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Forged in Iron and Ambition (Web Novel) - Chapter 935: Deceit and Honesty
Chapter 935: Deceit and Honesty
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A day came and passed, and Bruno soon returned to his office in Berlin. There he was confronted by a mountain of paperwork and multiple missed calls.The messages had piled up from various heads of intelligence, at least three generals, and for some reason an admiral.
And of course the Kaiser had also left a message.
Nobody dared call Bruno at his home on his day off. What was happening in Switzerland wasn’t exactly an emergency that required his attention. Nor was he the sole leader of the German Reich whose responsibility was to micro manage every small matter.
By the time Bruno sat down at his desk and began to listen to the calls, the sequential nature of their changes more or less hinted that the issue had been resolved during his absence.
But Bruno would not be doing his due diligence if he did not return the phone calls. He started with a list of priorities. Not the list of those received. Naturally, his first call was to the Kaiser’s palace.
There, Wilhelm answered the phone. "Did you enjoy your day off?"
Bruno could detect the sarcasm oozing from the Kaiser’s voice. And he simply responded with the most deadpan expression he could muster.
"As a matter of fact, I did... So how was your day, Your Majesty?"
He could practically hear the phone on the other end cracking from the sheer pressure Wilhelm’s grip curled around its surface.
But in the end, Wilhelm sighed.
"You know, you are potentially the only man on the planet who can deliberately provoke me and suffer no consequences."
Bruno’s lips curled into a sneer as he heard the defeat attached to Wilhelm’s words, his own tongue filled with the playful snark only a few of his friends had ever heard from him.
"I too value our friendship... So what’s this about the Swiss capital being cut off from the rest of the nation by a bunch of terrorists?"
The line was silent for the longest time. It was as if the Kaiser was struggling to formulate the words from the sheer audacity that Bruno had.
In the end, there was a single phrase before the line cut.
"I’ll meet you in your office...."
Bruno heard the line go dead, and hung up just to redial the next few numbers on his list. Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Goring was not a man Bruno wished to keep waiting, and he swiftly dialed his number. Reaching the man near instantly after the first ring.
"Well, look who decided to answer my call. I was beginning to wonder if your silence was tacit approval."
Bruno scoffed and rolled his eyes at the sheer shamelessness of the man on the other line, finding himself quoting the words Wilhelm had just spoken to him moments before word for word.
"You know, you are potentially the only man on the planet who can deliberately provoke me, and suffer no consequences."
All Bruno heard from Goring was a slight chuckle, which prompted him to speak up again.
"Considering I haven’t read anything about the Luftstreitkräfte
launching an aerial campaign against our neighbors in the south, I presume you managed to restrain your baser instincts, and waited for intelligence to confirm the situation before launching a special military operation?"
"You always seem to have the worst opinion of me, Herr Reichsmarschall, sorry.... Chancellor. I wonder what I have ever done to give you such a negative opinion of my character." Goring said while Bruno rolled his eyes.
Bruno didn’t mince his words, he knew with a man like Goring if he gave the man the slightest loophole, he would take it and roll with it.
"There has been no just cause for a declaration of war. And it is the opinion of His Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm II that we continue the plotted course. So whatever fantasies you have about marching into the Swiss Alps. I would suggest you let it remain just that... a fantasy... Perhaps you could write a screenplay about it?"
"I understand... His majesty’s orders are absolute, after all... If you need my planes, you know who to call." Goring hung up abruptly after Bruno had given him a stern talking to, and just in time for Wilhelm to walk through the doors.
The Kaiser looked over at Bruno who sat smugly in his seat. He shook his head and sat down in front of the desk, tapping his index finger on the armrest repeatedly.
"I suppose this was your doing?"
Bruno didn’t deny it. He merely flipped open the latest stack of papers and began to read them. Signing his signature here and there on the matters he felt were appropriate.
"Of course it was. It is all part of the plan. Relax... Though we can’t fully control our little proxies, we ensured that collateral damage was minimal.
The Swiss are working tirelessly to restore Bern’s connections to the rest of the country. And in the meantime, our assets are in place, pointing the finger at you know whom.
Within a fortnight the people of Switzerland will be blaming their own government for this, and will be demanding greater joint-security measures with the Reich.
By the time our soldiers are in the streets, and not just the rail stations, invited in by the Swiss Confederation themselves, they will never leave...."
Wilhelm simply stared at the globe in Bruno’s office. The one that had already been painted to reflect Bruno’s future plans.
He had to admit, in his entire life and his entire reign as the Kaiser. He had never seen a man more capable of accomplishing his goals than Bruno.
The Kaiser picked up his pen and began co signing the bills as per usual. Briefly reading through their contents, skimming for important information, before signing on the dotted line.
"I have said it before, but I’ll say it again. You make a better statesman than a general. Your cunning is better suited towards geopolitics than the battlefield."
Bruno smirked, "I know... It is why I prefer the battlefield.... It is more honest."
