Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

Ferdinand.

By the time Joachim came out, he had recovered his composure.

He put on a poker face again: "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Your Highness. I have a message from Potts."

Scherna pulled a piece of intelligence from the folder and handed it to Joachim.

The latter, without even glancing at it, already guessed the content: "Ignatius Jan Paderewski is here, right?"

Yes, he's here.

"Then let's proceed according to plan."

......

The fog has been so thick these past few days, a white and gray haze that has swallowed up the hills.

It also eroded the vigilance of the Germans here.

A few Polish youths, braving the white fog, picked up shovels and began digging something in the soft soil.

A Pole spoke up: "Are you sure those Germans buried all these bodies here?"

"The Germans were most vigilant in this area. If they hadn't buried the bodies here, how could they have stayed here for so long?"

Another Polish youth spoke up, and with that, he dug heavily downwards with his shovel.

It seemed like the shovel had struck something hard.

"What's wrong?"

Another Polish youth asked.

"I think I've dug up something."

"Quickly, dig towards him..."

After he finished speaking, all the Polish youths there flocked to him.

Soon, several highly decomposed, gigantic corpses appeared before them.

"Those German devils really did carry out a massacre here!"

A young Polish man who appeared to be the leader covered his mouth and nose in disgust: "Go and tell Major Stanisław Taczak about this..."

.......

A white mist enveloped Bosen.

On Major Stanisław Tachak's desk in the basement were several freshly developed photographs.

"His body had swelled up somewhat, and his skin was almost glued to his clothes."

"They've been dead for a long time, for a very long time. Although their faces are grotesque, you can still recognize them."

"Have the other bodies been found?"

Polish Interior Minister Tugut was sitting opposite Major Taczak at that moment.

Because Piłsudski took this uprising very seriously, he abandoned matters in other parts of Poland and came here.

He personally presided over the riots in the Posen region.

It must be said that he was quite efficient, just as Joachim's forces were withdrawing.

In the days that followed in Posen, he had already rebuilt Poland’s underground network and had Polish guards disguised as ordinary Polish youths infiltrate Posen.

"No, we're still searching. There might have been an error in the intelligence."

Major Tachak felt uneasy looking at the corpses.

At that moment, he felt an itch in his legs, as if the maggots in the photo had crawled into his trouser legs through his shoes and socks, making him feel genuinely uncomfortable.

"Then let's make a big deal out of those corpses, find their families, and have them come and claim them."

Tugut's eyes showed no pity for the Poles; instead, his gaze toward Major Tachak was filled with displeasure.

He had high hopes for finding the bodies, because just a few hundred bodies would be enough to show that the Germans were not fit to rule the land. But now the Poles had only found a few bodies. How could that be enough?

How can this overturn the legal basis for German rule here?

Therefore, the only option left is to activate the backup plan.

"Isn't this a bit too cruel?"

Major Tachak felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this, because he had also seen those corpses.

The corpses had become extremely gruesome; in addition to being covered in maggots, some of their eyes had bulged out.

It would be truly cruel for their families to see such a body, and it would also smell terrible.

Tugut remained silent, merely watching him coldly until a hint of fear appeared in the other's eyes.

He then spoke again: "Cruel? What do you mean by cruel?"

"Major, I know you think what I'm doing is a bit heartless, but I must warn you, don't use this pity on these people, they are already dead."

"Even if they are our compatriots, we cannot do this, because the dead cannot be brought back to life. The only thing we can do is seek revenge."

"And to bring this land back under Polish rule."

At this point, Tugut paused, then added, "Moreover, Posen is extremely important for the future new nation of Poland. Although it has a diverse ethnic composition, it will definitely be Polish land in the future."

"If we want to send all those Germans back to their homeland, this is a good opportunity for a purge."

"So if we can't use this opportunity to incite national hatred against the Germans, then the foundation of our future rule here will be in jeopardy, and it will give the Germans an excuse to cause trouble. You don't want to see Poland partitioned by the Germans again, right?"

"Yes!" Major Tachak hardened his heart, determined to make these Germans pay for their crimes.

"That's right." A slight smile finally appeared on Tugut's cold face. "Once the photos are taken, give them to Paderewski. He knows what to do."

.......

Leaving aside the political struggles in Berlin, the newly appointed Social Democratic governor of Poz, Hermann Müller, was absolutely certain that the position he had taken over was a hot potato.

But he had no better option at the moment, because his old friend, President Albert, had laid out two proposals on his desk.

The first task was to travel to Versailles and negotiate a future armistice treaty with the Allied Powers.

The second mission was to go to Pots and seize Joachim's spoils of victory.

Hermann Miller was unwilling to bear the shame of signing the armistice, so he chose a less risky option: to come to Poz and seize Joachim's spoils of victory.

But when he actually took over the rule of this region from Tepkamo.

He then realized how fragile and undemocratic this so-called victory was.

Joachim had only been here for less than a week when he tripled the number of police officers and at least doubled the number of soldiers.

In addition, all Polish villages implemented collective punishment.

Kill one German, and you'll kill ten Poles.

Such a brutal idea was naturally unacceptable to Herman Miller, so Joachim, as he wished, withdrew all his men to Silesia...

Herman Miller then seized the opportunity to announce the lifting of martial law.

According to President Ebert's request, it would be a victory for the Germans if the Social Democratic Party could retain one-third of the province of Poz.

Therefore, His Excellency the Governor's idea is to promote reconciliation between the Germans and the Poles on this land.

To this end, he specially invited the Polish-American piano master Ignaczy Jan Paderewski to tour Poz, thereby demonstrating the desire for reconciliation between Germans and Poles.

I wonder what the Governor-General would think if he knew the Poles' true intentions.

Don't you think his behavior is clownish?

Hermann Miller made many concessions to the Poles, allowing them to hang the Polish red and white flag in the streets and even permitting them to openly shout "Long live Poland" next to his governor's residence.

"Today is the day the piano maestro is performing here, right?"

After a busy night, the newly appointed governor, Herman Miller, mustered his energy and pointed to the Polish bicolor flag outside, asking a question.

"It's today," the secretary said. "I heard the procession will be here soon."

"Hopefully this will promote reconciliation between the two peoples..."

"Your Excellency, look over there...."

"What's wrong?"

"There seems to be some commotion there..."

The secretary, who has better eyesight, is now pale.

He saw some men with bicolor flags tied to their arms, carrying weapons, charging menacingly toward the governor's mansion.

This was clearly not a welcoming ceremony, but a coup!