285 – There is no militarism in our empire (7)
Count Manstein’s residence.
Mathieus von Manstein, the head of the Manstein family and a former lieutenant general, is very uncomfortable with his leisure time after a long time.
He worked nearly 12 hours a day at the General Staff Headquarters almost every day, so the time he didn’t have to worry about anything or do anything was just so awkward.
Other guys who were discharged after slipping in the promotion race before him seemed to be comfortably accepting their retirement and living well, but was it because they were suddenly forced to be discharged one day when they were unprepared?
Even though I tried hard to give up everything and live like those guys, hatred, resentment, and even a desire for revenge surged up in my heart from time to time, and I couldn’t feel at ease even for a moment after my forced discharge.
He was humiliated by Captain Peter Jaeger by having his rank insignia torn off with a knife in front of everyone.
He was soon dragged out by his subordinates and suffered the humiliation of being expelled from the Chief of Staff headquarters.
I don’t want to think about this scene, but ironically, my mind takes me back to that time, place, and situation so vividly.
Every time, his fists were clenched and he was trembling with burning anger.
“I devoted myself only to the Empire, to the Empire, and to the Count Manstein family. Why on earth do I have to go through this! “Holy sh*t!”
After saying that, I looked at the place where there were medals, plaques, commendations, and documents symbolizing the achievements he had made since he was commissioned 35 years ago.
In the past, no matter how difficult things were, sometimes I was anxious about falling behind the competition, I looked at those things and lived with the confidence that my choices were always right.
Lastly, no, exactly a week ago, Captain Peter Jaeger, that bastard bastard, negated all of my achievements so far.
I don’t know where the eldest son, second son, granddaughter, and grandson who always said they respected him, as well as his subordinates who always stuck by his side and showered him with all kinds of flattery and flattery, are gone… I don’t know.
‘Now that my honor is gone, does that mean there’s nothing good to be gained from being by my side? Okay. I know that much. But how can there be no one left so quickly?’
This kind of alienation was incomprehensible to Manstein, who had always been expected, respected, and received applause and applause for 53 years.
“Why on earth do I have to go through something so horrible!”
After screaming and wailing for over 30 minutes, Manstein got a little tired and just curled up in a corner of the room and tried to take a nap.
I heard someone knocking on my door.
“Matriarch, someone came to visit you and asked you to tell them that they would like to see you. What would you like to do?”
“Damn it, just tell me to go. Who else would visit a fool who has nothing left but the title of Count Manstein but the priest of the church? I’m sure they’ll keep telling me to pay that damn donation or donation. “I don’t have any money, so tell me to go away.”
It’s funny to say that a person who can manage personal living expenses of about 1,300 gold each year does not have money due to the fiefdom and military pension he has as a count of the empire.
Manstein thought that the only way to get rid of the anger and depression he felt was by drinking good wine and hanging out with pretty women, and to do that, he decided that he had to cut down on other expenses.
“f*ck, if you drink at least you’ll feel better. In the past, when I was promoted, I got motivated to work again after massaging a woman’s breasts. “Maybe this depression can be alleviated a bit, or what can I do?”
After a while, the butler knocked on the door again and said, as if he did not know how his master was feeling.
“The person who is here now is Baron Pietro. He said he would like to meet and talk with Lieutenant General Manstein. Shall I ask you to come back later?”
In the past, if a baron came to visit without a reservation, he would have immediately kicked them out, but now that he has become a stranger, everyone who wants to meet him has disappeared.
He suddenly became curious about who the person who came to see the old man in the corner of the room with no one to visit was and what he would say.
‘If they say nonsense, you can throw salt on them and kick them out. If they say something worth listening to, just listen to them and that’s it.’
“Just bring them here.”
Not long after, a man dressed in a black suit cautiously entered.
As soon as he saw the count, he bowed according to etiquette, and Manstein developed a liking for this man who treated him so politely when he was left alone.
“This is Baron Anton von Pietro. He apologizes for the insolence of visiting the Count without making an appointment. It’s really nothing special here, but please accept it. “Leipzig bourbon whiskey 16 years old.”
The Count accepted the gift with a sour expression.
“Huh, thank you. “I received something very precious, a 16 year old Leipzig product.”
If you were to judge whether it was valuable or not, it was a valuable item.
However, it is a product that even merchants who can barely make a living can buy if they want to, so anyone with money can buy it.
Even Manstein could have achieved that much, so he reacted indifferently.
‘Seeing as the things I brought are so poor, I guess I’ll just talk nonsense and leave. ‘It’s not even worth saying hello to.’
“Speak quickly about your business. “I’m so tired that I want to take a nap.”
The Baron said with a meaningful smile, as if he was aiming for this.
“I will ask you very bluntly. “Are you satisfied with the current situation?”
Manstein was so dissatisfied with his current situation that he was on the verge of exploding, but he did not want to tell the truth by holding on to a man with whom he had had no interaction until now.
“…… I came up with a plan like an idiot, and it ended up like this. Are you planning to come to me and torment me by bringing up painful memories? “In consideration of the sincerity with which I brought you the whiskey, I won’t break your head, so get out of there.”
Baron Pietro waved his hands and spoke more cautiously.
“You don’t have to hide it from me. “Aren’t you very dissatisfied?”
“……”
“Me too. “I also suffered an injustice because of that damn Jaeger.”
With those words, Manstein’s psychological resistance dropped significantly, and he lowered his hand that was about to throw the whiskey bottle.
“Keep talking.”
“For f*ck’s sake, I was dishonorably discharged locally. No, since it is a human job, isn’t it possible that the supply deadline may not be met in about 2 days? But that bastard told me that he would be referred to a court-martial and that I would be subject to more severe disciplinary action. So, I asked them to look into the situation, and they dragged me to the barracks where His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was.”
As Pietro thought about that incident, he felt a surge of resentment, and tears began to flow from his eyes.
“He dragged me to the barracks and said this. ‘Your Highness, it has been written in the military law that if you fail to meet the supply deadline, you will be put to death no matter what excuse you have. In this case, it is not that he had malicious intent or was negligent in delaying supply. So, let’s reduce the crime and have him resign from the military.’ Then, the next day, a recommendation to be discharged was given to me. “Isn’t this honestly too much?”
From Manstein’s perspective, he thought that although Baron Pietro had done something wrong, it was not a problem that warranted a ‘dishonorable discharge’.
I greatly sympathized with the Baron’s anger as he was dragged in front of the crown prince and the future emperor and made to suffer such a dishonorable act.
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Before I knew it, the Count was nodding his head.
“And I was convinced after seeing what that Jaeger captain did to the Count this time. Captain Peter Yeager clearly wants to become a treacherous bastard who takes control of the Empire with his own hands! “That son of a b*tch has already been promoted to general, so Lieutenant General Manstein thinks he is trying to stop the war so that there will be no more competitors, even if he is fully capable of winning the war?”
If other captains heard it, they would ask, ‘Why is Captain Jaeger competing for a bowl? If that bastard was targeting the rice bowl so badly, he could have pushed his father-in-law, the Marquis Vener, to become Minister of Military Affairs and made him his enemy.’ It was bullsh*t to ask back.
Manstein, who had been severely injured by Captain Jaeger, had already lost half of his rational thinking, so he sympathized with the Baron’s words and automatically nodded.
‘The plan I had in mind was to extend the service period of imperial soldiers by one year and increase the conscription rate of active-duty soldiers from the current 60% to 80% to maintain a force of 650,000.’
If that happens, the number of soldiers will increase by 150,000, and the number of generals with stars will also increase.
General positions 1 to 3, Lieutenant General positions 8 to 12, Major General positions 25 to 40… Furthermore, the more wars you win, the larger the territory of the empire, the territory the nobles will receive, and the stronger the national power of the empire, so everyone It was the best plan to be happy, Manstein thought.
So he was truly angry.
“Damn it! The intention is to kick down the ladder that other lower-ranking nobles and commoners can climb to reach a similar level as themselves! Bastard! Because of that, our empire will miss the opportunity to increase its power!”
Pietro approached the Count, who agreed with his words, and spoke carefully.
“Currently, there are many people in the Empire with ‘righteous intentions’ who want to impeach the treacherous Peter Jaeger, who is blindsiding His Majesty. “I have a meeting tonight. Would you like to come with me?”
Strictly speaking, the plan was to impeach Captain Jaeger first and then assassinate him based on the mood.
The added power of Count Manstein’s family would have been invaluable in killing Captain Jaeger, so the Baron did not tell the Count their full plan.
‘The way I see it, this person will definitely join our true ‘impeachment first, assassination later’ plan.’
And as the Baron expected, Manstein regained his vitality as when he was an active lieutenant general, stood up immediately, prepared to go out, and followed him to attend the ‘Justice’ meeting.
When he first heard of the plan to assassinate Peter Jaeger, he felt repulsed, but Baron Pietro spoke in his ear.
‘Didn’t the personal maid of lowly status, with whom she had been involved countless times because of Peter Yeager, quit immediately instead of serving the retired lieutenant general? She’s lost her position to that extent. ‘Does she really have no intention of getting revenge on the Jaeger culprit who caused all of this?’
At those words, Manstein was extremely angry at the thought that he had even abandoned his personal maid because of Peter Jaeger.
He finally pledged to participate in the assassination plan.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Captain Jaeger was voluntarily walking towards the imperial palace.