Chapter 1409 - 5: London Naval Conference_2

Chapter 1409: Chapter 5: London Naval Conference_2

This also led to the rapid expansion of Labor Party organizations in Germany’s rear, especially among factory workers. Those who were wounded and withdrawn from the front lines were most susceptible to incitement.

Previously, William II actually did not care about these German Labor Party organizations because there were many political groups opposing imperial rule in Europe, and the Labor Party was not even on the list.

However, since the Russian Labor Party seized power, the situation has changed. Before the Labor Party successfully overturned a country’s political system, it naturally did not receive much attention.

But the problem was that the Russian Labor Party succeeded, and they also killed Russia’s Nicholas II. This was even worse; for William II, this was intolerable, as he was also a monarch.

Prior to this, William II, such an autocratic monarch, held the view that the Labor Party was mainly targeting capitalists, which was indeed the Labor Party’s main political slogan.

However, the situation in Russia clearly indicated to William II that these Labor Party members were also deadly enemies of the imperial system, and if a monarch fell into their hands, the outcome would be even worse.

Therefore, William II said, "Indeed, at this stage, the most important thing for the government is to eliminate domestic Labor Party organizations. This issue is the top priority, followed by resolving the Empire’s financial crisis, clearing and confiscating the illegal gains of domestic unscrupulous businessmen during the war."

The German government’s method of resolving the Empire’s financial crisis was naturally through "cracking down on the rich" to solve the Empire’s debt problem and obtain funds for post-war national economic recovery.

And the Junker nobility certainly could not be touched. Besides this, the richest groups in Germany were clear and obvious; Jews deservedly were the wealthiest group in Germany. Through clearing this group, the German government collected a significant amount of wealth.

This was a division of spoils feast for the Junker nobility. Many people, under the government’s leadership, easily acquired banks and factories originally established by Jews.

This was also the mainstream approach currently adopted by European countries because the war ended suddenly, and there was no real winner, so war reparations could not be used to recover previous losses. In this situation, the governments of European countries could only target their wealthy citizens.

And just fittingly, there was a special group in Europe that was very wealthy itself and made a substantial profit during the war, and they were also unpopular with ordinary Europeans, making them the perfect outlet for the grievances of citizens from various countries.

And when Prime Minister Herman saw William II say this, he still wanted to strive for something: "Your Majesty, clearing Labor Party and certain organizations and groups does not impede our response to the potential pandemic."

"Our country’s infectious disease research experts generally agree with the East African Government’s views, and historically, it is an unchanging truth that after a major disaster, there is a major epidemic."

"Therefore, we should actively respond and not ignore this aspect of work for other reasons. Additionally, we can take this opportunity to learn from France in sealing borders and controlling population movement to prevent Jews and Labor Party members from fleeing abroad."

William II directly ignored the previous words, but the last sentence indeed enlightened him. He said, "In this way, we can capture these illegal elements more legitimately and prevent the loss of state assets and the wealth of the German people."

"Herman, your idea is pretty good. Then learning some of Clemenceau’s practices would be acceptable. Currently, and at this stage, the most important thing is to fill the fiscal gaps in the government."

This allowed Herman to breathe a sigh of relief, as he managed to successfully persuade William II to pay attention to the influenza this time.

The reason Prime Minister Herman was so vigilant about the influenza epidemic was thanks to the lobbying of relevant German institutions and experts.

It all started with Germany’s developed healthcare industry. Since the Second Industrial Revolution, Germany’s education level significantly improved while the scientific and technological fields were also at an explosive phase.

This caused Europe to become Europe’s new medical center, especially with the concentrated explosion in the medical field, aided by chemistry and biology. Germany ranked first in Europe both in theoretical research and industry scale regarding health and disease.

Of course, this did not come without drawbacks. For instance, Germany became a country with severe abuse of chemical pharmaceuticals.

It can be said that the birthplace of modern pharmaceutical industry is Germany; Germany’s Agfa Company, Bayer Company, and Hurst Company were all world-renowned pharmaceutical enterprises.

Since the 1880s, dye companies and chemical plants worldwide began establishing laboratories to research and develop new drugs, and whether it was dyeing or chemistry, these were Germany’s strong points.

Historically, if it weren’t for the failure of the two world wars, Germany would certainly have remained a world leader in medicine and pharmaceutical industry for a long period, instead of eventually being overtaken by the United Kingdom and the United States.

This is easy to understand; the pharmaceutical industry is extremely lucrative, but it also means that only powerful countries can harness this lucrative industry.

In conclusion, Germany’s medical institutions and experts had a significant impact on Prime Minister Herman, which resulted in his suggestion to William II.

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Even though a terrible epidemic about to sweep across the entire world was brewing, diplomatic activities between countries did not stop.

January 15th, 1920.