Chapter 23 General Office of Military Economy
At the same time as Holwig signed the secret agreement, Eric Adrian had already asked the German army to return one after another, some went directly to the Western Front, some stopped along the line to regroup or replenish, and then went to the Western Front, all the German troops on the Eastern Front would basically participate in the war on the Western Front, and those German soldiers who had previously been transferred to the Eastern Front on the Western Front were eager to hope that Eric Adrian would continue to serve as their supreme commander when they knew that they were going to return to the Western Front. This is a kind of psychology of subduing the public, a good general can improve the combat effectiveness, and a stupid general can weaken the combat effectiveness. This is how the German soldiers feel now, not that the command class on the Western Front is not good. But in terms of their intuitive feelings, Eric Adrian led them to a crucial victory, defeating the invincible European gendarmes, something that would make them proud for a lifetime. Well, the desire to continue the hard fight on the Western Front under the command of Eric Adrian is understandable.
I don't know what the German soldiers are thinking about this question, even he himself is thinking about his positioning, the original position of commander-in-chief of the German Eastern Front with the collapse of the Russian army, Romania and other small Balkan countries are no longer to be feared after all, and the fall of Serbia is obviously an early rehearsal for Romania. Max Hoffmann, who had already led the German 11th Army and the German-Austrian 13th Army to the south, took less than half a month to defeat Romania and other countries to the north, and it was only a matter of time before it was destroyed. At that time, there was no need for the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front to exist. Go? Not to mention the star-studded battlefields of the Western Front, even the Berlin General Staff did not have a suitable place for him to sit down. Besides, Adrian's ability, marching and fighting, planning and deployment are not his strong points, compared with these people who have already occupied positions, it is simply too far behind, others are deceived by appearances, but those who know the inside story are very clear. Therefore, Adrian did not foolishly think that he could rely on his brilliant achievements to compete for power with the bigwigs, but returned to Berlin quietly and low-key to report on his work.
The London sightseeing ship, a cruise ship produced by the dockyard of the Eric Group, is a congratulatory gift from Eric Adrian to Wilhelm II, at this time the emperor Wilhelm II was dressed in a marshal's dress and took the royal relatives to stand on the side of the ship to welcome today's protagonist. This protagonist is none other than Imperial Field Marshal Eric Adrian, who has just returned home in a low-key manner. The ladies of the nobility who had heard the news stood on both sides of the road early to see if the young marshal was really as handsome as the newspapers. The team that picked up Eric Adrian was a Benz sedan produced by its subsidiary, with a unique shape that was different from the American cars on the other side of the ocean and the British cars on the other side of the channel. This kind of car is the latest Benz car designed by Eric Adrian himself, most of the vehicles are handmade, and the dozens of cars produced were bought by the royal family, and the rest are also in the hands of the three military, political and business bosses, and it is a symbol of status in the eyes of the Germans. And Eric Adrian, as the designer and owner of the company, naturally kept a few for himself.
The car stopped at the place of the paved flowers and the red carpet, and under the spotlight, Eric Adrian appeared in public for the first time as a hero. Years of business experience to cultivate a calm and gentle and elegant place, and after the baptism and polishing of blood and fire in the war, the benign chemistry between the two has spawned the charm of his appearance, which has added more sparkle to this place, this is his current charm, a charm that can kill all ages in seconds.
Wilhelm II also noticed the change in the young man standing on the side of the ship, and the months of killing seemed to make the young man even more dazzling.
Eric Adrian did not let the emperor wait for a long time, after a polite and courteous conversation, everyone began to chat around him, the topic of aristocratic women is always inseparable from marriage, while the topic of men is battlefield conquest, I hope Eric Adrian can talk to them about those exciting topics.
Eric Adrian bent left and right, trying to do a good job of not snubbing anyone, so as not to suffer unnecessary resentment, but this is even more tiring. After a while, he began to feel dizzy, his energy and concentration began to decline, and everyone saw that he didn't seem to be in a good state, so they slowly stopped talking to him, which made him happy for a while.
Without the nobles around him, Wilhelm II summoned Eric Adrian again, but in a more private room.
"Congratulations, my marshal, you have achieved enough to make you and your children and grandchildren glorious!" As soon as Wilhelm II opened his mouth, he praised it, but although he said it nicely, he could not see what he described on his face. It's really that Wilhelm II thinks that Eric Adrian is a hot potato at this time, you don't arrange him, don't say that he doesn't want to go, the people of the whole country will not agree, and the soldiers on the front line will not agree. You say arrange him, but where is it going? In the entire empire, only the Western Front is still fighting, but there is no place to install him, the marshal who has returned victoriously on the Eastern Front, which is low, counterproductive, and affects morale, not to mention, it has to trigger some backlash. Placement in the General Staff seemed like a good option, but the Chief of the General Staff and the Quartermaster General were already manned, and if they were placed here, one of them would be removed from power, but Wilhelm II did not want to do this, and there was no reason at all to do so. Eric Adrian was not an aristocrat with a deep background and capital, but a speculative man who made a fortune after leaving the army and doing business, and if it weren't for Hindenburg's promotion and appreciation, he would have been a businessman with no upper status. You said that you want him to enter politics, but he has no experience and foundation at all, and there is no precedent for the marshal to enter politics after setting a great feat, let alone a suitable position for him. The troubled Wilhelm II had no choice but to put this thorny question on Paul Hindenburg, who knew Adrian best. He is the best person to solve this problem, as Eric Adrian's Bole, any arrangement for him, Adrian will minimize his resistance.
"In view of your contributions and merits to the Empire, I intend to appoint you as the General Office of Military Economy of the Empire, in charge of the wartime economy of the whole country." Wilhelm II copied the idea given to him by Hindenburg exactly as it was.
The General Office of Military Economics, Eric Adrian, had a vague division of power for this position, but he had no room for refusal, and the appointment of the emperor was a military order, even more effective than a military order.
"I am honored, Your Majesty. I will do my best to serve the Empire. Eric Adrian agreed without hesitation, but he didn't even have an excuse to object. Before meeting the Emperor, Eric Adrian had done countless deductions, and he would not have thought or never knew that such a position existed.
Filled with thoughts, Eric Adrian returned to his manor after enjoying a dinner party bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor, and he was already exhausted and still reading late at night. I wanted to find out if there was any record and explanation of this position in the book.