African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 34 Mobilization

   Time came to May of 1866.

   Today, Ernst attended a class reunion, and he was ashamed to say that he went to Berlin to study through the back door, but his studies ended up being abandoned halfway.

   Today's meeting place was chosen at a large hotel 960 meters south of the University of Berlin, where many dignitaries who came to Berlin stayed.

   In the magnificent hall.

   "Sir, welcome!" As soon as he arrived at the door, Ernst in a suit and leather shoes was greeted by the service staff.

  Second floor

   "Sir, please show your invitation card!"

   Ernst handed the invitation to the waiter. After carefully observing Ernst's invitation, he said politely: "His Royal Highness Ernst, please come inside. I wish you a good time!"

  …

  In the party hall, crystal chandeliers hung high on the dome, illuminating the entire hall, and many people had already arrived at the venue.

   "Ernst, here!"

  Garrett, dressed as an officer, waved to Ernst.

   "Garrett, have you entered the army?" Ernst was surprised.

  Garrett said complacently: "Oh! The old man said that my grades are too poor, so he insisted on finding me an official position in the army."

   "Which unit are you in?"

"Isn't this the empire's army expansion! So the old man told me that now is the best stage for gilding, as long as you walk on the battlefield, you will have qualifications in the future. Now I am the third company under the Kingdom's 23rd Infantry Regiment staff."

   Ernst patted Garrett on the shoulder: "Very good, now is your chance to play."

   "Ernst, do you have any inside information, can you tell me!" Garrett said with winks.

   "You've misunderstood me. I'm more of an entrepreneur now, but I don't have inside information about the army. However, if I have some knowledge about military material procurement, it's a pity that it won't help you much."

   "Ah! Let's forget it, isn't your father, Prince Constantine, serving in the General Staff? Didn't he tell you about the army?"

   Ernst laughed: "I'm not interested in the military, and I never communicated with my father in this regard, and now the kingdom attaches great importance to cultivating young people. Are you a Berlin college student worried that you won't be able to make a living in the military camp?"

   "Haha... Is that right? I'm just gossiping. After all, everyone wants to glance at the answer before the exam, right?"

   Ernst nodded: "It's human nature, I understand."

   "The main reason is that you, Ernst, have already made your own career. You are also a scumbag at the same time. At the beginning, you agreed to fight together, but you flew solo! Ever since you stopped coming to school, I have been the one with the lowest grades."

  Garrett said with a smile: "Business has been good these past few months! Our troops have purchased a lot of your company's products."

   "It's just a small business, you're still kid, and you will become prosperous in the army in the future, so don't forget to support the business of your old classmates!"

  Jarrett said speechlessly: "Don't show off, everyone knows the relationship between the royal family and you, you hateful second generation, I still want you to support and support my younger brother in the future."

   Ernst joked: "Hey, who can say clearly about war, what if you are a military genius like Moltke? Maybe you will have a place in the high-level management of the future kingdom."

  Ernst originally wanted to say that he was a Napoleon-style genius, but he changed his mind when he thought of Napoleon's reputation in Germany.

   "Okay, let's not talk about this, let's go drink, we must get you drunk today!" Garrett said fiercely.

  …

  The Royal Palace of Prussia.

  William I is discussing preparations for war with Prime Minister Bismarck and Army General Staff Moltke.

  William I: "Prime Minister, how are you going now?"

"Your Majesty, the funds for the war have been collected. At the same time, we have also recruited the Italians to be our allies. Russia is temporarily unable to intervene in European affairs, and they had a bad relationship with Austria last time. Even if there is a war, they will favor us. Britain and France did not intervene. They hope that we and Austria will lose both, so we must win a quick military victory in order to avoid the interference of foreign powers. The military still depends on the preparation of the army.”

Mao Qi said: "This time we have made complete preparations. The three new legions have been completed, and the railway network has been connected to the barracks. We can quickly send 200,000 people to the front line. At present, there are 50,000 troops on the border. Coupled with the previous reforms, we were able to recruit hundreds of thousands of reserve troops to the front line in a short period of time. Coupled with the containment of the Italians, we have an advantage over Austria in terms of military strength."

Then Moltke put his hand on the map and counted on the center of Prussia: "This time, we have to deal with the North German princes first. Many of these princes are biased towards Austria, and they are in the middle of the Kingdom of Prussia. They are likely to cause us trouble. , As for the South German countries including Bavaria, they are not very determined to go to war, and we have to fight for their neutrality diplomatically.”

Bismarck said: "You can rest assured on this point. As long as we focus on the Austrian battlefield and focus on defense in South Germany, these Austrian allies will not do their best. As long as we solve the Austrian army in a short time, other countries will inevitably surrender to the Prussian army." Under the mighty power."

  In short, both of them agreed to give priority to solving Austria. Once Austria is solved, all problems will be solved.

William I crossed his hands behind his back and pondered in front of the table, saying: "A lion fights a rabbit with all its strength. Austria's prestige in Europe is not comparable to that of those small countries. Although Austria's development has not been satisfactory in recent years, a lean camel is better than a horse. The army, especially the Austrian army, has not declined significantly on the whole, so we should go all out to increase the offensive against Austria."

  Go to the desk and sit down, pick up the pen and cross out the original plan.

"This time, it's the battle of fate for Prussia. We have to overwhelm everything. The previous plan was too conservative. General Moltke. From now on, I will officially appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the Prussian army. Prussia has entered a wartime state, and all reserves We must enter the army to receive training in advance, train schedules must be strengthened on the railway, and weapons must be refitted quickly..."

  William I went on to say: "Prime Minister, your government must cooperate with the military's request and do its best to provide convenience for the military. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must actively observe the dynamics of the European countries and prevent accidents from happening..."

   Following William I's order, Prussia began its last mobilization before the war, and the three newly formed legions were sent directly to western Prussia.

  The number of military trains increased significantly every day. The trains pulled soldiers, and artillery and supplies were mobilized in Prussia.

  Reserves were called up ahead of time, and the barracks were full of soldiers. The government began to build new training grounds in various places, and the idle land was converted into new barracks.

  The railway network was rearranged, and railway workers began to work overtime to overhaul the lines to provide protection for the sudden surge in train numbers.

  At the same time, Prussia began to increase the construction of wired telegraph lines from the border to Berlin, and quickly popularized telegraph equipment in the army on a large scale.

  When Prussia was mobilizing, Austria and Italy were also preparing, but the effect was obviously not as good as that of Prussia, which pursued militarism.

  (end of this chapter)