24-May-1916
I had not yet finished the final adjustments. I had sent around 120 socialist and communist leaders, who had incited the bread riots in Kiev, to forced labor.
I had no intention of giving them martyrs like the Irish had with their uprising, when the British executed their leaders and turned them into symbols. It was better to simply condemn them for treason and send them to work until death in the unsafe coal mines of the Donbass, so that at least those pieces of human trash could do something to make up for their actions.
The dead had reached nearly 17,000 people, mostly from beatings. Ukrainians had taken out their anger on every minority group in the city, so there were many deaths among Russians, Poles, Jews, and other minorities. The wounded could not be counted, since aside from those who showed up at Red Cross hospitals with bruised eyes, loose teeth, broken ribs, dislocated arms, or the usual injuries from this kind of violence, many simply hid and never sought help.
Rumors spread that anyone injured would be arrested and sent to die working in the mines, so the repression of the city had been a success.
It did not spread much further. A few other cities tried to act, but in a much more peaceful way, with protests demanding better rations or the removal of the country's general mobilization law, which was slowly consuming the population.
Unfortunately, their demands were ignored, since all labor was absolutely necessary if there was to be any food at the first harvest, which would be legumes expected soon.
I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for Hindenburg to twist the knife and remove me from my post, but nothing happened beyond a few congratulations from Austro-Hungarian generals and some of ours for suppressing the rebellion so decisively.
Something I had in mind was that Hindenburg wanted to keep me tied to this region so that, if the agricultural effort failed, it would bear my name entirely. That could be the reason I was still the head of security in Ukraine, along with the regent's full confidence in my management and his cabinet.
The following days were marked by reconstruction and by how even the protesters themselves began to realize the chaos they had caused. A tenth of the city had lost their homes to the fires, and there was no budget to rebuild them. Many could only sleep in the streets or fill the shelters set up by the Red Cross.
That same organization that constantly gave me headaches, as they would approach me at every moment trying to talk about improving living conditions with nothing more than words.
It was as if they saw me as some kind of Jesus, believing that by speaking to me and asking me to search my heart, I would multiply bread and fish so that everyone could eat their fill every day.
I was completely ruined trying to get this country back on its feet, relying entirely on the hope that if things went even moderately well, I would recover my investment many times over, since I held a large number of Ukrainian government promissory notes in Ukrainian marks. If the value of the currency rose internationally, I would become rich as well, but for the moment, I did not have a single mark to my name.
I was broke, as everything I generated went into paying my debts or making investments to increase production.
Everything produced by the tractor factory was used to finance shipments of tractors to more communities, as well as sending machinery to assist during the harvest.
Although we had recently begun producing trucks that were sold to the Austro-Hungarians to support their logistics, we still faced the problem of rubber shortages. Germany relied on companies in the Netherlands to import those resources, but due to scarcity, they were expensive.
In my case, I had started buying it from Albanian and Greek markets, as they could still import it. It was costly, but they were the only channels capable of supplying natural rubber without being completely blocked.
With the southern front concluded, as Serbia had capitulated, and the Allied failure at Gallipoli, there were not many reasons for the Entente to remain in the area beyond maintaining the trade blockade, and many of their troops had been transferred to other fronts.
So, giving a quick inspection to the tractor and road construction factory, I observed how productivity continued to rise. The program of bringing workers from Germany was working, as they were experienced laborers in similar fields and adapted quickly to the work required in the factory.
The expansion continued, although the workload was far greater than what had been planned in the first phase, and we were already considering expanding it again, since we had more workers than before.
As I was leaving the factory, since I had to go to the pea fields to check whether we could harvest tender peas early instead of waiting a month for dry peas that could be stored, I came across one of my soldiers tearing papers off a wall and trying to hide them behind his back.
''What did you tear down'' I asked, looking at the soldier holding the pamphlets in his hands.
''I do not think you will like it, mein Major'' the soldier said, shaking his head.
''I do not care, I need to know'' I said, making a slight grimace as I looked at what he was hiding.
The soldier nodded and showed me several papers with an image of me that had been heavily altered. I did not understand the Cyrillic writing, but the message was clear just from the image.
A blond man, covered in blood, holding a knife, marked by a scar on his cheek, standing over several bodies.
''I see… that is me'' I said with a bitter smile. ''Check the printing presses. We cannot allow this anti-government rhetoric to spread, so find the idiot responsible and tell him to stop or we will send him to the mines'' I added while looking at the drawing.
''As you command, mein Major'' the soldier said, calling over a group of his comrades before heading off to carry out my orders and inspect the local presses.
''Just what I needed… now they see me as a butcher…'' I said, gripping the pamphlet tightly as it tore in my hands.
I licked my lips and noticed there were more of them in several areas nearby, so the work had to be recent. Whoever placed them had done so knowing I would pass through here, because they had not been there the last time I visited the factory not long ago.
I began scanning the nearby buildings to see if I could spot anyone watching me, but I saw nothing suspicious, nothing that could indicate who was behind this anti-German propaganda. I had to assume that whatever was written in Cyrillic carried some kind of message against us.
So, tearing the pamphlets apart, I got into one of our vehicles and we headed toward the nearest fields. We had some tests to run.
''Aha… yes, this is definitely anti-German propaganda, with a strong anti-monarchist tone'' Ferdinand said, examining one of the pamphlets he had taken.
''And what does it say'' I asked while watching the workers as the vehicle moved forward.
''No tyrant lasts forever. As long as the city remembers the slaughter, it will not go unpunished. Workers, rise up, the people united will never be defeated'' Ferdinand said, reading from the pamphlet.
''I need to learn how to read Cyrillic'' I said as I adjusted myself in the seat.
''Yes, you should, and learn to speak Russian as well…'' Ferdinand replied.
''Yes… I just barely have time. This job is going to drive me insane, being on edge all the time'' I said, grinding my teeth as I watched the guards overseeing the workers.
''Hopefully once the harvest is done, things will calm down a bit. If this is madness, we are still far from the slaughter at the front, but having to worry about every window is not exactly pleasant either, especially when those we are supposed to protect can turn into a mob that wants our heads at any moment'' Ferdinand said, crumpling the pamphlet and tossing it at his feet.
''Yes, although this will mark us. A lot of people died, and I can assure you we will be blamed for all of it. They will point at us and say every death came from our bullets'' I said, shaking my head.
Silence followed those words until the vehicle came to a stop as we arrived at the field planted with peas.
After getting out, I walked through the fields, observing that they had been well worked. The soil looked fertile, the use of fertilizer was evident, and there were no weeds draining nutrients from the plants, which were full of pods.
''Green, firm, and full… looks like they are ready for harvest'' I said, crouching down while examining one of the pea plants and touching the pods.
''So what now, do I call the workers to harvest everything'' Ferdinand asked, stepping closer while carefully observing the plant.
''Give me a moment, we need to do a taste test. If they taste bad, it is better to wait a few more days'' I said as I opened a pod and looked at the row of normal-sized peas inside. I popped one into my mouth. ''Crunchy, slightly sweet, fresh… yes, they are ready. Now we need to determine the yield per hectare to estimate total production, so just this hectare for now'' I said, pointing to the area.
''Understood'' Ferdinand said, calling over the soldiers.
It did not take long for a group of Ukrainians who had been working removing weeds and watching the fields to arrive. They began collecting the pods into baskets.
For the first time in a while, I felt some of the pressure in my back and neck ease, even if only slightly. Ideally, peas would be left to dry and lose moisture for better storage, but under current conditions, it was more useful to consume them fresh, even if it made long-term storage more difficult.
So I remained seated in the vehicle, watching the work, while equipment was brought in to weigh the harvest. I wanted an estimate to plan accordingly, especially considering that Germany only cared about wheat and potatoes.
After a few hours of work, the hectare had been completely harvested, and the workers placed everything into sacks to be weighed.
''3.4 tons'' Ferdinand said, handing me his clipboard with the calculations.
''That is with the pods and fresh. Considering peas can lose up to two thirds of their weight when dried, and subtracting the pods, we are probably looking at around two tons of actual peas. That gives us a yield of about one tons per hectare, which is good, very good'' I said thoughtfully.
''Is it enough to solve the hunger problem?'' Ferdinand asked, while nearby soldiers and workers listened expectantly.
''On its own, no, of course not, but this will help us increase rations. Now we need to plant potatoes so the land does not go to waste. We are still in time to meet the August harvest'' I said, thinking ahead.
My thoughts were interrupted by cheers from the Ukrainian workers, as someone had apparently translated what I said to them, and they looked visibly relieved.
''So we need to request the potatoes and prepare them for planting. Bring in the tractors, have the workers pull out the plants and send them to compost or the mushroom greenhouses. Tomorrow we begin the general pea harvest, but we need to repeat these tests in every field, making sure we are harvesting proper peas and not something watery'' I said while walking toward the vehicle.
''Alright… so next month is oats, right'' Ferdinand said with a smile, while some of those nearby listened with a certain sense of relief.
''Ninety to one hundred eighty days… it could be next month, but we need to stay alert. Corn and rice as well, we need to monitor everything depending on how well they grew. If they did, we will have harvests next month before moving on to planting other crops like peas again to reinforce the soil. We just need the wheat crops to be good. If they are, we will meet the quotas for Germany and Austria-Hungary, and we might even have food to export'' I said, doing calculations in my head as I closed the vehicle door and signaled the driver to head back to Kiev.
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