One in the morning.
All the core members of the Labor Party in Sicheslav City had gathered together. With the cooperation of the workers from the Sicheslav City Steelworks, the steelworks had become the temporary command headquarters.
The steelworks blazed with light. Five thousand workers, along with representatives from some military units, surrounded Malinkov and the others.
These workers mainly came from the Sicheslav City Steelworks and the railways. They all wore red lapel ribbons uniformly issued by the Sicheslav City Labor Party, wrapped around their necks to distinguish friend from foe.
More than seven hundred of them had been issued weapons. It was clear that Malinkov and the other leaders had not been idle these past few days and had managed to acquire more arms.
Malinkov said, "I plan to set the uprising for three in the morning. At that time, the citizens of Yekaterinoslav will be fast asleep. Our operation can greatly reduce casualties and avoid damaging Yekaterinoslav as much as possible."
Hearing Malinkov say this, many workers who had been preparing to accomplish something great with the Labor Party immediately developed a favorable impression of him. After all, keeping the lives and safety of the people firmly in mind proved, to a certain extent, that the Labor Party truly was what it claimed to be—a party of the people.
"Furthermore, because the disparity between enemy and friendly strength is so great, beginning our operation at three in the morning will allow us to use the cover of night to catch the Yekaterinoslav City government and the puppet army off guard."
"Next, I will divide the workers into three teams. Two teams will seize Yekaterinoslav City's armories, while one team will capture the city Police Department."
"While you occupy the Police Department and the armories, the troops outside