German Red Prince

Page 83

"Thank you. I also believe that we can achieve unification by relying on the power of the people." Chairman Mao looked into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing." Thorne suddenly remembered something.

"You should be careful to guard against Japan."

He told Chairman Mao about his encounter with the Japanese military attaché in China that day, saying, "Japan has invested a lot of personnel in China, and it started very early. If your two countries are to have a conflict in the future, I suggest you take precautions as soon as possible."

Thorne knew that during the invasion of China, Japanese spies sent to China extensively collected intelligence and drew detailed maps of various places. They prepared for war more than a decade earlier than China, causing China to suffer enormous losses at the beginning of the war.

"Oh? Why are you telling me this?" Chairman Mao asked Thorne.

"That's because Japan is our biggest threat in East Asia, and I personally don't have a good impression of them. Before, in the waters off Guangzhou, they seemed to have sent warships to confront our German warships, although I don't know the specific reason."

"I suggest that the Nationalist government pay attention to this. The Japanese people have always lived on those islands, have a strong sense of crisis, and are very eager for the mainland. They might launch a surprise attack one day."

"As far as I know, they seem to launch a war against you every few hundred years. You won during the Tang and Ming dynasties, but you lost during the Qing dynasty. So there's no guarantee that they won't take advantage of your current weakness and launch another attack."

Chairman Mao had actually considered this possibility. If the Nationalist government marched north and defeated the Qing Dynasty, Japan would very likely intervene when the war with Fengtian broke out. Once Japan sent troops, the nature of the entire war would change. That's why they are so eager to improve their technological capabilities now.

"Do you need me to send someone over to help you train? Germany's intelligence technology is top-notch worldwide. Don't worry, this is a gift from me, just to make friends."

"Thank you very much." Chairman Mao did not refuse; he was growing increasingly fond of this prince from Germany.

The preparations over there are almost complete, and the people have been selected. Thorne's trip can now come to an end.

"I hope that when we meet again, we will become true friends."

Thorne looked at Chairman Mao with a sincere expression. At this moment, Chairman Mao did not understand what Thorne meant, but he would understand when they met again, and then they would become true friends.

Having boarded the ship and slowly sailed out of Guangzhou Port, Thorne was finally about to deal with the mess in Europe again.

Chapter 128 Grand Marshal

"In our simple hearts, a fire has been ignited, and a free new France salutes you, Marshal! Your loving people pray that you may stay young forever!"

"Marshal, Here I Come," France's second national anthem, is sung even more widely than its first national anthem, "La Marseillaise."

In the French Republic, Pétain was the only one in power; the so-called Republic was merely a nicer name, in reality a dictatorial military government under Pétain.

On official occasions, whenever the French Republic plays its national anthem, it always plays "Marshal, Here I Come" before "La Marseillaise".

It was said to be to praise Pétain for saving the Republic of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity from the evil Red Gang, but everyone knew what it really meant.

There cannot be two suns in the sky; in the French Republic, Marshal Pétain is the only sun.

"Your noble aspirations have been fulfilled! Marshal, we are here! We pledge our allegiance to you, savior of France! We swear that the sons and daughters of our motherland will forever support and follow you. Marshal, we are here! You have given us hope, and our great motherland will be reborn!"

As the military songs played, the soldiers marched past the reviewing stand one by one. Pétain, standing on the stand, watched the soldiers below applaud and salute them from time to time.

It's partly true that Pétain was a great hero of France. He was indeed a savior to those powerful and influential people in France at the time. If it weren't for Pétain leading them to North Africa, these people would probably be nothing more than streetlight ornaments by now.

Pétain now wields immense power in the Republic. During the war, he was merely a marshal on the front lines, but now he has become a powerful dictator, controlling the nation's army.

The Third French Republic seemed to be humiliated from the moment it was born. It was established after the Second Empire collapsed due to its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune was successfully suppressed.

The newly established republic did not regain the glory of the Napoleonic era, or rather, France after Napoleon had no intention of rising again.

Because the rise of Germany changed the situation in Europe, Napoleon III wanted to emulate his uncle and build a new empire. However, the dream of a second empire was shattered at Versailles, and the new republic suffered the same setbacks as before forty years later.

Once again, the war against Germany ended in defeat, with German troops swaggering through the Arc de Triomphe. Internally, the same mob, just as it had been forty years earlier, began to rebel in Paris.

Following France's defeat and signing of the surrender agreement, socialists, anarchists, and syndicalists in France launched a revolution.

In the ensuing civil war, the French Republic government was not as fortunate as before; they were defeated once again, defeated by the revolutionaries.

However, this time the Republic government did not surrender, but chose to go into exile. They did not give up the struggle. This time they wanted to develop secretly and then amaze everyone.

Before retreating, the Republican government took everything it could. As soon as the revolutionaries began their uprising in Paris, the Republican government started transferring valuable materials, gold, and so on.

Moreover, they also seized a large number of young and middle-aged laborers because the government officials of these republics knew that their small military force was not enough to deter the local bullies in the African colonies.

As the revolutionary army grew stronger, the entire northern part of France was basically under the control of the Commune's armed forces, and the Republican government's army could only retreat southward.

Pétain miraculously escaped danger during the Rhône River evacuation, known as the "Miracle of Lyon," allowing the Republican army to safely escape from the Commune's encirclement.

Having successfully preserved nearly 50,000 troops of the Republic, after retreating all the way to the port of Marseille, some French naval personnel who were unwilling to revolt led the Republic's government to Algiers.

In the minds of the republic's government officials, the current defeat was only temporary. They believed that the commune's brutal rule could not last long and that the republic would soon return from Africa like lightning.

They were playing their own games, pinning their hopes on the nascent French Commune regime collapsing on its own soon, or being strangled by those damned Germans.

However, this time the Republic's hopes were dashed. The German Empire did not launch an attack as they had envisioned, because Germany had also reached its limits in the war; they had already achieved victory, and there was no need to wage another unnecessary war.

The German Empire and the Commune regime signed a peace treaty, followed by the Treaty of Versailles, and relations between the two countries gradually cooled. The republic's previous schemes could be heard even in the Berlin Imperial Palace; now, I've become the clown.

The exiled republican government was subsequently ignored and became virtually invisible on the international stage. Forces allied with Germany gradually began to recognize the French Commune as the legitimate successor to the republic.

Only during the World War did the Allied powers, the French Republic's fellow sufferers, recognize the legitimacy of this government-in-exile, since they were mostly in exile themselves.

Despite their current predicament, the exiles of the Republic were not deterred by the unfavorable situation. They reaffirmed their claim to be the legitimate government of mainland France and her vast colonial empire, and reiterated their commitment to the Allied Powers. The exiled government prepared to seize the opportunity to launch a counter-offensive, enduring hardship and biding their time, hoping to one day "counterattack the continent."

However, the conditions for a counterattack were extremely harsh. The political situation after being forced into exile was extremely volatile, and a soft and compromising parliament could not possibly control the government. Less than two months after arriving in Africa, the parliament and mainstream political parties were ousted from power without bloodshed by Foch, who held military power.

After coming to power, Foch seized military and political power. He established the Linshi Military Government and declared a temporary state of emergency, granting the government and the military strong powers to ensure national stability. He became a dictator and openly governed as the head of the military government.

During his reign, he carried out massacres of his opponents and rebellious Africans, governing the French Republic with an iron fist. During that period alone, approximately 30,000 indigenous Africans were killed.

These brutal policies continued until Foch's sudden death in 1926. No one knew the cause of his death; it was publicly stated that he had suffered a heart attack. After Foch's death, his colleague, war hero Philippe Pétain, filled the vacancy.

During Foch's reign, this great war hero was practically invisible, with virtually no presence. However, after Foch's death, his rise to power was supported by several other forces, particularly the Republican Alliance and the Democratic Alliance, two organizations that Foch had suppressed for a long time.

After Pétain came to power, many people suspected that there might be some kind of conspiracy, but after a lieutenant general confidant whom Foch had supported in the army suddenly disappeared, no one mentioned the matter again.

However, Pétain's rise to power wasn't necessarily a bad thing, at least not for the exiled French Plain White Banner gentlemen.

The Lion of Verdun's rule was less autocratic than Foch's; he was willing to empower parliament and civil institutions when necessary, and chose to cooperate with center-right parties, including the Fire Cross.

These appropriate concessions allowed Pétain to maintain firm control over the political arena of the French Republic. However, the influence of the Frozen Cross is growing, and this most loyal ally of Pétain is gradually expanding its power.

Colonel De La Rochefoucauld, the leader of the Frozen Cross, seems to aspire to become the "second sun" of the French Republic, a move that will undoubtedly alter the political landscape of the entire republic.

Regardless, Pétain remains the sole leader of France, the constitution is still suspended, the military dominates politics and the economy, and while parliament has some power, it remains a marginal group.

While Pétain's political skills were first-rate, Prime Minister General Maurice Janant's abilities were hardly commendable.

Many people called him an "undercover agent from the commune," believing that his mistakes would ultimately backfire on him and Pétain's government.

The realities of the French Revolution and exile convinced Marshal Pétain and most others that only a hardline, authoritarian regime could save France, and that this state should at least continue until the liberation of the homeland.

However, over time, far-right royalists and liberals gradually began to oppose the military government, and calls for change within the country continued to grow.

Prime Minister Maurice Janan's incompetence exacerbated the situation, with his numerous mistakes plunging the government into crisis time and again, and the same mistake often had to be corrected only after it occurred multiple times.

Even Pétain's allies in the Fire Cross and the Republican League are beginning to feel dissatisfied with the current situation. The entire country is now sitting on a volcano and desperately needs an emergency release of pressure.

To put it simply, the military government is gradually losing public trust and is now barely holding on by Pétain's personal prestige.

Not only did he lack popular support, but the army, which was the pillar of the regime, also began to lose trust in the Grand Marshal. Pétain placed many of his confidants in key positions, turning the entire government into a one-man show by Pétain.

While some of them were indeed capable of fulfilling their duties, officers who were not close to Pétain felt neglected, and others worried that if Pétain continued to rely so heavily on his own faction, it might lead to the demise of military doctrine research.

The infighting within the Pétain faction was also intensifying. General de Gaulle and Admiral Darlan had vastly different plans for the liberation of the homeland, each with their own ideas, and they were arguing endlessly about how the army should liberate the homeland in the future.

However, the country's most pressing concern is its current state of exile. Although Algeria was annexed by France in the late 19th century and became a French overseas colony, exiles and native French Algerians make up a significant portion of the country's population, even the majority in some major cities.

Overall, however, a minority of Europeans still ruled over millions of natives who, although recognized as French, were essentially second-class citizens, burdened with heavy taxes and forced to work, and subject to rule from Algiers by native elites and the army.

Before the war, it was fine to rule these people with high-pressure tactics, but since the defeat in the war, the colonial situation has become increasingly unstable. Their former masters have now fled to Africa and are still arrogant towards them. The locals are obviously very dissatisfied, and some of them also realize that this is an excellent opportunity for independence.

These African natives who rebelled against France would certainly receive the support of the commune, and if they were lucky, Germany might even provide them with aid. Even if each uprising was brutally and ruthlessly suppressed, the rebels could never be completely eradicated.

The Commune and Pan-Arabist agents launched a massive propaganda campaign against the colonial government authorities. In the southern territories, far from the political center of the French Republic and bordering Central Africa, large quantities of weapons were smuggled from the Central African border into the hands of the rebels, keeping the local governments busy.

However, most of the traditional indigenous elites remain loyal to France. Indigenous intellectuals educated in France have become “spiritual Frenchmen” with black skin and white hearts. Although they also yearn for reform, they remain loyal to the government.

However, one thing is crystal clear: if the government continues its inaction amidst ongoing infighting, then an even larger-scale rebellion will inevitably follow.

The military junta has indeed made several attempts to consolidate its power; for example, they are considering changing the name of the French Republic to the "French Nation-State".

Removing the word "republic" signaled a temporary halt to full democracy, while adding the word "nation" asserted that it was the only country that could truly represent the French nation, in opposition to the Commune government, which had universalist and internationalist characteristics.

However, the resolution has not yet been passed. After all, the current national motto is "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," and it just feels a bit strange after the country was changed to a nation-state.

Faced with the various internal contradictions in the country, Pétain had considered solutions, but he did not have the ability to do so at the moment. He could not unite all the forces in the country under his command at once, so he decided to take a big gamble.

This military parade was to assess the current level of the French military. After more than a decade of development, the overall strength of the French military is now considerable. The navy can now add more new ships to patrol Corsica. As a bridgehead for the counterattack, they must defend this small island.

"Grand Marshal, General Carter's troops have arrived at the front lines. When shall we begin our operation?"

After the parade ended, an officer walked in with documents in his hand.

What Pétain needed to do was launch a surprise attack on the Ottoman Empire, the "sick man of Europe," who only had a small territory in Libya left in Africa. If he could expel the Ottoman, Pétain would have enough prestige to carry out domestic reforms.

"What did the Germans say?"

His biggest concern right now is Germany's attitude; if a conflict breaks out between the Ottomans and France, they hope Germany can remain neutral.

As long as Germany doesn't intervene, France is basically guaranteed to win. Egypt and the Middle East are enough to give the Ottomans a headache, and they simply won't have enough troops to fight against France.

"The Germans haven't said anything. They're in a standoff with the commune, so they shouldn't have time to interfere with us for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Pétain hesitated for a moment. He stood in front of the map and slowly opened his mouth after a long while, saying, "Tell General Carter to refrain from taking any action for now and wait for my orders."

"Yes, sir!" The officer, having received instructions, saluted and left.

In the empty room, Pétain looked towards the south of the Republic, wondering if Germany would intervene. To be on the safe side, he decided to deal with some matters in the south first to avoid any unforeseen complications.

The resistance forces in Mali need to be dealt with properly; sending them to the front lines as cannon fodder would be a good option.

Chapter 129 Dangerous Neighbors

After what seemed like an eternity, Thorne finally returned to Germany. He remembered that it was only slightly chilly when he left, but now that he was back, he could clearly feel the cold. It seemed that another year was about to pass.

Thorne, based on his memories from his previous life, only knew that there shouldn't be any major conflicts or wars before the 1930s, but no one knew whether any conflicts would break out at the end of the 1920s due to the shift in the world line.

The Spanish Civil War was a preview of World War II. Spain in this world probably wouldn't be much better off. The establishment of the Commune had completely changed the world order. It's hard to say whether Spain on the Iberian Peninsula could withstand this impact. Franco probably couldn't conquer the whole world in a day.

However, these matters are not relevant to Thorne for the time being. No matter how strong he is, he can only interfere with a small part of the world's affairs.

Besides, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; there's also that old guy William. He doesn't need to worry about the world situation right now.

This trip was very fruitful. He brought back a lot of talent from the United States and many students from China to study. Some research can be carried out in advance, so he will not be afraid even if war comes.

What Thorne was curious about was why there were so many people guarding the port. It looked like they were on high alert. Even if he came back, there was no need to make such a big fuss. Had something happened?

Upon seeing Thorne disembark, the butler, who had been waiting there, went over to greet him, saying, "Your Highness Thorne, welcome back."

“No need to be so polite. You can take these people over and settle them in. I have arrangements to make.” Thorne said, pointing to the Chinese students standing to the side.

These students who came to study abroad were carefully selected and can be said to be the hope for the future development of the Nationalist government. Although there were not many students who came, they were more valuable than the factories that Thorne opened in China.

These dozens of students made up a large part of the agreement, and the Nationalist government spent almost half of its budget on training them.

They came from various fields, including medicine, chemistry, and even nuclear physics research. Thorne agreed to three spots, and when Thorne saw the list, he knew that they were three big names: Shi Shiyuan, Zhao Zhongyao, and Wang Ganchang.

Generally speaking, there's nothing wrong with studying in Germany, since Germany has its share of international students. However, Thorne promised that students who come to study here can directly participate in certain research projects, which means they can learn more valuable things.

Since he was already here, and Thorne had so many things that were just ideas, he decided not to be polite and let these people work for him for a few years.

Hammer saw Thorne point to the people behind him and knew that these people were the same as the previous group, talents brought to Germany. He gave an order to the person next to him, and someone led them to the arranged place.

"Butler Hamo, what's going on with all these patrols? I didn't see this when I left."

"Your Highness, something has indeed happened."

Butler Hammer sighed and then began to explain the whole story to Thorne. Listening to Hammer's explanation, Thorne understood that this was the same thing that had happened in France.

After France publicly announced the abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles, the entire kingdom was in a state of high tension, unsure whether the French Commune would launch a sudden attack.

Since the occupation, the Alsace-Lorraine region has always needed a garrison to maintain stability. As soon as the commune was re-armed, unrest started again there. Moreover, it seems that the people there have also made connections with France. They have even managed to obtain guns, causing a huge disturbance at the border.

The kingdom was already on edge, and when the riots broke out in Alsace-Lorraine, Otto was even more worried than William. He immediately dispatched troops, and the entire kingdom went on high alert. Moreover, during the previous operation, the kingdom's army unexpectedly captured a French agent.

The agent was burning documents when he was captured. He was injured by our soldiers while resisting, but we managed to salvage the documents. It is because of these documents that the kingdom is so on edge.

"What happened to that agent? Has the kingdom received any information from him?"

"That agent?"

Hamo shook his head helplessly. "After that agent was injured, the kingdom knew his value and arranged for him to be treated in a hospital. The soldiers also took good care of him, but in the end he still died."