Iron and Blood: A Triumph of the Will

"Is it fake?"

"Your Excellency, where did you get this information?"

Both ministers wore expressions of disbelief and cast suspicious glances at Joachim.

"It's easy to find out."

"You can use your diplomatic network to find out whether this news is true or false."

Joachim shrugged at them both and turned his gaze back to Goltz: "General Goltz, now you know how heavy the burden on your shoulders is!"

"The collapse of the empire stemmed from the fact that the common people could not get enough food, and now we are negotiating with the Russians."

"Although we want to reach a cooperation agreement with them, we can only facilitate talks through fighting."

"We need to make the Russians face reality."

As he spoke, Joachim stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said sincerely, "General, the fate of all Germany is now in your hands. You must give those Bolsheviks a good beating."

"Only in this way can we provide enough food for the empire, and only in this way can we keep our country from being slaughtered."

"Your Highness, you trust me that much?" Goltz was somewhat moved upon hearing this, and his shoulders even trembled slightly.

"You are a loyal subject of the empire!"

"If we win this battle, the empire will still be the same empire."

"Germany is still the same Germany!"

"So you must give the Russians a good beating in the Baltic Sea."

"Using force to promote dialogue."

Joachim emphasized the following statement: "We must let the Russians know that once we completely withdraw, their so-called red regime will certainly cease to exist."

"In the future, they will only have to cooperate with us."

"Would Red Russia agree to this?"

Brodokdorf-Rancho, having already processed the information, couldn't help but interject, "What if the negotiations break down?"

Have you read any of the books they've written?

"No......."

"I've read it, and I know they'll compromise."

Joachim was confident, and he couldn't help but recall the contents of the book he had read before.

What Ilyich said in the book.

The interests of Red Russia took precedence over the interests of the right to national self-awareness.

The very existence of Red Russia is threatened by the violation of the self-determination rights of several ethnic groups.

Then it becomes clear that preserving Red Russia is the greater interest.

Joachim firmly believed that his heavy blow to the Russians would only prompt them to compromise more quickly at the negotiating table.

That's what made them realize reality.

As the saying goes, "Better to die a friend than a poor monk."

Where the Russians would procure so much grain for the Germans to choose from was their own business.

As for requisitioning grain, let the Russians do it themselves.

"Very well, if Your Excellency insists on doing so, then we have no choice but to follow your orders."

The Interior Minister nodded slightly: "I will write to allocate the arms you need, but the problem now is that our railway with Latvia is not running smoothly."

"If we were to openly and legitimately increase our troop deployment in Latvia, it would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Allied Powers, and also the attention of the Poles."

"We've received intelligence from Walter that the Poles are causing some trouble in Upper Silesia."

"Moreover, some of those smaller countries have recently been opportunistic, and under pressure from the Allied Powers, they may not allow our trains to cross their borders."

"These miscellaneous little countries are really annoying."

Joachim felt an inexplicable, deep-seated hatred for Lithuania the moment he heard the name.

With the collapse of Tsarist Russia, countless small states splintered on its territory.

Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus...

These small countries, to varying degrees, detract from the map's aesthetic appeal.

If it weren't for the existence of these countries weakening Russia's power, Joachim wouldn't know what the point of their existence was.

Especially Lithuania, which was thousands of miles away from China in its previous life, yet it willingly became a vanguard in the anti-China movement.

Although the Americans are undoubtedly behind it, their behavior is truly disgusting.

Not to mention that this country is now opportunistic and plans to cause trouble for Joachim.

Hmph, one day he'll clean up all these miscellaneous little countries.

Indeed, the Lithuanian position is difficult to fathom.

It is clear that Joachim has no goodwill toward Lithuanians.

Golts added fuel to the fire: "I had already heard on my way here that there are quite a few Greater Lithuanians in their country who have already threatened to take advantage of this opportunity."

"We must bring Memel under their control."

The so-called Memel region was located at the easternmost point of the German Empire's eastern outpost, namely the easternmost part of East Prussia.

Like the province of Poz, East Prussia is also an agricultural province.

Pre-war statistics showed a population of approximately 201 million, of which 85% of East Prussia's inhabitants were German, while the remaining 15% consisted of various minorities deeply influenced by German culture. Following the Germans were the Masurians, whose population numbered approximately 40.

They were highly Germanized Poles, or rather, Polish-speaking Germans.

The Masurians, unlike their compatriots in Poz, mostly identify as Germans rather than Poles.

Following the Masurians are the German Lithuanians, whose population is about 10, most of whom live in Memel.

That is, Klaipeda in Lithuanian.

The German Lithuanians were also different from their compatriots; they were highly Germanized, believed in Protestantism, and considered themselves German.

Therefore, the Lithuanians found Memel's claims rather ridiculous.

These words really got the better of Joachim.

According to Article 99 of the Treaty of Versailles, Memel was separated from Germany and placed under the trusteeship of the League of Nations.

However, the Allied Powers never intended to bring it under Lithuanian control from the beginning; their initial idea was to create a Danzig-style free city.

Memel is a deep-water port with significant military and economic value.

But the Lithuanians have long coveted Memel and will not give up easily!

While offending a major power is indeed terrible, it's like playing with fire!

During the Ruhr Crisis of 1923, Lithuanians seized the opportunity to take action, sending militiamen disguised as locals to launch the so-called Klaipeda Uprising and forcibly occupy Memel.

They then staged a fake referendum there, claiming that the local people demanded annexation by Lithuania.

However, in reality, this so-called referendum had neither international oversight, nor free voting, nor secret ballots.

Essentially, it was just a show they staged after the occupation.

At that time, the pro-German faction in Memel held an absolute advantage.

Pro-German parties consistently won 80% of the seats in parliamentary elections, to the point that the Allied powers later acknowledged that if a free referendum had been held at the time, Memel would almost certainly have chosen to return to Germany.

So that's good!

Let's settle both old and new scores!