It was May 1866.

Today, Ernst attended a class reunion, and he was ashamed to say that he had gone to Berlin to study through the back door, but he had finally given up his studies.

Today's meeting place was a large hotel 960 meters south of the University of Berlin, where many dignitaries from Berlin stayed.

resplendent halls.

"Welcome, sir!" As soon as he arrived at the door, Ernst, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, was greeted by the service staff.

Second floor

"Sir, please show your invitation!"

Ernst handed the invitation to the waiter, and after carefully observing Ernst's invitation, he said politely: "Your Royal Highness Ernst, please inside, I wish you a good time!" ”

……

In the party hall, the crystal chandelier was hung high on the dome, illuminating the entire hall, and many people had already come to the venue.

"Ernst, here!"

Garlit, dressed in an officer's attire, beckoned to Ernst.

"Garrett, you're in the army?" Ernst looked surprised.

Garlitt said smugly: "Alas! The old man said that my grades were too poor, and he had to get me an official and a half-job in the army. ”

"In which unit?"

"Isn't this the Empire going to expand its army! So the old man told me that now is the best stage of gilding, as long as you go on the battlefield, you will have future qualifications, and now I am a staff officer of the third company under the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the kingdom. ”

Ernst patted Garlit on the shoulder: "Very good, the next step is your chance to play." ”

"Ernst, do you have any inside information, can you tell me about it!" Garrett said with a wink.

"You can misunderstand me, my current identity is more of an entrepreneur, but I don't have inside information about the army, but if you have some understanding of military material procurement, it will unfortunately not help you much."

"Ahh Then forget it, didn't your father, Prince Konstantin, serve in the General Staff? He didn't talk to you about the army? ”

Ernst smiled: "I'm not interested in military affairs, my father and I have never communicated in this area, and now the kingdom attaches great importance to the training of young people, are you a Berlin college student still worried that you can't break into the world in the barracks?" ”

"Haha... That's not it, I'm just a bit of gossip, after all, everyone wants to get a glimpse of the answer before the exam, right? ”

Ens nodded: "Human nature, I understand. ”

"The main thing is that now Ernst you have made your own career, and you are also a scumbag, and you said that you would fight together, but you flew solo! Ever since you didn't come to school, I've been the one at the bottom of the list. ”

Garlitt smiled and said, "Business has been good these few months! Our troops have purchased a lot of your company's products. ”

"It's just a small business, it's still you kid, you will be mixed in the army in the future, but you can't forget to bring up the business of your old classmates!"

Garlitt said speechlessly: "Don't show off, everyone knows the relationship between the royal family and you, the hateful second generation, I still want you to carry your little brother in the future." ”

Ernst quipped: "Alas, who can say clearly about war, what if you are a military genius like Moltke?" Maybe there will be a place for you in the upper echelons of the kingdom of the future. ”

Ernst wanted to talk about Napoleonic genius, but when he thought of Napoleon's reputation in Germany, he changed his tune.

"Okay, let's not talk about that, let's go drink, we must get your kid drunk today!" Garrett said fiercely.

……

Royal Palace of Prussia.

Wilhelm I was discussing preparations for war with Prime Minister Bismarck and Army General Staff Moltke.

William I: "Prime Minister, what are you going to do now?" ”

"Your Majesty, the war funds have been gathered, and at the same time we have roped in the Italians as allies, Russia is not capable of intervening in European affairs for the time being, and they were at odds with Austria last time, even if there is a war, they will be biased towards us, Britain and France have no intention of intervening, they want us and Austria to lose, so we must achieve a quick military victory in order to avoid the intervention of the great powers. And the military aspect still depends on the preparation of the army. ”

Moltke said: "This time we have made all preparations, the three new corps have been completed, the railway network has been connected to the barracks, we can quickly put 200,000 people to the front line, and there are 50,000 troops ready on the border at present, plus the previous reform, we can recruit hundreds of thousands of reserves to the front line in a short period of time with the help of the railway." Together with the containment of the Italians, we had an advantage over Austria in terms of troops. ”

Moltke then put his hand on the map and looked to the middle of Prussia: "This time, we will first settle the North German princes, many of whom are biased towards Austria and are in the middle of the hinterland of the Kingdom of Prussia, which is likely to cause us problems, and as for the South German states, including Bavaria, they are not very determined to fight, and we must strive for their neutrality diplomatically." ”

Bismarck said: "It is reassuring that as long as we focus on the Austrian battlefield and the defense in South Germany, these Austrian allies will not do their best, and as long as the Austrian army is dealt with for a short time, the other countries will inevitably submit to the great power of Prussia." ”

In short, both agreed to give priority to Austria, and if Austria is solved, all problems will be solved.

William I walked in front of the table with his hands behind his back and thought, and said: "The lion fights the rabbit, and he also uses all his strength. Austria's prestige in Europe is not comparable to that of those small countries, although Austria's development in recent years has not been satisfactory, but the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, especially the Austrian army, as a whole has not declined significantly, so we should devote all our strength to increasing the offensive against Austria. ”

Walk over to your desk and sit down, grab your pen and cross out the original plan.

"This time, it is the battle of Prussia's fate, we have to press everything, the previous plan is still too conservative, General Moltke, now I officially appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the Prussian Army, Prussia has entered a wartime state, all reserves must enter the army in advance for training, the railway must strengthen the train arrangement, and the weapons must be changed quickly......"

William I went on to say: "Prime Minister, your government must cooperate with the demands of the military and do its utmost to facilitate the military, and at the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must actively observe the developments of the European continent and not allow accidents to ......."

At the behest of Wilhelm I, Prussia began its last mobilization before the war, and the three newly formed corps were sent directly to the western regions of Prussia.

Every day there was a noticeable increase in military trains, which pulled soldiers, artillery and materiel around the territory of Prussia.

Reservists were called up in advance, barracks were full, the government began to build new training sites in various places, and vacant land was converted into new barracks.

The rail network was reorganized, and railway workers began working overtime to overhaul the lines to cover the sudden surge in train numbers.

At the same time, Prussia began to increase the construction of cable telegraph lines from the border to Berlin, and quickly popularized telegraph equipment on a large scale in the army.

At the time of the mobilization of Prussia, Austria and Italy were also preparing, but the effect was significantly less than that of Prussia, which pursued militarism.