CHAPTER 258: CHAPTER 247 HEINRICH

At this moment, the parade ground was distinctly divided, and compared to the somewhat lax Baden and Württemberg armies, the Prussian Army was evidently more dignified. Apart from strict discipline, an awe-inspiring killing aura naturally emanated from the Prussian Army.

If we pull the picture back to a few decades ago, the military bearing and appearance of the Prussian Army were actually not much better than those of these two states.

Knowing shame leads to courage, is a characteristic possessed by the high-level officials of the Prussian Kingdom for several generations. Continuous military reforms have thoroughly invited those noble parasites in the army out of the troops.

Coupled with the baptism of war, the Prussian Army has acquired a fairly high level of tactical proficiency. It cannot be denied that the Prussian Army had nearly twice the number of troops as the French in the Prussian-French War, but during the Napoleonic era, France’s mobilization and organizational capabilities far surpassed those of the other European countries at the time. Therefore, victory and defeat were the key, not numbers, for people only remember the victors.

...

Baden Regiment.

"Blair, the Prussians seem quite serious, and their discipline, this is what a soldier should look like!"

"It’s just militarism! But currently, the crisis situation in the German region does indeed require a strong land army country like Prussia to serve as the main force against the French. We, Baden and the Southern German states, are still too small in scale." The sixth regiment commander Blair answered.

"We have our own advantages. Although there is a slight gap in personnel compared to the Prussian Army, wisdom is the key to victory on the battlefield. Compared to the Prussian Army, we are smaller in scale but very flexible, and if we fully utilize our mobility, we absolutely can pose a great threat to the French."

"Speaking of scale, that unit next door carrying the banner of the Black Hechingen Principality is even smaller." Blair said.

"Do you know their background?"

"Just incidentally found out. My father has a cooperation with the Heixinggen consortium, and in recent years, all the grain planting has been switched to grape planting, which earns more money."

"I’m aware of the Heixinggen consortium. They have invested quite a bit in Baden and Württemberg in recent years, but how is this Heixinggen regiment related to the Heixinggen consortium? Isn’t it just a geographic name in Prussia?"

"Nowadays, there are many principality states under the Prussian Kingdom, not to mention Prussia. There are quite a few states under the North German Federation stronger than Heixinggen, but have you seen a few with a separate regional number?" Blair retorted.

"Indeed strange, earlier years after Heixinggen and Sigmaringen merged into Prussia, as far as I know, their army was abolished. How come Heixinggen has reappeared now! Is it because of the Hohenzollern family?"

"Although the ancestral land of the Hohenzollern family is in Heixinggen, this is not the reason for the emergence of the Heixinggen regiment. Due to economic cooperation, my father has investigated Hexinggen’s situation deeply, and in recent years, the entire Hohenzollern family has shown signs of rising. The Prussian royal family is needless to say, a few years ago, Prince Karl’s second son from the Sigmaringen Hohenzollern family became the Grand Duke of Romania. If it weren’t for the French hindrance, Leopold, the eldest son, would now probably have become the King of Spain. And this generation of Hohenzollern of Heixinggen has taken a different path, transitioning from politics and military to business; now the Heixinggen consortium is the family enterprise of the Heixinggen royal family."

"What does this have to do with the Heixinggen regiment?"

"Did you not read the newspaper two months ago?" Blair said.

"The newspaper! I did not really pay attention."

"Back then, a German country was established in Africa, you should at least know the East African Kingdom!"

"Oh, I remembered, but at the time, I only glanced at it. Who cares about an overseas native country, even if it was established by Germans?"

"You didn’t notice it, but I perceived, trying to make Austria-Hungary take the lead and align with so many countries to acknowledge this, it’s not something a random native kingdom could achieve."

"Since you did not pay attention, you should be unaware that the King of the East African Kingdom is the Prussian Black Hechinggen Prince Constantine, and the head of the Heixinggen consortium is his only son, Prince Ernst, who is the future son-in-law of Ferdinand Grand Duke from the Habsburg family."

"In this sense, the Heixinggen royal family has indeed been doing well these years, but how did they think of expanding to Africa? It really is hard to understand."

"Maybe they were stimulated by the neighboring Sigmaringen family, who knows. Certainly, it’s just my personal speculation, after all, European thrones are not so easy to plot for, whereas the Sigmaringen royal family encountered such opportunities twice, which indeed makes one envious."

"After saying so much, you should just straightforwardly explain the origin of the Heixinggen regiment!"

"It is certainly the private armed force of the Heixinggen royal family. You can also see it as a military talent cultivation base established by the East African Kingdom in the German region. Given that the Heixinggen royal family ventures in East Africa, they must cultivate their own direct military strength, so the military power within Europe of Heixinggen was taken over by Prussia, but in recent years, they leveraged the financial strength of the Heixinggen consortium to establish a Heixinggen Military Academy, which is essentially the Heixinggen royal family rebuilding its army under the guise of a military academy."

"No wonder, can I understand that this Heixinggen regiment is actually not considered a German region’s military arm, but rather the armed force of the East African Kingdom or the Heixinggen consortium, which does not belong to the Prussian Kingdom? Now everyone must deal with the French threat, so it is granted special privileges, similar to our Baden regiment?"

"Pretty much, that’s how it is."

...

"Leopold, see who’s coming?" Frederick III shouted to Leopold from afar.

"It’s actually you... Ernst? I really did not expect you would come to the frontline!"

"Nonsense, I am the headmaster, so naturally, I should come in person when they are about to graduate early, moreover this time, I’ve brought you a talent to assist you."

Though Ernst is a hands-off leader, it’s necessary for him to frequently appear before the students—sometimes summoning an entire school assembly to carry out ideological work—to ensure students know whom they are loyal to. Nowadays, these students are about to join a war that will be recorded in history, so Ernst naturally has to come to the front line to boost morale (the main reason being that Ernst knows the French are still preparing, so the war won’t start for a while).

A gentleman does not stand beneath a perilous wall—letting Ernst risk his life is impossible, not because he’s afraid of death, as Ernst, having died once before, is actually not frightened by death, but rather due to the large family business; if something unexpectedly happened, his hardworking endeavors would benefit others, which would be worse than killing him.

"Talent, make sure not to cause trouble for me!"

"Rest assured, this person is a top student enrolled at the Berlin Military Academy, not boasting but certified by the instructors at the Berlin Military Academy. I had to cajole them a lot to get them to release him, Heinrich, this will be your superior for this period, Prince Leopold from the Sigmaringen royal family."

Heinrich performed a proper military salute: "Hello, Prince Leopold!"

Heinrich, one of the two students from the Heixinggen Military Academy who went on to further study at the Berlin Military Academy, maintained his grades in the top thirty. In fact, he wasn’t the most outstanding. If he were, the Berlin Military Academy would not have let him go easily.

Currently, the best-performing student from Heixinggen Military Academy at the Berlin Military Academy is Adenauer, stabilizing in the top ten, with the highest score once reaching third in the entire academy. He demonstrates extremely strong learning and thinking capabilities, having published several high-quality military theses, which caught Mochi’s attention, and has been noticed by the Prussian General Staff.

The reason Ernst brought Heinrich here was essentially for his own good. Adenauer’s future is very promising, whereas Heinrich’s is much less so. By letting him join the army early, it can add to his credentials, especially as this is the Prussian-French War. Moreover, because of the specificity of the Heixinggen regiment, it allows him to directly serve as Leopold’s assistant; in the Prussian Army, this kind of starting point can be considered high.

Heinrich is ultimately not a native German, and to excel in the future German army, he needs to have battle achievements to back him up.

In fact, Ernst’ arrangement of him and Adenauer to enter the Berlin Military Academy aimed to let them develop within the Prussian Army’s high ranks. The unique composition of East African immigrants determines that they cannot detach from the influence of Germany and Austria-Hungary in the future. Therefore, it’s essential for these two individuals to hold certain influence within the German region. Simultaneously, this is also the reason for establishing the Heixinggen regiment—to let the German public know that German people with yellow skin are likewise brave, intelligent, and capable of fighting, facilitating the integration of East African ethnicities.

The effect of Ernst’s actions in Germany is not immediately evident, but unexpectedly it influenced the French. To suppress the Black people in French African colonies, in later years, France established several French allied armies comprised of Southeast Asian people.