Welcome to 19th-century Europe, where strength reigns supreme

With the recent increase in the frequency of wars, although they have been winning battles and the casualties are not large, the anti-war sentiment among the people has also begun to increase. It is not good to keep fighting, and some recruits who are on the front line and have achieved certain results And not getting enough rewards.

August asked the General Staff to list how many outstanding soldiers could win the Iron Cross. She wanted to hold an award ceremony for them in Berlin in person to stimulate the people's enthusiasm for serving as soldiers, but she could not let the Iron Cross The medal seems too cheap, so the circulation of each batch is very small, and only outstanding soldiers who really perform well can obtain it.

Of course, only ordinary soldiers can get the Iron Cross unless their personal performance is outstanding and they can play a key role. Normally, officers above the company commander are more likely to get the Iron Cross.

In such a long time from the beginning of the Prussian War to the end of supporting the American Civil War, the Army General Staff did not calculate this kind of thing in detail. If August had not ordered it, they would have forgotten it. There is still this.

Tina is busy with pension matters, and she probably won't have time to help her with the statistics now, so August will have to do it himself.

In order to deal with this matter, August personally went to the General Staff Headquarters to discuss the matter with Moltke.

Moltke strongly agreed with August's award of the Iron Cross. "The Iron Cross is to be awarded to soldiers who excel in combat. I support His Highness's idea, but there is a problem, which is the style of the Iron Cross."

"Isn't it okay to just keep the previous one?" August said. She thought it was just like those certificates of honor, and it didn't matter whether the content inside was changed or not.

"Well, the last edition was in 1813. Since the end of the Napoleonic War, the Iron Cross has not been issued very often. Unless it is some customization or a medal issued to certain people, some may be taken out of the inventory, but To be honest, it’s all from forty or fifty years ago.”

August said, "Then what do you think should be changed? If you really want to change it, you still have to pay attention."

Moltke took August to the inventory area of ​​the General Staff Headquarters. There were also piles of unused Iron Cross medals in ten boxes, estimated to be more than [-]. There are probably less than [-] Crosses.

Moltke picked up one of the second-class iron crosses, which was engraved with the number 1813 and a crown, symbolizing the royal power and the Kingdom of Prussia. "This is the second-class iron cross. It is also the most produced, about seven thousand. Yes, but it’s a little rusty now.”

"Then what would be more appropriate for us to change the time? 1864?"

"His Highness likes this, but I think it is more commemorative. I think it is more appropriate to change it to 1860. After all, this is the time when His Highness officially took over as regent, and it was also at this time that Prussia began to embark on the road to becoming a powerful country. If Without His Highness August, we would still be a second-rate small country in Central Europe."

"Prussia is actually stronger than I thought. I just made some choices to get it on the right track, but 1860... four years have passed before I knew it, and a lot has happened. The thing is... let’s use 1860 as the latest Iron Cross.”

"Do you want to add any patterns on it?"

"No, just the numbers. As for the crown or anything else, it's completely unnecessary. After all, I haven't become the king yet. If I insist on saying it, I feel like I'm working for my elder brother, so I don't want it."

Moltke smiled and said, "How many of them need to be customized? Or should we first count who can have the Iron Cross?"

"Let's calculate first. We still need to be fair. Those who have merit must be rewarded. This is inevitable. And we must also try to minimize the problems caused by uneven rewards and reward according to merit."

August mobilized the entire General Staff to begin a basic investigation of grassroots officers, including the most ordinary soldiers. This required a lot of administrative work. During the Prussian-Danish War, Prussia mobilized two armies with almost [-] soldiers. Almost all soldiers must go through inspection. Some soldiers who are lazy and do not write military reports can only say goodbye to this award.

But in fact, there are not many such people at the grassroots level, but they are relatively common among middle-level officers. However, they have learned a lot after Moltke yelled at them, and now they no longer dare not write military reports.

By the time the troops supporting the American Civil War returned, it was already January. The people of Prussia lined the streets to welcome them. Next, August revealed to the media that they would be given to all those who participated in the Prussian War and the American Civil War. Iron Cross.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. This kind of thing has not been publicized on a large scale for a long time, and I don’t know where the media came from. They said that August would personally present the award to them. This is a great honor.

Being able to have the leader of the country personally award him an award, starting from mid-January, the most visited place became a church. A large number of soldiers who had participated in the war went to the church to pray and see if they were lucky enough and could get it. August's personal award.

On January [-], the Prussian Army General Staff finally announced that according to each officer and soldier's contribution to the war, two thousand Iron Cross Medals Second Class, three hundred Iron Cross Medals First Class, and fifty Iron Cross Medals were awarded. Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, five Grand Iron Crosses.

Who will receive the Iron Cross Medal will be informed the night before, so that they can be prepared. On January [-], all soldiers who have received the Iron Cross Medal received a letter, which states: Write the news that you won the award.

Thanks to the end of the American Civil War, Prussian veterans who participated in the war were given the opportunity to go home during the holidays, so their families could immediately know about this event and celebrate it with their children.

The Grand Iron Cross must be awarded to the marshals who helped August conquer the country. The Knight-level Iron Cross is awarded to generals who have made significant contributions, including grassroots generals.

Originally, the Knight's Iron Cross and the Grand Iron Cross were medals awarded specifically to aristocratic Junker officers, but August believed that this special classification was unnecessary, and it would not be awarded to the meritorious civilian general August. I will be stingy and give him a Knight-level Iron Cross.

The award ceremony was held in the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The award ceremony was divided into four days. It was impossible for the square to accommodate so many soldiers and their accompanying families, so the time had to be extended a little longer, every day. Just issue more than [-] Iron Cross medals, which will put less pressure on the staff.

August himself felt that posting it in person would be very tiring, but the media outside had already said so. If he didn't do it in person, he would feel a bit sorry for his fellow countrymen.

In the end, Auguste decided to receive the Iron Cross for the first time. As the regent, he had to express his feelings, otherwise he would be like other monarchs. He had to act as a caring and caring person until the end.