Chapter 22—Blood Stains the Earth (3)

Wadsey was not a pure military man, he was more like a politician than a soldier.

Bismarck initially had a very good opinion of Waldzer, and Moltke also thought Waldzer was talented. This radiant and amiable man in appearance, together with his noble and elegant temperament and gentle manners, his piercing eyes, his well-trimmed English lips and his unwavering self-confidence, made one feel a confident vitality bursting from him in an atmosphere of suspicion and dead silence. This confidence is also evident in his diary, although he does not hide the severity of the situation that makes the task very onerous. As a military man, Waldzer wanted to engage in an open confrontation with the demonic forces of his time: the forces of liberalism and social democracy. His line was paternalistic, orthodox and feudal. In foreign policy, he also believed that a war against Russia, first of all against France, was inevitable, and even wanted to take the initiative to provoke such a war when the German Empire was still prosperous and powerful. He considers himself a man who can navigate this most major conflict.

In 1881, Moltke felt increasingly overwhelmed by the burden of military affairs, and wanted to arrange for a deputy to take over his day-to-day affairs, and asked for Waldzer to take over the position. He believed that Waldzer was vigorous and energetic, and although he was good at making decisions on the spot, he did not have the malaise of being poor in thought. In this way, in 1882 Waldzer was appointed quartermaster of the Grand General Staff. Moltke gave Waldzer full autonomy, and the actual leadership of the General Staff was thus transferred to him.

Some people think that Wadsy is a man full of contradictions and sarcasm. He was the chief of the General Staff of the German General Staff in its heyday, and was appreciated by Moltke, and it should be said that his talent was not only political and communicative. I remember watching a comedy film called "Captain Kopenick" when I was a child more than ten years ago, which caricature the social conditions of German militarism. In fact, at least among the chiefs of the General Staff before World War I, Moltke and Schlieffen were not so militaristic in person. Rather, it is Wadsey's political views that most closely resemble those of the militant militarists one might imagine. But Wadsey was born at an ill-timed time and never had a large-scale war to prove his military capabilities. According to Dupuil, Wadsey did not have the same intelligence as Moltke and Schlieffen, but his strength was his charisma. Therefore, his position in the history of German affairs mainly lies in the fact that he has greatly increased the voice of the military department in political and diplomatic affairs through the operation of power. But the victory of power struggles again and again finally put himself in the position of conflict with the Kaiser, and he was removed from office as a result.

In another history, Waldesi's later tenure in China is ironic when you think about it: as an old-fashioned and conservative German official, Waldsey himself emphasized discipline. But his name is remembered by the Chinese people for being associated with the Eight-Nation Alliance, which engaged in plundering and corrupt discipline. As the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Wadsey finally fulfilled a dream of leading troops to war in his later years, and gained a high reputation among the great powers, but the war actually ended before he set off for the battlefield, and even this war, compared to the level used to European military science at the time, was just a police operation, but he received the highest German military rank for this police operation.

However, now Wadsey does not recognize the ridiculousness of himself, and he still needs to defeat the Nationalist army on the opposite side so that he can march into Beijing and prove himself by the way. The glory of a soldier must be obtained from the battlefield, and those who play with power may go further, get higher positions and more money, but their status in military history will not become higher.

However, his nature determined that he was not a real soldier, and after a series of setbacks, his first thought was, "I can talk to the other party." ”

"I heard that you Japanese know the Qing people very well," Wadsey said to Umezawa Michiji, "do you think we can negotiate with each other?" ”

"Negotiations?" Umezawa Michiji was a little confused, "And those militias? ”

"Yes, I don't think they have such a strong belief in fighting, and I heard that the government troops of the Qing State are at war with them. We have a common enemy, and we should be on the same front. Wadsey said confidently, "If they are willing to join us in attacking the capital of the Qing Kingdom, I can forgive them for their previous mistakes." ”

"This" Umezawa Michiharu was made as big as numb by Wadsey's whimsy, and was thinking about how to answer when he heard an exclamation from the officer corps watching the battle.

"God, these Qing people are so barbaric!"

"What's going on?" Wadsey said dissatisfiedly: "Are those militias attacking us?" ”

"The enemy did not attack us, but" an officer handed a pair of binoculars to Lieutenant General Wadsey.

Puzzled, he took the binoculars and looked at the opposite position, where he saw the militiamen talking about the heads of the allied soldiers who had died in battle, and then carried them in his hands or hung them around his waist. He even saw a guy who looked five big and three thick with three heads hanging from his waist and continued to cut off his head, blood dripping from his broken neck, wetting the man's clothes and pants, but the man didn't care.

Wadsey was so angry that his beard was cocked, and although the dead were not their Germans, they were all soldiers under his command anyway. Even if he, the commander of the coalition forces, could actually command only the German army, but such an insult to the dead made him angry.

"These damn barbarians!" Wadsey said angrily: "These heretics have gone to hell! ”

Is it savage? Perhaps. Although the Americans were once keen on the Indians to make boots out of human skin. In the Middle Ages, the Germans also did the same thing of tying people to crosses and burning them alive. But now in the twentieth century, these people have become a little more civilized and have begun to shoot instead of beheading.

But isn't it normal for those soldiers of the Black Dragon Society to cut off the enemy's head? From ancient times to the present day, the people of this land have done this. Although foreign devils are devils, they are also human beings, and it is not particularly difficult to cut off their heads.

Not to mention them, even the Japanese, who claim to have left Asia and joined Europe, don't they often do this? Well, in the eyes of those whites, the Japanese are also savage yellow-skinned monkeys.

Those soldiers of the Black Dragon Society made such a play, then there is nothing to say, let's continue to fight.