Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

"Why did you suddenly abandon your troops and return to Berlin?"

Joachim's sudden attack made Goltz's face stiffen.

Indeed, they abandoned their troops and returned to the capital without authorization from Berlin.

To put it bluntly, it's treason; to put it less bluntly, it's dereliction of duty.

Even choosing the least serious charge would be enough to get Golts out of his current position.

"Your Highness..."

"Call him the Prime Minister!"

"It's His Highness the Prime Minister."

Golts's face grew increasingly stiff, staring at Joachim's icy expression, unsure of what to say.

And so the situation remained at a standstill.

Finally, Brodokdorf-Rancho broke the silence, offering the other party a way out: "Well, it's normal for General Goertz, as a frontline commander, not to be entirely clear about the situation in Berlin. Military operations are always conducted in secrecy, aren't they?"

As he spoke, he shoved the Minister of the Interior standing nearby, to which Hugo Prois nodded repeatedly: "Yes, all operations must be kept secret, right?"

"That's right!" Goltz, now with a way out, smiled and said, "We're preparing a counterattack in the Baltic Sea, a counterattack against the Bolsheviks."

"A counterattack against the Bolsheviks?"

A cold smile appeared on Joachim's face as he stared intently at Goltz, as if scrutinizing him.

Goltz, the soldier, became increasingly flustered under Joachim's gaze, which felt like knives scraping against him.

This made him extremely uneasy, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Don't you know we're cooperating with the Bolsheviks?"

"what?"

A big question mark popped into Golds's head.

Germany is a capitalist country; how could it possibly cooperate with Russia?

Goltz opened his mouth, clearly wanting to say something.

Perhaps they wanted to question when Germany reached a cooperation agreement with Russia?

But this would mean insubordination, and loyalty to the royal bloodline prevented Goltz from doing such a thing.

His gaze first fell on Joachim, then on the Foreign Minister beside him, and finally settled on the Interior Minister.

Both ministers' gazes were scrutinizing.

Golts felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at so intently, and he didn't know where to put his hands.

They had no choice but to hold their breath and await judgment from Joachim.

"Therefore, there isn't much help I can give you."

Joachim abruptly changed the subject, and seeing Goltz's stiff expression, couldn't help but laugh: "So you're really confident you can drive those Russian troops out of Latvia?"

"what?"

"Of course I'm confident."

Seeing Joachim's smile, Gortz finally realized what was happening.

Although he couldn't understand why Germany would cooperate with the Bolsheviks.

I don't understand why Germany would launch an attack while cooperating with those Bolsheviks.

But as long as the homeland can provide him with aid, he can defeat those Bolsheviks.

Then he was unwilling to think about these issues anymore.

German mid-level officers never think about political issues; they are only responsible for military matters.

How much support is needed?

"We currently have about 2 troops, which is enough for defense, but a bit insufficient for offense. Although Latvia is a small country, we don't get much support there."

Goltz rose from his seat, just as he had done when reporting to the Emperor.

He stood at attention and reported to Joachim: "The Latvians and Estonians are quite independent. They want to establish their own governments and do not want to be ruled by us Germans. Therefore, if we want to consolidate our rule there and launch a counterattack..."

"I need at least 2 troops to be supplied from the homeland and to be granted all authority there, including political authority."

"You're a military officer; governing this area should be left to the civilian government," Hugo-Prouis couldn't help but interject. "Military personnel shouldn't interfere in politics."

Goltz didn't speak, but stared intently at Joachim.

He hoped to gain the support of this German prince.

"You should know where we are right now, General Goldz, shouldn't you?"

Joachim did not rush to answer him, but instead asked a question in return.

"I heard that Berlin has already begun armistice negotiations with London, is that right?"

"This is not a ceasefire negotiation, but a humiliating treaty."

Joachim casually took a document from his briefcase and handed it to Goltz for review.

With just one glance, the German general trembled with rage: "How dare they do this?"

"How dare those French bastards?"

Although he had suppressed his anger, Goltz's words carried a hint of a growl.

The other two ministers also cast curious glances. What exactly was written on it?

Historically, when the Allied Powers presented the draft Treaty of Versailles to the German delegation, the Germans were completely unprepared.

Although Matthias Etzberg, the head of the German Armistice Committee at the time, realized early on that the armistice treaty would be very harsh, and therefore hoped to establish diplomatic contact with the Allied Powers in exchange for limited concessions, the Germans at the time did not heed his advice, but instead had a blind optimism about the Allied Powers.

Foreign Minister Count Brodokdorf-Rantzau gave German experts and scholars free rein to act.

This has further exacerbated the conflict between the German cabinet and the peace negotiation delegation.

This further exposed the weakness of the Weimar Republic, which had never been prepared for the worst-case scenario.

So when the draft was handed over to the German cabinet on May 27, 1919, they had no choice but to react with impotent rage and protest.

Germany had virtually no ability to fight back.

Because the German army began to be gradually disarmed in late February and early March.

Most of the weapons were transferred to the Allied Powers.

Meanwhile, the domestic problems have not been resolved at all.

Rebellion was rampant everywhere; there were anti-government elements everywhere.

What's even more ridiculous is that after rejecting the peace terms, they were still at a loss.

German diplomats, led by Foreign Minister Count Brodokdorf-Rantzau, made no diplomatic efforts and instead indulged in the fantasy that the Entente Powers might have disagreements.

Sometimes Joachim really couldn't understand what was going on in these Germans' heads.

They've already drafted a peace treaty, and you're still hoping for a split between the Allied Powers? How is that possible?

To cause the Allied Powers to split, the Germans should have exerted diplomatic efforts when drafting the terms...

Instead of waiting until they had all negotiated the treaty before Germany began diplomacy...

Are you two also curious about what's on this?

Joachim raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between them.

"Yes, we are indeed very curious..." They looked at each other and said in unison.

"Then I'll just say it directly."

Upon hearing this, Joachim revealed a mocking expression that was incongruous with his status: "This very morning, the French Prime Minister's closest advisors boldly announced their proposal in the peace committee: they want to establish a buffer state west of the Rhine, located between Germany and France, namely the so-called Republic of Westphalia."

"These are the peace terms you desire, my esteemed minister."