Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

Chapter 62 Bloody Ferdinand

Joachim ultimately chose Ferdinand Schörner, a German lieutenant who had just come to his command from Bavaria.

Although no one openly opposed the appointment.

But it was clear that most of the senior people were unhappy with Joachim's appointment of Ferdinand Schörner to his side.

Deep down, I still had some doubts and began to question Schörner's personal abilities.

However, this bloodthirsty butcher will soon prove with his actions that he deserves to be by Joachim's side.

Because just today, when he opened his eyes...

The first document he received had a striking title: "Ignacchi Jan Paderewski pressures German customs and announces he has now entered and arrived in Danzig."

"When did this happen?"

Schörner hadn't slept a wink all night, waiting for this telegram.

"I saw you were asleep, so I didn't wake you."

"I slept for several hours."

"He only slept for two hours," Schörner's secretary said.

"That's enough."

As he spoke, Schörner reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold-plated cigarette case.

This was a gift from Joachim to him upon meeting, so Schörner cherished it greatly.

However, when I opened the cigarette pack, all the cigarettes inside were gone.

He was already irritable due to lack of sleep, and seeing that there were no cigarettes left only made him more annoyed.

Just as I was about to put the cigarette back, my secretary handed me one.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Schörner was about to take out his lighter to light it.

The secretary quickly grabbed the lighter and lit the cigarette.

This opened Schörner's eyes, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances at the secretary Joachim had assigned to him.

Exhaling a smoke ring, Schörner spoke: "Do you all do this around His Highness as well?"

"His Highness always does things personally; he doesn't need us to do it for him."

"They wouldn't stoop to doing that."

"So why did you do that?" Schörner clearly wanted to know more about Joachim.

"You have to know how to handle things, you have to be courageous, and you shouldn't be afraid of anything."

"Besides, His Highness has already told us to take good care of you, as you have a long way to go in your work."

"Do you secretly take bribes?" Schörner asked after a moment of silence.

"This is not allowed."

The secretary was an honest person and spoke frankly: "Besides, our current salaries are very high, there's no need for us to do those things."

As the saying goes, like leader, like subordinates. When leaders set an example, their subordinates naturally dare not act recklessly.

"Okay, I understand."

After finishing his cigarette, Schörner casually tidied up the documents in his hand and went to find Joachim.

However, Schörner did not go to the office to find Joachim, but went to the street instead.

Because he checked Joachim's schedule before he left.

......

Schörner quickly got out of the car and hurried toward where Joachim was.

This is a residential building, which looks somewhat dilapidated.

Manstein stood at the door and saw Schörner walking briskly towards him.

Schörner nodded to him and was about to greet him when Manstein gestured with his eyes for him to be quiet.

He then slightly turned his head to indicate to Scherna that Joachim was inside.

Schörner was curious and peered into the room.

Joachim, sitting inside, looked serious. Besides him, there was a woman and several children.

The children were somewhat thin and appeared to have fevers, which was also caused by malnutrition.

The woman cried incessantly, tears welling in her eyes, and kept muttering her son's name.

"......"

Joachim nodded slightly, then took out some money from his pocket.

Schörner could tell that the money wasn't much; it was probably only enough to buy food for one or two months.

Is a human life only worth this little bit of money?

That's really not worth much.

Schörner muttered to himself.

Joachim seemed to have noticed his thoughts and glanced back at him.

Indeed, this amount of money was negligible for the families in Lower Silesia who had lost their children and husbands in the First World War.

Joachim held the money in his hand, but simply didn't have the courage to hand it over to them.

Schörner felt uneasy seeing this and felt somewhat depressed, so he walked towards the door.

Upon seeing Manstein, he pulled his nominal superior aside to smoke.

As smoke swirled between them, Schörner spoke up: "I remember the compensation work shouldn't have been the responsibility of the Berlin government, right? Why is it being handed over to us again?"

"The Berlin government is busy with internal strife right now, so it has no time to care about these war orphans, not to mention that there are still some wounded soldiers waiting for compensation."

"The compensation for these families will naturally be postponed."

Manstein was also uncomfortable with what had just happened, so he replied in a serious tone.

"Then why are you contacting us again?"

"It's all because her remaining child is seriously ill and she doesn't have the money for treatment."

"So that's why you came to us?"

"No, it's because she left her child outside."

Manstein twisted his face in pain; even the most ruthless social Darwinist would be moved if he witnessed that scene again.

"Um?"

Even the aloof Schörner couldn't help but be lost in thought when he heard this!

"What do you mean?"

"It means exactly what it says. Their family was starving, the child was malnourished, and he had a fever. She thought it was an infectious disease. In order to save the other children, she had no choice but to abandon the little guy on the street. She couldn't let him die at home."

"It's bad for the physical and mental health of other children, and it will also affect the health of others."

As he spoke, Manstein swayed slightly, but thankfully Schörner supported him with one hand.

He let out a heavy sigh and said, "Thank goodness His Highness saw him..."

As he spoke, Manstein told him the whole story... Schörner listened, his heart filled with emotion.

Back home, Joachim had already handed the money to the other party, offering words of comfort.

But for some inexplicable reason, I blurted out, "We can't let children get lost again..."

Upon hearing this, the woman curled up into a ball, tears streaming down her face: "I won't lose it anymore, I'll never lose it again, you told me not to lose it, so I won't..."

Joachim was a little upset; as a young man who had received a socialist education, he couldn't bear to see this.

So he took out some more money from his pocket and stuffed it into the other person's hand: "I can't offer you much support, this is all. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to me..."

The woman cried, tears streaming down her face, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"......"

Joachim opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

In this chaotic world, he felt that human life was as worthless as grass, and he felt extremely distressed and heartbroken.

But what could he do? His abilities were limited; he could only change so much...

If he wants to completely change the world, let him accumulate enough power first.

Schörner, who was outside the door, learned the whole story.

He showed a degree of admiration for Joachim, while he personally harbored intense hatred for both Britain and France.

Yes, that's just how the world is.

If you don't let others shed blood and tears, others will make you shed blood and tears!

The struggle between nations is brutal, and human nature is dark.

We are incompatible with them!