German Red Prince

Page 140

Because of Goebbels' iconic yellow coat and influential speeches, his speeches were always packed with people and were known as "the King's Speech." Goebbels himself was also called "the King in Yellow" by some supporters.

The Socialist Labour Party was very successful in its formation and subsequent work. In the subsequent general election of the Kingdom Parliament, the Socialist Labour Party won 13 percent of the seats in Parliament, less than a month after its formation.

It is conceivable that if the Socialist Labor Party were given more time, it would likely surpass the kingdom's established major parties and become the leading ruling party in the Kingdom of Rhine.

"Dr. Goebbels, thank you for your hard work these past few days."

Goebbels had been traveling extensively during this period and only had time to return to Frankfurt for a couple of days of rest after the parliamentary elections.

However, Goebbels was also a complete workaholic. He didn't even take a few days to rest after returning from Cologne and continued to work until late at night every day.

"The parliamentary elections are over, and the Socialist Labour Party now has a corresponding political status in the government. Thirteen percent of the seats is quite a lot, and our voices in the government carry some weight."

"The first phase of the mission has been completed perfectly. You should take a good rest during this time and don't need to be so busy."

"It's alright, Your Highness Thorne. Although the first phase of the mission is complete, time is still quite tight. The Socialist Labor Party currently only has influence in the southern part of the Kingdom of Rhine. I went to Cologne some time ago, and the people there know very little about the Socialist Labor Party, which is very disadvantageous for our future work."

"Our party's early influence mainly came from the Communist Party of Germany. Because of your influence, the Communist Party of Germany's main strength in the Rhineland was in Frankfurt. During this period, I also conducted research in many places in the Rhineland. In the north, our influence was still too small."

“Your Highness Thorne, in many parts of the north, those old political parties are deeply entrenched, making it difficult for us to expand our influence. I previously tried to establish our Northern Party organization in Cologne, but I found that without a strong and capable organizer, our Northern Party organization simply cannot function effectively.”

After returning, Goebbels did not rest at all. He went to the northern part of the Rhineland and saw many problems. After a period of investigation, he found that neither the Communist Party of Germany nor the Socialist Labor Party had much influence in the north.

These problems are actually very serious, and if they are not resolved, they will cause a lot of trouble for Thorne's subsequent actions.

So Goebbels has been trying to deal with these problems, but he simply doesn't have the energy to handle them all.

After listening to Goebbels, Thorne also began to realize the problem. It sounded like a minor issue, but it was indeed a very troublesome matter.

Thorne's ultimate goal was not to change the Kingdom of the Rhine, but to change all of Germany, and he never took Goebbels's problem seriously.

Since returning to the kingdom, Thorne has been building his political power around Frankfurt, the kingdom's center, and mainly in the southern part of the Kingdom of the Rhine.

In the long run, Thorne could indeed control the southern cities of the Kingdom of Rhine, but what about the north?

To completely overthrow the current system, Germany must undergo a war of liberation; to liberate others, one must first liberate oneself.

Thorne and his group still have too little influence over the northern part of the Kingdom of Rhine.

Let's hope that we don't end up exhausting ourselves before the War of Liberation even begins.

“Dr. Goebbels, your suggestion is excellent, and I will consider it carefully.”

Goebbels alone is clearly not enough. The Socialist Labor Party must rapidly expand its influence. It also needs a suitable person to take charge in the north, and Thorne needs to find ways to extend his influence into the military.

"Your Highness!"

A person rushed in from outside, holding a document in his hand, looking very flustered.

"Your Highness, something happened!"

"Don't panic, tell me what happened slowly."

Seeing his anxious look, Thorne quickly waved his hand to let him catch his breath.

The Stasi breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn't have been so flustered if it were anything else, but this matter was of great importance because the report had been signed by two people.

The fact that Thomas and Heinrich signed the report indicates that both the Gestapo and the Stasi were aware of it, meaning that the incident involved both domestic and international issues.

The Stasi didn't speak, but glanced at Goebbels beside him. Such important intelligence couldn't be left unattended.

"It's alright. Dr. Goebbels is someone I trust. Don't panic, speak slowly."

"Your Highness Thorne, news has just come from the Alsace Military District that a border patrol soldier has defected to the French Commune."

Upon hearing the Stasi's report, Thorne's heart skipped a beat. Soldiers deserting—this was the first such case the Rhine Kingdom had encountered in nearly thirty years.

"Does the kingdom know about this?"

"Your Highness, the Arthas Military District immediately blocked the news, and the Kingdom is currently unaware of it."

"Summon Thomas and Heinrich here immediately! I need to know what happened!"

Soldiers from the Kingdom of the Rhine have actually defected to the French Commune; this is a serious problem.

Although it was an isolated incident, it also shows that there are huge problems within the Rhine Kingdom's army that must be dealt with immediately.

269. Follow-up Investigation

Soldiers deserting is a serious matter in any country, especially in this era.

International relations are becoming increasingly sensitive, and yet a soldier from the Kingdom of the Rhine has escaped. If word gets out, who knows what will happen.

The Kingdom of the Rhine had just reached an agreement with Flanders-Wallon on the exchange of border garrisons for the Luxembourg Special Economic Zone. Soon, soldiers from the Kingdom of the Rhine were to be deployed to the Flanders-Wallon border. It's ironic that this happened; the entire agreement may have to be renegotiated.

Thorne now has to figure out one thing: why did that soldier defect to the French Commune? What exactly happened? Was it the soldier's problem or the problem of the entire army?

The military structure of the Kingdom of the Rhine was established by King Charlemagne. This army has been tested in many wars, and the reformed army defeated the French army in its first battle at the Battle of Leipzig.

Meanwhile, the organizational structure of the kingdom's army continued to be enriched and developed over the following decades. It was truly unacceptable that such a thing had happened, with soldiers deserting. The last time such an event occurred was nearly a hundred years ago, and it was after that incident that King Charlemagne began to reform the army.

A century later, the same thing happened again, and Thorne had to figure out whether it was the soldier's fault or the problem with the entire military system.

If it was due to the soldier's personal reasons, Thorne needed to find out what happened that would lead a soldier to choose to defect.

If the problem lies in the system, then Thorne should pay even more attention to it. Systemic problems, even though the Rhine Kingdom's army seems strong on paper right now, could lead to serious consequences in the long run.

Thorne felt that the military parade he had meticulously prepared more than a month ago had become a joke. The deterrent effect he had finally achieved on France had been greatly weakened by the defection of one soldier.

As a socialist country, the French Commune was called the "Red Devil" by other countries, and there were even rumors that they possessed magic and could manipulate people's minds, which to some extent reflected the French Commune's powerful political influence.

If the Commune were to exploit a weakness in the Rhine army and allow the French Commune's ideology to spread within the Rhine Kingdom's army, it would be a very serious matter.

At that time, although the kingdom's army would be powerful, it would be obedient to others. While Thorne's ultimate goal was to establish a new Germany, it wouldn't be established in this way.

If society becomes turbulent, and soldiers in the army, having been exposed to revolutionary ideas for a long time, mutiny occurs, then Thorne's final fate will be nothing more than being hung on a telephone pole with a sign attached.

Thorne hopes to reach a reconciliation with the French Commune. Everything Thorne is doing now is aimed at easing the tension between the Kingdom of the Rhine and the French Commune. They will all be socialist brothers from now on, and there is no need to make the relationship so strained.

Although he is now an aristocrat, he is not a traditional conservative. If he were to start a revolution, he would need the support of the army, otherwise his small force would not be enough. Spreading revolutionary ideas within the army is something Thorne has always wanted to do, but these are things that he should be doing. It would be terrible to let the French Commune do them.

Because the situation was so urgent, Thomas and Heinrich arrived quickly. Thorne wanted to find out what had happened before the kingdom found out.

Heinrich had been busy mobilizing the army, and was about to go to Prussia with Piek, but this incident happened halfway there. Before he could even start mobilizing the other side's army, the kingdom's army was mobilized by someone else first.

"Heinrich, has this matter been investigated thoroughly?"

"Fritz Schumann, 29 years old, enlisted in 1924, has been serving for four years, is from Pilmassons, and has French ancestry."

"His father was a carpenter in Pilmasens, and his mother was from Saarburg. During the war, Schumann's father served in the army of the Kingdom of the Rhine and was awarded the Order of the Kingdom in the Battle of Metz. He was discharged from the army in 1916 after being wounded in the leg and then worked as a carpenter in Pilmasens."

"Three months ago, Schumann's father died of illness, and his carpentry workshop was mortgaged to someone else. Later, his mother also went to live in the French Commune for many reasons. Perhaps due to the influence of these events, Schumann's mentality changed, and he chose to defect."

Although Heinrich was busy with other work, the Gestapo was still very efficient, and the intelligence was collected in a short time. After Heinrich sorted it out, it was handed over to Thorne.

After listening to Heinrich's report, Thorne had a pretty good idea of ​​why this had happened and the cause and effect of it.

The reason was quite simple: the soldier's family had problems, which caused some psychological issues for him. It was a spur-of-the-moment defection, not an instigation by the commune within the Rhine army.

"Thomas, have you found out anything?"

"The Stasi have already discovered some connections between this matter and the French Commune."

Thomas took a bag out of his purse; it contained intelligence gathered by the Stasi, and the defection was also related to the French Commune to some extent.

"Because Schumann's mother was French, he also had some affection for France, which was one of the reasons he defected to France."

"Alsace has always been a key target of the French Commune's political infiltration. Since the Kingdom of the Rhine acquired this region, the French Commune has never stopped its political infiltration of Alsace."

“In recent months, the Stasi have arrested more than fifteen spies here alone. The residents of Alsace also have a natural distrust of the Kingdom of Rhine, and our troops stationed here cannot establish contact with the locals.”

“These were found by the Stasi in the local military camp. The French Commune has been infiltrating the kingdom’s army for some time now.”

Thorne picked up the propaganda pamphlets, which were only the size of a palm and had simple covers. They would be difficult to find if the soldiers hid them. These pamphlets were nothing more than revolutionary slogans or articles, as well as explanations and promotions of the French Commune's system and its superiority.

While the inflammatory nature of these pamphlets isn't particularly strong, it depends on the era. Right now, things are generally peaceful, so these pamphlets don't hold much appeal for the soldiers. But if trouble arises later, it's hard to say what will happen.

The most dangerous thing about an army mutiny is that it makes the army believe it is doing the right thing. If the ideas of the French Commune spread within the army, the kingdom will lose control of its troops.

Besides, if a soldier escapes today, he might become a captain tomorrow, a major the day after, and eventually a general.

Now that the investigation has uncovered a problem, the next step is to address it and thoroughly reorganize the military.

270. The Party commands the gun.

How many people know about this soldier's defection? What are the specific details?

"Your Highness, because it was a military visit day, there were many civilians in the military camp that day, and they all witnessed the soldier's defection."

"These people are currently under the temporary control of the Alsace Military District, and the news is being blocked. The Gestapo is probably the only one that knows the news at the moment."

"Back in the kingdom, the Arthas Military District hasn't reported this matter to higher authorities yet. After all, this is a very serious accident, and the military district still has some concerns."

"The truth will eventually come out."

After listening to Heinrich's report, Thorne sighed. The impact of this matter could be significant or minor. If the French Commune were to use this incident to start publicizing it extensively, the matter would escalate and could become a major scandal.

Moreover, detaining those who know the truth is not a long-term solution. Controlling them for a day or two is already the limit. Do you really want to keep these people locked up for four or five years? The outside world will eventually find out about this. It can't be kept secret forever.

"How long does the Alsace Military District intend to cover this up? The longer this drags on, the bigger the problem will become. If they're just trying to protect their positions by delaying the report, they might as well get out of here as soon as possible."

If this group chooses to cover it up and ignore it, Thorne will naturally not be polite. If such an important matter is ignored, then these people should pack their things and get out.

The deed is done and cannot be changed. The Gestapo and the Stasi have already investigated. The reason for this incident is actually quite simple: it was due to the soldier's own actions as well as the influence of the French Commune. Now, the task is to figure out how to resolve this matter and prevent such incidents from happening again.

"Heinrich, I'm afraid you'll have to work hard during this time. Before you leave for Prussia, you still need to handle things in the Alsace Military District. This kind of thing can't happen again."

"And Thomas, the Stasi need to keep a close eye on the French Commune. Our Flanders-Wallon border troops are about to set off, and we can't afford any mishaps during this time."

After briefly explaining the next task, Heinrich and Thomas saluted and left the room. Thorne was about to report the matter to the kingdom, and the specifics would have to wait for the kingdom to handle.

"Dr. Goebbels, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

“Your Highness Thorne, although this is a serious incident that may have some very negative consequences, I also see it as an opportunity—an opportunity for us to successfully influence the military.”

Goebbels had already learned the general outline of the matter during their conversation: the soldiers had been infiltrated by the ideology of the French Commune, which led them to choose to defect.

This reveals that the Rhine Kingdom's army did not adequately cultivate the morale and fighting spirit of its soldiers.

An army is an army, a purely armed force. The army of the Kingdom of the Rhine was influenced by Prussian military ideology. The army does not get involved in politics, and the army of the Kingdom of the Rhine is very averse to politics. This makes the army of the Kingdom of the Rhine independent of the entire kingdom system.

In other words, if the army of the Kingdom of the Rhine is a gun, the person who can pull the trigger is not necessarily the kingdom's government. In the entire Kingdom of the Rhine, only the king's personal guard swears allegiance to the king himself, while the entire army of the Rhine swears allegiance to the entire kingdom, not to any one person or any one regime.

This makes the army seem very pure, and the army doesn't get involved in politics, isn't that a good thing? At least there's no need to worry about colluding with anyone to stage a coup. But this also presents a very serious problem, which is, who exactly controls the army of the Kingdom of the Rhine?

In the end, it all comes down to who has the stronger military and who controls the army; whoever controls the army has more say.

Just like now, the king of the Rhine Kingdom cannot directly interfere with military command. The king can command the generals of the Rhine Kingdom, but cannot directly command the army. This is like the medieval saying that the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.

In that case, if a revolution were to occur in the future, Thorne's first consideration would be how many generals in the Kingdom of Rhine would support him. Only with a large number of supporters could he have sufficient power, since Thorne cannot personally command the army.

Therefore, this incident is also an opportunity. For the Kingdom of the Rhine, this matter can be either a big deal or a small deal, depending on how it is handled in the end. According to Goebbels's idea, the bigger this matter becomes in the Kingdom of the Rhine, the better, so that they can extend their influence into the army.

"This incident has exposed many problems in the military. We can take this opportunity to reform the military structure, expand our party's influence in the military, and unite officers and soldiers at the grassroots level to our side."

Although the kingdom's military leadership can command the soldiers below, in the end, it is the soldiers at the grassroots level who listen to them and follow them that matters; otherwise, they will only be a commander without troops.

“We now have a certain number of seats in parliament. If we continue to operate for a few more years, our power can be expanded even further, and we will have enough influence in the government. Next, we should better control the kingdom’s army.”

After hearing what Goebbels said, Thorne suddenly realized that he could not forget such an important thing as extending their influence to the officers and soldiers at the grassroots level. What better way was there than to set up political commissars in the army?

On the Nationalist government's side, their army had already completed its reforms several years ago, establishing Party branches at the company level. To be honest, who could come up with such a powerful method as Chairman Mao to establish the Party's absolute leadership over the army?

The party should command the gun, not the gun should command the party. Thorne can also learn by trial and error and infiltrate the influence of the Socialist Labor Party into the army.

"Your Highness Thorne, His Majesty Otto is looking for you."

The Arthas military district ultimately decided not to conceal the matter and reported the soldiers' desertion to the kingdom.

King Otto's reaction upon hearing this news can be imagined. If something happens in the army, that's terrible. The Arthas military district already has a lot of problems, and if this happens again, things could get out of control.

No one spoke in the meeting room; everyone wore stern faces, especially the military personnel, whose expressions were particularly grim.

"Gentlemen, let me tell you what happened."

After a long silence, King Otto spoke up. He was very dissatisfied with this incident. The Rhine Kingdom had not experienced anything like this in decades. Now was a critical time, and if word got out that this had happened, where would the kingdom's face be?

"Our army has big problems."

King Otto added that he also recognized the drawbacks of the army: the royal government had very weak control over the army, the military and government were separated, and the army had its own independent command, which posed a great threat.

“Your Majesty Otto, we will handle the matter concerning the Alsace Military District and punish those responsible.”

The army was in the wrong this time, so they couldn't offer any explanation and had to swallow their pride.