Teaching a Lesson

Historically, Germany had encroached upon the lands ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Poland and Lithuania through the eastward colonial movement. From that long advance was born the Teutonic Order — and, in time, the Duchy of Prussia.

As the Duchy of Prussia and Brandenburg grew into a kingdom, they went on carving away at Polish territory. Upon the soil thus taken from Poland, Germany laid down a succession of colonial policies.

The first was the colonization of the land. Ever since the days of Frederick the Great, Germans had forcibly purchased Polish holdings and then offered them at bargain prices to German settlers, all in an effort to raise the proportion of German inhabitants. In the years to come, that colonial policy would grow ever more systematic through instruments such as the Prussian Settlement Commission.

The second was the suppression of language. Germany banned Polish and compelled the use of German, attempting to erase Polish national identity altogether. The campaign actually bore fruit: a considerable number of Poles would come to fight wearing German uniforms.

The third was the culture struggle — the Kulturkampf. Prussia employed every means at its disposal to suppress the Catholic Church, the very foundation of Polish nationalism. Domestically the backlash was fierce, and the effort yielded little satisfaction.

The fourth were the policies of migration and discrimination. The official position of the German authorities was that Poles from Austria or Russia must not be permitted to enter German territory. On that pretext Germany forcibly expelled tens of thousands of Poles and, citing doubts about their loyalty, restricted Polish access to public office.

These policies had been something like Germany's default setting ever since Frederick the Great — always present, differing only in degree. And yet, despite more than a century of such efforts, Germany had never achieved the complete colonization of Poland.

If one had to name the reasons, they were these. First, Austrian Galicia, which bordered Germany, was far too free, and the Poles there had managed to preserve their identity. Second, Russia's oppressive rule continually stirred the national consciousness of Poles living under the Russian partition. Third, the Germans' own policies were inefficient, delivering poor results relative to their cost.

Whatever the reasons, Germany was steadily losing patience with the problem. To a people who prized order and control above any other nation, the presence of an ungovernable foreign ethnicity within their own borders was itself a kind of evil. That thinking soon found expression in policy.

More than twenty thousand Poles were driven from the country. But the German government had no intention of being satisfied with the expulsion of a mere few tens of thousands. Bismarck meant to use the opportunity to uproot every last ungovernable element and accelerate the assimilation of the Polish territories.

As the new year dawned, Bismarck used his New Year's address to formally announce a large-scale expulsion of Poles.

"What kind of madness is this?!"

Bismarck did not so much as blink.

The Bismarck government did not raise an eyebrow at the Diet's resolution and pressed on with the expulsions. The number to be driven out this time approached thirty thousand — no, forty thousand.

Insane.

Waldemar was stunned as he watched Bismarck push the expulsion of the Poles through by force.

Is he trying to recoup the conservative support he's lost lately by expelling Poles? That's far too reckless a gambit.

That Austria and Russia would be furious over this was obvious without having to live through it.

Retaliation is one thing, but Austria coming unmoored would be fatal.

He had built the League of the Three Emperors with his own hands, and now he was tearing it down himself. Watching the spectacle, Waldemar concluded that Bismarck had gone senile.

If he was going to do this, he shouldn't have pushed the Three Emperors' League in the first place.

Waldemar pondered the repercussions the affair would bring. Before he had even finished thinking it through, John Connor brought him news.

"Russia has banned all land ownership and leasing by Germans."

"Ah."

Waldemar was surprised that Russia's retaliation was stronger than he had expected.

"Austria will be sending ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a protest soon as well. Though we won't be able to know from our end, of course."

Waldemar thought the same. This whole affair was a genuine diplomatic disaster. He sought ways to reduce the damage from the catastrophe Bismarck had brought upon himself.

"Our investment assets won't take a loss, I trust?"

"They won't escape entirely. Even if we transfer the titles, the process itself will incur considerable costs."

"This has become a headache."

But the affair did not end with mere property damage. The Russians, taking Bismarck's expulsion of the Poles as their cue, exploded in anti-German sentiment. As it was, ethnic Germans in Russia already held land and wealth and enjoyed privileged positions in society, and resentment toward that fact had been accumulating, quietly but steadily. Now that Germany had handed them a grievance, the whole of Russia was swept up in a wave of anti-German feeling.

Even young Alix, still a child, sensed the ominous atmosphere in Russia and felt uneasy.

"Your Highness, will my sister in Russia be all right?"

"She'll be fine."

Considering that even during the First World War, when Germany and Russia had actually been at war, German-Russians had continued to enjoy their privileges and live well enough, there was no need to worry about the safety of the German nobility.

Waldemar also kept a sharp watch for any disadvantages on the Austrian side. But from Austria there was no visible policy of retaliation. He was relieved on that point. He had invested a fair amount of capital in Austria, after all, and had been rather worried about it.

Waldemar decided that he would have to throw his weight behind Bismarck's downfall, using this affair as the occasion.

Wilhelm — at least on this issue, you were right.

Later generations would point fingers at the callow young Kaiser Wilhelm II for deciding to sack Bismarck, calling it a decisive blunder. But having lived through the situation himself, it looked to Waldemar as though the Kaiser had made a wise decision.

He may have been the giant of German unification once, but now he may well be nothing more than a senile old man.

Waldemar immediately took up his pen. He meant to exchange views on the affair with his respected pen-pal friends, including Baron Hammerstein.

"On that matter, we support it, of course."

Hammerstein and his friends among the new conservatives unexpectedly made it clear that they strongly supported the policy.

What? They strongly support it? Opposing the expulsions at the very least should be the normal position, shouldn't it?

Waldemar realized he had been briefly mistaken. Unless Bismarck had truly gone senile, there was a reason he had pushed such a deranged policy. The real driving force behind it was not Bismarck but the hardliners of the Conservative Party — and the new conservative figures who would hold the future in their hands. Bismarck had merely done what they wanted in exchange for conservative support.

Waldemar confirmed only that Bismarck's standing within the conservative camp had been strengthened by this affair.

Seeing this, I dislike that old man even more.

Because he had wrecked diplomacy to secure his own interests — more precisely, the momentum to push his own policies. Waldemar resolved to bring Bismarck down from another direction.

Of course, even if he did nothing, reliable Wilhelm would handle it well enough. But he wanted Bismarck dealt with as soon as possible.

The conservatives have no intention of touching Bismarck. That means Wilhelm won't either. Then what about the other side?

Bismarck had no shortage of enemies. Workers, socialists, Catholics, Poles — and, in part, even the military, which opposed the alliance with Russia. If one went looking for enemies, there was no end to them. Among them, the most powerful force of all was the army.

Waldemar first sounded out the military's thinking on the present affair.

"That old man Bismarck has gone senile. Ruling this way, you could govern Poland for a thousand years and it wouldn't do a bit of good."

Moltke displayed a strong aversion to Bismarck's measures. He said such opinions were widespread in the army as well. At the very least, the military, facing the practical problem of governing Poland, did not appear as hardline as the Conservative Party's hawks.

"Then the army isn't raising its voice?"

"What good would it do? Even if we speak up, they don't so much as pretend to listen."

There was frustration mixed into Moltke's words.

"In that case, what if you voiced your opinion through official channels? In the newspapers, I mean."

"The newspapers?"

"You would convey the army's concerns about this affair to the public."

Waldemar proposed attacking Bismarck through contributed articles.

"Newspapers, you say."

Moltke, too, seemed a little intrigued.

"I'll cover all the costs involved."

"That's a generous offer, but wouldn't it be a problem if it came out that there's discord between the army and the government?"

"In the short term, perhaps. But you have to take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the long view, Captain. Which is the greater problem — that the Empire cannot govern Poland in a stable manner, or that the government and the army have a bit of a shouting match?"

"Well."

There was nothing to say to that.

"And if things should go wrong, I'll buy suitable estates for those who lose their positions and compensate them."

After some deliberation, Moltke said he would look for suitable people in the military to write the articles.

"As I thought — the only ones who worry about this country are you, Captain, and the patriots of the army."

Waldemar did not stint on flattery toward Moltke. Now that the army had agreed to step forward, Bismarck's comfortable days were over. Whatever else one said, the army was the foremost contributor to the unification of this country. Even Bismarck, with all his formidable standing, could not easily suppress them.

If the army came out openly and drew a line, Bismarck's opponents would take courage from it and swarm him like a nest of hornets. Catholics, workers, socialists — just imagining that host of enemies descending upon him was enough to make Waldemar smile.

Then that old man won't be able to do as he pleases the way he does now.

Waldemar believed that the labor policies Bismarck had yet to complete would be crafted by Wilhelm — more progressive, more worker-friendly. Billy knew how to do that sort of thing.

Well then. From now on, govern with a bit more tact.

Waldemar sent a stinging warning to a chancellor he had never once met: Bismarck.