Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

"Can you still guarantee your loyalty to the Empire?"

"I was born to serve you, Your Highness," the voice on the other end of the phone declared resolutely.

"Okay, I need your help now."

"Please speak."

"I heard you have some intelligence network in Poznan, is that true?"

"Yes, the Pots Province of the Empire."

"You probably already know some of this; the Poles in Poland are plotting to separate Poz from the Empire's territory."

"I want to find those Poles and crush these separatist forces, so I need your intelligence department's cooperation."

"I've already noticed that, Your Highness."

"Nothing can escape my ears in Potswell."

Nikolai's tone on the other end of the phone was cold: "The Poles are not peaceful at all. Before you arrived in Breslau, I had already ordered that Poz be held and that Poland should not be allowed to take over."

Nikolai was able to say these words because he had the confidence to do so.

Since 1906, when he became the head of the East Prussian intelligence station, he had been responsible for intelligence work against Russia and for monitoring Polish nationalists.

Therefore, he was more wary of Polish nationalists than anyone else.

That is why, after he took office as the director of the intelligence agency.

The key areas for defense across the country were the areas where Poles were concentrated, namely Poz, Silesia, and West Prussia.

There are 1200 full-time secret agents and 7000 part-time informants, covering a range of departments including villages, factories, and schools.

These surveillance measures do have a resemblance to the Stasi system of later generations.

We are everywhere.

"Well done, Nikolai, that's what you should do." Joachim gave Manstein an approving look behind him and nodded slightly, expressing his satisfaction with Nikolai: "On behalf of the Empire, I sincerely thank you."

"But Your Highness, the situation there is very bad. Now that the revolution has broken out, I cannot raise enough funds to defend Poz." Nikolai's tone remained cold, accompanied by a hint of dejection. He had tried every means to defend the province, but now that the revolution had broken out, the situation in Germany was in chaos, and there were simply not enough resources to defend a province where Poles were the majority. Many politicians had already decided to give that province to the Poles as a price for peace.

But this price was unacceptable to Nikolai, who utterly despised Polish Zionism: "Besides, I don't have much power at my disposal. The secret police have only a little over 100 men left, and the militia I've hastily recruited number only a little over 2000."

"What was the military's reaction?"

These problems were clearly within Joachim's expectations, which is why he deployed troops to deal with Pots first.

The situation is delicate right now; he will go and fight the Poles wherever they are strongest.

"What kind of response can the army possibly have? They're not even getting enough to eat right now."

"Moreover, they currently have a serious fear of difficulty."

"So we can't count on those armies either, right?"

"..."

There was complete silence on the other end of the phone; there was no response.

The answer was clearly silence. After a moment, a hoarse voice came from the other end: "So, Your Highness, I cannot provide you with a large army right now. I've heard that Silesia has been taken over by the Knesset, and it would be too dangerous for you to go to Pots alone... So if you really need my help, please return to Berlin. I can provide you with lodging..."

As she spoke, a sob came from the other end of the phone: "This humiliation is only temporary. Your suffering will end sooner or later with the return of the empire..."

Upon hearing this, Joachim on the other end of the phone didn't know how to respond.

At this moment, he finally understood how those remnants of the Qing Dynasty felt when facing the former Qing imperial family.

Shaking his head, Joachim couldn't help but interrupt: "Now Silesia is my domain. I have an army here, and I want to do something to help the Empire."

"..."

The sobbing on the other end of the phone stopped abruptly, followed by a moment of silence.

Nikolai spoke again on the other end of the phone: "The Poles are a thorn in Germany's side. As long as they exist, we will never have peace."

"If Your Highness's army is reliable, then I think we can solve the Polish problem forever."

"What do you want to do?" Joachim asked.

"I will call the government officials there and immediately activate the emergency law."

"The entire Poz region is under indefinite military control. All Polish associations and newspapers have been banned, and all Polish gatherings, associations, and speeches are prohibited."

Nikolai's voice on the other end of the phone grew increasingly cold, so much so that Joachim couldn't help but shiver: "In addition to these actions, we must immediately carry out legal procedures to execute all 3200 core members of the Polish rebellion. If you need, I can issue the order now to have the soldiers over there take action immediately."

"The government won't agree to this."

"The affairs of the National Defense Forces are none of their business. Do I need to issue orders now?"

"You may think this is too bloody, but I believe it's worth it no matter how many Polish lives are lost, as long as it can save Poz."

"Britain and France will not stand idly by and watch us commit slaughter here; your methods are too cruel..."

"Once we wipe out all the Polish separatists there, they won't think we're cruel anymore. Because there are no Poles there, it's already German territory, a fait accompli. Those guys are just going through the motions with their referendums." Nikolai seemed to know the British and French well, so he spoke without any restraint: "When there are no Poles left on that land, let's see what they plan to do then..."

"Okay, I've received your feedback, but I don't think it's necessary to do that."

Actually, Joachim didn't need Nikolai to offer any advice; he already knew what to do.

"But Your Highness, the Poles are stubborn and inflexible. No matter how merciful you are, they will never consider themselves Germans..."

When Nikolai heard Joachim disagree with his suggestion, his icy tone finally turned urgent: "Now is not the time to show mercy. Those Poles are like dogs; they only fear our strength, not our mercy. All mercy will be seen as weakness by them..."

"Your Highness, what we need now is a big stick, nothing else."

"Your subjects may forgive your cruelty, but they will never forgive your weakness."

"We must remain true to our times."