#864 - coup

Duke Brunswick frowned and muttered, "70,000 French troops are besieging Cologne. Once it falls, they could cross the Rhine and attack Düsseldorf at any moment.

"And there are no defensible positions between Düsseldorf and Brunswick. After that, it's Magdeburg..."

Magdeburg is close to western Potsdam. If the French army reaches there, Potsdam and Berlin are essentially indefensible.

Wilhelmine pressed, "What do you think we should do?"

"Immediately withdraw from the anti-French alliance," Duke Brunswick said. "I spoke with the French crown prince, and I could tell he's still hesitating."

"Hesitating about what?"

"The main direction of the French attack." The thin old man's tone was anxious. "If we can reach a truce with the French before Cologne falls, then the French army will be diverted to the southern Rhine to threaten Bavaria and Austria.

"Furthermore, the French promised that as long as we withdraw from the anti-French alliance, they will release the captured troops. We cannot lose those 40,000 veterans, otherwise we will not be able to maintain our leading position in North Germany."

Duke Brunswick quickened his pace. "I need to talk to Prince Heinrich..."

Wilhelmine stopped in her tracks. "You know the Prince will not agree to surrender, and neither will Baron Friedrich."

Duke Brunswick turned his head. "But I must convince them."

"I agree to a truce," Wilhelmine said suddenly. "His Majesty will listen to me. But that's only if no warmongers advise His Majesty."

Duke Brunswick looked at the woman in surprise.

Before returning to Potsdam, he had heard that in the past six months, His Majesty's health and mental state had deteriorated due to unrestrained gluttony and alcoholism, and that state affairs were almost entirely entrusted to his mistress.

Judging from this woman's tone, the rumors seemed to be true.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Wilhelmine lowered her voice. "If you want a truce as soon as possible, you must keep Prince Heinrich and Baron Friedrich away from the center of power."

Duke Brunswick's pupils shrank. "This, how can this be done?"

"Sir August and Count Schulenburg will support me."

The thin old man was shocked again.

August von Hardenberg was a rising political star in Potsdam, deeply valued by His Majesty, and managed the Prussian judicial system. Schulenburg was the assistant to the Foreign Minister.

These two powerful ministers were actually Wilhelmine's people!

The King's mistress glanced at the thin old man. "If I also get your and the military's help, even Prince Heinrich won't be able to stop me."

He bowed slightly to Wilhelmine. "I will seriously consider it, Madam."

As he turned to leave, she added, "Also, Julie must leave Sanssouci Palace."

The thin old man paused and nodded. "I understand."

Julie von Voss was William II's third mistress. Although she herself did not interfere in state affairs, the Voss family was a force to be reckoned with in the Prussian bureaucracy.

Wilhelmine took this opportunity to get rid of her as well.

Two days later.

Prussian Foreign Minister Ewald Friedrich was prosecuted for corruption, and foreign affairs were temporarily handled entirely by the Assistant to the Foreign Minister.

Subsequently, a large number of wounded soldiers and their families protested in the streets of Potsdam, demanding that the government fulfill its pension obligations—Prussia had experienced repeated defeats, military spending was nearly exhausted, and pensions for as many as ten thousand wounded and disabled soldiers had not yet been paid.

Then, somehow, someone revealed that it was because of the chaotic and corrupt logistics managed by Prince Heinrich that the front lines had suffered defeats, which immediately aroused public anger.

Prince Heinrich could not defend himself against this kind of thing.

Systemic corruption existed in the Prussian bureaucracy—the old bureaucratic system of this era could not avoid this problem—so as long as a strict investigation was conducted, so much military logistics funding would surely reveal many corruption problems.

And these accounts would ultimately be attributed to him, the chief of logistics. Moreover, he had indeed made a fortune in logistics procurement.

A great uproar was caused in Sanssouci Palace because of this matter. Wilhelmine quickly issued an edict in William II's name, severely reprimanding Prince Heinrich and ordering him to reflect at home.

With the loss of power of the two leading figures of the Prussian war party, calls for a truce quickly filled Sanssouci Palace.

A few days later, Count Schulenburg was appointed as the truce negotiator and set off for Paris.

...

Cologne Fortress.

The whole world seemed to be filled with endless cannon fire and the piercing "whoosh" of shells flying by.

Austrian Captain Zimmermann of the Erz Regiment pointed to the corpse beside the fortress parapet and shouted loudly to the soldiers behind him, "Move them away. You few, go and move the shells over here. Hurry up!"

Dozens of Austrian soldiers frantically dragged away the corpses, collected the artillery equipment scattered around, and pushed the 18-pounder cannon back into position.

The soldiers at another gun emplacement 30 meters to the left saw them moving back and forth and waved anxiously, shouting, "Duck down!"

"Don't get so close to the parapet!"

"Be careful..."

However, the deafening cannon fire drowned out their voices, and Zimmermann's company stopped in confusion and asked loudly, "What are you saying?"

Just then, Zimmermann's messenger suddenly grunted and fell to the ground.

Turning their heads, everyone saw a saucer-sized hole in his chest, from which black and red blood gurgled.

Zimmermann was furious, lay down on the stone parapet, and cursed at the distance, "Damn Frenchmen, I will send you all to hell..."

His last words came to an abrupt halt, his body fell backward, his entire face smashed by a lead bullet, like a broken clay doll from a shop.

Only then did Zimmermann's company barely hear that the people on the side gun emplacement were shouting, "Stay away from the parapet" and "Duck down."

Before they could react, several more bullets drilled in through the gaps in the parapet, accurately hitting them.

The Austrian soldiers looked out in horror. Was it possible that the enemy's main force had attacked, given such a high hit rate?

However, they only vaguely saw more than a dozen figures in white uniforms scurrying back and forth in the withered grass below the fortress.

When those figures quickly reloaded and aimed their guns this way, seven or eight more Austrian soldiers who were still peeking out immediately fell to the ground.