Chapter 8

The 2B youth, of course, had no idea that Dzerzhinsky had given him a very high evaluation. At this moment, all he could think about was how to make another grand entrance, as a virgin who had been suppressed for hundreds of years could not afford to be hurt!

"We must strike while the iron is hot and take the entire Peter and Paul Fortress in one go!" The 2B youth, in a state of excitement, immediately suggested.

Fortunately, Dzerzhinsky and his companions had already developed a certain resistance to the 2B youth's crazy talk, and everyone automatically filtered out his proposal.

"We should build barricades to resist the enemy's counterattack and immediately send someone to contact our comrades outside!" This was Dzerzhinsky's suggestion.

This suggestion was quite reasonable, at least more realistic than the 2B youth's adventurous plan, and naturally received the unanimous agreement of everyone, except for the 2B youth.

"Comrade Felix Edmundovich, I firmly disagree with your opinion. This is too passive. You are advocating a complete escape. This is inaction and placing the hope of victory on the enemy! The revolution should be more proactive and aggressive. I insist that we should immediately launch a new offensive against the enemy, chase after them, and kick their butts until we sweep them into the dustbin of history!"

Everyone present rolled their eyes in unison, as if to say, "Here we go again." However, at this moment, no one directly rebuked Li Xiaofeng, as he had already proven himself through his actions.

Dzerzhinsky earnestly advised, "Comrade Andrei Petrovich, we greatly appreciate your revolutionary spirit, but you must also see that the enemy's strength far outweighs ours. There is at least a battalion of troops in the fortress, while we only have a dozen guns. It would be quite an achievement just to hold this position, let alone talk about an active offensive! Therefore, the most urgent task is to establish contact with our comrades outside and then launch an uprising inside and out. A hasty attack would be too reckless and irresponsible!"

Dzerzhinsky's speech once again received the unanimous agreement of everyone except the 2B youth. Petrovsky even volunteered to go out disguised as a gendarme to act as a liaison, which was both very dangerous and very brave.

However, these people seriously underestimated Li Xiaofeng's "initiative." This guy's ability to cause trouble was not just a little strong. While Dzerzhinsky and others were discussing how to send Petrovsky out and how to fortify their position, this guy was fiddling with the Maxim machine gun left by the fleeing gendarme.

This was a 1905 Russian version of the Maxim, weighing 28.25 kilograms without the tripod and cooling water. With 4.5 kilograms of cooling water and a 250-round canvas belt weighing 7.3 kilograms, the total weight approached 40 kilograms.

Such a heavy machine gun usually required three to four people to operate, but the 2B youth was preparing to do it alone. The reason was simple: Li Xiaofeng had a sudden inspiration and thought of Rambo's classic image in "First Blood," bare-chested with a muscular body, holding an M60 and spraying bullets at the enemy.

Well, that was indeed very cool, but as a general-purpose machine gun, the M60 only weighed a little over ten kilograms, had a stock and a pistol grip suitable for shoulder firing, while the heavy Maxim was a heavy machine gun without a stock, held with both hands. Copying this was not a good idea.

However, the 2B youth, determined to make a grand entrance, didn't care about these details. Holding the Maxim horizontally, he began to charge forward with light steps. Well, that was indeed very foolish, but I have to say, Li Xiaofeng was not the first to be so foolish. In a certain epic film commemorating the Xinhai Revolution, a nearly sixty-year-old action movie veteran also acted foolishly. So, to attract attention, sacrificing intelligence is nothing, and some even don't care about their face. Compared to those predecessors, this guy was already quite normal.

Watching Li Xiaofeng's "dust-raising" back, Dzerzhinsky, who was arranging the defense, was stunned for two seconds, then sighed and raised a Mosin-Nagant, shouting, "Comrades, charge!"

Next, everyone, extremely unwilling, followed Dzerzhinsky, reluctantly advancing forward, following Li Xiaofeng's footsteps. Many years later, when Petrovsky recalled this scene, he was still indignant: "Comrade Andrei Petrovich is absolutely an undisciplined person. He always likes to be unconventional, always likes to be a hero, and always likes to act recklessly. I have more than once thought that he would be killed by his rash actions, but to my surprise, he always succeeds..."

The people who followed Dzerzhinsky in the charge almost all thought they would face a fierce battle. They feared that the moment they rushed out of the alley, the soldiers guarding the Peter and Paul Fortress would tear them to pieces.

But what happened next shocked everyone. After rushing out of the alley, when the huge spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral came into view, neither the patrolling soldiers on the square nor the guards on other posts fired a single shot.

The tsar's soldiers dumbly watched the prisoners rushing out of the alley. After a brief silence, they erupted in thunderous cheers! Many threw their military caps into the air, shouting excitedly, "Down with autocracy! Down with war!"

The stark contrast left Li Xiaofeng at a loss. He didn't understand what was happening, but the soldiers pouring out of the barracks, waving their arms and cheering, told him—well, the uprising seemed to have succeeded?

At that moment, not only Li Xiaofeng but also Dzerzhinsky was stunned. He muttered repeatedly, "This is a miracle!"

Of course, this was not a miracle. For the February Revolution, regardless of how history records it or how the major political parties of the time boasted, it must be said that this was a spontaneous revolution. Both the common people and the soldiers had completely lost patience with the prolonged war. On that night, Tsar Nicholas II made a foolish move that added fuel to the fire—dissolving the Duma, which served as a mediator. In such a situation, as long as someone took the lead, a domino effect would naturally occur.

As the saying goes, when the wall falls, everyone pushes; when the drum is broken, everyone beats it. Nicholas II's rule was collapsing, and even the army no longer supported him, making his downfall inevitable. In fact, Li Xiaofeng's actions merely accelerated this process. Even if he hadn't caused trouble that night, the next day, on March 12, the tsar's centuries-long rule would have ended.

Historically, on the morning of March 12, the soldiers of the Volynsky Regiment were the first to mutiny, followed by the soldiers of various regiments in Petrograd, who responded one after another. They actively contacted workers and destroyed the gendarmes' barracks. The armed uprising quickly swept the entire city. Workers and soldiers occupied the ammunition depots and armories, opened prisons to release political prisoners, and arrested the tsar's ministers and generals, throwing these lords into the Peter and Paul Fortress, which was prepared for revolutionaries.

Li Xiaofeng was undoubtedly lucky. After all, no one knew that the revolutionary situation would change dramatically the next day. His stubborn actions earned him enough political capital. At least four hours later, when the Bolshevik leader of the Vyborg District, Gaiurov, arrived at the Peter and Paul Fortress with the people who responded to the uprising and asked who led the uprising, Dzerzhinsky pointed to Li Xiaofeng's back without hesitation and said, "It was Comrade Andrei Petrovich!"

At that moment, as Gaiurov was about to rush forward to give the revolutionary hero who fired the first shot against the tsar a warm embrace and commend his great contribution to the revolution, what happened next made him gape in shock!

He recalled, "I was about to meet Comrade Andrei Petrovich. He seemed to be searching for something in the doghouse. When he found a broken dog bowl, he appeared ecstatic, as if he had found the most precious treasure. The excited Comrade Andrei Petrovich hugged the bowl, completely unaware that the original owner of the bowl—a fierce German Shepherd—was glaring at him..."

What happened next, whether to the participants or the onlookers, was not something they were willing to mention, as it concerned the honor (face) of a fearless revolutionary fighter. The German Shepherd, whose "property" had been stolen, immediately gave the thief the harshest punishment. The fierce wolf dog bit the 2B youth's private parts.

The male comrades who witnessed this all closed their eyes in empathy, leaving no doubt that the revolutionary hero's future happiness was ruined.

Gaiurov's memoirs wrote, "Everyone rushed forward, trying to make the big dog release its bite, but the stubborn dog refused to let go, and everyone was afraid that pulling too hard would cause more harm to the poor Comrade Andrei... Finally, someone suggested shooting the dog, which everyone agreed to, but just as they were about to do so, the dog suddenly released its bite, allowing it to survive..."

The story of the German Shepherd did not end there. Gaiurov continued, "... The dog later accompanied Comrade Andrei Petrovich, as if they had reached some kind of agreement. The broken bowl that caused all this disappeared, and only God knows why Comrade Andrei Petrovich wanted to take that broken bowl..."

Of course, Li Xiaofeng had to grab that bowl—the treasure pot of the God of Wealth! Not grabbing it would be foolish! Originally, Li Xiaofeng wanted to keep this treasure for himself, but what made him frustrated was that the treasure had already recognized an owner. If he wanted to claim the treasure, he had to deal with its current owner—the fierce German Shepherd.

"Meat every three days!" Li Xiaofeng offered.

The German Shepherd showed disdain.

"Meat every two days!" Li Xiaofeng raised the offer.

The German Shepherd was not interested.

"Meat every day!" Li Xiaofeng gritted his teeth and said.

The German Shepherd nodded happily and brought the treasure pot to Li Xiaofeng.

If the God of Wealth knew that his prized treasure was sold for such a low price, he would probably kill Li Xiaofeng and stew the foolish German Shepherd. But now, he had already turned to dust and could no longer interfere.

---

End of the chapter.