I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 960: The Emperor’s Trap

Berlin General Staff, Hindenburg and Ludendorff were busy with a group of staff officers.

Ever since Shire occupied Saarbrücken, everything had been thrown into chaos.

Romania retreated, Italy withdrew troops, and the Hindenburg Line had to retreat in combat, otherwise Shire’s mechanized units could simply turn a corner and defeat them from the rear.

"We must remove it!" Hindenburg roared at Saarbrücken on the map, "It’s like a tumor, it will kill us sooner or later."

Shire’s troops deployed in Saarbrücken were not many, only one armored division and mechanized division; two motorized divisions had already withdrawn to protect the supply lines.

But it was precisely these two divisions that made Hindenburg extremely apprehensive.

Because he was unsure from which direction Shire would attack:

To the south, they could circle to the rear of the line and surround the large area east of the Rhine River.

To the west, they could infiltrate behind Italy, even cutting off Germany’s connection with Austria-Hungary.

To the north was Germany’s industrial heart, the Ruhr, which was the heart of Germany.

Thus, Hindenburg had to defend every direction but couldn’t defend any, even if Shire’s troops stayed in Saarbrücken without advancing a step.

"Calm down, Marshal." Ludendorff advised:

"Although we should militarily retake Saarbrücken, politically it’s not the same."

"Think about Shire’s attitude."

"He’s always wanted a ’ceasefire’ with Germany, if we initiate an attack it will undoubtedly anger the French Army!"

Hindenburg nodded helplessly.

This was precisely the German Army’s awkwardness:

The elite troops stationed in Saarbrücken were Shire’s.

Not to mention whether they could be beaten, even if they could, it certainly would cause heavy casualties, and then there would be no strength left to face the Anglo-American allies.

The best choice was not to provoke Shire, continuing a kind of false peace.

However, it was like a sword hanging over his head that could claim his life with a mere swing, making Hindenburg extremely uncomfortable.

As Hindenburg sat anxiously, the voice of the guards standing at attention outside the door rang out: "Your Majesty!"

Hindenburg raised his head in confusion, just in time to see William II stride in, his voice seemed different from before, brimming with confidence: "All is well, Marshal?"

"Yes, of course." Hindenburg stepped forward to salute: "All is well, Your Majesty."

William II sat down in front of the sofa, glanced around, and asked meaningfully, "Is that so?"

He smiled without speaking, a trace of sarcasm in his eyes as he looked at Hindenburg.

Hindenburg immediately realized the visitor’s intention was not kind, perhaps the Emperor was there to seize command authority, or at least part of it.

However, Hindenburg wasn’t concerned.

With him?

If he could bring Fajin Han along, there might still be a chance.

"Do you have any instructions, Your Majesty?" Hindenburg feigned respect, actually issuing a dismissal: leave if there’s nothing else, you’re not needed here.

William II didn’t take offense:

"Well, the navy scored a great victory last night, I hoped to share the victory with the Marshal."

"After all..."

William II kept smiling and spread his hands slightly around.

Though he didn’t speak, Hindenburg understood; it meant Hindenburg needed the news of victory.

"Oh, is that so?" Hindenburg remained composed: "Good news. But I’d like to know, what kind of victory deserves a personal visit from Your Majesty?"

What victory could the navy achieve? Hindenburg thought, perhaps just sinking a few Thunder Strike Ships and coming to brag about it!

William II raised his eyebrows, crossed his legs and spoke lightly:

"Not exactly a great victory."

"We merely succeeded in a surprise attack, sinking three cruisers and five destroyers escorting the British convoy."

"Of course, we also suffered some losses, the Bavaria took some light damage."

(Above is Germany’s most advanced battleship from WWI, Bavaria class, formally commissioned in March 1917)

Hindenburg was stunned, Ludendorff and other staff also turned their gaze to William II, he instantly became the focus of everyone.

Hindenburg still couldn’t believe it: "You... no, I mean the navy, really achieved such a victory? Why haven’t our newspapers..."

"Because we just released the news," William II said smugly, leaning back: "I think it won’t take long to come out."

Then he seemed to remember something: "By the way. We also brought back seven fully laden merchant ships."

Hindenburg’s eyes instantly widened: "Seven merchant ships, that’s..."

Hindenburg had no concept of a merchant ship’s cargo capacity, he couldn’t guess the statistic.

William II supplemented his words: "Preliminary estimates are 300,000 tons of resources, maybe more, because each one was packed full of goods."

Hindenburg’s heart skipped several beats, 300,000 tons of resources was a lifeline when the entire nation was tightening their belts to fight the enemy.

The others couldn’t help but exclaim, then cheered and applauded William II:

"Well done, Your Majesty!"

"You’ve solved our urgent need."

"Thank you, we finally heard inspiring news."

...

William II rose and nodded to them:

"Don’t thank me, soldiers, that’s what being the German Emperor entails."

"Actually, you should thank me, it’s your perseverance and efforts that defended Germany and allowed Germany to hold on until now."

"I think it’s time for unity, I mean for the navy and the army."

"As long as we remain united against the enemy, we’ll surely defeat them, even if the enemy is Shire!"

A round of applause erupted again within the command center.

William II turned his gaze to Hindenburg, asked: "Do you agree, Marshal?"

Hindenburg understood the meaning behind William II’s words.

In truth, there was no real collaboration or unity between the navy and the army; they were on two different battlefields.

What William II meant by "unity," was merely a request to participate in the army command.

Hindenburg didn’t want to agree; it meant giving up some power.

But he had no choice; otherwise, the seized resources might not be allocated to the army first but awarded to the navy or aid the citizens.

After hesitating, Hindenburg reluctantly nodded: "Of course, Your Majesty, it should be so."

"Very well." William II showed a satisfied smile: "Then let’s look at the Hindenburg Line."

He stepped quickly to the map and pointed at the line with his finger: "I suddenly have a thought, Marshal. What do you think, if we counter-attack the enemy, would it be unexpected for them?"

"No, Your Majesty." Hindenburg quickly replied: "We are low on ammunition, a counter-attack now might be disastrous!"

Hindenburg was completely unaware that this was a trap set up by the English and Americans with the Emperor.