Germany does not seek survival

"The savior of the Republic! Look, look at Colonel Faust on horseback. What a warrior! Germany has such an extraordinary hero. When the German Empire becomes a relic of history, a greater new nation will surely take over."

"He's so handsome! This is the first time I've seen Faust in person. How come no one told me he was so cute?"

"Berlin's savior, thank God, God has finally sent an angel to protect Berlin."

"Hello, Faust! Hi, Faust! Rebuild the Republic, Hi, Faust!"

"Rebuild the Republic! Rebuild the Republic!"

……

The Battle of Berlin had only been over for a day and a half, and Berliners were already out joining in the fun. The people of the imperial capital were indeed accustomed to big spectacles, and amid the crowds, the citizens' praises for Faust were continuous and uninterrupted.

Among the people of Berlin, the most common and most frequently used title is "Savior of Berlin".

The savior that Berliners refer to is a Greek word with a very classical flavor, "Soter", which is a title of honor with great religious and political symbolic significance among the Greeks. It is usually awarded to rulers who are believed to have saved the country or the people from danger.

Then, "Savior of the Republic" and "Guardian of the Republic" are also heard frequently. In addition to making people easily think of Napoleon, this title is actually very similar to two important politicians in modern France.

One is Thiers, known as the "founder of the Third Republic", and the other is Gambetta, known as the "midwife of the Third Republic".

Although Thiers was a republican, his policies were conservative and controversial. Gambetta, as a core figure of the "National Defense Government", led the resistance against the Prussian invasion and refused to surrender and seek peace. After the war, he became the leader of the republicans, fought fiercely with the royalists, promoted secular education reforms, and laid the social foundation for the republic.

Liebknecht made a kind speculation about Faust: "Thiers or Gambetta, to whom do you think Faust is more like?"

After the Battle of Berlin, important figures from the two governments, including Ebert, Noske, and Scheidemann from the Social Democratic government, and Liebknecht, Kautsky, and Luxemburg from the revolutionary government, all came to the golden Brandenburg Gate.

Kautsky's relationship with Faust was even deeper, and he now worried about Faust's ambitions: "We can only pray that after Germany gets rid of Louis XVI, it will not usher in a Napoleon."

On both sides of the Brandenburg Gate, there are barricades and roadblocks that have not yet been removed from the Battle of Berlin. In the lead-gray morning mist, the bronze statue of the four-horse chariot seems to still condense the last frost of the empire, until a ray of sunlight pierces the clouds and shines on Faust's white horse. The moment he passes through the Brandenburg Gate, cheers flood across the Royal Garden like a tide.

Red flags spread out from balconies and windows like burning rivers. In 1918, when supplies were scarce, many citizens wanted to throw flowers for Faust, but they couldn't find so many roses at the moment, so people went to Tiergarten Park to pick up piles of oak leaves.

Above Faust's head, the sky was filled with golden oak leaves. Berlin soldiers - both those armed with the Social Democratic Party and those armed with the revolutionary government - in short, all those who had guns in their hands, had their gun barrels wrapped with temporarily torn red curtains. The red flags were fluttering in the wind like waves and red tides.

"Bread! Peace! Victory!"

Several teenagers wearing red scarves, who judging by their age and attire were probably child laborers of about twelve or thirteen, climbed to the top of the towering Bismarck statue and released white doves there.

In order to see Faust, many workers brought over the scaffolding they used for work. The workers climbed to the top of the scaffolding to look around. Soldiers wearing helmets lined up to form a blockade to prevent the dense crowd from moving forward.

Amidst the unprecedentedly enthusiastic atmosphere, an elderly woman wrapped in an old military blanket squeezed to the front row. When she saw the soldiers, turbid tears welled up in her eyes: "War, is the war finally over? When will my little grandson Heinz come back? Did you see him at the front? My grandson Heinz!"

When the bugle call echoed under the columns of the Brandenburg Gate, Faust pulled the reins of his white horse, looked up at the victory chariot on top of the gate, took off his military cap and let the cold winter wind blow his hair.

Faust saw countless pairs of eyes - workers' calloused hands raised high, scholars' glasses flashing, women holding children over their shoulders, soldiers' steel guns waving red flags, and many more Berliners' hands raised high.

The procession continued forward, and behind Faust the Brandenburg Gate gradually shrank into a golden doorframe, with a flowing crowd embedded in the doorframe. Someone sang "The Internationale," and the off-key melody was picked up by more voices.

The group led by Ebert and the group led by Liebknecht were clearly divided. Faust rode up to them and saluted slightly. Ebert sighed softly: "How did things turn out like this?"

There was a kind smile on Liebknecht's face. When he was under house arrest by the German imperial authorities, he met Faust once. The two of them had a very speculative conversation. Among the several mentors and leaders of the revolutionary camp, it seemed that Liebknecht trusted Faust the most and did not think that the recent series of victories of the National Socialist Party would turn Faust into a red warlord.

"Rebuild the Republic, rebuild the Republic, Faust, listen to this: the praise the people give you is the most genuine. The words of the masses are always the truest truth in the world. The Republic relies on you to overcome its crisis."

Faust shook hands with Liebknecht and said respectfully, "But you are the natural leader of the all-German revolutionary republic."

As soon as Faust arrived in Berlin, he showed a position that sided with the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee. This did not surprise Ebert, nor did he feel depressed. He kept his eyes on Faust, Liebknecht, Kautsky and Luxemburg. Before he knew it, the turning point of the Social Democratic Party would come.

Chapter 173 Left-Wing Alliance

The founders of the Republic under the Brandenburg Gate, both left and right, were elected members of the German Reichstag before the outbreak of the World War and all had high profiles.

Ebert was the leader of the largest party in Germany during the imperial period. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were equally famous, having been imprisoned by the emperor for four years for opposing the war.

Only Faust came out of nowhere.

Just two years ago, Faust was just an ordinary private on the Saint-Quentin battlefield on the Western Front. Two years later, when he led the Great German Division to save Berlin, he not only had the qualifications to be on par with Ebert, Kautsky, Liebknecht, Luxemburg and others, but also had a tendency to surpass the latecomers.

Once you become famous, everyone in the world will know you.

During the Tyrol Uprising, Faust's name had more influence in Austria and neighboring Bavaria. Before that, Faust, as a war hero, was not regarded as a revolutionary leader by most people, and many people did not even regard Faust as a political figure.

The situation is of course completely different now.

Liebknecht's attitude towards Faust was the most friendly. After shaking hands with Faust at the Brandenburg Gate, he kept his hands tightly stuck together for several minutes without letting go.

Liebknecht's praise of Faust was increasingly exaggerated: "From this day forward, Comrade Faust, you have become the symbol of the German Revolution, the White Horse General, the standard-bearer of the revolution. The people of the entire country, the proletarian masses of all Europe, when they hear your name, cannot help but give a thumbs-up and praise you as a great hero!"

Faust was very modest, and he always remained humble in front of Liebknecht: "Before the outbreak of the World War, it was during my university years that I read your articles and decided to join the SPD. In other words, Mr. Liebknecht, you are my mentor in Marxism. At any time and in any place, I was at best your disciple."

Liebknecht was particularly excited today. The Spartacus League showed leadership that surpassed that of the Independent Party in the Battle of Berlin. If it could get the support of Faust's army, the German November Revolution would be able to achieve a complete victory just like the Soviet Union.

Luxemburg also admired Faust's heroism, but when she talked to Faust, she did not praise him as frankly as Liebknecht.

After days of bloody fighting in the Battle of Berlin, Luxemburg's dress was still stained with blood. At the ceremony to welcome the Wehrmacht into the city, Kautsky originally advised Luxemburg to change into clean clothes, but Luxemburg firmly disagreed. She felt that she should wear this dress that had experienced fierce battles to show the officers and soldiers of the Wehrmacht that the people of Berlin were not small animals that relied solely on the Wehrmacht to save them.

The people of Berlin were also fighting. Even without the Wehrmacht, the revolutionary masses in Berlin would fight the royalists to the death and would never give up the capital easily.

Luxemburg also remembered the last time he met Faust, when he was under house arrest in the empire. When they met again today, both of them had become leaders at the national level.

Rosa Luxemburg also extended her delicate white hand to Faust, and Faust took Luxemburg's right hand and gave her a slight kiss.

"Comrade Faust, many in Berlin are still questioning your decision to let the royalists escape. Since we're old friends, I'm not afraid to share a few words. What exactly is going on? Many people are spreading rumors that you reached a secret agreement with the royalists in Potsdam."

Faust said calmly, "Ms. Luxemburg, Berlin has been in turmoil for the past few days. The people of Berlin have been forced into the war, and you must be well aware of the suffering they have endured. The agreement I reached with Potsdam is nothing to hide. It is their immediate withdrawal in exchange for our army's discontinuation of pursuit."

Luxemburg questioned slightly, "Stop pursuing? Aren't you missing out on a very favorable opportunity? We could have solved the royalist problem once and for all."

Faust shook his head gravely. "The royalist Manstein has already led the 2nd Mobile Division to retreat to East Prussia. Even if the Wehrmacht annihilates the 1st Mobile Division in Potsdam, the civil war will not end. On the contrary, if the flames of war in Berlin continue to spread, and if Seeckt uses siege guns with a range of 200mm or more, then Berlin, the capital of Germany, a city with countless historical relics, will be destroyed."

"Berlin, a city with special historical significance for Germany, is more important than a division of the Royalists? I don't think this should be a question, Ms. Luxemburg."

Luxemburg looked at the young soldier in front of her, who was arguing with her. She could no longer see the reservedness that they had when they first met in Faust. Instead, he spoke softly but firmly, and his words were very sharp.

Kautsky wanted to avoid any unpleasantness between Luxemburg and Faust. He carefully selected his tone and spoke between them, "The victory in the Battle of Berlin depended on the unity of the people. Comrade Faust saved Berlin from danger, and now that the royalist army has lost the opportunity to lay siege to Berlin, with the revolutionary government's continued stability, the royalists will no longer have the opportunity to launch a counterattack."

Kautsky changed the subject again and said: "After the victory of the revolution in Berlin, we should restore order throughout the country as quickly as possible, convene a constituent assembly that can represent the entire nation, and issue a republican constitution as soon as possible."

Liebknecht also said: "There are now two governments in Berlin. We cannot allow this situation to continue."

When Liebknecht had just regained his freedom, he had no organization to rely on. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were just a banner and could not provide a command center. Their Spartacus League had been operating underground for a long time and was just a small group with Blanqui colors.

But in just such a short period of time, by this time, the Spartacus League had grown rapidly to the point where it could compete with the Social Democratic Party and the Independent Party.

In this respect, Liebknecht's talent in organization and propaganda was far superior to Faust's, because the Spartacus League expanded its influence much faster than the National Socialist Party.

Of course, this is because Liebknecht and Luxemburg were both political leaders who had been famous in Germany for many years. Although the Spartacus League was a small group, it included many leaders who were very influential among the German left.

Besides Liebknecht and Luxemburg, there was also Otto Frank, who held great prestige in the revolutionary trade unions; Levi, a trade union leader who had been deeply involved in Bremen for many years; and Pieck, a famous leader of the Second International who had been active in the Netherlands for many years.

All of them are politicians who have been famous in Germany for at least 20 years, and are far from being comparable to the National Socialists who are all rising stars.

The Spartacus League had only a few hundred members in Berlin, but after the Battle of Berlin, its influence has increased dramatically. In the past two days, there have been thousands of applications to join the Spartacus League every day.

More importantly, Liebknecht's prestige in the Independent Party may have overwhelmed Kautsky, and the Spartacus League has taken advantage of the situation and has become the host in the Independent Party.

The following constitutional convention was the highlight.

Faust glanced at the Social Democrats not far away. The Social Democrats had a slight advantage in the Battle of Berlin, but strictly speaking, Ebert finally formed an alliance with the left wing and together they repelled the royalists.

As the largest party in Germany, the Social Democratic Party remains unshakable and its influence remains.

Liebknecht spoke excitedly, "Only if the left can achieve a grand coalition can we easily gain the upper hand in the Constituent Assembly. Capitalism has turned all of Europe into a vast graveyard. The people will recognize reality. We cannot assume that our mission is over now that the old era is dead. We must now devote all our efforts to building a workers' and soldiers' government, a new proletarian state, a state where our German brothers and brothers throughout the world can enjoy peace, happiness, and freedom. We open our arms to them and call on them to rise up and complete the world revolution."

Liebknecht usually spoke in a tone of inflammatory speech: "If there are any of you who want to see a free German Socialist Republic and a German revolution, then raise your fists!"

Faust supported a grand left-wing coalition. After a moment's thought, he said, "Socialists should unite and form a coalition government to defend revolution, peace, and unity. If the Spartacus League, the Independent Party, and the National Socialist Party work together to form a united front, the left-wing coalition has every chance of winning the election to the Constituent Assembly, which would greatly strengthen the legitimacy of the new regime."

Faust actually did not care much about the Constitutional Convention. He did not believe that the revolutionary regime could easily turn Germany into a socialist country through a peaceful democratic vote. He did not believe that the royalists, the military, and the right-wing elements represented by the Social Democratic Party would easily give up their political lives.

This cannot be achieved without a people's war that cleanses everything.

Chapter 174: The Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers Committee of Greater Berlin

Berlin's top priority today is to integrate the two governments. Ebert has always insisted that left-wing revolutionaries should join his government, while Liebknecht demanded that the Social Democratic Party join the revolutionary government.

Each side held its own views. Albert believed that the SPD government had obtained authorization from the last chancellor of the empire, Prince of Baden, and had the strongest legitimacy. Liebknecht, of course, believed that the revolutionary government was established by the uprising of hundreds of thousands of workers in Berlin and had unquestionable natural justice.

Luxemburg also imitated the Soviet Union and shouted the slogan "All power to the workers, peasants and soldiers' committees". This was a strategy of the Spartacus League, which was to tell Ebert that if the Social Democratic Party insisted on not making concessions, the Spartacus League would rather not join the coalition government, and at worst would overturn the table and launch a second revolution.

Albert was indeed worried about the outbreak of a second revolution in Berlin, and he quickly chose to compromise. The Social Democratic Party, the Independent Party, the Spartacus League, and now the National Socialist Party would join together to form a provisional government - the Berlin People's Committee of Plenipotentiaries.

The interim government must first implement democratic reforms, such as announcing the lifting of martial law, granting amnesty to political prisoners, guaranteeing people's freedom of speech, assembly, association and religious belief, implementing an eight-hour work day, holding equal, secret and universal direct elections... and other measures.

Ebert also issued a "Letter to the German People" on behalf of the SPD, in which he declared that the provisional government was of "pure socialist" nature and that the new government would definitely implement the socialist program.

According to the agreement reached by the four parties, the interim government will take charge of all legislative and executive powers and maintain the status quo for one month, after which national elections for a constitutional convention will be held.

Currently in the city of Berlin, the police forces, trade union pickets and gang members controlled by the Social Democratic Party have been integrated, and the total armed strength is more than 3,000 police officers and more than 8,000 armed militiamen reorganized into the so-called "Peace Army".

The armed forces controlled by the Independent Party and the Spartacus League were sailors and revolutionary trade union pickets. These sailors had been reorganized into the People's Navy Division, with a strength of more than 3,000 people. The remaining revolutionary trade union pickets were reorganized into eight battalions of the Berlin Red Guards, with a total of more than 7,000 people.

The combined forces of the SPD and the left wing were roughly equal, so the Great German Division brought by Faust, with nearly 10,000 troops, became the key force that could influence the situation in Berlin.

All parties certainly wanted to win over Faust. In addition to Liebknecht's particularly close attitude towards Faust, Ebert also showed goodwill at the right time. The bargaining chip he offered to Faust was that the SPD could share at least three government ministerial seats with the NSDAP.

Faust did not take the three ministerial vacancies seriously. He put forward six conditions to Albert:

The German Socialist Republic was proclaimed;

The legislative, executive, and judicial powers shall be vested in elected workers' and soldiers' representatives;

There can be no bourgeois ministers in the government;

The National Socialists were in government only for the time necessary to achieve an armistice;

Departmental ministers should be supervised by a cabinet with real decision-making power and should be assistants in technical matters;

The socialist parties have equal representation in the cabinet.

Of these six conditions, the most important one is the last one, which is that all socialist parties must enjoy equal representation rights, that is, the Social Democratic Party, the Independent Party, the Spartacus League, and the National Socialist Party must have the same number of ministerial seats.

Liebknecht and Luxemburg both supported Faust's six conditions, but Kautsky was hesitant because it meant that the Independent Party would give up many of its first-mover advantages.

But Albert was very perceptive. In the Chancellery, when Noske, Scheidemann and others felt that Faust's conditions were too harsh, Albert rejected the others' opinions and said:

"We should accept Faust's six conditions immediately. We should accept them as quickly as possible. Can't you see? The National Socialist Party has its own ambitions, and Faust is not Liebknecht's henchman. Very good, very good. As long as Faust has ambitions, there will be room to split the left-wing coalition in the future. Why not accept them? I suggest that everyone accept them as soon as possible."

In order to create momentum, Ebert advocated that the leaders of the four parties should go to the parliament hall to sign the agreement, and representatives of Berlin workers should also be invited to attend the meeting.

According to Ebert's proposal, the factories and barracks in Berlin held a rally at 10 o'clock the next morning to elect representatives at the rally, with one representative for every thousand workers and one representative for each battalion to form the Greater Berlin Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee. The Greater Berlin Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee then authorized the four parties to form a provisional government.

To this end, Ebert mobilized the SPD's propaganda machine, and within one day, the city of Berlin was covered with posters saying "No fighting between brothers."

The congress was held later than scheduled. More than 1,500 delegates packed the venue. Workers were in the balcony, while soldiers surrounded the stage downstairs. The atmosphere was extremely heated, and speakers were often interrupted. Many soldiers brandished rifles in the congress hall, and some delegates even engaged in violent shoving.

Albert put on a big show at this meeting. All his speeches and slogans ultimately came down to the word "unity". No matter what he talked about, after each sentence, Albert would raise his fist and shout "Unity! Unity!"

Faust, as a representative of the National Socialist Party, sat in the first row of the Reichstag. Liebknecht sat next to Faust and commented on Albert in a very unkind way:

"A few days ago, these Social Democrats were the henchmen of the Reich, and today they are on the side of the revolution. They may well jump to the side of the counter-revolution in the future."

Ebert proposed on the stage that an executive board should be elected for the Greater Berlin Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee. He proposed that the executive board should be composed of nine citizen representatives, nine worker representatives and nine soldier representatives.

This is particularly advantageous for the SPD because most citizen representatives will support the SPD. For this reason alone, the SPD may be able to occupy one-third of the seats on the executive board.

Of course, Liebknecht strongly opposed it and proposed another plan: the four political parties would each elect six people's plenipotentiary representatives.

According to Liebknecht's plan, as long as the left-wing coalition could maintain unity, it would be able to control three-quarters of the seats on the Executive Bureau.

The personnel composition principle of this plan is the same as the structure of government ministers, and of course it is easier to gain everyone's support. Surprisingly, Ebert did not have a fierce debate with the left-wing coalition on this issue again, but instead easily agreed to Liebknecht's new plan.

The only thing Albert had to fight for was his own presidency as president of the provisional government.

The reason given by Albert was, of course, that he had been authorized by the Prince of Baden to organize a new government, so he should be the president of the new government. As for the revolutionary government, Liebknecht and Kautsky had equal status and split their votes, making it impossible to unify opinions.

Considering that Ebert had already made a lot of concessions on the issues of the Executive Bureau and government ministers, Liebknecht and Kautsky both agreed to Ebert's only request, agreeing that Ebert would serve as the President of the Provisional Government.

Faust sat in the audience. He knew that this conference would not produce any results, and even if there were any results, they would hardly last for a month or two.

The most important responsibility of the Provisional Government, in addition to stabilizing the turbulent and chaotic situation after the revolution, was naturally to negotiate peace with the Allied Powers. However, Faust knew very well that the peace treaty proposed by the Allied Powers was unacceptable to any German.

If the Provisional Government signed this treaty, it would be doomed to become a traitor who would never be able to turn over a new leaf.

Therefore, Faust did not care about the representatives of the Executive Bureau of the Greater Berlin Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Council or the authority of the Provisional Government.

On the contrary, what Faust was thinking about now was what kind of reason the National Socialist Party should use to reasonably withdraw from the provisional government after gaining such great prestige.

Anyway, whoever wants to sign the Treaty of Versailles with the Allies can do so quickly. Faust certainly doesn't want to bear the responsibility of the Treaty of Versailles.

What Faust was more concerned about was actually the election method of the Constitutional Convention, because the National Socialist Party, as a small party lacking historical background, suffered a great disadvantage in national elections.

Even in its own bases of Bavaria and Tyrol, the National Socialist Party could not elect a few people's plenipotentiary representatives, let alone across the country. Apart from Faust, most people probably had never even heard of a National Socialist member.