The evening breeze blows, bringing a rare coolness to summer nights.

The corners of Qingying's mouth hooked up a trace of relaxed arc, and said: "The Russian civil war is about to start, and my father doesn't have to worry about it." For far from being bad news, it was the most gratifying situation for Germany. ”

William had a puzzled look on his face and said, "What is the reason for this?" ”

"Since the reforms of Peter the Great, Russia has become a nightmare in the hearts of all European countries. They possess territory several times larger than the whole of Europe, and their resources and population are more or less inexhaustible: and their enormous strategic depth provides them with far greater resilience to war than European countries, making it extremely difficult for them to surrender to foreign enemies. Even if he is as heroic as Napoleon, he was dragged down by the other side on the land of Russia! It can be said that Russia is undoubtedly one of the countries with the greatest potential to become a superpower in the world today, and there is no other power in the world that can compare with it, except for the United States, which has the same vast territory and the protection of two oceans. ”

Qingying said unhurriedly, and there was a hint of envy in her words. The Romanov dynasty's early eastward expansion undoubtedly left an unrivalled legacy for its descendants: successive owners of the Winter Palace or the Kremlin have always played an irreplaceable central role on the international stage. In contrast, Germany, which is narrow and lacking, is not at all comparable to it; The reason why it was labeled as a militant militarist state by the English-speaking world in later generations was entirely because Germany's domestic resources and markets could not meet the needs of its development at all, and it had to go global.

"The good news, however, is that the country has never been able to reach its full potential. Their serfs, whips, and massacres are all sorts of misdeeds. From the very beginning, it constrained the country's development speed in the industrial revolution with science and technology at its core. And we're even more glad for it. There was also a split within Russia. Since the accession to the throne of Nikolai Shu. The class and national contradictions that had been building up in Russia for centuries were sharply intensified in the course of industrialization: various anti-government forces emerged one after another, even when the country was in danger, and they were still fighting to the death of each other. It is precisely because of the backwardness of Russia itself in the process of industrialization and the conflict and antagonism in the country that we can defeat this behemoth today and become the new arbitration gendarme on the European continent. Qingying added.

William frowned and said, "Of course I understand this. But what does this have to do with the good news you said earlier? ”

"It is precisely because Russia contains great potential for its rise that we have to resort to a means to prevent their recovery; And the current division and civil war in their country. is the best way to achieve this! Qing Ying looked at the Russian territory on the map, which had been dismembered and divided into many forces, and his eyes also showed excitement and shining, "Once a civil war breaks out, Russia's industry, economy, and population will be severely damaged, which is definitely a weakening method that is a hundred times more effective than any restraint and sanctions in peacetime." In this way, Russia, which is divided and at war with each other, can no longer pose any threat to Germany, and we can devote all our strength to controlling France and Italy, and realizing the dream of a world empire. ”

William was silent for a moment and said, "About what you said. I've actually thought about it. It's just that the situation in Russia is now. Nor will it necessarily be more beneficial to us than the usual reparations after reunification. The reparations of up to 30 billion marks will be a mountain that they will not be able to get rid of for the next 20 years, and we can use this money as a lubricant to greatly accelerate the development of the empire in the future. Even if Russia is allowed to develop normally, will they still be capable of posing a threat to Germany? Their industrial power was originally a huge difference between river gunboats and ocean-going warships compared to ours; Now they have lost Poland and Ukraine, and their national power has been damaged by the near exhaustion. In the event of a war, the Imperial army from Minsk will be able to reach Moscow in two months, and how will they dare to disobey our will? ”

That's because you didn't see the power of Soviet Russia in later generations. Qingying secretly slandered in her heart. On the other hand, it took only 15 years for the Bolsheviks to industrialize Russia, which had only one-seventh of the industrial output of the original tsarist era, after the end of the Civil War, and became the top depositor after the United States. Although this was accompanied by a great deal of dehumanizing abuse of peasants, prisoners, and political dissidents, and the numerous crimes committed during the purge campaign, it is undeniable that the Red Soviet Union was the first highly effective regime to truly unite Russia's forces and thus burst into a power that shocked the world. Had it not been for the Great Purge initiated by the "Loving Fathers" in their pursuit of absolute power, and the heavy losses suffered by the country and the army, the Soviet-German war would have ended a year earlier, and their own damage would undoubtedly be much lower than in the same period in history.

In view of this, Qingying will never allow this regime with great potential to sleep peacefully on his couch side. Although they have now lost more Ukraine and the three Baltic states than they have historically, and their food supplies and overseas shipping have been greatly affected, it is also absolutely necessary to keep them in a situation of instability for the sake of insurance. If the White Army is still as strong as it has been in history, Qing Ying will even have the intention of directly intervening with troops: after all, the current Europe is not the Europe of 1920, and Germany, which has not experienced four years of bloody attrition, has the strength and civil atmosphere to carry out this foreign intervention operation. And the original friendship between him and the Bolsheviks came to an end at the moment when the other side signed the "Brest Treaty": after all, the two sides were two groups of sharply opposed ideologies, and even if they came together temporarily for the sake of interests, it was absolutely impossible for them to continue to work together for a long time.

"It is true that the future Russia will have no way to compete with Germany. However, the division and turmoil between them cut off this last glimmer of possibility. It is also better not to have the idea of entrapping Russia under the Red Bolsheviks, because the Treaty of Brest has far exceeded the Treaty of Frankfurt of the Franco-Prussian War 40 years ago, and we and Red Russia have formed irresolvable contradictions, and the antagonistic ideas between the two sides have made it difficult to trust each other. Qingying finally said.

William said slowly, "I never thought of uniting with this gang of Red Plagues. I find it difficult to be taken off guard only by the fact that the war reparations of 21 billion marks will most likely go unpaid. As soon as the Russian civil war broke out, the Bolsheviks would not be able to repay the reparations, and this windfall would undoubtedly be extremely important to us! If it is only to gain time to delay Russia's return to the ranks of the world's great powers, then the gain is too small compared to the price we have paid. ”

Qingying smiled and said, "Actually, the reparation agreement between us and Russia will not become a dead letter because of the outbreak of its civil war. Why can't we now follow the example of the Americans, who sold a lot of goods to both the Allies and the Central Powers at a price of more than double or even two times the market price, and thus earned a huge amount of foreign exchange earnings? ”

William's light flashed, and his face immediately showed a look of surprise and joy: "Not bad." The Russians' military production capacity was far from in short supply, and they had previously handed over a large amount of arms to our army as a guarantee of an armistice, and once the civil war began, their thirst for weapons and ammunition would be unprecedented. And we can sell the Russian arms captured and stored in the war to them at a high price in the name of repaying the reparations! Even if there is no guarantee that we will be paid in full, it will be enough to cover the shortfall we have incurred in this regard. ”

"No wiser than Caesar. In addition to the Bolshevik government, which recognized the reparations, we should also supply arms to the Denikin Volunteer Army, which was entrenched in the North Caucasus, and to the Kolchak government, which occupied Siberia. Especially the latter, according to my intelligence sources inside Russia, the former commander of the Black Sea Fleet received most of the gold reserves transferred by the tsar to Kazan during the turmoil more than half a year ago, and the total amount is most likely not less than 500 tons! Qingying threw out this news at the right time, and William in front of him was dumbfounded, and then his eyes lit up, "It's really a waste of gold in his hands." Only the safe Deutsche Bank is the best place for them. ”

"This matter needs to be verified and clarified immediately. As soon as they find out that they are holding large amounts of gold, they immediately start trading with them. Wilhelm spoke flatly, with a hint of urgency in his words, "We need to chart an absolutely reliable path for the safe transfer of this wealth in Siberia to the German treasury." I don't want the Japanese in the Far East to preempt Nicky's cousin's property, and these golden qualifications must be inherited by his cousin and brother-in-law! ”

Hearing William's words, Qingying couldn't help but smile. Although the relationship between Hohenzollern and the Romanovs can even be called like glue in terms of the relationship between the European royal families, but even so, the two sides still fought more than a year ago for the interests of the national bloc, and it is simply a game of endless death. Now when William inherited the inheritance, he remembered that he had such a group of relatives with huge savings, and he was really too philistine. Thinking of the kinship between the two parties, Qingying's heart suddenly moved, and said, "What about Uncle Nikolai's family?" (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the reward from Shuyouji Gaoyi~~~