Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

Where is Prime Minister Joachim?

"Stay in the meeting room."

Although March is a chilly season for Berlin, Foreign Minister Brodokdorf-Lanzo was sweating profusely from the French diplomatic dispatches. At this moment, he was holding a telegram from Wilhelmshaven and frantically searching for Joachim.

He pushed open the door behind the conference room.

They are currently in discussions with the Minister of the Interior regarding how to dismantle Prussia.

Joachim, who had thus completely centralized German power, turned his head slightly.

Seeing his hurried appearance, I had a vague idea of ​​what had happened.

His face still held a look of displeasure as he stared at him sternly: "Foreign Minister, shouldn't you have knocked?"

"It's too late to knock, Prime Minister Hohenzollern!" Brodokdorf-Rancho strode in. "The French have replied, demanding that we publicly announce the abandonment of conscription within 24 hours, limit the German army to less than 10 men, prohibit it from possessing heavy weapons, and in addition, cede border areas, especially the defense of the Rhineland region, which must be transferred to the Allied Powers."

"In addition to this, the British Navy is also active; they are currently preparing to enter William Harbour..."

"The British Foreign Office even issued us a diplomatic note: either agree to the French demands, or we should immediately resume the war!"

"You've gone too far!"

"You've embarrassed yourself, Prime Minister!"

"......"

Upon hearing the other party's outburst, Joachim remained silent.

He listened silently with a serious expression until the other person finished speaking.

Joachim then said, "Don't be in such a hurry. How about you sit down and talk to me?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted the sofa next to him, gesturing for him to sit down and talk!

"How can I not be anxious?"

"A warship!"

"They've entered our territory."

"If you don't want to sit, then stand and give your report."

Joachim slightly raised his eyes and beckoned to Heinrich behind the Foreign Minister: "Heinrich, could you go and get our Foreign Minister a glass of ice water?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"What did you just say? British warships want to sail into Wilhelmshaven?" After giving his instructions, Joachim looked at the Foreign Secretary again.

"A threat of war has already been issued."

"Did you reply to them?"

"No, you are the prime minister, I need your orders."

"That solves it, doesn't it?"

"I am your direct superior. Stand up and report to me."

As he spoke, Joachim beckoned to Heinrich, signaling him to hand him the ice water.

"Your Excellency, you have to give me a reply, otherwise the war will restart..."

"There's already a ceasefire, so there won't be any fighting. What are you panicking about?"

"What about the threat of war?"

"From the moment I took office and issued those orders, you should have known that what I was about to do was bound to be met with a strong backlash from them."

"Because you need to understand that we are harming their interests, understand?"

After saying that, Joachim drank the glass of ice water.

"Should I go down first?"

Interior Minister Hugo Prois appeared somewhat uneasy.

"There's no need. We'll need you later."

Joachim looked at the father of the Weimar Constitution and gave him a reassuring look: "Let's leave the discussion here about dismembering Prussia to achieve centralization of the whole of Germany. Now let's talk about the issues reported by the Foreign Minister."

"So that you can give an answer to those people behind you when the time comes, right?"

Hugo Prois, his thoughts exposed, couldn't help but show a hint of embarrassment on his face.

He could only force a smile.

Hugo Prouss and Scheidemann are not from the same party; they represent the newly formed German Democratic Party.

It leans left among all political parties in Germany and advocates for parliamentary democracy, civil liberties, women's suffrage, and so on.

He also advocated for centralized power, suggesting that the tax authority of each state be directly transferred to the central government in order to stabilize the value of the mark.

"It's no big deal."

"What I'm going to do next is give you a powerful dose of heart medicine."

Joachim paid no attention to the other party's ulterior motives.

Because in the face of national crisis, engaging in secret politics is not an option.

He had to communicate with all political parties; only when Germany was united could they face the national crisis together.

"Your Highness, what do you plan to do?"

Hugo Prois took on the role of straight man and asked the question.

"Since the British want to send their warships into Wilhelmshaven, then we'll make sure they don't get their way and we'll stand up to them."

Joachim smiled slightly, confident: "If the British dare to send their warships into Wilhelmshaven, we will retaliate."

"The point is to embarrass the British in front of everyone."

If it refers to the pre-war defense of Port William.

Joachim might reconsider.

The defenses of Port William today are not what they were in 1914.

After the war began, the Germans urgently built 20 defensive fortresses on the outskirts to prevent a British landing, and also deployed a large number of mines.

Furthermore, the William Harbour waterway is narrow and shallow, allowing main warships to pass only at high tide.

This naturally limited the advance of enemy ships.

If the British were to force their warships into Wilhelmshaven, there would be only one outcome: they would be completely sunk.

"What about our warships?" Hugo-Prouis asked, frowning slightly. "They're being held by the British..."

Do you believe that something given away can be taken back?

"You knew from the moment you handed over the warships to the British as a gesture of goodwill that you would never get them back."

As he spoke, Joachim waved to Heinrich, extending his right index and middle fingers in a V-sign.

Heinrich understood perfectly and carefully cut open a cigar for his chancellor.

"But doing so would undoubtedly provoke the British. What if war breaks out again?"

The foreign minister remained frowning, disagreeing with Joachim's proposal.

"Are you stupid? You can't say that in diplomatic language."

"What are your thoughts, Prime Minister?"

"When in doubt, Wang Jialie..."

Joachim blurted it out.

These words left the two Germans completely bewildered: Who is Jia Lie Wang?

"What I mean is that you can give the British an answer and say that a Red Revolution has taken place there."

"The sailors of William Harbour mutinied and occupied William Harbour."

"If the British fleet insists on forcibly entering William Harbour, we agree in principle, but we will not be held responsible for any damage caused."

"Hmm, that's a very good excuse."

"What was the French response?"