Chapter 5

"Lenin!"

Hessmann called out this name, suddenly opening his eyes wide and staring at the revolutionary mentor's iconic large forehead, who was sitting on a bench.

Lenin had a blue blanket covering his legs, a gray scarf over his shoulders, a thin wooden board and an open notepad on his knees, and a fountain pen in his hand, writing something. The wind from the snow-covered peaks of the Alps was flipping the pages of Lenin's notepad. Just as he was about to finish his day's writing and go to the dining room to have dinner with his wife Krupskaya and his close friend Armand, he heard someone shouting his alias. He looked up in the direction of the voice and saw his old friend Max Grimm, Grimm's beautiful sister Eva, and another young man he didn't recognize walking quickly towards him. The shout seemed to have come from the young man.

"Comrade Lenin, hello!" Hessmann quickly approached, excitedly extending his right hand to Lenin—not only because he had met the legendary mentor, but also because he saw hope for the Third Reich in the mentor.

Lenin was taken aback for a moment. This young man clearly knew him, but he didn't remember ever meeting him. However, out of politeness, the revolutionary mentor stood up and shook hands with him.

"Sir, do you know me? Have we met before?"

"Yes, of course, in Moscow's Red Square!" Hessmann widened his eyes, looking at Lenin with interest. This Lenin looked much younger and more energetic than the one he had seen during his last trip to Moscow.

"Moscow... Red Square?" Lenin tried to recall, but he couldn't remember ever meeting this man in Moscow's Red Square.

"I think you didn't see me then. I just watched you from a distance," Hessmann explained with a smile. He wasn't lying to his mentor; he had indeed seen Lenin in Moscow's Red Square—inside Lenin's Mausoleum! At that time, Lenin was lying still, motionless.

"Oh, I see." Lenin thought to himself that he hadn't been to Moscow for over ten years. If this young man had met him in Moscow, he must have been a child then.

"So, you are..." Lenin became interested in the young man and asked with a smile.

"I am Otto Braun, a German Social Democrat," Hessmann lied solemnly.

"Oh." Lenin glanced at the "Grimm siblings" who were walking quickly towards him, thinking: This young man came with them, so he must be a representative of the German government, right? I wonder who is behind him? If it's the German General Staff, that would be great. The situation in Russia is changing rapidly, and most of my Bolshevik comrades are in exile abroad. Without German assistance, we can't even return to the country, let alone start a revolution.

"Vladimir Ilyich, it's great to see you."

"I am too, Oscar, it's wonderful that you came to Chugyevye."

"Vladimir Ilyich, I got married. This is my husband, Otto Braun, a classmate from Munich University and a Social Democrat."

"Eva, that's wonderful, congratulations."

By this time, Heinsberg and Ettel had already reached Lenin. The three of them were deceiving each other—although Lenin had long seen through the "Grimm siblings," he pretended to know nothing. They hugged, indicating they were very familiar with each other.

"You came just in time. Armand is preparing dinner today, and there will be delicious French cuisine." Lenin led the "Grimm siblings" towards the house.

It was a three-story wooden building, typical of the Alpine region. It wasn't luxurious, but it was very clean inside. Lenin and his two women rented two rooms. He sometimes spent the night with Krupskaya, but more often with the French woman Armand.

Lenin's wife and his close friend were very familiar with the "Grimm siblings" and welcomed them warmly, especially since Heinsberg always brought some delicious food—either pickled beef, beef tongue, or lamb shoulder. For the Chugyevye sanatorium, which only supplied dairy products, these delicacies were very rare.

Additionally, Heinsberg would prepare some special "gifts" for Lenin—a list of the latest books from the libraries in Zurich or Bern.

The Swiss library service was very convenient. There was no need to visit in person; one just had to send a postcard with the address to the library to borrow any book. This was very helpful for Lenin's research.

Hessmann, Ettel, and the mentor sat down at a not very large desk, while the beautiful French woman Armand brought them a cup of rich Russian coffee—made from egg yolk, milk, chocolate, vodka, sugar, cream, and coffee. Heinsberg and Krupskaya were busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

Hessmann picked up a cup of coffee and took a sip, noticing the strong alcohol, he frowned slightly. Lenin had been observing Hessmann and, seeing this subtle change in expression, smiled and said in Russian, "Comrade Braun, are you not used to Russian coffee?"

"It is a bit unfamiliar, with vodka added?" Hessmann replied in Russian. In his previous life, he didn't speak Russian, but after being reborn as Hessmann, he could. "But I still like it, because in Germany, there is no coffee, and it's hard to get milk. I haven't tasted these two things for a long time."

This lie was not very clever. Looking at Hessmann's physique and complexion, it was clear that he was not lacking in milk.

However, Lenin didn't care about these details. He just sighed, "Germany only lacks coffee and milk, and probably meat. But in Russia, even black bread is almost gone!" He lifted his coffee cup and took a small sip. "But the Russian Provisional Government, like the Tsar, only thinks about the war!"

"Because they are as foolish as the Tsar," Hessmann lightly pounded the table with his fist. "They haven't realized who Russia's true enemy is!"

"Right! They haven't realized!" Ettel echoed. Lenin, however, sipped his coffee while looking at Hessmann.

Hessmann emphasized, "In fact, Germany and Russia are both targets of British imperialism, and both are enemies of the international capitalist group! Even our old rivals, the French, have suffered greatly at the hands of the British. When the Napoleonic Empire was at its peak, the British repeatedly organized anti-French alliances. When Russia was powerful, the British joined forces with France and Turkey to wage war (referring to the Crimean War). When Prussia led the German revival, the British allied with France and Russia... In essence, British policy is to make us European powers fight each other to maintain the international capitalist group's control over the world!"

"Oh?" Lenin didn't agree with Hessmann's argument, and his tone was sarcastic. "I suppose you think that the British and this... international capitalist group's plans will be shattered by the German Empire?"

Hessmann looked at Lenin, "Why do you think so?"

"Isn't the situation clear?" Lenin shrugged. "The main reason for the February Revolution was not opposition to the Tsar but opposition to the war! If the Provisional Government could meet the people's wishes and negotiate peace with Germany, it could stabilize. Then Germany and Austria-Hungary could transfer a large number of troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front, and they would be enough to destroy France!"

Hessmann shook his head, "But what if the Provisional Government is unwilling to negotiate?"

"Yes, they are unwilling!" Lenin sneered. Although he was in Switzerland, he still received important intelligence from Russia. "They will continue the war, regardless of the fact that the Russian army is disintegrating! Those fools (referring to the Constitutional Democrats, Progressives, Mensheviks, and Socialist Revolutionaries) are so naive, thinking that they can achieve victory by replacing the Tsar. But the harsh reality will teach them and educate the Russian people, leading to a second revolution! Then the Bolsheviks will take power, and the Bolsheviks are truly willing to achieve peace. This way, Germany and Austria-Hungary can transfer their troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front."

Hessmann's face darkened. He leaned back in the hard chair and sighed, "But the United States, like Britain, is also controlled by the international capitalist group! If there is a possibility of Britain losing its world dominance, the United States will certainly adopt a more hostile policy towards Germany under the manipulation of the international capitalist group!"

"International capitalist group?" Lenin pondered, "Comrade Braun, do you mean that international capitalism is a single entity? But the current war shows that international capitalism is divided into different groups... basically, each capitalist country is controlled by its own capitalists, and they fight for colonial markets and raw materials."

Hessmann shook his head and countered, "Comrade Lenin, I think you should notice that capital can flow across borders, from one country to another. Capital from two countries can merge into one group through capital operations, or they can hold shares in each other, making the two groups have common interests. Through such cross-border capital flows and operations, a few supergroups that can control multiple countries or even the entire world will eventually emerge."

"I think this is just your speculation," Lenin said, "or perhaps in the future, such supergroups will really exist. But clearly, such supergroups do not exist now. Otherwise, this world war would not have broken out, right?"

"This just shows that the supergroups have not yet controlled all countries," Hessmann said, "and some countries are not controlled by capital but by nationalist regimes, like the German Empire! Therefore, the supergroups controlling Britain and the United States are doing everything to contain Germany, ultimately leading to this war."