The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the incorporation of the Kingdom of Austria into the German Empire put the crown of Austria on the head of the German Crown Princess, who was also the first in line to the throne of the Kingdom of Austria.

The sovereignty of the states of the German Empire would no longer be protected by the Habsburgs. As for the Russians, they are now immersed in strengthening their power on the Black Sea coast and have no intention of taking care of the German family affairs.

Therefore, Schlieffen believed that the German states, which had no foreign aid at all, could not afford to bargain with the powerful Kingdom of Prussia.

And the reorganization and command of the army of the Kingdom of Austria under the command of the General Staff added an important bargaining chip to Schlieffen's plan: even the Austrian army, which has 200,000 troops, is under our command, what do you Bavarians mean by insisting that the army of about 60,000 people only obey the orders of the Bavarian king?

As a result, Schlieffen proposed a military reform plan aimed at seizing command of the Bavarian army.

"The army of Bavaria still belongs to Bavaria in name and is loyal to the Bavarian king, but does it put command in the hands of the General Staff?" Frederick III groaned.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Archduke Albrecht has already done this, then there is Austria to set an example, and the Bavarians have no reason to refuse." Schlieffen is confident.

The Austrian army is still loyal to Queen Mary of Austria and is still nominally an army with a high degree of independence. But Archduke Albrecht involved the General Staff in the reorganization of the Austrian army, and in fact transferred command.

As long as Mary did not divorce Jochen, or if Reinhardt became King of Prussia, King of Austria, and Emperor of Germany in the future, there would be no conflict in which the allegiance and command of the Austrian army belonged to the General Staff.

However, this situation is different for Bavaria, because if there is a conflict between the Bavarian army's allegiance to the Bavarian king and the general staff's allegiance to the Prussian king, who should the Bavarian army listen to?

But the Austrian army was still nominally the army of the Austrian king, and with this name, Schlieffen could naturally justifiably ask Bavaria to follow Austria's approach.

If you dare to be disobedient, the General Staff of 15 standing divisions is still worried about this now with 12 integrated divisions in your hands? This is also the confidence of Schlieffen who is not worried about the Bavarians daring to resist.

For Frederick III, of course, he also hoped to completely solve the problem of army command, and once the whole German army was unified under one system, the administrative efficiency, command efficiency, logistics efficiency and even the efficiency of rearmament were improved. But what if the Bavarians don't have their brains open.

Germany had just annexed Austria, and the Czechs were still implementing a high-pressure policy, and there was another civil war with the Bavarians on this side, even if Schlieffen promised that once the war started, Munich would be captured in 1 week, and all Bavarian military forces would be completely wiped out in 2 weeks, Frederick III was still worried that something would go wrong.

"If the Bavarians can agree, then of course it would be better, even if it is by coercion. But if there is a civil war, this is what I do not want to see. Frederick III said.

"I don't think His Royal Highness the Regent of Lutpod would be so unwise." Caprivi on the side interjected.

If the General Staff could allow Bavaria to reclaim command of the army in the Austrian form, then the Reich government could also demand that Bavaria surrender diplomatic and railroad powers, and therefore support Schlieffen's plan. Of course, Caprivi also did not want to see a civil war.

"His Majesty Ludwig II tried to convey the message on June 10, 1886 that the Regent Ludbold had usurped power and that he was being persecuted, although this information was not leaked due to the interception of the Bavarian government, but we have the original, and His Royal Highness the Regent Ludwig II died in an 'accident' three days later, if His Royal Highness the Regent Ludpod does not want us to question his regency qualifications, or even accuse him of murdering the king, then he had better cooperate."

Caprivi tried to use the Bavarian black material in Guò's possession to force the Regent of Lutepod to comply.

On June 10, 1886, Ludwig II was declared insane by the Bavarian government and no longer able to handle official duties; Prince Lutpod was appointed regent.

However, Ludwig II, who lived in Neuschwanstein Castle, tried to convey the following message to the public: Prince Lutepod had taken the regent against my will, and he was trying to usurp power. My ministers listen to false reports about my state of health and are ready to impose tyranny on the people I love. I need the help of every loyal Bavarian......

These words were published in a newspaper in Bamberg on June 11, 1886. But the government intercepted the newspaper and banned its distribution. Most of Ludwig II's telegrams to other newspapers and friends were also intercepted.

On the morning of 12 June, a force arrived at Neuschwanstein Castle, where Ludwig II was hiding, and captured him. He was transferred to a castle in Berg, on the southern outskirts of Munich.

On June 13, the body of Ludwig II was found in Lake Starnberg, officially said to have committed suicide, but the water where the body was found was only waist-deep.

As a result, later historians generally believe that Ludwig II may have died of murder.

It may seem like a corollary to historians, but Jochen, now as Crown Prince of the German Empire, knew that it was not possible to die of murder, but of murder.

Evidence that Ludwig II died of homicide is that the autopsy report suggests that Ludwig II did not have water in his lungs. However, the confidential internal report of the Kingdom of Prussia, which Jochen had read, clearly stated that Ludwig II had indeed died of suffocation, but that he had a contusion to his face.

Drowning could never have been accompanied by a facial contusion, so it is almost certain that Ludwig II would have been suffocated and then thrown into the water.

Who else would dare to do this, but the regent Lutpot? If it is revealed, Lutpod will face charges of usurping the throne and murdering the king.

"It's been seven years since the incident, and now I can say that Lutpod can flatly deny it, saying that we are planting the blame. Moreover, we are trying to get command of the Bavarian army, and we will be accused of creating rumors with malicious intentions.

The Wittelsbach family has a deep-rooted rule in Bavaria, and the Regency of Lutpod has a high reputation in Bavaria for 7 years, and his son Ludwig is keen on agriculture and attaches great importance to water conservancy, and also has a high prestige among the Bavarian nobility. Frederick III objected.

"If that's the case, we'll have to deal with it by force." Schlieffen said.

"Aren't the Bavarians just worried that the army is no longer the army of Bavaria, but has become the army of Prussia? Then let Prussia hand over the army as well. Joechen spoke.

"Your Highness?" Schlieffen cried out in surprise.

"If Bavaria is not willing to hand over the command of the army to Prussia, then let them hand it over to the German Empire, and as an example, the armies of Prussia and Austria will also be given to the Reich. From then on, the states were not allowed to have their own standing armies, and all armies belonged to the German Empire, so that they had no complaints. ”

Jochen stared at Schlieffen and said word by word: "Although the Kingdom of Prussia has no army, the army of the German Empire will still be loyal to the German emperor." ”

"The armies of the German Empire will always be loyal to the German Emperor." Schlieffen immediately replied loudly with both legs.

"As long as the army of the German Empire remained loyal to the German Emperor, what did it matter to turn the army of Prussia into the army of the German Empire? Letting the army belong to the Reich, and the Reich's army being loyal to the Emperor, was perhaps the first step in making the German Emperor the Emperor of Germany. Do you say yes, Your Excellency the Chief of the General Staff. Jochen said lightly.

Although the crown prince's tone was light, but Shi Lifen, who didn't dare to speak casually, broke out in a cold sweat on his nervous back, and the atmosphere in the room was cold and scary for a while.

Schlieffen, who wanted to continue to express his determination, was interrupted by Frederick III with a slight doubt: "Jochen, you should make it clear first. ”

"The General Staff wants to take command of the Bavarian army in order to integrate the armies of the whole empire into a single command system, which is not only conducive to improving combat effectiveness but also avoiding waste of resources, but in any case, the object of allegiance of the Bavarian army is still not ours."

Jochen slowly explained: "So if the instructions given by His Royal Highness the Regent of Lutepod are contrary to the orders of the General Staff, who should the army listen to? So in that case, simply change their allegiance. But it is clear that they will not accept that this allegiance is to the Prussian king, so let them be loyal to the German emperor.

Although the German Emperor was not the Emperor of the German Empire, after all, in name, the German Emperor was the Emperor of all Germans and the representative of the German Empire. Then when the army belongs to the whole empire, the object of allegiance can only be the German emperor.

In order to give them no excuse to object, Prussia and Austria also changed the allegiance of their armies from their own king to that of the German emperor. In this way, not only Bavaria, but also all other state armies had to do the same. Then the General Staff will fundamentally and thoroughly solve the problem of the integration of the all-German army.

Although the Kingdom of Prussia lost its own army, as long as the General Staff and the officer corps remained loyal to the German Emperor, the situation remained unchanged, did it? ”

"Yes, the General Staff and the officer corps will always be loyal to the German Emperor." Schlieffen responded immediately.

"And the parliament would also be willing to see that the army was no longer the feudal private army of the kings, but an army belonging to the whole empire. Parliament and citizens would like to see this, even if only in name. Then Bavaria could not resist this demand, otherwise it would be against the whole of Germany. Caprivi said excitedly. The army that completely belonged to the entire empire, and what a great merit it for itself to realize this plan.

"No one could refuse this proposal, and it would be a great concession from the King of Prussia, a concession that would bring the whole of Germany closer together. We stood on the commanding heights of public opinion and gave up our power to build an army that belonged to the entire empire. Frederick III was equally pleased.

"A Wehrmacht (Reichswehr)." Jochen interjected.

"Imperial Defense (Note 1)? I like this statement. Frederick III laughed.

Note 1: The German Wehrmacht is divided into three phases, the Reichswehr during the Weimar Republic, the Wehrmacht during Nazi Germany, and the Bundeswehr during the Federal Republic of Germany.

Wehrmacht refers now specifically to the Nazi German army, so not used. And Reich has the meaning of the German Empire, so it is also possible for the Reich Wehrmacht to be referred to as the Wehrmacht.

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