Re: Blood and Iron - Chapter 915: The Puppeteer
Chapter 915: The Puppeteer
Inside the office of the Dutch Prime Minister, his cabinet had gathered. They were in the midst of fierce debate regarding ongoing problems in their country.
With the collapse of their colonial empire, and the withdrawal of their forces. Their economy entered a stage of sharp decline.
Protests and riots had become a daily occurrence across the country. And had resulted in increasing economic pressure to accept German loans. Loans that the Dutch were already looking at an incapability to pay back.
The cash kept flowing into the Dutch treasury and disappeared just as quickly. They were barely keeping their heads above water.
And much of the conversation shifted this way. With the Minister of Finance debating with the Minister of Infrastructure.
“We simply cannot afford to rebuild the railway! Even with the loans granted by the German National Bank, we can barely keep our factories afloat or prevent the unemployed from becoming homeless!”
The Minister of Infrastructure, however, remained unconvinced as he pushed his position forward.
“And if our rail system stays stuck in the 19th century? And incompatible with the rest of the Post-War Europe, what then? How can we possibly maintain the flow of steel, diesel, and coal into our factories, into our power plants, if we do not overhaul our rail system? Belgium is already in the process of upgrading its internal rail structure to meet the German system! And Brussels is being directly connected to Berlin via the German National Maglev system!”
This comment sparked envy within the room. But only one man present saw it as a sign of something far more subtle and sinister. He was the Minister of the Interior, and was quick to interject before the Minister of Finance could retort.
“I’m sorry, did you just say that the Belgians are connecting themselves to Berlin via their new maglev initiative?”
The Minister of Infrastructure snapped at his peer with a short, but ruthless response.
“Did I stutter?”
This prompted the Minister of Interior to look around the room, nobody seemed to understand the greater implications behind this. And he was forced to lead them to the answer.
“Belgium has seen a miraculous economic upturn since the end of the Second Weltkrieg. Largely as a result of their increased cooperation with our neighbors to the East. Is it just me, or has King Albert consistently been siding with the German Reich, even applying subtle pressure to The Hague, going so far as to propose joint-cooperative pacts that would further tie both of our nations to Germany?”
His words suddenly dawned on the men gathered in the room. It was only then that the Director of Foreign Intelligence stepped forward.
“It isn’t just the Low Countries… Switzerland has been facing increasing instability and economic downturn over the last few decades, but the last two years especially so. And President Etter’s sudden resignation has only made things worse for them… Hold on a second.”
The Director of Foreign Intelligence found a map and sprawled it out across the table in front of them. It contained all the territory of the current state of Europe. The borders had changed substantially since the turn of the century.
The Reich had gained subtle but significant territory. From the end of the First Weltkrieg, Germany gained parts of Burgundy from France, along with other minor territorial concessions the German nation once held centuries prior.
And in the years that followed the Reich incorporated many of the lands and those strategically adjacent to them, that had once been a part of the First Reich.
Specifically prior to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 which carved it apart, and in doing so guaranteed Dutch independence and sovereignty.
The territorial gains, the Belgian maglev lines, and the regions currently suffering most from instability. It all added up to one objective, one goal of the German Reich causing the Prime Minister to stare in shock as the Minister of Intelligence pointed it out in front of them.
“They’re trying to undo Westphalia….”
Suddenly everything made sense… The wars of the 20th century, the economic leverage, the destabilization of the Netherlands and Switzerland. Albert’s willingness to side with Germany on matters that gradually surrendered his sovereignty.
The Germans had been plotting and advancing toward one ultimate conclusion over the course of the last few decades. The consolidation of the continental Germanic peoples into one people, one realm, and one kaiser.
When this realization hit them, everything fell into place. But this revelation did not cause confidence to surge among them, rather the collapse of it.
The Minister of Infrastructure sank into his seat behind him and rested his head in both hands.
“It’s too late…. We’ve been blind for far too long. Realizing what is happening now changes nothing. We have lost… The people already desire referendum and integration with the German Reich. And those who do not are swiftly being pushed in that direction. Albert was wise enough to see what was happening early and chose to accept it with favorable terms. And the Swiss like us… Have revolted against a shadow on the wall, while the flames consumed everything behind our defense.”
These words were like a bomb going off in the room. Everybody immediately collapsed under the weight of their meaning.
Even the Prime Minister sat down and rested his weary head in his hands like all the others. They couldn’t believe it. Such a long term vision, being perfectly executed at every level across multiple domains over the course of half a century?
The Kaiser could not have facilitated this alone. And the Chancellor of the Reich had shifted to numerous men, with different agendas throughout the time that was necessary to pull off such a grand restructuring of the European world.
One face… one name… one title came to mind instantly. And it haunted everyone in the room. Like a shadow that watched their every move… No, it was more accurate to call him a puppeteer, pulling all of their strings towards his endgame.
“Just what kind of devil is this man?”
Nobody dared to speak the name. Even though it lingered in the back of their minds:
Bruno von Zehntner.
