"Your Majesty, I think we should first consider what we can get from Russia under the Bolsheviks......"

Hersman glanced at the Emperor, and he guessed that today's dinner and the individual summons before the meal must have been the Emperor's desire to gain a deeper understanding of the current situation in Russia. For him, it was also an opportunity to save the Second Reich...... It's a bit difficult, but it's still a dead horse to be a live horse.

"What do you get?" Wilhelm II asked himself, "I can take the land on the Baltic coast if I want, even if it is rich Ukraine...... As long as I want to be there! ”

"Gold, gold worth more than two billion gold marks!" Hersman said, "The Bolsheviks could secretly hand them over to us." ”

Wilhelm II already knew the news, and he didn't show too much interest now. Gold was good, of course, but it was of little use to wartime Germany. Now that Germany is blockaded by Britain and the United States, what is needed is not something that can be bought with gold.

"And the grain ......," Hersman accentuated, "Ukraine has the most black soil in Europe, and as long as the situation there returns to calm, farmers can start farming, and by next year at the latest, Ukrainian grain will improve our domestic supply." Your Majesty, in fact, the fundamental reason why the tsar lost everything was that there was not enough bread to feed the people of Petersburg! ”

"No bread......," snorted Wilhelm II, coldly, "what a fool! But that doesn't happen in Germany! ”

In fact, there is very little bread left! In April, there was a wave of strikes in Germany, and workers demanded that cheap food and coal be fully increased! In July, food riots and strikes broke out in Aalen, Hindenburg, Leipzig and other places. And the difficulties faced by Austria-Hungary and Turkey were even more serious than those of Germany!

"Your Majesty, what about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Turkish Empire? Do they have enough bread? In the event of the disintegration of Austria-Hungary and Turkey...... What are we going to do? ”

Revolution is a contagion in Europe! If something goes wrong with Austria-Hungary, then eighty percent of the German Empire will not be spared!

"My Majesty, we should not ignore the fact that the German Empire cannot fight alone, and that our security depends on the Empire's ally, Austria-Hungary," said Hirschmann slowly, word for word. And this Austro-Hungarian Empire was far more fragile than the German Empire, and its national problems were likely to become fatal in the event of a deterioration of domestic supplies. If the revolution had taken place in the territory of Austria-Hungary, then we would have faced the doom of defeat as well! ”

In fact, the rapid collapse of the Allies in World War I began with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In September and October 1918, the beleaguered Austro-Hungarian Empire was swept away by a wave of revolution, and many parts of the territory declared independence. On October 14, Karl I, the last monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, announced his acceptance of the "Fourteen Point Agreement" (U.S. President Woodrow. Johnson's proposed peace conditions). On 28 October, the Czech Republic, an important part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, declared independence; On 31 October, Hungary also declared its independence. A vast empire is crumbling!

The collapse of Austria-Hungary also meant that the German Empire had lost an ally with a strong industrial force, a population of 52 million, a vast land, and several million troops - even if the Austro-Hungarian army was not as good as it could be, it was a comrade-in-arms that the German Empire in the autumn of 1918 could not afford to lose.

Without Austria-Hungary, the defeat of the German Empire was inevitable! The November Revolution in Germany actually took place when defeat was already assured.

The so-called bullets fired from behind, if any, also killed Austria-Hungary. The German Empire was nothing more than a funeral for Austria-Hungary!

"You can still think of the Austro-Hungarian ......," Wilhelm II's thoughts seemed to be said by Hersmann, and worry appeared on his face.

Hirschman went on to say: "In addition to grain, we can also get friends from Russia...... The Bolsheviks could be friends! ”

"Bolsheviks? Friend? Wilhelm II was stunned. He had no intention of being friends with Lenin - in the eyes of His Majesty the Kaiser, the Bolsheviks were a dangerous and deadly virus.

"Your Majesty, the enemy of your enemy is your friend." Hersmann said, "The system of the Bolsheviks made it intolerable to Great Britain, the United States, and France. After the Bolsheviks negotiated peace with us, Britain, the United States, and France would certainly support the Bolshevik enemy in fighting against the Bolsheviks! ”

"A civil war?" The Kaiser asked.

"There will indeed be a civil war!" "As far as the present situation in Russia is concerned, this is inevitable, because the Bolsheviks were limited in their strength, and Lenin and others were only taking advantage of the extreme war-weariness of the Russian people to burst into action, while their enemies were waiting for their chance." ”

"The Bolsheviks, mired in a civil war, can still provide us with food?" Wilhelm II asked rhetorically.

"Your Majesty, in Russia grain comes from Ukraine. If we can broker an agreement on autonomy between the Central Rada and the Bolshevik-controlled Soviets, Ukraine will become a relatively peaceful place in the Russian civil war. Then we will be able to get grain and coal from Ukraine......"

Hersmann pitched the German emperor the idea of "Ukrainian autonomy". Because he knew that Ukraine would become the focal point - this black land of more than 600,000 square kilometers was not only the breadbasket of Russia but also the base of Russia's heavy industry - and if Ukraine became independent, then Lenin's regime would really not be able to fall from power, and Ukraine would probably fall into chaos!

And if Germany had put forward conditions that the Bolsheviks could not afford, the peace talks would have dragged on. Germany would even need to launch a new offensive on the Eastern Front to force the Bolsheviks into submission, which would delay operations on the Western Front. And time is extremely precious for Germany!

Historically, the Germans were entangled with the Bolsheviks on the Eastern Front until March 1918, when the treaty was signed. It had been 11 months since the United States entered the war, which was enough for the United States to mobilize and arm a huge number of troops.

Now Hersmann had won Germany two months -- the October Revolution became the August Revolution -- and if he could bring about the signing of the peace treaty as soon as possible, he would be able to gain Germany another precious month or two. In this way, it may be possible to secure a decent peace for the Second Reich......

"Plus, we get hundreds of thousands of German-speaking people from Russia." Seeing that the emperor was silent, Hersmann then put forward a condition that Lenin did not say.

"Hundreds of thousands of people? Is it a German in Russia? Wilhelm II asked.

"Yes, hundreds of thousands of Germans, descendants of immigrants who migrated from German soil to Russia in the past. If we can concentrate them near the Gulf of Riga, it will help the creation of the Baltic principality. ”

"The Duchy of the Baltic...... Do you know the plan? Wilhelm II touched his beard and stood up. Well, I've heard a lot of constructive comments today. But now, I'm a little hungry. Major, let's go eat. ”

With that, the Emperor walked out of his office with his head held high, and Hersman hurriedly followed. I wondered in my heart how effective the words he had just said could be...... If only the Second Reich could really be saved. But given the stubbornness of Wilhelm II, Field Marshal Hindenburg and Ludendorff, things may not be so easy.

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