Chapter 1026
Spring breezes brushed across their faces, and all things began to revive. Beneath the sunlight, withered toon trees once more put forth fragrant red buds, as though recounting the cycle of history.
The pre-parade drills had begun. Watching the armies gathered from every corner of the world, Schlieffen could not feel happy in the slightest.
Whether officers or ordinary soldiers, once they marched in formation, there was no essential difference between them.
The Prussian army was certainly elite, but the contingents attending the parade from other places were no pushovers either. It was simply impossible to stand out by stepping on others' shoulders.
Trying to "do something novel and unconventional" was nothing but wishful thinking. Every segment of the parade had been arranged in advance; the troops undergoing inspection only needed to follow the plan.
"Military orders are as immovable as mountains" was no joke. If anyone took it upon himself to try some new trick, regardless of the outcome, a military tribunal was unavoidable.
Schlieffen did want to draw the Emperor's attention, but he had no intention of achieving it by courting death. If he truly ruined the National Day parade, not only would he be finished, even his unit designation might be revoked.
No matter how glorious the Prussian army had once been, within the Holy Roman Empire's current defense system, they were merely an insignificant part.
It was simply a case of having them made little difference, and lacking them made little difference too. With a population of 130 million, the Holy Roman Empire had already established absolute superiority on the European Continent.
If they merely failed to attract the Emperor's attention, that would have been one thing. After all, the odds of such a thing were low to begin with, and they still had