Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

"Your Highness, you'd better take a look at this."

Ludwig Edeller removed his monocle and handed the telegram from his secretary to Joachim.

"Is it a telegram from the royal family?"

Joachim didn't pay much attention to the telegram: "If it's a royal telegram, just write a note on it. I'm not in Breslau."

"It's not a telegram from the royal family; you'll see for yourself."

As he spoke, Ludwig Edeler handed the documents in his hand to Joachim.

The latter put down the list of Breslau leftists and examined it carefully: "Is this an order from Upper Silesia?"

"That's right, they want us to transfer some troops from the garrison for them to use."

"It's not a hope, it's an order."

Joachim saw no element of negotiation in these words and concluded that Upper Silesia was unaware of the changes that had occurred in Lower Silesia.

That's quite normal, though, given that the whole of Germany is currently in a state of chaos.

It will take a lot of effort to figure out the current situation in Silesia.

Moreover, Joachim and his group's coup was a very secretive affair.

If Upper Silesia were to learn of the events that had transpired in Lower Silesia now...

They probably couldn't wait to kill Joachim.

Seeing the city of Breslau, they mobilized their troops and drove them out of Breslau.

"In a way, it was an order, and if the soldiers' committee were in place, I wouldn't have been able to refuse it."

"But now I can make excuses as I please. I can reply to the telegram directly that the garrison in Lower Silesia is not ready to march on Berlin."

"If it requires the mobilization of a large portion of our troops, we must be mentally prepared in advance..."

"Presumably, Ernst Meyer will have no reason to refuse when they have all transferred their troops to Berlin."

"We'll take advantage of the situation and plant the Emperor's flag again in Upper Silesia..."

"How is it, Your Highness?"

"How's my plan?"

After saying this, he even drew a cross on his chest to show his loyalty to the emperor.

"So who is Ernst Meyer?" Joachim, not caring about Ludwig's plan, replied casually, "How come I've never heard of this person before?"

"Forehead......"

Ludwig Edeller stood there, utterly speechless.

Is this the key point?

Finally, he could only offer a brief explanation: "A thug born in East Prussia, do you know who started the Silesia strike? He organized the strike of miners and textile workers to resist government suppression."

"So he is the highest organizer and strategic leader of the German trade union in Silesia, right?" Joachim asked again.

"In a sense, that's true. If you want to restore the conservatives' rule in Silesia, then you have to get rid of him." Ludwig Edeller had long loathed the leftists, and his words were always about eliminating them: "Without his instigation, the workers will soon be back on track, and without their withdrawal, we will soon be able to resume the production of weapons and cannons."

"Your thinking is far too simplistic. Get rid of Ernst Mayer, and another Ernst Mayer will emerge."

These words made Joachim even more disdainful of this royalist. If everything in this world could be accomplished through killing alone, then...

The Mongol Empire killed so many people, yet its rule still collapsed, didn't it?

As the saying goes, where there is exploitation, there is resistance. If you cut off someone's source of income, they will cut off yours.

Therefore, the best approach is not to kill the other party, but to form a community of shared interests with them.

Only when both sides share common interests can they unite against external threats.

Therefore, this is not a problem that can be solved by killing someone; it needs to be viewed from a political perspective.

After a brief pause, Joachim continued, "Besides, killing him will only provoke the workers' anger."

"What if the workers resist?"

"What if this gets internationally noticed?"

"I won't comment on the attitudes of the British and French; they'll definitely be sitting on the shore watching us make a fool of ourselves. What will the Americans think then?"

"Germany needed their financial injections after the war; they are now the richest country in the world..."

"Then why not just suppress them?"

Ludwig Edeller found Joachim's accusations inexplicable and increasingly bizarre. When did Germans start having to consider the attitudes of Americans, British, and French when they acted?

Who do they think they are, and what right do they have to interfere in our country's affairs?

"So you're just going to suppress them directly?"

Joachim frowned. Were all 20th-century Germans thinking so simplistically and crudely?

"Otherwise what?"

"So, going back to the original question, what do Americans think?"

"What else can Americans do but sit back and watch!"

Ludwig Edeler found Joachim's behavior baffling and couldn't help but feel annoyed.

They're just a bunch of migrant workers. Calling them "compatriots" when they need something is considered giving them too much credit.

When things are going well, they're nothing but a nobody.

Why should the Americans care about killing a few lowly workers?

"Just sit here and watch?"

"What else?" Caught off guard again, Ludwig Edeller's tone became utterly enraged: "What right do those Americans have to criticize us? That we suppress workers? Don't they have workers like that too?"

"Andrew Carnegie's sweatshop dealt with a strike by shooting so many workers, and afterwards nothing happened."

"You say we treat our compatriots cruelly? Aren't they cruel and bloodthirsty too?"

"When they were dealing with domestic resistance movements and riots, didn't they also deploy police and militias, and didn't they also arrest people and cause bloodshed everywhere?"

"Besides, there are differences between the two of us."

"They are suppressing progressive forces and their fellow citizens."

"What we did was quell an anti-emperor uprising, so what right do they have to criticize us?"

"What right do they have to criticize us?"

"If you feel that what I said is incorrect, then you can speak to His Majesty the Emperor in person."

"If His Majesty the Emperor says that what I have done is wrong, then I will immediately apologize to the workers with thorns on my back."

Towards the end, Ludwig Edeller even turned completely red in the face, appearing hysterical.

"You'll understand later that I'm right, but for now, let's put aside our differences and unite against a common enemy."

Seeing this, Joachim didn't want to say anything more to him.

It seems that in addition to his own dream, he has a new mission in this world.

So he rubbed his aching temples: "Send a telegram to Ernst Meyer, inviting him to Breslau... for dinner."