German Red Prince

Thorne sighed. He guessed that France hadn't expected that their meticulously planned scheme would be marred by Thorne's unexpected intervention.

Before war breaks out between France and Germany, Thorne will betray Wilhelm II. In that case, the Kingdom of the Rhine will not need to be so wary of the French Commune, since they will be good brothers of communism afterward.

William's money came at a good time. Although Thorne runs some businesses, he really doesn't have enough money to research heavy equipment. These research projects are like a bottomless pit, and there's no way to fill them up.

For now, we can only get cheap tanks for Guderian. Thorne has some data on the big ones, but not much. We'll have to wait and get them later.

It's unclear whether Guderian will be disappointed when he sees the small tank Thorne gave him. Most importantly, Thorne can't directly take royal funds; his real goal is to overthrow the royal family and create a new republic.

Although his comrades knew this purpose, they were the only ones who knew it. If it were to spread, he would probably be finished immediately.

His various laws and measures in Darmstadt were all under the name of Charlemagne. Fortunately, there was this old time traveler, otherwise I would have been in trouble.

He was so worried about making money that he was about to die. Now that the old emperor was offering him money, he naturally wouldn't be polite. Build defenses? Build them, they can build them.

But spending so much money just on repairing the defenses is a waste, and we don't even know if we'll be able to use it in the future. So let's take "a little bit" out of it and give it to Thorne for research.

Without hesitation, Thorne immediately picked up his pen and wrote a letter. Although he didn't know when it would be sent back to the Kingdom of Rhine, he was sure there would be enough time.

When you're sleepy, someone offers you a pillow. With such a large sum of money, why not take advantage of it? Wilhelm II probably never imagined that he would become the head of the transport team.

After traveling across the ocean, Thorne arrived at the end of his journey, Guangzhou.

Stepping onto the land of another world, Thorne felt a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness. Looking at the city of Guangzhou before him, Thorne realized he hadn't been to Guangzhou in his previous life, so he treated this visit as a tourist trip.

It was still early, and the weather was nice. There were quite a few pedestrians on the street, and they all looked quite well, with good complexions, unlike the numb people Thorne had seen in the documentaries he had watched before.

Some buildings were flying the flag of the Republic of China. Thorne knew that the Kuomintang was probably in power now. Because of the timeline change, Thorne had only a vague understanding of the situation in East Asia.

How could a powerful country like Germany possibly pay attention to the small-scale events in East Asia? Most countries in the world also have no interest in this area at all.

Judging from the current appearance, this place should be under the rule of the Nationalist government. I wonder who came up here. On the way here, I heard that a coup had recently occurred in East Asia, and it was quite serious. At this time, Thorne did not know that Chiang Kai-shek was dead. He thought that this must be some kind of coup launched by Chiang Kai-shek.

I don't know what happened after that. The coup was quelled, but even if it hadn't been quelled, it probably wouldn't have caused any major problems. That great man pulled out a lot of people in Hunan, so even if Chiang Kai-shek wanted to suppress it, it would definitely be more difficult than before.

After walking for a while, Thorne noticed something different. Besides the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag, there was also a hammer and sickle flag. What was going on? He had heard that Guangzhou was the headquarters of the Nationalist government. The fact that there was a red flag here meant that the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had not yet broken down. He bought a newspaper, and the front page was filled with the news that "the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Red Army liberates western Sichuan".

"That's really impressive, they even liberated Sichuan."

The Guangdong Revolutionary Government's basic territory was inherited from Sun Chuanfang's eight-province alliance. Now, the liberation of Sichuan and Guizhou is also underway. It also says that a force going to liberate Guizhou was commanded by Wang Jialie. When did this guy also defect to the Communists?

"It seems that the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party is still continuing, so there shouldn't be any problems."

When he came here, Thorne thought about whether he could do some business with them and help China's industrial development. However, he was worried that if it was Chiang Kai-shek's reactionary government, he would have some psychological burden. He figured he could only go to Hunan for a while. Although it would be a bit troublesome, it would be less likely to offend anyone.

Since the KMT and the CCP are still cooperating, Thorne can rest assured. It's estimated that due to the timeline changes, this guy hasn't been able to seize power. It seems that the Northern Expedition is still ongoing, so he has no psychological burden in discussing cooperation.

As Thorne walked, he saw a group of soldiers ahead. Although they were dressed in the uniforms of the local army, their European appearance made it easy to guess that they were probably soldiers of the International Brigades.

Although the International Brigades here are composed of left-wing and progressive individuals from all over the world, their combat effectiveness is by no means inferior. They are all people who have received formal military training, and many of them have even studied at military academies in France. Thorne greatly admires these people; they are willing to give up everything for their ideals, and this spirit is very precious.

"Gentlemen, hello." Thorne decided to take the initiative to greet them.

"This is my first time here, and I'm a little unsure about what's going on. Could you please explain it to me?"

"What country are you from?" one of the soldiers asked in English.

"I am German and I want to come here to do business."

"You've come here to do business?"

They were clearly incredulous that someone so young would come to Asia to do business; they were incredibly bold. They knew that European companies that could operate in East Asia were backed by their governments, and those with only a small business who came here to do business on their own had a high probability of going bankrupt.

Moreover, it's important to understand that this is the territory of the revolutionary government. The people here won't give you special privileges or preferential treatment. Many foreign-invested factories were directly confiscated by the revolutionary government.

Many countries have imposed sanctions on the revolutionary government, so you can't make much money doing business here. As a result, most businesses have moved to the Qing Dynasty or Fengtian in the north. It's quite a strange thing that a young man has come all this way to do business here.

"Shevl, there's someone from your hometown here, and he's even doing business here. That's quite rare." They called out to the back, and then a young man walked up to Thorne.

"Hello, my name is Scheffer, I am German."

"Hello, my name is Karl, and I am from the Rhineland in Germany."

"The Rhine people?" Upon hearing this, Schevr seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Are you from the Rhine? May I ask where in the Rhine you're from?"

"I'm from Frankfurt, what about you?"

Frankfurt! Upon hearing this, Scheffer's eyes suddenly lit up, because a Frankfurt man had been killed in the previous battle.

Knowing that Scheffer had met someone from his hometown, the others wisely left, leaving only Thorne and the other German soldiers there.

"I'm from Berlin. Are you here to do business?"

The group found a place to sit down and started chatting. Thorne said he came here to take a look around and see if he could invest here.

"If you're looking to take advantage of someone, you probably can't do that here. But if you're willing to treat everyone here equally, I think they'll welcome you."

The Guangdong Nationalist government is currently under sanctions from several countries, and its own industrial base is very weak, lacking both money and technology. Therefore, it is very eager for other countries to come and do business with them, which could stimulate their local industrialization.

"Shouldn't businessmen be honest and trustworthy? Why would I try to play tricks? Besides, I've always been very interested in the revolutionary situation here, which is why I came here specifically to take a look."

Are you also interested in this place?

Schevr and his companions were pleasantly surprised. "We are just as interested in this place as you are. Before coming here, I never imagined it would be such an interesting country."

During the conversation, Thorne gradually learned the situation: after Sun Chuanfang's betrayal, it was Mr. Liao Zhongkai who had always taken up the banner of the revolutionary government.

Judging from their tone, they also greatly admired Liao Zhongkai. When Liao Zhongkai was alive, he fully supported the Northern Expedition and, with the help of the International Brigades and the Comintern, achieved considerable success.

Then came the inexplicable assassination attempt. The revolutionary government placed Wang Jingwei, the prime suspect, under surveillance, and a series of subsequent events unfolded in a manner that was equally perplexing.

First came the Zhongshan warship, then the explosions and various attacks, followed by the standoff between the German and Japanese navies, and now we have the current situation: the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are in power together. However, due to this internal strife, the Kuomintang's strength is far less than before.

This series of events confused Thorne as well. How could it be so chaotic? First Liao Zhongkai, then the Zhongshan warship, Wang Jingwei, Hu Hanmin, Germany, and Japan—this was far more complicated than the original timeline.

"So now the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are in power together? Who are they?"

"I don't know the specifics either," Schevr replied, after all, he was also an outsider.

"The Kuomintang and the Communist Party suffered heavy losses in that attack. The Communist Party's headquarters was attacked. The current General Committee member is Xu Chongzhi, and the Communist Party's member is Mao Zedong, who serves as a member of the Central Executive Committee."

Hearing this, and considering what Scheffer had said before, Thorne couldn't help but sigh, "He truly is a great man; wherever he goes, he is an extraordinary being."

"Have you heard of Chiang Kai-shek? What happened to him?"

"Chiang Kai-shek? You mean that corps commander from before? He was bombed to death." Schevr said casually, "If it weren't for him, the revolutionary army wouldn't have had such a difficult time fighting."

Baldy's become a revolutionary martyr? The timeline has really shifted a lot. Anyway, good riddance, time to pop the champagne.

After chatting for a while, Thorne prepared to leave. He had come to discuss business and had heard that foreign investment was highly valued here, so he was going to give it a try. As he was about to leave, Scheffer called him back.

“Wait a moment, Mr. Karl.” He took out Harvey’s nameplate. “I heard you’re from Frankfurt, and so is he, but he can’t go home. I hope you can give these to his family.”

Scheffer took out Harvey's belongings, knowing they would probably never be able to return to Germany in their lifetime, and could only ask him for help with this matter.

Thorne's heart skipped a beat as he took Harvey's belongings. "And you? Is there anything you need me to tell you?"

"No need." Shevl hesitated for a moment, but still refused. Contacting their families now would only cause unnecessary trouble and might even implicate them.

"No need for that, Mr. Karl. We will not go back unless German imperialism disappears from the world."

"German imperialism is disappearing? Gentlemen, you will soon see it. Good luck."

"Farewell, Mr. Karl." They also said goodbye to Thorne, but little did they know that German imperialism would soon disappear, replaced by a newly rising republic.

After saying goodbye to them, Thorne went to the local government office and revealed his true identity. He explained that he was there to do big business, and if he didn't show some impressive credentials, he would have wasted his time if they ignored him.

Sure enough, news came soon after. He was to go inside for a detailed discussion. Given his status, the person receiving him was probably of high rank. Thorne took a deep breath and went inside.

"So young."

Looking over, I saw a familiar face.

"Hello, I didn't expect it would be you who came to meet me, Chairman Mao."

Chapter 122 Mahno and the Black Army

After loading the supplies, Makhno led his soldiers away with the goods, taking with him the cadres he had obtained from Kaganovich.

This sum of gold is substantial, and if used properly, it will be very beneficial for future development. Although Ukraine is a puppet state of Germany, the two countries are still somewhat distant.

The German Empire had previously annexed the Kingdom of Poland, extending its sphere of influence into Eastern Europe, but this did not mean that they could further control Eastern Europe.

Under German oppression, Eastern Europe was not lacking in resistance forces, especially Poland, where guerrilla groups grew in number after the annexation of Poland.

After Dzerzhinsky established a unified partisan command, the Polish partisans were effectively managed and their fighting capacity became stronger.

Previously, in order to effectively connect Eastern Europe and strengthen control over the countries in Eastern Europe, Germany spent huge sums of money to build several major railways connecting Eastern and Central Europe.

However, these railways are often severely damaged, and the German government can only effectively maintain the normal throughput of a few major railways. It would be too costly to deploy heavy troops to defend the other railways.

However, these are obviously not issues. They still have ways to deal with you. The German government's idea is for locals to govern locals. Local railways are built and maintained by local authorities. Giving special privileges comes at a price.

The German government granted significant privileges to local landowners and nobles, which ensured their loyalty to Germany. They were quite adept at using Chinese against Chinese in the past, and they are certainly not bad at using Ukrainians against Ukrainians now.

Power doesn't come for free. Ukrainian landowners and nobles are responsible for a section of the railway, and if anything goes wrong, the Germans won't let them off the hook.

When the soldiers found the train, Mahno and his men had been gone for a long time. There was good news and bad news: the good news was that the railway was intact, but the bad news was that the train had been stolen.

Upon witnessing the incident, they immediately informed the landowners and nobles in Germany, who turned pale upon hearing that the train had been robbed.

These people wouldn't be so heartbroken if the grain were lost; they could just ask the farmers for more. But there wasn't just grain in there; there was gold too!

They had painstakingly collected this gold to cultivate relationships with the German royal family and financial giants. Now that the train had been hijacked, they felt as if they were about to vomit blood.

"You mean, the train was hijacked?" Upon hearing the news, Knopa's hands trembled. He put his cup on the table, feeling dizzy.

"Yellow, yellow, gold."

Knopa felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and almost fell. He sat down, bracing himself on the table with one hand, and took out a handkerchief to wipe away the cold sweat.

"Explain yourself to me, what's going on?"

Knopa's tone turned icy, and he clenched his fists, now only thinking about tearing the train robbers to pieces.

"Yes, it was those black and red bandits who did it. They robbed the train and stole the gold," the person who came to report said nervously, his voice trembling.

"It's them again!"

This was obviously not the first time, but these Red and Black bandits rarely acted together. They were both involved in this gold robbery. Did they cooperate?

Knopa was a landowner in southern Ukraine, and he knew these people best. Southern Ukraine was the region most plagued by bandits, and no one knew how many bandits and robbers lived there.

It seems absolutely necessary to launch a massive crackdown on these reckless individuals.

Every region in Ukraine has its own armed groups, and this gold was something they painstakingly collected; how could they possibly tolerate losing it?

Anyway, these bandits will be wiped out sooner or later, it's just a matter of time. This time, we'll deal with them all at once.

"Go back and tell them to get ready. Those damned bastards will all be hanged!"

The southern region is already preparing to encircle and suppress the Black Army and the Red Army, and they are the biggest enemy of the Kingdom of Ukraine. If there is any action in the south, the kingdom will probably send people as well.

After all, these people are causing trouble within the country every day, so it's time to teach them a lesson. Eastern Europe is the empire's breadbasket, and it cannot afford to suffer any losses.

Makhno led the cadres to the settlement. Makhno's Black Army base was different from the Red Army's base. In the Red Army's base, there were mostly collective farms, where the land belonged to the farms and the farmers worked there.

The Red Army established Soviet governments in various places. The Soviets were responsible for local affairs, and all power belonged to the Soviets. The Supreme Soviet, in turn, led the local governments.

Neither the Black Army nor Makhno were particularly fond of the Bolshevik system; they had their own set of logic and operating methods.

The areas under Makhno's leadership implemented an autonomous model, unlike the Red Army's collective farms, which, being collective, had large machinery.

There was no such mandatory requirement in the autonomous region of Makhno. Instead, they distributed land to individual farmers for intensive cultivation. This policy had often been criticized by the Bolsheviks, but the farmers strongly supported it.

After all, the land of the collective farm does not belong to them. The farmers' passion for the land cannot be replaced by lofty ideals. Their feelings for the land have a history of thousands of years.

The Ukrainian people supported Makhno's Black Army because of their affection for the land. The Bolsheviks were too cruel to the peasants. After all, they claimed to be a worker-peasant alliance, but they mainly relied on the workers.

Trotsky, who frequently betrayed the Bolsheviks, once said, "We must squeeze the blood out of the countryside to contribute to the industrialization of the cities." If the peasants could say such a thing, their feelings towards the Bolsheviks must not have been very good.

Compared to them, Mahno's anarchist model involves each village or town establishing its own organization for self-management, generally without direct external interference.

If there are specific requirements that need to be reported, they also have a workers-soldiers-peasants alliance organization. If there is a problem that cannot be handled, this organization will report the local problem to higher authorities, and the issues will be resolved uniformly after the reports are submitted from various places.

The Anarchists lacked the Bolsheviks' strong and effective organizational capabilities because the Black Army was not a unified entity but rather a loosely organized legion of guerrillas.

This legion was bound together by Mahno, but in reality, Mahno had no real power. His position was military advisor, or chief of staff, and he was able to command the Black Army by relying on his influence.

The key to the Black Army lies in its voluntary conscription system, officer election system, and general assembly. With these three systems in place, the Black Army's soldiers are not forcibly conscripted, its officers are not appointed, and its decisions are not made arbitrarily, thus fundamentally eradicating the roots of its transformation into a dictatorship.

Mahno's position was not that of the Black Army Commander, and he had people like Simon Karenik around him to succeed him.

The Black Army won't change its ways now, and it won't change its ways before Mahno and Simon, but what about in the future?