บท 15: Order
Wilhelm narrated the story of Brauchitsch's origin to himself.
"On April 9, 1241, your family officially migrated from within Germany to Poland. On December 7, 1259, your settlement was officially renamed Brauchitschdorf by the then king (similar to China's Li Family Village or Zhangjiatun)."
Unfortunately, due to the decline in family fortunes and repeated setbacks in noble competition, in 1636, the Brauchitsch family's estate was taken back. By the end of the 17th century, the family had scattered and pursued their own paths.
"Colonel Brauchitsch, you were the sixth child among seven siblings in your family. During your schooling, you coincided with the trial phase of the Prussian army reform in 1877. So, you started one year earlier than others and attended the pre-military school (Voranstalten) at the age of 14. Afterward, you successfully entered the main school in Berlin—Gross-Lichtfeld." This school admitted 15-year-old boys, mostly from noble families, and had a four-year program. The students went through various rigorous tests and screenings to develop their resilience and loyalty. Only 20% of the students would graduate. Brauchitsch was one of those graduates.
At the age of 17, Brauchitsch passed the reserve officer examination with excellent grades, ranking second in his year at Gross-Lichtfeld.
On April 1 of the same year, he was selected for Selekta (the elite class of each year at the school). (Let me explain briefly here: Selekta is not something an ordinary person can enter. It consists exclusively of nobles, and the academic and military training requirements are extremely high. Each year, about 60 to 80 students are selected, but only around 40 manage to graduate.) In Brauchitsch's year, 47 young officers successfully graduated.
Furthermore, any student from Selekta's elite class could be assigned to work as a royal attendant or personal guard in the palace.
"Colonel, you served as Queen Victoria's personal attendant and had quite a few encounters with my grandfather. Everyone knows that my grandfather had a volatile temper."
"During a court soccer match, while you were playing as a defender, you accidentally kicked my grandfather in the stomach and ended up receiving two big slaps, didn't you?"
Listening to Wilhelm's storytelling-like narrative, Brauchitsch felt his back drenched in cold sweat. What kind of intelligence gathering would be so detailed? "Your Highness..."
Wilhelm waved his hand. "If you still hold a grudge about that incident, then I apologize on behalf of my grandfather."
Brauchitsch truly panicked. If the car weren't so narrow, he might even get down on one knee to express his loyalty. "Your Highness, you're too kind. I didn't take that incident to heart at all. I have absolute loyalty to the royal family!"
Wilhelm stared at him intently and asked, "But if the interests of German imperial authority and the Junker nobility were to clash, which side would you choose?" The Junker class in Germany is essentially the elite class. Since the establishment of Prussia in 1704, the Junkers had formed and received advanced education, becoming the actual rulers of Germany. Even the subsequent bourgeois revolution didn't affect them; only some of them became bourgeoisie, meaning the German Junkers later evolved into a mixture of the landed and bourgeois classes."
Even after the Hohenzollern family fell from power in the original timeline's World War I, the Junkers, however, did not. The Hohenzollern family was actually the ultimate representative of the Junkers. After the war, all countries still relied on the Junkers to support Germany.
"..." Brauchitsch opened his mouth but couldn't speak for a while. Just when he was suffering, the driver in front slowed down the car. "Your Highness, it seems like we've arrived."
Göring in the passenger seat also pointed ahead. "That's right, I see the two big characters 'Lenin'." After speaking, he got out of the car after it stopped and went to the back seat to open the door for Wilhelm.
Wilhelm looked at Brauchitsch, whose forehead was covered in sweat, and smiled. "You don't have to answer now, wait a few years. I hope that by then you can make the right choice."
After saying these words, he got off the car and closed the door before the people behind could get out. He whispered to Göring, "Have you heard about the heir of Nicholas II?"
The heir of Nicholas II? Göring was taken aback and quickly went through the information in his mind before shaking his head. "No, Your Highness, I only know that the entire imperial family was wiped out."
"Yeah, wiped out. But we can't be sure that Nicholas II doesn't have any illegitimate heirs or something like that." Wilhelm lowered his voice again and instructed, "Tell Reinhard when we go back to search for the bloodline of the Romanov dynasty, but don't make it too obvious." Actually, even if it became obvious, it wouldn't be a big deal. That arrogant loudmouth from Moscow wouldn't care about an heir of the Tsar. At most, he would just scoff at it, right?
But now Germany really couldn't afford to offend anyone, not even someone who just talks big. If they had to hold back a few words, they would hold them back. They had to be cautious. "If we can't find anything, then look for other people in the palace who were related at that time. Like servants, chefs, court magicians, priests, and so on. Collect as many details as possible, enough that even if we were to fabricate an heir out of thin air, no one would suspect it."
Göring was about to nod when Wilhelm added, "By the way, two days ago, when we passed through Poland, I remembered someone. There's a Polish man named Marian Leżewski who should be studying at the University of Göttingen. Let Reinhard secretly monitor him."
Marian Leżewski, that guy is definitely trouble! During World War II, the Germans used the Enigma cipher machine, which was cracked by the team he led. Afterwards, the British and French obtained this method. The intelligence departments of the Allies referred to the deciphered messages as ULTRA, which greatly aided the Allies. The exact contribution of ULTRA is still debated, but one typical evaluation is that the Allies defeated Germany because they cracked the German codes and gained a two-year advantage.
Prior to this, code analysis mainly relied on patterns and statistical characteristics in natural language and was deciphered with "pencil and paper." Leżewski applied pure mathematical methods for the first time and studied a cipher analysis device called the "Bomba." He not only deduced the rotor wiring system of the Enigma machine but also provided a feasible method to decipher this type of cipher, which was put into use and fundamentally developed the study of code analysis. With the assistance of colleagues, he designed and manufactured replicas of the Ingrid machine and instruments for code analysis, and on the eve of World War II, they deciphered nearly 100,000 pieces of German intelligence.
After Poland was occupied, Leżewski and others fled to Paris with their instruments and established the Z Group, continuing their code-breaking work at the intelligence station of Vichy France. During this period, they deciphered over 9,000 pieces of German military intelligence, directly or indirectly leading to the disastrous defeats of the German army in Yugoslavia, Greece, and the Soviet Union, and supporting the Allied North African campaign.
Although that guy is trouble, if he's willing to serve Germany and decipher the codes of the English and Americans, he would be a rare talent.
Göring nodded. "Understood, Your Highness."
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