-----------------------------
If we reach 15 comments. You have five hours from the time this chapter is posted. If we reach the goal, the next chapter will be posted in eight hours.(Valid comments must include information about what you like or dislike about the story, what you would like to see about the story, or any questions you may have about the story, as the devil is in the details.)
-----------------------------
28-November-1915
Several sacks of wheat were missing… wheat that I had purchased to feed these inhabitants. It was not meant for immediate consumption by the village; it had to be distributed day by day. This was a week's worth of food.
It did not take long for me to see why when I passed by the members of the Red Cross who were trying to speak to me.
I saw that the missing sacks were there… next to their improvised kitchen, where they were giving people full rations instead of the reduced ones under rationing, and even baking fresh bread with wheat instead of using rye, which was the usual practice.
I could already feel my eye twitching as I watched this. We had little food, and these idiots had come to play charity with what we had in our granaries, resources meant to endure the worst and prevent a famine.
''Excuse me, can you stop ignoring us?'' someone said in broken German, pulling at my coat.
I slowly turned and stared him in the eyes, watching how the man who had called my attention and his companions swallowed hard when they saw me.
''I hope you have a very good reason… for taking those grains from the granary… those were a week's reserves to deal with the famine, and here I see you spent them in a single day'' I said without blinking as I stepped closer until I stood right in front of him.
''Eh… well…'' he said, breathing audibly while moving his hands nervously.
''People were hungry… and the King of Ukraine allowed us to help and said we could use local resources…'' the man said until I cut him off.
''The King of Ukraine has no authority over the granaries of the security forces… they are joint property of Germany and Austria-Hungary'' I said, clenching my jaw. ''So I would recommend you leave my presence before I put you before a tribunal'' I added, holding back the urge to shout.
Without wasting time, I went to the telegraph building and sent messages to all garrisons, ordering that no one was to touch the granaries and that only under my authorization could food be distributed.
Because apparently this was not the only place, and I also intended to call attention to the garrison men for the stupidity of following orders without confirmation, I had been informed of something worse in Kiev: that they had done the same in the city… only on a larger scale.
So, without hesitation, I boarded the train heading back to the city, forced to wait impatiently until the train at the station was ready to depart and take me back to Kiev.
After what felt like a long wait, given the urgency, I finally boarded and we departed toward Kiev while I watched the landscape slowly filling with snow.
It did not take long to arrive and see how the envoys carrying papal flags and the Red Cross had their kitchens everywhere. The city had regained some life, in a way, as many people stood outside waiting their turn to receive porridge with freshly baked bread from these people.
As I walked through the streets, observing this… something that under normal circumstances would have been good, but if they were using our grain reserves then we were in serious trouble. I felt my stomach tighten every time I saw this charity, because those were days… weeks taken from our reserves, and that completely destroyed my plans, which already depended on a damn miracle to survive the famine with minimal losses.
This meant at least millions of additional deaths from starvation if the reserves ran out in the middle of winter, around January.
I finally reached the Kiev fortress, where the headquarters of the Ukrainian security forces was located, but I found my men handing over sacks of potatoes and grain, such as wheat and rye, to members of the Red Cross who were loading them onto horse-drawn carts.
And who knows where they got horses, considering how scarce they were; I only had a few available for reconnaissance missions or sending messages where there was no telegraph signal.
''Stop that'' I shouted, drawing the attention of my men.
They all looked at me as I moved in front of the Kiev fortress, placing myself between my men and those who were looting our reserves.
''What is happening?'' asked a woman in Ukrainian who was on one of the carts receiving the sacks of food.
''Return everything and bring me your officer… I have not authorized any of this and he will answer to me immediately for this insubordination'' I said angrily, staring at the men who looked back at me in shock.
''Listen, people are starving, it is necessary to distri…'' said one of the Red Cross doctors in German as he approached and grabbed my shoulder roughly.
''SHUT UP'' I said, grabbing him by the clothes. ''We have food for two months and you are giving it away like idiots'' I added, throwing him to the ground. ''And you, idiots, recover everything and gather the rest to be disciplined for this act'' I said through clenched teeth.
The Red Cross members stared at me while my men unloaded the carts, and the doctors and nurses began speaking in another language I did not understand, though it clearly sounded like Italian, visibly upset with me. Once the last shipment was unloaded and the fortress gates were closed,
I began heading to see the regent, because if he was testing my authority in this, he would realize he was not irreplaceable and that Germany would gladly place some Ukrainian noble willing to follow orders to the letter and abandon his attempts to undermine our efforts to stabilize the situation.
As I walked through the streets of Kiev I saw how those miserable men were giving enormous rations to the inhabitants, earning their affection while making me look like the monster starving them.
That shift in the city's atmosphere was clearly noticeable now that there was more food. Instead of people surviving on the bare minimum, with rations calculated to the last calorie just to keep them alive.
I walked to the regent's palace and once again entered without being stopped, even though there was a large group of delegations from the Holy See along with the Red Cross throughout the place. It seemed they had decided to help, but it looked more like they wanted to help by looting our granaries so that starving would happen faster and their consciences would remain clean.
This time two guards did step in to stop me, placing themselves in front of me and blocking the door.
A snap of my fingers was enough for my men to strike them, shove them aside, and clear my path, opening the doors to the regent's office.
He stared at me as if an apparition had fallen on top of him, and I walked straight to his desk, slamming my fist down on it and making everyone around him jump.
''What is the meaning of this'' I said gripping the wood of the desk so hard it creaked. ''Why are you distributing the food… which is already scarce, or did you forget we only have enough for two or three months under rationing'' I said staring directly at him.
The regent remained frozen in his chair, looking at me in shock.
''The… the Major received the message'' the regent said to one of his assistants, licking his lips nervously as his eyes kept shifting between the aide and me.
''We did not know where he was… so he did not… did not receive the message'' the regent's aide said, as nervous as the man he served, taking a step back.
''And what message would that be… that supposedly makes this any better'' I said angrily without taking my eyes off the regent.
''We managed to send a message to the Papacy through the von Habsburg contacts, as one of the great Catholic powers, and it has moved to help us… it is acting as a neutral entity to secure food to refill our reserves… donations from Catholics will be arriving soon to provide food, clothing, and money'' said Wilhelm, appearing more composed and confident as he spoke, though I could see him gripping his gloves tightly.
''And when are those donations arriving… because you cannot just give everything away based on promises… when do they arrive and how much are the main questions we should be asking'' I said, calmer but still serious.
''That is still being determined… but some ships will arrive from Italy, where the Pope has sent the call for charity. Of course we cannot influence government decisions and cannot promise much, as a great deal of food is being diverted to the war effort'' said one of the men wearing papal insignia, speaking in perfect German.
''That is all… a couple of ships that have not even arrived yet. What about the Entente fleet in the Dardanelles? They could block them and deny us the food'' I said looking at the papal envoy.
''That is being discussed… to allow the passage of food… and it is not only Italy. We have managed to have several cardinals from Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina channel donations of money, food, and clothing to reach the new Kingdom of Ukraine, spreading the message that the Russians abandoned their people and that their new king is doing what he can to keep the population fed under strict rationing'' the envoy said, standing straighter, calm and confident.
''A shipment from Brazil should take around two months on average, assuming the British do not intercept it… that is the margin we have to feed the population'' I said, calculating based on the travel times of the ships we had used to bring food from Romania.
''You see… it is food that will arrive, along with clothing and medical support… I tried to deliver the message to you, but you move too much and are not easy to locate, so there was no reason for you to do all this'' Wilhelm said, gesturing toward the massive commotion I had just caused.
''It is not something to celebrate either. Giving away food on a larger scale… no increase in rations can be made until those donations are actually in the granaries, and until we know the French or British fleets have not blocked them, because those shipments must pass through multiple control zones. So I would not place much hope on that… so do not do anything we may regret if our reserves run dry'' I said more calmly, letting go of the desk as all the papal and Red Cross envoys watched me.
''In any case the Papacy will make a capital injection that has been gathered from the faithful. Approximately 80 million Austro-Hungarian crowns have been provided so that you can attempt to negotiate food with neighboring states or finance such efforts'' the envoy said.
''Buy food, but with the Romanians we need to see if everything has already been sold… even corn… we should buy corn… or rice from somewhere'' I said, immediately looking at Wilhelm.
''I have already sent someone to negotiate that, we should not worry, it is already resolved'' the regent replied.
''Oh… I see, then this was simply a matter of poor communication'' I said, scratching my head after the entire display I had just made for nothing.
''A bit…'' the regent said, now breathing more easily and beginning to smile.
''Well, in any case continue with that. When the shipments arrive, if they arrive…'' I said, running a hand through my hair to fix it.
''They should arrive… they will be using ships, either from Italy to reach Romania, or Portuguese or Brazilian ships that will carry everything else to Romanian ports and from there to your reserves. It would be unusual for them to be intercepted… humanitarian aid should arrive'' said the papal envoy.
''Good, thank you… I… will leave you to your discussion'' I said, stepping out of the room, quite embarrassed.
With my head lowered I quickly left the palace after putting on a performance worthy of an Oscar over nothing serious… for now. If that aid arrives, I complained for nothing… and I must have looked like a complete idiot.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Hello everyone! If you'd like to read chapters in advance, you can support me on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Currently, there are 9 chapters available
without spaces
p atreon. com/Chill _ean_GUY
Thank you all for your support!