Conquering the world from the Kaiser's driver

The expected result still made Goebbels very excited. In the past few days, he gradually felt that the "Forward" newspaper could no longer satisfy him. He began to expect a higher position, and now what he expected became a reality. He was appointed as the Minister of Propaganda of the German Empire.

Unlike Otto Wels, who felt pressured when he was appointed as minister, Goebbels was extremely excited and eager to try. He couldn't wait to shine with the help of this position.

"Then next is the Minister of Economy..."

Lin Shangzhou looked at Louis. Everyone in the room understood one thing clearly: whoever Lin Shangzhou looked at would be appointed as a certain minister. This time, they were still not surprised by Lin Shangzhou's arrangement, because Louis ran his own company and had more experience in this area than them.

However, there was a flash of doubt in Louis' eyes. Why did he appoint himself as Minister of Economy?

"I personally hope to appoint Louis Bonaparte as Minister of Economy. Does anyone have anything to say?"

Louis was very puzzled. He thought Lin Shangzhou would hand over the Foreign Minister to him. After all, he had an agreement with Lin Shangzhou in the past. If he was made Foreign Minister, Louis guaranteed that he would be able to reconcile the relationship between Germany and France.

but now…

(The Minister of Economy is the Minister of Economy, I am indeed suitable for this job)

He thought with disappointment in his heart, but he did not blame Lin Shangzhou for this. The Social Democratic Party had just come to power, and it was not appropriate to send friendly signals to the Third International in the early stages of its rule, otherwise the Social Democratic Party would face tremendous pressure at home.

After cheering up, Louis calmly accepted Lin Shangzhou's arrangement for him.

Lin Shangzhou knew that his decision would make Louis unhappy, but this was his personal plan, and he would take the time to find Louis and talk to him about his plan.

The ministers of the three departments of interior, economy and propaganda have been appointed, and the next one is the minister of finance.

This time, Lin Shangzhou did not immediately say who he would appoint, but kept changing his eyes among the remaining people. Half a minute later, Lin Shangzhou locked his gaze on one person, a person who surprised everyone.

"I personally hope to appoint Comrade Erich Koch as Chancellor of the Exchequer. What do you think?"

After he finished speaking, everyone in the room was extremely surprised. He actually appointed Erich Koch as Chancellor of Finance?

Is this really appropriate?

Louis wanted to raise this issue directly, but because Erich Koch himself was here, he could not express his concerns. The same was true for Otto, Anton Eklenz and others.

Even Erich Koch himself was extremely shocked. He came here just to join in the fun. He had strongly opposed Lin Shangzhou and had no intention of seeking a high position. He just wanted to live a stable life as a member of parliament. But who knew that the prime minister would actually appoint him as the minister of finance?

I rely on?

Lin Shangzhou expected their surprise, so he gave a brief explanation. In short, he felt that Erich Koch was suitable for the position, so he let him take the position.

Of course, the real reason was not this. The real reason was that Erich Koch was a person who was afraid of him. He believed that Erich, a coward, would not do anything sneaky for the sake of his life and future. If he dared to do so, Lin Shangzhou would send him to jail personally.

Of course, if this guy Erich Koch can do it without being noticed, that's his ability.

Another reason is that the next Labor Minister Lin Shangzhou is going to appoint Anton Eklenz. The name of this position tells you what it is about. It requires someone who sympathizes with workers, and Erich Koch is obviously not someone who sympathizes with workers.

Erich didn't know what Lin Shangzhou was thinking. He wanted to refuse, not because he couldn't do it, but because he didn't want to do it. However, he was afraid of Lin Shangzhou, who was only the emperor's advisor in the past, let alone the current prime minister Lin Shangzhou.

Under pressure from Lin Shangzhou, Erich Koch had no choice but to agree to his arrangement and become the Chancellor of Finance.

In the following period, Lin Shangzhou successively appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Labor, the Minister of No Affairs and the Minister of Defense. They were respectively Orenhauer, Gustav (not the cannon), Anton Eklenz, Matthew (not the purple eggplant), and the last Minister of Defense, Lin Shangzhou, wrote a document to appoint General Volbeck as Minister of Defense.

After entrusting the documents to the staff to be delivered to the Volbeck residence, Lin Shangzhou completed the appointment of ministers. These people were also his cabinet members. Lin Shangzhou knew that he was too young and incompetent, so he would first consult the cabinet members for future matters, and then decide whether to implement them or not.

The appointment of ministers was not complicated. He only had to send the list to Alexandrine and wait for her approval. In the evening, Alexandrine agreed to all of Lin Shangzhou's appointments of ministers.

The next day, government departments began the handover of duties, and in the afternoon, the new Socialist People's Party government of the German Empire officially took office.

.

Chapter 247: Reorganizing the Imperial Government

The Prime Minister's Office in the Capitol was very quiet. After working for several hours, Lin Shangzhou leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and prepared to take a nap.

Just one afternoon's work turned the excitement and excitement that remained in his heart into pressure, not because the work was tiring, but because of his current identity - the Chancellor of the German Empire.

No matter which country it is, the chancellor has to face that country, not to mention that he is now the chancellor of the world's most powerful hegemonic empire, the German Empire.

The victorious German Empire replaced the British Empire and became the undisputed world's number one power. It was also because of this that the invisible hand behind the fourth wall gave this country the fatal debuff of "Black Monday".

Lin Shangzhou knows that the world has changed and the future path will definitely be different from that in the game, but he always believes that Black Monday will definitely happen. After all, economic crisis is one of the laws of development of capitalism. Economic crisis will occur in capitalist society every once in a while, which is inevitable.

Unless he can lead Germany to turn completely red, the economic crisis can be avoided...but if he really wanted to do that, he wouldn't be sitting here.

Black Monday broke out in February 36, and now it is March 2, so he still has four years to prepare.

"Black Monday..."

Thinking of this, he opened his eyes, looked at the ceiling above his head, and whispered the word. Bauman, the chancellor's secretary, heard what Lin Shangzhou said, but didn't hear it clearly, so he asked: "Mr. Prime Minister, what are you talking about?"

"Ah... It's nothing. I just thought of something."

Lin Shangzhou answered, then he leaned forward and picked up the document on the table to read. In fact, he was still thinking about Black Monday. The response measures for Black Monday must be planned in advance to minimize its negative impact.

As for trying his best to avoid or postpone Black Monday, Lin Shangzhou did not think about it, nor did he plan to do it. His other plan still needed the help of Black Monday to complete.

After reading the document for more than ten seconds, Lin Shangzhou turned his head to look at Bauman standing beside him. Thinking of his secretary's experience in the past two days, he asked, "Bauman, how do you feel now?"

"How are you feeling?"

Bauman was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what Lin Shangzhou was asking. He was asking how he felt after jumping from the secretary of the newspaper editor-in-chief to the secretary of the German Chancellor.

To put it in his own words, Bauman was extremely shocked when he first learned that Lin Shangzhou had become the prime minister. Then he was even more stunned after receiving Lin Shangzhou's call. He never expected that his boss would be willing to let him be his secretary, after all, he was the prime minister's secretary.

After receiving Lin Shangzhou's call, Bauman accepted Lin Shangzhou's invitation without hesitation. He would not miss this opportunity to rise to fame. As for whether he could do the job well, let's not talk about it for now. He just needs to seize the opportunity.

"I am naturally very excited and happy to be able to work for the chancellor of the German Empire."

Bauman answered respectfully, Lin Shangzhou smiled, and then there was a knock on the door.

dong dong dong-

There was a crisp knock on the door. Lin Shangzhou wondered who was looking for him and answered to let the other person in. A second later, the door opened and Louis walked in first. Then he unexpectedly saw Erich Koch follow him in.

"Louis, Erich, have you both finished your reports?"

Lin Shangzhou asked the two of them. He asked the ministers of each department to write a report and send it to him after understanding the specific situation of the department they were in charge of. He needed to have a specific understanding of the current situation in Germany.

"Ah."

Louis and Erich Koch nodded, and then Louis handed the document in his hand to Lin Shangzhou. Lin Shangzhou took the document and looked at the contents in detail.

Erich Koch handed the documents to Baumann.

Louis also began to tell Lin Shangzhou about the economic situation of the German Empire. Lin Shangzhou listened to him while looking at the report he wrote. Ten minutes later, he had a concrete understanding of the economic situation of the German Empire.

To describe it in one word: stable and improving.

Lin Shangzhou put the report on the table. Seeing this, Bauman immediately handed the financial report in his hand to Lin Shangzhou.

"Thank you."

After thanking Baumann, Lin Shangzhou took the report and looked at its contents. Erich Koch also began to tell Lin Shangzhou about the financial situation of the German Empire.

About ten minutes later, Lin Shangzhou had a general understanding of the financial situation of the German Empire.

To sum it up in one sentence: On the surface it is relatively stable, but in reality there is no reason to be optimistic. The financial report made Lin Shangzhou frown.

Although the German Empire is now in a period of economic prosperity, through Erich's report and his personal account, Lin Shangzhou learned something that ordinary people in an economically prosperous society could not possibly know - for many years, the German Empire's fiscal expenditure has far exceeded its fiscal revenue.

In other words, the German Empire was in a state of fiscal deficit for a long time, and its income was insufficient, so the German Empire had to find ways to make money. The country's way of making money in the past was also very simple, that is, borrowing money.

Lin Shangzhou didn't know much about this, but he knew that a long-term fiscal deficit was not a good thing, and excessive borrowing was not a good thing either.

After knowing the current financial situation, how to reduce debt and expenditure and increase income became the most important things in his mind.

In fact, Lin Shangzhou also knows the simplest way to reduce spending - cutting military spending.

Even though it is peacetime now, the German Empire's annual military expenditure is very high. The military's requirements are one reason, and it is inseparable from practical factors on the other. On land, the German Empire needs to maintain a large army to maintain its rule in Europe and deter the French Commune on the side and Russia in the east. On the sea, the German Empire also needs to maintain a large high seas fleet to safeguard Germany's maritime interests.

Moreover, the colonies also need support from the German Empire, Central Africa needs support, and German East Asia also needs support, not to mention that German East Asia also needs to maintain a large fleet. The fiscal revenue of the German East Asian colonies alone cannot maintain the fleet. He needs financial support from the mainland.

Therefore, the military expenditure of the German Empire was very high, and cutting a small part of the military expenditure could reduce the financial burden of the German Empire.

But! Lin Shangzhou just had to think about this idea himself. How could the military agree to cut military spending? Therefore, he could only start from other aspects.

"The financial problem is a bit serious..."

Lin Shangzhou talked to himself, and Louis' expression became serious. Finance and other aspects are closely related. If the financial problem is not solved, it will become difficult to do anything in the future.

He was also thinking about a suitable solution. Raising taxes is the most direct and simplest way to increase fiscal revenue, but the tax increase also depends on whose taxes are being raised. It is definitely not okay to take money from the people. The Social Democratic Party has just come to power and has not yet done what it promised, but it is raising taxes. Isn't this doing itself a disservice?

In addition to the people, we can also start with the German capitalists. Imposing taxes on enterprises generally does not cause much waves, but raising taxes when in power is not a good thing.

Therefore, Louis thought of another way - to promote business investment and use economic development to drive the increase of fiscal revenue.

As the income of enterprises and other organizational forms increases, the taxes they pay will increase, and the corresponding fiscal revenue will be improved. However, this also has a disadvantage, that is, the payback period is very long, and it will take one or two years or even longer to see results.

"Fritts, we can promote business investment..."

dong dong dong-

Louis said to Lin Shangzhou, but before he could finish his words, a knock on the door interrupted him.

Although he only said half of the words, Lin Shangzhou knew what Louis meant. Promoting business investment was part of his plan.

"Please come in."

Lin Shangzhou responded, and then the office door opened and Otto Wells walked in with a report.

Seeing him coming, Lin Shangzhou knew that Otto's report was also finished. Then, a dozen seconds later, he saw the government report written by the Secretary of the Interior.

A few minutes later, through Otto's report, Lin Shangzhou found a place to reduce the financial burden - starting from government departments.

The current government institutions of the German Empire are quite bloated, and redundant officials and staff are common. If the imperial government is reorganized, the number of personnel in government departments is reduced, and useless institutions and departments are abolished, a considerable amount of financial expenditure can be saved in the future, and the government of the German Empire can be more efficient.

After thinking of this plan in his mind, Lin Shangzhou cast a grateful look at Otto Wells and said, "Otto, you really helped me a lot!"

Otto Wells didn't know what had happened before, and was a little surprised by Lin Shangzhou's sudden thanks, but it was naturally the best to be able to help.

"After reading Otto's report, I realized that the government of the empire is quite bloated and has some unnecessary departments. Therefore, I want to reorganize the imperial government, abolish useless institutions and departments, and streamline the number of personnel to improve government efficiency. At the same time, this can also reduce the financial burden to a certain extent."

"Does anyone have any ideas?"

After saying that, Lin Shangzhou looked at the three people, waiting for them to express their opinions.

After hearing Lin Shangzhou's words "reducing the financial burden", Otto Wells understood why he said that he had helped him a lot. It was indeed a favor to him, and he had no objection to it.

After a brief thought, Louis nodded. When Erich Koch saw them both nod, he also nodded. Anyway, there would be no obstacles in carrying out this matter.

Seeing the three of them nod, Lin Shangzhou was very happy and eager to carry out the plan, but he suppressed his emotions and said, "I'll tell you how to do it after I read other people's reports."

Then Lin Shangzhou asked the three of them to go back. The abolition of government agencies and departments must be done after full discussion. Lin Shangzhou needed to make sure that his decision would not have any major negative impact.

.

Chapter 248 Wang Niang's Temporary Departure

Later in the afternoon, ministers from other departments came to Lin Shangzhou's office to submit their reports, and Lin Shangzhou gained a better understanding of the current state of the government of the German Empire.

The most unexpected thing for him was that Albert actually corrected the long-standing deformed political system of the German Empire. Although the states still existed, their status was much lower than that of the OTL. Although they were still states in name, they could actually be regarded as a province/state of the German Empire.

He integrated the government of the Kingdom of Prussia into the government of the German Empire, and the provinces within it became ordinary provinces, which were still part of the Kingdom of Prussia in name only, but actually part of the German Empire.

Although such a change is incredible, it has to be said that it really helped Lin Shangzhou a lot. He no longer has to consider the negative impact of Germany's bizarre political system.

Secondly, he discovered that he had misunderstood something. German East Asia did not need support from the German Empire itself. It was the Central African colonies that needed support from the mainland.

After knowing this, Lin Shangzhou instantly felt a lot less pressure. He personally didn't want to spend too much energy on Central Africa. Apart from the black uprising, there were no direct enemies of Germany on the African continent. He remembered that Portugal would fight a war with Central Africa, but it was impossible for the two countries to fight on their own soil, so Central Africa only needed to keep from collapsing.

However, Lin Shangzhou didn't care even if he collapsed. The collapse of Central Africa would not have any impact on Germany. At most, it would just result in a group of more people returning home.

As for the post-collapse Central Africa, the blacks can make whatever trouble they want, and it has nothing to do with him.

After discussing with Interior Minister Otto and others, Lin Shangzhou formally decided to implement the national policy "Reorganize the Imperial Government."

At seven o'clock in the evening, Lin Shangzhou, who had been tired all day, walked out of the Capitol accompanied by Bode and Bauman. As soon as he walked out of the door of the Capitol, he saw a group of reporters surrounding him.

In the past, Lin Shangzhou would be happy to talk to them, answer reporters' questions, and talk about his views on work... But forget it today. He was a little tired and just wanted to go home and rest quickly.

Lin Shangzhou winked at Bode, but before Bode could react, Bauman understood what Lin Shangzhou meant and walked up to the reporters to stop them.

When Bode saw Bauman walk out, he stopped. Since someone else had gone, he didn't need to go over.

Then Lin Shangzhou got into his car and Bode drove him home.

More than ten minutes later, Lin Shangzhou returned to his apartment. After entering the apartment, he went straight upstairs, while Bode opened the door on the first floor and returned to his room.

Standing in front of his door, Lin Shangzhou took out the key and prepared to open the door, but before opening the door he sniffed and he seemed to smell a fragrance. Then he sniffed twice more. After confirming the fragrance, he felt a warmth in his heart and a smile appeared on his face. He also looked forward to what would happen tonight.