In Odessa in 1918, the night was a bit deserted. As an important base of the Black Sea Fleet, when there were a large number of warships parked in the port in the past, Odessa was very lively at that time. A large number of sailors who were drunk off the ship greatly stimulated the evening economy of Odessa. The noise continued until late at night. Only when all the sailors were drunk were high will the craze subside.

However, since March 1917, this craze has changed, and as one revolution after another enters the "gaochao", the lives of Odessa and the sailors have also undergone earth-shaking changes. In short, summarize it in one sentence - people's minds are moving.

It is hard to say that the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet tend to be. Ukrainians like Central Rada and Geitmanskoropatsky and hope to serve for an independent Ukraine; while Russian soldiers prefer the Bolsheviks; as for the officers, most of them are fans of the White Army.

However, in Odessa, the situation was not that complicated. With the Germans' fierce attack in February, the Fleet Committee transferred all the main force of the fleet to Sevastopol. Even though the Brest contract was signed later, the Fleet Committee did not allow all ships belonging to Odessa to be returned to their home port.

Now there are only four old destroyers in Odessa, as well as a protective cruiser launched in 1900 and another Mezedih cruiser, originally belonging to the Turkish Navy. To be honest, these warships are all old-fashioned goods, especially the Mezedih of the Turkish Navy. This goods were the old ships that entered service in 1874 and sank in December 1914. After salvaging and repairing it in 1915, the Black Sea Fleet continued to use it, and was named the heroic Brut River "Prut River" mentioned earlier.

In addition, the remaining gunboats and torpedo boats in the port are some gunboats and torpedo boats, such as the gunboats Salkier, and the minesweeper Dmitry-Groy. Anyway, there are very few ships in the port. Even if these warships are swarming, they will not be able to become a climate.

It can be seen that the Fleet Committee was actually preparing, and they detained the main force of the fleet in Sevastopol. They used artillery on the Sevastopol port fortress to firmly guard these unknown warships to prevent the worst situation.

This is also the important reason why Nikolai has always emphasized that Li Xiaofeng must be transferred out of Sevastopol. There is a certain immortal in Sevastopol, and these conspirators have almost no room for trouble. If they don’t have an uprising in Sevastopol, it is really meaningless. The ships that stayed in Odessa, Nikolayev and Novorossiysk were too few, and they were not opponents of the fleet committee at all.

"There is a decision on it!" In an Odessa basement, a bearded man with a flesh-faced face excitedly said to Konstantin. "Just tonight, we will launch a coup in Odessa, Nikolayev and Novorossiysk at the same time, destroy the scoops of the Fleet Committee and seize the ship!"

Constantine was not as excited as the bearded man. Although he had had enough of the days he had been in the basement these days, he was not stupid. Judging from the information he had obtained before, this mutiny was definitely not smooth. Moreover, with Andre Petrovic there, it also added a lot of variables and risks.

To put it bluntly, it feels like hitting a stone with an egg. Although Constantine doesn't like the Bolsheviks, it doesn't mean he is tired of living. He knows that his chances of winning are not great, but he is still trying hard. No matter how he looks, it seems like he is trying to die!

"Are you sure?" he asked suspiciously. "You told me yesterday that the rumblings of Odessa are very tight, so you must act carefully? Why are you going to start acting suddenly?"

The bearded man's eyes flashed a little, but he quickly calmed down and explained: "Yesterday was yesterday, today is today, and the situation is different every day. Yesterday's situation was not good. But it does not mean that today will be very bad. And after this period of high-intensity martial law, the Bolsheviks' nerves also relaxed... They would never have thought that we would launch a fatal blow at this time... We will definitely catch them off guard!"

Constantine still had concerns and asked, "Will it be too hasty?"

The bearded man quickly said, "Not at all hasty, Mr. Skoropatsky has sent an army to assist us. With his help, we will be more wings."

To be fair, Konstantin didn't like Skoropatsky at all, because this guy once became a German tyrant, clamoring for Ukraine's independence. As a great Russian savage. Konstantin hated this kind of Russian traitor. If possible, he would want to behead Skoropatsky publicly.

However, Skoropatsky did not know what method he used to contact the Social Revolutionary Party and the Cadet Democratic Party. The people did not know what they had to talk about and finally reached an agreement that Skoropatsky's army would cooperate with the White Army until the Bolsheviks were expelled from Ukraine.

After expelling the Bolsheviks from Ukraine, Konstantin didn't know what benefits the Ufa interim government needed to give Skoropatsky. But he knew one thing, it would definitely cause heavy bleeding, and it would definitely have to pay some of Ukraine's interests, otherwise Skoropatsky would not be so concerned.

Anyway, Constantine firmly opposed the behavior of giving benefits to the rebellion. What is the difference between this approach and the Bolsheviks? It is not about betraying Russia's national interests! However, it is not him who is the master of the Ufa Provisional Government and the White Army. Even if he opposes, it is meaningless. Moreover, he must pinch his nose and cooperate with Skoropatsky!

"When will Skoropatsky's men arrive?"

After hearing this news, although Constantine was annoyed, she still felt a little calmer. If Skoropatsky's army had, the hasty uprising would not have been so abrupt.

The bearded man smiled and said, "It's already here!"

"Oh?" Constantine was surprised and asked again, "How many people have come?"

The bearded man said again: "No less than ten thousand people!"

"hiss!"

Constantine took a breath. If Skoropatsky really sent an army of more than 10,000 people to help, it must be said that this is really a big deal. As far as he knows, there are only 10,000 or 20,000 people under that guy. Is he going to give up his old capital?

Thinking of this, Constantine was even more relaxed. With 10,000 Skoropatsky's people, she was 80,000 to take Odessa suddenly. Indeed, this was a good opportunity. However, after a brief joy, Constantine began to struggle again. They contacted many people in Odessa, and in the end they were only more than a thousand people willing to do with them. Compared with Skoropatsky's army, this number of people is simply not worth mentioning.

Constantine was very worried that after things were done, Skoropatsky would steal most of the spoils, and that would be embarrassing... He had to think of a solution earlier, and he secretly made up his mind to leave the credit and the big head of the spoils for himself!

Just as Constantine was thinking about the small calculations, he didn't notice that the bearded man around him showed contemptuous eyes. That look was like a fool who was looking like a dead person. In his eyes, Constantine seemed to be a dead person.

It was late at night, and on the pier of Odessa Port, Red Army sailor Varijin and his friends were standing guard and patrolling. To be honest, this was not a good job. The military port at night was quiet, and nothing could be seen or heard except the sound of waves brought by the wet sea breeze.

In April, although it was already spring, the sea breeze was still so cold and bitter. Varianjing sniffed in his hand, stomped his feet hard, and looked at the old Prut River. This old ship, which had been nearly half a century old, was like a coffin floating on the sea, and was dead.

Varianjin shook his head and drove away the bad thoughts in his mind. He was very depressed. Every sailor was willing to serve on a new warship, rather than an old warship. Compared with the old Prut River, the Askerd next to him was much more energetic, at least he didn't have to worry about sinking when he went to sea.

After a while of random thoughts, Varije tightened his collar tightly and walked towards the other end of the pier with his neck. There was a temporary booth there, which could be avoided at the wind.

The leather boot kicked on the steel trestle and made a crisp sound. In this quiet night, this simple and monotonous sound was particularly harsh. Walianjing, who shrank his head and walked forward slowly, quickly attracted attention. Although the thin fog made him unable to see who was walking on the other end of the trestle, he knew very well that he was definitely not a friend in the booth - the footsteps were too noisy, and he was not alone at all!

Varianjing immediately raised his vigilance, lifted Mosinna behind him, squinted his eyes, paid attention to the direction of the footsteps, and shouted softly: "Who, the command!"

When he said this, Varianjing was already lying on the ground and his index finger was already on the trigger. As long as the person on the other side had any abnormal movements or could not answer the command, he would shoot without hesitation!

Are you making a big deal? Not at all. As a Russian sailor who supports the Fleet Committee and supports the Bolsheviks, before taking office, the political commissar of Varentin gave a special explanation: "Comrade Varentin, you must be vigilant at night. According to the information obtained by Chika, there is a group of counter-revolutionaries in our fleet that are rampant... They are trying to seize warships and subvert the people's regime. In order to crush their conspiracy, you must always be vigilant!"

The political commissar Varianjing listened to the warnings and was extremely careful every night shift. Although he had never found any traces of counter-revolutionaries' activities, he was proud to be able to guard the people's fleet.

"Great Red Army of Workers and Peasants!"

After hearing this reply, Varianjing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the command is right, the problem is not too big. However, Varianjing did not rush to put away his weapons, but asked again: "Who are you?"

The footsteps on the opposite side rang again, and the person who came to answer as he walked, "We are the people of Cheka, and we are here to capture the counter-revolutionaries!"

Varianjing frowned unconsciously. In the middle of the night, Chika also ran out to catch people? Are you too dedicated?

Before Walianjing could figure out this problem, several people walked over from behind the mist. Although they were so dark that they couldn't see it clearly, Walianjing instinctively felt something was wrong. He had a feeling that these people seemed to have problems!

"Stop!" Varianjing gave a decisive order and pointed his gun at the man in the lead.

"Little comrade, don't get me wrong!" The man quickly raised his hands, as if he was saying that he had no malice, "We are all Ochika people, and we are here to capture the counter-revolutionaries!"

Varianjing frowned and asked back: "Catch the counter-revolutionaries? Where are the counter-revolutionaries?"

The leading man smiled and said, "Just hiding on the Askard. At this time, he is probably moving in secret. In order to crush his conspiracy, we have to go out overnight!"

Varianjing looked at the group of people again. Although there seemed to be nothing wrong, he always felt something was wrong. He was thinking about whether to shout. When he asked his friends to come over and check the group carefully, his eyes suddenly lit up.

From raising the gun, aiming to firing, it took Walianjing only a second. Before the group of people could react, he decisively opened fire.

Bang!

The crisp gunshots were particularly loud this night. Almost at the same time as the gunshots, the sentries on the dock and on the warships "awakened".

"Where can I shoot!"

"What happened!"

Compared with other positions that do not know the truth, Varianjing was particularly sober. He just took advantage of the dark clouds and found a familiar face in the suspicious crowd. He had seen this face countless times. He remembered that the political commissar had specifically explained: "Comrades, you must remember this face deeply. He is a counter-revolutionary who pretends to be Chika. He is an enemy of the people. If you find his trace, you must respond to your superiors as soon as possible. If necessary, you can directly kill him!"

That's right, it was just a moment of opportunity that Varianjing recognized Constantine. Although he had thought about reacting to his superiors, he saw these people coming late at night and were a little aggressive. He was alert and immediately made a decision. No matter what these people wanted to do, they would definitely not do good things. It was too late to call the superiors, so they would fire first.

At the same time as the gunshot was fired, Varianjing jumped off the trestle. The cold and bone-breathing sea water made his only sleeplessness fly away. He swam more than ten meters, poked his head out and shouted in the direction of the Prut River: "Comrades, the counter-revolutionary Constantine is on the trestle, ready to fight!"

After his voice went down, the Prut River immediately responded, and the searchlight was turned on at the post of the bow. The dazzling spot locked firmly at Constantine and his group. After a brief panic, they accelerated their pace towards the Askerd.

"Stop, or you'll shoot!"

The sentry on the Prut River shouted at the running crowd. But he did not receive any response. The crowd was still running. After hesitating for a moment, he shouted again: "One last warning, stop immediately, otherwise I will shoot!"

Walianjing in the cold sea water was very dissatisfied with his friends' response. Isn't this a waste of time? If it were him, he would shoot first without saying a word and kill these bastards!

It seemed that in response to Varijin's thoughts, before the warning from the bow guard was finished, the silence was broken with a few shots. Then the political commissar's roar was heard: "Let's shoot and kill these counter-revolutionaries!"

In a second, a series of gunfires sounded, and the bullets kept colliding and refracting on the hull and the steel trestle. Several stray bullets almost hit Varianjing in the water. Unfortunately, this was still too late. Although several counter-revolutionaries were killed, most of the people still escaped on the Askerd.

"Send a signal to the Askerd, that they will hand over the counter-revolutionaries immediately, and notify the Odessa Fleet members to organize and prepare for battle!" The political commissar of the Prut River issued a series of orders in an instant.

However, the changes on the Asked were faster than his reaction. Before he could organize his troops to rush onto the Asked, the cruiser took the lead. While starting to anchor, he quickly turned the muzzle and began to shoot at the Prut River!

At a very close distance, the shells shot into the hull of the Prut River at a straight angle. After a series of violent explosions, thick smoke emerged from the hull of the Prut River.

"Notify the Fleet Committee that the Askerd has rebelled... organize the artillery comrades and fight back immediately, and they cannot be allowed to run away!"

As the Prut River began to fight back, an amazing scene could be seen in the port of Odessa. The two warships poured bombs at very close distances, and the explosion of flames and smoke almost covered half of the sky. Moreover, soon, four destroyers, as well as old gunboats and torpedo boats, also joined the bombardment...

"What? A mutiny occurred in the sailors in Odessa?" Li Xiaofeng was woken up at four o'clock in the morning, and the messenger brought him this extremely bad news.

Li Xiaofeng didn't care about his sleepiness, and after putting on his clothes, he rushed to the location of the Fleet Committee. "Which force caused a mutiny? Or the White Army or the Central Lada?"

"It's not clear yet, and the local fleet committee is not sure what happened. It only knows that from three in the morning, the Askerd and the Prut River suddenly bombarded each other, and then they accused each other of launching a counter-revolutionary mutiny..."

Li Xiaofeng frowned and asked, "What do you say about the local Cheka?"

"Odessa Chika didn't know what happened, the situation was in chaos! The only thing we know is that this mutiny had already swept the whole city of Odessa. There was chaos inside and outside the city to the port, and fighting and gunfights could be seen everywhere! We are still waiting for further news..."

Li Xiaofeng looked at several leaders of the Fleet Committee dissatisfiedly. The taboo in this situation is to wait. Waiting will only waste time. The most correct way is to take the initiative to figure out what happened.

He ordered decisively: "Please prepare the ship for me immediately, and I will rush to Odessa immediately to quell the rebellion!"

PS: Special thanks to Sukhoi, who has always been enthusiastic about providing naval information, thank you for your hard work!
Chapter completed!