After breakfast, His Royal Highness Don Li Kun and Colonel Escalade Fritsch took eight Praetorian Guard officers and a group of ten people on war horses to the headquarters of the commander of the Second Army, more than ten kilometers away, to start their daily work for the day.

Entering the heavily guarded headquarters of the Second Army, along the way, Prussian officers took the initiative to salute His Highness with respectful expressions.

In the army of the Kingdom of Prussia, more than seventy percent of the officers were Junker military aristocrats, and the higher the noble title, the more noble the bloodline and the more respectable the status.

Between the titles and ranks of the nobility, the former is the main one on weekdays, and those with low titles should take the initiative to perform aristocratic etiquette to show respect.

In wartime, the latter prevails, and all orders are under the command of a superior officer.

Although His Royal Highness and his entourage wore the military uniforms of the Tang Empire, they were able to get the same respect.

Major Li Kun's main job now is the dispatch of logistics materials of the Second Army, and he is temporarily under the Military Dispatch Section of the Logistics Department of the Second Army, which is in charge of the dispatch of materials throughout the army, with a total of 23 officers and some non-commissioned officers doing miscellaneous affairs, which is an extremely important department.

Due to his relatively detached status, Major Li Kun can come whenever he wants, and he can choose which job he wants, and all confidential information is open to him, and no one cares if he doesn't do anything.

This was an order from Prince Frederick, commander of the Second Legion; Any confidential information of the military department is completely open to His Royal Highness the Seven Princes of the allied countries and has the right to consult it at any time.

Although he had all kinds of care, Major Li Kun had been exposed to the rigorous style of the Germans and had developed a good habit of working diligently.

Every day, I always arrive at the military headquarters 15 minutes early to prepare for the work, from morning to night, contact as much as possible with all the transportation affairs, and complete the work at hand with high quality.

This is one of the virtues that Colonel Escalade Fritsch admires the most, and is often proud of, and he has a part of it.

It was past ten o'clock in the morning

Sitting in the office drinking coffee, Colonel Escalade Fredge, who was idle and bored, saw His Royal Highness Li Kun walking in with a thick stack of materials in his hand. With a "snap", he threw the materials on the table, sat down on his own, picked up the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of hot coffee, and then added some milk and two sugar cubes.

He said as he stirred; "In a month at most, all the troops at the Tannenberg base will be on the battlefield, and I judge that a big battle will break out in a month and a half. That is, at the beginning of June, no earlier than June 2 at the earliest, and no later than June 8 at the latest. ”

Oh selling, what's going on?

This is the most confidential core information of the army of the Kingdom of Prussia, and I have not heard the slightest rumor before, and I am afraid that the second army commander, Lieutenant General James Kahn, may not necessarily know, right?

Where did Your Highness get the news?

Colonel Escalade Fletsch was confused by his words, and looked at His Highness's serious expression, not like a joke, and he looked at the stack of materials on the table again.

Colonel Escalade-Fletsch's heart moved, and then his expression became much more serious, and he picked up the information and flipped through it.

These materials are nothing more than some logistical statistics, inventory data, dispatch data, telegrams sent from all parts of Germany, the arrival of such and such a train at such and such a time, the number of types of materials to be shipped and their respective quantities, and so on.

After a moment of careful consideration, Colonel Escalade-Fledge figured out something to taste; "Your Highness is saying...... Getting less and less supplies coming? ”

His Royal Highness Don Li Kun; “……”

Did I say it?

A look of surprise flashed in Tang Li Kun's eyes, and then he showed a smile like "Old fox, you are so cunning", nodded affirmatively, and said;

"Combined with the transportation plan, most of the supplies in Thanlenberg can be used for several months, but the amount of horse concentrate is seriously insufficient, and it can only be used for a month at most, what does this mean?"

Without Colonel Escalade Fritch answering, His Royal Highness Don Lee Kun replied with a self-question; "Now the horse concentrate is mainly used to consume stocks, which means that the cavalry division deployed in Tankenburg is about to be redeployed, and the field forces will also be redeployed to the border area, and the war is about to break out."

His Highness's tone was filled with irrepressible excitement, which was not announced by anyone, but the clues he himself saw from the material transfer plan, and there was an extraordinary sense of success.

As if solving a puzzle, he suddenly realized that he said; "So you're going to do this?" and then happy.

The logic behind this is;

The Prussian army is a new type of military armed force with mules and horses, and any large-scale military operation is inseparable from the transportation of mules and horses, not only cavalry divisions, infantry regiments and even companies are also equipped with a large number of mules and horses.

Colonel Escalade Fritch was just a guess on the part of Mohu, and when he heard His Highness say this, he hurriedly lowered his head and flipped through the information in his hand, and after a while, a realization rose in his heart.

Then he asked with a serious expression; "Your Highness, who else did you tell you about your discovery?"

"Don't be like this Escalade, I'm not a kid again, you're the first and the last to know my judgment. If you can approve it, you can report it in the name of the two of us and give the Empire a wake-up call. ”

"If you don't say that I will do the same, Your Highness, you really impress me!"

"Uh-huh, it's nothing, it's just a trivial matter." Saying this, the curvature of the corners of His Royal Highness Tang Li Kun's mouth has fully exposed the joyful mood at the moment.

He stood up and took the thick stack of materials with him, leaving with a lighter footsteps.

Colonel Escalade-Fritsch watched His Highness pretend to be calm and departed, and couldn't help but laugh; After years of experience, His Royal Highness still inevitably reveals some childishness!

However, His Highness's judgment is very accurate and very important, and it should be reported immediately, so that the Empire has enough time to deal with the changes in the situation in Europe.

Of course

He will not be greedy for the merits of His Highness, as long as he reports it truthfully.

Colonel Escalade-Fritch's true weight is reflected in his high recognition of the current point in time when war has broken out;

It is believed that His Highness's judgment is based on detailed and reliable evidence, and can corroborate each other, and the conclusions drawn on this basis are highly credible and inseparable.

Delivering information from the heavily defended Tenlenberg military base is difficult for ordinary people to reach, but Colonel Escalade Fritch has his own secret and safe channels.

Just over two months ago

February 11, 1866

The major event in the scientific and technological circles that caused a sensation in Europe and the United States was the official connection of the transatlantic cable telegraph cable, which was a scientific and technological feat jointly completed by the Royal North American Telegraph and Telecommunications Company and major telegraph companies such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and France, which took four and a half years.

To this end, the Atlantic Submarine Cable Company was specially established, and the Datang Empire occupies a 35.2% share, which is the country with the highest proportion of equity.

This 6,700-kilometer-long cable also provides convenient telegraph services for users on both sides of the Atlantic, and is extremely time-sensitive.

Because of its security and stability, strong confidentiality performance and anti-interference ability, it has been greatly welcomed and effectively promoted transatlantic communication connections, which is of extraordinary significance.

This important information was sent in a confidential message, and in three days at most, it could be placed on the Emperor's throne across thousands of miles.

For the first time in so many years, His Royal Highness Don Li Kun has received such attention.

At the thought of this, Colonel Escalade Fritsch's hands trembled with excitement, and after he forced himself to suppress his excitement, after calming his emotions, he straightened his uniform and walked out.

The message must be delivered as soon as possible, and there is no waiting.

After speaking to His Highness, Colonel Carryade Fritch left the headquarters of the Second Army with two Royal Janissary officers, turned on his horse, and rode away from the headquarters.

along the way

A steady stream of Prussian soldiers marched in neat formations, their morale was high, the ranks were rigorous, and the experienced officers knew at a glance that they were well-trained.

After several years of contact, Colonel Escalade-Fritsch has gained a considerable understanding of the combat level of the armies of the German states, and can be said to be an out-and-out military expert of the German states.

After years of conquest and expansion, the Kingdom of Prussia retained the essence of the Teutonic Knights' iron-blooded warfare, and also formed the Junker military aristocracy, a class impregnated with military traditions, and its combat effectiveness was among the top in the entire European continent.

The Prussian army was one of the best soldiers in Europe because of their good obedience and strong sense of discipline, and their resilience and sacrifice in the war.

Compared with the professional non-commissioned officers of the French army, the Prussian army, which was mainly conscripts, had slightly less experience, but the obedience and sacrifice were better, and the difference between the two sides was not large.

It is difficult to describe the other large and small states that belong to the German-speaking region, many of which have long lost the heritage of the Teutonic Knights in their long history and have become mediocre in the flow of the tide.

Its small number of troops was about the same as that of the Kingdom of Italy.

The Austrian Imperial Army under the Habsburgs was much more powerful and was one of the traditional powers of Europe.

The Fritsch family was also part of the Greater German Nation, and their ancestral home was a small village in the Saxe-Launburg region, which was originally under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Denmark, but was placed under the military control of the Kingdom of Prussia during the post-war negotiations between Prussia in 1864.

The Sax-Lauenburg region was originally a small principality with a mixture of Danish, Norwegian and Germans, but it has changed hands many times in the history of the Middle Ages to the present, and was once part of the Holy Roman Empire, Norway, the French Empire, Denmark and the Kingdom of Prussia, and was one of the weaker small principalities in the German-speaking region of northwest Europe.

Whoever is strong will follow whomever he is, this is the rule of survival for the weak.

It was not until they were annexed to the Tang Empire that the Fritsch family found their true value and glory, and won the trust of His Majesty the Emperor with more efforts and dedication, and finally rose to become a major mountain in the imperial military.

Reminiscing about the past

Colonel Escalade Fritch clearly knew that for the sake of the family's long-term prosperity, it was the right solution to cling to the thick legs of the Tang Empire.

He rode away with two of his men, and the path was full of neat queues of Prussian army drills, practicing offensive and defensive tactics, and a group of three horsemen galloped in the direction of Thanlenberg......