppression.

Imagine how they, holding such views, could possibly foresee a complete October Revolution just a few months later. To them, Li Xiaofeng's grandiose words were pure madness.

"Comrade Andrei Petrovich, don't you think the conditions for revolution are still immature? We don't even know if we can overthrow the tsarist rule, let alone talk about a proletarian revolution," Dzerzhinsky immediately countered.

Li Xiaofeng was taken aback. He didn't know where he had gone wrong. He had been misled by the praises and grandiose rhetoric of later generations and had no idea what the Bolsheviks were really like at the time.

However, Li Xiaofeng had a bit of a personality. His past lives had accumulated too much anger, and he was like a tightly compressed spring, eager to rebel. Even if he knew he was wrong, he would stubbornly stick to his guns.

"Why can't we talk about a proletarian revolution!" Li Xiaofeng was angry, pointing at the high walls of the prison. "Don't you see the vibrant revolutionary situation outside? There are already 300,000 revolutionary masses on the streets, and with a single wave of the hand, they can topple the tsar!"

"Ridiculous! There are hundreds of thousands of the tsar's troops in Petrograd. Do you think unarmed masses can resist armed troops?"

"Why not! Do you think those hundreds of thousands of troops are all loyal to the tsar? Don't you see that they are already tired of the war and desperately need peace?"

This point Li Xiaofeng remembered very clearly. The tens of thousands of the tsar's troops, tired of the war, indeed accelerated the revolution's progress. It was precisely because of their defection that the February Revolution succeeded.

However, being in the thick of it, the failure of the 1905 Revolution made it hard for the Bolsheviks to believe the army would defect. They naturally considered Li Xiaofeng's words to be delusional and mad. If not for Dzerzhinsky's mediation, the heated argument might have turned into a physical fight.

Actually, Li Xiaofeng didn't need to care. When Lenin returned and proposed the April Theses, calling for a new revolution, most people thought Lenin was either mad or had returned from Mars.

Seeing that the meeting was about to end in discord, Dzerzhinsky patted Li Xiaofeng on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Comrade Andrei Petrovich, it's good that you have a firm revolutionary ideal and a spirit of struggle. But you should also see that you are still too young. It's good to have sharpness, but it must be practical..."

Li Xiaofeng paid no attention to Dzerzhinsky's words. Not only that, but he also thought resentfully, "I'll see who is being impractical. When the revolution succeeds, I'll slap your faces and see what you have to say!"

When the revolution succeeds... Well, Li Xiaofeng indeed had a talent for being thick-skinned. A complete political opportunist dared to boast about what he would do when the revolution succeeded. Come on, you don't have any revolutionary ideals or beliefs, do you?

Of course, Li Xiaofeng didn't see himself that way. He had fully entered his role, imagining himself as a fearless revolutionary. He loudly announced in front of Dzerzhinsky and the surrounding guards, "Comrade Felix Edmundovich, I believe that long-term imprisonment has made you lose touch with reality and the masses. Now is the time for a great revolutionary situation. We who are in prison should be more resolute and determined in our revolutionary activities. Our first task is to break out of this prison and lead the masses onto the correct revolutionary path!"

This shocking statement left Dzerzhinsky speechless. What the hell, even if you want to escape, you can't shout it out in front of the guards! Are you looking for trouble?

Sure enough, as soon as Li Xiaofeng finished speaking, the guards, who had been standing by, rushed over and grabbed him.

At that moment, whether it was a nerve that had gone wrong, or too many old revolutionary movies, or a deliberate act, Li Xiaofeng didn't forget to raise his arm and shout slogans as he was dragged away, completely like a revolutionary martyr going to the execution ground. The only flaw was that he almost got the words wrong:

"Long live the Bolsheviks! Comrades, for the new China... for the great proletarian revolution, charge!!"