Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

Chapter 51 Father of the Ocean Fleet

Breslaw

Wolf parked the Daimler car that Joachim liked downstairs.

After parking the car.

He pulled out a pistol and casually placed it on the passenger seat.

He glanced up at the villa in the distance, casually took out a cigarette, and silently began to smoke.

That villa is now considered Joachim's property. It was a gift from Ludwig Edeller to Joachim, ostensibly to support Joachim's cause, but everyone knew it was a blatant bribe, which Joachim accepted without hesitation.

He has come to terms with things now, so naturally he doesn't have any psychological burden.

His gaze peered upstairs.

The second floor.

Joachim and Prince Leopold sat together on the sofa.

There was fruit and an ashtray on the coffee table. Judging from the cigarette butts in the ashtray, they had smoked quite a bit and talked a lot.

"So you still think Austria can't be with us, right?"

Prince Leopold inquired about the Austrian question once again. As a pan-Germanist, he still looked forward to Austria joining the German family.

And as a Bavarian, he also hoped to use Austria's influence to suppress the behemoth Prussia to the north.

In this way, Bavaria would have a significant voice within the empire, unlike during the Second Empire when it became a vassal state of Prussia, with no say whatsoever in the Federal Parliament.

"Let's go back to the same old question. Austria's accession to Germany certainly aligns with the principle of national consciousness, but here's the problem: does it weaken or strengthen Germany?" Joachim said softly. "If we only lose Alsace-Lorraine and a few agricultural provinces in the east, I think the cost is perfectly acceptable. I even think that the borders won't need to be changed anymore, because with Austria's accession, we can completely make up for these losses."

"However, the Allied Powers would not agree to this; the terms of the treaty they drafted would certainly weaken Germany."

"If Austria joins Germany, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?"

"Neither the French nor the British would agree... Of course, perhaps the Americans would."

Joachim seemed to remember something and added a sentence.

"Americans are unreliable too... They rely too much on their weak democratic government."

Prince Leopold's worldview was similar to that of Wilhelm II; he always looked down on so-called democracy.

"But this world war made them incredibly wealthy, and much of Europe's wealth flowed to the United States, making them the richest people in the world."

"So what if someone is the richest? They're still weak and incompetent..."

Joachim listened to Prince Leopold's words and simply smiled silently.

However, Prince Leopold did not respond; he simply smoked silently and looked up at the time.

The time they had arranged with Tirpitz today was approaching; the other party should be downstairs soon.

There was an awkward silence for about seven or eight minutes, and then the clock struck 8 p.m.

A Mercedes-Benz slowly drove up to the building, and Wolf, who was still smoking, witnessed this scene.

He hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette and quickly got out of the car to open the door.

But the person sitting in the back of the car seemed unusually anxious, even though the car hadn't stopped yet.

The people in the car couldn't wait to open the door and slowly get out.

"Fleet Admiral..."

Wolfe stammered a greeting as he stood at attention before the Admiral: "Good evening..."

"Good evening."

Tirpitz nodded indifferently in response: "Where are His Highness the Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince?"

"They...they are waiting for you upstairs."

"Is it on the second floor?"

Tirpitz looked up at the villa in the distance, even though his eyesight had deteriorated with age.

Even so, he could see shadowy figures moving around on the second floor where the lights were on.

Before Wolf could answer, Tirpitz strode toward the villa.

"They're here!"

"Your Highness, remember the points I told you: never say these things in front of Tirpitz, lest you incur his wrath."

Prince Leopold wasn't afraid of Tirpitz, but he felt that if Tirpitz sided with Joachim, he could provide him with significant support.

Moreover, both parties are in a cooperative relationship, and since they are going to cooperate, they should respect each other.

Never say anything that could undermine unity.

Especially when the nation is in crisis, we must be united and sincere.

"Okay, I understand."

Although he said that, Joachim didn't really think that way.

"Never say those things, especially about your ambition to seize the throne."

Prince Leopold looked at Joachim's face and emphasized again: "The more the nation is in crisis, the more we must unite as one."

"Unity and solidarity"

As Tirpitz approached, Joachim was somewhat surprised to hear the phrase "unity of purpose".

He hadn't expected these Germans to say that too; it wasn't a very nice word.

"Yes, we must work together in unity."

Prince Leopold emphasized this phrase for the third time: "We must unite all conservative forces that can be united, and we must be clear about one common goal: to thoroughly overthrow the weak and incompetent democracy. Therefore, Tirpitz's attitude is very important to us..."

"How important is it?"

Joachim's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"He is very important. He represents the interests of many people. With his support, your career will be smooth sailing from now on."

Prince Leopold reiterated his emphasis on Tirpitz.

"Therefore, for a naval admiral, his primary objective is to overthrow a weak democracy."

Joachim paused deliberately at this point, a slight smile appearing on his thin, cool lips: "So who is the emperor, and who will be the future emperor, is not important to them, is it?"

"......."

Prince Leopold fell silent upon hearing this.

Joachim had long seen through Prince Leopold's true nature; this Bavarian prince had simply lived far too long.

As a result, he had to act cautiously and maturely in the face of everything.

His Highness the Prince was afraid of messing things up and couldn't afford to fail in his life.

That's why he constantly emphasized to Joachim how important Tirpitz's power was to them.

But nothing is absolute.

The premise of an alliance is that the strengths of both parties can complement each other; otherwise, such a union is not an alliance.

It's called swallowing up!

Or submit!

So we can also think about this from the other side.

If Tirpitz didn't need them, why would he have come all the way from Berlin?