Chapter 538: undercurrent
The German army won a big victory in France, severely damaged the British and French allied forces in one fell swoop, and even occupied the French capital Paris. Of course, the entire German Empire fell into a carnival. But at the same time, not everyone is unhappy.
For example, the retired former Chief of Staff of the German Imperial Army, Mao Qi, is one of them.
When Xiao Moqi was the chief of the army's general staff, he personally directed the battle on the western front. A more self-righteous modification of the Schlieffen plan, thinking that many mistakes in the Schlieffen plan were corrected. However, after the war started, he discovered that the modified Schlieffen plan beyond recognition had no way of succeeding.
In the end, the German Army suffered heavy losses on the Western Front. Although they also caused heavy losses to the British and French allied forces, and captured a large area of northern France. However, they failed to achieve the planned strategic goal, that is, to capture Paris and force France to withdraw from the war. In this war, Germany fell into a crisis of protracted war. After all, as far as Germany is concerned, once it is caught in a protracted war, it will be difficult to win. Therefore, Germany must avoid this situation as much as possible.
Of course, all this is not entirely the fault of Little Maoqi. He certainly bears most of the blame for this. But others are also responsible. For example, William II, and those German generals on the front line. If it weren't for William II blindly making unrealistic demands. If the frontline generals didn't obey Maoqi's orders during the war, maybe the ending would be different.
It's just that it's too late to say that now. Little Maoqi has been relieved of his duties and retired from active service. This is undoubtedly a shame for little Maoqi. You know, his uncle, Old Moltke, was the chief of staff who commanded the German army to win the war of unification of the German Empire. Little Mao Qi has always firmly believed that with his talent, he will definitely be able to surpass his uncle and establish greater achievements. But I didn't expect that it would end up like this.
When the news came that the German army had conquered Paris, Little Moltke sat in his office and remained silent for a long time. His back looks so bleak and lonely.
"Hey, is it really because of my lack of personal ability? Why is Oscar that guy able to succeed so easily, but I can't?" Little Maoqi looked jealous.
Indeed, Xiao Maoqi is very jealous of Qin Tian. I think Qin Tian's luck is too good. Although Qin Tian was the crown prince of the empire, at the age of more than 20 years old, he almost started from scratch, established such a large foundation, and also won the love of the empire's army and navy. It's almost unimaginable.
Originally, there was not much enmity between Xiao Maoqi and Qin Tian. It's just that Xiao Maoqi has always been friends with Crown Prince William. After Qin Tian became the Crown Prince, he blindly resisted and suppressed Qin Tian. In the end, the conflict between the two sides became deeper and deeper.
It's just that, in their struggle, it finally ended with the failure of little Maoqi.
"It seems that no one can shake that guy's status. The future throne must belong to him. Even William II, I'm afraid there is no way to replace his reserve!" Little Maoqi sighed tone.
Although, he was very unwilling. However, he seemed to have no other choice.
People who are also unhappy are Lieutenant General Plittwitz of the German Guards. Before the war broke out, he wanted to compete with Qin Tian for the position of commander of the 8th Army. However, in the end William II transferred him away in order to give Qin Tian a place. This made Lieutenant General Prittwitz very dissatisfied. Even though Qin Tian was the crown prince of the empire, he still harbored resentment towards those who robbed him of his position. Especially after the German 8th Army achieved a series of victories on the Eastern Front, Lieutenant General Prittwitz was extremely jealous.
He paranoidly believes that if he is the commander of the 8th Army, he can also lead the 8th Army to win these brilliant victories on the Eastern Front. In that case, with those exploits, he could even be promoted to Marshal. It is precisely because of that that he regards Qin Tian as his great enemy.
Later, he was even more active in uniting with little Mao Qi, trying to bring down Qin Tian. But unfortunately, it was not successful in the end.
Now, Prittwitz is still Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guard, and his position has not been promoted in the slightest. Especially after Xiao Maoqi was dismissed, he had no hope of promotion at all, and it was God's blessing to keep his current position. Originally, the personal relationship between him and Kaiser Wilhelm II had also faded away. This made Lieutenant General Prittwitz very unwilling.
"That damned guy actually won another battle. In the eyes of the German people and the military, he is already like a god. In this case, who else can deal with him? Is it possible, just watching like this Will he become the emperor of the empire step by step? At that time, will I have a way out? I am afraid that there is no other way but to be dismissed!" Lieutenant General Prittwitz thought of this, and his heart was very irritable. He is a person who is very greedy for power and position, and he wants to continue to climb up even in his dreams. Whoever stands in his way is his enemy. Even if that person is noble.
"General, someone wants to see you." The adjutant came in suddenly and reported to Lieutenant General Prittwitz.
"Tell him, I'm not free!" Lieutenant General Prittwitz said angrily. Now he is in a state of anxiety, how can he be in the mood to see guests!
"What's the matter? General Prittwitz, even I'm missing, right?" A voice sounded.
Lieutenant General Prittwitz looked up, a look of astonishment flashed across his face, and then a smile filled his face: "It turned out to be Prince Friedrich, how come you have time to come to the Guards?"
It was Prince Ethel Friedrich, the second son of William II.
"General, I am here this time because someone wants to see you. So, I came here to invite the general." Prince Ethel Friedrich said.
"Who wants to see me?" Lieutenant General Prittwitz was a little puzzled.
"You'll know when you go!" Prince Ethel Friedrich said with a smile, looking very mysterious.
"Okay, Your Royal Highness." Lieutenant General Prittwitz nodded.
Lieutenant General Prittwitz changed into casual clothes, and together with Prince Eitel Friedrich, left the headquarters of the Guards, and went directly to a manor in Potsdam by car. After staying in the manor for a full two hours, Lieutenant General Prittwitz left. However, when he left, he had a smile on his face.
