On the streets of Berlin, Germany, everything looks so shabby and depressed...

Pedestrians dressed in shabby clothes walk lifelessly through the garbage-filled streets, and if someone walks in front of them at this time and looks at their eyes, they will surely see only a pair of numb eyes.

Even if there is a pile of garbage in front of them, I believe they will not hesitate to step on it, instead of stepping over it or taking a detour. It's not because they don't see it, it's that they don't care anymore.

In the corners of the city, you can see a lot of homeless people huddled in the corners.

There were also a lot of empty bottles around them, and if anyone saw this, they would probably think that these were just some drunks. But in fact, they are very, extremely sober, even more sober than most people in this world.

But it's precisely because of this that these people are so miserable, because they would rather get drunk and unconscious, and they don't feel anything around them, but...

Sadly, they can't even get drunk because their bottles are empty and they don't have the money to buy alcohol to get drunk.

Is there anything else in this world that is more sad when a person wants to get drunk, but he can't get drunk, and it's because he can't afford it?

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Although the First World War was over, the nightmare of the war was not over for the Germans.

After the end of the war, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, almost all the blame was placed on Germany as a defeated country. So a large number of unequal treaties. It's like a chain that binds Germany one after another.

At the same time, due to the devastation brought about by the war. It has also had a great impact on the German economy.

Although the German currency had not yet depreciated as much as it had in the following two years, there was a lot of unemployment caused by the defeat. But almost everyone has been affected. Especially on both sides of the street, you can see closed shops everywhere.

This is true even in a city like Berlin, where even the streets are already full of garbage and the sanitation workers are no longer bothered to clean up in these chaotic times. In fact, it's not just those sanitation, even the city government is like this, no wonder they are like this.

This is not surprising, in fact, Berlin itself is not badly damaged, and it can even be said that Berlin itself is hardly damaged at all. Because of the whole First World War. Although Germany was the defeated country, the flames of war have always taken place in France and Russia, and never burned into Germany.

Of course, there were times when the Allied air forces would drop some bombs, but the damage caused by Germany to Britain, France and Russia must have been almost negligible.

The situation facing cities such as Berlin today is more economic.

After being handcuffed to multiple chains and economic repercussions, Germany's industry and economy have plummeted. But it is also far from being compared with the pre-war period. Coupled with the knock-on effects of this qiē, the impact on the German government is definitely greater than many people expected.

What's more, the city bureau during this period was still so chaotic, which also had a great impact on Germany. Or, rather, for the current Weimar Republic. Chaos has been with him since its birth.

Under the threat of extremists from both the left and the right, the republic was in danger as soon as it was founded. The left accused the SPD of betraying workers' interests by preventing the Red Revolution. The right, on the other hand, opposes democracy and insists on returning Germany to its former monarchy. And. In particular, the right wing of the military forces claimed that it had betrayed Germany in order to undermine the republic. The defeat of the country in the First World War ―――――― this is known as the legend of the stab in the back.

On March 13, 1920, the Freikorps staged the Karp coup. Captured Berlin and elected right-wing journalist Wolfgang? Karp as Prime Minister. The Weimar government retreated to Stuttgart and advocated a general strike. The strike brought the economy to a standstill, and Karp's government collapsed just four days later.

The general strike also triggered the Red Uprising in the Ruhr area. 50,000 men formed the Red Army in an attempt to take control of the district. In the absence of government orders, the regular army and the Freikorps again suppressed the operation.

In addition to the chaos of the times, the protracted economic crisis of the Weimar Republic was due to a sharp decline in German industrial exports compared to pre-war production, a decrease in the production of raw materials and foodstuffs due to the cession of Alsace-Lorraine and some eastern provinces and colonies, as well as huge war reparations and long-term debts. In addition to this, the military industry almost ceased to function. The Allies allowed Germany to import only a small number of goods, but the price was not affordable for many Germans. After four years of war, hunger and cold, the situation in Germany could be described as poor. Many people were disillusioned with capitalism, and the Deutsche Mark was heavily devalued for this reason.

Of course, such influences are usually only directed at ordinary people, and even at such a time, the so-called upper class can still live a life of far greater luxury than ordinary people.

How to say it, unless it is a period similar to China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, otherwise, even if there is really a difficult time, the real hardships will always be ordinary civilians, and definitely not those upper-class people...

In the Chancellery in Berlin, while the civilians in those cities have begun to show their faces, the staff working here are ruddy-faced, and the cups in their hands are almost never empty...

No matter how difficult the life of the people at the bottom is, it is difficult to affect them...

However, they don't really just enjoy it, and don't do anything...

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"I'm sorry, Mr. Prime Minister..."

Glancing at Konstantin behind his desk? Felenbach, Wang Mingda said apologetically.

"Although our government has tried its best to fight for it, other countries such as Britain and France have still vetoed our proposal..."

Heard Wang Mingda say this. Putting the cup down, Konstantin's face showed a slight disappointment. But he said anyway.

"Please don't say that, Mr. Ambassador. You have done your best, and the German people will never forget the efforts made by the Chinese..."

That being said, the disappointment on Konstantin's face still fell into Wang Mingda's eyes very clearly. It's just that at this time, in addition to smiling bitterly, Wang Mingda didn't have much to say.

In fact, the current situation in Germany Wang Mingda is also very clear, due to the impact of the economy, the whole of Germany is almost everywhere unemployed. Especially the veterans, if it were in a country like Britain and France, maybe they still had something to do, but in Germany, with a lot of unemployment, what could they do?

And because of this. When Beijing offered to hire Germans to fight in the Caucasus, Wang Mingda quickly agreed to the proposal and worked very hard to promote it.

This is not surprising, because Wang Mingda, who once studied in Germany for a period of time, is also a relatively well-known pro-German person in the national government. It is precisely for this reason that Yan Shao chose Wang Mingda as China's ambassador to Germany, because only if he is sincerely inclined to Germany can he have good relations with the Germans. Of course, Yan Shao would never worry about Wang Mingda being bought by the Germans, on the one hand, because the Germans couldn't come up with anything that could buy Wang Mingda. After all, Germany can be said to be down-and-out now.

Besides, what if they take it out? As I said earlier, many times leaning towards a certain country does not mean that he is a traitor. Just because of some favoritism, or because of the feeling that the country is united with one's own. It is more in line with the interests of their own country.

If the other party is really an enemy of their own country, they will also not hesitate to stand on the side of their own country.

As for the third...

This is also the most important point, that is, although Germany is in a very important position in Yan Shao's strategy. But. At least for now, Germany is not in a position to help China. After all, Germany is too weak and too weak now. Even if it was really a union with Germany. can only end up being dragged back.

So the most important thing at this stage is to build good relations with Germany, and nothing else ...

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"In addition to this news..."Glancing at Konstantin with a disappointed face, Wang Mingda hesitated slightly. There is also news that my Government would like to convey to you, that is, our Government has decided to formally intervene in the conflict between Soviet Russia and Turkey, and to take the initiative to mediate for the two countries, so that this armed conflict, which has been going on for two months, can be completely ended..."

Hearing Wang Mingda say this, Konstantin nodded, but his heart sank sharply.

What exactly this means, Konstantin is naturally very clear. It seemed that he saw that Konstantin was in a bad mood, and after getting up from his seat, he nodded to Konstantin, and Wang Mingda said goodbye and left.

After Wang Mingda left, Konstantin couldn't help but lean back on the chair, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, not knowing what he was thinking.

After about a while, the deputy prime minister and justice minister Rudolph, who learned that Wang Mingda had left? Rheinze walked in from the outside.

"Mr. Prime Minister, any good news?" Saying this, Rudolph's face inevitably showed a hint of anticipation. Although it is not willing to take responsibility, China is indeed the only country willing to help Germany at the moment, and a series of past actions have indeed brought great help to Germany. If it weren't for that, Berlin would be even more depressed than it is now.

It is also for this reason that although the Germans are indeed a little embarrassed by this dependence on China, their hearts are still full of anticipation.

"Good news?" Hearing Rudolph ask, Konstantin couldn't help but smile bitterly. "There's good news," he said, glancing at Rudolph with an expectant expression, Konstantin said bitterly. Mr. Wang has just told me that China intends to formally mediate the war in the Caucasus so that the light of peace will shine again on the Turks and Russians. ”

"This!"

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Hearing Konstantin's words, Rudolph, who was expecting good news, suddenly couldn't help but stiffen his expression. Before he had time to show his disappointed expression, Rudolph couldn't help but ask. "How so? Why do the Chinese do this? And the matter of hiring German soldiers as mercenaries..."

"That's right." Konstantin nodded. "Now that there is peace. Naturally, there would be no need for German mercenaries..."

When he said this, Konstantin couldn't help but smile bitterly.

After learning that the Chinese had asked German veterans to go to the Caucasus as mercenaries. When fighting the Russians for the Turks. At first, Konstantin naturally refused, but in the blink of an eye, he changed his position.

What is the German government most worried about right now? Economic, of course. Because from a certain point of view, as long as the economy is done well, then all the difficulties that Germany is facing today can be easily solved.

For example, there are other problems such as unemployment that really affect Germany's stability, and the real reason why Hitler won the support of the Germans so easily in history is because Hitler did a good job in Germany's economy? The bread and butter that the Germans could eat.

A series of subsequent expansion measures restored the Germans to their former glory. However, this qiē needs to be based on the economy first, and if the economy is not improved, I am afraid that there is no need to wait for Hitler to recover the Rhine, annex Austria and the Sudetai or something, and he will already be kicked down by the people like other governments―――――― to put it simply. General.

And at the moment, if tens of thousands of German soldiers can be sent to Turkey, it will definitely be of great benefit to the Germans.

First of all, it can solve the employment problem of tens of thousands of German soldiers, although this is only a small number compared to the millions of unemployed people in Germany at present, but it is always better to solve some of them. What's more, these unemployed soldiers in Germany can be regarded as one of the important factors in the decline of law and order.

In addition, since these German soldiers were saved as mercenaries, their salaries would definitely be very high. At least according to Wang Mingda's account, there is also the result of what the Germans themselves heard. The salary of being a mercenary in Turkey is still very high―――――― after all, it is not the Turks who pay this time, but the Americans and Chinese.

Needless to say, Americans have always been generous, and the Nationalist government is not a stingy place.

Other than that. If this German has a salary, then he can naturally help his family back home. According to the calculation of a family of three, it is almost more than 100,000 people. What if it were more?

What's more, according to the National Government, the German government can deduct a part of the salaries of these Germans as intermediary fees and the like. This is also very good for the current finances of the German government―――――― and even a small amount of money is very useful for the German government at this stage.

And there is. Germany's hostility to the red Soviet Union and Russia, and besides, Turkey was also an ally of Germany back then. Although this alliance has now been dissolved, it is still possible to help.

But the most important point is not this, but...

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With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, although Germany still retained a part of the army, this number was already pitiful, only about 100,000 remaining. This is obviously not enough for Germany, but if Germany is allowed to expand its army. On the one hand, there are treaty restrictions, and there is another most important reason, which is the financial problem.

It is clear that the current German government is no longer able to maintain a large army.

But what if someone is willing to help them raise it?

For example, the national government of the year must not be able to maintain such a large number of troops with its own finances, let alone support hundreds of thousands of expeditionary forces to fight in Europe.

Isn't it because Britain, France and other countries have provided the national government with interest-free loans of 10 million or 20 million pounds a year, so that the national government can sustain itself? Moreover, the British also provided a loan of almost 10 million pounds to the Nationalist government to help the Nationalist government build a railway in Xinjiang...

It can be said that the British and French have also made great contributions to the Nationalist government...

Of course, Britain and France will definitely have different opinions on this, but there is no need to say more about this.

lest they talk too much, and Britain and France will be annoyed and angry.

However, Britain and France were so angry that it was nothing, but if they could send tens of thousands of German troops to the Caucasus as mercenaries this time, wouldn't it be equivalent to using the money of Britain and France and other countries to help Germany raise an army of tens of thousands of people?

Such a good thing, unless Konstantin has a problem with their brains, they will never refuse.

Only now, with the intervention of the national government, everything has been shattered.

After all, as Konstantin said, since everything is already peaceful, there is naturally no need for mercenaries.

So, after glancing at each other, Konstantin and Rudolph couldn't help but sigh in unison.

Disappointment, at this moment, in their hearts, I am afraid that there is only this feeling, but they can't blame China for anything. After all, as a country, they need to think about their own national interests first, and Germany is just an ally of China, isn't it? No, not even allies, just quasi-allies. (To be continued......)