Chapter 42: Riot Again
Adrian, who was reluctant to get up from the gentle country, kissed Sylna, got up to wash, and rushed to the Capitol without even bothering to eat breakfast.
The gate is already overcrowded, and today's topic is still the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare initiated by the General Staff. This operation, which was originally initiated by the General Staff in history, has not been as powerful as it was originally due to many changes in history, and it is impossible to do a single word, and there are not even many seats to support them. This is not counting the centrists led by Adrian, if he declares his opposition or support, the result will be one-sided. Adrian had to pay attention to this council, he really didn't want to be involved in some conflict caused by unrestricted submarine warfare. He understands that unrestricted submarine warfare is not the key to the United States entering the war, but is afraid that the resulting series of foreign policies and actions will lead to the United States to find it, or have to enter the war.
As the noisy parliament began to calm down, the deputies took their seats, and Adrian found his seat, which was the seat of Lower Saxony, and he represented his father-in-law, Augustus III. This was followed by 76 seats in Lower Saxony, while the entire Reichstag now has 677 seats. In other words, Lower Saxony occupies 10% of the seats, and Augustus III is represented by Adrian, a high-ranking member of the military, a popular man in front of the emperor, and a representative of a new force in the military. Its energy is much greater than the 76-point seats, and Adrian is sure that 20 percent of MPs will approve of his choice. This is why Wilhelm II urged them to get married as soon as possible, and looked forward to him very much. Adrian's own ability is not small, he has a certain appeal in the people, and his companies are also a great help, and his friends in the business field more or less have members of Congress who support it. After the outbreak of the war, he once again won the war merit, and led the German army to win the biggest victory in the war so far, and promoted countless young generals. Some of these new generals also have good influence behind them, and they have the energy to influence some members of the National Assembly. Coupled with the fact that neither August III nor II had any intention of participating in parliament, the whole of Lower Saxony became Adrian's power with the acquiescence of the emperor. Together, it's not as simple as one plus one. Moreover, Adrian had a good relationship with Prime Minister Holwig, the chairman of Congress, and was of the same opinion on this matter, believing that as long as he remained neutral and his opponents continued to maintain the original number of seats, he could delay the entry of the United States into the war.
The parliament began with the proclamation of Holwig, and Hindenburg strode up to the podium to impassionedly explain the necessity of unlimited submarine warfare, the situation in the country, and the situation on the Western Front. And at the end it is a threatening allusion that those who oppose it are ill-intentioned and enemies of the Reich, and accuses the chairman of the National Assembly, Holwig, of inaction. The opponents, and even some neutrals, were furious and camored for Hindenburg to get out. But the supporters were greatly encouraged, and this warlike and victorious nature made them feel that Hindenburg was the key to the Empire's victory.
In a place like the Reichstag, where there is a disagreement, it is time for both sides to criticize each other, and Holwig is not in a hurry to intervene, and he wants to find some inspiration in the quarrel to dissuade His Majesty the Emperor from leaning towards Hindenburg's growing attitude. Only the neutral faction, led by Adrian, said that it would not intervene, and neither opposed nor supported it. Opponents are not surprised by Adrian's approach, and they are happy to do it, because they are antithetical to the military. However, the supporters led by the military scolded Adrian's neutrals together, so that some of the neutrals also joined the war of words, and only the parliamentarians of Lower Saxony did not participate under Adrian's suppression. Other people who did not sit in his camp would be able to escape even if they joined the opposing side, but the parliamentarians of Lower Saxony must not participate, otherwise the consequences will be unpredictable.
After a fierce quarrel, seeing that the situation was getting worse and there were signs of action, and there were even people clamoring for a duel to decide the winner or loser, Holwig had no choice but to announce the start of voting. The two sides "boycotted" and returned to their seats, and Holwig announced the start of voting.
The voting method was a show of hands, with 194 people opposing unrestricted submarine warfare, 188 people supporting unrestricted submarine warfare, and the remaining 295 people abstaining. Once again, the resolution was rejected, and Hindenburg left the meeting in a rage. But Adrian found a problem, that is, the number of people who supported it increased, and the number of people who opposed it decreased. He didn't count them one by one, and he didn't know who these people were. But he couldn't help but care, if the number of supporters continued to increase, then the emperor's vacillation would immediately follow the majority to become active, and perhaps Hindenburg and Moltke Jr. would let Hindenburg and Moltke be arbitrary before the majority of parliament passed the emperor.
Paul von Hindenburg left the venue and went straight to Wilhelm II, and the two exchanged views on the yacht for an afternoon, and Hindenburg did not leave until the evening, and the emperor returned to the palace. Of course, Holwig also received the news, but he could not find a way to dissuade the emperor, so he could only wait for things to turn around.
Many people were happy that the council had not passed during the day, but a few or a group of elites and Adrian were aware of the same problem. They were not as conservative as Adrian and decided to strike first.
The next morning, no one came to work at a Reich War Office arms factory on the outskirts of Berlin, and the workers gathered in the streets, a few with their heads bowed handing out banners and propaganda slogans, until the policemen dared to come and run away. The workers quickly formed a human wall to block the police, and the two sides began to resort to force, and the workers lacked the determination and weapons to fight them, and were swept to pieces.
Just when the police thought that the gathering had failed, more workers gathered on the road, and before the police could react, a burst of slogans began to approach.
The cries of the emperor for the abdication of the emperor and the ineffectiveness of the generals and the inaction of the prime minister resounded throughout Berlin, and a smell of rain began to spread rapidly from Berlin, just as Adrian had just returned to the prince's palace, he saw his new butler, and after some exchange, the two returned to the manor in an ordinary carriage around the flow of people and processions.