German Red Prince

Page 169

Because the market was so large at the time, the profits were extremely high, which was one of the reasons why Germany prospered in a short period of time.

However, things are different now. The market is becoming saturated, the market balance has been broken, and with the influx of goods from Eastern Europe and the colonies, Germany's international market is getting stronger and stronger, but the domestic market is deteriorating. However, in recent years, Germany's international market has not been doing well either.

The United States is also mired in an economic crisis, and as a major manufacturing country, it naturally doesn't need to buy large quantities of German goods. In the European market, Germany only has a few friends. Russia is also experiencing economic downturn due to the need to repay reparations ahead of schedule, and is tightening its belt, which has reduced its external demand.

Germany imposed an embargo on the Nationalist government, which deprived them of a huge market in East Asia. This gave the Japanese an opportunity, and a large number of Japanese goods frantically seized the German market.

Germany suffers from severe overproduction. Domestically, apart from a few wage increases during the golden age, German workers' wages have remained at an average level. The small domestic market in Germany is unable to absorb this huge trade order.

The German stock market is not as hot as it used to be. The era of investing one mark and earning ten marks is over. Because the stock market is showing signs of weakness, many lenders are getting anxious and are starting to press for loan repayments. However, ordinary people who invest in stocks do not have that much money on hand all at once.

People either started selling stocks or went to the bank to withdraw money. Because of the previous stock market boom, the banks were very willing to give money away. Now that so many people are rushing in to withdraw money, the banks, which do not have enough funds, naturally collapsed.

The collapse of a small bank might seem like nothing serious, but fear is contagious. A series of chain reactions occurred, and everyone began frantically selling stocks. Various rumors exacerbated this fear, and distrust of investment led many people to sell their stocks.

The already inflated stock market suddenly plummeted, causing even greater panic. The stock exchange quickly halted trading, and this serious incident prompted financial tycoons to assemble.

The president of the Imperial Bank, Halma Shakht, and the Minister of Economy, Karl Herferisi, organized a meeting. Although the stock market was showing signs of decline, it could still be saved. Moreover, many of the people at the meeting had invested all their money in the stock market, so they naturally wanted to do everything they could to revive it.

Schacht had previously assured Wilhelm II that Germany's economy was absolutely invincible. Although he had noticed some minor problems, they were nonetheless minor. Now that such a serious problem had suddenly occurred, he was naturally the first to step forward and clean up the mess. He could only hope that this crisis would pass quickly.

Soon, all parties reached an agreement. In order to restore confidence in the stock market, they pooled together a large sum of money and invested it in the stock market, buying a large number of stocks. This caused the continuously falling index to rebound and recover some of the losses. It seemed that the problem was solved. However, people are people, not machines, and they have feelings.

The stock market turmoil caused many people to lose confidence. Traders added margin, and ordinary people were notified that they must immediately repay their loans. This mentality meant that the situation did not improve when the market reopened. A large number of people wanted to withdraw from the market, and some people sold their stocks to repay their loans.

The stock price plummeted, and being ten minutes late meant losing significantly less than others, fueling continued panic. Everyone was selling, but no one was buying. Despite efforts from financial giants like Schacht, it was all in vain.

The telegrams didn't stop until late at night. It was a dark day. Overnight, the situation had deteriorated to an irreversible point. The impact quickly spread from Berlin outwards. As the world's hegemon, the economic impact on Germany would inevitably affect the whole world. Everyone knew that Germany's golden age had come to a complete end.

The stock market crash did not have a direct major impact on the economy, but it had many indirect effects. Fear drove people to banks to withdraw their savings, and various illegal loans made it impossible for banks to provide so much money at once, leading to the bankruptcy of many banks.

Small investors' savings were wiped out in an instant, and the stock market turmoil severely affected people's consumption psychology, exacerbating the collapse of the domestic market. Due to the decrease in consumption, scarce commodities such as cars and radios, which are almost essential for every household, could not be sold, forcing manufacturers to lay off employees.

Because of reduced production, sales of raw material producers also declined, leading to bankruptcies in coal mines and iron ore plants, and massive unemployment. In an instant, Germany suddenly had nearly a million more unemployed people.

However, at this time, the top levels of the German government did not make any major decisions. It seemed as if they were just watching Germany collapse. Or it could be said that no one expected things to become so serious. Ten years of prosperity were wiped out in one fell swoop.

The Minister of Economic Affairs did not tell William the true extent of the damage caused by the incident, leading to a misjudgment of the situation by the government. It wasn't until the situation could no longer be suppressed and more and more workers took to the streets to protest that the government finally took action, but it was too late.

The stock market crash only lasted a week before recovering, but the current economic situation is unlikely to be resolved in a month. As a global superpower, Germany's economic collapse has impacted all surrounding countries, particularly those within the Reichstag Pact. Their economies have all suffered to varying degrees.

The Prussian economy was directly linked to the German economy, so within the German Empire, the Prussian economy was the most severely impacted. In the past, it ate the meat but didn't share a drop of soup with its brothers; now, it was the first to be hit.

Although Bavaria and the Kingdom of the Rhine were both within the German Empire, the German economy was not fully integrated at the time. Bavaria cooperated with Austria-Hungary in many economic aspects, so while the collapse of the Berlin stock market affected Bavaria, it was not as severe as in Prussia.

In the Kingdom of the Rhine, Thorne had begun preparing to deal with this crisis several years in advance. When the Berlin stock market crashed, he was among the first to receive news from the Gestapo in Berlin and quickly took action.

The balance of power among the three kingdoms has become very delicate, which means war is imminent.

371. The King's Speech

The Kingdom of the Rhine maintained a high degree of economic independence, meaning that the kingdom was not heavily reliant on the Prussian-dominated German Empire. Many of the Rhine's trade agreements were signed independently with foreign countries, not in the name of the empire.

This meant that the Kingdom did not enjoy much economic benefit within the Empire, which was also the reason why the Kingdom of the Rhine had always been at a relative disadvantage. Unlike Prussia, the Kingdom of the Rhine could not coordinate the entire Empire. However, this also had a considerable advantage.

That is, it can minimize its losses at the first moment of a major crisis. This economic independence has been maintained since it was incorporated into the empire. The advantage of this economic independence is that even if the Kingdom of Rhine becomes independent now, it will not be affected by independence. On the contrary, it can develop more rapidly and become a powerful country in Europe.

In other words, the Kingdom of the Rhine was part of the German Empire, but it could leave at any time. After independence, the Rhine's economic development was no longer affected by the empire's economic growth. Prussia, on the other hand, was drained of resources from the Ruhr industrial region every year. After independence, the kingdom's economy could develop without restrictions.

Of course, the kingdom had other reasons for doing this, because the Kingdom of the Rhine was facing Germany's arch-enemy, France. If Germany's economy were to encounter an unexpected event and the Rhine's economy were to suddenly collapse, they would be beaten by the French again, as the shadow of Napoleon was still lingering.

Moreover, both Bavaria and the Kingdom of the Rhine feared one thing: that after economic unification, Prussia would use various means to destroy them. If Prussia maintained tight economic control, wouldn't the other two kingdoms be at his mercy? Therefore, they have always disagreed with deeper cooperation.

Prussia was hit hardest by this disaster; compared to the other two kingdoms, Prussia suffered a truly devastating blow.

The economic situation did not improve after Black Monday, which became known as the Dark Week, with panic selling of stocks reaching record highs as everyone tried to sell their stocks before they became worthless. By the end of the week, the stock market was as lifeless as the corpses of a dozen economists and corporate executives who had committed suicide.

It's impossible to count how many small investors have gone to the rooftop in this short week. Countless people have become destitute in this catastrophe. Perhaps they had seven or eight mansions yesterday, but after one day, they have nothing left.

If the economy is to recover, the government must take action, but the current government is not doing anything, as if it is just quietly watching this disaster happen and then end.

The tables have turned. Simply put, Germany is now a laughing stock of Prussia, with the Rhineland and Bavaria watching together. Now that one of the three sides is severely weakened, the balance of power has been broken, and preparations for war can begin again.

Thorne's preparations were all worthwhile. This crisis actually relieved him. It was a good thing that this crisis happened, otherwise all his years of preparation would have been in vain.

The kingdom's army has been fully deployed to the front lines. As soon as the kingdom gives the order, they can take over the currently chaotic Prussia in the shortest possible time and then turn their attention to Bavaria.

However, Thorne still wanted to wait. Firing the first shot would require immense courage. Although Prussia was currently facing economic problems, once they found a unified enemy, their primal instincts, dormant for over a decade, would erupt. A hasty attack would actually help them weather the crisis.

Thorne is not in a hurry to take action. After all, the crisis has only just begun, and it is necessary to observe the situation. Moreover, the economic crisis in Prussia has also affected the Kingdom of Rhine. The people of the kingdom have already seen the terrifying crisis next door, and Thorne must first appease the people in his country.

When the government cracked down on irregular stock trading, many people didn't understand and said it was just government interference. At that time, the Kingdom directly used force to shut down many illegal banks, and the stock exchange was also strictly regulated. This made the stock trading that was very popular in Germany much quieter in the Kingdom of the Rhine.

If some people really can't stand it, doesn't the kingdom still have the lottery? Buying lottery tickets isn't very risky, much less risky than stocks. The kingdom can use the money from buying lottery tickets for other things, which is better than speculating in stocks. Now that the stock market has crashed, these people are starting to be glad that they didn't throw all their money into it.

However, many people were still panicked. Many banks next door had gone bankrupt, and they were afraid that all the money they had in the banks would disappear. So the Kingdom of Rhine took immediate measures. They couldn't let everyone withdraw all the money in the banks, could they? The kingdom's economy was still relatively healthy, and they didn't want it to be completely destroyed in one fell swoop.

The first step was to restrict bank withdrawals, especially for small and medium-sized banks, limiting the number of people allowed to withdraw and the amount of money withdrawn. A licensing system was implemented for banks on a case-by-case basis, and banks with solvency were allowed to resume operations as soon as possible.

However, this alone is clearly not enough. In order to avoid being implicated, the kingdom's economy decoupled from the empire immediately. Some projects that had close cooperation with Prussia in the financial industry were stopped or transferred. In addition, something had to be done to restore people's confidence in the kingdom's economy.

So one night, not long after the crisis broke out, the King’s speech came over the radio in every household in the kingdom. The most destructive thing in the economic crisis was actually panic, and Thorne’s job was to eliminate this panic. In that case, Roosevelt’s speech was the perfect choice.

Although the Rhineland's economy was not severely impacted, the people of the Rhineland were clearly worried that such a situation would befall them after witnessing the devastation in Prussia, where countless people lost their fortunes almost overnight and were subsequently unemployed.

“I want to tell everyone what we have done in the past few days, why we did it, and what we will do next. I realize that many of the announcements issued by the Royal Government and the various regulations issued by the Ministry of Finance are mostly in the form of complicated banking and legal terminology. So for the benefit of ordinary citizens, these verbose documents should be explained clearly, and all citizens of the Rhine should know why these laws were enacted and some related matters about how the financial industry works.”

King Otto then explained the bank's financial operations and why it was being closed now via radio broadcast, convincing everyone that a terrible thing would happen if people rushed to the bank to withdraw their money.

Capital needs to circulate. The most dangerous aspect of an economic crisis is that it undermines people's consumer confidence, making them afraid to spend and hoarding their money at home. If capital stops circulating, the crisis will last even longer.

"We will not only reopen sound banks, but also create new, reliable banks through restructuring. There is something far more important than gold and currency in our efforts to restructure the financial system: the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are essential for the successful implementation of our plan. Everyone must have faith and not be blinded by rumors and wild speculation. Let us unite to dispel the fog of fear. We have established the mechanisms to restore our financial system, and now we need your support to make them work."

"The great King Charlemagne and the countless spirits of the Rhine Kingdom are watching us. We should not panic. We should face this disaster with the same fearlessness as the Jaegers who charged into Napoleon's old guard. I swear on the honor of the entire Stemmetz family, I will lead everyone to overcome this difficulty. Long live the Rhine."

After King Otto finished speaking, the national anthem of the Kingdom of the Rhine, "The Guardians of the Rhine," was broadcast. It wasn't just on home radios; the national anthem was played on all the public radios in the kingdom.

Looking up at the heavens above, we see the spirits of our fallen heroes gazing upon us. With pride, we swear that we all belong to Germany. Beloved motherland, rest assured, we will steadfastly and loyally guard the Rhineland.

372. Incitement

The day after King Otto delivered his royal speech, all the newspapers in the Kingdom of Rhine published the full text of his speech.

The king was willing to use the reputation of the entire Schönmetz family to guarantee the resolution of this disaster. In that era, nobles valued their reputation highly, and no one would easily joke about the honor of a nobleman.

As a precaution, the smaller banks remain closed, but the major banks in the Kingdom of Rhine are all operating normally.

To be on the safe side, the kingdom replenished its funds to ensure a smooth transition. As Thorne had imagined, the people of Rhine quickly recovered from their panic. When the banks opened, the entrances were not crowded with panicked people; instead, they were unusually calm.

This relieved everyone; now that the people were settled, things would be easier.

Goebbels' Socialist Labour Party is a populist party in the kingdom and is very popular among ordinary Rhine people. It's time for them to take action. This period is also a good time to expand the influence of the Socialist Labour Party. Moreover, if the kingdom's economy is to be revitalized, the funds must first be in circulation and not be hoarded.

The football matches in Darmstadt were very popular in the city, and the kingdom now has quite a few teams. In order to encourage people to spend money, Goebbels' Socialist Labor Party spontaneously organized various large-scale football matches with very low fees. The key is not the ticket price, but how many industries a large-scale event can stimulate the continued development of. So, an unbelievable scene has occurred.

Within Prussia, there are large numbers of unemployed people and protesters. In the Berlin area, protesters have begun to gather in front of Wilhelm's palace, and some radicals have even started smashing statues of Wilhelm II. However, the situation is quite different in the Kingdom of the Rhineland, just across the border.

Grand football matches are being held in several major cities, including Cologne, Frankfurt, Bonn, and Bremen. The Rhine Kingdom has also implemented many preferential measures, basically meaning that spending money now will definitely not be a loss. A large-scale event requires food and supplies, and the demand is huge, which allows unsold goods to be consumed to the greatest extent.

The purpose of organizing large-scale events is to revitalize the market that was about to stagnate. Various subsidy policies were also introduced at the same time to ensure that ordinary people could get through the crisis to the greatest extent possible.

Moreover, having foreseen the potential economic crisis, the Kingdom of the Rhine had signed numerous trade agreements with the Nationalist government and Cyrenaica long beforehand. In particular, the Nationalist government was involved, as many German industrial products were now unsaleable, and the global economic crisis had dealt a devastating blow to trade.

However, the Nationalist government is now carrying out a nationwide construction project in preparation for the Northern Expedition. In order to complete China's industrialization as soon as possible and to ensure the smooth progress of the project, the Nationalist government has a huge demand for industrial products. Germany had previously imposed an embargo on the Nationalist government, which was a terrible mistake. If they didn't want such a large market, then Thorne could only take advantage of it. The two sides hit it off immediately. Trade with the Nationalist government was enough to keep the workers' jobs, and the unemployment rate in the Kingdom of the Rhine was kept very low.

However, in order to alleviate overcapacity, working hours in the factory were shortened during this period, which gave workers more time to consume.

Influenced by France, the Rhine Kingdom is famous for its wines. This year, the first Rhine Kingdom Wine Festival and the first Kingdom Football Cup were held. Even the previously organized "German Machine" was able to tour the country. Despite the economic crisis, two different scenes were presented.

Osterholz and Lemwede, a city in the Kingdom of the Rhine, are separated by only a river, yet they are truly two different worlds. Osterholz can even see the fireworks and cheers in Lemwede, where a carnival is being held. Thanks to thorough preparation, the Kingdom of the Rhine was the first kingdom to successfully emerge from this economic crisis.

The Kingdom of the Rhine remained remarkably calm during the crisis, which relieved Thorne. Fortunately, they had weathered the storm, and the Rhine's economy had not suffered a devastating blow, giving them sufficient strength to confront Prussia and the French Commune.

Wilhelm II was not very clear about the specifics of the situation in Prussia, because everyone told him that things were under control. He only noticed that there were more people protesting than before, but he did not realize the seriousness of the situation.

What angers William now is that, in order to avoid the crisis, many countries have nationalized German-invested enterprises in their countries, completely disregarding his authority as the leader. Belarus, Ukraine, and Georgia have all nationalized German-invested enterprises and railways. Although this will cause dissatisfaction and even sanctions in Germany, there is no better way to deal with it.

The economies of the territories controlled by the Kingdom of Prussia were hit far more severely than those of the other two kingdoms. To prevent further impact, the Kingdom of the Rhine and Bavaria took protective measures and further decoupled their economies. The Reichsmark was the dominant currency in Germany, in addition to the Rhinemark and the Bavarianmark.

In order to protect their economies, the Kingdom of the Rhine and Bavaria have now begun to use their own marks. This protection of the economy and trade makes the reunification of the empire significantly more difficult. This crisis can be said to have wasted decades of effort, and the kingdoms have gradually broken away from the empire's control in various fields.

It can be said that if things continue like this, even if Germany successfully resolves the crisis, internal division will be inevitable, and the empire will become a mere shell.

Crisis is accompanied by opportunity. The government's inaction has clearly given the National National Party an opportunity. In peacetime, the National National Party's propositions were just something to be laughed at, but now it's different. Now every one of their propositions seems to be very correct in the minds of people in distress.

The National Party actively launched relief efforts. Their financial backers were large capitalists who had not only survived the crisis but had also made a fortune. They had enough funds to support the National Party's development, and with this money, the National Party's slogans spread like a virus throughout Prussia.

They have their own armed militia, which can suppress protesting workers, leading the government to tacitly allow their existence and development. They also have enough funds to provide relief to the impoverished who have been impacted and left with nothing. With a carrot and stick approach, the National Party's prestige has far surpassed that of other major parties. In the hearts of many Prussians, they are the only saviors.

Of course, these alone are far from enough. If the National Party wants to control Germany, it must control the army. Field Marshal Mackensen and General Seeckt control the current army. The loyalty of these old Junker nobles to Wilhelm II goes without saying, and it is impossible to turn them against their cause.

With no breakthrough at the top, Hess and Thorne came up with the same idea: to start from the middle and lower levels. Ten years of peace had made the army very bloated, and the upper echelons of the army were basically all in charge of old guys. These people won the war, and their command level was undoubtedly excellent, but ten years had passed, and times had changed.

Young officers were not getting promoted, and old military traditions were influencing the Prussian army. Schulteheim, this outstanding young man, was personally selected by William. If he had been placed in the army, it is unknown how long he would have had to wait.

The new army organized by Stroheim was the breakthrough point for the National Party. Many supporters of the National Party joined this new army, and in the end, this army was the key to turning the tide.

Within the military, the National Party also cultivated a large force, mostly composed of young and middle-aged officers. They used methods similar to Thorne's, directly placing party members in military camps to spread their party's ideology intentionally or unintentionally.

Hess's ambitions were the same as Ludendorff's; he wanted to control the entire German government. To use an old Chinese saying, he wanted to "hold the emperor hostage to command the princes." Hess's ultimate goal was to sideline Wilhelm and find a way to get rid of Ludendorff as well. He wanted to use hatred to drive this war of unification.

373. Win over

No one expected the disaster to be so severe. It was thought that things would calm down after a few weeks of chaos, but after nearly a month, the situation not only did not improve, but became more and more serious.

After the crisis broke out, Felman lost his job because the factory where he worked went bankrupt, the goods had no market, and the huge debts led his boss to commit suicide. After that, Felman remained unemployed at home.

The government has done little to address the massive unemployment problem. Its priority is to solve the problems of businesses, rather than providing direct relief to the people. The government only encourages community mutual assistance, and it has done nothing for the large number of unemployed workers and bankrupt farmers.

As an unemployed worker, Felman was unable to apply for government relief. The meager monthly allowance he received was only possible under the Workers' Social Security Act enacted by Bissmann long ago, and the conditions for obtaining this allowance were very strict. Felman was one of the very few lucky ones.

In an effort to expand employment opportunities, the Prussian government is now promoting traditional family values, leading many women in jobs to return to the home and become traditional housewives for various reasons, thus alleviating the shortage of jobs.

Because the Fährmann family is now completely without income. At least his wife had a job after Fährmann lost his job, but now his wife has been laid off, and many companies are not hiring women. The entry requirements for various positions have become very high. Many positions now require a university degree. People who graduated from the University of Berlin are now competing with Fährmann for a factory worker position, which Fährmann could hardly believe at the time.

The Fellman family currently relies mainly on relief for their livelihood. The fact that the government does not advocate direct relief to the poor does not mean that no one is providing them with relief.

Backed by a large number of German nobles and businesses, the National National Party (NNP) had substantial funds to aid the unemployed. This also presented an excellent opportunity to expand its influence. The NNP's stormtroopers, dressed in brown uniforms, became incredibly amiable when helping the poor, but they were anything but kind when suppressing workers' demonstrations.

The only organization in Prussia at that time that provided large-scale relief to the poor was the National Party. The method of relief was very simple: you only needed to go and listen to one of their speeches and receive a leaflet.

Queuing for relief every day has become a routine for Fellman. On this particular day, a considerable number of people had already gathered there early in the morning. The number of members of the stormtroopers was significantly larger than before, indicating that a big shot was coming.

The crowd quickly became noisy. Sure enough, a big shot had come today. Hess, the leader of the National Party, had come here in person. In order to cultivate a populist image and differentiate himself from other parties, Hess often traveled to various places to give speeches.

The National National Party is only superficially populist. Their proposals seem to benefit the lower classes, but in reality, they don't share any more benefits with the people. Communism requires international cooperation and class struggle, while the National National Party emphasizes class cooperation and international struggle. Like in this crisis, they will use various rhetoric to shift the conflict to an international or ethnic conflict.

However, the National Party is not as extreme as the Nazis, thanks to the general environment in Germany. As a victorious nation in World War I, inciting national hatred within Germany is clearly not in line with the current mindset of Germans. Therefore, they naturally choose to say things that the people want to hear.

Fellman listened to Hess's speech from below. Due to Vestap's inaction, the Conservative Party's support in the government was gradually declining. Within the Conservative coalition, the National National Party was constantly uniting with other small and medium-sized parties, effectively sidelining the National National Party. All it would take to hold a new parliamentary election would be for Hess to completely seize power within the government.

At the same time, due to the disastrous economic environment, more and more families are struggling to make ends meet, making it difficult to maintain social security. Police stations are becoming increasingly busy, and many German city streets have seen youth gangs causing trouble. They steal goods from markets and shops, rob passersby of their money, or engage in various acts of vandalism to escape the weariness and despair brought about by the Great Collapse.

These uncontrollable social factors were also absorbed by the National National Party. These groups that caused trouble in the streets were absorbed by the National National Party and officially recognized. Now the government is overwhelmed with problems. These troublemakers are under unified management, so naturally no one will bother with them. They are even hoping that someone will take over this hot potato.

Hess knew to grasp what the people wanted most right now. The long economic crisis had made them see the differences. Why did a country experience three different situations during the same economic crisis? Bavaria and the Kingdom of the Rhine were clearly not as affected as Prussia.

These people's thinking was very simple: during peacetime, Prussia led everyone to get rich together, but now that something has happened, they all run away faster than anyone else. This naturally made the Prussians very unhappy. Hess just needed to seize on this mentality of the people to carry out propaganda. The slogan he put forward was also very simple: Germany should be reunified.

We must get through this crisis together. The quickest way to resolve the current crisis is through reunification and the complete elimination of internal divisions within the country.

"What unified country in the world needs three currencies? Prussians are now subject to stricter restrictions on traveling to the Bavarian Rhineland than foreigners. They enjoy the empire's favors, yet they are the first to abandon their compatriots in times of greatest danger. This is not unity. No country has this kind of unity, and no country needs this kind of unity. Germany must be completely unified! I want every German to be able to travel freely to any part of the empire without restriction! Long live unity!"

Hess's words resonated with some of those present. He made a lot of sense. Germany needed to be reunified. Prussia was suffering, while the Kingdom of the Rhine was having a party right across the border. Who could tolerate that? They were afraid their brothers were suffering, yet they were also afraid their brothers were driving Land Rovers. This was the mentality of most Prussians. They were the big brother in the past, but now they saw their former underlings living so comfortably. They couldn't stand it.

Fehrman's emotions were also stirred up, and he shouted a few words along with the crowd. He also felt that Hess's speech made sense. Germany was in crisis, but the two kingdoms ran away at the first opportunity. Who could tolerate this?

After receiving the relief and returning home, he kept thinking about the matter, but he soon put it out of his mind. The Fährmann family was very lucky; his wife had a relative in the Rhine Kingdom who worked in the government, which allowed them to obtain a pass very easily, meaning they could now go to the Rhine to live.

This is fantastic news! The Rhineland is in the best condition in all of Germany right now, so moving there to live would be the perfect thing.

"Long live the Rhine!"

Felman completely forgot that he had just joined everyone in denouncing the Rhine. Now that he was leaving, the Kingdom of the Rhine immediately became his second home. The family packed up quickly because they really didn't have much left. With that in mind, they went to the border between the Kingdom of the Rhine and Prussia.

To prevent the impact of the economic crisis, border defenses are much stricter than before. If Prussians all flock to the Kingdom of the Rhine, it will be a big problem. Therefore, the Kingdom of the Rhine had previously banned any non-Kingdom of the Rhine citizens from entering Germany, but this has only been gradually lifted now.

The Felman family was among the first to receive a pass. Since they lived right on the border, they could see the fireworks displays on the other side at night. After checking their documents, the border guards let them pass without any hindrance. Because the Imperial Mark had depreciated significantly, the kingdom even had a dedicated currency exchange to convert Imperial Marks into Rhinemarks.

Thorne, a member of the National Party, had been watching the situation closely for a long time. He knew exactly what kind of propaganda these people would use to win over the people. The kingdom was now undertaking a major infrastructure project, which would require a huge amount of labor. The borders would naturally be gradually relaxed, and a large number of Prussians would then flood in.

Thorne wanted to see whether more people were following Hess's slogans or choosing to live in the Rhine. As long as there were tangible benefits, there would be no shortage of people supporting the unification of Germany by the Kingdom of the Rhine.