I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 727: Americans Break Through Defense
During the World War, Nicholas and Guderian served on the Western Front together. Due to his outstanding performance in the Battle of Verdun, Nicholas was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and successfully retained his military status after the war.

Those who were qualified to retain their military status after the war were undoubtedly the elite of the German army.

Those who are selected to study in Russia as exchange students are the elite among the elite.

The Weimar government attached great importance to officers like Guderian. In addition to their normal salaries, they also received additional overseas allowances, which was definitely a high income in Germany at the time.

Granat's income is not very high, but it is normal in Amur.

The welfare benefits at the Army Academy were very good, so good that even Guderian was envious.

Guderian came from a landlord family. Although he was not a noble, he definitely had no worries about food and clothing.

The house where Granat lives is provided free of charge by the Army Academy. If Granat teaches at the Army Academy for 15 years, the house will become Granat's private property.

Granat has seven children. The eldest son serves in the imperial court, the eldest daughter works in the Vladivostok municipal government, and the five children who are still unemployed are all studying.

In addition to a car used by the whole family, the Granat family also has two motorcycles, which are mainly used by Granat himself and his eldest son.

The Army Academy, the Vladivostok Municipal Government, and the Amur Military Region often provide welfare benefits, covering everything from food, clothing, housing and transportation. This is an important reason why Granat's salary alone can support his entire family.

"I'm sorry, William, I betrayed our promise, but please believe me, I still love Germany—"

Nicholas burst into tears. This was a difficult decision for him.

Nicholas came from a Junker noble family in Munich. Last year, the Munich riots led to the establishment of the Bavarian Republic. All 12 members of Nicholas' family were killed except Nicholas.

"I understand, my friend, and I wish you a happy new life in Russia."

Guderian sent his best wishes.

"No, no, not Russia. I want to join the Amur Army. Even if I serve, it will only be in the Amur region."

Nicholas emphasized that although he has become a Russian citizen, he will not participate in the war if war breaks out between Germany and Russia again in the future.

Not only did the nobles of Russia and Germany intermarry with each other, but there was also frequent exchange between the peoples, and there were many Germans living in Russia.

During the World War, even if German-Russian soldiers were sent to the front line, they would only be deployed to the Balkan battlefield and not sent to the northern front.

For the same reason, if Russians living in Germany joined the army, they usually served on the Western Front.

"If war breaks out, will we still have the power to choose?"

Guderian smiled bitterly, he didn't know where the future would lead.

More than a quarter of the German officers who came to the Army Academy at the same time as Guderian have become Russian citizens.

Compared with Germany, Russia's conditions are too good and there is no comparison at all.

What Germany has, Russia has.

What Germany doesn't have, Russia still has.

Even the speed of development that the Germans are most proud of pales in comparison to Russia's reconstruction.

The German Empire was only born in 1871. By 1905, Germany's GDP successfully surpassed that of Britain to become the second largest in the world, second only to the United States.

This is the propaganda of the German government, but Europeans do not agree with this statement.

Most people believe that Germany surpassed Britain and became the number one in Europe in 1913.

However, Russians, especially Amurs, do not agree with this statement.

Russia during the Imperial era was severely underestimated, and when the statistical data were released, many of the Amur data were estimates and could not be verified at all.

After the end of World War II, within just two years, Russia rebuilt from the ruins and prospered.

The situation in Germany was slightly better than that in Russia, but the Weimar government was unable to reverse the situation and could not even solve the food problem.

Before the outbreak of the World War, the only thing Guderian knew about Amur was that Princess Anne was married to Grand Duke Yuriev.

Only after arriving in Vladivostok did Guderian learn the true situation of Amur.

Not to mention far away, in the Army Academy alone, almost every instructor has a car at home, which is unimaginable in Germany.

"Why, after coming to Amur, do you still believe that there will be a war between Germany and Russia?"

Nicholas admitted that after experiencing the world war, he did not think that the rulers of Germany still had the courage to challenge Russia.

During the imperial Russian era, Amur was completely hidden in the shadow of the Russian Empire and was unknown to the outside world.

After the Russian Empire fell into chaos, Amur, almost as a single state, not only supported Russia's continued participation in the war, but also exported large quantities of supplies to its allies, completely exposing its industrial strength.

Amur is now like the mammoth behind the old bear and can no longer hide.

In this situation, anyone with any sense will no longer regard Russia as an enemy.

Guderian did not explain that he and Nicholas no longer had a close relationship.

Guderian and Nicholas were actually very clear that the current relationship between Germany and Russia could not be maintained for a long time, and the honeymoon period would probably only last for a few years. Russia's help to Germany was conditional. It not only used Germany's human resources and made Germans work for Russians, but also had evil intentions.

If Russia really wanted to embrace peace, it would not allow professional officers like Guderian to "exchange" at the Army Academy.

German companies will not be allowed to place research departments in Russia and open factories in Russia.

After the end of World War II, many German experts and professors joined relevant Russian institutions in the name of research.

The achievements of these experts and professors will indeed improve Germany's technological level.

But as time goes by, it is hard to say whether these experts are still Germans.

Even soldiers like Nicholas, who once fought for Germany, have become disappointed with Germany.

Russia's appeal to ordinary Germans is self-evident.

Russia is not only attractive to Germans, but also to other European countries and even to senior talents in the United States.

At the end of the year and the beginning of the next year, the sales of a New York newspaper called "The Atlantic" suddenly increased dramatically, and its sales in the New York area were second only to the New York Times.

The Atlantic was founded the year before last. It was originally a weekly magazine, published only once a week, and mainly attracted readers by publishing European current affairs. Its sales were not high.

In August last year, Atlantics was acquired by the Dolgorukov family, which subsequently underwent major revisions and re-released it in October last year.

Before being acquired by the Dolgorukov family, The Atlantic sold for 10 cents a copy, a medium price in New York.

After the rectification, The Atlantic no longer focused on European current affairs, but adjusted its reporting focus to the secrets of European royal families. The distribution method also changed from 10 cents per copy to free distribution.

When the news came out, everyone was shocked. How could such a good person exist?
Before The Atlantic was acquired, the quality of press releases was generally not high, and the paper used was of poor quality. Not only was the color yellow and easy to break, but the ink was also not strong and could easily stain the readers' skin and clothes.

The revamped Atlantic not only improved the quality of its news releases, but also used better paper and ink, making it more acceptable to readers.

Although the reading experience for readers has improved, the cost has also increased significantly. A price of 10 cents will not only not make money, but will also result in a loss.

The first issue of The Atlantic, after its revamp, had a circulation of 1 copies, and even at a price of 10 cents, the newspaper still lost $1000.

Before Christmas, the circulation of "Secrets of European Royal Families: England" published in The Atlantic reached 10 copies, a 10-fold increase compared to the first issue.

Some people have noticed that the number of advertisements published in The Atlantic has increased nearly 10 times compared to the first issue.

The first issue of The Atlantic contained only an advertisement for the Dolgorukov family's new car.

In an interview with the New York Times, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Bilov, proudly declared that The Atlantic had basically achieved a break-even point thanks to advertising revenue.

This is obviously a lie. Even with the influence of The New York Times, it is impossible to break even with advertising revenue alone.

Besides, newspaper owners need to make a profit. Simply balancing income and expenditure obviously cannot bring them any profit.

Joseph admitted in an interview with The Atlantic that the Dolgorukov family would lose $5000 for every issue of The Atlantic.

Fortunately, The Atlantic is a weekly magazine, and the Dolgorukov family can afford the loss.

Compared with the Alexander family's monthly spending of one million dollars, this amount of money is a drop in the bucket, and it doesn't matter if they turn the weekly magazine into a daily.

The New York Times had nothing to say about Joseph's behavior, because the sales of The Atlantic also promoted the sales of The New York Times.

The free copy of The Atlantic is not given away to everyone. Instead, if you buy a copy of The New York Times at a newsstand, you will get a copy of The Atlantic for free, while supplies last.

The New York Times sold for 15 cents.

This fundamentally eliminates some people who want to take advantage of small opportunities.

In November, The Atlantic published a total of four issues, with special reports on the Russian Empire, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.

These four empires all perished in the world wars, and Americans are still very curious about the process of their demise.

This led to The Atlantic's popularity surpassing that of The New York Times at one point.

It is easy to judge who is popular. Just look at which newspaper readers read first after buying it.

Coverage of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire was normal.

Only when reviewing the demise of the Russian Empire did the editor of The Atlantic add a report on Russia's current situation into the report.

This issue of The Atlantic caused a sensation in New York.

Have Russian veterans received adequate pensions and retirement benefits?

Russia has already universally implemented a minimum wage guarantee system and an eight-hour workday?

How come Russian children, regardless of their wealth or social status, can all go to school and don’t have to work like slaves in sweatshops?

this--

This is the real dish cooking!
(End of this chapter)