Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1151

Königsberg.

Frederick II was reviewing the Prussian army preparing to march on France. Watching the soldiers in their light-blue military uniforms, with their Hank rifles on their backs, march past him with their heads held high, he raised his hat high to express his praise for the soldiers. The current leader of Prussia, Frederick II, was indeed worthy of praise in the eyes of every Prussian.

It was he who sent a mission to the Eastern Empire and obtained a large number of advanced technologies. This allowed Prussia’s steam engine technology to surpass that of other European countries in a very short time. The Prussians’ meticulousness, patience, and diligence were an added bonus to Prussia’s industry. Using the technology they obtained, the quality of their industrial products had continuously increased over the years. The Hank rifles on the soldiers’ backs were the result of Prussia’s industrial progress. This firearm, which was an imitation of the Hawk breech-loading rifle, had been improved by Prussian artisans to become a firing breech-loading rifle similar to the Han-style rifle. Although the firing pin technology was not mature enough, the solution of each soldier carrying a replacement firing pin solved the problem of the firing pin being easily damaged.

In addition to leading Prussia’s industrial development, Frederick II also successfully annexed the German federal states scattered across the European continent with the help of the British and the French, which expanded Prussia’s territory fivefold. After annexing the land on the west side of Poland, Prussia’s land area was now comparable to that of France. It was also a source of pride that Frederick II’s second son was the husband of Queen Victoria of Britain. There was no doubt that only a powerful country could win the favor of the British Queen.

Schroeder stood next to Frederick II. Unlike Frederick II’s high spirits, he was a little worried. He had been to the Eastern Empire and had personally witnessed the prosperity and power of that country. When the two countries had a close relationship, they only received a fraction of the Empire’s knowledge, yet it was enough to make Prussia a powerful European country. It could be said that today’s Prussia was created by the Eastern Empire.

But ever since Frederick II agreed to the marriage with Queen Victoria, the relationship between the two countries had taken a turn for the worse and was now at a freezing point. He had once bitterly advised Frederick II to be cautious, but Frederick II, blinded by immediate interests, ultimately agreed to the coordination of the British and the French, and at the cost of annexing the German federal states, he betrayed the alliance with the Empire.

“Schroeder, why do you have that expression? Is our Prussian army not strong enough?” Frederick II asked.

Schroeder looked at the King, whose face was glowing, and said, “Compared to Europe, it is indeed very strong, but compared to the Chinese Empire, it seems to be far from enough.”

Frederick II was tall and had a square face and a large mouth. His voice was loud, and he said unhappily, “That’s enough, Schroeder. Ever since you came back, you have never agreed with my ideas. The Chinese Empire you talk about is supporting that damned Henry, so now he is our enemy.”

“Your Majesty, the reason for this is that we in Prussia chose to betray them, and now they are preparing to punish us,” Schroeder said emotionally. “Britain is already finished, and it will be Prussia’s turn next.”

Frederick II became more and more impatient. He never thought that he had done anything wrong. He said, “Schroeder, you are too naive. There has never been a true alliance between nations. Back then, the Eastern Empire was still very weak, and it needed us to contain the armies of Britain and France in Europe. And I risked the demise of Prussia to challenge Britain and France. Shouldn’t I have received some tangible benefits?”

After a pause, he continued, “Prussia’s territory is small, and merging with the German federal states to expand our territory is the wish of every Prussian. And only Britain and France could help us achieve this in a short time, and the price we paid was to offend the Eastern Empire. I did both of these things for the benefit of Prussia.”

Schroeder opened his mouth and sighed. He said, “Your Majesty’s decision may not be wrong, but I believe that long-term cooperation with the Empire is in our long-term interest.”

“No, it won’t be. Haven’t you realized by now? The rapidly expanding Empire now is so similar to the Britain of the past. It will not allow Prussia to become so powerful that it unifies Europe. This is what the regional interests of a world power are all about,” Frederick II said.

After cooperating with the Chinese Empire, he had always let Prussia recuperate, focus on developing industry, and build up its strength for nearly ten years. The power accumulated within Prussia had finally given him the ability to realize his ambitions.

Schroeder looked at the fanatical Frederick II. He thought for a moment and closed his mouth. Like every king, Frederick II had an almost crazy pursuit of territory. After accumulating powerful strength, Frederick II now had more ideas. His agreement to Queen Victoria’s lobbying this time seemed to be out of a sense of obligation to the marriage alliance between the two countries, but it was actually for the expansion of Prussia.

With the cooperation of Tsarist Russia and Austria, Poland, a major Eastern European country, had been destroyed. He knew that Frederick II’s next target was France.

While the two were talking, Frederick II’s intelligence officer, Press, hurried to them and whispered something in his ear.

“What! The Tsarist Russian army has retreated!” Frederick II said in disbelief.

“Yes, Your Majesty. They retreated in a hurry. It is said that the Eastern Empire’s army has occupied three of Tsarist Russia’s fortresses in Yelets,” Press said.

Frederick II was shocked when he heard this. He said, “Are you sure it’s Yelets?”

“There’s no mistake. All three fortresses that Tsarist Russia used to defend against the Ottoman Empire were breached in five days,” Press emphasized.

“What is Austria doing now?” Frederick II asked.

“Their army is still deployed on the French border. There has been no change.”

Frederick II breathed a sigh of relief. He said, “In that case, there’s no problem. Even if Tsarist Russia retreats, we and Austria can still defeat Henry, and there’s one less person to share the benefits with.”

Press said worriedly, “Henry now has an army of 300,000. His elite troops are all equipped with advanced firearms provided by the Eastern Empire, and their provisions and supplies are also abundant. Even if we can win, the losses will probably be huge.”

“That’s exactly why we must act now. Once Henry takes control of all of France, the war will break out on our Prussian territory. Do you want to see French soldiers appear on Prussian land?”

“Of course not,” Press said loudly.

“That’s right. Go back and do your intelligence work well. We in Prussia must fight this war. This is the best time for Prussia to dominate Europe.” It seemed like a flame was burning in Frederick II’s eyes.