Chapter 1,705 The Kaiser’s Thoughts 1
Chapter 1705 The Kaiser’s Thoughts 1
The Kaiser has been in a very good mood recently. The confrontation between the two sides on the Western Front seems to him to be a very good result. On the Eastern Front, judging from the intelligence obtained from the inside, Russia can no longer hold on. The food supply in some areas such as St. Petersburg It can only hold out for about 10 days, and when the Russian government cannot satisfy the citizens' bread, the unrest will begin. (This is true in history. The Russian February Revolution broke out very suddenly. The trigger was that the bakery said there was no bread, which then led to a series of things. For details, you can read the articles related to Zhanyan)
What about at home? After teaching the Social Democratic Party a lesson with Bavaria, the other party became much more honest. As for the Balkan Theater and the Asia Minor Theater, Ruprecht personally commanded them. Militarily, the Kaiser was very reassured.
As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire? It seems that Fritz's actions are going very smoothly. Austria is gradually encroaching on Hungary's ethnic minority areas, and those Hungarian parliamentarians who are not progressive are still fighting openly and secretly in Budapest. Even Fritz is not in a hurry, so he will naturally not be worried.
"Have there been any new developments in the Bavarian Army recently?" the Kaiser suddenly asked after Moltke reported to him the situation on the Western Front.
"Yesterday, His Highness Ruprecht sent a telegram stating that the Greek problem can be solved within one month. He also asked the General Staff about the disposal issue. In Asia Minor, the British Expeditionary Force will inevitably be destroyed, and the British Expeditionary Force originally gathered at the seaside The British and French forces seem to be preparing to retreat." Little Maoqi paused and continued.
"In addition, one thing is that under the cover of Count Spee's Allied Mediterranean Fleet, three Bavarian divisions launched an offensive in the Transcaucasus region. The target is the Baku oil field. It is going very smoothly now." After Xiao Maoqi finished speaking, The Kaiser's brows furrowed slightly, seeming a little unhappy.
"Ruprecht has such a big heart. He will always try his best to get what he wants." The Kaiser said with a long sigh. "My Chief of General Staff, can you accept that the oil lifeline of the German Empire is in the hands of a kingdom? Imagine that the tanks, cars, aircraft, and naval warships in your army all need to be used close to Bavaria. Do you have any thoughts when buying royal brand oil?" The Kaiser's tone was very calm, but what he said made Little Maoqi a little nervous.
"Your Majesty, soldiers have nothing to do with politics." Xiao Maoqi expressed his attitude very seriously. Xiao Maoqi did not want to get too involved in politics, but he still settled some of the matters. Previously, Prussia and Bavaria had a dispute with each other. There is some tacit understanding on the Eastern Front issue. For example, the dividing line between the two sides is what will later be Belarus and Ukraine, with Prussia to the north and Bavaria and Austria to the south.
The prince mentioned in his plan that he would capture the Baku Oil Field. However, at that time, the situation on the Eastern Front was not as good as it is now. It seemed unimaginable to capture the Baku Oil Field, and the Kaiser did not care about it.
So they almost acquiesced to Ruprecht's approach of taking the Baku oil field and sharing the profits. After all, if you can't get it, what's the point of talking about benefits?
But who would have thought that in just one year, the Allied forces would approach the Don River directly from Russian Poland! Otherwise, Ruprecht and the Bavarian Army under his command are too powerful. The entire German General Staff did not expect this. Their most optimistic estimate before was to kill Russia by the end of next year, but now, it is a full year ahead of schedule. Under the drastic changes in the situation, some people regretted it, including the Kaiser!
After all, if Bavaria takes over the Baku oil field, the oil field with an annual output of more than 10 million tons of fuel will definitely be able to monopolize most of the crude oil and refining markets in Germany and even the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The benefits of this are quite terrifying. To put it more broadly, after the war, with the help of the Baku Oil Field, it is possible for Bavaria to control half of the entire Western European oil industry, because according to relevant intelligence, the output of this oil field will be greatly improved. amplitude. The economic and political interests involved are simply terrifying!
If someone else takes this thing, if he dares not to give it to him, the Kaiser and the big guys in Germany will not be able to see the sun the next day. But Bavaria got it, haha. At that time, people dared to cause trouble for William I and Bismarck in the title of German Emperor. Now, the national power is even more powerful, not to mention comparable to France, but if Bavaria and Italy duel that day, the noodles will be real. No! What's more, Bavaria and the Kaiser had reached a certain degree of tacit understanding before. Judging from the Kaiser's reaction, he was going back on his word.
It is impossible to rob openly, Bavaria is not what it used to be, and the Kaiser is the emperor after all, although what is the saying? The so-called credibility is just because the benefits of betrayal are too small. However, the Kaiser had reached a tacit understanding with the prince, and a blatant attempt to destroy the prince would cause an irreparable rift between the two kingdoms. Therefore, Xiao Maoqi knew that even though the Kaiser mentioned this matter today, he could not directly break the contract!
"It's boring." Looking at the silent little Moltke, the Kaiser was a little dissatisfied. He could clearly feel that even Little Moltke did not want to get involved in this kind of thing. After all, Bavaria might lose in this matter, but everyone else except the Kaiser would definitely lose. No matter how weakened Bavaria is, it is still a kingdom. Its strength is comparable to that of middle-sized European countries. If we talk about military and national power, it can barely be considered a great power! This kind of pressure puts a lot of pressure on other people or organizations besides Prussia. After all, since its debut, Bavaria has been invincible whether it is facing industrial giants such as Krupp, the German navy and army, or the Social Democratic Party that dominates the parliament.
Although Moltke cannot represent the attitude of everyone in the entire German military system, he undoubtedly represents the attitude of a considerable number of people. They were unwilling to get involved in the struggle for power and interests between Prussia and Bavaria. Someone may ask, if Prussia gets more, wouldn't the officer corps and the Junker nobility also benefit more? However, this is not necessarily true. You must know that the officer corps and the nobility also have the interests of the bourgeoisie as competitors in the country! There is also a natural competitive relationship between Juncker landowners and factory owners. At least the two sides have sharp conflicts in terms of food taxation and agricultural product import and export tariffs. Even if the oil issue is negotiated, it will only benefit the industrial capitalists and financiers. It has nothing to do with most of the military officer corps and the Juncker landowners?
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