Germany does not seek survival

"Thank you, Führer. Do you have any other ideas?"

Hitler took the can of beef and said, "The current situation is really serious. We can repel the rebels' attack this time, but the next offensive, and the offensive after that, it is hard to say. If the rebels really invite the Allied forces to invade the interior..."

Everyone's attention was focused on Faust. By now, even the dumbest person should have clearly understood that the only person in Berlin who could make the most correct strategic decisions in military matters was the head of the National Socialist Party.

"Cough cough."

Faust coughed twice, then thought for a moment and chose his words carefully:

"To be honest, our chances of winning the Berlin battle are extremely slim, but the overall future of the German Revolution is brighter than ever. The threat posed by the rebels themselves is enormous, but it's not mortal. The only enemy that can be considered mortal is the Allied forces. As far as I know, there are still no fewer than a hundred divisions in the Rhineland salient currently occupied by the Allies on the Rhine. With so many troops, if they were to march straight into the German interior, we would definitely not be able to resist them."

The German Communist Party members did not have a very good understanding of the development of the war on the Rhineland front. Even Thälmann had been away from the old German army for some time. They only knew that the front had ceased fighting, and they were not aware that the Allied forces had such a great advantage.

Thälmann slowly raised a point: "Doesn't Germany still have over a million troops on the Western Front? These former German soldiers have different political stances from ours. However, I believe this: if the Allied forces cross the Rhine and continue their invasion of Germany, these former German soldiers will definitely put aside their past grievances and unite with us to fight the foreign enemy together."

Liebknecht agreed: "As long as we raise the banner of a united front to defend the German Fatherland, Ludendorff's rebels will likely quickly collapse, and we will have a great chance of winning over most of the German troops on the front."

Hitler sat across the table, eating beef stew from a tin can, and snorted with disdain, saying that these German comrades had no idea about the situation on the front line.

Faust smiled wryly and said, "Comrades, if the German army on the front still had that much strength, why would Ludendorff only be able to send six divisions back to Berlin? The morale of the million-strong German army on the Western Front has been crumbling since November. They have been surrounded by the Allied forces and forced to surrender their weapons, having already surrendered most of their heavy weapons. We cannot expect this already disintegrated army to stop the Allied advance."

"Comrade Faust, does that mean that no one can control the Entente?"

Faust said firmly: "Of course, the Entente is not invincible. However, we cannot expect a quick victory against the Entente. To defeat them, we must base ourselves on a long-term struggle and be prepared to defeat them in three, five, or even ten or twenty years."

Liebknecht pondered for a long time before speaking, "I think we can divide the enemy diplomatically. US President Wilson has been acting fairly decently so far, and his Fourteen Points of Peace are, to a certain extent, in line with the interests of the German Revolution. We can first unilaterally engage in peace negotiations with the US, trying to get the US to withdraw from the war. Without US support, relying solely on Britain and France, the threat posed by the Entente would be greatly reduced."

Liebknecht's strategy of driving the tiger to devour the wolf was the best strategic plan the KPD could come up with.

The most critical point among the Fourteen Points of Peace proposed by the United States is national self-determination. This is particularly disadvantageous for large multi-ethnic empires such as Turkey, Austria-Hungary, and Tsarist Russia, and is almost aimed at national destruction and extinction.

However, for a country like Germany with a highly homogeneous ethnic composition, recognizing the Fourteen Points of Peace would mean nothing more than giving up Alsace-Lorraine, Posen, and some Polish-populated areas in Silesia, and would not harm Germany's foundation.

On the other hand, Germany can rely on the principle of national self-determination to claim the Austrian region where Germans are also concentrated.

Liebknecht's idea was to first make a separate peace with the United States, so that the United States would withdraw from the war, and then see if he could take advantage of the contradictions between Britain and France to find opportunities.

Faust just shook his head.

"In the long run, it's impossible for the US, UK, and France to continue cooperating. But in the short term, and by short term, I mean within a month or two, I really don't see any possibility of the US making a separate peace."

Faust did not have much confidence in Liebknecht's strategy of division. If the Allied forces continued to advance, with the current military strength in mainland Germany, the Allied forces would be able to reach Berlin in a month at most.

The fruits of victory are already before their eyes. At this time, it is really impossible for the Americans to withdraw from the Allied Powers.

In the original history, the reason why the Allied forces did not move after reaching the Rhine River was because the Ebert regime had already surrendered to the Allies and accepted all the harsh terms proposed by the Allies.

Naturally, there was no need for the Allied forces to continue attacking Berlin. There were also some hidden factors, that is, the Allied forces could not figure out Germany's strength in a short period of time.

On the Allied side, there were indeed many generals who believed that Germany still had military potential. If they wanted to march straight into Berlin, the Allies would need to be prepared for at least one or two million casualties.

The problem is that both Albert and Ludendorff have now made peace with the Allies, especially Ludendorff. As the commander-in-chief of the German army, he has key intelligence and data from all German military departments. As long as Ludendorff is willing, he will definitely be able to persuade the Allied forces to attack Berlin.

Faust said: "The worst-case scenario is that the Allied forces penetrate deep into the interior of Germany, attack Berlin, and possibly divide and occupy all of Germany. In that case, the German Revolution will lose any room for maneuver, and the participants of the November Revolution will have a shameful reputation in history."

Thälmann said angrily, "Comrade Faust, as you say, there is no hope for the German revolution!"

Faust had no expression on his face. He just continued to analyze calmly:

"Revolutionaries should be neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat. Temporary victory or defeat is but a passing cloud. What are we defending Berlin for? Nothing more than the name of a central government, nothing more than the economic value of Berlin as the industrial center of Germany."

"After the two Battles of Berlin, Berlin's infrastructure was severely damaged and its industrial value was greatly reduced."

"Politically, I believe that the most urgent task is to immediately convene a meeting of the Greater Berlin Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Councils to elect a new central government to replace the Ebert Provisional Government."

Faust added calmly, "After the election of the new central government, Berlin's political value to us will be exhausted for a period of time. At that time, temporarily giving up Berlin will not be a disadvantage."

Faust's words were really hard for many comrades present to accept. They had put in so much effort and endured such great sacrifices, but in the end, were they going to give up Berlin just because of one sentence?

The two battles to defend Berlin were a waste of countless blood.

Faust did not take Berlin's temporary gains and losses to heart, but others could not be as calm as Faust. The victory or defeat in the capital was still regarded by many comrades as the key to the victory or defeat of the entire revolution.

"besides."

Faust continued, "After the Wehrmacht captured the presidential palace, we were unable to locate Ebert. However, we did arrest Gustav Noske, one of Ebert's key garrisons, and we also seized a large number of secret documents from the presidential palace, including correspondence between the SPD and the military, and between the SPD and the Allies."

Faust raised his chin and gestured to Hitler, who immediately asked someone to bring a few briefcases and put dozens of documents in them on the table.

Faust held up a secret document and said, "These documents are sufficient to prove that Ebert was ceding territory and paying indemnities to the Allies. They also prove that the Ebert government, without the authorization of the Greater Berlin Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee, arbitrarily concluded a secret agreement with the Allies to borrow troops to suppress the revolution. If the documents are released, it will be enough to discredit the Social Democratic government."

Chapter 211 Who is the President?

The large number of secret documents seized from the presidential palace quickly aroused the enthusiasm of the German Communist Party comrades. Although they had broken with Ebert long ago, many of them were still Ebert's colleagues in the party just half a year ago.

No one expected that the fat man who looked so amiable on the surface could be so cruel.

After the KPD comrades reviewed the numerous secret documents on the table, Thälmann added, "Once the secret agreement is made public, the morale of the rebels will undoubtedly plummet. No German soldier with even a modicum of patriotism will accept it. We can use the secret documents to launch a political offensive and disintegrate the enemy."

“This is a good strategy.”

Faust nodded. "But in the short term, it's unlikely to be effective. Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ceded more territory, but it didn't lead to the immediate collapse of the Soviet regime. Even in Germany, I think everyone is well aware that the mainstream public opinion is still for peace. The workers, peasants, and soldiers want a peace without ceding territory or paying indemnities. However, if the war continues, the workers, peasants, and soldiers will most likely be willing to accept a peace with some ceding territory and paying indemnities."

The publication of secret documents and the exposure of the Abbott government's treasonous plot will certainly have a significant political effect.

However, Faust did not believe that this political offensive could disintegrate the counter-revolutionary camp.

After all, the Allied forces' million-strong army stationed on the Rhine River was a fundamental problem that the Left-Wing Alliance had to face, but it was difficult to solve in a short period of time.

In fact, a big difference between the German and Russian revolutions is that the importance of Berlin to German industry is far less than that of Petrograd and Moscow in Russia.

Therefore, Lenin could not afford the price of the Soviet Communist Party losing the two Russian capitals, and could only endure the humiliation and sign the humiliating Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Germany's most important industrial center is the Ruhr area, which has been occupied by the Allies. It will be difficult for all parties in the German Civil War to get their hands on the Ruhr area in a short period of time.

The other industrial centers, including the Greater Berlin Industrial Area, the Hamburg-Lübeck Industrial Area, the Saxony Industrial Area, and the Silesia Industrial Area, have comparable economic strength and are relatively balanced. No single industrial area can easily suppress the world.

"Whoever captures Berlin will have a heavy burden on their shoulders. Economically, they will have to restore Berlin's devastated economy, and politically, they will have to negotiate peace with the Allies on behalf of the Central Government."

"Gentlemen, my comrades."

Faust slammed the documents in his hand on the table and said, "Time waits for no man. How about we do what is feasible first?"

The KPD members all looked at each other and finally at Liebknecht. Liebknecht pondered, "In the midst of war, and without the support of the SPD, we cannot unilaterally convene a sufficient number of workers, peasants and soldiers' committees in Greater Berlin."

Faust sneered, "What else is there to say? After the release of the secret documents, we will consider all Social Democratic Party representatives who do not attend the meeting to have betrayed the people and shamefully sold out the German people to the Allies. They are of course no longer eligible to participate in the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee. If there are insufficient numbers, a new group of representatives can be elected on the spot."

The Allies will not have much patience. Today is Christmas. Not to mention every day, even every hour the situation is changing.

Faust kept his composure. In addition to urging Liebknecht to persuade Kautsky to attend the meeting, Faust was also very worried about another thing.

food.

Before the German army's armistice with the Allies, Germany's agricultural system was already on the verge of collapse, and a whole winter of civil war would exacerbate the famine in the spring of the following year.

Faust felt that it would be difficult to feed Berlin, a metropolis with a population of one million, with the strength of the National Socialist Party. In fact, his idea of ​​leading his army back to Bavaria has become stronger and stronger.

The Wehrmacht suffered heavy losses during its Northern Expedition and gained little tangible benefits. Although it was a victory to station troops in Leipzig and Potsdam, if Berlin was not defended, it would be difficult for the Wehrmacht to maintain control of Leipzig and Potsdam with a fragile supply line.

The main victory was that it gave the National Socialist Party a lot of points in the political field.

Before the Northern Expedition of the Wehrmacht, although the National Socialist Party was the hero who instigated the November Revolution in Tyrol, the Kiel sailors also launched the Kiel Uprising that shocked the whole country. Among these sailors, such as Cohen, Etzer and others, they did not have national political influence.

If Faust were confined to a corner of the south, his influence in Germany would be similar to that of the Kiel sailors.

After arriving in Berlin, the National Socialist Party first achieved the status of the four giants equal to the Social Democratic Party, the German Communist Party and the Independent Party. Then, it made a big splash in the Second Battle of Berlin, far surpassing the German Communist Party and the Independent Party, and became the leader of the left-wing coalition camp.

Political gains are difficult to measure with material data. This intangible force is particularly important to the National Socialist Party, which has shallow roots.

The war had not yet completely subsided, and sporadic gunfire could still be heard on the Charlottenburg Palace front line. Faust's car had already driven back to the Reichstag, and all the SPD government officials and committee representatives had been arrested by the Wehrmacht.

Hitler's Cheka Action Group had printed thousands of copies of the secret documents that the Wehrmacht had seized from the presidential palace and was distributing them throughout Berlin.

The Wehrmacht used this as a charge to arrest and imprison all SPD members in the various government offices on Wilhelm Street.

The dome of the Capitol building also suffered some artillery fire, and black burn marks can be seen. Fortunately, the damage was not serious and did not affect the use of the building itself.

When Faust's car arrived, the outside of the Reichstag was already crowded with representatives of the German Republican Party and the Independent Party. Luxemburg and Kautsky also hurried over and stood outside the door waiting for Faust.

Faust rolled down the car window and waved to the outsiders. Wherever he passed, even the central committee members of the German Communist Party and the Independent Party cheered and responded.

When Faust got out of the car, Luxemburg and her group of committee members surrounded Faust. Faust just smiled and said:

"We're running out of time, Ms. Rosa. Everyone, please quickly enter the meeting room and elect the new central government members first!"

Luxemburg's eyes were slightly red, and she grabbed Faust's collar with both hands: "Berlin is lucky to have you, and the German people are lucky to have you. We have escaped disaster."

Faust smiled. "Escaped? Don't let your guard down. The challenge isn't over yet. We've only just passed the first chapter."

There was no time to make any solemn arrangements in the Capitol building. Even the flags were just a few black, red and gold flags of the Republic and a few black, red and white flags of the Empire, mixed together on the rostrum.

The seats under the rostrum were already filled with representatives of the Greater Berlin Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee. All of them had serious expressions. Only when Faust and Liebknecht entered were there two particularly enthusiastic cheers and applause from the meeting hall.

Today's resolution, first of all, is to elect a group of representatives to fill the vacancies left after all the Social Democratic Party representatives were arrested.

The National Socialist Party became famous during the Second Battle of Berlin, and more than half of the representatives in the by-election were members of the National Socialist Party.

Many people even directly stated that it doesn’t matter who is chosen, as long as Faust nods, it doesn’t matter who is chosen.

After the by-election, the National Socialist Party's position in the Greater Berlin Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Council was significantly improved. The party, originally the fourth largest, now became one of the two largest parties along with the German Communist Party.

The Independent Party has fallen far behind the National Socialist Party.

After the results of the by-election came out, Hitler, who was sitting in the audience, took the lead in applauding, and soon the applause from the representatives below became one and the same.

As Hitler applauded, he said to Sorge, who was sitting next to him: "Brother Sorge, did you hear that? Even the KPD has acknowledged your great achievements. Without the National Socialist Party, the KPD would never have had the opportunity to hold a meeting in the Reichstag. I'm afraid even Liebknecht's life would have been in jeopardy."

Sorge looked at the rostrum very intently. He had previously been wavering between the National Socialist Party and the German Communist Party, which caused the Stasi agency to come to a standstill. Otherwise, the Wehrmacht would have had a great chance of capturing Albert alive, and the situation today would have been much better.

Thinking of this, Sorge could only curse himself in his heart: I don't believe in Mr. Faust, I deserve to die.

"That's a very natural thing."

Sorge bowed his head and said to Hitler, "Your Excellency Faust has fought every army in the counter-revolutionary camp, including the royalists, the military, and the princes and nobles... At this conference, the German Communist Party and the Independent Party should give our party full respect so that Your Excellency can act without any worries in the future."

Hitler snorted and said, "Just wait and see. When a new central government is elected...it still won't be your turn to become president."

This is natural.

The Greater Berlin Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee met today. In addition to electing representatives to make up the number of representatives, its purpose was to elect a new central government to replace Ebert's provisional government.

Given that the current Berlin government is no longer able to govern the country, electing ministers is no longer meaningful. The most important thing is to elect the president, which represents who will be the nominal supreme leader of the left-wing coalition.

Chapter 212: Principate

Faust's reputation was growing, but if Faust was to be chosen directly as president, he was too young. In 1916, he was just an ordinary soldier and had too little political experience. It would be difficult for the German Communist Party and the Independent Party to accept his election as president.

We can only settle for the next best thing.

The presidential candidate must be Liebknecht, as only he could take all aspects into consideration. Faust had to settle for the second best and pointed out that, given that the Ebert government in the past had implemented a complete presidential system, which led to the president acting on his own and plotting a counter-revolution, the new central government should not implement a complete presidential system after learning from this lesson.

Therefore, the new government should adopt a semi-presidential system.

As the head of state and commander-in-chief of the military, the President is responsible for leading the military and diplomatic work, while the Prime Minister, as the head of government, is responsible for leading the administrative work.

The president is in charge of external affairs, while the prime minister is in charge of internal affairs. In this way, a more suitable combination is actually for Faust to be president and Liebknecht to be prime minister.

However, the two men's qualifications and reputations were so different that the positions had to be reversed: Liebknecht was elected president and Faust was elected chancellor.

Faust didn't care at all. This new central government was hastily elected just to gain a legal advantage. In reality, the Wehrmacht would most likely have to abandon Berlin and retreat to Munich and Innsbruck.

Whether it is president or prime minister, it is nothing more than an empty official hat.

Faust did not care about the status of the president or the chancellor. After all, his election as chancellor by the Greater Berlin Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee was already a major progress in the National Socialist Party's political influence, which was considered satisfactory.

Hitler, sitting in the audience, was extremely unhappy: "The Wehrmacht drove back the royalist army, and then, under Ludendorff, saved Berlin. They turned the tide twice, but they still couldn't get a president! Without you, all these applauding representatives would have become victims of Seeckt and Ludendorff's knives."

Hitler frowned and did not continue. Even with Faust's achievements today, he still could not directly unify the left-wing alliance. It seems that the National Socialist Party has to rely on itself. We have territory and army. Even if we lose Berlin, we will fight back one day. But what about you, the German Communist Party?

The applause gradually died down. In fact, the representatives of the German Communist Party and the Independent Party were a little worried that Faust would be dissatisfied with the election results. Everyone looked at Faust anxiously.

Until Faust stood up straight and walked onto the podium, he did not speak at first, but just stood at attention and saluted everyone, as if to remind everyone of the power of the National Defense Army.

"Berlin is still under siege by the rebels. The ideological theme of this by-election conference is to bridge the gap and strive for unity. At the same time, it is also a declaration to the country and the world that Germany's revolutionaries are the orthodoxy of the Republic. Even if they leave Berlin temporarily, they will return soon."

After this was said, many representatives felt a little ominous. The Battle of Berlin had not yet ended, and now they were talking about "leaving Berlin temporarily". Isn't that very unlucky?

Faust's own ideas have gradually become firmer. He believes that he cannot stay in Berlin at this stage. Whoever wants to carry such a heavy economic and political burden can do so. In any case, Faust will not take the initiative to carry this heavy burden.

As for the ministers of the various State Council Offices, they are actually completely unable to work due to the war, so it would be meaningless to appoint them now.

Therefore, the selection of ministers more reflects the political landscape of the three parties. The Independent Party has fallen behind, and Kautsky has no complaints. He still has some self-knowledge and is well aware that the Independent Party performed poorly in the two defense battles of Berlin and is indeed unworthy of several ministerial seats.

Of the twelve ministerial seats in the new government, the Independence Party only won two, and they were insignificant positions such as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education.