Chapter 75

Wilhelm couldn't figure out how the Soviets suddenly came to the decision of building this railway. Perhaps they truly needed Germany's industrial strength to bolster their military capabilities, or they might be thinking along the same lines as him, that in the event of war, they could advance swiftly through this railway.

However, he was too lazy to guess the Soviets' intentions, so he immediately arranged for a large number of construction workers to go to the Soviet Union to assist in building this railway.

Just when he was busy and having a good time, an envoy from Britain arrived.

"Your country wants the blueprints too?"

Wilhelm looked at the British envoy who had just arrived from the plane with a half-smile.

"Yes, Your Highness Wilhelm. It's about the design blueprints for the 'super tanks' and 'super battleships' that you mentioned to our Prime Minister, Mr. MacDonald, last time." The British envoy didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose outright.

Wilhelm sighed as if reluctantly. "You are making us lose credibility here. We promised the Soviets not to disclose these blueprints to any third country. Your Excellency should know that we Germans value honesty, and without it, what kind of business can we do?" He intentionally paused and then continued, raising one finger. "For these two sets of blueprints, the Soviets paid with 10 million tons of food."

10 million tons? The British envoy was astonished internally; these Russians were truly going all out. Although there was no exact data, Britain knew that the Soviets let many of their own people starve to death every year. In such circumstances, they still allocated 10 million tons of food to buy weapon blueprints? It was truly crazy.

"Your Highness, this further proves the aggressive nature of the Soviets, clinging to armed expansion. They can't even solve the famines in their own country, yet they desperately build these 'super weapons,' which they will use to invade all of Europe once they mass-produce them. You wouldn't want Europe's civilization to be trampled by such a barbaric country, would you?"

"..." Why did these words sound so familiar? Wasn't this the bluff he used to scare the British Prime Minister? Taking a sip of tea, Wilhelm shook his head indifferently. "Have you heard the saying, 'the barefoot are not afraid of those with shoes'? Who can guarantee that life will be better for everyone if the Soviets attack?"

The envoy smiled slightly. "Your Highness Wilhelm wouldn't be unaware that the Soviet's purpose is to eliminate all capitalism, right? If they make a hit list, all the royal families of various countries will be at the top. Isn't Nicholas II's family a prime example?"

Wilhelm glanced at the time, feeling that this conversation had gone on long enough. He decided to get straight to the point. "Mr. Envoy, let's not waste each other's time. Just tell me, what price are you willing to pay for these blueprints from us?"

Britain was not the Soviet Union; they couldn't offer 10 million tons of food to get these blueprints. "We can reduce some reparations."

Reduce? Wilhelm inwardly sneered.

As mentioned earlier, when Heinrich Brüning's government took office, it coincided with the outbreak of the world economic crisis. He adopted measures to overcome the escalating economic crisis, such as expanding exports, raising taxes, cutting public spending, reducing wages and relief payments, but these measures failed to reverse the declining economic situation and instead exacerbated it. Brüning's anti-crisis measures not only failed to alleviate the material difficulties of the people, but also increased their burden, plunging millions of Germans into a state of painful despair. The country was suffering, and complaints filled the air, earning Brüning the title of the "Hunger Chancellor."

However, this "Hunger Chancellor" did one good thing because his neglect of the deteriorating economic situation deeply worried the governments of the victorious countries. President Herbert Hoover of the United States believed that Germany's financial and economic collapse would have long-term catastrophic consequences for the entire U.S. economy. Based on this judgment, Hoover, regardless of France's opposition, issued the "Moratorium on Payment."

Brüning seized this opportunity and pleaded for the expert committee responsible for devising the "Young Plan" to reconsider Germany's reparation problem. The committee proposed the "radical solution" of canceling Germany's war reparations and all kinds of debts with the victorious countries, and this proposal was submitted to the heads of the victorious countries' governments for discussion.

Wilhelm was preparing to dodge even the 3 billion marks of reparations. Talk of reducing the amount was useless. "Just as Your Excellency said, we all know the ambitions and cruelty of those Russians. Their purpose is constant external expansion, having fought with all the neighboring countries, and their vast territory is gained through aggression." Without waiting for the British envoy to say anything, Wilhelm presented his demand directly. "To withstand this giant bear, we need appropriate military strength, don't we? Germany needs to expand its army, restore the air force, and develop the navy."

The British envoy furrowed his brow. "Your Highness, are you planning to openly violate the Versailles Treaty?"

Wilhelm shrugged indifferently. "What's the big deal about violating it? Isn't it all up to your country's say-so? With Prime Minister MacDonald's outstanding political acumen, he wouldn't let us hand over such important blueprints for nothing, right? His Excellency should have anticipated that we would make this 'not unreasonable' request, shouldn't he?" Following Britain's traditional continental policy, whether dealing with the Soviet Union or France, they believed that a stronger Germany would overall be more beneficial than detrimental.

"..." The British envoy couldn't help but hesitate. Because the last time Wilhelm mentioned these matters to Prime Minister MacDonald, and the Prime Minister had authorized him to agree to Germany's appropriate rearmament. After all, they wouldn't want to see a scene where the European continent was suddenly filled with red flags if the Red Empire launched a massive attack.

After a long silence, the British envoy finally spoke slowly. "It seems we need to revise the Treaty of Versailles, don't we? However, your country must give me a guarantee, like those 'super weapons'..."

Wilhelm cut in, "Of course, no problem. Our army size won't exceed 500,000, and we'll only produce light tanks. All artillery calibers won't exceed 155 millimeters. For the navy, we won't build warships larger than heavy cruisers, and we won't make any battleships. The battlecruiser's main gun caliber won't exceed 280 millimeters. The total tonnage won't exceed 40% of your country's navy. As for the air force, as the envoy is aware, we have nothing right now, but I promise the total number of aircraft won't exceed 30% of your air force."

"..." The British envoy stared in astonishment at Wilhelm. Wasn't this too much? These conditions were even stricter than the demands they originally intended to propose!

After saying all this, Wilhelm furrowed his brow. "I feel like this is a bit too demanding and not in line with our country's interests. What do you think, Mr. Envoy?"

The British envoy hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, no. This is not demanding at all; these conditions are already too lenient for your country. If I signed such a contract and returned home, Prime Minister MacDonald would definitely reprimand me. So, let's sign the new agreement now, shall we?"

Saying no but being quite agreeable with his actions?

Wilhelm sneered inwardly. He brought out a newly prepared contract and, after the British envoy reviewed it and confirmed it was accurate, both sides stamped their seals. One copy stayed in Germany, and the envoy carried the other back to England to report. "Your Highness, about those blueprints...?"

Wilhelm responded with delight, "I'll have someone pack them now, and we can load the ships tonight." Nowadays, it wasn't the era of CDs, hard drives, and flash drives; design blueprints could only exist on paper, and some gigantic design drawings could be measured in tons.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I'll take my leave now."