Germany does not seek survival

The reason why Faust was recalled to Berlin was that the Grossdeutschland Regiment and the two newly formed assault chasseur regiments had performed outstandingly, so the General Staff intended to let Faust return to Berlin and continue to form new assault chasseur units.

As for the second reason, it is that the SPD has finally undergone major changes. As a member of the SPD, Faust will inevitably be re-evaluated by the General Staff in all aspects because of this political identity.

Last year, Kautsky finally brought together more than 100 center-left members of the Social Democratic Party to convene the Gotha Conference, where he formally announced the "destruction of the party and the creation of a new one," establishing the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany.

As soon as the Independent Party was established, it split away one-third of the original Social Democratic Party’s members, organizations and local peripheral groups.

In addition to the centrist camp led by Kautsky himself, Liebknecht and Ms. Luxemburg, who were under house arrest, also instructed the left-wing camp to join the Independent Party.

By the spring of 1918, the Independent Party had grown so powerful that it had become the only party in Germany capable of competing with the Ebertist Social Democrats.

After many twists and turns along the way, when Faust finally returned to Berlin, he moved back into the apartment that was previously taken care of by his maid Lala.

However, according to the waiter at the "Green Balloon" cafe downstairs from the apartment, the little maid Lala did not continue to stay in Berlin to do her reception work since Colonel Faust left Berlin.

Some people heard that Lala signed up to be a volunteer for the Red Cross and should have really gone to the front line, but Lala definitely did not use the letter of recommendation that Faust left for her.

Therefore, unless Faust goes to the Red Cross to ask someone to help investigate, it will be difficult to find Lala's whereabouts among the millions of people on the front line.

In the apartment, Faust did not see the hardworking girl with a particularly "German patriotic spirit" again. He only saw Lieutenant Colonel Manstein in a tweed coat and the National Socialist intelligence agent Sorge in the apartment.

Manstein sat with his legs crossed in the living room of Faust's apartment, holding a piece of paper in his hand. As soon as he saw Faust, he gave it to him and said, "Look, just as you speculated last year, Ludendorff's appetite is too big. He can only see that Russia is no longer able to protect herself, and he sees this as an opportunity for Germany to dominate the world east of Berlin..."

Faust took the paper, and sure enough, listed on it were the peace terms that Ludendorff proposed to the new Russian government.

Faust whispered, "But Ludendorff failed to see the danger of this. Stripping Russia of its territory would simply signal to the other Allied powers that peace talks would not end the war. It would only reinforce the Allies' belief that Germany's goal was to completely destroy the other powers and dominate Europe."

The contents on that paper must be terms that are extremely difficult for the Russians to accept.

In addition to the areas currently occupied by the German army, including the Baltic coast, Petrograd, Russian Poland, and part of Belarus and western Ukraine, Ludendorff's armistice conditions were that Lenin's new government must also cede Belarus and the rest of Ukraine that had not yet been occupied by the German army to Germany.

Faust pointed at the paper and asked Manstein, "Didn't you persuade the General Staff? Even if Lenin accepted these armistice terms, he would tear them up quickly once he gained control of the situation. The Allies would be even less likely to accept them."

Manstein smiled bitterly. "You know how stubborn Ludendorff is! Chief of Staff Max Hoffmann went to see His Majesty and asked Him to persuade Ludendorff not to make such excessive demands. As a result, Chief of Staff Max Hoffmann was dismissed the next day."

Manstein went on to say, "Our Majesty, frightened by Ludendorff, quickly reversed his attitude. He not only began to support Ludendorff's plan, but also proposed an even more exaggerated version."

"What version?"

"Your Majesty stated at the Imperial Council that the territories formerly belonging to the Romanov dynasty should be divided into four parts: the Russian mainland, Ukraine, Siberia, and the Southeastern Commonwealth."

"Divide Russia into four parts!"

In order to please Ludendorff, William II proposed a new plan that was even more exaggerated than the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in Faust's memory.

Manstein had completely despaired of the General Staff's decision-making ability: "I tried to persuade my uncle, Marshal Hindenburg, but no one listened to me..."

Faust said, "If we give Lenin's regime some support, help them stabilize the situation, and then stipulate through a treaty that Lenin's regime provides Germany with a certain amount of food every month, Germany may have a chance to fight the war for a few more months."

Faust commented on Ludendorff: "As it stands now, the German Empire only has a few months left to live."

Chapter 118: The Regicide

In Russia, Lenin's new regime had sent Trotsky to lead a delegation to Petrograd to negotiate with the German army.

But Ludendorff's conditions were so outrageous that Trotsky raised his hands to express that he could not accept them. In the new regime in Moscow, only Lenin insisted that since they were unable to resist the German attack, they should stop while they were ahead and accept all the conditions proposed by Germany as soon as possible.

No matter how extreme these conditions may be.

Because in Lenin's view, once the German army launched another offensive, the new regime would be at risk of collapse. Moreover, if the Russian army suffered another major defeat, if it wanted to negotiate peace and an armistice, it might have to accept William II's condition of splitting Russia into four parts.

"Give me 10 fearless troops and I will not sign a peace treaty. Can you raise an army? What else can you give me besides empty talk and numbers on paper?"

However, in the new regime, whether it was the Bolsheviks who followed Lenin or the left wing of the Russian Social Revolutionary Party who allied with the Bolsheviks after the November 1917 Moscow Uprising, everyone insisted on "no war, no peace", which meant that Russia would not continue to fight with Germany, but would not agree to Germany's conditions.

Manstein told Faust, "When the negotiations broke down, the German army quickly organized 50 divisions. Just last week, we resumed the offensive on the Eastern Front and advanced 300 kilometers in five days."

Faust stroked his chin. "It was a complete armed parade! But what good was it? Even in the short term, victory in the East would bring more misfortune to Germany than to Russia. The Bolsheviks gave up territory they were unable to defend, while Germany wasted men, guns, and trains that should have been deployed to the West on these shaky, unmanageable, and doomed new territories in the East."

Bismarck's brilliance back then was that after the end of the Austro-Prussian War, he was able to pull back from the brink. The Iron Chancellor was able to withstand the pressure from both the government and the public and insisted on not demanding territory from Austria, so as to avoid an everlasting hatred between the two sides.

Bismarck's greatest failure was the victory in the Franco-Prussian War. Although he himself was unwilling to seize French territory, in the unprecedented atmosphere of fanaticism, he failed to stop Germany's ambition to seize Alsace-Lorraine, and finally created France as Germany's mortal enemy.

Faust shook his head and said, "Ludendorff is truly a fool! His victory cannot bring peace to Germany. Instead, it tightens the noose around the neck of the German Empire even further."

Germany must send troops to conquer Finland, Romania, Odessa, Georgia, Azerbaijan...

Germany's victories in these distant regions had nothing to do with the outcome of the war.

In Ukraine alone, 40 German soldiers and 25 Austro-Hungarian soldiers were absorbed.

What's the gain? Nothing.

Faust asks Manstein: "Have you had direct contact with the Bolsheviks?"

Manstein nodded. "I have met Trotsky several times in Petrograd."

"What kind of person is he?"

"He's quite academic! He wears glasses, speaks good German, and is very refined. He looks more like a professor than a revolutionary."

Manstein then turned to Faust and asked, "Do you still believe that Germany is doomed to fail?"

"What do you think, Lieutenant Colonel Manstein?" Faust said. "The Junker elites of the General Staff are too fond of considering things from a concrete military perspective. You ignore the psychological factor. This war will ultimately be decided in the rear, not in the trenches."

Manstein remained silent, only smiled, pointed at Sorge, and said:

"Colonel, yes, you are a colonel now. I know exactly what you are doing in Tyrol. And Sorge, I know he is an agent of the Spartacus League."

Faust crossed his fingers. "Oh, Lieutenant Colonel Manstein, I thought you should have known everything clearly since we first started working together."

Manstein took off his military cap and sighed. "No, I didn't realize at first how ambitious you were, Colonel Faust. Even now, I can't say I fully understand you or your National Socialist Party. I don't understand one thing: if your goal was to overthrow the empire, to have revolution, why did you form the National Socialist Party? You could have joined Liebknecht's Spartacus League or Kautsky's Independent Party."

"Colonel Faust, you're going to form a National Socialist Party independently of that group of socialists. This is completely puzzling to me, but it also makes me understand that you will become an extraordinary figure who dominates the affairs of Germany in the future."

Manstein finally looked at Sorge again, indicating that Sorge should hand a document to Faust.

Manstein said, "You've done so many tricks in Tyrol. The General Staff isn't blind. They're already investigating you. Here's the report. I stopped it."

Faust smiled and said, "So, I still owe Lieutenant Colonel Manstein a favor."

Sorge, standing next to him, added expressionlessly, "The Reich doesn't even dare arrest the striking workers and revolutionary foreman in Berlin, nor does it dare to discipline Kautsky and the Independents who openly called for an armistice. Even if this report were to land on Ludendorff's desk, Colonel Faust, you should be arrested after the Berlin strikers."

The German government is now cautious and cautious. The top leaders are already aware of the undercurrents in the country. The imperial government is like a drunkard lying on a leaky boat. The ship is about to sink and the empire is on its way out. At this time, few people would want to offend others for William II.

Even the stubborn Ludendorff was so focused on the "Battle of Michael" on the Western Front that he didn't want to see any trouble in the rear that would affect the decisive battle.

Everyone in the empire is just doing their job.

Manstein did something without any personal favor. He still couldn't figure out how great Faust's potential strength was, but he already had a feeling that the future Germany would be an arena where all kinds of creatures competed for freedom.

Anyone has a chance to win, but anyone can also end up in a tragic situation.

Faust nodded slightly. He might as well do Manstein a favor:

"Then I would like to remind you, Colonel Manstein, that as allies for a period of time, we are still friends. If you Junkers don't want to be eliminated by the times, you must figure out what your greatest weakness is."

"The Junkers' greatest weakness?" Manstein repeated Faust's question. "Is it their complacency?"

Faust shook his head. "Your greatest weakness is that the Junkers are royalists, but your leader is Kaiser Wilhelm II, who is unfit to lead in troubled times."

Faust placed his hand on his neck, wiped it, and said, "If the time really comes to 1793, my friend, given your understanding of His Majesty, how much better do you think he is than Louis XVI? Louis XVI chose to flee the country, and the French royalists were immediately defeated. Fortunately, Louis XVI did not escape in the end. He was tried by the revolutionary government and sent to the guillotine to be executed. This left the royalists with a hope and a legend. Our Majesty, does he have an airplane? If that happens, I'm afraid the Junkers will not be able to control His Majesty's legs."

Manstein had a clear understanding: the most unsuccessful last emperor was the one who abandoned his country and fled to live in misery, and the most successful last emperor...

A hint of coldness flashed in Manstein's eyes: "The most successful last emperor is the last emperor who died for his country."

Faust nodded with satisfaction. Only the last emperor who died for his country could leave a myth for the royalists. Therefore, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, there were always uprisings to mourn Chongzhen for two hundred years. Due to the incompetence of Nicholas II, Russia has not lacked commemorations of the last Tsar until the 21st century.

On the other hand, William II.

With the glorious six generations of the Hohenzollern dynasty, after William II, there was not a single old man or young man in the great Germany who fought for the Hohenzollern dynasty. This was even worse than the Qing Dynasty.

There are still a few old remnants of the Qing Dynasty who are loyal to the royal family all their lives and are trying to restore the monarchy.

The Hohenzollern dynasty's position in German history is much more important than that of the Qing Dynasty in Chinese history, but in the end there is not even a remnant left!

William II, the bigger the stage he is given, the more shame he will suffer.

Manstein quickly came to his senses and wondered what Faust was trying to instigate him to do.

Manstein stared at Faust with a fierce look in his eyes. Faust said unconcernedly, "It won't be long before we see how much courage the Emperor has."

After saying this, Faust laughed again and said, "If Your Majesty lacks the courage of a ruler who has maintained the Hohenzollern dynasty for three hundred years, then there should be a minister who can help Your Majesty."

Manstein suddenly stood up, his chest was pounding, and he couldn't breathe out the breath. Sorge saw that his face was not right and pulled Manstein.

Manstein then slowly sat down again and said, "Because the Austro-Hungarian Empire has always wanted to interfere in Ukraine. They want a member of the Habsburg royal family to become the Ukrainian monarch after the collapse of Russia. Ludendorff is wary of this. He hopes that Germany can monopolize all eastern territories. Therefore, he instructed the Eastern Group to establish an intelligence agency in Austria to monitor the Austrians."

Manstein pointed at Sorge and continued, "I have arranged for Captain Sorge to go to Vienna. He will be responsible for setting up the Vienna representative office of the Eastern Group. This is like returning Sorge to you."

Prior to this, Faust arranged for Sorge to join Manstein's Eastern Group to serve as a communication channel between the two.

Now Manstein arranged for Sorge to go to Vienna to set up an intelligence agency, which was actually equivalent to ordering Sorge to leave the Eastern Group, and everyone would keep to themselves from now on.

"I'm Junker."

Manstein held his head high and said, "If you are a real revolutionary, Faust, if you are a real revolutionary, then we shall meet again at last."

Manstein was referring to a Latin motto from Titus Livy, the author of "The History of the Roman Empire", which roughly means "each to his own master, each to his own way".

Faust smiled calmly and shook hands with Manstein. This was the last masterpiece created by the Prussian military tradition. Regardless of Manstein's character, Faust had to give Manstein the respect he deserved based on his position in Prussian military history.

After saying goodbye to Manstein, Sorge, who was left behind by Manstein, was still a little confused.

Sorge asked, "You said those things to Manstein, but you couldn't really be expecting him to kill the regicide, right? Besides, if Manstein succeeded in killing the regicide, replacing a mediocre person like Wilhelm II would not benefit the revolutionary cause."

Faust raised his index finger in front of Sorge and shook it. "The most vicious opponent of the German Revolution is not the royalists, but someone else. Release the royalists and stir up this stagnant water. Only in this chaos can the true king be revealed. The revolutionary cause has only just begun."

Sorge still didn't understand what he meant, but Faust knew very well in his heart that the biggest enemy of Germany's Red Revolution would not be the royalists eliminated by history, but at home, it would be the big bourgeoisie and Albert's Social Democratic Party, and abroad, it would be the Allied intervention forces.

After Germany's defeat, if the monarchists continued to survive as a force, it would not hinder the German revolution. Instead, it could split the right-wing forces and split Germany's right-wing reactionaries into two forces: the monarchists and the republicans.

Due to various historical grievances and political reasons, the Allied Powers' external investments were divided into the royalist and republican factions, which invisibly weakened the overall strength of the reactionary camp.

Chapter 119: The Stasi

Historically, one of the important reasons for the failure of the German Revolution was that the German reactionaries were much more united than the Russian reactionaries.

The military, the princes, the royalists, the right-wing parties, the big bourgeoisie and the yellow trade unions...

Within a very short period of time, from the November Revolution of 1918 to the January Uprising in Berlin in 1919, the German reactionaries introduced Ebert, a representative acceptable to all right-wing factions, to coordinate the forces of all parties, thus suppressing the German Communist Party and the revolutionary-leaning Independent Party.

After this, although there have been incidents such as the Kapp Putsch, the various factions in the German reactionary camp have basically focused on coordination and unity, moving in unison, and always focusing their main efforts on guarding against the German Communist Party coming to the table.

The result was that they misjudged Hitler and mistakenly thought they could turn him into the second Albert.

Faust was not sure how much trouble these ideas he was instilling in Manstein would cause in the German right-wing camp in the future.

But in order to avoid the fate of Liebknecht and Luxemburg being left dead in the streets and the German Communist Party being bloodily suppressed, Faust must stand up and go further to change the course of history.

"Sorge."

The cigarette between Sorge's fingers was still burning, emitting smoke, and he was gazing at Faust calmly in the shadows.

Faust told Sorge, "I have a mission for you. When you arrive in Vienna, you must use the resources of the Eastern Group to establish an intelligence agency for the National Socialist Party."

"What is this intelligence agency going to do and what is my mission?"

Faust told Sorge: "The intelligence agency... in operation, let's call it the State Security Squad, using the abbreviation of the word Staatssicherheit."

Staatssicherheit is the German word for national security, and its abbreviation is STASI.

"Stasi," Faust said. "This intelligence agency is tentatively named the Stasi Squad, and you will be the captain."

"Sorge, the Stasi is different from the Cheka led by Hitler. The Cheka is an internal affairs agency responsible for internal affairs, while the Stasi's work is entirely external. I hope you can first establish some footholds in Vienna, and then try to develop your personnel into key military and political departments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This will be of great significance to our future revolution."

Sorge asked again: "Leader, is the Stasi only active in Austria? I think resources should be concentrated in Germany..."

Faust gave a wry smile. "Don't call me Leader! I don't like that title. Hitler always wanted to call me Führer, Rommel and Paulus insisted on calling me Commander-in-Chief, and Tito even said the leader of the National Socialist Party should use the title of First Citizen. What do you think? None of them sound good; they all exude a strong sense of dictatorship."

In addition to being a member of the National Socialist Party, Sorge was also a member of the Spartacus League. Ideologically speaking, Sorge was probably the most left-leaning person in the National Socialist Party.

Of course, Sorge did not like the idea of ​​"fixing one person". Instead, he expressed doubts:

"Are you really confident in entrusting me with such an important responsibility? Let me be in charge of the National Socialist Party's foreign intelligence department. Don't forget that I am also a member of the Spartacus League."

Faust smiled and said, "Don't employ those you doubt, and don't doubt those you employ. I trusted you from the beginning, Sorge. Just go for it. I'm right behind you."

Faust was willing to hand over such an important position as the head of the Nazi Party's foreign intelligence department to Sorge, whose political stance was questionable. His thoughts were naturally very complicated.

There is no doubt that Sorge was a communist revolutionary fighter as strong as steel, as proven by history. In this regard, Faust believed that Sorge's original intention was purer than his own.

Keeping a person like Sorge in the National Socialist Party is to remind Faust himself at all times not to forget his original intention. He now has close ties with the German high-level and military high-level officials.