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War and Peace Chapter 49: The Incident at Württemberg

."here we go?"

Marshal Blue-clothed was sitting upright on his chair. The desk in front of him was very clean. There was a stack of letter paper slightly to the right, and a slender quill was inserted in the ink bottle on the right side of the letter paper.

At this time, it was pitch black outside the window, and in the dark night, endless snowflakes were quietly falling.

A place two steps away from the desk, a black suit must answer respectfully:

"Yes, your Majesty! With the assistance of the local garrison, the sons of the Duke of Württemberg have left the palace in the southern suburbs of Stuttgart, and now they are gradually controlling the city of Stuttgart; according to the information sent back by our people, Mecklenburg is schweilin, Saxony has entered a state of secret martial law, and some of their troops are leaving the barracks, probably preparing to control the city and the main traffic routes; so far, there has been no movement in Berlin!"

After listening to the report, the blue-clothed Marshal's expression did not change at all. He just said to himself softly: "Oh, when will people learn from their lessons and completely forget greed?"

The black suit didn't hear this, or even if he heard it, he pretended not to hear it. He still stood still, with an almost unchanging indifference on his face, and all kinds of expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness had nothing to do with this face.

A few minutes later, seeing that Marshal Blue did not speak, the black suit asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, what should we do next?"

The marshal in blue raised his head, as if he had just woken up from his contemplation.

"Oh, wait and see!"

"As for your order, Your Majesty! Follow your call at any time!" The black suit bowed politely, and then quickly left the warm and comfortable room.

"I hope that there will not be too many innocent people dying on this unfortunate night!" Marshal Blue muttered, and then swam into the ocean of thought.

At this time, Britain, which was only a sea from the European continent, was not in a ready atmosphere as some people expected. On the contrary, there was no city in martial law in England, Scotland or Wales. Although the Royal Guard dispatched some soldiers, it was carrying out the task of maintaining public order.

Compared to two years ago, London in southeast England has not recovered from the war. But at least it is not the ruins everywhere. On the banks of the Thames, a brand new palace has stood up. Although it is not as magnificent and spectacular as Buckingham Palace, it also has the glorious momentum of the golden wall and the style of the old and new style.

There is a room in this palace with a decorative style of the era of Emperor Fitreau, which is the private study of King Robert I. After nightfall, there were only a few soft light lamps in this unique room, and two people of different ages and dress on the small sofa near the window. Among them, the more upright one has entered middle age, and the beard is obviously newly combed. It is neat and full of spirit. He has a gold collar seal on the upper body, a white marshal uniform with gold shoulder stamps and colorful ribbons, and a pair of red military trousers in the lower body. The other person sat on the sofa and looked more natural and enjoyable. He was about thirty years old, wearing a gray-black army marshal uniform with gold edges, red bottom and dragon pattern collar seals but inadvertently revealed his unique identity.

"My Majesty, the whole world thinks you have left Europe. Who would have thought that you would leisurely taste the red wine from 1801 here? I think only you can come up with such a plan, which is wonderful!" The white-clothed marshal held a glass of red wine in his right hand and gently shook it clockwise. The three fingers holding the glass were constantly swallowed by the pink red and spit out.

However, the gray-clothed marshal opposite him did not look proud on his face. There was a faint sadness hidden deep in the calm expression.

"There's no way. I am not like you, ruling a completely unified empire! Look at me, there are a large group of old guys who are very difficult to deal with in the countries below. Sometimes they don't take the imperial government seriously, so those who shouldn't live can continue to survive under their protection! Alas, the system is like this, and it's almost impossible to change it!"

"System, oh, that's not something we can choose!" Marshal white nodded with deep understanding, "This country does have such an advantage. The central government has absolute power. Although the power of the royal family is not as powerful as Germany, its influence cannot be underestimated at all! Unfortunately, I don't know how many years it will take to get the true respect of the people here! Maybe... there will never be a chance!"

"No. My dear brother, don't be discouraged! The ideas in people's minds will change with time. If this generation cannot do it, then start with their next generation and next generation. One day, the people here will forget their former rulers, just like they did to your ancestors!" After the Marshal of Gray said this, he raised the tulip cup in his hand. The best French red wine in it was gradually awakening from its distant era, and the faint fragrance could not stop overflowing.

There was a crisp sound of tinging. Two crystal clear cups gently knocked each other. These two people had extremely noble identities, but they could savor good wine and express their sorrow here with such a relaxed mentality. This is something outsiders never expected.

However, these two people did not gather together simply for the sake of tasting red wine. Their eyes were staring at the place separated by the sea - Germany in the darkness.

Just three hours after leaving the cage-like palace, Albrechtliopold, Major Albrechtfortunatus and Albrecht Gregel, surrounded by soldiers, walked into the parliament building in the center of Stuttgart, where the members of the parliament agreed on state affairs on weekdays and the center of power of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Now, Albrecht's descendants have regained their former kingly aura in this empty hall.

Accompanied by two generals, Leopold walked onto the platform where the king and the prime minister used to speak, and the entire hall immediately became quiet.

"I declare that I am the true King of Württemberg. From now on, every citizen of the Kingdom of Württemberg will obey my orders, and I will lead this kingdom to prosperity and prosperity!"

"Long live the king! Long live!"

Leopold's voice was immediately responded with a warm response, and soldiers loyal to him shouted. Amid the tsunami of cheers, Fortunatus and Gregel looked at the brothers on the platform without saying a word. Although they had the same strong desire for power, at such an important moment, they had to watch their competitors ascend the throne.

As for the officers and soldiers controlled by Fortunatus and Gregel, they stood there disappointed, allowing the people around them to cheer and excitement.

"Warriors of the Kingdom, each of you must act. You must defend this sacred land with the weapons in your hands! Now I order..." Opold glanced at the officers and soldiers who had just calmed down, and the few government officials in ordinary clothes. He gave his first order as the king with great energy: "Every time blockade of every road leading to the outside world of the Kingdom, no one can enter and exit without my order!"

"Abide by the order!" The uniform voice made the young man on the stage look satisfied. Although this was the result of the temporary compromise between the two younger brothers, he knew in his heart that as long as he had the power, he would no longer allow others to have the opportunity to peek at the throne.

Immediately afterwards, under the command of the officers, tens of thousands of soldiers in the hall left in a group. Although the kingdom was small, there were still many places waiting for them to control, especially those important levels on the border.

Looking at the momentum of the superiors calling for the wind and rain, Fortunatus and Gregel were naturally full of jealousy. Before their brother walked off the platform, they both quietly discussed poaching.

"I didn't expect that my brother's power was so huge. The commanders of the 19 regiments were all his confidants! That would be one-third of the country's troops!" Gregel said with envy and sourness. If the light was better, people would definitely find that there was a murderous intent in the young man's eyes. Compared to the elder brother's power, Gregel only controls some security forces and police who have almost no effect. The infantry commander Ralph Boye, who has always regarded him as his confidant, is now bowing to Leopold. This incident has greatly hit the young man's confidence and self-esteem.

Fortunastu sighed and reluctantly admitted his disadvantages, "Yes, don't look at him being unknown in normal times. He is also arbitrary on the battlefield, but it is really impressive to start with it! No, if this continues, we will lose our living space. Brother, it seems that we must join hands to deal with him!"

Hearing that the second brother was willing to join forces with him, Gregel quickly agreed actively, "Okay, I have just recorded the commanders who support him. When this matter is over, we will take action from them and cut off his left arm and right arm! By the way, brother, your military police force must cooperate with me with all our strength!"

"Don't worry, of course we two brothers must be united in external relations!" Fortunastu held his younger brother's shoulder with a smile on his face. The brotherly feelings seemed to be invincible. At this time, they seemed to have forgotten that the brother who was clearly their brother who was standing on the high platform was also theirs.

"Brother, do you think Berlin will send heavy troops to suppress the rebellion? Our army combined cannot confront Berlin!" Lost turned into joy, but Gregel became anxious again.

Fortunatus shook his head, "Brother, you don't have to worry about this. If Berlin could send heavy troops to deal with us as you were worried, we wouldn't have acted rashly! Think about it, if you were not sure, the old fox Ludwig III would contact us to act together?"

"That's right!" Gregel said, "I guess Berlin has a headache about Bavaria at this time! But I still can't understand one thing. The old man Ludwig III is already the king of Bavaria. Why does he still oppose Berlin?"

"Well..." Fortunatus raised his head and thought, "I think he was for his son, the present King Robert I of England. Although this guy was nominally the monarch of England, the whole of England was actually under the control of Berlin! The old man either planned to make his son a real king, or had a bigger conspiracy! In short, after receiving his handwritten letter, Leopold kept saying that now was a unique and great opportunity, and it must have been explained in the letter. However, Leopold's hateful guy actually burned the letter and said that we would believe him no matter what, alas! Now we are one step behind him both inside and outside!"

"Oh..." Gregel seemed to be connected, and then he gritted his teeth and hated his elder brother. "That guy Leopold, if you don't show us such an important letter, you can't blame us for being ruthless and unrighteous in the future!"

Seeing the two brothers standing shoulder to shoulder, Leopold, standing on the platform, snorted coldly, thinking that if there were not more important things to deal with now, he would definitely not have let go of the two guys who wanted to steal his throne at all times. But when he thought of the throne that had just fallen into his hands and the promise of the Bavarian king, he became full of confidence and then left with the generals.

As Leopold planned, although the Kingdom of Württemberg was not far from Berlin, the center of the Empire, but because it quickly controlled the communication facilities in Stuttgart, the news of the chaos in the kingdom did not reach Berlin until a few hours later. At this time, he not only controlled major cities such as Stuttgart, but also blocked the roads leading to the states of the Kingdom. However, Leopold did not know that at this time, Bavaria not only did not openly announce its opposition to Berlin's central government, but secretly mobilized 7 infantry divisions, 4 armored regiments and 36 cavalry companies stationed near Augsburg near the Kingdom of Württemberg. The 100,000 troops were less than 100 kilometers away from Stuttgart!

The accident in Stuttgart was only part of this chaotic night, and in the imperial capital Berlin, the uneasy elements finally took action.

In this world, the small town of Potsdam in the western suburbs of Berlin is a quiet and beautiful place. The river water of Javier irrigates the rich fields here, and the rich tree-shading makes the city look like a fairyland. Apart from the elegant natural environment, there are also various cultural landscapes here - Dutch-style buildings, towering French churches with domes, and small Arc de Triomphe in Roman style. These are due to the Potsdam edict of William the Great for the freedom of religious belief in immigrants in 1685. It prompted the Hugenists to move here from France, the Netherlands and Switzerland to drive the development of handicrafts and commerce at that time, and then integrate the diversified urban pattern. In addition, the Prussian royal family settled here in the second half of the 17th century, so beautiful or magnificent palaces and courtyards can be seen everywhere in the small town, especially the Worry-free Palace, known as the "Northern Versailles", is even more well-known.

On this night, people's concern for Potsdam was not the Palace of Worry or the Church of Nicholas, but the former Royal Palace of Czechlienhof, the palace built by William II for Prince. At this time, the person living in this English country villa-style palace was not the descendants of William II, nor was it the foreign VIP just about to be, but a person who was gradually forgotten by the world - Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg.

Of course, the duke did not settle here willingly. Accompanying him, there was also an imperial guard unit loyal to the German Emperor, the Royal 7th Hussar Regiment.
Chapter completed!
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