German Red Prince

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Especially now that Germany is still negotiating with the United States, although the official results have not yet been announced, the ministers seem to be confident of victory and are urging the Kaiser to focus his energy elsewhere.

Although the economic ministers said so, Wilhelm was still quite concerned about Germany's economic development. He couldn't afford any problems with the economy, otherwise the mighty Germany would collapse.

At present, Wilhelm II is most concerned about two things: the integration of Germany and the empire's finances.

The existence of three kingdoms within Germany fragmented the country's political power.

With Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich as the three political centers of Germany, Wilhelm's power was largely dispersed.

William did not have true control over Germany; most of his decrees were only effective within Prussia, and their effect was different in the territories of the other two kingdoms.

It is essential to strengthen the unity of internal forces within Germany, something Wilhelm has been working on, and it is an issue that is always addressed at every Leipzig Conference.

With the Leipzig Conference about to begin, the three kingdoms will once again "exchange feelings," and Wilhelm II sighed.

Every meeting turned into a war of words, and once the interests of any kingdom were involved, the proposal would not make any progress for at least two days.

For example, at the last congress, there was a proposal concerning the construction of railways within Germany, which mentioned that railways within Germany would be under the unified management of the German Central Railway.

As soon as the proposal was put forward, the meeting room immediately erupted in uproar. The rule of the past was that each kingdom should build its own railways. If the railway bureau were to take control of them, what would happen? If they take away my railway rights today, will they abolish my kingdom tomorrow?

The proposal was debated for three days and was finally passed after all parties made concessions. It agreed to take over the management of the Central Railway Bureau, but the proportion of railway bureau officials in the three kingdoms had to be equal.

The last meeting was a huge mess, and with Germany's economy in such a slump, each kingdom is surely prioritizing its own interests, so the arguments will probably be even fiercer.

However, these problems have existed for a long time, and resolving them smoothly will be a very long-term task.

If Wilhelm II could have resolved this issue along the way, winning the war and successfully solving the German problem, his status would probably be the highest in all of German history.

The report Wilhelm picked up was about German Central Africa. After the victory in the war, in addition to reshaping the political landscape of Europe, Germany also reshuffled the power structure in Africa.

After acquiring the colonies of Britain, France, and Belgium, Germany essentially controlled the entire continent. Apart from Europe, Africa was the largest source of Germany's annual fiscal revenue.

Central Africa provided Germany with a large amount of raw materials and income, and Africa deserves half the credit for Germany's current power.

William was holding a report on African finances. Strangely, Africa's fiscal revenue was declining year by year, which naturally led to many problems.

Central Africa covers a vast area and lies on the periphery of Germany's political influence, meaning Germany has very little control over it under normal circumstances.

More than a decade is enough time for Central Africa to develop its strength considerably, possessing so many strategic resources and land. If left unchecked, it is very likely that it will one day turn against us.

Looking at the financial report, William angrily threw it on the table. The report was clearly problematic, and it seemed that the situation in Africa needed to be addressed.

Chapter 211 The Situation is Complex

If India is the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, then Central Africa is the gem in the crown of the German Empire.

Central Africa's rich mineral deposits and resources sustained the entire German nation. In the next war, Eastern Europe would be Germany's reserve breadbasket, while Africa would be the foundation of Germany's entire war effort.

Africa's abundant resources allowed Germany to unleash war potential comparable to that of the United States, so Germany always maintained a favorable attitude towards Central Africa and exercised relatively lenient control over it, granting Central Africa considerable autonomy in both political and economic matters.

However, because these colonies were taken over and integrated by Germany after the war, the situation in Central Africa is somewhat complicated.

After the war, revolutions broke out in both Britain and France, and neither country was able to control its colonies as effectively as before.

First was France. After the French Civil War, the newly formed red regime was constantly thinking about liberating all the countries in the world, and naturally it gave up its original colonies.

Even if they wanted to deal with it, they couldn't, because the French navy had already been severely damaged. A portion of it was taken away by Germany after the defeat, another portion left with Pétain, and the remaining Commune navy was simply unable to take over the remaining colonies.

As the world's superpower, Germany naturally had to shoulder the obligation to take over these territories that were about to slip out of its control.

When Pétain and others first fled to North Africa and established their regime, they could only control land in regions such as Algeria, and could not reach further south.

After his defeat in the civil war, Pétain's main enemy became the French Commune, and he had to cooperate with this former adversary because their most important task now was to launch a counterattack.

Since I can't manage these places anyway, and they'll definitely be taken over by Germany eventually, I might as well go with the flow and do them a favor.

After retreating to Africa, France transferred these colonies to Germany at a very low price in exchange for German support.

Following a series of negotiations, and with the French colonies falling into German hands through treaties after World War II, the foundation for Central Africa was laid.

Central Africa is a vast territory, several times the size of the German Empire, and is composed of a complex array of cities, farmlands, jungles, plains, deserts, and numerous indigenous chiefdoms and kingdoms, essentially covering most of the African continent.

In addition to these lands, Central Africa also contains a complex network of multiple layers of treaties, agreements and contracts.

These complex networks are like a ball of yarn, impossible to untangle. This is why they are given relatively large autonomy and are unwilling to manage this area, because if this area were to be properly managed, it would take more than a year or two.

Furthermore, if these issues are not addressed, it is easier for people to take advantage of the situation. All of Germany's colonies nominally belonged to the German Empire, not to any particular kingdom.

The revenue generated by Central Africa each year was shared by the three kingdoms, but Prussia always took the lion's share. If the relationship were clearly defined, Prussia would have no chance to gain any advantage.

Although the Central African colonies are relatively stable at present, Germany does not reap much benefit from them. Although Germany can obtain a huge amount of resources from them every year, these resources are only a small part of the true potential of Central Africa.

Part of the reason was Germany's continued protection of its former British colonies.

Following the success of the Red Forces revolution in France, the English Revolution followed. Because Britain was unable to control these areas, the colonial authorities had to seek protection from Germany in order to protect themselves.

Although Germany was their enemy during the war, these people were still easier to talk to than the black men in Africa.

The colonial governments of Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Zambia were forced to recognize Germany as their mother country in order to obtain the protection of German troops.

After losing British protection, these colonies also lost foreign investment. In order to prevent their governments from going bankrupt, the funds needed for their administration mainly came from profits in Central Africa, at the cost of the right to exploit resources within their territory.

Germany was certainly aware of the administrative costs of taking over these colonies, as each of these colonies from different countries experienced a period of adjustment and growing pains after being taken over.

Germany, having just emerged from a major war, had not yet recovered its national strength. Furthermore, the colonies it had acquired contained large numbers of British, French, and Belgian citizens. To prevent these people from rioting, Germany had to adopt a relatively mild management approach.

To date, all the German governors, large and small, responsible for the administration of the colonies have managed to maintain good relations between the colonial bureaucracy and the French, British, and Belgian settlers. Another benefit of this was the ability to attract investors from other countries.

The idea was that by granting Central Africa so much autonomy, they would be more settled, but as time went on, it became the domain of the governors.

Corruption in Central Africa is alarming, as empires cannot directly govern the region, which is rife with networks of relationships.

In this situation, it's possible to turn a blind eye, but things have gone too far now. If we don't do something about it, people will think they can do whatever they want.

Central Africa has become a haven of freedom for these officials, where German law cannot reach them and they can do whatever they want.

If taxes aren't collected, that's unacceptable! This is all German money, Wilhelm's money, and he dares to embezzle it.

William has a lot to deal with every day, and most of the documents on his desk are reports about the situation in Africa.

Since the last "Versailles Crisis," Germany has been preparing for war, which is a good thing for Germany. The Kingdom of the Rhine is competing with the French Commune in order to deal with the threat from France. As can be seen from the last military parade, the Kingdom of the Rhine was quite frightened by France's actions.

With all of the Rhine Kingdom's energy focused on France, Wilhelm's handling of domestic affairs in Germany has become much simpler, which is probably a rare piece of good news right now.

The Rhine Kingdom's attention was drawn to the French, so it had no time to attend to domestic German policies.

William only needs to allocate funds from the central bank each month to help them build up the border defenses, which is enough to stabilize the kingdom. So the Kingdom of Rhine has been quite cooperative recently.

Prussia was able to temporarily stabilize the Kingdom of the Rhine. With the two kingdoms united, they effectively controlled the entire Germany, because the pressure on the other kingdom was immense once two kingdoms joined forces.

Although Bavaria was more inclined towards Austria-Hungary, it had to temporarily cooperate with Prussia's policies. It can be said that because of the French threat, Germany became more united than ever before, and as a result, the power of the German Emperor reached a new height.

It was because of this premise that William was able to focus on matters in Africa.

Chapter 212 Who Will Take the Blame?

Wilhelm II's power is now greater than ever before, which is the only thing that makes him happy now.

Even during the Great War, Wilhelm II did not have such comprehensive control over Germany. Now, apart from the armies of the two kingdoms, Wilhelm can control almost everything in Germany.

With such comprehensive control over Germany, Wilhelm can now also focus on the problems in Central Africa.

After losing the large market of the eight provinces, Central Africa became Germany's largest dumping ground for goods. Massive quantities of raw materials were processed and then sold to Africa, which was Germany's way of making money.

Wilhelm II rose from his seat and paced around his office, finally stopping in front of the wall displaying a map of Central Africa.

Wilhelm II stood in front, carefully examining the vast territory of Africa. The enormous land area of ​​Central Africa stood out conspicuously in the African continent.

"The jewel of the empire."

Wilhelm II stroked the map with admiration. He had built such a magnificent empire single-handedly. He was the founder of the thousand-year-old German Empire.

However, looking at the map in front of him, Wilhelm II sighed again. Central Africa was indeed a good place, but it was just too big.

He picked up a pen from the table and began to draw on the map. Divide and conquer was a method that Europeans had always used. Since they couldn't get them to find a way to deal with them, the best way was to let them fight each other first.

If Wilhelm II were to act rashly now and directly intervene in the issues of Central Africa, in order to protect his own interests, they would instead set aside their differences and focus on dealing with him during this period.

If we reach out and interfere, we will definitely be targeted by officials of all ranks in Central Africa, and the final investigation will yield no results. To best handle the problems in Africa, we must reasonably understand their mentality.

Because of the complex situation in Central Africa, they are not united as one. There are many governors-general of various ranks in Africa, and due to the uneven distribution of benefits, there have been many conflicts among them.

The most serious incident occurred when a governor hired someone to kill two junior governors who were competing with him for trade quotas over a trade allocation dispute. The case even went all the way to Berlin, which is why William heard about it.

From this incident, William also learned about the complex political network and relationships in Central Africa. To gradually strengthen his control over Central Africa, William's method was naturally simple: the traditional method of taking sides.

By supporting a new faction to fight against a stronger one, William can simply sit back and wait for the show to begin.

He wanted to divide the regions of Central Africa, and the strongest supporters of this decision were undoubtedly the local governors.

Once Central Africa is broken up, the biggest beneficiaries will be these governors, because they can transform from regional governors into full governors.

At that point, the conflict shifted to a conflict between the Grand Governor and the Junior Governor, which made things much easier to handle.

With the establishment of the German Railway and the German Land Administration, Wilhelm II gained some control over Africa. These officials, dispatched from the central government, served as Wilhelm's eyes and ears. Moreover, during the last summons of officials from Central Africa, Wilhelm II met with a group of colonial governors who were inclined towards Germany.

Wilhelm II was also cultivating his own power base in Central Africa. Those old guys were all shrewd and cunning. Wilhelm was mainly cultivating a group of young elites. Compared to those political elders, the young people were more loyal to Germany and maintained great respect for Wilhelm.

William's newly supported elite groups are also a considerable problem for the old people who have long occupied Africa. Coupled with the regional governors, they will likely engage in fierce struggles to divide up this huge pie of Africa, and then he can simply sit back and reap the benefits.

The elder statesmen in Africa are facing challenges from two new interest groups: local governors who want to gain more power from them, and new nobles supported by the Kaiser who are trying to further consolidate Central Africa under German rule.

However, Wilhelm II now needs to find a suitable person to help him deal with these issues. If he were to handle them himself, it would take a huge amount of effort. Just thinking about these problems gives Wilhelm a headache, let alone dealing with them personally.

Another consideration is that William needs to find someone to take the blame for him. The problems in Africa are as complex as the domestic political situation in Germany. If they are not handled properly, they can easily backfire. When something goes wrong, someone has to be pulled out to take responsibility and give an explanation.

"This incident has nothing to do with the German Emperor. The Emperor was completely unaware of it. It was done by a temporary worker, who has now been dismissed."

However, choosing such a person to lead the country is not easy. First, the person must be completely loyal, and second, the person must be someone that the Kaiser can control. Hindenburg and Ludendorff are examples of this.

Wilhelm II thought he could control these two men, but they actually used their post-war prestige to establish a dictatorship, effectively sidelining Wilhelm II.

The dictatorship of the two men at the time caused Wilhelm a psychological trauma, because they were the only people after the war who could challenge the authority of the German Emperor. At that time, the two men also had a high reputation among ordinary German people because of the high honors they received after the war.

If their dictatorship continues, they can easily suppress Wilhelm II. Given enough time, their dictatorial government will succeed. In that case, even if they directly depose Wilhelm II, it won't cause much of a stir in Germany, just like when they successfully dealt with two people.

Considering all factors, William needs a young person with a clean background, no complicated interest groups behind him, and who won't arouse suspicion from others. Even if something goes wrong and he has to be sacrificed, William won't suffer any major losses.

Without a background, possessing some ability, being young enough, and being sufficiently loyal, it would be best if they had done things for William before, so that they would be of value to him.

William quickly found a suitable candidate. Coincidentally, there was a young man in the delegation that went to the Kingdom of the Rhine last time.

Erich von Schutroheim was an aristocrat and a supporter of German unification. He was also capable; he participated in Wilhelm's tank design project and did a pretty good job.

He's a good lad, worth a try. The rest depends on his abilities. If he's capable, he'll definitely reap the rewards; if he messes it up, you'll be the one to take the blame...

Chapter 213 A Comeback is Not Uncertain

East Prussia, the birthplace of the Teutonic Knights, saw Albrecht elected Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in 1512. He then implemented secular reforms, transforming the territory into the Duchy of Prussia, and Albrecht became its first Duke.

Königsberg, known in the real world as Kaliningrad, was the former capital of the Duchy of East Prussia and the ancestral home of the Prussians.

Although the Prussians moved their capital to Berlin in 1650, Königsberg has always been regarded as the origin of Prussian politics, culture, and spirit.

This place is to Prussia what Mainz is to the Kingdom of the Rhine. Even after losing its status as the capital, Königsberg has never been abandoned, and most Prussian nobles still regard it as a major source of Prussian culture.

This is the birthplace of the Teutonic Knights, the origin of German martial culture, and to some extent, one of the foundations of German culture.

Since the establishment of the German Empire, the imperial government has never stopped investing in and developing Königsberg. In addition, it is the spiritual home of many German nobles, so the density of noble estates here is the highest in Germany, making it a veritable "noble sanatorium".

Many German nobles and high-ranking generals come here to enjoy their retirement. However, in addition to officers who retire naturally at the appropriate age, some officers who are forced to retire are also arranged to come here.

Because this place is a retirement and relaxation area for royalty and nobility, the security requirements are naturally very high. This level of security is also very suitable for "house arresting" some dangerous figures here, such as the heroes of the war, Reich Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and Erich von Ludendorff.

Ludendorff and Hindenburg gradually seized control of the army during the war, becoming the most powerful people in Germany at the time. With power in their hands, the two began to have other ambitions.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff's power reached new heights after the Allied spring offensive on the western front and the Russian Kerensky offensive on the eastern front were successfully contained in 1917.

In order to seize more power, they began to try to infiltrate their forces into the government. After the Allied offensive on the east and west fronts failed, they began further actions.

To facilitate their subsequent arrangements, they first needed to expel the opposition from within the government. Their biggest opponent at the time, Reich Finance Minister von Bethmann-Holweg, was the first to be targeted and was forced to resign under pressure from Ludendorff and Hindenburg.

Imperial Finance Minister von Bethmann-Hollweg had been trying to reform the Prussian three-tiered concession system and attempted to legalize the proposal in parliament. If the bill were passed, it would seriously affect the interests of Ludendorff and Hindenburg. Under pressure from the two marshals, Imperial Finance Minister von Bethmann-Hollweg was forced to resign and withdraw from politics.

George Michaelis replaced von Bethmann-Hollweg as Chancellor of the Exchequer. After he became the new Chancellor, the proposal for reform of the three-tiered concession system was abandoned. It was soon discovered that the new Chancellor had almost no opinions of his own and that Michaelis was merely a puppet of Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

Ludendorff and Hindenburg's complete control of the government lasted from approximately 1916 to 1923, a period known in Germany at the time as the "Ludendorff-Hindenburg dictatorship." The two were referred to as the two chariots of Germany, leading the country through the post-war economic quagmire.

Under the leadership of Chief of the General Staff Paul von Hindenburg and First Quartermaster Erich von Ludendorff, the Supreme Army Command, as a dictatorial military government, effectively controlled German politics for seven years, even replacing the Kaiser, the Reich, and the government.

Although Hindenburg held more prestigious positions such as Chief of the General Staff and controlled the entire German government after 1918, representing their military dictatorship to the outside world, the real power of this military dictatorship was in the hands of Erich von Ludendorff.