The Rise of the Third Reich

"Your Majesty, I think we should first consider what we can get from Russia under the leadership of the Bolsheviks..."

Hersmann glanced at the emperor. He guessed that today's dinner and the private summons before the meal must be because the emperor wanted to get a deeper understanding of Russia's current situation. For him, this is also an opportunity to save the Second Empire... Although it is a bit difficult, he still has to try his best.

"What do you get?" William II asked himself and answered, "I can take the land along the Baltic Sea if I want it, even the rich Ukraine, I can take it... As long as I want it!"

"Gold, gold worth more than 2 billion gold marks!" Hesmann said, "The Bolsheviks can secretly hand it over to us."

William II already knew the news, and he didn't show much interest now. Gold is of course good, but it is not of much use to Germany in wartime. Now Germany is blockaded by Britain and the United States, and what it needs cannot be bought with gold.

"And food..." Hersman emphasized, "Ukraine has the most black soil in Europe. As long as the situation there returns to calm, farmers can start farming. By next year at the latest, Ukraine's food will improve our domestic supply. Your Majesty, in fact, the fundamental reason why the Tsar lost everything is that there is not enough bread to feed the people of St. Petersburg!" "No bread..." William II snorted, "How stupid! But this will never happen in Germany!" In fact, there is already very little bread! In April, there was a wave of strikes in Germany, and workers demanded a full increase in cheap food and coal! In July, food riots and strikes occurred in Allen, Hindenburg, Leipzig and other places. The difficulties faced by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkey are more serious than those faced by Germany! "Your Majesty, what about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Turkish Empire? Do they have enough bread? What if the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkey disintegrate... What should we do?" Revolution is an infectious disease in Europe! If there is a problem with Austria-Hungary, then the German Empire will not be spared! Hessman said slowly and word by word: "My Majesty, we should not ignore the fact that the German Empire cannot fight alone. Our security depends on the empire's ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And the Austro-Hungarian Empire is far more fragile than the German Empire. Its national problems are likely to become fatal when domestic supply deteriorates. If the revolution occurs generally in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then we will also face the fate of defeat!"

In fact, the rapid collapse of the Allies in World War I began with the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In September and October 1918, the troubled Austro-Hungarian Empire was swept by the revolutionary wave, and many regions in the country declared independence. On October 14, the last monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Karl I, who was trapped internally and externally, announced his acceptance of the "Fourteen Points" (the peace conditions proposed by US President Woodrow Johnson). On October 28, Czech, an important part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, declared independence; on October 31, Hungary also declared independence. The huge empire collapsed!

The collapse of Austria-Hungary also meant that the German Empire lost an ally with strong industrial strength, a population of 52 million, vast land, and millions of troops. Even if the combat effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian army was not satisfactory, it was a comrade-in-arms that the German Empire could not lose in the autumn of 1918.

Without Austria-Hungary, the defeat of the German Empire was inevitable! The November Revolution in Germany actually took place when the defeat was already certain.

The so-called bullet shot from behind, if there was any, killed the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The German Empire was just buried with the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

"You can still think of the Austro-Hungarian Empire..." Wilhelm II's thoughts seemed to be said by Hersman, and worry appeared on his face.

Hersman then said: "In addition to food, we can also get friends from Russia... The Bolsheviks can be friends!"

"Bolsheviks? Friends?" Wilhelm II was stunned. He never thought of being friends with Lenin. In the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor, the Bolsheviks were dangerous and deadly viruses.

"Your Majesty, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," said Hersman. "The system implemented by the Bolsheviks makes them unacceptable to Britain, the United States and France. After the Bolsheviks negotiate with us, Britain, the United States and France will definitely support the enemies of the Bolsheviks and fight against the Bolsheviks!"

"A civil war?" asked the German Emperor.

"There will indeed be a civil war!" said Hersman. "As far as the current situation in Russia is concerned, this is inevitable, because the Bolsheviks are limited in strength. Lenin and others just took advantage of the Russian people's extreme war-weariness to rise up, and their enemies are waiting for an opportunity."

"Can the Bolsheviks trapped in the civil war still provide us with food?" William II asked back.

"Your Majesty, in Russia, food comes from Ukraine. If we can promote the Ukrainian Central Rada and the Soviet controlled by the Bolsheviks to reach an autonomy agreement, then Ukraine can become a relatively peaceful place in the Russian civil war. In that case, we can get food and coal from Ukraine..."

Hersman promoted the plan of "Ukrainian autonomy" to the German emperor. Because he knew that Ukraine would become a focus - this black soil of more than 600,000 square kilometers is not only Russia's granary but also Russia's heavy industrial base - if Ukraine becomes independent, then Lenin's regime will really have no way to step down, and Ukraine is likely to fall into chaos!

Moreover, if Germany proposed conditions that the Bolsheviks could not bear, the peace talks would be delayed. Germany would even need to launch a new offensive on the Eastern Front to force the Bolsheviks to surrender, which would delay operations on the Western Front. And time is extremely precious to Germany!

Historically, the Germans struggled with the Bolsheviks on the Eastern Front until March 1918 before they signed a treaty. At this time, it had been 11 months since the United States entered the war, enough time for the United States to mobilize and arm a large number of troops.

Now Hessmann has bought Germany two months - the October Revolution turned into the August Revolution - and if the peace treaty can be signed as soon as possible, Germany can gain another precious one or two months. In this way, we may be able to win a decent peace for the Second Empire...

"In addition, we can also get hundreds of thousands of German-speaking people from Russia." Seeing the emperor's silence, Hessmann then put forward a condition that Lenin had not said.

"A population of hundreds of thousands? Are they Germans in Russia?" William II asked.

"Yes, hundreds of thousands of Germans are descendants of immigrants who migrated to Russia from German lands in the past. If we can gather them near the Gulf of Riga, it will help the establishment of the Baltic Principality."

"The Principality of Baltica...do you also know about this plan?" William II touched his beard and then stood up. "Okay, I heard a lot of constructive opinions today. But now, I'm a little hungry. Major, let's go eat."

After speaking, the emperor walked out of his office with his head held high, and Hessmann quickly followed. I was thinking about how effective what he just said could be... It would be great if it could really save the Second Empire. However, considering the stubbornness of Wilhelm II, Marshal Hindenburg and Ludendorff, things may not be that easy.

——

Today is the fourth update again. Luo Luo works so hard, why don’t you vote for a few recommendations to encourage him?