Chapter 118: Lifeline
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jörg accepted the black tea Austen handed him, while Neville Chamberlain, who had arrived under the pretext of discussing health cooperation, was speaking animatedly with the Weimar Minister of Health.
The summer sun was blocked by velvet curtains. Only thin strands of light filtered through the intricate patterns, scattering across their faces like broken starlight.
"Jörg, aside from the usual inspection, I came this time to brief you on the Swiss conference two months from now," Austen said plainly.
Jörg took a sip of black tea, then immediately set the cup down again. It was far too sweet. He turned his full attention to Austen's next words.
"To show our sincerity, we are prepared to invite Germany to join the League of Nations and to press France to withdraw its forces from the Rhineland, while maintaining the demilitarized status of the region."
"In return, Germany must renounce its claims to the western border territories and formally recognize the current western frontier."
He had come straight to the point.
This was the core issue to be negotiated at the October conference.
Britain wanted a more stable Europe. A calmer continent would help secure the foundations for the pound's return to gold. Austen, of course, knew perfectly well that Germany would never yield easily on East Prussia or the territories lost to Poland.
That was why he had deliberately limited his proposal to the west and left the east untouched.
"No problem, Herr Austen," Jörg replied evenly. "A treaty on the western border would benefit both sides. But Germany has one prerequisite. It is non negotiable."
He leaned back slightly.
"Danzig must cease to be a so called free city and return to the Weimar Republic as German Danzig. Without that, there is nothing further to discuss."
Austen's fingers, which had been lazily stirring his tea, slowly stopped.
He had, of course, considered Danzig before coming. Versailles had never framed the arrangement as eternal. It had been sold as a temporary measure in the name of peace and reconciliation.
Legally speaking, now that Germany had regained a measure of stability and the continent had entered a quieter phase, the argument for returning Danzig to Germany had real weight.
Politically, however, it was troublesome.
To do so would directly offend the Poles, who also treated the city as vital to their interests. Parliament did not want to push Poland too far. A humiliated Poland drifting toward Soviet Russia was not a prospect London found attractive. Nor was Poland so weak that it could simply be ignored.
For a moment, Austen said nothing.
His index finger resumed its motion. Tea stirred in a slow circle, softly tapping the porcelain.
Then, after a long silence, a new thought seemed to take shape in his mind. He smiled and extended a hand.
"No problem, Jörg. I can accept that request. But Britain will add one condition. Germany must end its economic cooperation with Soviet Russia."
Seeing Austen yield so quickly, Jörg did not trust that "no problem" even slightly.
Still, his face remained calm.
"No problem," he said in the same ambiguous tone. "Then I will see you again in two months, Herr Austen. Miss Lia Mandor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will attend the talks on my behalf. I have certain private matters to attend to."
"Lia?" Austen repeated, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He did not know Lia well, but the surname Mandor was one he knew perfectly.
"No problem," he said after a pause. Then he added with a faint smile, "Stay a little longer, Jörg. Neville and I have spoken about you more than once since my return. He is very interested in your judgment."
With that, he waved his hand.
Neville Chamberlain, who bore a visible resemblance to his brother, crossed the room and joined them. Like Austen, he had the same deep set eyes and measured, watchful expression.
What followed sounded like casual conversation, but the two brothers were clearly probing him from different angles.
"Jörg," Neville began, smiling, "snatching American bread from the Americans is no small feat. In all Europe, you may well be the first man to manage it. But I must admit, I am curious. After being in Germany these past weeks, I do not get the impression that unemployment has reached a point of unavoidable collapse."
He folded his hands neatly over his knee.
"Does Germany truly need shipbuilding so desperately to solve its employment problem? Britain, after all, has no shortage of shipyards herself."
Jörg heard the test beneath the words and answered so directly that both brothers were left silent for a moment.
"That is wonderful, gentlemen. Compared with American shipbuilding, British shipbuilding truly remains first rate. I will certainly convey this generous suggestion to the President."
The answer landed like a stone in still water.
After two restrained, somewhat awkward laughs, the air grew quiet.
Seeing that enough had been said, Jörg rose with the Minister of Health and excused himself.
Austen watched him go.
"I told you," Neville muttered once Jörg had left, "we would get nothing useful out of him. Besides, Germany's economy has only recently improved. Some employment gap is entirely normal."
He adjusted his cuff and continued in a lighter tone.
"To be honest, I would not even mind seeing Germany's military strength grow somewhat. Only then would it become meaningful as a counterweight. At present, a German army training with wooden tank models is hardly frightening. I doubt even Poland takes it seriously."
Austen shook his head.
"You do not understand, Neville. The army and the navy are not the same matter."
He drained the last of his now cold tea.
"We can ignore German army expansion for the moment because Britain still enjoys overwhelming superiority at sea. If necessary, we can sever Germany's maritime trade and leave it to suffocate in its own graveyard, a country short of oil and surrounded by stronger powers."
His gaze darkened.
"But if that maritime advantage is broken, everything changes."
"A Germany no longer starved of resources will not be a state to manage. It will be a tiger."
Jörg, seated once more in the rear of his car, naturally understood this better than most.
The army mattered. The navy mattered. The air force mattered.
But resources were the heart that drove the entire machine of war.
He had already instructed the Materials Procurement Department to acquire strategic goods on a large scale, especially oil. Even so, buying resources was never the same as owning an inexhaustible source.
He reached into Senna's satchel and pulled out a folded map.
The Middle East had been marked in red. Italy had also been marked. More striking still was a heavy black line that ran from Sicily all the way toward India.
Beside it, in small letters, someone had written:
[No. 2 Land Lifeline]
It was a treasure line.
And it was still beyond his reach.
Germany's sword was not yet long enough. Germany's aircraft were too few. Germany's fleet was still only an ambition wearing paperwork.
Development remained Germany's central task.
But it would not remain the only task forever.
One day, when the tiger's wounds had healed and its bones had thickened again, it would raise its head and roar so loudly that Europe, and perhaps the world beyond it, would have no choice but to listen.
"Where to, sir?" Ethan asked from the front.
"Take me to the tailor."
Jörg glanced at his own reflection in the side mirror.
"I am going to see His Majesty the Emperor. It is time I had a proper suit."
Two months later, in Denmark, two Imperial Eagles sped down a country road.
When the American President had been shot while riding in an Imperial Eagle, the incident should have ruined the company's reputation. Instead, because the reinforced doors had held and Coolidge had survived, the story had transformed itself.
The Imperial Eagle was no longer merely a luxury car.
It was now known as a safe luxury car.
Its fame, which had already spread through Europe, had begun to push outward into the wider world.
Anyone who truly understood automobiles, however, would have noticed at a glance that these two vehicles were custom built models far beyond anything the public could buy.
.....
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