Chapter 863

Andrea's speech was so moving that even he himself was moved. However, it was useless. Most of the people present were ordinary people. Their thinking was not that great. Instead, they were more concerned about the immediate benefits.

If the number of people exceeded ten thousand, the IQ would be halved. The people at the front could hear Andrea's speech clearly. However, when it reached the ears of the people at the back, it was inevitable that it would be taken out of context and processed.

Looking at the chaotic crowd, Andrea had to admit that it was impossible to reason with them.

Unless he had the energy to persuade them one by one, it was still possible to persuade them with his silver tongue. Obviously, this was impossible. There were so many people outside. He couldn't handle it at all.

After hesitating for a while, Andrea finally made a decision. "Colonel, order the soldiers to disperse the crowd!"

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It turned out that the army was more of a deterrent. Andrea tried his best but didn't achieve his goal. Once the army intervened, the crowd was quickly dispersed.

The demonstration dispersed, but it didn't mean that the matter was over. The army could maintain stability because the Government of Berlin bribed the soldiers in the first place.

For most ordinary people, it was more practical to talk about benefits than to talk about ideas, the big picture, and the big reason.

The Government of Berlin promised to pay a large sum of money to the soldiers. They also arranged jobs for their families. The pay was not lower than their current jobs. With the comfort of the officers, the morale of the army was immediately stabilized.

In fact, it couldn't be chaotic even if they wanted to. The army of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented a change of garrison. Most of the soldiers stationed in the Rhineland were not locals.

In the case that it didn't involve their own interests, talking about the big reason was still effective. These soldiers might sympathize with the local people, but they would never violate the order.

Andrea couldn't use the same method. The Government of Berlin was willing to pay to buy the morale of the army because the number of soldiers was limited. There were only tens of thousands of soldiers in the Rhineland. Including their families, there were only about one to two hundred thousand people.

However, the number of ordinary people was not that small. The relocation funds allocated by the higher-ups were limited. It was impossible to properly resettle all of them.

Such a large-scale relocation couldn't be completed by one or two people. Now, not only did he have to convince the ordinary people, but he also had to convince the grass-roots officials.

Remembering that most of the grass-roots officials were local people, Andrea sighed helplessly. He wasn't willing to give up the Rhineland, let alone these people.

He dragged his tired body into the conference room and took a sip of water to moisten his hoarse throat.

"Everyone, sit down. You all know the situation. The Government of Berlin has made a decision. The Rhineland is a foregone conclusion.

Everyone knows that the French have always been eyeing us covetously. The Rhineland region has been under heavy military pressure for a long time.

The current international situation is very clear. Our biggest enemy is the Russians. While fighting against the Russian Empire, we won't be able to protect the Rhineland region.

Rather than letting the Rhineland fall into the hands of the French, it would be better to sell it to Belgium or the German Confederation. At least it would still be in the hands of the German nation.

At this point, Andrea even squeezed out a few tears.

"I know this result is hard for everyone to accept. "I, I, I, I, I, I, I. To be, I, I, I, could could.

The war between Prussia and Russia could break out at any moment. Once the war breaks out, we won't be able to split our forces to defend the Rhineland region.

Fao, Germany, and Germany have already formed an alliance. Britain and Austria don't want to see France annex the Rhineland, but they won't fall out with France just because of the Rhineland.

Britain and Austria want us to sell the Rhineland. Although it is to suppress us, it is more to prevent France from expanding into Central Europe.

The Government of Berlin has no choice. If we reject Britain and Austria, we will have to face the pressure from France alone. "

Everyone lowered their heads and did not speak, using silence to protest. Andrea's heart sank. Everyone understood the general principle, but when it came to their own interests, it wasn't easy to make sacrifices.

The Berlin government promised that they would make proper arrangements for them. In fact, it was an empty promise. How could the Kingdom of Prussia find so many places to settle them?

Even if they could be settled, they would be assigned to a remote area with a lack of officials. How could it compare to the prosperity of the Ruhr District?

In addition to interests, the reluctance to leave their homeland was also an important factor. Not everyone was willing to toss and turn. Many people who were dissatisfied with the Government of Berlin would drag them down at this time.

Whether it was Belgium or the German Federal Empire, they used to be part of the Holy Roman Empire. In terms of ethnic and cultural traditions, everyone was one of them. It wasn't unacceptable for him to change the owner after turning around.

If it wasn't for the fact that he was already in a high position, Andrea would have the same idea. The Kingdom of Prussia might be more powerful, but in fact, the standard of living of the people of Prussia was the lowest among several German countries.

The high military expenditure took up the funds that should have been used for the people's livelihood. Because of the debt, the people of Prussia had to bear high taxes.

For many people, as long as the ruler was one of them, could protect everyone's interests, and would not be politically discriminated, then why should they follow the Kingdom of Prussia to the end?

The rise of nationalism had affected many people. In recent years, the Kingdom of Prussia had been playing with de-Germanization, but the Rhineland region, which was surrounded by German countries, was the least affected.

The "Great Prussia Ideology" was actually a variant of the German Grand Unification Ideology, but the area to be unified was different, and the cultural tradition was still the same.

Austria dared to shout the slogan of unification of the German Region, which was based on strength. Even if the Government of Vienna didn't shout, the vigilance of other countries would not be reduced.

If it was the Kingdom of Prussia, it would be different. If the Government of Berlin didn't change its goal and chose the same strategy as Austria's German Unification Strategy, who knew if it would be annexed by Austria through political means in the end?

Many people knew that the House of Habsburg's military ability was not good, and the talents of the previous emperors were focused on politics and diplomacy.

Flipping through the history books, almost every expansion of the House of Habsburg was a success through politics and diplomacy. On the contrary, the results of using force to expand the territory were very few.

For other European countries, Austria's threat was not as strong as France's, but for the countries in the German Region, after the rise of nationalism, the biggest threat became Austria, which was good at politics and diplomacy.

The higher-ups of the government knew what was going on, but the people at the bottom didn't think so much, including most of the grass-roots officials.

No matter how nice Andrea made it sound, giving up the Rhineland region would harm their interests, and this was a fact that could not be changed.

Everyone had patriotic thoughts, but it was hard to say which country they loved.

There were idealists in the Kingdom of Prussia who believed that the German Confederation should unite, build a strong empire, and dominate the world.

Franz's German Unification Committee laid the theoretical foundation for this idea. There was also the German Unification Daily, which spread the idea of great unification to the German Region.

This kind of newspaper was naturally banned by the Government of Berlin. The headquarters of the newspaper was in Frankfurt, and it was not under the control of the Government of Berlin. It was inevitable to secretly smuggle a few copies of the newspaper over.

In any case, there was no shortage of idealists in the world. The more the government banned it, the more interested youths there were.

Sometimes, data could be deceiving. According to the propaganda of the German Unification Organization, as long as the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Federal Empire, and the new Holy Roman Empire merged, the unified German Empire would immediately become the world's number one empire.

On paper, it seemed like it, but in reality, the politicians knew that it was impossible. If they really merged, the new empire would not become stronger, but it would first fall into a situation where it was surrounded by internal enemies and external enemies.

There would be endless internal disputes, and the external enemies would be hostile to the European countries. There was more than a 99% chance that it would be beaten up by everyone and then collapse.

In any case, the idealists still believed it. These people often expressed similar views and influenced many people. Many people thought that the German states were their own people.

This was very disadvantageous to the relocation work. Just like when Silesia was moved back then, many people chose to stay.

The situation in the Ruhr District was even more serious. Many local capitalists couldn't leave even if they wanted to. Factories and machinery could be moved, but industrial raw materials could not be moved.

Among them, the steel industry was the most obvious. Not every region had such unique conditions. For their own interests, they could only stay.

These people refused to leave, and naturally, they would ask the workers and technicians to stay. Otherwise, who would work for them?

As the most powerful area of the bourgeoisie in the Kingdom of Prussia, it was not as simple as it sounded to want to move. Andrea already felt the pressure. Looking at the reaction of the group of people, he knew that things were troublesome.

He immediately slammed the table and asked, "Why aren't you talking? Aren't you all very capable in normal times? At the critical moment, all of you are mute? "

An old man put the cup in his hand on the table and replied angrily, "Mr. Mayor, what do you want us to say? As a group of people who have been abandoned, don't we even have the right to be silent? "

The Ruhr District was the largest industrial area in the Kingdom of Prussia. As the manager of the Ruhr District, Andrea also served as the mayor of Bottrop.

"Mr. Andrew, I know that the government's decision this time harmed your interests, but for the sake of this country, we have no choice.

Now, time is running out. I don't care if you can think it through or not. You must cheer me up and complete the task of the domestic deployment perfectly.

The Government of Berlin has ordered that the entire Rhineland region will enter a state of military control. Your task is to do ideological work for everyone and organize the orderly evacuation of the relevant personnel.

Anyone who dared to slack off would be charged with treason and punished. Whether I'm joking or not, you can try.

The first to complete the relocation work, the person in charge and his subordinates will all be promoted by two ranks and rewarded with 500,000 Marks in cash.

I've already explained the matter clearly to you. How you choose, it's up to you.

By the way, the family members of the government officials will be the first batch of evacuees. If you want to escape, then do it as soon as possible. It'll be too late. "

There was no way to do ideological work. Andrea didn't think that he could convince this group of old officials. The most effective way was to use coercion and temptation.

Sending the families of the officials away first to cut off their retreat was a brilliant plan that Andrea came up with.

Reality proved that it was effective. After listening to this result, the silent crowd could no longer sit still.

"Escape"? Don't joke around. The military martial law was about to be imposed. Where could they run to with their families? Believe it or not, they would be used as a model to warn others the moment they stepped out.

A middle-aged man who reacted quickly immediately said, "Mr. Mayor, it's understandable that the people don't understand the painstaking efforts of the government to give up the Rhineland region.

As government officials, we should take the lead. I suggest that everyone go back and mobilize their families to leave first. With someone taking the lead, the subsequent work should be easier. "

Changing faces quickly was a basic skill of the bureaucrats. If they didn't have this ability, how could they climb up?

Weighing the pros and cons was everyone's instinct. Since they were destined to be tied to the chariot of the Kingdom of Prussia, it was better to think of ways to gain political capital for themselves.

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