African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1271 A prairie fire
While Alexei and the other three were strolling in Rhine City, Ernst was keeping an eye on every move in Russia.

Morin, director of the National Defense Security Agency, reported: "The situation in Russia is now deteriorating rapidly. The wave of opposition to the Tsar is growing stronger and stronger. Including capitalists, the people, and even some nobles, more and more people have begun to question the ability of Nicholas II."

"Before the war, Russia's internal conflicts had already intensified to a certain extent. When World War I broke out, these conflicts not only did not shift, but intensified. At the end of last year, the military failure on the Russian front further stimulated the instability within the Russian regime."

Ernst asked: "How is the surveillance of the Russian Labor Party going at the moment?"

Morin said: "At the beginning of the year, they organized many strikes in Russian cities such as St. Petersburg, but they were all suppressed by the government of Nicholas II. However, through our analysis, their activities will become more and more frequent."

"Now the Russians are like a pile of dry wood, and any spark can ignite it, and these labor party members are the arsonists. Their actions have greatly undermined the prestige of Nicholas II, especially the recent strike movement in St. Petersburg."

Just think about it, the current development of the war in Europe can be said to be related to Russia's future national destiny. According to common sense, Russia should unite at this time to get through this dangerous period.

But the funny thing is that the Russians thought differently from Nicholas II, and of course, their attitudes were definitely somewhat different.

For example, the capitalists did not think there was anything wrong with Nicholas II starting the war. The problem was that Nicholas II and the Russian aristocracy were too weak and had poor military capabilities. So they thought that even putting a dog there would not cause the situation on the front line to become what it is today.

Who can carry the banner of Russia now? Of course, it is them. Only when they take over and replace those nobles who are good for nothing can Russia win on the battlefield.

As for the grassroots people, their ideas were different from those of the capitalists and nobles. Their purpose in opposing Nicholas II was to stop the war. After all, it was they who actually served as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Up to now, Russia's casualties on the front line have reached more than 10 million, and nearly 500,000 square kilometers of territory have been lost. Most of Ukraine and Poland, all of Moldova, and parts of the Baltic region have been captured by the Allies.

Morin said: "The Russian regime is now in turmoil and Russia is facing a choice, but no matter what, Nicholas II is facing a dilemma."

"If the war ends, the country will inevitably be lost, and Nicholas II cannot bear this responsibility. However, if the war continues, Russia's war-weariness has made the lower-class people unwilling to continue to support the war."

"At the same time, Russia's material situation is also extremely critical. At present, the pockets of the Russian government are cleaner than their faces."

Although East Africa has a large trade relationship with Russia, the trade between East Africa and Russia has now become a situation of real money.

Unless Russia takes out its last gold reserves, East Africa will only recognize gold, or other valuable cash, or even talent, technology, etc.

After all, according to Ernst's prediction, the Russian government is unlikely to survive, so naturally the Russian government has no credibility in East Africa.

Not to mention East Africa, even the debt Russia owes to the French will take many years to pay off, and this is based on the basic condition that the current Russian government will continue to exist in the future.

Ernst's judgment was naturally that the Russian government would most likely not survive unless a capitalist government came to power in Russia, but Ernst was also not optimistic about Russia's capitalist class.

This is mainly due to the fact that the Russian Labor Party has now truly taken shape. It not only has a strict organization, but also has excellent leadership capabilities.

This is not just a Russian matter, but a matter for the whole of Europe. The Labour Party today is not like the later generations where each party fought on its own with national interests at its core, but an international organization spread across Europe.

Their members are not only capable, but also fearless. Russia is the new center of the Labor Party. Coupled with the poor living environment in Russia, the Labor Party is like a fish in water in Russia. Of course, it is not impossible to strangle the Labor Party, but the premise is that other imperialist countries outside Russia and the upper ruling class of Russia will unite to eliminate this organization that is expanding and spreading like wildfire in Russia.

However, this is precisely impossible to achieve. Apart from anything else, it is impossible for Britain, France, Germany and Austria to reconcile now. If they do not stop the war, the "international community" will naturally not be able to reach a consensus.

Among them, Germany and Austria would be happy with the Labor Party's activities in Russia. After all, if the Labor Party wants to come to power, it cannot lose its main trump card of "ceasefire".

This is not to say that Germany and Austria do not hate the Labour Party, but that they must ensure that a new order dominated by the two countries has been formed in Europe before they can command other countries to destroy this terrible Russian organization.

In short, European countries will certainly not be able to reach a unified opinion at this stage, and although East Africa and the United States are powerful, they are far away from the European continent and cannot interfere in the development of events in Russia.

Under such circumstances, the possibility of the Soviet regime being born like in the previous life is more than 95%, so Ernst cannot pin his hopes on European countries to destroy the new Russian regime that may emerge at any time.

Ernst asked, "What is the current movement of the Ottoman Empire? Are they not moving? Russia is completely in decline now. Can they still sit still?"

Morin said: "Your Majesty, the Ottoman Empire is currently making its final mobilization for war. If our intelligence forecast is correct, within three months, the Ottoman Empire will definitely defeat Russia."

Ernst knocked on the table and said, "This means that within three months, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles may be cut off by the Ottoman Empire at any time, and our trade with Russia will basically be over!"

The Black Sea Straits, namely the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, have never been interrupted since the beginning of the war. The main reason is that the Ottoman Empire has not yet entered the war.

East Africa was the main supplier behind the Allies, so East African ships had always been doing business with Russia, and both Britain and the Ottoman Empire acquiesced in the trade between East Africa and Russia.

However, things would be different once the Ottoman Empire joined the "just" attack on Russia.

Ernst therefore concluded: "Our trade with Russia is about to end. In this case, we must try our best to get more real money out of the pockets of the Russians in the next two or three months."

"You must also be active and try to plunder as much technology and talent from Russia and its occupied areas as possible and bring it to East Africa. Now that Europe is in chaos, it is a great opportunity for us to fish in troubled waters."

Because of the sudden defeat on the Russian war front last year, many industries and personnel in places with good Russian economic conditions such as Poland and Ukraine were not withdrawn to the rear, and these supplies and personnel fell into the hands of the Allies.

East Africa just happened to have bargaining chips for trading with the Allies, which meant that East Africa could easily exchange some Russian industrial equipment and technical personnel for its own hands through trading with the Allies.

Although it is not easy for these technicians and scientific researchers who were forcibly abducted to East Africa to return, Ernst believes that after the establishment of the new Russian regime, they will gradually regard East Africa as their new home.

However, Ernst said: "We should pay as much attention as possible to the Ukrainian region or the Russians in Poland. As for Poland, it depends on their wishes."

The Polish people still have a strong desire to restore their country. After all, without a country, overseas Poles must be even more united. Even if some Polish talents are recruited, Ernst believes that if Poland restores its country, they will be more willing to return to their country for development.

(End of this chapter)