Chaos in Tsarist Russia, a Good Market for Arms

After hanging up the phone, Eitel sat in his chair, looking at the documents piled on his desk with something of a headache.

"He who would wear the crown must bear its weight, indeed. I thought becoming emperor and commanding the world would be a thrill. I never imagined I would have so much business to handle every day."

With a sigh of feeling, Eitel picked up a document from the desk and began reading.

Now he understood why emperors in ancient times had such short lives. Every day was like going to work, busy from morning until night, while also having to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of various affairs of state.

Moreover, the German Empire he now found himself in lay in Central Europe, surrounded by dozens of countries large and small, and he also had to watch out for the knife wielded by his dear, good neighbor, France.

Then there was England across the sea, maintaining its policy of a continental balance of power, and the Soviet Union, a giant nation spanning Europe and Asia that would soon complete its unification.

"Ah, Germany's road to greatness is a heavy burden and a long journey."

At that thought, Eitel could not help letting out a long sigh.

Just as Eitel was pondering this, a firm knock suddenly came at the door.

"Come in."

After Eitel answered, he saw the door to his office open, and General Ludendorff strode in with an upright bearing.

Upon seeing His Majesty Eitel, General Ludendorff stood straight and gave him an imperial military salute.

Although he had long since grown accustomed to it, Eitel had always found General Ludendorff's almost obsessive adherence to etiquette burdensome.

But this was no time to think about that. General Ludendorff had brought the latest news on the military demobilization.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the first batch of five hundred thousand soldiers has been fully demobilized. We are preparing the demobilization plan for the second batch of one million troops."

"The first five hundred thousand soldiers have all taken up their posts, and their severance pay has been distributed as well. It is just that..."

General Ludendorff paused at this point, then continued with some hesitation.

"Your Majesty, is the amount of severance pay perhaps a little too high? Our domestic financial reserves are limited. Even with the five hundred million dollars borrowed from America, we will have to spend nearly three-fifths of our funds on military severance pay."

"Of course, I fully approve of Your Majesty's care for the soldiers as though they were your own sons. I simply believe we should currently put our funds where they are needed more."

"As for these soldiers, we have already done all that benevolence and duty demand by arranging jobs for them."

After speaking, General Ludendorff stood ramrod straight where he was, looking earnestly at His Majesty Eitel.

Eitel listened in silence, then looked at General Ludendorff and asked a question completely unrelated to the report he had just delivered.

"Has Field Marshal Hindenburg already gone to take up his position at the Prussia War Academy?"

General Ludendorff was somewhat puzzled by His Majesty Eitel's question, but still answered earnestly, "Your Majesty, Hindenburg has already taken up his position at the Prussia War Academy. In addition, the two of us have been jointly responsible for the military demobilization all along."

"What I just reported reflects our shared view."

Having heard what he wanted to hear, Eitel did not directly respond to General Ludendorff's earlier remarks, but merely chuckled.

"General Ludendorff, what do you think of the current situation in Eastern Europe?"

At His Majesty Eitel's words, General Ludendorff frowned. He did not answer immediately.

Instead, he stood silently where he was and thought it over carefully.

Seeing this, Eitel did not interrupt him, but simply watched him in silence.

The second hand on his wristwatch ticked on.

In the silent room, the sound of passing time echoed.

After an unknown length of time, General Ludendorff raised his head and looked at His Majesty Eitel.

"Your Majesty, I believe Eastern Europe has already been dragged into the quagmire of war because of the Soviet Republic."

"However, as things stand, the White Army remains powerful. From what I have observed, this war may take at least another four years to end."

Ludendorff truly lived up to his standing as one of the empire's veteran generals. His keen perception of war was unmatched.

But perhaps it was precisely this keen intuition for the course of a war that had led him to choose to flee when the German Empire was originally on the verge of defeat.

After finishing his analysis, General Ludendorff looked at His Majesty Eitel with a somewhat puzzled expression. "Your Majesty, do you intend to intervene in the war between the Soviet Reds and the White Army?"

"At a time like this?"

General Ludendorff had actually analyzed the war between the two sides in Eastern Europe very quickly. He had merely spent all that time considering what to do if His Majesty Eitel wanted to intervene in the war.

How should he dissuade him? After all, the German Empire was no longer what it once was. Weakened and under surveillance, if they wanted to engage in such little maneuvers now,

they could easily face sanctions again, and taking part in this war would bring their German Empire no benefit.

Instead, it would plunge the empire they were currently rebuilding back into danger.

But to General Ludendorff's surprise, His Majesty Eitel merely shook his head.

"Think about it. What business makes the most money, with the most extravagant profits?"

General Ludendorff: ovo

"Well... Your Majesty, forgive me, but I do not know."

Seeing General Ludendorff's expression, Eitel rubbed his forehead somewhat helplessly.

He really was a military man through and through. Eitel should never have asked him such questions.

"The arms trade, of course. Think about it. The Soviets and the White Army are locked in a fierce struggle right now. This is precisely when they need arms most."

"At a time like this, do you think they would turn down a shipment of well-made, high-quality weapons?"

"Now that the war is over, we have absolutely no use for such a vast quantity of weapons, and large-caliber weapons with great destructive power must be destroyed."

At this point, Eitel stood up and paced back and forth.

"Rather than watch these weapons grow moldy and rot in warehouses, we might as well add another flame to this war."

"That would solve our funding problem, dispose of this troublesome stockpile of weapons, and make the war over there burn even more fiercely."

"It would be killing three birds with one stone."

By the time Eitel finished speaking and looked at General Ludendorff, the general's face was already filled with shock.

He had never imagined that the problem that had plagued him all this time could be solved so simply and directly by His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, you are truly a genius. Thank God for bringing you to our German Empire."

Hearing General Ludendorff's praise, Eitel gave a somewhat self-satisfied smile.

But General Ludendorff's next words left him frozen in place.

"But Your Majesty, if such a vast shipment of German-made weapons appears on the battlefield, will the Allies notice?"

"And intervene to investigate? You must remember that our German Empire is now under complete control."

"At a time like this, any move we make will be magnified without limit."