Re: Blood and Iron - Chapter 832: Civil Governance
Chapter 832: Civil Governance
Cuba fell in line almost as quickly as it had fallen into the hands of the Central Powers. At first, many of the locals were upset over the foreign banners flying proudly over their capital city.
But the Germans were an occupying force that specialized in restoring order and making use of local resources to rebuild that which was destroyed during the invasion in a timely manner.
The streets had never been cleaner and freer of crime. National resources were seized and allocated towards reconstruction, and major infrastructure projects.
Ports were expanded, airfields were built, railways were laid down, streets were repaved, and houses were erected by the thousands seemingly overnight.
Germany did little other than provide governance to a region with what it already had at its disposal.
Cuban labor was used, with supervision by the German Army of Engineers, and local police forces coordinated with feldgendarmerie units to maintain law and order.
Things were safe enough now that Bruno could occupy the Presidential Palace, and not fear an attack upon his motorcade whenever it drove through the city.
Currently, he sat within Batista’s old office, now having been thoroughly cleaned in the weeks since the massacre at his residence.
Signing documents as the temporary governor of the island. Everything from approving the allocation of Cuba’s funds and tax revenue towards certain ventures or others.
If Bruno was being honest, he had very little experience actually operating as a politician. There were brief moments he spent in charge of Transylvania during the Great War, and a few moments operating as the temporary governor of Albania.
But for the most part, Bruno’s life had been spent seeing to military matters, while the affairs of the public was a responsibility delegated to men better at it than him.
However, the longer he operated as Cuba’s temporary governor, the smoother things began to run.
Bruno began to realize he actually had a knack for civilian governance, and that perhaps the shirking of his responsibilities as he Grand Prince of Tyrol, had been done not because he felt he was unsuited towards the task, but instead found matters of peace to be a dull affair.
Luckily for him, his boredom was interrupted by Heinrich, who entered his office with a pile of documents in his hands. Placing them on Batista’s desk with a loud slap before sitting down in front of Bruno.
Heinrich pulled out his flask and took a sip, eyeing Bruno’s uninterested expression with a curious gaze.
“So… this is how you plan to spend the rest of your life? Sitting behind a desk, signing paperwork?”
Bruno sighed, putting his pen down before folding his hands, looking Heinrich straight in the eye.
“Yes… Heinrich, this is how I plan to spend the rest of my life after this war is won. Together with my wife, in Tyrol, either ruling my own Principality which was granted to me, and my bloodline in perpetuity for deeds rendered to the state with the sacrifice of my own blood, sweat and tears. Or as Chancellor should the people see fit that I am needed for such a position. This… is just a test trial.”
Heinrich eyed Bruno’s hands, which seemed to be wringing themselves, before looking at his watch. He marked the exact time and silently did the math, before sneering at his old friend.
“Yes… well… good luck with that. It would appear you still have four more hours to go before you can retire for the day.”
Bruno silently nodded his head; his eyes seemed infuriated at how little time had passed since he had gotten started on the day’s workload. On the other hand, his face told the story of a man who was resigned to doing that which he loathed.
And when Heinrich saw the man’s determination to complete the task, and not complain about it, he couldn’t help but comment on his thoughts and where they had suddenly drifted to.
“Do you ever think that if we had never joined the military we would have lived far more enjoyable lives?”
Bruno didn’t stop to think about the question for even a split second. It was, after all, a possibility he had mulled over at some length before, but the conclusion was the same.
“Would my own individual life have been far more enjoyable if I had focused on building an empire of industry rather than war? Yes, but I fear my grandchildren and their children would have far tougher lives later on… Not materially so, but rather spiritually…. Besides, it’s not like you didn’t have plenty of fun yourself. If memory serves correctly, you enjoyed the company of more than a few exotic beauties during our deployments.”
Heinrich scoffed and rolled his eyes.
“Only early on! By the time we came back from Russia, I had Alya to care for. I suppose it’s not as bad as Erich… Poor bastard never really married, even until his death. His engagement to Louise was never concluded. I think it’s probably because he was slandered as a homosexual deviant for most of his adult life…”
Bruno chuckled, thinking back to their brief pranking war during the time sailing from the Baltic to Japan. When they were younger men, and so many years left to live for.
He got up from his seat and poured himself a glass of rum and cola before doing the same for Heinrich, handing over the drink as he took a sip from his own.
It was only then that he responded to Heinrich’s remarks.
“How many years has it been, and you still blame me for that mess? The only reason Erich’s family believed that joke was because the bloodthirsty bastard had spent decades stubbornly refusing to get married. I will admit though… looking back that was in rather poor taste on my part. We never should have brought him with us to the East… He would still be here now if he hadn’t been at Mukden or Belgorod.”
Heinrich stared at Bruno as if he were looking at a completely different man than he had known his entire adult life.
“Did you just express regret? Who are you, and what have you done with Bruno?”
Bruno didn’t respond, at least not at first. He looked out the window and towards the bay, and the sun, which had just descended from its peak. He stared for a long while, contemplating something that only he knew before finally breaking the awkward silence.
“So… How’s the wife and kids? The ones other than Alya, I mean. You got married later in life than I did, but those brats should be old enough to start having their own families soon, right? Please don’t tell me you haven’t learned a thing from the whole Alya debacle….”
Heinrich was about to say something in his defense, even raised his finger in protest. Only to lower it in the next second, and mutter under his breath.
“It worked out alright….”
Bruno glared at the man, raising slightly in his seat as he poured himself another drink.
“Only because Heidi realized you hadn’t found a proper match for the girl, and paired her up with my own son, who was infatuated with her since childhood. To this day I’m aware of some of the older families commenting on how my son married an up jumped peasant from Russia nine years his senior. So please tell me you haven’t made this mistake twice?”
Heinrich stared at Bruno for a long time. The two men waged war not with their words or fists, but with their minds, as if they were actively trying to out-think the other. And in the end, Heinrich conceded defeat knowing that whatever words he could come up with in his defense would instantly be countered and shot down by Bruno.
“Welp… I guess I’m just lucky that I married well; my wife has all of that stuff handled for me. Alya’s brothers and sisters won’t have to bear the sins of their incompetent father, not when they have such a stellar mother looking after them.”
Bruno simply smiled and shook his head while hearing his oldest friend’s shameless response. His retort was equally sharp as it was playful.
“I’m starting to suspect that you never actually changed… You’re still the same degenerate, deadbeat, playboy I met at the academy all those years ago.”
Heinrich raised his glass in a silent toast to his friend’s scathing review of his shameless character.
“And don’t you forget it…”
The two men shared a laugh over what remained of their drinks before getting back to their jobs. Bruno being the temporary governor of Cuba. And Heinrich handled the military affairs of the Coalition forces that were occupying it.
While Cuba began to enter a state of competent and efficient leadership it had never known before, the United States across the Caribbean Sea was further spiraling into immolation and self-destruction.
The Pacific Union’s declaration of war had far greater consequences than its representatives ever could have anticipated. Not just for themselves, but for the entirety of the territory that was the former United States of America.
