Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

The journey back was somber; both the Governor of Silesia and the German prince fell into an eerie silence.

After they returned to the governor's residence, a captain quickly opened the car door for them.

Joachim broke the silence first: "The latest statistics are in. There are still many Poles in the city of Posen. Apart from this area, most Poles live in the countryside. What we need to do next is to expel these people to ensure that we can get an absolute majority in the referendum."

"Should we continue to resolve this?"

"I feel like... my whole body is soaked in blood..."

Despite the numbness in his eyes.

But Tepkamer still had a conscience, even though he kept trying to convince himself with Joachim's rhetoric.

But the effect... is obvious, his conscience wouldn't listen to these words.

Tepkamer exhaled a long breath and shook his head repeatedly, clearly unwilling to do this kind of thing.

"What if I want you to continue?"

"Then I absolutely will not do it! This kind of large-scale massacre is simply a crime against humanity!" Tepkamer roared in anger, his suppressed emotions finally exploding: "Their lives are completely different from those of the natives! They are intelligent human beings..."

"So you think everyone is equal?" Joachim was also annoyed by the other person's double standards. He turned around and glared at him, his eyes filled with anger: "Do you even believe in equality for all?"

"Your Highness, as I have already said, human rights are inherent. All people are equal on a biological level, and there is no such thing as nobility or inferiority."

"I am willing to kill some people for my country, but definitely not in this way!"

"I don't understand the point of mass executions. Does killing those people mean that Poles won't vote for their country?"

"Very good, very well said."

"Go on."

"What we need to do is protect this place, not kill all those people. We can't do it because..."

"Why not?"

"Survival of the fittest, the strong prevail."

"This is a very simple principle."

Joachim was furious. He pointed directly at Tepkamer's eyes and said, "Since you believe in equality for all, then I'd like to ask, shouldn't we also hold the Belgians accountable for their misdeeds in the Congo?"

"Shouldn't the Congolese retaliate with blood for blood, tooth for tooth?"

"They're black people, and black people aren't even human!"

"Oh, so the Hey people in the Congo colony aren't considered human anymore?"

"In your heart, people are still divided into different classes, right?"

"Admit it!!!"

Joachim sneered repeatedly: "You only pay lip service to equality, but deep down you still divide people into different classes, don't you?"

"In that case, you have no right to criticize what I did in Poland."

"Your Excellency, your hands are stained with blood too."

"I only signed the order, but you were the one who actually carried it out."

"I will shoulder this historical responsibility in the future. What about you? Do you dare?"

These words struck right to the heart of the other person, and Tepkamer remained silent for a long time, unsure how to respond.

Finally, Joachim broke the silence once again: "The bones are broken, there's no point in killing anyone else."

"Killing is not the goal; the real goal is to completely transform the people of this land into Germans."

"As for that blood debt, if the Poles want revenge, then let them come at me."

"I came here from Silesia prepared to die a gruesome death."

"Therefore, as long as I can protect this land, I would gladly declare war on the entire world."

"Your Highness..." Joachim said a lot in one breath, successfully touching Tepukamo's heartstrings.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "What exactly is your purpose in doing this?"

"Is it for winning a war, or for the throne...?"

"I don't want anything," Joachim said calmly, looking at the other man. "I just need a few words."

"What character?"

"I don't want to live a mediocre life; I want to live a life of great struggle."

"I don't want to become like my father."

"This is my struggle."

"A life full of excitement and passion."

Tepkamer was slightly startled, then turned his head away, not knowing what to say.

"Let's talk about the problem with Posen again."

Before the other party could think further, Joachim shifted the topic to the Poz issue: "We can't possibly kill all the Poles in Poz, so what we need to do next is drive them out of Poz..."

According to the 1910 census of the Kingdom of Prussia, the entire province of Poz had a population of two million.

Of these, 120 million are Polish, accounting for 61% of the total population.

There are approximately 80 Germans, who make up 34% of the population.

The vast majority of Poles live in rural areas, while Germans live in cities.

"You can send in the army," Tepkamer suggested.

"My troops can't stay here for too long, so we need to move quickly."

"Furthermore, we cannot send regular troops; sending regular troops to suppress the rebellion would only damage our army."

"You already indulged once yesterday. If you indulge again this time, it will be hard to get back on track."

"Most of the people living in the countryside are Polish, not German, so it's not unacceptable that they indulge us."

Joachim's words had clearly struck a nerve with Tepukamo, so when he said those words, Joachim was even surprised by his sudden change in stance. It was hard to imagine that someone who was talking about equality one second could become so bloodthirsty and cold-blooded the next.

Is this simply the nature of social Darwinists, or were those words just a facade?

Joachim didn't even dare to think further: "Besides the army, is there any other good way?"

"Of course there are other good methods." Tepkamo smiled slightly: "Nowadays, with the wave of unemployment, every city in Pots is full of hooligans and idlers. Since we can't get the army involved, we can recruit these hooligans as thugs."

"Just tell them you're going to rob the Poles, and I guarantee they'll be happy to do it, even without pay."

"What kind of anti-Polish vanguard is this?"

"This isn't called anti-Polish vanguard, this is called suppressing a rebellion."

"Your Highness, you have never been a governor, so you wouldn't know."

"These thugs may seem disreputable, but they are actually a very useful tool, especially in the hands of people like us."

"Because we can't let honest citizens commit robbery, as that would only increase the crime rate. Moreover, even if we let them do it, they would have a lot of psychological burden because it goes against their inner morality. That's why we need these thugs to do these things."

"Let them rob, let them burn down houses, even let them beat and kill people."

"They not only don't have the slightest psychological burden."

"On the contrary, they will do their best to make this happen, and the results will be better than we expected."

"So when the military can't get involved, thugs and thugs should be sent to lead the charge."