Chapter 1168: Prussia Stirs
Western Prussia.
Inside a brick-red villa south of the city of Stendal, a salon hosted by Madame Adenauer was in full swing.
The theme of the gathering was "The Meaning of the German Nation."
"Martin Luther's German translation of the Bible allows the Hessian farmer and the Prussian craftsman to read the same proverbs! The bells of Cologne Cathedral and Reifenstein Abbey ring out the same hymn of 'Christ is Risen'!"
A young man, eschewing the traditional wig and dressed in hunting attire, gestured emphatically as he delivered a fervent and impassioned speech. "From the battle cries of Arminius in the Teutoburg Forest to the iron cavalry of Charlemagne's East Francia, our ancestors nourished the black soil from the Baltic Sea to the Alps with the same lifeblood!"
"And now, our language, our legends, and even our songs have been shattered into countless fragments!"
"Distinguished gentlemen, when the foreign enemy strikes, we must combine the sword of the Hessian, the spear of the Prussian, and the shield of the Thuringian to form an iron wall. Only then will all of Europe be forced to listen to the voice of Germany..."
To the back left of the guest seating, a man with a short beard and thinning hair watched the speaker. He leaned toward a middle-aged man with a powdered face and whispered, "Have you heard? Berlin is planning to build two new firearms factories on an unprecedented scale. One of them will be right here in Stendal."
"The new factory will certainly require a massive procurement of linings and rivets. If you are willing to partner with me, no one will be able to compete with us."
"It seems war is coming again," the middle-aged man sighed before nodding. "We should indeed cooperate. Business is becoming harder by the day."
"Is it ever," the bearded man agreed. "Ever since the trade routes through Cologne were severed, we've barely received any orders from along the Rhine."
"However, the scale of this firearms factory seems enormous. If we can secure this deal, it will be enough to pull us out of our current predicament."
The middle-aged man looked puzzled. "I know the army has recruited many new soldiers, but at most they would produce another forty or fifty thousand muskets, and surely more than half would be made in Berlin. We shouldn't need a factory of such scale here, should we?"
The bearded man leaned closer to his ear, shielding his mouth with his hand. "I saw my cousin last week. He told me the British have provided us with the production technology for a new type of rifle. The General Staff has decided to re-equip the entire army."
The middle-aged man's eyes widened. He knew that this Mr. Ramsdorf's cousin was an official under the Foreign Minister and often had access to high-level documents.
If what he said was true, this was an order of staggering proportions. Since Prussia implemented the universal conscription system, the standing army had reached 150,000 men, with another 60,000 in the reserves—troops who had undergone "accelerated training." If all 210,000 men were to be re-equipped, his family business could expand several times over, perhaps even tenfold!
"Splendid!" he exclaimed, slapping his thigh in excitement. "The British have actually done something useful for once. By the way, what kind of new gun is it?"
"A percussion cap musket," Ramsdorf whispered. "It's the same kind of weapon the French began equipping a few years ago. There is no powder pan; you simply fit a small copper cap onto a nipple in front of the lock, and it fires. Back then, the Duke of Brunswick's army was defeated by this very thing."
"You mean it uses a copper cap to ignite?"
"Precisely, Mr. Honecker." Ramsdorf pinched his thumb and forefinger together to demonstrate the size. "About this big. It contains a chemical agent that flashes into fire upon impact."
"Excellent," Honecker said, overjoyed. "We must seize the contract to produce these copper caps. That is where the real money is!"
Ramsdorf hesitated. "We will likely have to bring Baron Hahnemann into this. After all, we'll be competing with the interests in Berlin."
"Fine, bring in Hahnemann. You should also try to obtain some of the technical specifications from Britain..."
Honecker was speaking when a sudden realization struck him. He frowned at Ramsdorf. "Wait, surely His Majesty won't be paying us with promissory notes? As far as I know, our government's finances are not in the best state."
"Rest assured. The British have provided another 800,000 pounds sterling in special aid. I heard it will be 800,000 pounds annually if war breaks out."
Honecker's eyes widened again. "Is that true?"
"Of course it is," Ramsdorf said with conviction. "The Franco-Spanish forces are besieging Gibraltar. The British are throwing everything they have into this fight."
"And we intend to reclaim Upper Guelders. Actually, the most important thing is Cologne. The textiles from Potsdam and Sternberg can currently only be sold domestically. Only by forcing France to abandon Cologne can our products be sold along the Rhine again."
The speech at the front was drawing to a close. The young man cried out with stirring passion, "North Germany must first unite, and Prussia has the duty to lead this union!"
Ramsdorf nodded. "He's right. France must be driven out of the Rhineland before we can hope to integrate North Germany. This will be a war of immense scale."
The Rhineland and North Germany partially overlapped, and currently, the North German states—especially those along the Rhine—could not ignore French foreign policy.
Honecker asked another question, "But what about the farmers growing sugar beets? I heard they are heavily dependent on French seeds."
"That is exactly why we must defeat France!" Ramsdorf declared. "The peace treaty will include clauses regarding the cultivation methods for sugar beet seeds. We cannot forever live at the mercy of the French."
"And before the war ends?"
"A portion of them will likely be told to switch to potatoes. Others will use the old varieties of sugar beet seeds. Although the yield is lower, the British will likely increase their purchase price to compensate."
Honecker nodded, though his expression grew solemn. "Tell me, do you think we can win? Last time, the French used fewer than 60,000 men to crush the Duke of Brunswick's army of 100,000."
Ramsdorf appeared quite confident. "Certainly. Last time, our army was carrying obsolete weapons, but now we have the percussion cap musket as well."
"Furthermore, Chappe signal towers have been erected across the entire country. You know how vital they are to warfare. News of the French situation in Italy reached the Rhineland in only half a day, while the Duke of Brunswick was kept in the dark back then. This time, we are fighting on equal terms."
"Oh, I also heard the General Staff is working on hot air balloons. Those are the latest French military equipment, discovered by the British during the defense of Gibraltar."
Civilian hot air balloons had appeared seven or eight years ago, so the technology itself was no secret, but the various nations had not yet considered their application in the military sphere.
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