.“ Hey, look at the weather, how long are we going to stay in this cold and damp place? ”

A private in clean uniform and face sat on an empty ammunition box and muttered, and although there was a lot of grumbling in his words, he was not upset or depressed.

Next to him was another private of the first class, no different in age from him, both twenty-two or three years old, with the same clean clothes and face. He wiped his rifle without raising his eyes, "Okay, Rule, I didn't let you crawl around in the mud, and you don't have to go hungry, be content!" ”

"That's right! When I first received the field training order, I thought I was going to dig trenches and climb mud in this cold weather, but I didn't expect to just camp in this small forest! "Judging from the dress, the first class soldier in front can be described as neatly equipped: a helmet with a dark color in the white light, a 1915-style pointed steel helmet, a large number of armor straps on the shoulders and a pendant on the belt—bullet belts, water bottles, lunch boxes, and bayonets, and a Mauser 1898 rifle with a dust jacket on the muzzle leaning against him. He also has three prominent metal numbers on his collar badge: 109!

"The above arrangement naturally makes sense to them!" The man who wipes the gun pulled the bolt as he spoke, and then stuffed the five shiny rounds of ammunition into the magazine. The number "109" on his collar badge is also clearly visible.

Outside the tent, which could only accommodate two people, heavy snow was falling silently. As far as the eye can see, this wood, dominated by pine and oak trees, has been covered with a thin layer of white. There were many mushroom-like gray tents in the woods, and only a few soldiers walked outside.

It was getting dark, but there was not a single bonfire in the camp, and the whole grove was so quiet that there was hardly a sound, only the goose-feathered snowflakes that kept falling.

Suddenly, the collective trumpets pierced the silence, and the whole forest came alive in an instant! Hundreds of soldiers emerged from their tents, seemingly without spending any time dressing and hats, and everyone was the first to rush to the clearing outside the woods, fully armed. Just five minutes later. The originally open ground was black and pressing, and tens of thousands of soldiers lined up in three neat phalanxes at incredible speed.

"Let's go!" With a wave of the commander's hand, the phalanx soon became a long marching column, and all that remained was the creaking of feet in the snow. A quarter of an hour had passed, the woods had calmed down, and the flat land had returned to its usual emptiness, as if nothing had happened here except for the dense footprints on the snow. Those "mushrooms" are silently hiding in the woods. If you don't get closer, you won't be able to see it at all.

This forest is only 70 kilometers from Berlin, the capital of the German Empire.

Berlin was lit up as usual, but only superficially, and an atmosphere of unease was surging in some dark corners.

"The Praetorian Guard had a total of 22 barracks in the city and suburbs of Berlin, of which more than half were stationed in 7 barracks in the city! So far, apart from the normal rotation transfers, there has been no movement in the garrisons in these barracks! In front of a miniature sand table in an exquisitely crafted city, a bald lieutenant corrector seriously introduced to everyone.

There was a field marshal, a general, a lieutenant general, and seven major generals. In a room next to it, which was not completely separated, there was a group of politician-like people. But they don't seem to be very interested in military discussions on the sand table.

"Well, here, here. And here, how much time does it take for these three barracks to get to the palace? "The only general here was the only general, he was relatively old in the group, and only he and the marshal had slightly lighter uniforms.

Seeing the three barracks pointed by the admiral, the previous lieutenant colonel replied without thinking:

"At the speed of the Praetorian Guard's training and exercises, it takes 30 to 35 minutes from assembling to arriving on foot!"

"Oh, that's good!" The old admiral muttered to himself, but he didn't notice a strange look in the eyes of the marshal next to him.

While everyone was still pondering, a major general suddenly stretched out his right hand and pointed to a courtyard on the sand table, "Everyone, pay attention." Our primary target is here, the Janissary Headquarters! ”

It stands to reason that the rank of the major general has no say in the crowd, but in addition to this uniform, he has a name of interest: Ettel Friedrich, to which he should be followed by the title of "Grand Duke".

As the most prominent Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Prussia, Etel Friedrich was also notable for his father, the former German Emperor Wilhelm II. Friedrich, 32, is the second son of Wilhelm II, former Crown Prince Prince is his own brother, and he has four younger brothers and a younger sister under him, in addition to Princess Victoria Louis, who is married to Portugal. The third, Adalbert, the fourth, Augustus, Oscar, and Joachim, the sixth, all served in the army and also had their own hereditary titles.

"His Royal Highness the Grand Duke is right, to fight the wolf is to fight the head wolf, we should start with that person's cronies! In this way, even if they can't control most of the Praetorian Guard troops, they will lose their unified command! Several other lieutenant generals and major generals echoed, some of them officers of the Berlin Janissary, some of them commanders of garrisons near Berlin, and some of them held staff and other deputy positions in the army, in short, a group of "like-minded" people.

Friedrich's face could not help but have a hint of pleasure, and he did not notice the slight change in the expression of the marshal next to him, but continued to present his opinion:

"And Baum and Graff, both of them are lackeys and traitors, and we can't keep them alive!"

Remembering the attitude of the former Praetorian commanders, General Baum and General Graf, during the last coup d'état, the group gritted their teeth and responded unanimously to Friedrich's words.

"That's right, kill them!"

"Let them be punished as they deserve!"

"They should go to hell!"

For this chaotic situation, the marshal finally couldn't help it, and he took the case up, which surprised everyone present.

"Nonsense, what do you think this is? Denounce the march? We are soldiers, we are commanders, we are dealing with terrible enemies, we are doing things that are ready to lose our heads at any time! ”

In the face of the marshal's outburst, even Friedrich had to hang his head. The identity of this person is visible.

In fact, this 72-year-old man is the oldest living field marshal in Germany, and he is also one of the veterans of the three dynasties who served Wilhelm I, Frederick III, and Wilhelm II, participated in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars, served as a military instructor in the Turkish Army for a long time, and was promoted to field marshal in 1911.

"I'm sorry, Marshal Goltz!" Friedrich, who was usually invincible, apologized like a child who had done something wrong. After the death of Wilhelm II, the former prince was in unprecedented isolation, and the help of the old imperial courtier Baron Colmar Fleicher von Golz was a relief in the snow, and in many cases Friedrich regarded him as his second parent.

The room fell into a suffocating calm, and the people in the room next to it cast curious glances from time to time. After a while, Goltz regained his emotions, sat back in his chair slowly, and said in an elder tone: "Young man, you must not be underestimated at any time! ”

"Follow the teachings!" Friedrich replied with very respectful words, but there was a vague air of inhibition in his eyes.

This Golts silently watched. But he just sighed lightly.

"Don't forget that there are people like Tirpitz in this empire. You must not think that his resignation from the leadership of the Navy will stop taking care of political affairs, and I tell you that this meeting of the Washington Navy was jointly proposed by the German and American governments. But before that, the emperor and Tirpitz met frequently, no matter who originally proposed this plan, but at least you can see Tirpitz's status in the emperor's heart! ”

After listening to Goltz's analysis, everyone couldn't help but gasp, and they had indeed missed the generalissimo.

"What then? Can you win him over? Friedrich cautiously asked, at present, the status of the German navy has risen to the level of no less than the army, and it is natural that the support of the navy is not the dream of those who are unwilling to be subordinate.

"Wooing? You think he's as easy to woo as Miller? Hum! Miller, Miller is just an incompetent sycophant, and he will naturally fall out of favor in front of the pragmatic new Kaiser, so he will agree to cooperate with us in exchange for a more prominent position! Tirpitz has received all the accolades a man can get in his life—building a mighty navy with his own hands. Defeat the number one enemy of the navy with his own hands, and power and wealth are no longer attractive to him at this time! And that Pol, who was once just an insignificant figure, and the Emperor even looked down on him with disdain, has now become the actual manipulator of the Imperial Navy, and nothing could make him feel more excited! Gorz lectured Friedrich and the generals on the same front with an attitude of hatred for iron, and after saying these words in one breath, his breath became much shorter.

For physical reasons, since the beginning of the war he served as military governor in Belgium. The old marshal almost took a back seat.

"That ......" Friedrich did not dare to make any more casual suggestions this time, and he waited pitifully for Goltz's answer.

"Let him do nothing until he can do anything!" Goltz looked at the generals in front of him, "Do you understand what I mean?" ”

While everyone was still pondering these words, the old admiral suddenly said in a tone of convincing and adoration: "Your Excellency's method is indeed clever! ”

Goltz's brow furrowed slightly, and in his own personality he was almost dismissive of such compliments, and it was this arrogance that had deprived him of the opportunity to ascend to the throne of Chief of the Army's General Staff. However, his temper had subsided a lot as he got older, so his disdain was not obvious, after all, everyone sitting here was not useless waste.

"General Prittwitz, let me introduce you to that person, so that we can understand that person's weaknesses!"

The old admiral nodded, then moved his fat body. That's right, he was the cowardly, pornographic joke pleasing Prittwitz, a favorite of Wilhelm II, a former commander of the East Prussian Legion, who was deprived of actual command before the outbreak of war. During the war, almost everyone in this crusade regiment was promoted and rewarded, but he was still a poor army general, and he was almost in a state of semi-retirement with nothing to do.

"From a young age, he was a man of eccentric thoughts, obsessed with all kinds of military tactics and weapons, but not the kind of person who did not know how to be polite and deviant, and both William I the elder and His Majesty the Emperor had a good opinion of him. In addition to his military talents, he is also quite business-minded, and it is said that he orchestrated the economic turmoil in Japan more than a decade ago, and his investment has increased hundreds of times in just a few years. Since then, his investments in the arms industry, shipbuilding industry, and aviation manufacturing industry have all been windfall profits without exception! When the Königsberg Military Academy was established, no one expected that there would be such a situation today - nearly one-tenth of the middle and senior generals in the army and navy graduated from that military academy, and the number of junior officers was even more staggering! The Kemal regime, which assisted Turkey, was the most successful investment of his life, and he invested nothing more than some money and thousands of soldiers, and now he got a loyal and useful ally! ”

Looking at the chattering Prittwitz, looking at the generals who listened to it fascinated and even admired it a little, Goltz coughed twice vigorously, "General, he won't be a person without weaknesses!" ”

"Oh!" Prittwitz then came to his senses, "He trusted his companion so much that he almost died because of it!" Also, he values his family very much, and it is said that before the coup d'état, he did everything possible to send his family abroad, and because of this, he lost a subordinate who could be his left arm and right arm! ”

"Hmph, it turns out that he is such a person!" Goltz finally showed a hint of slyness, "Then it won't be difficult!" ”

Before the Berlin upheaval, the city of Stuttgart was already in turmoil.

"Quick! The first battalion occupies the city hall, the second battalion is in charge of the police station, and the third battalion follows me to the square! ”

A sword-wielding major shouted in a loud voice that was enough to shock the inhabitants of several blocks, but before that the people were surprised by the dense and dull footsteps and the formations of soldiers lining the streets. Although it was completely dark, through the street lamps on both sides of the street, people could clearly see German regular soldiers wearing domed steel helmets and gray military uniforms.

The soldiers who were trotting forward on the street heard the order and immediately divided into three parts, and here each soldier had a Mauser rifle in his hand and was ready to attack the target indicated by his superiors at any time. As for the causes and consequences of this operation, that is not for them to know.