German Red Prince

Page 139

"Everyone can do whatever they want tonight. There's no curfew. Let's all relax and have some fun."

Before leaving, Paulus said to his adjutant that he had finally breathed a sigh of relief; after so much hard work, the results were finally in.

Those geologists who were complaining before have now completely lost their temper and started to analyze things seriously. That's just how these researchers are; they can be a bit stubborn, but their spirit is truly admirable. They haven't even come out of the room yet, and they're still conducting their research.

"I admire Prince Thorne more and more now."

Hank found a place to sit down, opened a bottle of Fanta, and couldn't help but sigh.

Drinking alcohol is prohibited in the Cyrenaica Desert base; that's the rule. So the kingdom doesn't ship any alcoholic beverages over. Fanta has become a substitute for beer and is quite popular in the camp.

Today is a day of celebration, so there's plenty of Fanta. These drinks are usually rationed strictly, but Paulus has given special permission for us to drink as much as we want.

"Who would have thought that His Highness Thorne could determine that there was oil here from thousands of miles away? I complained about it for the first few days, but now it seems that I was too superficial."

One of the reasons Hank chose to go to North Africa to wait for me was that he heard a rumor that His Highness Thorne was in charge of the operation. After hearing this, he didn't hesitate and immediately signed up.

North Africa is far inferior to China in terms of both infrastructure and natural environment. After working for several days without any progress, Hank was discouraged. If they hadn't signed a contract before they came, he would have run away long ago.

"With Prince Thorne, the future of the Kingdom of Rhine is something to look forward to."

The coworker next to him nodded in agreement, grabbed a bottle of soda, and chimed in.

The soda is still ice-cold, which shows how luxurious it is today.

Today we drilled our first oil well. This is just the first one. There are still many oil fields on the map that haven't been explored yet. If there is oil in these places, then the Kingdom of the Rhine will no longer have to be led by the neck by Prussia.

"When we formed the empire, we meant to form it, not just Prussia. Now they're getting too big for their britches and acting like they're something special, always wanting to be the first to do things."

"Yes."

Hank took a swig of soda and started to defend the company. It was amazing how, without drinking or any prompting, their conversation gradually shifted from the success of the mining operation to politics.

"In terms of strength, the Kingdom of the Rhine is not afraid of Prussia. We were just being polite back then, letting them lead the German Empire. Now they are trying to suppress us in various ways. They are so petty. If you ask me, the empire should be led by the Kingdom of the Rhine!"

Since being incorporated into the empire, the Kingdom of the Rhine has been constantly at odds with Prussia. As for Bavaria, they simply look down on it. They consider it a spineless wimp in the south, who only became a kingdom by groveling before France, and now it dares to come and talk about territorial disputes with them. It's really laughable.

While they were talking, Bright and his team finished their research and gave Paulus their intelligence report. It was a huge success, and even Paulus had to admire it. Prince Thorne was truly a remarkable person in the Kingdom of Rhine.

"The bet we made before, four hundred marks."

Bright threw the money on the table, grabbed a bottle of soda, and lay down in his chair to drink it.

"I thought you were going to renege on your debt."

Hank picked up the money and shook it. "Want to gamble again? Let's go big, eight hundred marks, and bet on whether there's oil in the next place."

"I'm not betting with you anymore. I'm convinced. In such a big place, there just happens to be oil inside the circle drawn on the map. If it's just luck, then that's incredibly lucky."

"Come on, let's toast to this success!"

Bright raised his soda to change the subject; he didn't want to lose another eight hundred marks.

At the camp gate, a new batch of supplies was being handed over. In the past, to maintain secrecy, the transporters would leave after arriving at the destination and would not be allowed to have any contact with the people in the camp. However, this time was different; some of the people who accompanied the truck did not leave.

Paulus always had to be present when supplies were handed over, which puzzled him this time. He hadn't been notified beforehand, so what was going on? What were these people doing?

"Excuse me, are you Colonel Paulus?"

Before Paulus could even ask, the person on the other end spoke first.

"I am Paulus, and who are you?"

"Hello, Colonel Paulus, I am Alfred Yodl, the discipline officer of the Afrika Korps stationed in Cyrenaica. This is my identification."

Jord handed the credentials to Paulus, the military discipline officer, a new position recently added to the army of the Kingdom of the Rhine.

267. Crossing Thorns

If you were to ask who in all of France has the most sense of crisis, it would probably be Duclos, the General Committee Member of the Eastern Theater Command.

The eastern part of France faces unprecedented pressure, directly confronting the whole of Germany, so the person in charge must be a highly respected elder.

As a veteran of the Second French Revolution, Duclos had been involved in planning various party activities since the early stages of the revolution. In terms of seniority and faith, Duclos maintained unwavering loyalty to the newly established republic, making him very suitable to be in charge of the eastern region.

The Eastern Theater was France's most elite and largest military region, with active duty troops comprising 40 percent of the entire Commune army.

It comprised two regions, Hauts-de-France and Grand Est, and included five administrative districts: the Pas-de-Calais, Picardy, Champagne-Ardenne, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté, thus covering the entire border of the German Empire.

It can be said that the commander of the Eastern Theater Command wielded the most power in the entire commune, and only an old man like Duklo could feel at ease handing over such a position.

Before becoming the General Military Commissioner of the Eastern Theater, Duclos served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Paris Garrison of the Commune of France, responsible for the security of the Île-de-France region, and had a wealth of experience.

As the key figure in the Commune's armed forces, having such a person stationed in eastern France greatly helped boost the morale of the troops.

The first generation of revolutionaries possessed a spirit that later revolutionaries could never surpass. Duclos had to handle numerous affairs in the two major regions and five administrative districts every day, and often had to go to the front lines for on-site investigations.

The heavy workload caused him many health problems, but he gritted his teeth and persevered. He would take medicine whenever possible and refuse to be hospitalized. After all, there were many things to do in the Eastern Theater Command. If he were to lie down for a day or two, who would he report to and who would he solve all these problems?

Furthermore, as the General Committee Member of the Eastern Theater, he had two other worries. From the moment he took office, he hung a map of the administrative divisions of the French Commune in Duclos's office. This map showed the complete French territory, Dunkirk, and the Alsace region.

Duclos's mission and task was to reclaim the land that France had lost, a wound that wounded the entire French nation, and the heavy pressure left him no time to relax.

Every so often, Duclos would personally inspect certain places. The Eastern Theater was on the French border, and many things could happen every day. Duclos wanted to know more or less about all of these things.

If I had to pick the places I visit most often, it would probably be the northern Pas-de-Calais region and the Lorraine region. These two areas contain two lost territories of France, so some special events might happen there every day.

"Greetings, General Secretary!"

The Commune's armed militia were very excited to see Duclos. As one of the elders of the French Commune and the soul of the Commune's armed forces, Duclos was deeply loved by the armed militia below.

As mentioned before, after the French Revolution, professional troops were regarded as "counter-revolutionaries" and "enemies of people's freedom."

Professional armies were seen as henchmen for government violence, and coupled with the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, professional armies were abolished after the establishment of the Commune, with only a small number remaining as a facade.

The commune's regular armed forces are now militia organizations built on the basis of the Swiss cantonal government army, with each region organizing and training its own militia.

However, due to its special geographical location, bordering Germany and Flanders-Wallon, most of the militia in the Eastern Theater Command are full-time armed militia, which are essentially the professional army of the commune.

These communes' standing armies were formed and trained on the border. Duklo also carried out several reforms, which solved the coordination problem between the various regions and ensured that troops from different administrative regions could be dispatched in a timely manner. Although some problems still exist, it is much better than before.

"Commissioner Duclos".

Dürer saluted Duclos, whose troops were stationed in the Lille region, the border area between the French Commune and Flanders-Wallon, and a little further on was the canton of Wallonia.

"Hello, Colonel Dürer." Duclos gave Dürer a standard military salute.

"Colonel Dürer, what's the situation in the border region lately?"

"Reporting to the General, everything is stable in the border area at present. However, more and more people are fleeing from Wallonia, including many soldiers. This is something I originally intended to report to the General."

"Are more and more people fleeing here? What do most of these people do?"

"Most of them are farmers or workers. After all, those damned capitalists wouldn't come here. Most of them are middle-aged, and there are some elderly people as well. The soldiers are mostly young people. Last week, a soldier who escaped came. He was only nineteen years old."

More and more people have been fleeing from Flanders-Wallon recently, and Duclos has keenly noticed this. Something must have happened there, otherwise so many people wouldn't be fleeing.

Wallonia is a French-speaking region and has always had good relations with France. Since they are willing to come, we should try our best to settle them in, after all, they are all proletarian brothers.

"Our Dunkirk region is still in the hands of the Belgians. These people who fled here may have been French ten years ago. We are all brothers of the proletariat. We should do our best to settle them down properly."

"Our country is different from those capitalist countries. Our ultimate task is to liberate the world and all the proletariat. It is also very necessary for us to unite with the proletarian brothers of other countries."

After a brief exchange, Duclos also left the northern region. Next, he was heading to Lorraine, where his greatest worry lay—the century-old wound of all of France.

Because Duclos's itinerary had been announced in advance, many reporters were waiting here, including Peter Rebin, a reporter from Le France-Morning.

Upon arriving in Lorraine, Duclos naturally wanted to visit the Franco-German border. Alsace was still in German hands, and every time he looked through the barbed wire, Duclos felt a deep sense of resentment.

What are they doing on the other side?

Holding binoculars, Duclos saw many civilians in the military camp and asked an officer nearby.

"Reporting to the General, today is military visit day in the Kingdom of Rhine, and citizens are visiting their military camps."

“A military visit day sounds really good; we could organize one too.”

Today is Military Visit Day in the Kingdom of the Rhine. The military has invited many citizens to participate in the tour, which is also a way to win over the public.

Alsace is the most dangerous region in the entire Kingdom of the Rhine. Although it belonged to Germany during the Holy Roman Empire, that was a long time ago.

The people here are strange. When they were under French control, they insisted on speaking German, but after being reoccupied by Germany, they started speaking French again.

In short, managing this area is a major headache for the Kingdom of the Rhine. The political instigation of the French Commune and the infiltration of various spies make it particularly difficult for the Kingdom of the Rhine to manage. Therefore, the troops stationed here are not locals, but are drawn from different places.

To strengthen the relationship between the military and the local people, the Kingdom of the Rhine holds military visit days every now and then to demonstrate the deep bond between the military and the people.

Of course, most of the citizens were actually actors they had arranged in advance, and it was a reporter who was watching.

"Schumann, go and greet the citizens over at the military camp."

Because there were many things to do that day, the battalion commander was too busy to attend to everything, so he asked Schumann for help. The battalion commander was so busy that he didn't notice Schumann's unusual expression at all.

Schumann gave a perfunctory reply and vaguely agreed. It was only February, and the weather wasn't very hot, but Schumann kept wiping the sweat from his forehead. It was obvious that he had something on his mind, but no one noticed him.

"plz follow me."

Schumann guided the citizens forward to a place he deemed suitable, his attention now entirely focused on the other side of the barbed wire fence.

"Sir, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Some citizens noticed his unusual expression and asked.

"It's okay, I'm fine. Sorry, please wait a moment, I'll go over there first."

After confirming his location, Schumann made up his mind. He was sure that the propaganda booklet on his chest must have been soaked with sweat. He would move forward, ever forward, until he reached freedom.

"what--"

Amid the exclamations of the citizens, the other soldiers also realized that Schumann was running towards the border; he was trying to defect!

"Grab him! We can't let him get past!"

The battalion commander was the first to react, grabbing his gun and giving chase. The other soldiers followed suit.

The battalion commander was confident in his marksmanship; he was certain he could take down Schumann. However, with so many citizens and reporters present, he dared not fire.

"Freedom, fairness, and justice"

Schumann silently recited the sentences from the propaganda brochure—a country he longed for, a society of equality he yearned for. He dropped his rifle and began to sprint at full speed.

Just as Duklo was about to leave, he suddenly heard a scream from the other side, followed by chaos. He saw a soldier drop his gun and run towards him.

As the general commissioner, he certainly knew what was going on; the soldiers on the other side were preparing to come over! Duclos immediately ordered his soldiers to come and establish martial law in order to deal with any possible conflict that might follow.

Because they couldn't fire, the battalion commander was almost frantic. Schumann had clearly planned ahead and was far ahead of them. No matter how good his stamina was, he couldn't catch up.

"Quick! Kid! Keep going!"

Duclos shouted encouragement from one side of the barbed wire fence.

"Comrade! Run! Run!"

The commune soldiers were also encouraged there; this was the first time German soldiers had ever fled to the French commune.

Rebin hadn't expected to encounter such big news today. He had already set up his camera, just waiting for Schumann to rush over.

Exhausting his last bit of strength, Schumann leaped over the barbed wire fence, a moment captured by Rebin's camera and becoming a classic in the history of photography.

This German soldier successfully crossed the thorns and headed towards the kingdom of freedom.

268. First Stage

Whether in this life or in Thorne's previous life, Goebbels' abilities are undeniable.

Most politicians in the early 20th century were incredibly capable, but unfortunately Goebbels didn't take the right path in his previous life and was misled.

Fortunately, they found the right direction this time. Several big shots found the right path, so Thorne didn't have to spend time guiding them anymore. These people were able to participate directly in the work.

Making Goebbels the leader of the Socialist Labour Party was definitely one of the best decisions Thorne ever made. Although the Socialist Labour Party was a relatively new party, its framework and structure were already very complete.

Thorne revised the party program and discipline of the Socialist Labor Party based on later versions, covering all aspects comprehensively and with very rigorous content.

This brand-new political party is based on trade unions, and the Darmstadt trade union was something that Thorne had been working on for a long time. Many of the party members also hold important positions in the Communist Party of Germany.

Therefore, although it has only been established for a short time, the Socialist Labor Party has already become a political party with considerable strength.

Thorne played a role in the formation of the Socialist Labour Party, but this was secondary, as Thorne only participated in the party's formation. Goebbels played an irreplaceable role in the subsequent work.

The Socialist Labor Party has expanded at an extremely rapid pace, putting pressure on many long-established political parties in the Kingdom of the Rhine. To date, less than a month after its founding, the Socialist Labor Party has already amassed over 70,000 members across the kingdom.

Goebbels also became a rising political star in the Kingdom of the Rhine, as he frequently traveled around campaigning for votes during the Kingdom of the Rhine's parliamentary elections.

His classic tan coat also made him well-known to the people of the kingdom, and his excellent eloquence and strong speaking ability always caused a great sensation when he gave a speech.

When Goebbels went to Mainz to campaign for votes last time, the entire Mainz square was packed with people, the largest crowd since the military parade.