Reincarnated as Nikolai II - Chapter 209

Chapter 209: Each to Their Own Survival (5)
An incompletely ended war.

In a way, Germany, who ended the war with their own hands, knew better than anyone that this war was an unfinished work.

Hindenburg, who had reigned as military commander-in-chief, remained in position despite unilaterally declaring abandonment of the war to the civilian government. At least for now.

However, Hindenburg, who had held power rivaling the Kaiser for the past two years, hadn’t given up everything.

“Groener. I hear you’ve been associating with those SPD fellows lately.”

“…A misunderstanding. I merely accepted dinner invitations and shared a few drinks, I haven’t joined the Social Democratic Party.”

“I’m not scolding you. If I can’t trust you who delivered my declaration of war abandonment to the government, who can I trust?”

Hindenburg himself was also a defeated general, so he couldn’t blame his adjutant Wilhelm Groener for desperately trying to find his own way to survive.

“But I haven’t given up yet. Though we ended it with our own hands, we weren’t defeated.”

Though dissolution orders had come down, the OHL moved from Spa in Belgium to the palace in Kassel was still a place where military officers came to work and people gathered daily, but the true dissolution of this temporary OHL wasn’t far off.

The moment that treaty is concluded, the fuse containing the German army’s fate would be extinguished.

However, the heart of Hindenburg, head of the OHL and Germany’s war hero, still beat with thrilling vibration.

“This evening, meet with His Majesty the Kaiser.”

“For what purpose?”

“To advise abdication.”

Even blowing away the wartime chancellor.

Unilaterally notifying the civilian government about continuing the war.

Paul von Hindenburg who held power that could even shake the Kaiser.

His eyes staring out the window seemed to pierce through Germany’s future.

“He won’t accept.”

“Of course. That’s why take the Kaiser’s refusal and meet SPD Chairman Ebert again.”

“…”

Though Hindenburg was already treating Groener as an SPD person, Groener vaguely saw his role within this.

“An alliance between the military and SPD?”

“They too must not think we’ll be suppressed by something like the Treaty of Versailles. Rather, they’ll want us to beat down those leftists running wild lately.”

No. Groener realized the left and treaty were all excuses.

‘The SPD and military. To both groups, the Kaiser is now an obstacle.’

Just an obstacle? He was no different from the root cause who got them involved in others’ wars without knowing his place, beyond being a useless leader who gave no help to Germany.

And Hindenburg’s current instructions tell:

That he will abandon the emperor who made him head of the OHL.

The secret agreement between SPD and military.

The Kaiser’s abdication.

And General Hindenburg still reigning as OHL head despite defeat.

What these told Groener was clear.

‘The General has no intention of stepping down yet!’

Within the OHL, work was secretly underway to shift responsibility for the current defeat to the Kaiser and supposedly existing Jews and reds.

This meant the OHL, the German military, had already prepared to serve a new master.

“…But General, won’t it be insufficient? No matter how much parliament rebels and public support disappears, if even the military turns away from the Kaiser, we might face backlash.”

“It’s fine, our hands will remain clean until the end.”

Hindenburg didn’t flinch at Groener’s concerns.

“Right next door is a country more desperate than anyone to swing their sword.”

Because even if the flames of German revolution weren’t hot enough, France was already in a mood to start a revolution for them.

They say you can only see the night sky when the sun sets, and hear insects when you close your eyes.

Having lost the war, Hindenburg seemed to see the power laid before his eyes.

==

The armistice drags wearily into its fourth month, stretching far beyond those initial weeks that turned into one month, then two months, like a shadow growing longer in the fading light. The negotiations seem to move at a glacial pace, each day blending into the next.

At this rate, the talks will surely extend past the threshold of the new year, carrying their unresolved weight into another calendar.

My eyes have grown increasingly strained and weary from the endless watching and waiting, trying to discern meaning from every subtle movement and gesture as they continue their hushed diplomatic exchanges in the grand halls of Paris. The whispers seem to echo endlessly through the corridors of power, each day bringing new murmurs but little concrete progress.

Still, amid all the deliberation and delay, the foundational framework was ultimately established, laying out the broad strokes of what’s to come. And among those crucial elements, what particularly captured my attention was undoubtedly the extensive section on economic sanctions – their scope, implementation, and potential long-term implications for all parties involved. The careful crafting of these punitive measures seems to hint at their central role in whatever resolution finally emerges from these protracted talks.

“Though I understand Belgium and France getting large reparations for reconstruction, this looks like they’re trying to kill the nation.”

“Beyond the expected amount, poisonous clauses seem set to be driven like stakes throughout Germany.”

“Retaliatory… but that’s not all.”

Did I describe the Treaty of Versailles as a jar of desires?

Then these clauses are the malicious poison contained within that jar.

The Allied nations are now shouting at Germany who agreed to end the war with their own hands.

Now Germany’s three river systems will be placed under international organization supervision.

Abolish tariffs in Alsace-Lorraine and Poznań regions.

Will steadily plunder natural and food resources.

You have no patent rights.

Since cash payments will obviously be difficult, we’ll take payment in kind and especially take all three resources essential for industry – steel, lumber, coal.

And to prepare for debt default, we’ll take all sorts of taxes including the Rhineland as collateral.

“Are they aiming for economic domination?”

“Theoretically reparations are possible, possible.”

“Count, this is saying let’s fight. They were fighting over Morocco just 5 years ago, what will happen pushing such clauses?”

“…Probably expecting renegotiation later using this as pretext.”

“Planning to use unreasonable clauses as justification.”