Chapter 16
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Chapter 16: Striking Hard
As usual, after freshening up and having breakfast, the prince regent went to his office to begin his day of governing.
"Freeman, why are there so many important reports today? What happened?" asked Leader One, looking puzzled.
"Uh.. I’m sorry, Your Highness, I haven’t figured it out either. We received many urgent communications this morning."
Overnight, Prussia faced many disturbances, some of which had been brewing in different regions for some time. Minor issues left unresolved had escalated into major problems before reaching the prince regent’s desk.
First, there were incidents of arrogance and bullying by Junker officers and noble military officers. This was a common problem, with many Junker officers engaging in authoritarian and oppressive behavior. Some nobles were behaving like tyrants, similar to Chancellor Cao. Since the prince regent took office, he had been sternly dealing with and reforming these practices, but the issues persisted.
This time, some noble military officers from Potsdam, after drinking too much, caused trouble on the streets, they even harassed women. These troublemakers were actually young men promoted by the prince regent, who were once students of Ron when he taught at the military academy. The prince regent’s confidants acted recklessly and disrupted order, which was criticized by someone with ulterior motives.
There was also trouble at the Bittenfeld clock factory, which was a model of Prussian industrialization. They implemented an eight-hour work day, but in reality, it was just a show with only a few job positions available, offering good pay and leisure time. Many people wished that the prince regent would establish more exemplary factories.
Then, Anna didn’t shine brightly enough at the Frankfurt International Conference. The people felt that Prussia was not strong enough, losing the spotlight to England and France. Demonstrations and protests started.
The most significant was the tragedy in Duisburg. Prussian workers had every other afternoon off and enjoyed going to the stadium to watch games. But last night in Duisburg, a brawl erupted at a match, and dozens of workers ended up dead.
Suddenly, various disturbances occurred, and the media was instigating chaos, wanting to make things worse. The prince regent ordered an investigation into the backgrounds of these malicious media outlets.
In the afternoon, Freeman came back with a stack of documents. Most of the problematic media had connections to France or Denmark, with a few also related to Austria.
The prince regent immediately understood that international issues were causing domestic problems. Since the Frankfurt International Conference had just concluded, he quickly summoned Anna back to find out what was going on.
It would take Anna about two more days to return to Berlin from Frankfurt. In the meantime, Leader One dealt with a few disturbances using temporary measures.
Rushing to the palace after being summoned by the prince regent, Minister of National Defense Ron arrived hastily.
Ron ran from the palace gate to the office, looking very tired and out of breath. He quickly explained to the prince regent:
"I have dealt seriously with the military officer who broke the rules in Potsdam. He has been expelled from the military, fined, compensated, and sentenced to five years in prison, following the normal process of a military court trial."
Leader One said, "I am determined to address the disciplinary issues. The bad behavior of the old army needs to be corrected, especially the bad habits of Junker officers and non-commissioned officers. Things like hitting and punishing soldiers, going out to drink and cause trouble during rest time must be dealt with seriously. Especially for our own military personnel, incidents must be handled strictly, with no tolerance for wrongdoing."
Ron continued, saying that he used to teach at the military school, but when the prince regent came to power, Ron’s students naturally became favored by the prince regent. The prince regent wanted to quickly gain absolute control over the military, so he promoted his trusted young officers rapidly, which was a bit too fast.
Because Ron was training low to mid-level military officers at that time – lieutenants, captains, and majors – they have now all been promoted to higher ranks like colonels and brigade commanders. The rapid promotions have caused the military capabilities and personal qualities of the prince regent’s favored officers to fall behind, and also created an environment for severe disciplinary incidents.
Ron has requested that the favored officers attend advanced military schools in batches for further education, and undergo training on personal qualities and discipline.
"Your Highness, we have disbanded the National Army, many people in the National Army were armed. We need your special order to thoroughly investigate the private possession of guns and ammunition."
Leader One asked Freeman to write the order immediately.
The disbanding of the National Army was one of the reasons for the recent unrest. The private possession of guns and ammunition led to a tragedy at the sports field.
After dealing with Minister of National Defense Ron, the prince regent then met with Minister of Industry and the Sports Minister. He instructed both of them to meet the needs of the working class appropriately, and to ensure safety in industrial production and sports events.
News media and foreign interference would have to wait until Anna returned to clarify the situation before being addressed.
In the early hours of the third day, Anna returned to Berlin looking tired and dusty. The moment she stepped onto the train platform, she knew exactly what to do and headed straight to the palace to meet with the prince.
The sleepy royal guards were startled awake when they saw the carriage racing towards them.
"Mrs. Bismarck, you do not have an appointment, it is one o’clock in the morning, do not disturb the prince regent now."
Anna waved her hand, signaling the royal guards to step aside.
The royal guards decisively made way and opened the palace gates. They just symbolically tried to stop Anna, knowing they could blame her for being rude if the prince regent was upset.
Well, if Catherine is holding Leader One in her arms asleep… oh, that wouldn’t be the worst scenario, but if Leader One is holding Sophia, that would be disastrous.
Sophia always wore a disapproving expression towards the prince regent, while the prince regent enjoyed deeply engaging with the disapproving maid and then falling asleep in her arms.
Luckily, nothing happened as shown above tonight. Catherine is staying in the military camp, Sophia is preparing military school courses at the Prime Minister Palace, and the prince regent is sleeping alone.
When Leader One was pulled up, he looked completely confused.
"It’s still dark outside now, why aren’t you resting?" Leader One asked drowsily.
He knew that Anna took the train to Berlin today, but he didn’t expect her to come over in the middle of the night to discuss official matters without resting at home first.
Anna was now full of energy and anger. She got upset during the meeting in Frankfurt, not because of representatives from other countries, but because of the domestic media in Prussia.
"Those irresponsible media and reporters just keep causing trouble and giving me diplomatic difficulties. If this continues, Prussia will eventually suffer because of the trouble caused by the media," said Anna.
The Frankfurt International Conference discussed issues related to the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans, and the Near East, which are not directly relevant to Prussia. Anna and the prince regent have the idea of benefiting from all parties.
However, as the conference progressed, the media outside started spreading rumors. Some said that Prussia had reached an agreement with England and France to target Russia, leading to the Russian ambassador seeking clarification.
Some media even claimed that Prussia was not only a pawn of England, but also of France. They alleged that Prussia was completely submissive to England and France during the meeting, fueling domestic anti-French sentiments.
More media are talking about Anna not doing well, and Prussia not being helpful. At the meeting in Frankfurt, Prussia didn’t stand out or lead any agreements or negotiations, and the media started criticizing Anna instead.
Anna is very angry now, "We must take strong action against the news industry. I want to shut down those bad newspapers that talk about publishing freedom and press freedom."
Leader One is slowly waking up from his sleepy state and starting to think about the situation.
There are various reasons for the chaos in the country and in the news. The Frankfurt International Conference is one reason. Because Prussia didn’t lean towards France, France used the power of the news to create chaos within Prussia as a warning.
But if Prussia leans towards France, it would be even worse. The country would be in more chaos. Prussia still harbors a desire for revenge from the humiliation during the Napoleonic Wars and cannot cooperate with France.
Freedom of the press and publishing is the prince regent’s way of meeting the people’s desires and promises. However, the lack of control in the news industry has led to irresponsible media and foreign influences infiltrating many media outlets.
Control is necessary… but the prince regent cannot personally issue orders to control the media. He cannot break his promise to the people, so Anna will have to do it.
Anna has come up with a full plan to normalize the news industry using official documents, using gentle language to imply control to avoid major resistance. At the same time, she plans to use the Gestapo to take strict actions. Anna will take all the blame and then shift the focus to give the public a distraction.
Anna is fed up with the unreliable media causing negative impacts on diplomacy. Her political enemies are using the media to tarnish her image, and the infiltration by foreign forces must be completely eradicated.
Leader One, "Let the government-owned media and national propaganda take up half of the market, while the other half should be private newspapers. They should also choose to be obedient and not exclude all voices from the public. The control of news should not be too strict."
Anna, "Got it."
Leader One, "As for the entertainment we need to provide to the people in the final stage, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve prepared it already."
Anna, "What?"
Leader One, "I won’t tell you yet."
Anna, with a simple deduction, figured out that Leader One planned to divert the public’s attention with some entertainment in the final stage. Most likely, it would be his marriage to Princess Elizabeth. This scoundrel has been craving Elizabeth for too long.
Ugh…Anna put on a displeased face.
The prince regent is not young anymore and Princess Elizabeth is of marrying age, so it’s difficult to stop this marriage.
Anna has no intention to stop it. She has long prepared for all possible scenarios. Elizabeth, come at me, I’ll show you how it’s done.
"Oh by the way, the outcome of the Frankfurt Conference is that the countries are ready to take action against Russia."
Just mentioning it casually, Anna left the Redel-Catherine Palace with a sour face. Tired from the journey, she wanted to go home and sleep. She definitely wouldn’t sleep at Redel-Catherine Palace or let Redel sleep there. Anna didn’t want to stay in the place with Catherine’s crystal clear pool.
