Chapter 507: Knowledge is Power
Bruno sat in his office, observing intelligence reports from France and all of its warlords domains. There was a saying in life... Knowledge is power... And if that were true, then there was certainly no more powerful man in this world than Bruno.
He liked to know everything... Where his enemies were, what they were plotting, where they slept, what they had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What they were doing on a Tuesday afternoon at precisely 2:19 PM.
There was not a world where Bruno could accurately predict how his enemies would try to counter him without first knowing everything there was to understand about them. And he made damn well sure over the course of the last twenty years that Germany’s intelligence networks were more than capable of providing this information.
Hell, if he wanted a routine report on the bowel movements of a particular target, within a week there would be a lengthy study on his desk. That was how much importance Bruno put on knowledge.
It was because of this, that he was not the least bit surprised how his enemies in France reacted the moment the new equipment provided by the German Reich’s reserve stockpiles ended up in the hands Pétain’s army.
To put it simply... The remaining warlords who had not bent the knee already were terrified to the point of competing with one another for the chance to do so. These were weapons that had broken the allies single handedly, and these men?
Running around with water-cooled machine guns, garage built carbines of questionable durability, and leftover weapons from a variety of nations though they were going to win?
Not the slightest chance in hell was this the case. Thus, after four long and bloody years. The time for France to negotiate an end to their ongoing civil war, and hostilities had finally come to an end.
Pétain and his representatives planned to meet with the other warlords of France within neutral territory. No, it was not Zurich this time, but rather Geneva, as he and Bruno were said to have met, but in reality did not.
The world watched in curiosity, at whether this meeting could truly settle a peaceful resolution to ongoing conflict in France. As for Bruno, he met with the Kaiser, the Tsar, and the young archduke of Austria in Berlin. Where they had their own conference, which coincided with the one in Geneva.
Bruno sat at the edge of the table opposite of Wilhelm’s. Though his back was facing the door, which was unusual for him, he himself gazed upon the windows behind his emperor. It was a position that even Wilhelm found unusual, and was quick to question before their other guests arrived.
"Must you really sit so far away from my side? Is there something I’m not understanding about your choice of seat?"
Bruno realized instantly that his spot may have caused questions to the man he swore fealty to, considering his rightful place was at the man’s right side. But nevertheless he was quick to explain why he had chosen this particular spot.