Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

"What does His Highness want?" Joachim asked, barely suppressing his anger.

"I heard you got 6600 million Reichsmarks from Berlin. Give me all of that in exchange."

"I don't have that much money."

"Of course I know you spent a lot. Give me the rest of the money in cash, and I can give you tens of thousands of rifles and hundreds of cannons."

"......"

Joachim remained silent, pondering the question seriously.

He has now established himself in Poz and Cilicia, so having that money is really not of much use to him now.

If these things could be traded for hundreds of cannons, it would indeed be a good choice...

"Okay, I agree."

"Are you really willing?"

"Of course, but you still have one more thing to do for me."

"That means removing these weapons from the military equipment list. I don't want them to have official documents handed over to me; I want them to disappear, to be lost in battle."

Joachim's tone was already tinged with hostility; his patience had reached its limit.

It's no wonder he has such a bad temper, since everything has gone smoothly for him since he transmigrated to this world, and he rarely encounters any setbacks.

He also easily brought people like Manstein and Guderian under his command.

So from the beginning, Joachim did not think that Prince Leopold was anything special.

But Joachim never considered the fact that Prince Leopold had been a powerful figure since he was born. Even after the collapse of the Reich government, he still held real power and was the commander-in-chief of the entire German army on the Eastern Front. He was not a "small person" like Manstein or Guderian.

"Look, look, this kid's angry!"

Seeing Joachim's blood rushing to his head, Prince Leopold smiled instead.

He pointed at Joachim, then turned to Lieutenant General Musk Hoffman beside him and said, "I told you, young lads can't control their tempers. They get furious at the slightest provocation."

He then turned to Joachim and said, "Kid, do you think someone with your personality can achieve anything great?"

Joachim sipped his ice-cold beer, offering no reply. Even the most obtuse person would have understood after Prince Leopold's words.

You should have realized that the other party was trying to test you.

"Your Highness, haven't you figured it out yet?" Lieutenant General Musk Hoffman chuckled, trying to smooth things over. "His Highness is testing you, preparing to give you a difficult challenge. And don't you think you're rather outnumbered right now?"

"The promises you've made to us are far too hollow; the empire has already collapsed."

"No one can predict whether we will live to see the day you rebuild your empire."

"Even if the empire is truly rebuilt."

"Nobody knows whether you'll keep the promises you've made to us."

"I understand, I get it." Joachim nodded slightly, stood up, and said in a show of deliberation, "I will now transfer the property to you..."

"Ugh!"

Seeing Joachim get up, Lieutenant General Hoffman quickly stepped forward and pulled him back.

As Lieutenant General Hoffman spoke, he forcibly pressed Joachim into a chair: "Still don't understand, Your Highness?"

"What do you mean?" Joachim continued to play dumb.

"We are outnumbered and outmatched! Now that the empire has collapsed, we should allow our influence to exist legally within the republic."

"As you know, the monarchy is no longer popular in the empire, and we can all see that."

"We cannot go against the tide, and that is precisely why we seek a legitimate existence within the Republic."

"You mean..." Joachim looked at the incessantly talking Lieutenant General Hoffman, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"Yes, just what you think."

Lieutenant General Hoffman's next words struck a nerve with Joachim: "What you are doing now may seem to be for the country and the people, but these things alone are not enough to directly confront the central government. Even if you have an army under your command, the central government can easily dismantle your army with just a single notice."

"They are not loyal to any individual, but to Germany, so in a sense, it doesn't matter who is the leader or who is the hero."

"Who holds the highest power is what matters most to them."

"They can directly determine the promotion of your troops and their personal future."

"So no matter how big your business becomes in Silesia, it's nothing to fear for Berlin."

"Those guys aren't dealing with you now because they're busy fighting in Berlin and don't have time to spare. Once they realize what's happening, your influence in Silesia will crumble."

"With your intelligence, I'm sure you've thought of this as well."

"Your foundation in Silesia and your consolidation in Pots are, to put it bluntly, water without roots."

"I've thought about the problem you mentioned, but I don't know how to solve it right now."

Joachim remained silent for a long while, then nodded and said, "Hohenzollern is already a disgrace to Germany, and the sins we bear cannot be washed away..."

"So you came up with the idea of ​​cutting ties with your father and crushing Polish separatists in Silesia to boost your prestige, right?"

Lieutenant General Hoffman looked at Joachim with admiration: "I must admit it's a very good idea. Cutting ties with Hohenzollern is absolutely the best thing you've ever done in your life. However, there's a problem, have you considered it?"

"What's the problem?"

Joachim was intrigued; he didn't think there was anything wrong with his actions.

To be honest, this is the best he could do.

"Heroes are nothing in the face of power; the title is merely a tool."

"The government can make whoever it wants a hero into."

"To put it more clearly, what you did in Silesia and in Pots was truly moving."

"But what if I bury all of this, so that no one can hear it or see it?"

Joachim didn't speak, but silently lit a cigarette.

The latter readily agreed, saying, "Your Highness, what you need now is a platform, a platform where you can freely exert your power."

Are you referring to political parties?

"In the disgusting republican government of the future, party politics will be the foundation."

"So what you need is a mouthpiece, not more guns and cannons."

"Unless you have enough prestige to rule the whole country right now, your focus going forward will be party politics."

"Germans have not been in the world from the heart a supporter of monarchy."

"Especially now, your father..."

Lieutenant General Hoffman hesitated, for a subject could not speak ill of the emperor.

But he quickly shifted the topic to the next step: "And most importantly, you did not make the Germans feel threatened by the Poles. You nipped the Poles in the bud from the very beginning, which is beneficial to the country as a whole, but detrimental to your cause."

"A bystander won't feel the pain unless the knife strikes them directly."

"Moreover, you need an enemy to make people feel pain, such an abstract group as the people!"

"So what you're doing here is indeed very good, and very correct, but it's bad for you personally, and bad for what you want to do!"