German Red Prince

The man took a sip of tea and couldn't help but laugh. "The German regular army, a few hundred men, got driven away by the natives in Africa. It's laughable."

"And then?" His wife picked up where he left off, wiping her hands and sitting down at the table with a smile.

"Can't you see that? They can't even beat the natives of Africa. That shows how rotten their army is."

Seeing that his wife wanted to listen, the man became more enthusiastic and continued to talk at length.

"You don't know, do you? There's a tribe of natives in Africa, with only about a thousand people, who completely outmaneuvered the German army. Their leader was named Kagame, I think. The newspapers mentioned him before."

"This man is remarkable. He started his revolution even earlier than France. I think he will liberate Germany's colonies in Africa sooner or later."

"Just a few thousand men? Is that possible? How could a guerrilla force possibly defeat a regular army?" His wife continued to ask.

“Who told them to be a revolutionary force?” The man took a sip of tea. “I’ve heard that there’s also a guerrilla force in East Asia that grew from a few thousand to over a hundred thousand. That’s the power of revolution. Aren’t we doing the same thing?”

"Moreover, the three major kingdoms within Germany are all wary of each other, and they might start fighting one day. Central Africa of Germany is also slowly becoming more compliant but less obedient, and their so-called imperial pact is becoming increasingly alienating."

"Another funny thing is that in Central Africa, they couldn't beat the guerrillas and were losing face, so they wanted Paul von Leto Forbek to help them out. He was the officer who used to outmaneuver the British Empire in Africa. But the British ignored them completely. They pushed him out of the governorship election, and now they wanted his help? That's a pipe dream. The British just flew back to the Rhineland."

The man became more and more interested as he talked, from Germany to Russia, from the revolutionary situation in the Americas to the significance of the success of the revolutions in East Asia, and then to the inevitability of the success of the socialist revolution. He talked about everything in five thousand years of history and couldn't stop.

“I don’t understand any of this,” his wife said with a smile and a sigh, as she poured him more hot tea. “I’d rather stay home and cook for you or something; there’s no point in you telling me all this.”

“How can you say they’re useless?” the man retorted. “The leader said that women also played an indispensable and positive role in the revolution. Everyone is a cog in the machine of social revolution, so how can you say they’re useless?”

He glanced at his watch; it was already 7:40. Only then did he realize he had been talking for so long and was about to be late for work.

"Remember to visit that women's association. Don't stay cooped up at home all the time. Go out more often. You must go and visit them."

The man didn't have time to say anything more; he put on his coat, grabbed his hat, and hurried out the door.

Italy today is hard to describe; it oscillated between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers during the war, ultimately leading to its complete division.

The Italian Socialist Party firmly opposed involvement in the war, but ultimately, due to constant instigation from Britain and France and its own conflicts with Austria-Hungary, Italy still intervened in the war, which resulted in the current situation of Italy's division.

The Apennine Peninsula was divided into four countries. In the later stages of the war, Italy quickly descended into civil war, with various factions supporting proxies.

The Venetian region was supported by Austria-Hungary to form the new Italian Republic, the area near Rome was the Papal States controlled by the Papacy, a large area in the south was the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies supported by the Allied Powers, and the area in the north near France was influenced by the French Commune and established the Italian Socialist Republic.

At the end of the war, the Italian Socialist Party rose up in Milan and declared the establishment of the Italian Socialist Republic, first in northern Italy and then throughout the rest of Italy, and war broke out in Italy.

The Italian Socialist Party seized Piedmont, Tuscany, and Emilia from a surprisingly large number of royalist troops, but soon the camp split, quickly dividing into left and right forces.

Caught completely off guard, the right wing launched a shameless sneak attack on the Republic, wreaking havoc throughout the country.

The Piedmont factories suffered several large-scale attacks. The reactionary forces of the right wing caught the Socialist Party off guard, but they quickly expelled this white force from the army.

The right-wing army was driven out of the Piedmont region and retreated to Parma in Emilia-Romagna, but was subsequently driven out by the Fascist fighting regiments organized by Mussolini.

Although the uprising initially suffered setbacks, the rebels did not encounter much military hindrance because the combat level and fighting spirit of the regular army were so worrisome.

Socialists hailed it as a great victory for socialism, having repelled royalists and right-wing elements within the army. These right-wing elements within the Republican army had made a series of military errors, causing them to lose control of key positions in Emilia and Tuscany.

These areas were quickly brought under the firm control of the Socialists, forcing them to retreat completely beyond the Po River. In order to protect themselves from attacks by the Socialists, they committed shameful acts.

The armies of the right-wing republic negotiated a complete ceasefire with Austria. These people wanted to join forces with foreign troops to eliminate the revolutionary forces in their country, and they were even joining forces with Austria-Hungary, which occupied the South Tyrol and Trento regions of their country. This was enough to nail them to the pillar of shame in Italian history.

Austria-Hungary supported the Italian Republic and together with it repelled the Socialist offensive known as the Po Offensive. The Italian Republic preserved its power in this "Miracle on the Po," willingly becoming a lackey of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The troops that remained loyal to the Kingdom of Italy quickly withdrew to southern Italy after Umbria became a battleground between the two northern republics, a decision that proved to be very wise.

The Italian Socialist Republic launched an offensive against Rome. Benedict XV prayed many times during this period, and the defenders of Rome successfully repelled the Socialist army. Many people called this a "sincere act that moved God."

Due to repeated failed attacks on the southern fronts of Civitavecchia and Abruzzo, and the threat of Austrian counter-offensives in the Po region after the "Miracle," the Socialists completely lost the opportunity to move south and liberate the remaining territory.

Although the fight against the reactionary forces appeared to be a failure, and the Socialists did not liberate the entire Italian region, the Italian Socialist Republic was the legitimate government of Italy, a view widely held by Italians.

The Italian Republic, as a puppet state of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was completely without legitimacy, and the old kingdoms in the south were seen as a conservative force of the past.

The south had to be liberated, and the issues of the Pope and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had been discussed for a long time.

The new regime is undergoing transformation. The three congresses of the Italian Socialist Republic are gradually reforming the framework of the government, making its form slowly align with that of France. In many ways, they even operate in the same way.

Due to the effects of the civil war and the extensive destruction caused by the enemy, the government's reconstruction efforts have been slow, but northern Italy is steadily recovering its industrial and agricultural strength.

The retreating right-wing Republican army destroyed many arsenals and shipyards, but the Socialist Party was eager to rebuild its military and wage war against the South, so it accelerated the recovery of the military industry. The navy added many new warships, and the army's equipment was also improved.

They are actively preparing for the war of liberation, but the Korean Peninsula involves many countries and forces, and a slight misstep could trigger a second world war.

The new ally, the British Union, urged against starting a new war, and the unification of the peninsula was blocked by many parties. Since then, unification has been put on hold.

The Italian people are currently suffering from the pain of national and ethnic division and desperately need someone to save them from their misery. In their hearts, there is only one person who can save Italy.

The man took the tram to the newspaper office where he worked. Under the leadership of the great leader Mussolini, the Emilia-Romagna region was thriving.

There are three forces in Italy: the old-school Italian Socialist Party, the trade union federation with anarchist tendencies, and the National Fascist Party led by Mussolini.

After leaving the Socialist Party, Mussolini began his own exploration. This revolutionary, who had been praised by Lenin, was very promising, although his encouragement of people to participate in the war and his call to join the Allied Powers led to his expulsion from the party.

He made one last defense of himself before being expelled from the Italian Socialist Party.

"Twelve years of Party membership have proven my socialist beliefs. Socialism flows in my blood. I am still an enemy of the bourgeoisie. When time proves that my views on the war are correct, you will see me standing with you once again."

The facts were pretty much as Mussolini had predicted. He said that this war would accelerate the Italian revolution. If the Allied Powers won, the two feudal kingdoms of Germany and Austria-Hungary would collapse. If the Central Powers won, Britain and France would immediately be plunged into the vortex of revolution.

Following the victory of the Central Powers, Britain and France were indeed swept up in a wave of revolutions, and the socialist revolution in Italy also began. Mussolini, as he had said before, created the Fascist Fighting Group and stood together with the Socialists again.

After the establishment of the revolutionary regime, Mussolini was reinstated. Although his nationalist and authoritarian theories were criticized by many socialists and anarchists, it is undeniable that Mussolini made indelible contributions to the development of the Italian Socialist Republic.

As the saying goes, "It's not that I'm particularly outstanding, it's all because of the contrast with my peers." The contradictions within the Italian Socialist Party were already deep, as evidenced by the sudden defection of right-wing forces.

The Italian Socialist Party has radical, neutral, and reformist factions, and a single issue often takes days to discuss, wasting countless hours of breath.

Anarchist trade union alliances are overly idealistic and overestimate human character, resulting in chaos.

Only Mussolini's National Fascist Party, under the leadership of its leader Mussolini, saw rapid and efficient development in the Emilia region, which was controlled by the Fascist Party.

The Blackshirts, the armed forces of the Fascist Party, were mainly composed of veterans who had participated in the war. These veterans were primarily poor farmers. The government promised to give them land after the war, but after the war ended, these people were accused of being "war criminals" and were discriminated against by the public.

Mussolini, a veteran of the war, attracted countless veterans to join his organization and swear allegiance to him with the slogan, "If the war is ours, then the post-war world must also be ours." This is also the reason why the Fascist Party had strong fighting power.

Countless people are crazy about him. The construction of Emilia has proven that he is a great and wise leader. It has the most factories in the Republic and the most stable environment.

The people living here were free from the Mafia's extortion. Mussolini's Blackshirts brutally suppressed the Mafia, eradicating the Mafia, which had always made a living by extorting the poor, from this area.

Land reform earned Mussolini the support of peasants, the numerous jobs created by factory construction earned him the support of workers, and the eradication of the Mafia earned him the support of small producers and ordinary citizens. It could be said that he was the most powerful man in Emilia, the emperor of the country.

Mussolini also stated in his speeches on several occasions that "Italy needs a man, a man full of strength and willpower, a man who understands the people, loves the people, can guide the people, and can make the people obey when necessary. It needs such a man to build an era that belongs to the Italian people."

Such highly nationalist rhetoric is clearly more influential and seems easier to achieve than slogans advocating the liberation of the world's people—an era belonging to the Italians, a new Roman Empire belonging to Italy.

Mark arrived at work to find the atmosphere at the newspaper office strange; everyone seemed unusually excited. The man was somewhat bewildered, unsure of what was going on.

But soon someone told Mark the reason: the leader was coming.

When Mark heard that the leader was coming, he trembled. That man was actually coming, actually coming to his workplace!

The deafening cheers seemed to lift the roof off, while outside, the black-shirted soldiers formed a human wall, holding hands to block the fanatical crowd.

Mussolini didn't seem as fierce as Marc had imagined; on the contrary, he was very kind. When he interacted with everyone, he didn't act superior. He simply asked about their living conditions and the newspaper's sales in a low voice, and even shook hands with everyone.

"Gentlemen."

Mussolini looked at the frenzied crowd outside and smiled at the people inside the house.

"Your work is very important. This is the second front. The ideological front is more important than the practical front. You are revolutionary heroes. Let's meet the people outside together. Thank you for your contributions."

After saying that, he led everyone to the balcony upstairs and waved to the crowd below.

"Workers, peasants and citizens, the Italian revolution has not been completely victorious. We still have many enemies and much to face. The puppet of Austria-Hungary, the traitors of the motherland, the Italian Republic is still lingering in the east. This malignant tumor is still growing in the heart of every Italian."

"Everyone must remember, we still have land and people who have not returned. The Austro-Hungarians are still forcibly occupying our land. The people of South Tyrol are weeping, and the people of Trento are shedding tears. We cannot forget them; to forget them is to betray them!"

"The revolution is not over yet; we still need to exert ten or twenty times more effort. We thank the staff of these newspapers for their tireless work and propaganda, dedicating their utmost enthusiasm to the revolution. Let us shout 'Long live!'"

The crowd below the stage went wild, shouting "Long live!" Mark looked at the cheering crowd and felt his blood rush to his brain. He could feel his veins throbbing, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier, and he could clearly know that his throat was becoming dry.

Mussolini stepped back and extended a hand as if inviting Marc and the others to stand in front and say a few words. Marc's legs were trembling, but he managed to control himself and walked laboriously to the front.

The cheering crowd fell silent, but Mark could no longer contain himself and shouted loudly.

"Long live the great leader! Long live the great Italy! Long live the great nation!"

A deafening cheer erupted once more, and Mussolini stepped forward, shouting slogans to the crowd in his booming voice.

"Let us create a brand new Rome with our own hands, create a great nation, a great Italy, long live!"

Even after getting off work and going home, Marc was still immersed in the speech he had given that morning. He felt his blood was boiling and he was ready to do anything for the revival of Italy.

Reviving Rome, reviving a great nation—how appealing that sounds!

Lying in bed that night, Mark was still talking about his meeting with the leader and reminiscing about his conversation with him.

His wife also became curious. Mussolini's personal visit had already caused a sensation, especially since her husband had stood with the leader. The town was already guaranteed to be number one on the trending topics list.

This led to her receiving a grand reception when she visited the Women's Association, and she successfully joined the association as a member.

"So what kind of person is our leader?" his wife asked Mark.

"What kind of person?"

Mark thought for a moment, then laughed.

"A reassuring bald head."

Chapter 112 Undermining Imperialism

Thorne has been in the United States for some time now, and during that time, based on his previous impressions and memories, he has tricked quite a few people into joining his gang.

This includes Ed Wells, the designer of the B-17 bomber, although he hasn't gone to college yet.

Thorne secured their tickets to Germany with his irresistible offer, since they were going to Stanford University anyway, a world-renowned German university that was no less prestigious than Stanford.

One has to admire the advantages of time travel. Many bigwigs in America haven't even started to rise to prominence yet. It would be so easy to pack them up and take them away now.

Looking at the list he had memorized in his notebook, Thorne nodded in satisfaction. The reason the United States became a superpower was because it had poached talent from other countries.

Now Thorne is giving them a taste of their own medicine, relentlessly fleecing America and undermining imperialism. Even if America were to suddenly explode and die, Thorne would still sneak up and steal a few bites of their tribute.

Detroit, located in the Great Lakes region, is a well-known industrial city in the United States. Its convenient water and land transportation has enabled the manufacturing industry to flourish. When talking about Detroit, one cannot ignore Detroit's automobiles, and when talking about automobiles, one cannot ignore the famous Ford.

It has to be said that Ford is a very legendary figure. The Ford Model T, a legendary car, was a symbol of an era. Ford changed the entire automotive industry and promoted its rapid development. Of course, the biggest impact was on his assembly line production line.

This assembly line production allowed Ford to completely outpace its competitors. The massive output made it easy to defeat rivals. Assembly line assembly saved a lot of time, greatly reduced labor hours and production costs, and improved manufacturing efficiency.

This model has not only impacted the automotive industry, but has also had a significant impact on society and culture. There are many aspects of the Ford model that have been adopted, and many of the adjustments Thorne made previously also referenced Ford's experience.

However, upon arriving in Detroit, Thorne noticed something different. Was this the capitalist empire he knew? Why did it feel like he had entered another country?

There were people patrolling the streets, but these people weren't just police officers; there were others too, and their attire didn't look like government personnel at all. They were carrying guns and had red ribbons tied around their arms—they looked exactly like civilian militia.

Although the United States' economy is not doing well now, it has not yet developed into the kind of country where there are gunfights every day. Who is in charge of these civilian armed groups? Doesn't the US government care about them?

The further I walked, the more uneasy I felt. People were handing out flyers on the street, and eye-catching slogans were painted on the walls along the roadside: "Please support John Reed, for a beautiful tomorrow!"

Along the roadside were not only American flags, but also union flags and a flag that Thorne recognized—the flag of the Communist Party of the United States.

"Are the Communist Party of the United States really that powerful? They can openly fly their flag like this?"

Thorne had always found it somewhat unbelievable that socialism was developing in the United States, and that it was being done so openly. It seemed that the revolutionary atmosphere in the world was quite good; at least the Communist Party of the United States had armed forces.

Upon arriving at Ford's residence, Thorne waited a while before meeting him in person. He had come to invite Ford to build several assembly plants and production lines in Rhine to produce trucks.

If war breaks out in the future, logistics will be the most important thing. An army marches on its stomach, and Thorneso needs enough supply cards to transport supplies during the war. He doesn't want his logistics to become a "mule and horse empire" at that time.

To create an armored torrent, you need the right equipment. Besides tanks, you also need trucks. For every one or two hundred tanks, there must be at least several thousand trucks. Otherwise, how could these oil-guzzling beasts so easily and obediently move forward?

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, it didn't have that many trucks and relied entirely on mules and horses. This primitive mode of transportation was too backward. If Germany wanted to achieve true motorization and mechanization, it needed a large number of trucks. In addition to domestic manufacturing, Germany also needed to cooperate internationally.

Ford was the best choice. Ford trucks were famous during World War II. Bringing this production line back would also help to improve Germany's production capabilities.

After lengthy consultations and negotiations, Ford agreed to Thorne's proposal. After all, the current economic environment in the United States is not very good, and opening a European production line would be a good thing, and might even allow them to capture more market share.

Ford agreed to build a factory in Rhineland and also agreed to send relevant technical personnel there. It's a win-win situation for both sides, so why not?

Having secured the Ford deal, Thorne had essentially achieved his goal for coming to the United States. During this trip, he had poached countless people, including Wallace Carothers, who was to join DuPont a year later, and several medical experts from Pfizer.

Although Thorne's team was small, the people he brought were all carefully selected, and these people were extremely efficient in their operations.

On his way out of Detroit, Thorne was still thinking about whether he could recruit a few more people back. Tesla, who was the most difficult to deal with, was taken back to Germany by his men and secretly protected.

He was also surprised that there was no news at all. Such an important figure had disappeared in the United States, and the US government didn't even care? Why doesn't the United States value talent these days?

Actually, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. When Thorne had Tesla taken away, it just so happened that the CBI's assassination attempt on Trotsky failed, Hoover was sidelined, and the CBI was also sidelined.

Moreover, Coolidge was busy with the next election, and Reed's popularity was too high. He had to find a way to manipulate things. If Reed won the next election, he would really become a sinner of America. These factors meant that the United States simply did not have time to investigate these "missing scientists".