In the city of Munich in November, the weather is getting colder and colder day by day.

On this cold morning, Mr. Schinkwitz wandered the streets somewhat aimlessly. Probably because of the cold weather and the early morning, there were not many pedestrians on the street. Hinkwitz played with his baton as he slowly turned down another street.

Like other German cities, Munich was stable after the war, and the unemployment rate did not increase with the end of the war, on the contrary, the unemployment rate in Munich fell by 3 percentage points in the last six months, making the number of unemployed less than 1% of the city's population, which is unprecedented! Of course, as a very ordinary police officer, Mr. Schinkwitz's work is much more leisurely. No, nothing bad has happened for two weeks in a row, so that poor Schinkwitz can only do something every day to help the lonely elderly or the lost, but fortunately, the government's finances have always been good, and there is no plan to lay off the police, and Hinkwitz's life continues boringly.

Mr. Hinkwitz looked up at the sky when a cold, weightless little thing touched his skin, and the thick, low clouds had been hanging over the city for days, and finally, as one had hoped, the first snow of the winter had crept in!

Sinkwitz couldn't help but tighten the scarf around his neck, and there were more and more of those crystal clear little things, and after a while, the whole vision began to blur. He was supposed to be one of the first people in the city to welcome the first snow, but Hinkwitz wasn't happy about it, because the last thing the patrolling officers liked was the hot or cold weather, especially the rain and snow! However, in Sinkwitz's opinion, it was a very calm snow day, and he was still worried about his brother who joined the army at this time last year!

Snowflakes kept falling from the sky, but the people of the city were not affected too much, and everything seemed to be going on as usual, and the students went to school. Workers go to work, while postmen are busy delivering letters. Fenningburg, the world's most splendid Sherlock palace in the western suburbs of Munich, is completely immersed in a white and harmonious tranquility.

The walls of the palace are decorated in austerean classicist white, and the austere exterior seems to be trying to hide its inner luxury. In front of the palace, there are always flocks of white ground swans and wild ducks swimming in the lake, both in winter and summer. Turning around the palace, there is a large garden with a smooth lawn and shading old trees. In 1664, Emperor Ferdinand, a candidate for his wife, gave birth to a son and gave the kingdom an heir. So this summer palace was built for her. Since then, it has been the residence of successive Bavarian kings, now owned by King Ludwig III of Bavaria.

For the Munich and even the Bavarians, the king was a rather controversial man. In 1913, Ludwig III, then regent, asked the Reichstag to amend the constitution, and in November of the same year, Otto I himself was deposed as King of Bavaria, citing his severe mental illness. Some people thought it was reasonable, and of course others thought he was a power-seeker, but as time went on, the debate about it gradually subsided. In the war that broke out the following year. Almost all Bavarians supported Bavaria's active participation in the war as part of the German Empire.

In a richly decorated room in Fort Finning. The old man in the blue marshal's uniform had been looking out the window all morning, and like those who worked outdoors, he was the first to witness the first snowman of the year.

"Your Majesty. Everything has been carried out according to your orders! The reporter is still the middle-aged man in a black suit.

"Oh, I see! Stand down, and report to me if there's anything going on! The old man was still facing out of the window, leaving only the reporter with an old back.

"Yes!"

After the middle-aged man left, the old man finally turned around, and there was an elusive expression on his vicissitudes of life, as if he was embarrassed and calm.

The snow outside the window was falling heavier and heavier, and soon it was the size of a goose feather.

On this day, Württemberg, which is next door to Bavaria, also had its first snow of the winter.

On the map of the German Empire. The small kingdom of Württemberg can only be regarded as a small and small state in the southwest, with an area of less than one-fifth of Bavaria and a population of more than 2 million, accounting for only three percent of the empire. Stuttgart, the capital of the kingdom, is an important industrial town in the southwest of the empire, since the industrialization of the 18th century, the Greater Stuttgart industrial area has gradually been formed, and the economy of the kingdom is also dominated by industry, especially heavy industry, the implementation of the national military service system, there is no navy, and the army standing army is organized into 6 infantry divisions of about 80,000 people in peacetime.

Since Wilhelm II. The kingdoms of this small state were all held by the emperor of the German Empire, but because the emperor's main focus was on the internal and external affairs of the empire, the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom of Württemberg were basically managed by the parliament, and the training and command of the army in non-war times were authorized by the king and approved by the parliament to carry out a certain general, usually this role would be played by the head of the royal family, as was the case with the former Duke of Württemberg Albrecht. However, after the coup d'état on New Year's Eve, the misplaced duke has disappeared from the center of power in the kingdom of Württemberg. Now, the team is nominally under the direct leadership of William III, and the actual command is in the hands of the battle-hardened veteran General Feng and General Vas.

After the house arrest of the former Duke of Württemberg, Albrecht, the three sons and four daughters born to him and his wife Margrethe Sophie still resided in the palace in Stuttgart, where they were closely guarded by the King's Guard. Sophie was the niece of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I, the daughter of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, and the sister of the former Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand.

As usual, the royal palace on the southern outskirts of Stegart was deserted, and Albrecht's sons and daughters, though they had no worries about food and clothing, could not set foot in this splendid palace.

After lunch, an ordinary-looking carriage stopped at the back door of the palace. Then, two men in thick trench coats got out of the carriage, one of whom watched left and right, and then walked quickly into the palace. In a few moments, the sound of hurried footsteps disappeared into the corridors of the palace.

"Is this really his handwritten letter?"

The questioner was surprised when he received the letter from the visitor. In appearance, he is only in his early 20s, wearing an ordinary army colonel's uniform, but he is quite dignified in his gestures.

"No doubt!"

The visitor replied in the affirmative, that the scroll was the writer's personal fire paint seal.

There was a thick firewood burning in the fireplace. As a result, the whole room was very warm, and the snowflakes on the visitor's coat melted completely in a few moments. By the time the young man had read the letter carefully and was sure that nothing had been missed, nearly a quarter of an hour had passed.

"Mr. Courier!" The young man rolled up the letter in his hand and said, "Please wait, I will discuss it with my brother, and then please bring back our reply!" ”

The visitor bowed slightly to agree.

The young man walked to the door, thought for a few seconds, opened the door and went out.

The visitors rubbed their hands. But he did not leave his place to go to the fireplace.

After about half an hour, the young man opened the door and entered, accompanied by two other ordinary highland young men, who were wearing different military uniforms, but they were quite similar in both face and movement.

"Sir, please tell your master that although we are taking a big risk, we do not want to miss this golden opportunity!" The young man at the head seems to have made up his mind, "For our father, and for our country!" ”

"Willing to help!" The visitor bowed slightly. Then he walked away as quickly as he came.

When the footsteps have completely disappeared. The smaller one spoke, "Brother, do you really want to do this?" The enemy is very powerful. And we're hard to leave now! ”

The other also said: "Yes, now that the army is in the hands of that gas general, we have no chance of mobilizing the land at all!" ”

Ever since he entered, the young man's face had been tightened, and it was evident that he had engaged in a great mental struggle before making this decision.

"Either way, this is our only chance! Instead of being reborn here in humiliation, it is better to fight vigorously! He straightened his collar, then straightened his chest and set a determined gaze on his two brothers.

"Okay. Brother, let's work together! ”

The hands of the three brothers were clasped together.

"First of all, we can't continue to be trapped in this damn palace!" The eldest, the one in the colonel's uniform, proposed, "We must inform the officers who are loyal to us to bring troops to rescue us!" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Kubische of the garrison command is my men, and the commander of the 791st Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Beye!" The youngest spoke without thinking about it, although he was the youngest of the three, he was also 19 years old this year, and had participated in the Battle of France with the rank of second lieutenant. Although it was not an outstanding battle, it was also praised for its bravery and courage in battle. Although he was only a captain in the army at this time, his extraordinary status meant that he could do many things beyond his rank.

"Little brother is good, even the number two person in the garrison headquarters has been wooed!" The slightly older 20-year-old, with the rank of major, also followed their father in the Great War, and reaped many exploits from the French, but some accused him of ordering his troops to shoot at civilians.

"Well, if we don't work together now, then the last chance will also become a bubble!" The eldest said in a reproachful tone, he was 22 years old, and although his rank of colonel was largely due to his aristocratic status, his political skills were much more sophisticated than that of his younger brothers, and of course, this was necessary for the survival of their royal family.

"Well, I'll use my power without reservation!" The Major still looked a little unhappy, but as his brother had said, they had no choice now.

"Well, go your separate ways! After dark, we march towards freedom and power! The colonel clenched his hands and said categorically.

While the cold air swept over most of Europe, Berlin, a cosmopolitan metropolis, was as lively as ever. With the end of the war, commerce and tourism were revitalized, and tourists from all over the world came here every day, either to see the "triumphal arch" of Germany or to see the glorious victors.

Since the departure of the Kaiser and his wife with a large number of attendants, the huge palace to the east of the city has become somewhat deserted. Even the Praetorian Guards in the palace felt much more relaxed without the officials and envoys who came to meet with the report, but the heir of the empire, the 4-year-old Andres often walked with his grandmother in the imperial garden.

In the southwest corner of this imposing palace, there is a very inconspicuous three-story house, which is known as the "Ice Palace". In addition to the Praetorian Guards, there are only a few attendants who usually enter and exit, so the atmosphere inside is as silent as death. However, it is not uninhabited, nor is it forbidden for outsiders to visit, on the contrary, it is inhabited by two very prominent people - Victoria, the widow of the emperor, and Prince, the former crown prince. However, in the past year, very few visitors have come to the "Ice Palace".

In the evening of that day, when the officers and soldiers of the Praetorian Guard guarding the palace gate were about to routinely close the palace gate, a luxurious carriage drove unhurriedly from a distance. Although automobiles were not very common in these years, under the Kaiser's call to "actively promote technology", most officials and generals chose the car when traveling, a tool that broke down from time to time and was not particularly comfortable. Of course, there are still many nobles and dignitaries riding in horse-drawn carriages, thus forming the "automobile faction" and the conservative "carriage faction" in pursuit of progress.

Before the carriage stopped, the officer on duty at the gate of the palace knew a general idea at a glance, so he did not dare to slack off and greet him. Although the "automobile faction" and the "carriage faction" were not formal factions, and there was no clear category between them, nine out of ten of the ten who appeared at the gate of the palace in horse-drawn carriages were prominent aristocrats, and only these people were unwilling to pursue fashion and ride in those cold iron cars.

When the carriage door opened, the officer on duty recognized at a glance the identity of the man in the uniform of a major general.

"Well, it turned out to be His Royal Highness the Honorable Grand Duke! Is there anything else going on at this late hour? ”

Despite being very respectful, the officers on duty did not forget their duty, knowing that once the palace gates were closed, no one was allowed to enter or leave the palace unless it was ordered by the emperor.

"We have an urgent matter to see the old queen!"

There were arrogant and unpleasant words coming from the carriage, but it was no wonder that this man didn't even get out of the carriage after the door opened, and it seemed that he knew that he was the kind of guy who could directly enter the palace in the carriage.

The major officer on duty was about to say something, but caught a glimpse of another person sitting in the carriage, an even more unusual person.

"Oh, then, all right, His Highness the Grand Duke! Please leave before 6 o'clock, this is the last time the palace gates close! ”

The major general, as the officer on duty called "Grand Duke," waved his hand expressionlessly, and his attendant closed the door. After a routine weapons check, the carriage headed inside through the palace gates.

After the carriage left, the officer on duty muttered to himself: "Why is he here too?" ”