.“ Here we go? ”

The blue-clad marshal sat upright in his chair, the desk in front of him was very clean, and slightly to the right was a stack of letterheads, and to the right of the letterhead was an inkwell with a slender quill in it.

It was pitch black outside the window, and in the darkness of the night, endless snowflakes were quietly drifting.

Two steps away from the desk, the black suit replied respectfully:

"Yes, Your Majesty! With the help of the local garrison, the sons of the Duke of Württemberg had left the royal palace on the southern outskirts of Stuttgart, and now they were gradually taking control of the city of Stuttgart; According to the information received by our men, Mecklenburg, Schwerin, and Saxony have entered a state of secret martial law, and part of their army is leaving the barracks, presumably preparing to take control of the city and the main communication routes; So far, there has been no movement in Berlin! ”

After listening to the report, the blue-clothed marshal's expression did not change in any way, but said softly to himself: "Alas, when will people learn a lesson and completely forget greed? ”

The black suit didn't hear this, or even if he did, he didn't hear it, he still stood still, with almost the same indifference on his face, and all kinds of expressions of joy and sorrow had nothing to do with this face.

After a few minutes, seeing that the marshal in blue did not speak, the black suit cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, what should we do next?" ”

The blue-clothed marshal looked up, as if he had just woken up from his contemplation.

"Oh, let's wait and see!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Always at your beckon! The black suit bowed politely, and then walked briskly out of the warm and comfortable room.

"Hopefully, not too many innocent people will die on this unfortunate night!" The blue-clothed marshal muttered, and then swam again into the ocean of thoughts.

At this time, Britain, which was only a sea away from the European continent, was not in the same precarious atmosphere as some might expect. On the contrary, there was no city in England, Scotland or Wales under martial law, and the Royal Guard, although a few soldiers, carried out the task of maintaining law and order.

London, located in the southeast of England, is far from recovering from the war compared to two years ago. But at least not the ruins that littered the ground. On the banks of the River Thames, a new royal palace has been erected, although it is not as grand and spectacular as Buckingham Palace, but it is also full of the splendor of the golden wall and the style of the old and the new.

In this palace there is a room decorated in the style of the time of Frederick the Great, which was the private study of King Robert I. At nightfall, only a few softly lit lamps are left on in this unique room, and two men of different ages and costumes sit on a small sofa in the corner of the window. The one with a more upright sitting posture is already middle-aged, and his beard is obviously freshly combed. Neat and very energetic, he wore a white marshal's military uniform with a gold collar, gold epaulettes and colorful ribbons on his upper body, and a pair of red military trousers trimmed with gold trim on his lower body. The other sat on the sofa in a more natural and enjoyable posture, he was about thirty years old, wearing a gray-black field marshal's uniform, gold edges, red background, and dragon collar badges, but inadvertently revealed his unique identity.

"My Majesty, the whole world thought you had left Europe, and who would have thought that you would enjoy a leisurely tasting of the 1801 wine at my place. I think only you can come up with such a plan, wonderful! The white-clothed marshal held a glass of red wine in his right hand and shook it gently clockwise, and the three fingers holding the cup were constantly devoured and spit out by the pink red.

However, there was no look of pride on the face of the gray-clothed marshal opposite him. There was a faint sadness hidden in the depths of that calm expression.

"I can't help it. Like you, I rule a completely unified empire! Look at me, there's a whole bunch of very difficult old guys down there. Sometimes they don't take the Imperial government seriously at all, so those who shouldn't be alive can continue to live under their protection! Alas, the system is such that it is almost impossible to change it! ”

"System, oh, that's not where we can choose!" The white-clothed marshal nodded with deep understanding, "This country does have such an advantage, the central government has absolute power, and although the power of the imperial family is not as good as that of Germany, its influence cannot be underestimated at all!" Unfortunately, I don't know how many years it will take to gain the true respect of the people here! Maybe...... Never get a chance! ”

"Nope. My dear brother, do not be discouraged! The ideas in people's minds change over time, and if this generation can't, start with their next generation, the next generation, and one day, people here will forget their former rulers, just as they did to your ancestors! After the gray marshal finished speaking, he raised the tulip glass in his hand, and the superb French red wine in it was gradually waking up from its long age, and the faint fragrance could not stop overflowing outward.

A crackling sound. Two crystal clear cups gently knocked against each other. These two people are extremely noble, but they can drink good wine and complain to each other with such a relaxed mentality, which outsiders never expected.

However, the two men did not simply come together for a glass of wine, their eyes were fixed on Germany in the dark of the night, just across the sea.

Just three hours after leaving the cage-like palace, the three brothers, Albrecht Leopold, Major Albrecht Fortunatus and Albrecht Gregel, surrounded by soldiers, entered the parliament building in the center of Stuttgart, where the councillors usually agreed on state affairs and the center of power in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Now, Albrecht's descendants have regained their former kingly spirit in this empty hall.

Accompanied by the two generals, Leopold stepped up to the podium where the king and prime minister usually spoke, and the whole hall fell silent.

"I declare that I am the true King of Württemberg, and from now on every citizen of the Kingdom of Württemberg will obey my commands, and I will lead this kingdom to prosperity and strength!"

"Long live the King! Banzai! ”

Leopold's voice was met with an enthusiastic response, and the soldiers loyal to him raised their arms and shouted. In the midst of the tsunami cheers, Fortunatus and Gregel looked at their brother on the high platform without saying a word, although they had the same strong ** for power, but at such an important juncture they had to watch their competitors ascend to the throne.

As for the officers and soldiers under the control of Photunatus and Gregall, they stood there one by one in disappointment, allowing the people around them to cheer and cheer feverishly.

"Warriors of the kingdom, each of you must act, defend this sacred land with the weapons in your hands! Now I command ......" Opold glanced at the officers and soldiers who had just quieted down, as well as the few government officials in ordinary clothes. With full of energy, he gave his first order as a king: "Immediately block every road from the kingdom to the outside world, and no one will enter or leave without my order!" ”

"Yes!" The uniform voice made the young man on the stage show a satisfied look, although this was the result of a temporary compromise between the two younger brothers, he knew in his heart that as long as he held power, he would not allow others to peep into the throne again.

Immediately afterward, under the command of the officers, the tens of thousands of soldiers in the hall left in groups, although the kingdom was small. But there are still many places waiting for them to control, especially those important checkpoints on the border.

Seeing the momentum of the superiors, Fortunatus and Gregel were naturally full of jealousy, and before their brother stepped down from the high platform, the two of them quietly discussed the matter of digging corners.

"I didn't expect my brother's power to be so huge, and the commanders of 19 regiments are all his cronies! That's a third of the country's troops! Gregel said with envy and sourness, if the light was better, then people would definitely find that this young man had a burst of murderous intent in his eyes. Compared to the power of his eldest brother, Gregel only controlled a few garrisons and police officers with little use, and the infantry commander Lieutenant Colonel Ralphberer, whom he had always regarded as a close confidant, was now subservient to Leopold. This incident has taken a big toll on young people's confidence and self-esteem.

Futunastu sighed. reluctantly admitted his disadvantage, "yes, don't look at his usual obscurity." The battlefield is also decent, but it is impressive to really move! No, if this continues, the two of us will lose our living space, brother, it seems that the two of us must join forces to deal with him! ”

Hearing that the second brother was willing to join forces with him, Gregel hurriedly and actively agreed, "Okay, I have just written down the leaders who support him, and as soon as this matter is over, we will start with them." Cut off his left arm and right arm! By the way, when the time comes, brother, your local gendarmerie will fully cooperate with me! ”

"Don't worry, of course our brothers have to be the same!" Futunastu put his arms around his brother's shoulders with a smile on his face, and the brotherly affection seemed to be invincible, and they seemed to have forgotten that the one standing on the high platform was also their fellow brother.

"Brother, do you think Berlin will send heavy troops to quell the rebellion? We can't fight against Berlin with our army combined! As soon as the loss turned to joy, Gregel became uneasy.

Futunatus shook his head, "Brother, you don't have to worry about that. If Berlin had been able to send a heavy force against us, as you feared, we wouldn't have acted so rashly! Do you think that if we were not 100% sure, the old fox of Ludwig III would contact us to act together? ”

"That's right!" Gregel patted his head and said, "Presumably Berlin has a headache for Bavaria at this time!" But there is one thing I still can't figure out, why should Ludwig III, the old man who is already the king of Bavaria, oppose Berlin? ”

"Well...... "Fortunatus thought about it," he said, "I think he's doing it for his son, the current King of England, Robert I, who, although nominally the monarch of England, is actually under the control of Berlin!" Either the old man was planning to make his son a real king, or there was some bigger conspiracy! In short, Leopold has been saying that this is a great opportunity since he received his own letter, and that everything must have been explained in the letter. But Leopold, that abominable fellow, actually burned the letter, and said that we should believe him anyway, alas! Now we're one step behind him inside and out! ”

"Oh......" Gregel seemed to understand, and then gritted his teeth and hated his eldest brother, "Leopold, that guy didn't show us such an important letter, and you can't blame us for being ruthless and unrighteous in the future!" ”

Seeing the two brothers hooking shoulders together, Leopold, who was standing on the high platform, snorted coldly, thinking that if he didn't have more important things to deal with now, he would definitely not let go of those two guys who wanted to grab his throne at all times. But at the thought of the throne that had just fallen into his hands and the promise of the King of Bavaria, he became confident again, and then left with his generals.

As Leopold had planned, the kingdom of Württemberg was not far from Berlin, the center of the empire, but thanks to the rapid control of Stuttgart's communications facilities, news of the kingdom's civil unrest did not reach Berlin until hours later, when he took control of not only Stuttgart and other major cities, but also blocked the kingdom's roads to the states. However, Leopold did not know that at this time, Bavaria not only did not openly declare its opposition to the central government in Berlin, but secretly mobilized 7 infantry divisions, 4 armored regiments and 36 cavalry companies to be stationed near Augsburg, which was close to the Kingdom of Württemberg, and the 100,000 troops were located less than 100 kilometers from Stuttgart!

The events in Stuttgart were only part of a night of chaos in which the restless elements finally took action in Imperial Dublin.

In this world, Potsdam, a small town on the western outskirts of Berlin, is a peaceful and beautiful place, where the rich fields of the Havel River irrigate the rich fields and the rich shade of the city makes the city look like a fairyland. In addition to the elegant natural environment, there is also a variety of cultural attractions – Dutch architecture, soaring French churches, and small Romanesque triumphal arches, all thanks to the Potsdam Edict of 1685 on the freedom of religion of immigrants issued by Wilhelm the Great, which prompted the Hugenites to move from France, Holland and Switzerland to the area, leading to the development of crafts and commerce at the time, thus integrating the diversity of the city. In addition, the Prussian royal family settled here in the second half of the 17th century, so the small town can be seen everywhere beautiful or magnificent palaces and courtyards, especially the "Versailles of the North" Sanssouci Palace is even more well-known.

On this night, the reason for the attention in Potsdam is not Sanssouci or Nikolaikirche, but the former crown prince's palace, the Cezilienhof Palace, the palace built by Wilhelm II for Prince. At this time, this English country house-style palace was inhabited not by the descendants of Wilhelm II, nor by foreign dignitaries, but by a man who was gradually being forgotten by the world, the Duke of Württemberg, Albrecht.

Of course, the duke did not settle here of will, and he was accompanied by a Janissary unit loyal to the Kaiser, the Royal 7th Hussar Regiment.