Ambition

Mr. Van der Linde is coming to the American East; he is to be tried by the Federal Government there.

As soon as Dutch Van der Linde boarded the train, this news was telegraphed to the American East.

Even before the train arrived in the American East, various countries in Europe had already received this news.

Dutch Van der Linde, a man who, at present, is capable of influencing the world's structure.

He actually dared to promote the theories of Marx! This was simply intolerable for them!

All capital was terrified by this.

The discord between capital and Marx's theories stems from a fundamental opposition; from their very inception, they have been mortal enemies.

Therefore, upon learning that Dutch Van der Linde had surrendered and was being transported to the American East for trial, countries across Europe also sent representatives to observe the proceedings.

They intended to try Dutch from the perspective of law and justice, thereby reclaiming the increasingly rampant public opinion.

At the same time, they wanted to completely extinguish any fundamental possibility of Marxist ideology emerging.

They wanted to personally witness Dutch Van der Linde being hanged on the gallows!

Of course, this was the capitalists' idea in various countries. For the governments of these countries, their goal was to see if there was an opportunity to stir up internal strife in the United States, preferably on the scale of the American Civil War.

The world's interests are fixed. If the United States has grown stronger in recent years and wants to take a larger share, other countries will have to take less. For nations, constantly creating trouble for other countries is their primary objective.

Therefore, they welcomed this trial with open arms.

As for Dutch Van der Linde's private armed forces, apart from the United States Government, other European countries didn't really take them seriously.

The United States Government feared the outbreak of an East-West war, which would undoubtedly undermine the results of America's efforts over many years, impede America's development, and potentially allow European countries to intervene, causing the United States, which had only recently gained independence, to fall back into a semi-colonial, non-autonomous state.

This was something the United States Federal Government could not tolerate, and it was also why they feared Dutch's arrival.

This matter could only be handled slowly, gradually, without instantly igniting domestic emotions.

However, the civil war they feared seemed like a joke to the European countries.

1900, or rather, before World War I, was when European countries were at their strongest.

Technological civilization developed rapidly, and their colonies, populations, and armies were astonishingly vast. Not to mention, France, a defeated nation at the hands of Prussia, even dared to claim a standing army of one million men!

Compared to this, America's standing army of twenty thousand was not merely a lack of strength; it was a difference in magnitude.

And this was precisely the United States Federal Government's greatest concern.

That's right, in reality, they didn't take Dutch seriously either; what they truly feared were the European countries.

If any European country truly took Dutch Van der Linde to heart, it was Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.

At this moment, in Berlin.

The majestic Imperial Palace was heavily guarded. In an era where nothing was supposed to happen, more than a dozen luxurious carriages and even automobiles were parked outside the Berlin Imperial Palace.

Judging by the emblems on these vehicles, they belonged to Grand Dukes or Counts, or to Army Generals or Navy Commanders.

Based solely on the emblems of these vehicles, it seemed all high-ranking officials of Germany had gathered here.

At this moment, in the German Emperor's conference room, a dozen or twenty middle-aged and elderly men sat, each with a serious expression, wearing various distinctive uniforms, appearing to be holding a very solemn meeting.

Kaiser Wilhelm, wearing a white glove on his left hand, sat at the head of the conference table, his face grim, making it impossible to discern his true thoughts.

Their meeting was in progress.

"Kaiser, Dutch Van der Linde has been arrested by the United States Federal Government and is currently being escorted to the American East for trial.

The United States Federal Government has issued us an invitation to send our people to observe this interrogation.

According to our information, Britain and France have already sent people, and they have explicitly demanded that the United States Federal Government sentence Dutch Van der Linde to death on one hundred and eighty-three charges, including treason, illegal fundraising, illegal propaganda, illegal conscription, disturbing market order, and endangering global security.

Currently, public opinion in the American East is in chaos. The specific situation in the American West is temporarily unknown due to the lack of telephones and telegraphs, but based on our projections, Dutch Van der Linde's subordinates are very likely to incite a riot.

Therefore, the existence of the Tank may appear before the world at any time."

Grand Duke Meyer said, looking at Kaiser Wilhelm.

The overall meaning of his words was actually only one: the Tank might not be able to be kept secret much longer.

Over the past few months, they had successfully built Tank production lines through imitation and could now independently produce Tanks, though the output was very low, far from matching Van der Linde's production. This progress was not slow, as it was not wartime, and the engineers and industrial scale they could employ were limited. Furthermore, the need to maintain secrecy significantly reduced the number of personnel.

According to their plan, they would store Tanks for a few years, gradually increasing production, and also purchase Dutch's Tanks. When the news of the Tank could no longer be kept secret, they would have at least several hundred Tanks. By the time the Tank's existence was leaked, their technology would be mature, and they would have a stockpile of Tanks, allowing them to directly launch a war, with logistics producing while the front lines used them.

However, they did not expect to be given such a long time; in less than half a year, Dutch Van der Linde, their partner, was arrested by the United States Federal Government.

This directly caused their plan to be aborted midway.

This greatly angered the German Emperor, which is why he called them over to discuss subsequent matters.

"Then, before the Tank appears before the world, we will deploy the Tank first! Catch them off guard!

Now is the best time! Britain and France have no foresight whatsoever, and the United States is deeply embroiled in its own internal strife. We currently have fifty Tanks, which is entirely sufficient for a vanguard force to conduct a blitzkrieg!

This moment is the best opportunity in several hundred years! We must seize it!"

Kaiser Wilhelm was filled with rage.

His ambition had long been irrepressible, and with the Tank, he could no longer hold back at all.

If it weren't for the fact that Tank manufacturing was still immature, he would probably have already pointed a finger and started a war.

"Kaiser, I suggest we prioritize the mass production of Tank production lines, adopting a decentralized production method to accelerate the speed of Tank production lines. This way, even if Britain and France know we are producing military equipment, they won't immediately guess what we are producing.

When Dutch Van der Linde is tried, his subordinates will certainly bring out Tanks to cause an American Civil War. With the existence of Tanks, their advance speed in the early stages will likely be unstoppable, and Britain and France will also join in aiding the United States.

This period will be the best time to deploy troops!" The Minister of War stood up and offered his professional advice.

"Good, then we will proceed as you say! From now on, increase military spending, increase troop numbers, increase weapon production, and fully prepare for war!

When Dutch Van der Linde's subordinates begin their uprising, we will also make our move!

I want Queen Victoria to toast me!" The German Emperor was immensely pleased, already fantasizing about his victory.

This timing was indeed the most perfect moment.

Currently, France and the Russian Empire have a defensive alliance treaty, but Britain has not yet joined.

So he planned to directly blitz France, and by the time Britain wanted to find an excuse to join in, France would already have been pushed to its capital by his tanks.