Conquering the world from the Kaiser's driver

“That’s why I say they’re malleable.”

Letitia nodded in confusion. She was stunned by this long paragraph. What attracted her most was the first sentence: "Germany will face an extremely serious economic crisis in the future." Why did Lin Shangzhou know that Germany will face an extremely serious economic crisis in the future?

A big question mark arose in her mind.

"Fritts, why do you know that Germany will face a very serious economic crisis in the future?"

Hearing Letitia's question, Lin Shangzhou rubbed her head and gently pinched her hair. Ten seconds later, he leaned close to Letitia's ear and whispered, "I can predict the future."

(!)

This sentence shocked Letitia so much that she began to doubt Lin Shangzhou's words. She loved Lin Shangzhou so much, but that didn't mean she would believe everything he said unconditionally, especially something so outrageous.

"Fritts, I'm not a child. There's no point in lying to me."

Letitia turned over and looked into his eyes suspiciously.

Lin Shangzhou knew that he couldn't fool Letitia with these words, and he just wanted to tease her, so he smiled and stretched out his right hand to scratch Letitia's nose, and then said: "Actually, I come from another world."

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Letitia looked at him with an expression as if she had seen a ghost, then reached out and grabbed Lin Shangzhou's face and said angrily: "You are treating me like a child, aren't you?"

Letitia didn't use any force at all, but Lin Shangzhou still pretended to be in pain and begged for mercy: "Stop, stop, stop, stop, okay, okay, I'm telling the truth, I'm telling the truth!"

"Hmph~ That's more like it..."

Under Lin Shangzhou's constant begging for mercy, Letitia finally loosened her hands that were pinching his big face. She sat on Lin Shangzhou's legs with her arms folded across her chest, waiting for him to tell the next truth.

Lin Shangzhou pursed his lips. Traveling through time was too outrageous. Even if he told her about it, Letitia wouldn't believe it. But he wanted to share some of his secrets with her. After hesitating for more than ten seconds, he slowly said, "I had a dream in the past. In the dream, I went to another world. That world had a history that was completely different from the real world. However, in that dream, our world was just a story created by others. I remember the content of that story, so I concluded that a serious economic crisis would occur in the future."

Then he told Letitia about his so-called "dream story", including part of the history of OTL and the story of the man named "KX".

After listening to Lin Shangzhou's incomprehensible dream, Letitia felt that she had been fooled again, but Lin Shangzhou did not seem to be lying. For a moment, she did not know whether to believe Lin Shangzhou's words. As Lin Shangzhou's girlfriend and lover, she naturally trusted every word Lin Shangzhou said about other girls except the women in Wuyou Palace. But what he said today... she did not know whether to believe it or not.

"So the reason you know why Germany will face a serious economic crisis in the future is simply because you had that dream?"

Letitia said to Lin Shangzhou thoughtfully.

"Ah."

Lin Shangzhou nodded sincerely.

Faced with his sincere expression, Letitia sighed inwardly, stretched out her hands to hold Lin Shangzhou's cheeks and rubbed them continuously, saying lovingly: "Okay, okay, just take what you said as the truth."

Dreams are wonderful, and Letitia knew this, so it didn't matter if she believed his almost fantastic words. After all, the person in front of her was the one she loved the most.

Seeing that Letitia was willing to believe in him, Lin Shangzhou felt very happy in his heart, but after being happy for more than ten seconds, the expression on his face gradually became serious.

He reached out his arms, hugged Letitia, turned her on his lap, facing the map of Europe on the table, and said, "But what was the name of the person I dreamed of... um..."

"kx."

"Ah, yes, the KX world is very different from our real world, so the future that I know about in the KX world has more uncertainty in the real world."

Letitia said thoughtfully: "For example...ether element?"

"Well, there are other things besides that."

Lin Shangzhou nodded, stretched out his hand and pinched Letitia's cheek as a reward for her correct answer, and then continued: "Based on the kx world I know in my dream, the current emperor of Germany should be William II instead of Alexandrine, the Social Democratic Party and the Progressive People's Party are separate, the development of German labor unions is not as bad as it is now, and airplanes have made great progress. The chancellor elected a month and a half ago should be Franz von Papen instead of me, and as for Albert, there is no such person."

"But the real world is completely different from that kx world. The Social Democratic Party, which was supposed to have a chance to become the ruling party in the 1937 election, has now become the ruling party. William II died in 1925, and his granddaughter Alexandrine succeeded to the throne as emperor. The magic army replaced the airplanes and became the overlord of the sky..."

He told a series of different things, and finally pointed to Berlin, Germany on the map and said, "But there is one thing I am sure of."

"That so-called 'Black Monday' was bound to happen?"

Letitia gave him the answer.

"Well, after Black Monday, Germany's hegemony will be shaken. The unprecedented economic crisis will affect almost the entire world. Most countries will not be immune. It will cause millions of people to lose their jobs and almost destroy the economies of some countries. Even Germany will be hit hard."

"After Black Monday, when Germany's hegemony loosens, the world's pattern will change, and countries will begin to pursue what they want. The Third International, which symbolizes the new order, will inevitably start a war with the Imperial Pact, which symbolizes the old order. There are many triggers for this war, but the most direct one is Alsace-Lorraine."

"The French Commune will issue an ultimatum to Germany someday in the second half of 1939, demanding Alsace-Lorraine. If Germany does not return this land to the French Commune, then the French Commune will go to war with Germany, and then the Third International will go to war with the Reichstag, and World War II will begin."

His words made Letitia's heart tremble a little. Her hometown was Alsace Lorraine. Letitia had never thought that her hometown would become the fuse of a war. She had heard the old people in the town talk about the hellish scenes during the war, so she had always been very disgusted with war.

Through Lin Shangzhou's words, she also analyzed that the cause of all that was "Black Monday", so she asked: "Was that economic crisis unavoidable?"

"No."

Lin Shangzhou shook his head.

"Economic crisis is the law of development of capitalist society. It is inevitable. All we can do is try to mitigate its impact, let Germany recover from the impact of the economic crisis as quickly as possible, and then prepare for war."

"Ok."

Letitia felt a little disappointed. Lin Shangzhou's words had made her realize that future wars were inevitable. Since it was unavoidable, she could only choose to face it.

Now Letitia also understood the meaning of those white stickers. In order to confirm whether her idea was correct, she asked: "So these white stickers refer to the countries that will change after the economic crisis?"

"Well, other countries besides Germany are likely to change. I need to infer again and again what changes will happen in these countries to decide how Germany will break through in the future war."

Letitia nodded to show that she understood, but after seeing the white sticker on Vienna, she became confused again. Would the Austro-Hungarian Empire also change?

She asked puzzledly: "Why is Austria-Hungary also such a country? Aren't the relations between our two countries quite good?"

"Everywhere except Germany is subject to change."

Lin Shangzhou emphasized this point to her again, and then explained: "There is a populist party called the 'United Aryan Party' in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If he wins the general election of the Austro-Hungarian Empire...or the general election of the Austrian Empire, then the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Empire will become enemies. Moreover, even if the United Aryan Party does not become the ruling party, the ethnic conflicts within the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be very serious, and the country may disintegrate."

"Although the chances of that party winning the election are low, we cannot ignore it. I will speculate again and again about how these countries will change, and what will happen to Germany based on what happens in these countries."

"By the way, there really was such a populist party within the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"I know. Are you still afraid that I won't believe you... Humph."

Letitia hit Lin Shangzhou's chin with her head and made an unhappy sound.

After that, Lin Shangzhou was making speculations with Letitia in the living room. After more than an hour, because Letitia was sleepy, Lin Shangzhou asked her to go back to bed first, while he kept staring at the map and changing stickers back and forth until twelve o'clock when he went to bed.

.

Chapter 260: The Development of the German Mobile Forces (I)

On May 1932, , this glorious holiday for workers was declared a legal holiday in the German Empire, giving the German people a one-day holiday.

This was a motion proposed by SPD members in parliament some time ago. When it was first proposed, it was requested to set the Labor Day holiday to three days, but the three-day holiday did not receive more than half of the support. Later, Lin Shangzhou made a compromise and shortened the holiday to one day. The motion was passed, and then the imperial government announced that Labor Day was one of the legal holidays in the German Empire.

However, in order to allow people to enjoy this day off, in addition to shortening the time, the SPD also made compromises in other aspects, such as not mentioning whether the statutory holiday is a paid holiday.

This news was widely reported by the media. The right-wing media called it the first step towards "syndicalism", while the left-wing media, such as "Forward" and other left-wing media that were reopened with the support of the SPD, praised it highly. The German people, especially the working class, were very excited about this. After this incident, they strengthened their support for the SPD. As for the "first step towards 'syndicalism'" reported by the right-wing media, few ordinary people believed such nonsense.

The passage of the proposal requires the emperor's approval. Her Majesty Alexandrine approved the proposal. Does that mean Her Majesty is also a syndicalist?

Are you kidding? How is this possible?

The German Empire's designation of May Day as a legal holiday inevitably affected other countries within the Reichstag. Their Social Democrats were greatly encouraged and increasingly believed that the German Social Democratic Party was a trustworthy "big brother". There were also heated discussions on this within the Third International.

For the workers in syndicalist countries, this is a happy thing, as their German worker comrades can enjoy the glorious Labor Day with them. But for the radicals, this is not entirely a good thing. In their eyes, the SPD's "soft" policy will only make German workers slack off.

Overall this is a good thing. The countries of the Third International did not make any response to this incident. Their relationship with Germany was not good, so there was no need for any response.

So Lin Shangzhou got the holiday he fought for on May 1st, but he did not rest. He rushed to Volbeck's residence at nine in the morning. He wanted to ask the old general some questions about the German army.

When he arrived at the gate of the Forbeck residence, Lin Shangzhou unexpectedly saw the general himself walking in the courtyard, so he stood at the door and waved to the general.

When the general heard the noise at the door, he asked Simon to open the door for him. A minute later, Lin Shangzhou came to the general.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the general, Lin Shangzhou asked directly: "General, I would like to ask you about the construction of the German Army's mobile forces."

He completed the deduction of the possible situation Germany might face in the future last night, but he did not think about how to break the impasse, so he needed to know the current construction status of the German army and navy. The army is the first element to break the impasse, and it is necessary to understand their situation, not to mention that he is the chancellor.

When I first took office, I was too busy with government work to take care of this matter, so I didn't learn about it in detail. Now that I have time, I should learn about it.

"What is the status of the mobile force's construction?"

His problems were within Volbeck's expectations, and it was time for the chancellor to get in touch with the military.

After thinking for a moment, Volbeck said, "Of course I can tell you about the development of the Army's mobile forces, but it would be better for you to ask former Chancellor Albert about this matter."

"Albert?"

Lin Shangzhou was stunned. How did this get to the former prime minister? He had hardly met Albert since he resigned and retired, nor had he had any contact with the former prime minister. He thought that he would never have any relationship with Albert again.

However, Volbeck's words made him change his previous thoughts. If it would be better to consult Albert, Lin Shangzhou was also willing to visit the former prime minister. After all, the biggest conflict between the two was Klein, and Klein was dead, and the conflict between the two also disappeared with his death.

After Klein's death, the only conflict between him and Albert was between political parties, but he resigned and retired, so there was no longer any conflict between the two.

Since Volbeck suggested that he consult Albert about this issue, Lin Shangzhou decided to go to Albert's house. However, before leaving, he wanted to understand why Volbeck asked him to consult Albert. He asked puzzledly: "General Volbeck, why do you suggest that I consult Mr. Albert about this matter? I know he is also a soldier, but isn't he a member of the Storm Commando? Why does he know about the construction of the Army Mobile Force?"

"The reason is simple," explained Forbeck. "When Albert was chancellor, he attached great importance to the construction of the German Army's mobile forces and vigorously developed vehicles such as tanks, military trucks and half-track vehicles. Although I don't like him, Albert did a good job in this regard."

"I see…"

(It seems that the debuff of the winner of the battle did not affect him)

Lin Shangzhou nodded slowly. This was something he had never expected. Albert was actually a person who attached great importance to the motorization of the army. If the motorization of the German army was fully developed because of Albert, then Lin Shangzhou really had to thank this former prime minister.

Volbeck took out his communicator from his pocket and waved it in front of Lin Shangzhou for a few times, then asked in confusion, "Fritts, a few words can be done with the communicator, why do you like to come directly to my house so much?"

"Well, it's just a personal habit. Just take it as a walk to stretch your muscles."

Lin Shangzhou replied with a chuckle.

After chatting with the general for a few more minutes, Lin Shangzhou said goodbye to the Forbeck family and went to Albert's residence.

.

Chapter 261 Albert

More than 20 minutes later, Bode stepped on the brakes and the car slowly stopped on the side of the road. After the car stopped completely, Lin Shangzhou, who was sitting in the back seat, opened the door and got out of the car.

Bode got out of the car and walked to Lin Shangzhou's side. He looked at the gate in front of him. He found that the prime minister's mansion was even bigger than Volbeck's. He couldn't help but sighed: "This former prime minister's mansion is really big, even bigger than General Volbeck's."

Lin Shangzhou, who was standing by, snorted when he heard what he said. Bode's words might just be a simple sigh, but as the prime minister's bodyguard, they inevitably had some other meanings. Albert, the former prime minister, had such a luxurious mansion, while he, as the current prime minister, lived in a small apartment building.

While both Albert’s mansion and his apartment building are houses, the latter pales in comparison.

"Bode, what do you think of this kind of mansion?"

Lin Shangzhou asked Bode. He had no intention of blaming Bode, he just asked casually. However, this question made Bode's heart skip a beat. He realized that what he had just said was inappropriate and it sounded like a subtle sarcasm towards the current prime minister beside him.

He immediately shook his head like a rattle and said, "No, no, no, our small house is more comfortable. This house is too big and it's easy to get lost, hehe."

Lin Shangzhou smiled faintly and said, "If you want to move to another place, you can tell me. Anyway, we can easily buy a house anywhere now."

He was also thinking about whether he should move to a new house in the future. After all, he was the prime minister now, so changing his residence was no big deal, and he was not short of that little money.

Bode still shook his head and said, "That's not necessary. I think our apartment is very comfortable to live in."

"Yeah... yeah... you're right. There's really no need to change houses."

After thinking for a few seconds, Lin Shangzhou nodded slowly.

When Bode mentioned the house change, he thought of what he had seen before. After thinking of that incident, he looked at Lin Shangzhou beside him, curled his lips and muttered softly: "Anyway, you will live in Wuyou Palace in the future..."

Hearing Bode talking to himself, Lin Shangzhou glanced at him and asked, "What did you just say?"

This gave Bode a start, and he said in a panic: "No...Nothing, don't you have something to do with Mr. Albert? Let's go find Mr. Albert quickly."

Lin Shangzhou didn't hear clearly what Bode was muttering in a low voice. Bode's performance also concerned him, but he didn't pay attention to it.

A minute later, Lin Shangzhou entered Albert's mansion and was led to the reception room by the servant.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Prime Minister. I will go and call the Prime Minister over..."

After saying this, the servant quickly realized that he had said the wrong thing. Albert was no longer the chancellor. The young man in front of him was the German chancellor.

Bode beside Lin Shangzhou had a strange look on his face. Just as he was about to say something, the servant immediately apologized to Lin Shangzhou. Lin Shangzhou waved his hand to indicate that it was nothing and let him leave.

After the servant left, Lin Shangzhou looked around Albert's reception room, a very ordinary room, nothing special about it. He leaned back on the sofa and recalled what had just happened. He had never cared about how others addressed him in the past. He called Albert "Mr. Prime Minister" at that time because he felt that calling him "Sir" was unequal in status and too feudal, so he called Albert "Mr. Prime Minister".

The reason why he was called Mr. Prime Minister was very simple - he was a commoner.

No matter how good his relationship with the emperor is, and how popular he is, these cannot change the fact that he is a commoner. Although Albert is also a commoner...but Albert's power is much greater than his.

Lin Shangzhou didn't know Albert too well, but he knew some basic information about him: he was a war hero in World War I and "the first German soldier to set foot in Paris." These factors combined allowed his position in the Central Party to rise rapidly, and he eventually ousted Ludendorff and became the chancellor who ruled for almost nine years.

Therefore, it was not difficult for him to ask others to call him "Prime Minister", or some people would naturally call him "Prime Minister".

Lin Shangzhou doesn't care about such things as titles, he likes the title "Sir" very much.