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1917-November-6
''Well, that would be your share of what was obtained from the weapons sale. At least we emptied those warehouses that were packed with Russian armament that only served to take up space'' I said, handing him some documents with the gold sent to Ukraine.
''You sold it dearly, from what I see. They must be quite desperate for weaponry to pay you that much for old and used weapons'' Vasyl said, observing the document.
''Yes, the Mensheviks have the problem that they control the factories, but most of the mines where the resources needed to keep their steelworks running are extracted are in the hands of the Whites, so they do not have much processing capacity. From what I understand, they are working through requisitions, requisitioning all the steel and iron in the cities to make more weapons, while the Whites have the problem that they do not have the production capacity, since most of the urban centers are in the hands of the provisional government, so they have the same problem, but to a lesser extent'' I said with a smile while observing the field.
''Ah, the Russians and their conflicts. Well, it is not a bad amount for handing almost two million weapons to the Russians, but are we not allowed to sell them ammunition? I mean, selling bullets to the Ottomans is fine and all, but we still have not managed to fully get the chemical plants and ammunition industry working. Besides, the Ottomans pay in their own notes, and let us say I do not have much faith in their currency, considering that even if we win, I doubt the Ottoman Empire will remain standing'' Vasyl said while drinking some tea and observing the same field as me.
''Hey… money is money. It may not be gold, because I truly do not know if the Romans have gold reserves they can extract from, but silver they do have. I could renegotiate the treaty so they pay you in silver, but that depends on you. Unfortunately, selling ammunition is outside our prerogatives, since they will consider that we cannot waste ammunition when it is being gathered for the great spring offensive. With that, the war should end, and we can focus on what matters most, which is keeping this place safe from any attack by whoever wins in Russia'' I said while taking a knife and fork to eat the piece of meat in front of me.
''And this Waldemar is supposed to already be here?'' Vasyl said, taking out his pocket watch while still drinking tea.
''Yes, we had agreed to meet here near Minsk, but if the very king who should not be too far away is among the last to arrive, it seems the man has many problems governing'' I also replied, taking out my watch and looking at it.
''Were things in Ruthenia so bad that it was necessary to dissolve its Rada?'' Vasyl asked, raising his chin a little as he said that.
''Of course they were. They were days away from a civil war, our own Russian civil war in Ruthenia. That is what happens when you leave a group of power-hungry politicians without much control, people who had never had much autonomy, and nobles who want to be the ones giving the orders, so it was what it was'' I said while holding a piece of meat on the tip of my fork as I cut the rest.
''And well, this Manfred von Richthofen, they say he is good in aerial fights. Is he as the rumors say, or do you think they are unfounded?'' Vasyl asked.
''The man is good, I think. I have never seen an aerial fight, but at least I have not seen him crash when landing or taking off, which is something I have seen with some of the newer pilots, so I suppose at least he knows what he is doing. I did not like his overly aggressive behavior at all, since after they almost blew his head apart, the only thing the man wanted was to go back to the front so they could kill him. It seems he suffers from some survivor's syndrome or something similar'' I said after putting the piece of meat in my mouth and chewing it.
''Well, because this is not cheap. A considerable part of this extraordinary income from the weapons sale is going directly to this. I do not know why you want an air force, considering the poor state of our finances'' Vasyl said, looking somewhat annoyed by the situation.
''Ah, it is more because we need to have the means to defend ourselves on our own in case of a future Russian attack, but also because pilot training will later serve for civilian aviation work. For example, fumigating a plague in the plantations with a biplane releasing chemicals to eliminate the pest, quickly transporting valuable supplies or, in the future, civil aeronautical transport. Besides, we could convince Germany and Austria-Hungary to make this installation the permanent training center of the joint air forces and take advantage of all the work this generates… Waldemar will surely tell you the exact numbers'' I said, noticing that a vehicle had arrived from Minsk.
It did not take long for a man wearing enormous glasses and a great deal of formal clothing to step out, and he soon began walking toward us while his guards protected him.
''King Waldemar, it seems you were busy enough to keep us waiting almost an hour and a half longer than we had agreed for this meeting'' I said, observing the watch, although I already knew the time well.
The Hohenzollern raised an eyebrow and stared at me, then looked at Vasyl.
''Get used to it. He is a Junker who seems to have not the slightest decorum or knowledge… or rather, interest in respecting the codes of conduct'' Vasyl said, leaving the cup of tea on the table.
''Stop looking so surprised and sit down, will you? I also have things to do, and we simply have to observe this aerial demonstration so the Kaisers' observers can send their opinions back to Vienna and Berlin'' I said, pointing to where there were some officers belonging to Germany, waiting to see the maneuvers of the Red Baron and his group, who had been arriving while they were slowly removed from service on the Western Front.
''I apologize for the delay, there was a railway workers' union strike I had to resolve'' Waldemar von Hohenzollern said, adjusting his glasses.
''What about my man in Minsk? What happened to Ferdinand?'' I said, interested when I saw he had not come.
''He stayed behind negotiating with the union, since they demanded the release of the political prisoners who had been sent to the prison of Minsk, in addition to a wage increase and a few days off a year'' the Hohenzollern replied.
''Vasyl?'' I said, looking at the Habsburg, who gave a slight smile.
''Yes, that will not be possible. Let us say that many of those political prisoners who were arrested are already buried in coal. Literally, some died when a tunnel collapsed, so… that part of their negotiation may not even be a remote possibility'' Vasyl replied, avoiding the Hohenzollern's gaze.
''Things that happen when you sentence politicians to forced labor so they do not just remain in a cell eating hot meals. So well, let us hope that railway workers' protest ends soon… take this, this is your share from the sale of Russian armament. It will be delivered to you in the next few days, as soon as the arrival of the gold from Russia has finished being counted'' I said, handing him what corresponded to Ruthenia after delivering their arsenal to the Whites.
''Uff, finally. You have no idea what I have had to do to make it to the end of the month. The accounts are a disaster and, although we control all the lands thanks to those expropriations, we still have no income for all the reconstruction and construction works we are carrying out'' Waldemar said, sighing audibly.
''Believe me, we understand you'' Vasyl and I said at the same time.
''So I was not the only one then'' Waldemar said with a slight smile.
''It is almost part of the position that Germany gives you a miserable amount of money to finance the entire year… speaking of that, I have learned that Ruthenia has a large deposit of potash salts. It would be interesting to create an extraction and preparation company, since it would be a good fertilizer that could be used considering we are very agricultural countries. We need all the natural fertilizer we can get, since what is produced in my lands is not enough for everything planted in Ukraine, much less in all three countries'' I said, pointing to the area of Soligorsk.
''The truth is, I had no idea there was a deposit in the area. I have not had much time to review everything, but Ruthenia's coffers are empty. This is an enormous help, but I do not think I can start something quickly with what I have, since this gold has not even entered my funds yet, but I already have it spent on something'' Waldemar said, making an annoyed grimace.
''We have funds now, since we have our shares. Besides, it is necessary to spend quite a lot and it will take time, but I will provide the workers and a large part of the construction materials, and Vasyl would handle the more expensive materials, such as steel. The important thing is that we have more ways to obtain fertilizers, since our job is for the Germans buried in mud in France to have fresh and abundant food'' I said, leaving the cutlery on the plate.
''That is fine by me. That way we would have… how are the revenues of this company distributed?'' Waldemar said, narrowing his eyes.
''Almost…'' I clicked my tongue. ''25 and 25, and you 50'' I said, pointing first at Vasyl, then at myself and then at Waldemar.
''Well, would that be quick or does it require a lot of time?'' Waldemar said, looking much happier than when he arrived.
''Nah, not at all. This will be slow. It is like the Donbass mines. The minerals are deep and a great deal of equipment is required to begin extracting them, but if we work quickly, they may be in operation next year. Of course, we will try to put in place the maximum number of safety measures, since we do not want it to end up like the coal mines of Ukraine that we are using so politicians who cross the line end up buried in coal'' I said, nodding.
''I think that is for the best'' Vasyl replied while adding sugar to his tea.
''Well, and will this last long? I have a great deal of work'' Waldemar said, looking at the planes that were preparing to fly.
''An hour at most. It is to demonstrate that the recruits the Red Baron has taken have the skill to later be sent to the Western Front as support, forming the first eastern groups to contribute to the war effort as such'' I said, watching as two dozen planes positioned themselves for the tests, while the very members representing the high commands of the States observed.
We gave the order to begin, and Manfred and his squadron quickly began ascending through the skies, followed by a second squadron that showed no problems rising in their aircraft and beginning to move, cutting through the skies while they began carrying out combat maneuvers, although without any kind of combat test for the moment.
It was not as though much could be done with the planes, since they were very far from what a Second World War aircraft would be, with an enclosed cockpit that would allow them to perform more maneuvers capable of drawing the attention of high-ranking officers.
But they would serve for reconnaissance missions and occasional combat.
An hour of overflight passed, showing all kinds of maneuvers that Manfred had been teaching.
But from one moment to the next, we observed three planes begin a low-altitude flight, descending from the skies, and they began firing their machine guns in the same direction, hitting some boxes that had been piled up, destroying them and turning them into a pile of splinters after hundreds of rounds tore through the wood.
''Hum, interesting. That shit must be as dangerous as playing with the devil himself'' I said, seeing that those who had carried out the maneuver were Manfred and part of his group.
''Is it dangerous?'' Vasyl asked.
''Yes, I would say it is safer to hide in the crater left by an artillery explosion. Have you seen the planes? They are wood, fabric and cables held together. Those things do not withstand overly abrupt changes, so you need to have some serious nerve to do that, since crashing can be quite normal'' I said, watching the members of the OHL who were speaking among themselves and nodding in approval.
''Well, seeing that this is over, why do we not continue talking about joint investments? The Russians want to buy canned food, especially the Mensheviks, who do not control the farmlands'' I said with a smile while watching the planes begin to descend and stop on the airfield runway.
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