Chapter 122: Establishing Ties to the House of Romanov
Tsar Nicholas II took Bruno into his war room, where the German General was surprised to find that they were all alone. Afterward the Tsar shut the door behind him, and closed the blinds, before turning on the lights, where he revealed after pulling off a large blanket a miniature map of Western Russia, whose borders at this point in time were shared with that of the German Reich, as well as that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
On the map were little figures that were incredibly detailed, which represented the plans the Tsar had for the modernization of his forces. There were also figures based upon the changes the Germans and Austro-Hungarians had made thus far to their armed forces, or at least insofar as the Tsar was aware of.
It was abundantly clear to Bruno that the Tsar had taken inspiration from the war with the Bolsheviks and other Marxists who rallied beneath the banner of the Red Army. Realizing that his army was vastly obsolete by modern standards, he had begun to design, at least in theory by the figures some degree of modernization for his armed forces.
Whether it was field artillery of varying calibers that made us of some form of recoil mechanism, which was at the moment based upon the hydro-spring technology that was becoming the norm among the Great Powers outside of the German Empire who were already employing the more advanced Hydro-Pneumatic recoil system.
Or it was issuing heavy machine guns like those Bruno had used to great effect during the Russian Civil War, the Tsar seemed to have caught on to Bruno's tactics, or at least his generals had and was now investing significantly into Russian industrialization and the modernization of its armed forces.
But from the eager look on the Tsar's face, and the representation of the two other Great Powers which bordered the Russian Empire, Bruno couldn't help but suspect the man was preparing to restore the League of Three Emperors from the second half of the 19th century. However, Bruno first cracked a joke to the contrary, picking up the piece representing the average German soldier and making a comment on it.
"Am I to suspect that you wish to go to war with us, your majesty?"
Luckily for Bruno, the Tsar understood the man's sense of humor after their brief interactions together and was quick to make a comment on it.
"I'm afraid that is a war I would not be able to win, even if I was given twenty years to prepare for it. No, I wanted your opinions on the theoretical concepts displayed here, and how effective they would be on a modern battlefield? You guys are preparing for a war with the French, right?"
Bruno raised a brow at the Tsar, making a comment about his willingness to fight another conflict so soon after the Russian Civil War had ravaged his country.