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4-April/1915
I had completely fixed myself up, my uniform as neat as possible, smoothing out every last wrinkle and placing every military distinction I had been awarded so I could look as dignified as possible, since not just anyone gets a meeting with the Kaiser just for killing people… well, I killed very well and with style.
I was coming with the most difficult mission of all: convincing the Kaiser to invest in an agricultural plan that could easily feed 68 million people. I had spent several days creating a project comparable to my graduation thesis, where I designed a program that took into account Germany's entire situation, from the inability to divert chemical elements for fertilizers to the shortage of steel for civilian infrastructure, building a gradual system that in two years should be fully operational, capable of feeding not only Germany but Europe, meeting the caloric needs of nearly 100 million people.
Although much of it was theoretical, since I lacked full knowledge of the geographical and population conditions across many parts of Germany, the project gave significant consideration to resource acquisition and how to reuse materials that were usually discarded to create fertilizers or fuel depending on the case.
Eighty-six pages was the project I carried under my arm, everything ready for the moment I could enter the Berliner Schloss. I hoped to have the opportunity to explain the plan and that he wouldn't be frightened by the theoretical cost I had calculated.
When I was finally allowed in, my expectations proved too high, since I had imagined a grand reception in a throne room, but instead it was just an adjacent office where the Kaiser was reviewing reports surrounded by advisors and other high-ranking officials who were not at the front at the moment.
I saluted the Kaiser with a military greeting and stood waiting until he looked up while his assistant carried away the documents he had just signed.
''Karl von Poznan… the Devil of Masuria by our Russian adversaries… your fame has done nothing but grow on the eastern front, and several of my generals say you are a soldier who can change the course of a battle'' said the Kaiser, placing one arm in front of him while keeping the other hidden.
''I am glad to be famous enough to reach your ears, Your Imperial Majesty'' I replied, lowering my head.
''Good…'' he said, turning his head while the others watched. ''What is that you carry in your arm?'' he asked, pointing at my stack of documents.
''Oh… this, my Kaiser… is a plan I would like to discuss with you…'' I said, somewhat nervous as I held the documents.
''What is it? Some kind of prototype weapon?'' the Kaiser asked, raising an eyebrow.
''No, something more important in my view… it doesn't take a genius to realize that with the war, with all nitrogen being used for explosives, with horses sent to support the front and logistics, and with the lack of manpower in the fields, the conditions for a harvest failure are forming… that is why, with the help of several people, we developed this plan that could increase Germany's agricultural production and achieve food self-sufficiency in just two years with proper resource investment'' I said, placing the report in front of the Kaiser as everyone watched.
I noticed the Kaiser's doubtful look as he only gave it a quick glance.
''I thought you were a soldier… what led you to do this?'' the Kaiser said, gesturing at my documents with his gloved hand.
''Soldiers need to eat… and this is a way to increase agricultural production without harming the war effort, relying on organic fertilizers, using materials that are currently discarded and that have already been tested'' I said, licking my lips.
''How much would it cost to implement this project?'' the Kaiser asked.
''Your Majesty cannot seriously be considering listening to this man… he is a soldier, he may know nothing and simply follows his father's orders'' said one of the officers standing near the Kaiser.
The Kaiser simply pointed at me again. ''How much would it cost?''
''Around 500 million marks… over two years… with that…'' I began, but I was interrupted.
''That is ridiculous. What he is asking for is a generous portion of the public treasury for some farmer's fantasy… with what he requests we could easily sustain a massive military expansion or put numerous war factories into operation instead of farms… to win the war we need more weapons in the field, the harvests will not fail'' said one of the Kaiser's advisors, looking at me like I was an idiot.
''What you ask is too much'' said the Kaiser, shaking his head.
''But… my Kaiser… look… we have already produced…'' I tried to say, but I was cut off.
''Hauptmann, that is not the reason you were called here'' said one of the OHL generals.
''Yes, I know, my general, forgive my lack of decorum'' I said, straightening up.
''The real reason I summoned you is that the French and the British have launched a massive campaign against our forces on the western front, forcing us to divert resources from the eastern front, as we were planning to continue attacking in France and try to push Russia out of the war, but now the French are throwing themselves against our trenches along the entire front'' said the Kaiser, flipping through my document page by page.
''I was somewhat aware something like that might happen, considering Russia seems close to collapse if another successful offensive is launched into Ukraine'' I replied.
The Kaiser stared at me for a few seconds before continuing to skim my documents. ''Yes, we need you to train more men as snipers, since on the western front we are seeing many British and French snipers causing heavy losses among our troops, so I was thinking of sending you there to replicate your achievements in Russia, but in France''
''I'm afraid what you are asking is impossible, my Kaiser… France is not Russia… the difference in size and troop concentration is too great for me to infiltrate, and there is not a single railway that, if destroyed, would leave the French cut off. The French rail system is as good as Germany's, so we would have to blow up around fifty rail lines to cause damage comparable to what we did to Russia with just one'' I said, nervous at the thought of being sent to the deadliest front of the war.
''So you recommend being sent to the western front to try to eliminate the French and British snipers'' said the Kaiser as he went halfway through the documents.
''It is a possibility… but it would be more important, in my opinion, my Kaiser, that we have a better intelligence and information-gathering system, because, forgive what I am about to say, but Abteilung IIIB has done an excellent job against enemy spies, but when it comes to obtaining information from the enemy, I'm afraid it is not excellent. In Russia, when I shot the general of the Fifth Army, I had to gather information by my own means about where he was and where he would be, and I had doubts about whom to shoot, since I had three targets in my sights'' I replied lowering my head.
''So my work does not seem to be the best according to you'' said a general, staring at me, clearly annoyed by my words.
''It is the reality'' I said bluntly. ''If it weren't for luck, I would have shot another man whose identity I did not know, but I suspected he was someone of high rank.''
''For your information, we do have considerable knowledge about who the Russian leaders are… if His Majesty permits'' said the head of Abteilung IIIB, looking at the Kaiser as he opened a briefcase and showed me photographs of several Russian generals, although they did not seem very recent.
''Yes, that is my target… I remember him'' I said, pointing to the man I had shot. ''That is subject A…'' I added, pointing to another man.
''You saw him?'' asked the Kaiser, narrowing his eyes.
''On five occasions… and twice I had the opportunity to shoot him in the head'' I replied.
The Kaiser made a gesture for the intelligence officer to continue.
He placed more faces that I did not recognize, and finally showed me someone I did recognize. ''Subject C… I saw him several times, and in almost all of them I could have blown his head off, since he would repeatedly move around the outskirts of the city by vehicle'' I said, pointing.
The Kaiser turned and stared at his intelligence officer with a serious expression. ''That is Nikolai Vladimirovich Ruzsky, commander of the Northwestern Front of Russia… if you had shot him, you would have caused enormous damage to Russia'' said the Kaiser.
''Eh… I… I didn't know… I had only one… shot and didn't know who to give it to…'' I said, growing nervous.
''It is fine… this shows that our intelligence is lacking, because much of this information is delivered to the generals, but it seems it did not reach you. If you had had it… would you have taken the shot?'' asked the Kaiser.
''Of course… on several occasions my men and I joked about blowing that man's head off… for an entire day he was a perfect target, moving in his car, inspecting the train station and walking right in front of us… it almost felt like a trap'' I replied quickly.
''Good… then you could have killed three Russian generals, among them the one leading Russia's defense…'' said the Kaiser, shaking his head. ''What do you recommend…?''
''A specialized intelligence agency… gather people from multiple nationalities… sons of Englishmen, Russians, French… bring in linguists… teach them how to speak like locals, learn the culture of our enemies to infiltrate their society and send them with cameras to scout areas… things like that… knowing how trains move or similar details is extremely valuable, for example knowing who I am supposed to kill would have helped a lot'' I replied.
''We will take it into consideration… the most important thing for now is that, temporarily, you will be under the command of my son in the Fifth Army. You will be tasked with operating under his command and hunting enemy snipers. I assume that is not a problem for you, Major'' said the Kaiser.
''Major?... eh… no, my Kaiser'' I said, straightening up.
''Under his leadership you will assist in the current defense against French forces… and you will be assigned training grounds close to the front to train thousands of our men… fifteen thousand to be exact, so they can be distributed across all armies'' said the Kaiser, looking at me intently.
''It will be done, my Kaiser'' I said, saluting.
''I have also been informed about the scopes from your production… it is somewhat unusual for a soldier to produce his own equipment, but it seems you have done well, so we will also place an order for fifteen thousand rifles and fifteen thousand scopes for the troops, which I expect you to complete as soon as possible'' said the Kaiser as he began writing documents.
''At what price?'' I asked, trying to contain my reaction at the massive amount of money that would come into my pockets.
''The same as before'' the Kaiser replied.
''I see… I will inform my workers and see what I can do to increase production to the necessary level to fulfill the order'' I said, looking at the Kaiser.
''Then everything is settled… we will see if any of this can be implemented if there are funds available in the budget, but as you understand, the war is the priority for now. If we can withstand the Entente's attack, we may launch a counteroffensive… oh, and by the way, my son will ensure that you receive the basic education of the Kriegsakademie… perhaps when the war ends we will open an academy to actively train more men like you, but that is all. Return to the train, you have three days to travel to the western front'' said the Kaiser, pointing at my documents before handing them to an assistant and gesturing toward the exit.
I quickly left the room and sighed in frustration at having failed to convince the Kaiser to make this investment… the famine would be terrible and many people would die, and many more from the Spanish flu… from lack of nutrients…
Even so, with 825,000 marks I could easily quadruple the land under my control, as well as expand my production to meet the Kaiser's order on time…
I would have to find a way to generate money as fast as possible and finance that investment myself… but where would I get that much money…?
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Well, for now I've planned 3 chapters for $5 and 6 for $10, and I'll probably stick to the schedule, but I won't be doing any extra chapters until I have about 9 chapters lined up,until I finish getting everything organized.