The wind and snow gradually subsided, the clouds dissipated, and a brilliant red sun appeared in the middle of the sky, spreading a warm glow into every inch of Berlin. In the majestic and solemn Charlottenburg Palace, the Imperial Prime Minister Bateman? Holwig was striding along the bluestone path faster than ever, and when he slammed open the door to the Emperor's study, his face was already full of excitement that was very different from his usual calm style.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just received a direct telegram from the Russian War Council, and they want to hold peace talks with Germany and immediately end the current war in Eastern Europe!" Holwig took a few quick steps forward and slapped the telegram in his hand directly on Wilhelm's desk; His clear face was full of ecstasy, and he no longer cared about the etiquette of the monarch and the courtiers he adhered to on weekdays. He spoke so quickly that the spit flew almost directly in front of William's face: "St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, has been occupied by the revolutionaries, and at this moment more than 10,000 soldiers are on the side of the Bolsheviks; The queen wanted to flee to Kronstadt for refuge, but when she went ashore, she and her daughters were directly arrested by the defenders of the rebellious fortress and the sailors of the Baltic Fleet! A large number of high-ranking Russian cabinet officials were captured by the revolutionaries in this storm in St. Petersburg, and the entire government functioned in a state of paralysis in a very short time. ”

"What? Little Alex's cousin fell into the hands of those revolutionaries? William's eyes widened suddenly, and his face was full of disbelief and shock. After a moment, there was a slight understanding in his eyes, and he muttered, "I see, it's not strange." Little Nicky's beloved cousin, along with his daughters, is under the control of the revolutionaries, and he will inevitably make it his first priority to save his family and suppress the rebellion in the country. He is really a good husband among the European aristocratic royal families. ”

Holwig in ecstasy. There is no heart to pay attention to this complicated kinship between European royal families that has been handed down from Queen Victoria; He paused slightly. Continuing his unprecedentedly uplifting tone, he said to Wilhelm directly: "Except for the two core areas of St. Petersburg and Kronstadt. More than a dozen major industrial towns, including Moscow and Kharkiv, have also broken out large-scale strikes and uprisings; Tens of thousands of workers encircled citizens and launched an occupation campaign against government buildings, military barracks, warehouses and other key areas. Even in some villages, there was an upheaval of the Russian peasants who set fire to and plundered the landlords. The flames of the Russian Revolution this time are definitely expected to burn even more fiercely than the one in 1905! I can almost feel the urgency of this telegram from the Russians: in this case, it is time for us to make a big deal out of it! At this point, Holwig's face was already full of red light. The intense excitement in his heart made him can't help but clench his thin fists tightly.

Since the 90s of the last century, Germany has been faintly caught in the encirclement of France and Russia. More than ten years later, Germany, which has risen rapidly, has been targeted by Britain, Europe's largest-stirring stick, and has since fallen into an absolutely unfavorable situation surrounded by three major powers. In order to reverse the decline, all circles of the German military and government racked their brains: from pushing Russia eastward into Manchuria to Tirpitz's risk fleet theory, even Wilhelm himself stepped in and signed a pact with Nikolai on the island of Björk that failed to take effect. It is no exaggeration to say that how to get Germany out of the strategic dilemma of being encircled. Since more than 20 years ago, it has been a problem that every Prussian has been grappling with, but never able to grasp.

Today, however, a shadow hangs over the entire empire for nearly a quarter of a century. Finally, under the influence of the Prussian sword, it was completely dispersed, and ushered in the most glorious future. The steamroller, which once terrified the whole of Europe, is now forced to sue for peace with Germany in the flames of the revolution at home: and with the great superiority of the German army on the battlefield at the heart of the negotiations, it is unimaginable to gain from it! The large swath of Eastern European territory currently occupied by the German army alone was enough to ensure that Germany would become an unshakable European hegemon after the war, and completely break through the steel cage that the Entente had built around Germany before the war; Not to mention whether the British and French armies could withstand the landslide-like attack launched by the German-Austrian army after the end of the war on the Eastern Front, which gathered all divisions on the Western Front!

"It's far from time to really make peace with the Russians." A clear, magnetic voice suddenly sounded at the door. Holwig turned his head to look, only to see a handsome young man in a gorgeous dress walking in slowly, his face full of smiles and determination. Qing Ying bowed slightly to the prime minister in front of him and said, "Your Excellency Bateman, there is an old saying in the East, only a fisherman who is willing to put a long line can lift a bigger fish. Rather than accepting Uncle Nikolai's peace offer at this moment, it may be more beneficial to the gains that our Germany will gain at the negotiating table after that by going on for a while to properly conduct the war on the Eastern Front. ”

Hearing these words, Holvig's mind raced, and after a while, the excitement and ecstasy in his eyes gradually subsided, and was replaced by the same calm and clarity as before. As the first bureaucrat of this empire, Holwig's political mind was definitely the top of the era, and when the overly excited feelings in his heart were calmed down, he quickly dissected the current situation in front of him.

In order to quell the revolutionary turmoil in the country, the tsar would inevitably bring a large number of troops back to the rear; And in this way, the already rotten war situation on the front line of the Russian army will inevitably become more unbearable. If the German army takes advantage of this opportunity to continue to advance, it will not only be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort, but will also be in an absolutely advantageous position in future negotiations by virtue of the massive amount of land it has seized. No matter how you look at it, this long-term strategy is a sure way to make money and not lose money over time.

In addition, Qing Ying had a deeper idea in his heart, that is, to take this opportunity to cooperate with the Russian revolutionaries, completely overthrow the rule of Nicholas II, and sign a peace treaty with the Bolshevik regime that came to power later. However, this is not the conservative concept of Qing Ying following history, but the decision that is most in the interests of Germany at present.

At present, the Russian Revolution, which has been secretly arranged by itself for more than ten years and single-handedly promoted, is already on fire; The Bolsheviks were dismantling the rotten rule of the tsarist regime at the same speed as in history, and proclaimed themselves in flames and ruins. Under these circumstances, it is already difficult to determine whether Nicholas II will be able to escape the catastrophe again, as he did in 1905. What if Germany chose to stop and reach an armistice with the government of Nicholas II, only to be overthrown by Nikolai himself in the subsequent wave of revolution? Although Qing Ying was 100% sure that the Bolsheviks who would later establish the country would accept it all, the benefits obtained in this way would certainly not be as advantageous as taking advantage of the fire to rob and oust his distant cousin.

Choosing to go on the offensive is different. In the event of the collapse of the Tsarist regime under internal and external attacks, the nascent and fragile Bolsheviks would be even more unable to disobey Berlin's will than the Romanovs, who had long enjoyed the country. Germany is free to make demands at the negotiating table, without taking into account the attitude and face of the class enemy of the other side. More importantly, this brand-new regime established from the ruins did not have the kind of popular appeal and prestige of the Romanov dynasty, which had lasted for more than 360 years, and could not command this behemoth country with the same national complexity and endless resistance forces: and this not only gave Russia the premise of secession, but also provided the perfect feasible conditions for the situation of the Russian civil war that Qing Ying had envisioned before!

Even if the Bolsheviks had the terrifying potential to build Imperial Russia, the weakest of the continental powers, into one of the two poles of the world, it was only a quarter of a century after they had completed the unification of the country. If they were in a state of civil war, it would be an impossible mirage. Moreover, Germany, which has seized large tracts of fertile land in Eastern Europe and has reached the peak of its military, economic, and technological strength, will still be afraid of an agricultural country that has built from scratch from the ruins? By the time the Soviet power falls to the ground, there will be only one voice in the whole of Europe!

"Do you have the patience to release a longer line so that you can catch a fatter fish?" William spoke softly, a knowing smile already on his lips. He paused, and then spoke: "Send an order to Hindenburg, so that he will ignore the peace of the Russian military and continue to attack according to the original plan." As for how to reply to little Nicky, I'll leave it to Bateman. Holwig Gong claims to be.

"In addition, immediately organize all the newspapers and media, and inform all the citizens of the Reich of this telegram of the Russians asking for peace, as well as to the British and French soldiers who are confronting us on the battlefields of France. We want the world to see that this is the tragic end suffered by the core forces of Britain and France against Germany in the face of our sharp sword! William's voice was more aggressive, and he said hesitantly, "Next, let's wait and see how Britain and France react after receiving this news." Having lost the seas, and now with the help of the Russian giants, what confidence do they have to continue fighting? The warmongers who insisted on making Germany hostile and turned a colonial dispute into a war in Europe will soon get their due! (To be continued......)

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