26 – The Königsberg Conference
Königsberg, East Prussia, German Empire.
Although East Prussia is often referred to as the birthplace of the German Empire, the main territory of Prussia, including Berlin, was actually the province of Brandenburg.
However, this does not mean that East Prussia was unimportant to Germany. East Prussia was the territory where the Teutonic Order and the history of the Prussian Duchy began, symbolizing Germany’s “Eastern Colonization Movement.”
Taking this into consideration, I arranged a visit to the German nobility and East Prussia. Just like the Allied leaders celebrated victory in Algiers, Casablanca, and Potsdam during World War II, this event was intended to showcase Germany’s victory.
“Your Majesty, we have arrived in Königsberg.”
The chamberlain approached cautiously and informed me that the train had stopped.
I lifted the curtain covering the window and glimpsed the true history. Unaware that we had arrived in Königsberg, I had been playing poker with the chamberlain, Oscar von Huthier.
“Let’s consider this game null and void.”
I stood up from my seat, releasing the cards I had been holding. Huthier put down his cards with a displeased expression. It was a three-of-a-kind. If we had continued the game, I would have lost 10 marks, but luck was on my side.
As we got off the train, King Friedrich August III of Saxony, King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, King Ludwig III of Bavaria, as well as the emperors of various duchies and principalities such as Oldenburg, Baden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and others, appeared one by one under the escort of the guards.
Since it was rare for the German monarchs to gather, the agenda for this meeting was of great importance. It was about the vacant Polish throne and similar issues.
Of course, the matters to be discussed and decided were not within our jurisdiction, but it was implicitly understood that the conclusions of this meeting would be largely reflected in the territories assigned to Germany.
The mayor of Königsberg and local dignitaries were there to welcome the monarchs who arrived on the special train.
After exchanging brief greetings with the welcoming party, we immediately set off for Königsberg Castle. Königsberg Castle, the headquarters of the venerable Teutonic Knights and the residence of the Prussian dukes, was an ideal place for the monarchs to convene.
When we arrived at the castle, the tall guards, who had been prepared in advance, opened the car doors and saluted with their fists against their chests. At the entrance to the castle, the royal bellmen and guards stood on both sides, waiting for us in formation.
Königsberg Castle, where we entered, had a structure similar to that of the Forbidden City in China, with buildings surrounding the garden from all four directions, giving the impression of a well-built fortress when viewed from the outside.
The bellmen guided the monarchs to the Prussian Museum. Considering religious issues, the venerable palace church was excluded from the meeting place from the beginning.
The monarchs chatted and admired the Russian military weapons, rifles, cannons, diaries, and the like, captured in Gumbinnen and Tannenberg. An officer who had been summoned in advance to the royal museum explained various items to the monarchs.
When we arrived at the hall, we noticed the chairs and tables that had been prepared in advance. We sat around the round table where artifacts of the ancient Prussians were displayed and discussed the agenda.
“The Polish throne rightfully belongs to us, Bavaria.”
“Bittelsbach on the Polish throne! That’s ridiculous.”
At first, everyone maintained their dignity while discussing, but when the contentious issue of the Polish throne was mentioned, voices became slightly louder.
Both Saxony, which had previously occupied the Polish throne, and Bavaria, which could be considered second in rank within the empire, showed a firm attitude towards the Polish throne.
It was inevitable, as there were hardly any lands in Germany that could be compared to Poland, implicitly agreed upon as Germany’s share. Finland and Belarus had sparse population on barren land. The Baltic states were good lands with the sea, but had a strong historical connection to the successors of the Teutonic Knights, Prussia.
The territories that could be obtained from France were wealthy, but there was a high possibility of becoming an imperial province for security reasons.
Although Ukraine had better territory and population than Poland, it was likely to fall towards Habsburg.
If Austria could not offer sufficient compensation from the Balkans and Poland, it was advantageous for the alliance to offer the Ukrainian throne in order to maintain friendly relations.
King Friedrich of Saxony, who was in his prime, spoke forcefully. He argued that it was the natural right of Saxony, with its historical connection, to produce a king for Poland and that it would be easily accepted by the Polish people.
King Ludwig III of Bavaria did not back down either.
In the previous chapter, Ludwig had expressed his ambition to receive the Empire’s direct rule over Alsace-Lorraine, the Imperial territory of Alsatian-Lorraine, which could expand the western border of the Empire to encompass the entire northern region of France. Furthermore, Ludwig had hoped to obtain the Rhineland and Belgium, which could connect Germany’s southern region to the sea.
However, his ambition was thoroughly rejected in the Empire government’s post-war plan. The benefits Bavaria could gain from the west were limited to Alsace-Lorraine at best, and I had no reason to make any concessions even on that.
Under these circumstances, Bavaria could only reveal its strong desire for Poland. Like Bavaria, Poland was predominantly Catholic and possessed a sizable territory comparable to that of a kingdom.
To fulfill the expansionist ambitions of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which had held the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, Poland was the ideal place.
“If Alsace is not possible, are we turning to Poland this time? People will think that Bavaria is fighting the entire war.”
“That is what I would say. What can a country without an independent army discuss about warfare?”
The kings growled and did not take a step back.
It was not because they had an unusually strong desire.
Even Wilhelm II of Württemberg, who was currently sitting quietly in Bürttemberg, had been boasting loudly that he would take all of Belgium and the northern region of France.
Even the grand duchies like Oldenburg had no significant difference in the extent of their ambitions. To fulfill their demands, one would have to cut up the entire world.
I watched the argument for a while and intervened when emotions began to heat up.
Gradually, I tried to sway the atmosphere towards persuading Jaksen to make concessions, while adjusting the positions of both parties. The reason I sided with Bavaria here was not because they were more appealing, but because I wanted to silence them by diverting their attention to Poland.
Once the Polish throne was swallowed up, the House of Wittelsbach found it increasingly difficult to speak about the spoils they would receive from this war.
However, Poland, which required such efforts to capture, was not such an attractive commodity.
“It’s obvious that Piusutski and the nationalist forces are in power. Just because one German royal family gets involved doesn’t mean they can freely wield their influence.”
When Prussia supported Bavaria, Jaksen was immediately isolated. The grand duchies also observed the situation and sided with Bavaria, as if the trend had been determined. Friedrich of Jaksen bit his lip as if he was angry, but he wasn’t really angry.
Raising one’s voice here was closer to a bluffing tactic to strongly leave the impression that one had made concessions in order to obtain what one really wanted.
What Jaksen truly desired was not the throne, but the vast fertile land they had longed for. In the previous chapter, Jaksen had hinted at their intention to acquire Lithuania.
“Of course, giving away Lithuania is impossible.”
If they did, no matter what country it was, it would be difficult to avoid the backlash from the bankers.
Instead, I had a land in mind.
French Equatorial Africa.
It was a land with immense agricultural potential. It was several times larger than the Lithuania land that Jaksen wanted, and the agricultural conditions were much better. Although it was an undeveloped wilderness, if the condition was to provide compensation from the war funds to support its development, it didn’t matter.
When I presented the conditions I had in mind, Friedrich showed an absurd reaction.
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I explained that we could turn any land away from the mainland into a land just like the mainland, using French Algeria as an example.
Jaksen hesitated for a while, but it seemed that he thought that was the maximum they could achieve with their negotiating power, so he accepted the condition.
I also started to consider bringing African colonies from France, as well as the thrones of Belarus and Finland to Bavaria. Since there was no possibility that the Junkers would give up even a centimeter of land obtained from the Baltics or France, it was easier to solve it this way.
It was an insufficient compensation to satisfy everyone, but it wasn’t lacking enough for me to be angry and slam the table.
In summary, the Polish throne went to Bavaria, the Baltic to Prussia, the Grand Duchy of Finland to the two Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg, the Belarus throne to Württemberg, French Equatorial Africa to Jaksen, Novgorod to Oldenburg, the Dutch East Indies to Baden, and the remaining small lands were distributed among several other imperial states.
The largest territory, such as French Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco in North Africa, was excluded from the distribution in order to leave room for negotiations with France. Madagascar and the Indochina Federation, where the indigenous monarchies still held influence, were excluded for the same reason.
Looking at the content, Prussia was the country that benefited the most. The empires received lands with low economic value, and the kings and dukes who received European lands had to establish separate monarchies instead of merging them into their own territories.
On the other hand, for Prussia, it was practically the same as merging with the Baltics. This was because they already had strong economic and political influence in the Baltics and were directly connected to their mainland.
In addition, the French Northeast Territory, which was agreed upon as an imperial mandate, was practically swallowed up by us. Considering that the King of Prussia was soon to become the Kaiser, the imperial mandate was no different from another expression of the Prussian kingdom. Prussia was to take 75% of the war reparations and rights in Germany.
Looking at the results alone, it was a unilateral domination by Prussia.
But this was only natural.
Kingdoms like Jaksen or Bavaria had only recruited a million or slightly more adult males into their armies in the previous round. In contrast, Prussia had shown the strength to mobilize over eight million alone. In terms of victories, most of the major ones relied on Prussia.
The naval power was also overwhelmingly in favor of Prussia.
Considering these points, it was safe to say that we had been quite considerate of the shares of the imperial states compared to our capabilities.
“Honestly, colonies are a burden, but it’s a deal that we can’t avoid carrying. If we don’t accept it, we’ll have to divide German land.”
It wasn’t a profitable business for me to pass on the colonies to the imperial states.
From the perspective of a player, the strength of the German empire and its vassal states belonged to me in the end.
For me, forcibly swallowing the bitter pill was necessary to solidify the cohesion of the German empire. In my opinion, I wanted to eliminate the vassal states like kings, dukes, and marquises and create a unified nation like the Weimar Republic.
However, to clean up the vassal states within the empire, a “German revolution” that gave birth to the Weimar Republic had to take place. Frankly speaking, if it came to that point, it was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to keep my position.
“I’m glad everyone is satisfied.”
“It’s thanks to Your Majesty’s mediation.”
I exchanged handshakes with the monarchs and celebrated the conclusion of an agreement.
The next day, we visited a prisoner-of-war camp located in Königsberg.
While inspecting the camp, I emphasized the importance of paying attention to the clothing, food, and treatment provided to the prisoners. Neglecting these minor details would not only be unfavorable to international public opinion, but it could also increase the enemy’s resistance.
A prime example of this was Nazi Germany during World War II. Even excluding the infamous political orders, the Nazis were cruel to Soviet prisoners of war. With 55% of captured Soviet soldiers dying, those who resisted until the end and attempted to escape had a higher chance of survival.
Because of this, at the beginning of the war, many Soviet soldiers who had chosen to defect due to dissatisfaction with the Communist Party’s situation and contradictions ended up fighting to the death, even after receiving the absurd order to “not take a single step back.” It was as if they had been made to withstand the enemy until the very end, even though they could have easily collapsed themselves.
On the other hand, the US military during World War II was very lenient towards surrendered enemies. They provided ample food and tried to minimize unnecessary violence in their treatment. The death rate of prisoners captured by the US military was only about 1%, so being captured was more comfortable and had a higher chance of survival than resisting.
Because of this, when the German army, notorious for its persistence, judged that the tide was turning, they willingly laid down their weapons and entrusted their fate to the US military.
That’s why I repeatedly emphasized the importance of paying attention to this issue. I received several related reports and issued corrective orders.
However, I couldn’t rely solely on other people’s eyes to make a judgment. And there were indeed problems.
It seemed a bit absurd to say that there was ethnic discrimination.
But there was a problem even if I didn’t say it.
Anyway, Germany at the moment was in a state of nationalist fervor.
If this weren’t a game world, I would have put more effort into resolving these issues, but to me, this world was just a game. In the position of needing to quickly develop Germany and escape from this world, I had no choice but to overlook these aspects.
After the prisoner-of-war camp, next was a field hospital.
It had been quite a while since the battle, but the wounded soldiers brought from Poland, where the demobilization was underway, were hospitalized here and there.
We visited the soldiers, giving them chocolates, candies, and cigarettes that we had obtained in advance as gifts. It was something that the doctors would scold us for, but in the military, sweets were in high demand and soldiers longed for cigarettes.
“Your Majesty, it is an honor.”
I scribbled my signature for the soldiers who requested it, and took pictures with them.
Although the monarchs were unfamiliar with such acts, they imitated me as I set an example.
The event ended in just one hour.
The German monarchs couldn’t digest an event meant to be seen by the public for a long time. If they were politicians in a modern democratic country, they would have stayed all day even if their bodies were broken, but we were lifelong monarchs who didn’t need to do that.
“Well, it turned out alright.”
Overall, the German monarch meeting in Königsberg was a great success.
The German monarchs also united, made a show, and boasted their victory. It was an event that would make Russia and France quite angry.
But that was it.
We had only taken the first step now.