Chapter 1262: Chapter 1167: Prussia Stirs Restlessly
Western Prussia.
In the brick-red villa south of Stendal, Mrs. Adenauer is hosting a salon.
The the of the salon is “The aning of the German Nation.”
“Martin Luther’s German Bible allows the farr in Hesse and the craftsman in Prussia to read the sa proverb, the bells of Cologne Cathedral and Rheinfelden Monastery ring the sa hymn of ‘Christ’s resurrection!'”
A young man, wearing hunting attire without a wig, was gesticulating passionately as he spoke: “From Arminius’s battle cry in the Teutoburg Forest to Charlemagne’s Frankish Kingdom cavalry, our ancestors watered the black soil from the Baltic Sea to the Alps with the sa blood!
“But now, our language, legends, and even ballads have been fragnted into countless pieces!
“Honorable gentlen, when foreign enemies invade, only by uniting Hesse’s sword, Prussia’s spear, and Thuringia’s shield can we form an iron wall that will make all of Europe…”
At the rear left of the guest section, a man with sparse hair and a short beard stared at the speaker and whispered to a middle-aged man with powdered face next to him, “Have you heard? Berlin is planning to build two new gun factories, on an unprecedented scale, one of which will be here in Stendal.
“The new factory will certainly require a large number of linings and rivets. If you are willing to partner with , no one will be able to outcompete us.”
Both of their families operated the largest and third-largest copper workshops in western Prussia.
“It seems war is approaching again.” The middle-aged man sighed deeply before nodding, “We must collaborate, as business is becoming increasingly difficult.”
“Indeed,” the short-bearded man agreed. “Ever since Cologne’s trade routes were disrupted, we have barely received any orders along the Rhine River.
“But this ti, the gun factory appears to be very large. Securing this deal could be enough to get us out of our plight.”
The middle-aged man was puzzled, “I know the military has recruited many new soldiers, but even then, it’s only necessary to make forty to fifty thousand more guns, and surely more than half would be manufactured in Berlin. Here, we shouldn’t need such a large factory, right?”
The short-bearded man leaned closer to his ear, covering his mouth with his hand, “I t my uncle last week. He told the British have provided us with new rifle production technology. The General Staff has decided to re-equip the entire army.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes widened. He knew Mr. Ramsdorf’s uncle was an official under the Foreign Minister, often accessing high-level docunts.
According to him, this would be an extraordinarily large order — ever since Prussia implented universal conscription, the standing army size has reached 140,000, with another 60,000 reservists, i.e., fast-trained troops. If these 200,000 were all re-equipped, his family’s industry could expand several tis over, even more than tenfold!
“Fantastic!” He slapped his leg in excitent, “The British have indeed done a good thing. By the way, what new gun is it?”
“Caplock gun,” Ramsdorf murmured. “It’s the sa kind that the French equipped a few years ago. It doesn’t have a chamber; you just need to place a small copper piece at the front of the breech to fire it. The Duke of Brunswick’s army was defeated by this weapon.”
“You’re saying it’s fired with a copper piece?”
“Yes, Mr. Onack,” Ramsdorf gestured with his thumb and forefinger, “about this big, filled with so kind of chemical that ignites upon impact.”
“Excellent.” Onack was overjoyed, “We must secure the order for manufacturing these copper pieces. That’s the big business!”
Ramsdorf hesitated, “We may have to bring in Baron Hane. After all, we’re competing with Berlin.”
“Fine, bring in Hane. You could try getting so technology from the British…”
Onack was speaking when a thought occurred to him. He frowned at Ramsdorf, “Wait, His Majesty won’t be purchasing with IOUs, will he? As far as I know, our governnt’s financial situation is not optimistic.”
“Please rest assured. The British have provided another 800,000 British pounds in special aid this ti. Oh, it’s said to be 800,000 annually, if war breaks out.”
Onack’s eyes widened again, “Really?”
“Certainly,” Ramsdorf asserted, “The Franco-Spanish Alliance is besieging Gibraltar, the British are committed to this effort.
“And we also wish to retake Saarlouis. Actually, the most important is Cologne; currently, the textiles from Potsdam and Stenberge can only be sold dostically. Only by forcing France to relinquish Cologne can our products once again be sold along the Rhine River.”
In front, the speech was nearing its conclusion, and the young man was passionately declaring, “Northern Germany must first unite, and Prussia has the obligation to lead this effort…”
Ramsdorf nodded, “He’s right, we must drive France out of the Rhineland for any chance of integrating Northern Germany. This will be a very large-scale war.”
The Rhineland and Northern Germany overlap in parts, and currently, the states of Northern Germany, especially those along the Rhine, cannot ignore France’s diplomatic policies.
But Onack asked again, “But what about those farrs growing sugar beets? I heard they’re very dependent on French seeds.”
“That’s why we must defeat France,” Ramsdorf replied, “The armistice agreent will include content regarding the cultivation thods of sugar beet seeds. We cannot always be beholden to the French.”
“And before the war ends?”
“Likely, so will switch to potato farming. Others will return to using the old sugar beet seeds. Though the yield will be lower, the British are likely to increase the purchase price.”
Onack nodded, but his expression turned more grave, “Do you think we can win? Last ti, the French used less than 60,000 troops to defeat the Duke of Brunswick’s 100,000 army.”
Ramsdorf appeared confident, “Of course. Last ti, our army was still using outdated weapons, but now we have caplock guns.
“And now, the Sharp Signal Towers have been erected throughout the country. You know how important this is for warfare. The French battle results in Italy reached the Rhineland in just half a day, while the Duke of Brunswick remained in the dark. Now we fight under fair conditions.
“Oh, I’ve also heard the General Staff is experinting with hot air balloons. That’s the latest military equipnt from the French, discovered by the British when defending Gibraltar.”
Hot air balloons appeared seven or eight years ago and are not a mysterious technology, but countries have not yet considered their military application.
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