Conquering the world from the Kaiser's driver

Although he had given speeches in front of tens of thousands of people in the past, this time was completely different from the past, both in terms of his identity and the audience he was facing.

click-

The car door was opened by Bode, Lin Shangzhou took a deep breath and got out of the car.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Shangzhou took his steps towards the Capitol. He waved to the reporters as he walked, and then he saw an acquaintance running towards him - Ma Enna.

Everyone else was stopped by the police, but he was the only one who got permission to pass through the police blockade and come towards himself... uh... Lin Shangzhou looked carefully and saw two policemen chasing after Ma Enna. It seemed that he did not get permission, but was just trying to be smart and sneak over.

It was obvious that the two policemen could not catch up with Mainna, and could only watch him run towards the future German Chancellor. Lin Shangzhou also waved to them, signaling them to go back to stand guard.

"Hey, Chancellor Hipper, do you have anything to say to me, a reporter?"

Ma Enna came to Lin Shangzhou and greeted him with a playful smile. Facing Ma Enna's address to him, Lin Shangzhou snorted and said, "Don't be so absolute. Whether His Majesty will appoint me as prime minister is another matter."

"Then I sincerely hope that you can be appointed as the new prime minister by His Majesty."

Ma Enna said with a smile. He smiled on the surface, but in his heart he couldn't stop complaining about Lin Shangzhou. He had such a good relationship with the emperor, if he was not appointed as prime minister, who else would be appointed as prime minister.

"Thank you."

After a brief interview with a few questions, Mainna left. This time there was really no time to waste.

After entering the Capitol, Lin Shangzhou walked to the hall where the parliament was located with ease. On the way to his seat, some people congratulated him, while others looked at him coldly. After he sat down in his seat, Louis next to him directly hugged Lin Shangzhou's neck and said with a smile: "Our Chancellor Hipper is here!"

Other SPD MPs also came around to congratulate him.

Ten minutes later, Alexandrine and Cecilia walked in from the main entrance of the hall. After the emperor's arrival, the entire conference hall became quiet. Alexandrine sat down in her seat in the middle, and then Papen announced the official start of this parliament.

After a long speech, Papen announced that the Socialist People's Party would become the new ruling party in Germany. Then Alexandrine stood up from her chair, looked in the direction of Lin Shangzhou and said into the microphone: "Frittz Hipper, I appoint you to represent the Socialist People's Party as the new Imperial Chancellor."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire conference hall burst into warm applause. Faced with this predetermined result, Lin Shangzhou sighed lightly, stood up from his seat and walked towards where Papen was.

Papen had already left the position of chancellor before he arrived. His departure symbolized the end of the Center Party's ten years of rule, and Lin Shangzhou's arrival meant a new beginning for Germany.

After arriving at the position of prime minister, Lin Shangzhou first looked at Alexandrine, then turned to the microphone and prepared to deliver his inaugural speech.

Taking a deep breath and recalling the speech Goebbels had written for him, Lin Shangzhou spoke slowly into the microphone with a solemn expression: "Hello, fellow German citizens!"

When the congressmen heard Lin Shangzhou address them, they felt a little confused, but they couldn't say what the problem was. Lin Shangzhou was right, they were indeed German citizens.

"I am honored to be the new Chancellor of the Empire, and I am honored to be here to give my inaugural speech."

"Once upon a time, Germany was the first country in the world to pursue equality and freedom, and a country of poets and thinkers. Countless people persisted in the dream of a unified Germany and the ideal of pursuing a happy life."

"Decades ago, our great Emperor William I and Chancellor Bismarck jointly forged the German Empire. More than a decade ago, our great Emperor William II led the German Empire to defeat our enemies and ushered in the glorious era of Germany."

Lin Shangzhou narrated the history of Germany in a moving voice, and then changed the subject, his tone became sharp: "But now Germany, in my eyes, this great father is now devastated: he has been blinded by his former glory, he has become more conservative, and he is complacent in his place, and is called the "Kingdom of Caesar."

"Germany's economy is booming, but the fruits of development rarely benefit those at the bottom. In urban areas and slums, many people are still struggling to survive. Many women are bound to their homes by religion and their husbands, and they cannot get a job of their own."

"To this day, our people fear for their personal safety, life, livelihood and property at home, in church, on the playground and in our great cities, and every thinking German citizen is increasingly worried about persecution and injustice of every kind."

"Everyone, what the German Empire needs is freedom, democracy and justice!"

"My comrades and I will do our best to serve His Majesty the Emperor, the motherland, and the people. My party, the Social Democratic Party, and I will defeat conservatism and injustice and spread progress and justice throughout the country."

Lin Shangzhou's voice echoed in the conference hall. Alexandrine behind him became excited after hearing his words. She still remembered what Louis said at the beginning. She would not forget the man in front of her who originally chose this path for her.

The right wing felt extremely dissatisfied after hearing these words. This was not only an inaugural speech, but also a challenge to the right wing. However, now, the right wing can only swallow their anger for the time being.

"Today! I stand on the land of the German Empire and solemnly swear to our people and His Majesty the Emperor that in this great German city, the heart of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, today the drum of freedom will be beaten! Just as our ancestors did time and time again."

Lin Shangzhou became more and more excited. Now he seemed to be a real German. Most of the parliamentarians were also moved by him, but the few far-right parliamentarians sneered at him.

"We obey the call of freedom and progress flowing in our bodies, respond to the conservative and unfair chains, in the name of the greatest people who have walked in this paradise, I draw a line in the dust and throw the white gloves of duel at the feet of injustice! We want to move towards progress and democracy, and we will not forget the symbol of Germany! Unity, justice and freedom!"

"However, even if we achieve this in the future, it will not be enough, because the battle is not over yet, and there are more arduous difficulties waiting for us to overcome! We must keep moving forward and seek better reform plans. Germany's ideals will continue, because our work will continue! Because our cause will last forever! Because people's hope will continue to exist! Because our dreams will never die and will be passed down through the ages!"

After a long series of passionate oaths, Lin Shangzhou's passion faded a little. Finally, he said to everyone present in plain but sincere words:

"And I, a servant of Germany and chancellor of the empire, have little to offer."

"Only blood, hard work, tears and sweat."

As soon as the words fell, there was an extremely warm applause in the conference hall, starting from the SPD MPs' area.

Behind Lin Shangzhou, Cecilia's eyes changed slightly as she looked at him. The declaration he had just made kept echoing in her mind.

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Chapter 245 Prime Minister's Office

After finishing his inaugural speech, Lin Shangzhou solemnly swore an oath on the Constitution of the German Empire. After the oath, the appointment of the new chancellor and today's parliament came to an end. Next, each party will redistribute seats according to the number of votes obtained in the general election. At the instruction of Alexandrine, Lin Shangzhou announced the adjournment of the meeting.

After the meeting, the congressmen stood up and left the conference hall, walking towards the exit in an orderly manner. Lin Shangzhou stood there, quietly looking at the bustling crowd in front of him. He inadvertently noticed a few unfriendly gazes. He could guess that those people were extreme right-wingers without having to guess.

(Humph, a fellow who makes a lot of noise but does little harm)

Lin Shangzhou snorted in his heart, he hated extremes, no matter whether it was the extreme left or the extreme right. Many times these guys liked to talk big and clamor about this and that, but in the end, when you look at what they did, they found that they had done nothing. Was there anyone supporting them? Yes, but the number of supporters was pitifully small. For example, the current Motherland Party only received 2% of the votes in the general election, which translated into less than 10 seats in parliament. It would hardly have much impact on the Social Democratic Party.

After all, although the extreme right is also right, there are certain conflicts of interest between the extreme right-wing Fatherland Party and the three normal right-wing conservative parties. In the future, the extreme right will most likely make things difficult for the Social Democratic Party all the time, while the right wing may not oppose the Social Democratic Party on some issues because of their interests, so they pose almost no threat.

Lin Shangzhou knew this and didn't take the gazes of that group of people to heart at all.

"Fritts, congratulations on becoming the chancellor. I believe you can lead Germany to become better and better!"

Hearing Alexandrine's joyful voice, Lin Shangzhou turned around and faced the German Emperor with a faint smile on his face. Alexandrine offered her blessings to Lin Shangzhou with great sincerity.

"Alexandrine, thank you for appointing me as prime minister. I really appreciate it."

Lin Shangzhou expressed his gratitude to Alexandrine in an emotional voice. He was extremely grateful to Alexandrine in his heart. Everything he had now was inseparable from his personal efforts and Alexandrine's support.

Seeing Lin Shangzhou was so grateful to her, Alexandrine suddenly felt embarrassed. A faint blush appeared on her fair face, and she whispered to Lin Shangzhou: "You're welcome... Actually, I don't think I did anything..."

Lin Shangzhou shook his head slightly and said, "Don't say that. Everything I have now depends on your support. If you didn't support me behind the scenes, I would never be the leader of the Social Democratic Party, let alone the chancellor of Germany."

"In that case, I will accept your thanks."

Alexandrine answered, and then she saw Louis waving at the Social Democrats, so she said to Lin Shangzhou: "Fritts, your comrades are waiting for you, please go over there quickly."

"Ah."

Turning his head to look at Louis and others, Lin Shangzhou said goodbye to Alexandrine and walked towards Louis and others.

Alexandrine looked at Lin Shangzhou's receding back. After seeing him walk over to Louis and the others, she said to her sister beside her, "Leah, let's go back too."

"Let's go."

Thinking of the bet she had made with Lin Shangzhou in the past, Cecilia looked at Lin Shangzhou who was about to leave the conference hall with mixed feelings, and then followed her sister out.

Lin Shangzhou and others were led by the staff to the prime minister's office. When they arrived here, they found that the door of the office was open. When they got closer, they saw Papen packing up inside.

Because the office door was wide open, Papen also heard the noise outside. After seeing Lin Shangzhou and others standing outside, he quickened the pace of packing his things. A minute later, he walked out of the room carrying a briefcase containing his personal belongings.

"Hello, Mr. Papen."

Lin Shangzhou greeted Papen in a friendly manner, but Papen was not very interested in him. However, due to their current status, he still replied respectfully: "Hello, Prime Minister."

Lin Shangzhou was a little surprised by the way Papen addressed him. The former prime minister actually called him like that as if nothing had happened.

The former prime minister looked Lin Shangzhou up and down. Although he was very reluctant to accept such a young Chinese as prime minister, he was a little touched by the new prime minister's inaugural speech, so let it be.

He remembered what Albert had said to him, "It doesn't matter which party is in power, what matters is whether the party in power is good for Germany."

Papen did not fully agree with this statement, because he also needed to seek benefits for his supporters behind him. However, now faced with such a reality, he could only use such words to comfort himself.

"This is the key to the Prime Minister's office. Please keep it safe."

Papen stretched out his hand and said to Lin Shangzhou. Lin Shangzhou took the key, looked down at the key in his hand, and nodded to Papen.

"I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now."

After saying this, Papen turned around and walked away quickly.

Lin Shangzhou watched the former prime minister leave, looked down at the office key in his hand, took out his key ring from his pocket with one hand, strung the office key on it and put the key ring away.

Then they went into the Chancellor's office.

Stepping into this office he had been to before, Lin Shangzhou suddenly felt a sense of dreaminess in his heart. He first came here a year ago. At that time, he was just an ordinary member of the Social Democratic Party, and his higher status was only Alexandrine's consultant.

And now he entered here as the owner of this room and walked into his own office as the Chancellor of the German Empire.

Lin Shangzhou looked around the room. The decoration of the room had a strong classical flavor, which just matched the old-fashioned style of Germany. The room was very large, almost twice the size of his newspaper office. There was a portrait of Bismarck hanging on one wall. He didn't know whether it was out of respect or he hoped to use Bismarck to spur himself.

He walked slowly to the back of the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down.

Louis came to Lin Shangzhou and leaned on the chair and said to Lin Shangzhou: "Fritts, if I remember correctly, this chair has been in the office for ten years. It has been in the prime minister's office since Albert's time."

Hearing that the chair he was sitting on was already ten years old, Lin Shangzhou couldn't help but sigh: "Prime ministers come and go, but furniture remains forever..."

After sighing, Lin Shangzhou opened the drawer and unexpectedly found a notebook inside. Louis also saw the black notebook, and he immediately wondered if this was something Papen had forgotten here?

"Fritts, do you think Papen left this here?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Lin Shangzhou was stunned when he opened the notebook and looked at the contents inside. The contents inside showed that this was really Papen's notebook, and Louis' words also made him realize that his behavior was a bit hasty.

Fortunately, the contents of the notebook showed that it was just a work diary, recording what Papen had done in the past year.

Even though it was just a work diary, Lin Shangzhou still closed it. After all, it was someone else's thing and it would be impolite to look through it casually.

Putting the notebook into the drawer, Lin Shangzhou said to the comrades in front of him: "Okay, now it's time to appoint the ministers."

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Chapter 246 Appointment of Ministers

After saying this, Lin Shangzhou realized that what he said might be a little wrong. In the German Empire, it should not be "minister" but "minister" instead. However, he believed that everyone else present could understand what he meant, so he just needed to change the way he said it.

Lin Shangzhou sat on a chair facing his comrades. When he said he wanted to appoint ministers, everyone present immediately perked up. Before this, they had not specifically discussed who would be the ministers after winning the election, so now was the time to discuss this issue.

"Uh--"

Lin Shangzhou opened his mouth, and then he found that there were only two single sofas in the office besides the prime minister's seat, which was not enough for everyone in the room to sit.

Besides him, there were Goebbels, Louis, Otto Wels, Erich Koch, Anton Eklenz and other Social Democrats whom Lin Shangzhou was not so familiar with in the room. In order to make room for them all, Lin Shangzhou stood up amid their puzzled gazes.

"Fritts, what are you doing?"

Louis asked, taking a step back to make way for Lin Shangzhou.

"There are only two sofas in the office, not enough for you to sit on. I'll go outside and ask someone to bring a few more stools."

Lin Shangzhou replied, and everyone was moved when they heard his words. You know, Lin Shangzhou is now the chancellor of the German Empire. There is no need for him to do this personally. He can just let others do it.

But he still chose to do it himself, which made Otto Wells and others look at Lin Shangzhou with admiration.

Louis pushed him into the chair and said, "That's not necessary. Anyway, we're just simply discussing the appointment of ministers. We haven't discussed it specifically before, but I think you must have an idea in your mind, right?"

"Well...I have indeed thought about this matter, and I have a candidate in mind."

Lin Shangzhou nodded. Before he was officially appointed, he kept repeating in his mind that "I don't have to be appointed as prime minister" to keep himself humble. In fact, he knew very well that Alexandrine would not appoint anyone else as prime minister except himself, so when he knew that the Social Democratic Party had 36% of the votes, he had already decided who would be the ministers of various departments.

Seeing Lin Shangzhou nod in agreement, Louis walked to the sofa on one side of the room, sat on the armrest of the sofa and said to Lin Shangzhou: "Since you have made up your mind, we just need to discuss it again. It won't take long."

As soon as Louis finished speaking, Goebbels said: "I think it is more important to discuss and implement it quickly. It doesn't matter whether there is a place to sit or not."

The others also nodded. They didn’t care whether there was a place to sit or not.

Goebbels' words made Lin Shangzhou realize what he had overlooked, so he nodded hurriedly, cleared his throat with a cough, and said seriously: "First of all, as for the Minister of the Interior, I personally hope that Otto will take this position."

After saying that, he looked at Otto Wells. They were not surprised by Lin Shangzhou's decision. After all, Otto Wells was experienced in this area and he was the most suitable person for this position.

"I have no opinion."

Louis was the first to raise his hand and express his opinion, followed by others who voted in favor.

Lin Shangzhou looked around the room and said, "Then Otto will be the Minister of the Interior."

After being confirmed as the Minister of the Interior, Otto Wels suddenly felt a lot more pressure. Not only because it was the first time he held such a high position, but more importantly, the Fritz Hipper in front of him was too young, a little too young. His incompetence caused by his youth would have to be made up by his cabinet members, that is, himself and the group of people around him.

However, Otto Welsh would not back down in the face of difficulties. Lin Shangzhou's appointment of him as Interior Minister was a sign of trust in him, so he would not let this trust down.

"Next is the Minister of Propaganda..."

As Lin Shangzhou spoke, he looked at Goebbels who was standing next to Louis. Seeing Lin Shangzhou looking at him, Goebbels was not surprised at all. He had long guessed that Lin Shangzhou would appoint him as Minister of Propaganda. Goebbels would be surprised if he did not appoint him as Minister of Propaganda.

"I personally would like to appoint Paul Goebbels as Minister of Propaganda. What do you think of this?"

The other people in the room were still not surprised by Lin Shangzhou's decision. They all knew that Goebbels was the deputy editor-in-chief of Vorwarts, and they all witnessed the strength of Vorwarts. In addition, the editor-in-chief Lin Shangzhou was a hands-off boss, so it was most appropriate for him to be the Minister of Propaganda, even though they were not familiar with Goebbels.