Chapter 1695 The Schemes and Intrigues in the Villanuf Palace
The Germans' meticulousness was fully demonstrated in the security work at Villanueva Palace, where there were numerous visible and hidden sentries outside the palace.
In addition to the defense forces, there is also a special bodyguard unit for the Prime Minister, specially set up by Adolf, inside the Villanuf Palace.
This created a three-layered security network at the Villanueva Palace: the outermost layer consisted of Poles, the innermost layer of German Wehrmacht troops, and the innermost layer of guards and plainclothes German security personnel.
Lieutenant Poltov walked along the cobblestone path toward the central square of the Villanuv Palace. On both sides, German soldiers stood resolute in the cold wind, like statues.
Poland is clearly not warm right now. As a high-latitude country with a temperate continental climate, Poland's winters are even more unbearable.
In its previous existence, Poland was located in the transition zone between temperate maritime and continental climates, but now those lands bathed in the warm currents of the Atlantic Ocean—that is, western Poland and the Baltic coast—are now German territory.
"This damn weather! These Schwabs are quite dedicated," Lieutenant Poltov thought to himself.
The word "Swabian" has a special meaning in Poland. It is a derogatory term used by Poles to refer to Germans. In the past, Poles often used this word to belittle Prussians. Later, after Prussia unified Germany, it came to be used to refer to the whole of Germany.
Therefore, "Swabian" here can be understood as a negative term such as "stupid German" or "barbaric German".
Understanding German history and geography reveals that Swabia is a region in southwestern Germany, which is also the ancestral home of the Rhineland royal family in East Africa.
The reason why Poles used to call Prussia that was because the Hohenzollern family, the rulers of Prussia, came from the Swabian region.
Of course, there is another important reason why Swabian became a derogatory term in Poland: in the Middle Ages, Swabians had a bad reputation.
Many literary works, including Grimm's Fairy Tales, portray Schwab as a foolish, boastful, stingy, rigid, and cowardly figure, such as using a spoon as a shield and mistaking a wild boar for a mosquito.
Ultimately, the economic situation in ancient Swabia was so poor that many Swabians had to make a living in various European countries. Because of their poverty, the Swabians had a low standard of living and often resorted to petty theft to get enough to eat.
He was also very frugal in his daily life, lacked education, and had spent a lot of time "wandering" in Europe, which broadened his horizons. Under these circumstances, Schwab himself naturally liked to boast, embellishing his experiences and giving them an "artistic" twist.
These stereotypes, inherited by the Polish people and coupled with their antipathy towards the Germans, remain very popular.
Lieutenant Poltov's father probably taught them this kind of thing quite often, after all, Poland has not even been a nation for twenty years.
Going back twenty years, Poland was still divided among Germany, Tsarist Russia, and Austria-Hungary, so hostility towards these three countries had always existed.
However, Lieutenant Boltov thought to himself that he certainly wouldn't have the guts to say that in front of the Germans.
Feeling the biting cold wind, Lieutenant Poltov couldn't help but wrap his overcoat tighter. He certainly couldn't bring himself to stand still in the cold wind like those German Wehrmacht soldiers, getting bruised and battered.
"stop!"
At that moment, a German soldier suddenly walked up to Lieutenant Poltov and stopped him.
Lieutenant Poltov, shrinking his neck, said, "Sir, I am Lieutenant Poltov from Poland. Your Colonel Mors just ordered me to inspect the work of the outer patrols. I am now returning to report. We should have met before."
The German soldier ignored Lieutenant Poltov's words and said seriously, "Now, whoever approaches the Villanuv Palace must be checked. That's the procedure."
Lieutenant Poltov was very dissatisfied with this and said sarcastically, "Then you are truly a dutiful and responsible soldier!"
“We’ve met before, and in front of Colonel Morse, so it’s impossible that my identity is also questionable, right?”
The soldier did recognize Lieutenant Poltov, but he still reached out his hand.
"Identity!"
"Sigh!" Lieutenant Poltov reluctantly removed one glove, took out his officer's ID and pass from his pocket, and handed them to him.
Clearly, these past few days at the Villanueva Palace, apart from the most important figures, everyone who wanted to enter had a pass; as for Polish military officer IDs, Germany didn't recognize them.
After all, who can completely guarantee the authenticity of your document? In the 20th century, it was not uncommon to forge bank checks, impersonate government officials from various countries, or even native princes from outside Europe.
Therefore, in this era, it is not too difficult to forge various documents, and many people make a living by this skill.
Even if the document is genuine, the Germans will not let their guard down.
Because Germany also distrusts the Polish government, the Polish government's anti-Labour Party stance is certainly firm, but its attitude towards extreme nationalists is another matter entirely.
Leaving aside the fact that extreme nationalists have infiltrated the Polish government, some Polish officials are either Polish nationalists themselves, or their protectors and funders.
In Poland, there are many who are dissatisfied with Germany. Some of them see Germany as a threat because of territorial issues, while others are local Polish capitalist groups.
The former is easy to understand, but the latter is a more special case. Their dissatisfaction with Germany stems from Germany's economic control over Poland, which affects their interests.
To put it more formally, it was a conflict between German capital and Polish national capital.
As a vassal state of Germany, Poland was also an economic colony of Germany. Therefore, the export of German industrial products to Poland naturally harmed the interests of local Polish national enterprises.
Therefore, conflict between the two is inevitable, but it is clearly not feasible to let these Polish national capitalists compete head-on with German capital.
Whether from the perspective of the industry itself or the national power and attitude behind it, Polish national enterprises certainly cannot defeat Germany. Since they cannot compete head-on with German capital, they can only resort to some underhanded tactics.
For example, they might bribe their own officials to support them, or fund extremist groups to cause trouble for Germany.
Therefore, from economic, political, and historical perspectives, Poland was a hypocrite to Germany, and it was impossible for Germany to fully trust Poland.
After carefully examining Lieutenant Poltov's identification and pass, the German soldier returned them to him. However, the matter was not over yet.
"Lieutenant Poltov, we need your cooperation from now on."
Lieutenant Poltov understood what he meant and opened his arms somewhat resentfully.
"I know, you want to search me, right? Come on! I don't have any contraband on me."
After enduring some "humiliation" and handing over his sidearm, Lieutenant Poltov finally met with Colonel Mors to report on the progress of his work.
...
Villanuf Palace.
In stark contrast to the heavy security outside, the Villanuf Palace was bustling with activity, and politicians from all over Europe, whether from the Axis or non-Axis powers, were in relatively good spirits.
In a corner of the hall, German Chancellor Adolf, British Prime Minister Chamberlain, French Foreign Minister Bonnet, and Italian Prime Minister Benito were undoubtedly the focus of the banquet.
As for the former French Foreign Minister Boncourt, who had previously advocated a hardline stance against Germany and actively supported and funded Yugoslavia, even at the cost of cooperating with the Soviet Union, he resigned a few months ago due to pressure from Britain.
His hardline stance drew the ire of the British government, which strongly opposed his appointment, believing it would undermine the "harmony" of Anglo-French relations.
At that moment, Adolf stood slightly towards the middle of the three men, holding a glass of special beer.
Adolf was a “prohibitionist,” but that does not mean he was completely abstaining from alcohol. In fact, Adolf would drink alcohol on necessary occasions, but these were all specially supplied low-alcohol beverages.
"Prime Minister Chamberlain and Mr. Bonne, what are your thoughts on this Warsaw military parade?" Adolf asked the two men calmly.
"This parade is unprecedented in the history of Europe, and even in the world." Chamberlain didn't know what Adolf was planning, so he could only give an objective assessment.
French Foreign Minister Bonne further stated, "The powerful military strength displayed by Germany and other participating countries in this parade demonstrates that Germany has become the most representative country in Europe."
Benito couldn't get a word in edgewise on this topic, since he couldn't very well tell everyone that Italy was also very strong!
If it were small countries, it wouldn't matter, but the countries behind these three are countries that even France, which has fallen behind, is still beyond Italy's reach.
Benito felt he could not let Adolf continue to perform on this topic, so he took the initiative to say: "The European order has now been completely reshaped, and we, the major powers, can now fully represent the voice of the whole of Europe."
"It is only natural that Italy and Germany should be among the leaders of Europe, but the status of our two countries is no longer commensurate with the strength we possess."
Actually, Benito felt somewhat uncomfortable when he said those words.
My proud "Roman orthodoxy" Italy is now forced to ally itself with Germany to demonstrate its "strength," which feels somewhat like "filling the gaps," something that the face-conscious Benito finds hard to accept.
But Benito had to say it, because without Germany, France and Britain probably wouldn't even consider Italy a threat—that's the reality.
Benito was upset, and he instantly ruined Chamberlain and Bonnet's good mood as well.
In their view, Benito's true intentions were now revealed; after all, what was the purpose of Germany's invitation to Warsaw? It was a demonstration, a display of the strength of Germany and the Axis powers.
Therefore, they were already mentally prepared for the Axis powers to have designs on them, and now Benito's words were seen by them as directly tearing off the fig leaf of the "free world" in Europe.
The so-called free world of Europe refers to all European countries except the Soviet Union. Although the free world is not free, Germany and Italy are typical examples of authoritarian governments.
However, the common enemy, the Soviet Union, could still be used to nominally unite them at the same table.
Especially in Britain and France, which were dominated by appeasement, Germany and Italy were, possibly, or probably considered to be "in cahoots" with them. This is no joke; without such indecisive thinking, appeasement would not have been born.
As the "weak" faction of Britain and France, they believed that the Axis powers were still worth courting.
Adolf's words just now could be seen as a test, but Benito, that crude fellow, seemed rather "unrestrained in his speech."
In the eyes of the British and French, Benito had now blatantly torn off his disguise, admitted to being a bandit, and was threatening to extort money from Britain and France and put it into the pockets of Germany and Italy.
However, they were clearly unwilling to break with both countries and could only feign compliance.
"Hehe, Prime Minister Benito, you're right. The development of Germany and Italy in recent years has indeed been unexpected. Germany is now the strongest country in Europe, and Italy is the fourth strongest country in Europe."
"Therefore, Germany and Italy should indeed be important decision-makers in European affairs, especially Germany, which can be called the leader of modern Europe."
Chamberlain began by praising both countries, but he was also bitter inside. After all, acknowledging Germany as the leader of Europe only proved one thing: the British Empire had truly declined.
Of course, while praising Germany and giving it such vanity, it doesn't mean that Chamberlain truly represented Britain's submission to Germany.
He then changed the subject, saying, "But right now, Europe faces a more pressing crisis that the entire free world needs to address."
"The threat posed by the Soviet Union to the free world in Europe is absolutely not to be ignored; otherwise, if the Soviet Union were to grow too powerful in Europe, it would be a disaster for the entire free world."
"Therefore, I personally believe that if contemporary European leaders want to gain the recognition of the entire free world, they should do one thing: defeat the Soviet Union, the most evil country in the world."
"Of course, every country in the free world has a responsibility in the face of the Soviet threat. Although Britain and France are also major European powers, we have to admit that we have declined significantly over the years."
"As a result, Britain and France were completely powerless, even incapable, of maintaining peace and stability in the free world and eliminating the Soviet threat to the free world, based on the reality of the decline of their power."
"And in Europe today, only Germany can be called a superpower with decisive dominance in the world."
"The superpowers refer to the four most powerful countries in the world today: Germany, the Soviet Union, the United States, and East Africa."
Chamberlain brought up the concept of a "superpower" ahead of time. Although Ernst had also mentioned superpowers to Crown Prince Frederick before and confirmed more than Chamberlain, Chamberlain's public pronouncement of the so-called superpower was clearly much more formal than Ernst's.
The term "superpower" will likely spread widely around the world after this Warsaw dinner, becoming a target and crown that major world powers are vying for in the new round of global changes.
(End of this chapter)
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