Chapter 17
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Chapter 17: The Palace Intrigue Begins
In December 1840, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Propaganda Department began to standardize the news industry. They shut down 195 newspapers, revoked the distribution licenses of 40 newspapers, forced over 300 newspapers to reorganize and be acquired, and vigorously expelled foreign interference.
The news industry in the German region is like the nation itself, fragmented everywhere. Each city has dozens of newspapers, and even small towns and villages have their own newspapers. There are over 800 newspapers in Prussia alone, and Prussians often subscribe to newspapers from neighboring states. There are over 1,200 newspapers that influence Prussia.
During the reign of the previous king, there was strict control and little emphasis on national news and propaganda, leaving the market completely blank. The Liberal Revolution promoted news freedom throughout Germany, and the kind-hearted Prince Regent also promoted news freedom in Prussia. The once empty market was suddenly flooded with a huge number of new newspapers…
Anna led the news reform, significantly reducing the number of newspapers by merging half of them into the Prussian News Group. The remaining newspapers were either closed down or ordered to merge, achieving streamlining and standardization of the entire industry. They also conducted news publishing inspections and prohibited foreign capital from entering the Prussian news industry.
The prince regent also subtly guided Anna. The people actually didn’t know what news freedom meant; they just wanted a variety of newspapers and publications for entertainment. Therefore, during the entire industry reform process, some newspapers that dealt with scandalous or curious stories, such as neighborhood gossip, were overlooked.
Additionally, the prince regent provided a whitelist, barring Anna from touching a dozen newspapers on the list, including the Rheinische Post and the Social Freedom News, which are symbolic publications for the workers’ movement and liberalism.
Leader One was not a traditional superstitious person. He was quite progressive and didn’t want to suppress the progressive side too harshly to control the conservative and traditional forces. About a dozen iconic newspapers needed to be kept.
Even so…
Anna’s bold reforms caused intense social chaos, resistance from foreign capital, opposition from various dissident groups, and even the loss of favorite newspapers for spectators.
Ron disbanded the National Army and confiscated civilian weapons. The people didn’t blame Ron for their anger but instead blamed Anna for it.
The Sports Minister reformed football match safety by implementing restrictions on the number of people in stadiums across the country. Many people were left without entertainment until stadium expansions were completed, and new stadiums were built. This was also blamed on Anna.
Leader One didn’t want Anna to unfairly bear the blame, but with no one guiding them, the public’s habitual thinking had already formed—whenever something bad happened, it was all blamed on Bismarck.
On December 25th, Christmas, a strange scene unfolded on the streets of Berlin.
Over ten thousand people gathered on Unter den Linden Street in a demonstration, carrying numerous black banners with blood-red words, and bizarre paintings with insulting words like "Eternal Sinner Bismarck," "Traitor to the Nation Bismarck," and "Enemy of the People Bismarck," listing all the bad things Ms. Anna had done on large signs and presenting them, along with rotten eggs and vegetables.
Under den Linden Street was packed with over ten thousand protesters, waving countless black banners with red letters and strange drawings. The signs read insulting words like "Forever Criminal Bismarck," "Traitor to the Nation Bismarck," and "Enemy of the People Bismarck," listing all the bad things Ms. Anna had done. The protesters also threw rotten eggs and vegetables at the signs.
Leader One saw how chaotic it was outside, so he asked Catherine to go check. Catherine came back laughing uncontrollably, looking very funny.
"Quack quack quack~~~"
Catherine laughed in the office for a full ten minutes before catching her breath to explain to the prince regent what was happening outside.
"The protesters outside have invited all the wizards to perform magic. They are trying to harm Anna."
"Many people are carrying coffins with Anna’s name written on them. They are accompanied by drum beats and quacking sounds."
Leader One, "Oh my…"
The Regent was surprised that Ms. Anna had such a bad reputation among the people. Many unrelated problems were blamed on Anna by the public.
This is actually a reflection of reality. In Earth’s history, the reputations of Bismarck and Blue Star’s Anna are equally contentious among the public.
It’s not a problem though. After three wars, everything will change. Today, the people may condemn and insult Anna, but tomorrow they will praise her as the greatest person in Germany’s history.
Outside, many things were happening, but the main character of the story was comfortably drinking and chatting at home, looking relaxed and unaffected by the outside world.
"God does not care about the noises of insects," Anna said.
Ms. Anna was different from typical politicians. While other politicians cared a lot about their reputation among the people, Anna didn’t care at all. She let the powerless ants outside do whatever they wanted.
You dare to cause trouble on the streets, but if you have the guts, come to the Prime Minister Palace and I, Anna, will have the royal guards send you flying.
"If the prince regent wants to dismiss me, let him try. But as long as I am not planning a rebellion, I will remain a symbol of stability in Prussian politics," Anna declared.
"You can make a fuss now, I will rest at home for a few days and wait for the storm to pass. Then I will return to govern. Oh, how upset the common people must be!" Anna chuckled.
Anna was feeling very happy. After being busy for a long time, she decided to take a year off. She even adopted a cute cat named Oscar, who played with her all day at the Prime Minister Palace.
The Regent, Your Highness, had no time for a vacation. He immediately used distraction tactics to keep busy.
Napoleon III is pressuring Sultan Osman to grant religious privileges to France in the holy city, which could potentially lead to a full-scale war between Russia and France.
The parliament voted together to request the dismissal of Bismarck from his position as prince regent, and the prince regent is currently considering it.
The Prussian royal family affairs office, in conjunction with the England royal family affairs office, announced that on January 10, 1841, the Prussian Prince Regent Redel will marry England Princess Elizabeth.
The demonstrations against Minister of Foreign Affairs Bismarck by the public lasted for over a week, during which they repeatedly asked the parliament and the royal family affairs office when Bismarck would leave.
Director Freeman of the royal family affairs office replied:
"We will consider it."
"We are considering it."
"We are actively considering it."
"The prince regent has made a preliminary decision."
"We will definitely provide the people with a satisfactory response."
Every time people asked, Freeman would patiently explain in front of the palace, talking a bunch of meaningless words without really saying anything.
But Freeman’s ability to talk nonsense was still immature, making people tired of listening and leaving.
If it was Schultz, people would gather around him to listen for over half an hour, then suddenly understand and leave satisfied with deep thoughts.
Baron Schultz gave some training to the young director of the royal affairs office, teaching him how to use seemingly profound nonsense to avoid answering unwanted questions.
People were upset for a few days, then got attracted by new entertainment. Emperor Napoleon III started causing trouble again? Your Highness the Regent is going to marry Princess Elizabeth?
The situation in the holy city of Jerusalem and religious matters were very complicated. Simply put, France used to have religious privileges in Jerusalem, lost them for a while, and now Napoleon III is pressuring Osman to give back those privileges to France.
Seeing Osman Empire granting France privileges, Russia also wanted them. Since there were many Orthodox believers in the Osman Empire, Russia claimed it wanted religious privileges, but actually aimed to control the Orthodox believers in Osman and annex more territories.
At the Frankfurt International Conference, several countries secretly agreed that England, France, and Sardinia would support Osman, so Osman wouldn’t grant religious privileges to Russia.
The Russians’ attitude was: if you don’t give, then I’ll just take it!
At that time, Russia thought that Osman only had support from France, and that England should limit France. The allied teammates of Prussia and Austria would help themselves. They thought Sardinia was useless, and Sweden too.
So… Emperor Napoleon III, with some strategic moves, could easily spark another Russo-Turkish War, which could escalate into a war against Russia throughout Europe.
France’s Emperor was clearly trying to isolate Russia, causing tensions and disturbances for the past six months. Their intentions were obvious, and other countries in Frankfurt were openly discussing it. Russia, overestimating their power, made a mistake in assessing the international situation, lacking the right diplomatic strategy and a proper strategic plan.
In early January of 1841, Russia had basically decided to attack the Ottoman Empire, triggering the 9th Russo-Turkish War. Tsar Nicholas I was confident, thinking it was just Osman and France against Russia – invincible.
He truly didn’t know that both England and Austria were preparing to strike against him.
Even Prussia, supposedly a neutral country, did not support or warn him. European countries were eager to see Russia weakened, as they could not allow such a powerful Russia to exist. They had to be taken down a notch.
Ah, the preparations for the 9th Russo-Turkish War were still in progress, and the Crimean War was in its early stages. People weren’t finding much entertainment in this situation. After a few days of reading the newspaper, they lost interest when the fighting didn’t start.
Afterwards, people’s attention turned to the prince regent’s wedding. How would the grand ceremony be? Where would it be held? How much would it cost? Would the people be able to join in the celebrations? The whole of Prussia was caught up in discussions, eagerly anticipating the event more than the prince regent himself.
Your Highness, the Regent, did not want his personal wedding to be extravagant, nor did he want it to be too simple and lose its significance.
Princess Elizabeth was a devoted Christian, so Leader One planned to have a medium-sized wedding with her at St. Paul’s Cathedral in England and the Frankfurt Cathedral in Germany. They invited family members, politicians, and nobles from both countries, with proper financial expenses for the ceremonies.
It’s important to celebrate with the people. Your Highness the Regent checked the farming situation in the country and decided to distribute 150 tons of food across the country during the wedding. They provided free flour, vegetables, meat, and eggs to the poor households.
The free food was actually paid for by Leader One himself, using funds from the Hohenzollern family to buy food from the landowners and give it to the people.
Currently, the farming situation in Prussia is quite bleak. The agricultural population is declining rapidly due to industrialization. Despite various subsidies from the Ministry of Agriculture, landowners like the Junkers also need to have good business skills.
Higher-ranking Junkers can make a good living with substantial subsidies, but those who are weak and unable to manage their land properly face difficulties. This is relative to the landlord class.
So, the prince regent used his own money from the Hohenzollern family to buy food from struggling Junkers at a high price as subsidies. Then, they gifted this food to the truly poor and needy citizens as part of the wedding gift.
The struggling Junkers and the poor citizens were delighted, and the whole nation was immersed in joy. Your Highness the Regent has already departed for England to prepare for the wedding procedures.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna, who just became a hot topic, returned to governing.
While the prince regent was in England, domestic affairs were managed by the Prime Minister on the surface, but in reality, Schultz, Anna, and Ron worked together. They gathered at the palace, finished their day’s work, Schultz mentioned he would go see a play before leaving, and Ron needed to return to the Ministry of National Defense.
Only Anna and Catherine remained. They started discussing where the prince regent and his new wife would live after getting married.
Anna, "Queens should not be seen in the government offices. Redel Palace is the top administrative location in Prussia, where the prince regent’s office and royal affairs are handled. It would not be appropriate for a queen like Elizabeth to be there. The palace staff should not interfere in politics, so Elizabeth must be relocated."
"She could move to Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam City. If Leader One doesn’t agree, she can stay at the Prime Minister Palace. My Prime Minister Palace has three vacant buildings available."
Catherine, "The prince regent can’t live with his own queen?"
Anna, "Right, we must ensure that the prince regent is not misled by other wicked women."
Catherine, "Only by you and me?"
Anna, "Only by me."
Catherine thought, if the prince regent continues to live with her after marriage and throws Elizabeth to Anna’s house, then she would benefit the most. She would have the longest time to be close to the prince regent.
Anna could use government meetings as an excuse to visit the prince regent anytime and anywhere. Being the Minister of Foreign Affairs, she is not part of the palace staff, so it’s reasonable for her to visit the prince regent’s office.
Princess Elizabeth couldn’t come to the office, so she had to wait at the Prime Minister Palace for the prince regent to find her when he had time.
Catherine imagined a scene in her mind…
"The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the queen are playing political games at the Prime Minister Palace, while I am focusing on getting the attention of the prince regent, hehehe…"
Anna imagined a scene in her mind…
"I have locked the queen in the house, sent Catherine out to battle, and kept Leader One all to myself, hmph."
At this time, Leader One…
"You all still don’t know who the biggest winner is~"
The disdainful maid Sophia showed her underwear to the prince regent, "It’s me."
Elizabeth, who was about to marry and gain the honor of being the queen of Prussia, "Isn’t it me?"
