Bismarck smoked through the night. When the accompanying officials opened his door the next day, they nearly fainted from the choking fumes.
A young official joked.
"Your Excellency, we thought your room was on fire."
"Then why didn't you bring a bucket of water?"
Bismarck cracked a cold joke, and the stifling atmosphere finally eased somewhat.
"Your Excellency, there is still no word from home. I'm afraid those people can't think of a solution, and in the end, it will still fall to us to make the decision.
They've spent ninety percent of their energy figuring out how to shirk responsibility. If they put even half that effort into getting things done properly, Prussia would not have fallen into its present state."
The young official spoke indignantly.
Bismarck nodded. It was exactly as he had expected. But even if the Prussian government had already made a decision, if it did not align with his own ideas, he would not carry it out.
"Lothar."
"Yes, Your Excellency. Have you made up your mind?"
Lothar von Rosen was one of Bismarck's attendants on this trip, and the young man Bismarck valued most at present. Only twenty-six years old and a graduate of the University of Berlin, he was bold and daring in battle, yet unlike those reckless brutes in the military, he possessed exceptional intelligence.
"That's right. We will relinquish the awards."
"Relinquish the awards?"
Though Prussia had only two choices before it, everyone was still greatly shocked when Bismarck spoke those words.
"Have you truly decided? Should we seek instructions from His Majesty the King and the Parliament?"
Diplomatic decisions were no trifling matter. Even as an ambassador, Bismarck's authority was limited. Though the Great Exhibition did not count as a matter of national importance, in principle Bismarck ought to have