Chapter 30
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Chapter 30: The Honeymoon Period Between England and Prussia
September 12th, 1839.
Prussian Prince Regent Redel and English Princess Elizabeth met for the first time at Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. This palace was rarely visited by Redel.
It was Elizabeth’s first time traveling abroad, her first time in Prussia, and her first meeting with her imagined fiancé.
On this day, Redel was dressed in a Prussian blue uniform, wearing two Iron Crosses and the Hohenzollern family crest on his collar and chest.
Elizabeth was deeply attracted, she wrote in her diary, "At around 7 o’clock, I met the prince regent. I bowed to him and he graciously nodded back. He didn’t look like a rude Prussian, but more like a charming gentleman from a storybook."
"He was plain-looking and a bit simple, but as the prince regent of Prussia, dressed in his military uniform, he looked so handsome. I thought he was the most handsome and capable man in the world."
"The prince regent explained to me why he hadn’t replied to my letters. After hearing his explanation, any lingering resentment in my heart disappeared instantly."
"We dined together at Sanssouci Palace, and the prince regent took my arm for a stroll in the garden. We danced together, joked, and shared our joys. I had never been so happy before."
"He let me stay in a bedroom at Sanssouci Palace. I lay in bed, so excited that I didn’t fall asleep until dawn."
"The next morning, I saw him again. His smile was enchanting, oh… my fiancé is so perfect."
Elizabeth found out that the prince regent really liked her portrait, so the next day she dressed like the portrait.
Leader One was also captivated, oh… that daring hairstyle, that outfit similar to Ship Girl HMS Hood’s. Oh… the match was just too perfect.
The Prince Regent of Prussia and Princess Victoria of England appeared hand in hand in their predominantly blue attire. This caused a stir among the people, with the folks of Prussia recalling the previous gossip, indeed all those rumors were true.
When the two of them were on a date, Anna watched for a while from afar. However, Anna didn’t react much. She could tell at a glance that Elizabeth was no match for her – her appearance, her dressing, her personality. She was just a naive, innocent girl.
"If I wanted to, I could easily outdo her in just one round." Once Anna confirmed that Elizabeth posed no threat, she paid no more attention to Leader One’s date.
Princess Elizabeth stayed in Prussia for two weeks. After finishing his day’s work, Prince Regent Redel would accompany her, dancing together, admiring beautiful paintings, getting lost in the opera house, lingering together in the music hall…
However, Elizabeth was a devout Christian and did not allow premarital sex. They did many things during those two weeks but nothing critical happened.
The princess returned to England. Before the formal wedding, she couldn’t stay in Berlin for too long. As they parted ways, Elizabeth reluctantly went to the dock, looking back every few steps, while the prince regent smiled and waved goodbye.
"How does it feel to date a pretty girl for two weeks?" teased Anna.
Leader One returned to his office, took off his military uniform, and changed into a comfortable sweater, looking helpless.
Elizabeth was a very simple girl, longing for love and a happy marriage. She didn’t really fit in with Leader One. Being with this kind and innocent girl made Leader One, who was seen as a big bad guy, feel a subtle sense of guilt.
They weren’t quite a good match, but Elizabeth was extremely good-looking, and her outfit was very much like a character in a certain game called Ship Girl Hood, which really caught Leader One’s attention.
She would make a perfect vase, a queen of great elegance, but Elizabeth would never be Leader One’s true love.
It feels more natural to be around bad women.
Anna smiled slightly, glanced at her notebook, and began discussing political matters.
"The international situation is all normal recently. France, Austria, Italy, Russia, and Poland are all in civil war or internal turmoil. Queen Victoria of England has successfully taken full control. Her first speech upon taking the throne was about Far East issues."
"Victoria needs to strengthen her authority, the Great Revolution in England needs to divert conflicts and attention, the economic crisis requires new markets to ease, so Queen Victoria must immediately start the Far East war."
"If everything goes well, the English and Prussian allied forces will set sail from the Port of Portsmouth this evening to head to the Far East."
Leader One opened the map and paused at the Middle East region. There was no Suez Canal there… Traveling from Europe to the Far East by sea requires going around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, which can take as short as eight months or over a year.
When Leader One was young, he once traveled to the Far East. He knew how torturous the long sea journey could be.
In the first Blue Star Far East War, England sent the 18th Royal Irish Regiment, the 20th Irish Regiment, and the 26th Scottish Fusiliers Regiment from their homeland. The expeditionary force consisted of over 70 different types of ships and a total of 2900 troops.
Prussia sent 600 Polish hired cavalry, a Military Observation Team of 4 people, and 14 various ships (Prussia’s navy put forth great effort).
Because traveling from Europe to the Far East was very difficult and painful, England and Prussia’s regular armies didn’t want to go. As a result, England sent a lower-ranking troop, while Prussia hired Polish soldiers.
The coalition only had 3500 troops brought from their homeland. Going to the Far East would surely result in harsh battles with the Great Ming Empire. England planned to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers from their Indian colonies, including Indian Magic Energy Knights, to fight in the Ming Empire’s territory.
By the next autumn and winter seasons, when the English and Prussian coalition landed in the Great Ming Empire, their total force would reach around 15,000 soldiers, as a probing attack in the Far East War.
Leader One had clear instructions for this Far East War. Prussia didn’t have significant interests in the Far East, so they were mainly following England’s lead. The fate of the Ming Empire didn’t matter much, but they planned to open up Japan while on the way.
Neither England nor Prussia intended to colonize the Ming Empire or other tribute system countries. The Far East War was purely aimed at opening doors for free trade.
Besides this, Leader One ordered the General Staff Department to send four officers to observe and learn from England’s advanced war strategies, long-range military projections, naval warfare, and to analyze the Ming Empire’s military strength.
When choosing the members for the Military Observation Team, many officials from the Prussia Ministry of National Defense and General Staff Department feigned illness or requested leave, dodging this assignment entirely.
Moltke said, "I won’t go, I won’t go! I can accept leading a ragtag army into battle, but taking them to the Far East is too much."
Catherine, "I am pregnant, the reason is so simple."
Ron, "Your Highness, you know me, I am a military man, really don’t understand fighting."
Hans, "I…"
Leader One, "My trusted aide must go, Hans, you don’t need to refuse."
The observation team consists of four people, two chosen from the military traditional factions, one is Catherine’s subordinate Mantofel, and the other must be a direct aide of the prince regent, that’s Hans.
The four unlucky ones selected are truly having a run of bad luck, but there is no other choice but to reluctantly head to the Far East, spending one year there and one year back. The sea route torture them severely.
In 1839, steamships were still in their early stages and were not officially used for long-distance voyages.
The Suez Canal had not been dug yet, with only remnants of the ancient Suez Canal that were completely unusable.
His Highness, Prussian Prince Regent Redel, is very interested in the advancement of steam engine technology. He hopes that the Academy of Engineering can quickly improve steam engines and transmission mechanisms, allowing industrial production to advance rapidly and ushering in the steamship era across the oceans.
But when it comes to the Suez Canal… whoever wants to dig it can go ahead, Prussia doesn’t care about that.
Leader One looked at the world map and suddenly had a realization, so he asked Freeman to quickly call his trustworthy people for a meeting.
Since the Far East Military Observation Team had already departed, the unpleasant task was left to those four unlucky fellows, while the others immediately resumed their lively work. Sick leave? What sick leave?
Ron and Moltke quickly arrived at the prince regent’s office, followed shortly by Cabinet Secretary Schultz.
"Everyone, what do you think about colonies?" asked Leader One.
The crowd replied, "We have no thoughts."
During the last full cabinet meeting called by the prince regent, many civil officials felt that Prussia needed colonies. However, this time, in the small meeting with only trusted individuals present, Anna, Ron, Moltke, and Schultz all did not want colonies.
Anna’s stance was that if Prussia were to aggressively expand overseas and develop the colonial economy, the alliance between England and Prussia would immediately fall apart.
Ron and Moltke explained from a military perspective that Prussia lacks a naval culture and has not had the necessity to develop a navy in the past decade. Without a navy, the idea of having colonies is nonsensical.
Baron Schultz said that all the best colonies had already been divided up by powerful countries. The remaining unclaimed lands were either very poor, full of tricky people, or had giant creatures that couldn’t be colonized.
"I understand the reasons, but even small colonies are worth considering. I hope Prussia can take more islands in the Pacific Ocean. Those islands have bird droppings, which are important for making fertilizer. With cheap fertilizer, we can revitalize agriculture and fundamentally solve the problem of the Junker landowners."
The prince regent drew a big circle on the map, thinking that some small islands in the Pacific Ocean could be colonized. These islands had valuable bird droppings but were small in size and barely visible on the world map, so they wouldn’t cross the British Empire’s boundaries.
There is also South America.
The prince regent asked Anna, "What’s the situation in South America now?"
Anna could talk confidently about international affairs without needing any preparation, explaining the situation in South America concisely.
Due to England’s economic crisis, the economies of plantations in America suffered greatly, leading to political turmoil and the outbreak of the US-Mexico war.
South America was originally under the control of Portugal and Spain but was taken over by England in recent years, much to the displeasure of Portugal and Spain.
Currently, the situation in America is America+Portugal and Spain vs. England. France is also interested in joining the fray, but Napoleon III is torn between wanting to annoy England and fearing retaliation, so the outcome is still uncertain.
After learning about the situation in America, the prince regent clearly stated, "No matter who is fighting in America, my country, Prussia, must get involved."
The advisors did not know why Prince Redel was so against America, but when the prince regent spoke, they followed his orders.
Since the prince regent took power, the situation in Prussia has been stable. The army no longer has to worry about suppressing unrest all the time. They have enough troops to expand globally and cause trouble with the British everywhere.
The Prussian army was unwilling to go to war in the Far East. They really did not want to go.
When it came to searching for islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Prussian army was not capable. This task of exploring islands and establishing colonies was left to private adventurers.
Fighting in America seemed like a good idea to the Prussian army. Firstly, it was a closer journey. Secondly, the weather in America was nice. Thirdly, the opponents in America were not very strong.
As long as the English people were willing to pay, the Prussian Regular Army would gladly become mercenaries to fight in America. They would win every battle, get paid, and even have fun like it was a vacation. How comfortable!
"Your Highness," Moltke spoke up, "I do not recommend sending too many of our national defense forces to America as mercenaries. The enemies there are not very skilled, and if our elite troops fight them for a long time.. it will be hard for them to face tougher enemies."
The prince regent nodded and told Ron to handle the matter. Regarding becoming mercenaries in America, the newly reformed troops should take turns going there as a simple training ground. They must be careful not to defeat weaker opponents for too long, so they do not become like them.
In 1839, the American military, as well as the Portuguese and Spanish armies, were considered useless by the Prussian military. They didn’t even need to rely on their main combat forces after military reforms. Sending border troops was seen as a way to easily defeat them.
The military reforms were being carried out while training at the same time. This happened during a period when England and Prussia were getting along well. Prussia’s army could join forces with England globally and act as mercenaries to improve their skills.
They didn’t have to worry about the safety of shipping or logistics, as the Royal Navy took care of everything. Everyone knew that the Royal Navy was unbeatable.
When Prussia caused trouble around the world alongside England, it was tied to England’s own interests. At these times, England rarely betrayed its allies. Moreover, this was just the beginning of their good relationship, where trust was being built.
The close relationship between England and Prussia had a huge impact on the world’s balance of power.
Previously, Austria had a bitter dispute with Prussia over the Silesian Crisis. But now, as Prussia started causing trouble globally with England, the Austrians mistakenly believed that Prussia was shifting its focus to international matters. As long as Prussia didn’t solely concentrate on German affairs, the relations between Prussia and Austria would improve.
In the eyes of other nations in the world, the close relationship between England and Prussia was seen as disgusting. Redel was even being called "Victoria’s servant," and Prussia was referred to as "England’s dog."
The Junker landlords of Prussia were unhappy to hear such things. A true man is born to stand tall in the world, not to live in the shadows of others!
The prince regent said, "Without the Royal Navy, there would be no cheap fertilizers."
The landlord Junker said, "What’s wrong with being the dog of Great England! (roaring)."
