Chapter 14

"Nice to meet you, General Tukhachevsky. I've heard that you're fluent in German and French. This isn't a formal visit, so it seems like we don't need the beautiful Natascha here, right?" Prior to his time travel, he was already proficient in several foreign languages, and now, with the achievements of "Wilhelm's" studies, he could be considered a linguistic master.

Although General Tukhachevsky in front of him wasn't as exaggerated as he was, he could still fluently converse and read in German and French, and his knowledge of Latin was also quite high, making him outstanding.

And why did Wilhelm feel like the beautiful translator in front of him was occasionally giving him flirtatious glances? He had heard of the KGB from the original timeline's, and although the famous KGB hadn't been born yet, he couldn't guarantee that the current Soviet spy agency hadn't trained similar operatives.

Could it be that his playboy reputation had spread all the way here, and these guys were trying to use seduction techniques on him?

A hint of strangeness flickered in Natasha's eyes, but she dutifully translated his words into Russian, and Tukhachevsky continued to speak in Russian with a smile. "Your Excellency Wilhelm, you overestimate me. I only have a basic understanding, far from being fluent."

Tch, who are you trying to fool? I know more about your life than you do. It seems like the only reason you're not conversing in German is to give this beautiful lady translator a chance? In that case, I'll go along with the act, and we don't need Russian either.

After the personnel from both sides introduced each other, Tukhachevsky spoke up. "Your Excellency Wilhelm, you must be tired from your journey. Let's go to the hotel first, shall we?"

Wilhelm nodded. "That's fine, but before that, can I visit Lenin's mausoleum?"

Upon hearing Wilhelm's words, Tukhachevsky visibly paused. Comrade Lenin was the revolutionary leader of the proletariat, the arch-nemesis of capitalism. And this future emperor of a capitalist country wanted to visit Lenin's mausoleum?

This was truly speechless!

He turned to look at the officials standing behind him, feeling a bit frustrated that he was the highest-ranking person present but couldn't ask if it was appropriate to take him to Lenin's tomb.

This awkward atmosphere persisted for a few minutes until Wilhelm spoke first. "If General Tukhachevsky feels it's inappropriate, then forget I mentioned it. Let's just go to the hotel." His desire to visit Lenin's tomb wasn't driven by any particular purpose, but rather because the textbooks of the original timeline's had included numerous articles about Lenin. Such as "Studious," "Honest Child", "Guiding Bees", "How Lenin Writes", "Six Ink Bottles", "Lenin and the Guards" and "Lenin Participating in Voluntary Labor", among others.

Although these articles gradually disappeared from the textbooks later on, as a child, he was most impressed by the text "Six Ink Bottles." The text told the story of Lenin in prison, kneading bread into ink bottles, filling them with milk, and writing on the blank pages of a book. As a child, he was extremely curious about this story. How did the bread turn into ink bottles? Would they leak? So he even made several "ink bottles" himself, then followed the description in the text and ate them all in one gulp.

Looking back on these articles as he grew older, he noticed that Lenin had never been subjected to hard labor in prison. He could also read books, instructing activities outside of prison. He had a pen to write, creating leaflets and booklets. If Lenin's actions were discovered, he might have his imprisonment extended, but not be subjected to beatings, handcuffs, or being confined in a small cell. What amazed him the most was that Lenin had enough bread and milk to use as ink bottles and ink.

"However, this incident truly made him deeply understand the concept that history is written by the victors.

So his purpose in wanting to visit Lenin's tomb is very simple: he just wants to see this unique Marxist, proletarian revolutionary, politician, theorist, and intellectual with his own eyes. After all, who knows if there will be another chance to see him in the future?

At this moment, Tukhachevsky seemed to have finally regained his composure and spoke up. 'Since Your Excellency Wilhelm wishes to pay respects to Comrade Lenin, then... no problem. Let's depart now.'

'Thank you.' After expressing his gratitude, Wilhelm noticed that Tukhachevsky spoke in German, while he himself seemed oblivious to it. He turned around and gave instructions to his subordinates.

Tch, look at how clueless you are. I've even forced the German language out of you.

Wilhelm brought Brauchitsch, Manstein, Rommel, and Guderian onto his own vehicle. Once the car doors were closed, the atmosphere inside became a bit strange. 'What's the matter?'

The four of them hesitated for a moment, exchanging glances. Finally, Brauchitsch managed to utter a few words. 'Uh, Your Highness, are you going to visit Lenin's tomb to pay respects?'

Seems like my proposal not only caught the Soviets off guard but even startled our own people.

Wilhelm nodded dismissively. 'That's right. Perhaps this is the last opportunity. Don't you think it would be a pity if we don't see the person who overthrew the Romanov dynasty with our own eyes? If it weren't for the assistance of the Empire ten years ago, our Hohenzollern family might have faced a similar fate.' Of course, in the end, Tsar Nicholas II was wiped out, while Wilhelm II managed to slip away to the Netherlands.

As for why Wilhelm II could escape, while Nicholas II faced annihilation?

To put it simply, during the initial February Revolution, the ones who took power didn't trouble Nicholas much. He initially thought the worst-case scenario would be constitutional monarchy, but a few months later, the Bolsheviks seized power, and there was no escaping. After all, it was difficult to escape from that place called Russia (both in terms of its land area and climate).

Moreover, Tsar Nicholas II, upon his abdication, was confined to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. Wilhelm II, on the other hand, was different. He was both the German Emperor and the Prussian Grand Marshal, with plenty of relatives in other European countries. On November 8, 1918, the rebels only occupied most of western Germany (November Revolution). The next day, on November 9, he declared his abdication and slipped away to the nearest relative, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (November 10, 1918). He signed the abdication document on November 28, 1918, which means he had already escaped long ago.

Manstein's face slightly changed, and he quickly spoke up to persuade. 'Such a thing won't happen, Your Highness!'

The others beside him quickly chimed in. 'That's right, Your Highness.'

'Your Highness, you're overthinking it. A few conspirators cannot influence the imperial authority of Germany.'

Listening to these people, Wilhelm remained silent for a while. Suddenly, he looked at Brauchitsch. 'Colonel Brauchitsch, your full name is Walter von Brauchitsch, born in 1881 to a noble family, isn't that right?' He almost blurted out the fact that Brauchitsch died suddenly of a heart attack in a Hamburg prisoner-of-war camp in 1948.

'If I'm not mistaken, your family belongs to the old nobility of Lower Silesia (Niederschlesien), right?' This family is truly a well-deserved ancient lineage, existing in the Bohemian region of Poland since the mid-13th century. Due to the linguistic mix-up in the region at the time, the surname Brauchitsch had many different forms, such as Bruchacz, Bruchits, Brauchits, Prachwitz, Brauchtschicsz, and so on.

Brauchitsch instinctively straightened his back, wondering why His Highness Wilhelm suddenly mentioned his background.