German Red Prince

Page 127

"We should be happy, because we have now at least correctly grasped the laws governing the development of the world situation. What does it mean that we have correctly grasped the laws governing the development of the world? It means that we can give full play to our subjective initiative and use the right methods to change that terrible future and make the situation develop in a direction that is favorable to us."

"Weakening the influence of German imperialism in Central and Eastern Europe cannot be achieved solely through French aid and the support of the weaker communist parties within the country. The most crucial element is to mobilize the power of the people."

Mobilizing the power of the people—every representative present certainly knew that it was necessary to mobilize the power of the people, but how easy was that? If it were so easy to mobilize the power of the people, then the revolution would have succeeded long ago.

"Color Revolution"

Thorne wrote those words on the board behind him.

"Color revolution, though I prefer to call it a red revolution, we can use it to weaken the influence of German imperialism in Central and Eastern Europe, thereby weakening its foundation of rule."

"Color Revolution? Red Revolution?"

Thorne has already used many new terms during his recent appearance on stage. These unfamiliar terms and explanations have given the delegates a fresh perspective. But what exactly does "color revolution" mean? Doesn't it just sound like a revolution? What's the difference?

"Color revolutions, esteemed delegates, do not think of them as the same as ordinary revolutions. This is a completely new form of struggle," Thorne began to explain to the audience.

"Color revolutions are different from conventional violent revolutions. They are movements that bring about regime change through ideology and non-violence. Their most important characteristic is non-violence."

"Color revolutions are far more complex than violent revolutions. They involve multiple fields such as politics, economics, and culture, and are extremely destructive. They can often completely overthrow a country's regime without expending a single soldier."

In later generations, color revolutions became a common tactic used by the United States. With this powerful weapon, the Soviet Union and a host of socialist countries in Eastern Europe were directly brought to their knees. In this timeline, Thorne also borrowed some of America's underhanded tricks to deal with the capitalist countries of this world.

"We need to work on multiple areas together to achieve the best results. In order to achieve the best results, let's first analyze the general situation of various countries in Central and Eastern Europe."

"Central and Eastern Europe, under the framework of the Imperial Pact, was itself a huge blood bank and a large granary, supported by Germany to cope with the upcoming war. Germany's economic exploitation of these countries was also very severe. These countries' economic development was very sluggish, and they also had many economic problems that could not be solved in the short term. This provided fertile ground for our color revolution."

"In the political arena, the corruption of these rulers, who were supported by Germany, is almost common knowledge. Which German doesn't know about the rampant bribery among Ukrainian landowners and government officials, let alone their own people? The people must have a deep disapproval and lack of support for these rulers, which provides a political incentive for color revolutions."

"In terms of culture, these countries are extremely confused in their thinking. There are those who support monarchy, those who support capitalists, conservatism, radicalism, and reformism. Their values ​​are very confused, which makes it very easy for us to infiltrate them and provide a cultural foundation for achieving a color revolution."

After listening to Thorne's three-pronged analysis, the representatives gained some understanding. By using these national problems to amplify them for the people to see, over time, the public will inevitably develop a rebellious mentality and spontaneously resist. This is truly terrifying to think about.

"The most crucial thing is to control the emotions of the people. Lack of social governance, unresolved livelihood issues, and product shortages will undoubtedly cause public dissatisfaction. By amplifying these problems, we can build consensus among the people and unite them into a force. By inciting public sentiment, we can encourage the people to spontaneously rise up and oppose the rule of the puppet government without expending a single soldier."

"Most importantly, the power of public opinion cannot be ignored. Color revolutions are, in essence, cultural subversions. They rely on public opinion to stir up public sentiment and make people resist. Therefore, we also need to cultivate a group of executors of our will."

"Whom do ordinary people trust the most? It's definitely not foreigners. They trust well-known domestic figures and experts or reputable newspapers the most."

“We can bribe these experts and newspapers to become our mouthpieces, to say what we want them to say, and to make their people believe that this is the truth.”

"By leveraging these experts and newspapers, we can project the values ​​we want them to understand, instill a rebellious mentality in the people, use cultural persuasion to break their minds, and disintegrate their ideology. The strongest fortresses are often breached from within, so we will dismantle them from the inside. At the same time, we must also make full use of students and those who are already dissatisfied with society."

"Students are often full of passion and ideals, and they will definitely not tolerate the dark side of society. They will be the first to stand up and oppose it. Those who are dissatisfied with society only need us to guide them a little."

“We can even send specialized personnel during color revolutions to provide guidance and training in theory, ideology, methods, means, technology, and organization to help them better fight against the government.”

"This is the theory of color revolution that I want to expound: to subvert the fortress of the reactionary government from within. At the same time, comrades should also understand that color revolution is a double-edged sword. It can be used against the reactionary government. Similarly, if the reactionary government takes control, it can also be used against us. We should always be vigilant, because the enemy is always thinking about subverting us."

Thorne wiped his sweat after finishing his sentence. He felt like a villain after just saying it once. This color revolution was indeed a "poisonous move," too dark.

The delegates gasped in shock upon hearing this, and the room fell silent. They hadn't expected the prince to have so many wicked ideas. Luckily, he was on their side. They doubted that any of them could outmaneuver him with his underhanded tactics.

Fortunately, the education provided by the royal family of the Kingdom of the Rhine was excellent, cultivating Thorne's high political awareness, enabling him to stand with these communists.

If Thorne had been a traditional feudal aristocrat, the German Communist Party could have been completely destroyed by him.

233. The direction cannot be wrong.

Thallman now realized he had underestimated the prince of the Rhine Kingdom; he had to admit that Thorne's ideas were indeed very constructive.

Unlike the policies they implemented, Thorne's ideas were very creative.

The various solutions they proposed were all within the existing framework, but Thorne was different; Thorne's approach was to directly break the existing framework.

Playing by the rules is not the way to go. The current situation is not favorable to me. Instead of thinking about how to conform to the rules, I want to find a way to break the rules directly so that the situation will become more suitable for my development.

Thorne first analyzed the international environment that the Communist Party of Germany was facing. The current international environment was indeed very unfavorable to their development. The powerful German imperialism was still in a very stable position, and it would be difficult for the Communist Party of Germany to stir up any major waves.

"Comrade Thorne, could you elaborate on your theory of color revolution?"

Jörn Schör, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany, asked Thorne, "As one of the current top leaders of the Communist Party of Germany, I also voted in favor of Thorne joining the party. Judging from the current situation, this decision was very correct."

After Thorne joined the Communist Party of Germany, there was a period of observation. During this period, his behavior was very much in line with that of a communist fighter. He had no bad habits and was very humble and low-key. Therefore, Jörn Scheer was very interested in this young comrade who was born into royalty.

Especially after listening to his analysis of domestic and international affairs, Jon became even more interested in Thorne. Thorne had reached a high level in terms of both political awareness and vision.

Jon thought that after this meeting, he would discuss it with his comrades in the Central Committee. Although Jon was young, he was capable enough to take on some positions in the Central Committee.

Thorne's theory of color revolution, which Jon just thought about, is indeed a powerful weapon. It can subvert a country's regime without anyone noticing, and the countries that have been infiltrated can't do anything about it; they can only watch helplessly.

"Of course, the theory of color revolution may sound complicated, but it is not very difficult to put into practice. The core of this theory is just one thing: to go against the government, to constantly amplify the dark side, until the people completely distrust the government and the government loses its prestige."

"First of all, we need to identify the target audience of this theory: the people at the bottom who have long been oppressed by the government. They are the greatest source of strength for this theory and our key target."

"What we ultimately want to achieve is to turn them into a country ruled by the proletariat. Even if we can't do that, we should cultivate a large number of supporters of socialist ideology in the local area, promote the superiority of the socialist system to these people, and let them learn and understand it spontaneously. This way, the impression will be more profound, rather than us having to promote it and letting them passively accept it."

"When these people have seen too much of the dark side of their society, they will definitely be aroused by a rebellious mentality. At that time, whatever their government promotes, these people will oppose. Of course, it is not enough for the people to just oppose the government, and that is not our ultimate goal."

"What we need is to provide these people with weapons, ideological weapons and theoretical guidance, so that they know that they deserve a better life, but now under this reactionary government, the people are not enjoying what they are entitled to."

"Occupy the high ground of public opinion, and we can launch a massive attack on their current reactionary government. Even if they ban the organizations and institutions we fund, we will have no need to be afraid now that we have the support of the people. This will undoubtedly exacerbate the conflict between the people and the government. We just need to wait behind the scenes for the show to begin."

The German Empire's survival to this day is largely thanks to Thorne being German. If Thorne had been French, the French Commune probably wouldn't have needed to prepare any revenge war; it could have simply sat by and watched Germany be peacefully transformed. Compared to Thorne's theory, the French Commune's current "Red Gallows" plan seems far too mild.

"There's one more thing, comrades, I'd like to ask you a question."

Thorne looked at the representatives and Central Committee members below the stage and took a deep breath. With the groundwork laid earlier, these bigwigs below probably had some degree of recognition of him, so Thorne had to say the most crucial point.

"Comrades and committee members, I would like to ask you, what is the purpose of our revolution?"

"for what?"

This question caused the representatives in the audience to look at each other in bewilderment. Why? Didn't they carry out the revolution to make oppressive societies disappear, eliminate tyranny and brutality, establish an equal society, and allow future generations to live a good life?

"Comrades, we all know that our revolution is to establish an equal and just society. So why can't we achieve this goal ourselves instead of placing all our hopes on the French?"

"Why should we rely on the French to help us build such a society? Shouldn't we accomplish this historical task ourselves? Why do we need to depend on others?"

"Since we want to build a new Germany that is completely independent, autonomous, free and equal, we must rely on our own strength and use our own hands to create a better future for our children and grandchildren."

"I just listened to the reports from the previous comrades, and I think that such thinking is incorrect. Although the French are our proletarian brothers, we cannot have absolute trust in them."

These words immediately caused a stir among the audience and made the hall noisy. Thorne's words were too explosive, and France could not be trusted with absolute confidence.

What kind of talk is this? It undermines the relationship between class brothers and sows discord among the proletariat. If we put a bigger label on it, what Thorne just said is a mistake, practically a counter-revolutionary act.

Seeing the reaction from the audience, Thorne realized just how powerful his words had been. It was only because Thorne was wealthy and powerful that he was able to stand on the stage; he was the one who funded more than half of the German Communist Party's activities. Otherwise, would they have allowed Thorne to continue shouting here? They would have kicked him off long ago.

However, no matter how many people oppose him, Thorne has to make his point clear today, otherwise, if he goes in the wrong direction, it will be all for nothing no matter how far he goes.

234. Taking a step back is for the sake of taking two steps forward in the end.

"Comrade Saune, our policy has always been to seek the help of the French Commune to achieve the final victory of the revolution. What do you mean by saying that we cannot have absolute trust in France?"

Jørn Scheer inquired of Thorne on the stage that, at this point in time, the French Commune and the Third International were the holy sites of all other left-wing political parties in the world.

The ultimate source of confidence and the belief that sustains the various left-wing political parties today is this last beacon that has been fighting against imperialism.

Thorne said that France cannot be absolutely trusted. What kind of talk is that? Many of the policies of the German Communist Party were also learned from France.

The German Communist Party held the Commune in high esteem, so Thorne's words sounded very harsh. Did he distrust France? Did he mean that all their previous policies were wrong?

"France is our comrade now, and has given us a lot of help and guidance, which I do not deny. But as I said before, the confrontation between Germany and France is a long-term confrontation. In order to gain enough advantages, both sides will try to gain as much influence as possible around the world. During this period, many things may happen. Who can guarantee that France will treat us the same way at that time?"

"I've also learned a bit about the politics of the French Commune. Right now, France is governed by the neutral Labour Party, which isn't very hostile towards Germany and has a good attitude towards us. But what about in the future?"

"France does not yet have a strong political party. The rise of the Workers' Party is merely a compromise among various forces, temporarily maintaining the balance among the parties. However, this balance is being broken. As everyone knows, the new French general election is about to begin, and all the major parties are busy with this. Will the parties that come to power treat us the same way as they do now?"

"France lost to Germany in the previous two wars. If France wins this third war, what will they think of a defeated Germany?"

"Revanchism has a significant influence in France. The far-left parties in France are now relying on these ideas to gain support, and they have quite a few supporters. These parties are very likely to win the next election. What does this mean?"

"If they lead France next, even though our party shares the same ideology as theirs, after the Commune truly defeats the Kaiser, can we truly lead German politics in the future?"

"If the French Commune had defeated Germany, it would have become one of the world's top powers. So, would they have needed an independent and autonomous East Germany, or an obedient Germany?"

Thorne's words silenced the delegates. Many of them had attended meetings in Paris multiple times and were familiar with French politics.

The Labour Party is indeed a moderate party now, and the policies of the Commune government are not particularly radical.

However, in recent years, the support rate for the French Workers' Party has been declining year by year, while the support rate for other political parties in France, such as the Sorel faction and the Jacobins, has been increasing, and their alliance has also gained considerable recognition in the current French political arena.

If they succeed in winning the general election, their policies will certainly be more radical. The main policy of the Workers' Party now is to liberate Germany and complete the world revolution. Under revanchism, will the French choose to liberate Germany or to completely destroy it?

Even if France achieves final victory and the Communist Party of Germany smoothly seizes power, what good will it do? Will the German people really respect a party that follows France around all day and can only obey the instructions of Paris?

I fear that I am seen as a traitor rather than a liberator in the eyes of the German people. Under strong national sentiment, the Communist Party of Germany may end up pleasing neither side.

But if not this, what other good options are there? Why would the German Communist Party place its hopes on the French, wanting to liberate Germany with the help of French forces? It's because they themselves didn't have guns.

The armed forces of the Communist Party of Germany were too weak, and their development was closely monitored. They could not stir up any trouble in Germany, and the uprising would likely only result in complete failure.

"I believe that only a revolution based on our own efforts can be a true revolution and truly liberate our people. Our political decisions should be independent and autonomous, and we cannot rely too much on the French. If we don't even trust ourselves, then for whom is our revolution? The French?"

"Why are we so insecure now? Ultimately, it's because our strength is too small. I do have a preliminary idea on how to expand our strength."

Thorne has been working on expanding the influence of the Communist Party of Germany (CPD), but the party's ideology and unique characteristics are still too special in modern Germany. No kingdom would allow the CPD to truly take power, not even the Kingdom of the Rhine. However, since the CPD is not an option, a compromise can be chosen.

"Participate in the election?"

Listening to Thorne's proposed method, even Thälmann was momentarily confused about what Thorne wanted to do: involve the Communist Party of Germany in the government elections? Could that possibly succeed?

They've tried different election methods before. If they could succeed, why would they be here fighting?

A peaceful seizure of power—didn't Thorne say before that a peaceful seizure of power was unrealistic? How come he's contradicting himself now?

"I was referring to another form of election. The identity of the Communist Party of Germany is too sensitive. However, if we want to expand our influence, we can't develop secretly. We need to conduct our propaganda and hold elections openly and honestly, and strive to participate in various government affairs."

"The reason we can't achieve results in elections is because society can't tolerate a radical party like ours. But if we want to integrate into the current social system, our party will have to make compromises, and it may end up becoming a hybrid that doesn't really exist."

"So my approach is to adapt to the current political situation, create a completely new political party to participate in the election, make it our spokesperson in the government, and expand our influence."

Creating a completely new political party? This idea is truly something that not just anyone could come up with. A political party nested within another political party—this innovation is truly ingenious.

"First of all, our party cannot compromise or make concessions. It must ensure its purity and orthodoxy, because this is the foundation of the new party we are building."

"But our new party can make appropriate concessions in order to survive in this political system."

"We will build it into a social democratic party that favors workers and social reform, participate in elections legally and compliantly, and use this party to conduct publicity and recruit activists openly and legitimately."

Listening to Thorne's explanation, Thallman gradually understood that it was indeed true; taking a step back was to take two steps forward.

235. A brand new political party

The Communist Party of Germany at present has no more than 150,000 members nationwide, with an estimated exact number of around 120,000, while the total population of the German Empire is approximately 70 million.

The German Reich's old major parties, the German Reich Party and the German Fatherland Party, each have nearly hundreds of thousands of members. The combined size of these two parties exceeds the total number of all other parties, and their voice in the government carries considerable weight.

With so much concrete data presented here, a simple comparison reveals the dire living conditions of the current Communist Party of Germany. Relying solely on these individuals, it would be extremely difficult to continue and complete the tasks ahead.

With 120,000 party members, there's hardly any impact in Germany's 70 million population. Even if the Communist Party of Germany were to successfully seize power, it would still be extremely difficult for 120,000 party members to control the country. Trying to handle all the various issues in Germany with such a small number of people would be incredibly exhausting.

Faced with this terrible situation, Thorne thought of forming a brand new political party to legally participate in various activities, strive for and expand his influence, and also recruit more members through this party.

The Communist Party of Germany is currently a political party that needs to be controlled and is subject to strict restrictions. You can temporarily join this new party and then join the Communist Party of Germany when the time is right.

Furthermore, the current situation of the struggle remains very complex. The Communist Party of Germany (CPD) still faces many enemies, but its domestic policy has not yet been clarified. This has led to the fact that political parties that could have cooperated with it have become enemies, and it has very few friends to unite with, only workers and peasants, and the majority of them are workers.

The Communist Party of Germany (CPD) promotes its focus on the interests of the proletariat. As for peasants, they see them as potential targets for winning over, but they have not truly united the peasants within the party. Therefore, the CPD can only have considerable influence in a few large, industrialized cities. In other places, people may not have even heard of this party.

The German Communist Party (DCP) is so focused on the working class that it has neglected to win over other potential allies. In other words, the DCP is too stubborn at this stage and unwilling to adjust itself to the changing circumstances.

In real history, the CCP has made many adjustments to its policies in order to cope with the situation in different periods. During the Chinese Civil War, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the War of Liberation, appropriate adjustments were made due to different specific historical circumstances and different problems.

These policies were very well-suited to the needs of the times, and based on these successful experiences, the German Communist Party also needs to make appropriate adjustments.

A Marxist political party is not a rigid and inflexible party; it must be flexible and adaptable. What kind of Marxism is it if it is stuck in the past and clings to dogma?

"The current domestic environment is one of strong enemies and weak forces. In order to expand our advantages, we must find ways to increase our strength. However, due to the special nature of our party, we cannot directly participate in the election."

"We cannot develop underground in such a timid and hesitant manner. We need a strong Communist Party. Germany needs a strong Communist Party. The people need a strong Communist Party!"

“We will establish a new political party, which will serve as our subsidiary party, primarily to help us unite those previously neglected groups and provide support and assistance when necessary. This party may be many times larger than the Communist Party of Germany in the future, so that we can gain an advantageous position in future elections.”

"At the same time, we must not forget the party's responsibility, which is to unite more friends into our camp. Therefore, we must also be clear about the interest groups it represents. This is a party that represents the vast majority of the people, so we must pay attention to the interests of the people in order to have support and be able to participate in the election smoothly."

"This new political party still focuses on the interests of the broad working class, and its proposals must also conform to the interests of the working class and the broad proletariat."

Thorne's idea seems worth considering, since the reality is indeed similar to what he described. Given the current state of the Communist Party of Germany, if it wanted to carry out a revolution and confront the government head-on, it would likely be a dead end. This roundabout approach, this indirect way to save the country, seems to be the only feasible method at present.

"Could Comrade Thorne elaborate on this brand-new political party? How should we organize it to ensure its successful operation and make it beneficial to us?"