African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1351 Soldiers’ Struggle

February 1919, 11.

After several more weeks of debate and negotiation, the four countries of Britain, France, Germany and Austria finally made great progress on the issue of peace.

"Mr. Freer, after this meeting, peace should be truly achievable, right?" Dutch Prime Minister Kuyper said with some emotion.

Freer, looking a little haggard, smiled and said, "That should be the case. In fact, this world war is essentially another round of European war. So as long as European society reaches a unified consensus, peace will naturally come."

Throughout history, Europeans have either been fighting a war or on their way to a war. From the ancient Roman era to the Middle Ages, to modern times and even in the future, large-scale wars in Europe have never stopped.

The Hundred Years' War between England and France, the Byzantine-Bulgarian War, the Byzantine-Arab War, the Roman-Persian War, and the Spanish Reconquista all lasted for more than a hundred years. England's conquest of Wales lasted for eight centuries, or 800 years.

In modern times, wars in Europe have become more frequent, with more countries and armies involved and weapons with greater lethality. This world war, which is what Ernst called the First World War, has once again pushed the war in Europe to a new peak.

After saying that, Freer also sighed: "In order to promote the progress of the meeting, I haven't slept well for more than a month. It's hard to imagine what the last peace conference was like."

Prime Minister Kuyper smiled bitterly and said, "I did go through the first peace conference, and that conference was much more difficult than this one. At that time, the Central Powers and the Allied Powers were very angry."

"After all, because of the war, everyone had only hatred in their hearts, so the representatives of Britain, France, Germany and Austria were like explosives ready to explode at any time."

"At the time, I and other mediators were beside them, feeling very nervous and uneasy. When the meeting was held, as expected, a fight broke out on the first day of the meeting."

"The German and French representatives started fighting on the spot. Austria-Hungary and Britain also joined the fray. Our people had to work very hard to pull them apart."

"Almost in the first two months of the meeting, both sides did not stop verbal abuse and violence. It was not until the third month that everyone calmed down a little. It was not until the end of the meeting that a rough result was finally reached..."

Freer could sense the resentment in Kuyper's words. The two meetings lasted for nearly half a year and were both held in the Netherlands. Without the help of East Africa, the Dutch government would probably have collapsed. After all, none of the four countries, Britain, France, Germany and Austria, could be offended by a small country like the Netherlands.

With Kuyper's complaint, Freer felt much better. He comforted Kuyper, "Your Excellency and your country's contribution to peace will surely go down in history. After all, ending this world war is equivalent to saving tens of millions of lives. The people of Europe will be grateful for your efforts."

The people who suffered the most during the war were the European civilians. As a mediator in the war, the Netherlands was one of the promoters of ending the tragedy of World War I. At least in the past decade or so, the European people, especially the peace-loving people, must be grateful to Kuyper. As for those who don't love peace...

There are definitely such people. After all, a general's success is the result of the sacrifice of hundreds of soldiers. The lives of civilians are worthless in the eyes of politicians. In addition, there are some warmongers with extreme ideas, such as the German head of state in the previous life.

However, they now have no say on the historical stage. The Second Peace Conference basically confirmed the end of the war, at least temporarily.

……

After November, public opinion in European countries began to consciously change direction, and the topic of peace continued to rise.

Of course, ending the war suddenly would certainly cause public dissatisfaction, so under the manipulation of European countries, the topic would from time to time be directed to special social groups such as the Labour Party, the Jews, or individual pro-war politicians and soldiers who had been abandoned by the government.

In a rear-line hospital in Germany.

A soldier with a thigh amputation is reading the latest newspaper to a comrade with an eye injury.

"…The frontline battlefield has been slow to make progress. Major General Leinster of Bavaria complained that due to the collusion between bad businessmen in the rear and the termites within the army, war materials were resold, which might lead to the failure of the war…"

"…The activities of the Labour Party betrayed German information. They cooperated with Labour Party members in other European countries, infiltrated the army, and betrayed intelligence on the battlefield…"

"… His Majesty William II personally visited the front line to comfort the families of the martyrs…"

“Enough! Stop talking!” The young soldier on the hospital bed yelled with a ferocious look on his face, “These damned Jews… It is because of them that the empire has fallen into the current passive situation.”

"The war must not be stopped, but we must eliminate the parasites in the country. To fight against foreign enemies, we must first stabilize the country. And the government is a bunch of good-for-nothings. They really should..."

The soldier was very emotional, especially because of the news in the newspapers about the possible consideration of a ceasefire, which made him very dissatisfied.

The soldier holding the newspaper had to stop reading because of his colleague's emotions. He said to his colleague on the bed: "Corporal, I understand your feelings. In fact, ending the war now is good news."

"No, you don't understand at all!" The blind soldier said loudly, "The Empire has paid too much for this war. We should make a concerted effort to completely defeat Britain and France and gain world hegemony."

"We lost so many opportunities because of the Labour Party, East Africa, the Jews... If it weren't for them, the Empire would have ended the war long ago."

This German soldier hated East Africa as well. After all, in his opinion, East Africa was also a "traitor". After all, as a German country, East Africa stood idly by the war, which was a betrayal of the German nation.

"Adolf, you should calm down. Although I know that you are a little emotionally unstable due to the injury to your eye, can you be worse off than me? I lost a leg for this war, and I will probably have to bear this price for the rest of my life. But the doctor said that your eyes still have the possibility of recovery." The soldier with an amputation said to the corporal named Adolf.

Hearing this, Adolf calmed down and said to the soldier: "Wallenfels, I'm sorry, I was really emotional. I hope you can forgive me as a patriot. If I didn't love Germany so deeply, how could I be so emotional?"

"As for your leg... he sacrificed it for the cause of the Empire, so don't be sad."

The corners of Wallenfels' mouth twitched slightly. He would rather not have such comfort. Of course, Adolf could not see the change in his facial expression because his colleague's eyes were damaged by the poison gas.

"Thank you for your comfort, Mr. Adolf. In fact, after these few months of experience, my heart has long been at peace. As you said, my thigh was sacrificed for the cause of the empire."

"However, compared to those compatriots who lost their lives on the battlefield, you and I are so lucky. At least we survived."

"Now that I think about it, this war is indeed a disaster for us. Countless people have lost their lives because of this war. If we can stop the war, it may be the best outcome." Adolf still has a good impression of Wallenfels. He said, "It's a good thing that you are so optimistic, but I can't forgive those corrupt bureaucrats and those who profited from the national disaster... Because of these insects, more useless sacrifices have been caused."

After hearing what Adolf said, Wallenfels gritted his teeth and said, "Indeed, some people should not have lost their lives, but they fell on the battlefield because of the reselling of war materials or intelligence errors. My leg was infected with fungi due to the lack of medicines on the front line, and finally had to be amputated."

"However, the Empire has also recognized this problem and should settle accounts with those bad businessmen behind the battlefield."

Adolf said viciously: "Not only should they be liquidated, this abominable group should all be taken to concentration camps and shot. Without his actions, the war should have ended two years ago."

"After my eyes get better, I decided..."

"Decide what?" asked Wallenfels.

Adolf said: "I want to go into politics, enter the government, and become a high-ranking official in the future empire. I want revenge for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the front lines and contributed to the German cause, and eliminate the hateful ones..."

Wallenfels thought Adolf's words were just nonsense. After all, how could a corporal like him become a high-ranking official in the empire in the future? However, he did not spoil the fun. Instead, he encouraged him and said, "Then I wish you success in the future!"

"As for me, I don't have your ambitions. If things go as expected, I will probably return to Stettin and inherit my father's leatherwork shop."

Adolf said: "Thank you for your understanding, but everyone has their own aspirations. I believe that as long as I hold on to my patriotic passion, there will always be a day for me to shine."

"When my eyes recover, I may go to Munich. My former unit was the Bavarian Infantry Regiment. I think I should be able to make a career in Munich."

Munich is about to welcome a young man, but Munich has no idea what this young man will bring to Germany's future.

Lying on his sickbed, Adolf told Wallenfels all his immature ideas and political ambitions. He was a man who was very eager to talk.

"It seems that the Empire is likely to end the war. The news revealed in the newspapers all show a change in the wind direction. I just don't know what kind of behind-the-scenes deal the Allies and the Empire have reached..."

"This country in East Africa cannot be trusted. Although they are labeled as a German country, they are actually African natives with contaminated blood. When I take office, I will definitely expel this fake German country from German nationality."

"The Americans and the British are birds of a feather. If they hadn't been messing with us, we would have captured Paris and trapped London long ago."

"Labor and the Jews..."

Wallenfels listened patiently to every word of his comrade who was two years younger than him, and made comments from time to time.

……

It is not just passionate young people like Adolf who are dissatisfied with the change in European public opinion, but also the Americans, who Adolf calls the same as the British.

President Wilson of the United States said to his subordinates angrily: "Why didn't we get the news? If the war in Europe ceased, what would we be doing now?"

The country that least wanted to see a ceasefire in Europe was none other than the United States. After all, since the beginning of World War I, American social development has ushered in a new wave. Although the competition from East Africa made the United States earn a lot less in the early stages, in the later stages the United States has surpassed East Africa in trade with Europe.

Even under the instigation and lobbying of Britain, various interest groups in the United States were willing to join the Allied Powers in order to completely drive East Africa out of the European market and monopolize the market, so as to obtain orders from Britain, France and Germany.

As a result, news has now leaked out from Europe that a ceasefire is about to be reached. This is obviously not what the United States wants to see. It would be fine if the United States had not joined the war, but now that the United States has joined the Allied Powers, the investment in the war has been wasted.

Moreover, if Europe ceased fighting, it would basically mean that the United States would have created enemies such as Germany and Austria-Hungary for no reason, and would have cut itself off from the Central and Eastern European market controlled by the Allies.

"Mr. President, the reason why the winds of the European countries have changed is most likely due to East Africa. We did not expect East Africa to mediate the war in Europe. After all, this is not in their interest."

"We think so too, Mr. President. Logically speaking, East Africa is also taking advantage of the war to make a fortune. They had a lot of trade with European countries during the war, and even had more advantages than us in the early and middle stages of the war. But who knew they would actually go to mediate the war!"

It is normal that Americans do not understand. After all, East Africa is different from the United States. The United States is a democratic country. For their own interests, capital interest groups naturally hope that Europe will continue to fight so that they can gain more benefits. This is not something that individuals in the United States can stop. Even the United States joined the war because it would allow American military and other companies to make a lot of money, so they fanned the flames.

In fact, Wilson himself did not support joining the war from the beginning. After all, considering the national interests of the United States, he wanted to at least wait and see for a while. However, American companies and capital could not wait, and once they made a decision, Wilson alone could not stop them.

As for East Africa, there is no doubt that absolute monarchy is indeed a backward system that has failed to keep up with the trend of the times, but this also allows Ernst to have a greater say in guiding East Africa's foreign policy, and no one can stop Ernst's decision.

Of course, East Africa's mediation of the war will certainly cause dissatisfaction among some people in the country. After all, there are many people in East Africa who make a living from European trade, but their power is not enough to interfere with the emperor's decision-making, especially the existence of Ernst, who is almost equivalent to the founding monarch.

Ernst's power was so great that even William II and Emperor Franz would have been envious. Perhaps only the Emperor of Japan and the King of Thailand could be compared with him in this world, not to mention the humble American elected President Wilson.

To put it bluntly, Wilson was a "dog" pushed to power by American interest groups. If he went against the wishes of his masters, the final outcome of American President Lincoln would serve as a lesson for Wilson.

"Mr. President, the dust has not yet settled. Even if European public opinion changes, it does not necessarily mean that Europe will cease fire. We should first discuss the tone of Britain and France, and then determine whether they have made peace with the Allies behind our backs."

"If this is true, then we must be prepared, especially when relations with the Allies improve. The British are not completely trustworthy. They may negotiate peace with the Allies behind our backs."

President Wilson said grimly, "This is the only way now. Damn East Africa, they must have done something secretly, otherwise Europe would not be in the current situation."

As a smart man, Wilson has already locked on the suspect, who must be East Africa without a doubt. However, he has no definite evidence. After all, the two European Peace Conferences were both held in secret. In fact, East Africa only invited six countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, in order to prevent the news from leaking and thus interfering with the progress of the conference.

The fewer the number of participants and countries, the easier it is to reach a consensus. There is no doubt that East Africa made the right move.

(End of this chapter)