Chapter 143: Fishing
Together with the acquisition of numerous assets from Jewish financiers, Cardolan Investment Company was no longer the small firm that had once possessed only a single automobile enterprise.
It had become a true behemoth spanning multiple industries.
In telecommunications, Cardolan controlled more than forty five percent of the market. In steel, it continued to expand under Rheinmetall's support. According to commercial evaluators, after the sweeping mergers and acquisitions that followed the economic crisis, Cardolan Investment Company had already reached the scale of a state owned enterprise.
Most importantly, Cardolan had money.
More than enough money.
In truth, those funds were Jörg's profits. As for how they would be spent, that was also Jörg's business.
The seeds planted during inflation had finally grown into towering trees during another economic crisis several years later.
If the military and police were Jörg's fists, then Cardolan Investment Company was his legs.
So long as he had those legs beneath him, he would never be forced to kneel in compromise.
Because he was Germany's greatest capital.
The tax supervision bill was also a warning to the merchant class.
Either compromise, cooperate with the government, and refrain from making trouble, or they would find that there was no longer any ground beneath their feet.
Of course, there was a more important reason.
Jörg knew very well that these bills would not pass.
He had never expected them to pass in the first place.
The reason he had proposed them so openly, exposing his intentions before Parliament, was to force every opponent out into the open. Dissatisfaction would always find a way to express itself. Once it did, he could use the opportunity to escalate the situation.
After all visible opponents had revealed themselves, he would directly apply to the President under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, dissolve the Reichstag, and call a new election.
Then the Progress Party would harvest more votes, secure the two thirds majority needed to pass the Emergency Powers Act, obtain legislative authority, and bypass Parliament entirely to enact laws.
From beginning to end, Jörg had never intended to bargain sincerely with the parliamentarians.
Nor was he prepared to waste time on what he considered useless parliamentary theater.
Thinking of this, Jörg could not help recalling Wilhelm II again.
Indeed, the most efficient system was still monarchy.
One command, and power moved from the top down without obstruction.
Jörg looked around the hall.
After Cardolan finished speaking, no one else made a move.
He knew the time was right.
Glancing at the clock, Jörg struck the gavel and said, "Today's meeting ends here. Discussion requires both a venue and time. We will speak again in two months."
With that, Jörg left his seat.
The cabinet members who had been observing followed him out, leaving only the parliamentarians behind in a storm of whispering debate.
As expected, the wind from Parliament soon reached Hindenburg, who was vacationing in East Prussia.
A right wing politician from the Social Democratic Party had flown in overnight and was now pouring out grievances before Hindenburg, who sat calmly by the water with a fishing rod in hand.
"Mr. President, your subordinate is far too unrestrained. Do you know what he said?"
The politician, Chipon, was almost trembling with anger.
"He intends to target the Junkers and the great landowners. This is absurd. I have even begun to suspect he is a Soviet Russian spy who wants to turn Weimar into a red Weimar, to hang on lampposts the very Junkers who once fought alongside his father."
Hindenburg cast his line far across the water.
Feeling the sea breeze brush across his face, he shook his head.
"Chipon, Jörg has his reasons for doing this."
The old President's tone was slow, but not uncertain.
"Do not worry. He will not become the kind of man you describe. Everything he does serves Germany. Besides, he himself is Germany's largest capitalist. Hang capitalists on lampposts? Would he hang himself first?"
Chipon's expression stiffened.
"You are an old friend of mine," Hindenburg continued. "You should trust my judgment."
Then, as if offering a trivial piece of gossip, he added, "Let me tell you a small secret. Jörg was the first to warn the Ministry of Commerce about the economic crisis. Because of him, the Ministry recovered its losses in time and retrieved a great quantity of gold from Britain and America."
Hindenburg looked at the ripples spreading across the water.
"If not for him, the present crisis would be far worse. For such a genius, what we should offer is trust."
He paused, then gave a faint smile.
"Furthermore, his wedding with Lucy will be held in a year. He even placed Crown Prince Viktor in the cabinet. Tell me, is that what a Bolshevik would do? Did Joseph of Soviet Russia marry the daughter of Nicholas II?"
Chipon had no interest in being persuaded.
He quickly took a joint letter from several great landowners and businessmen out of his pocket and handed it to Hindenburg.
Hindenburg only glanced at it a few times.
Then he calmly tore the letter apart and placed the fragments on his fishing hook as bait.
With that simple motion, he made his absolute trust in Jörg clear.
"Mr. Hindenburg!"
Chipon could no longer restrain himself.
"Are you truly going to watch that scoundrel ruin German politics? He has no ability to be Chancellor. You should not indulge him like this. You are indulging an ambitious man who intends to become a dictator."
His voice grew more urgent.
"This will affect your political influence. It will disrupt your presidential election. It may even lead to…"
Hindenburg shrugged indifferently.
"Do not speak of him as though he were a child, Chipon. He is an eagle with sharper sight than all of us. He is Germany's future, granted by God."
Then the old man's eyes grew colder.
"This is my final advice to you. Jörg's weakening of the landlord and capitalist classes is meant to restore the people's trust in the government. It is meant to ignite their enthusiasm and push Germany further forward. It is a short term sacrifice of interest."
He lifted the rod slightly, watching the surface of the water.
"If that is still unacceptable, then I will retire early and not participate in the election. How does that sound?"
Hindenburg turned to him with a faint smile.
"I would like to see whether your votes combined can surpass Jörg's alone."
Chipon, of course, knew he could never defeat Jörg in an election.
Not after Silesia.
Not after Danzig.
What he wanted was to drive Jörg out of politics and eliminate that unstable factor before it swallowed them all.
But now that the President had spoken so clearly, Chipon knew Hindenburg had completely sided with Jörg.
He said nothing more.
Instead, deep in his heart, he began to consider how to remove this dangerous uncertainty.
The same thought was also growing in Hill's heart.
Inside the Workers Party club, in a secret office on the inner floor, Hill accepted a file handed to him by an Englishman.
"Mr. Hill, Britain is grateful for the intelligence you provided," the Englishman said. "It has allowed us to reassess the danger posed by Jörg von Roman, as well as the influence his dictatorship may have on Europe, and even the world."
He placed the folder on the table.
"We support your actions. Here is what you asked for."
Hill nodded.
After standing and expressing his thanks, he opened the file.
Inside was a detailed address concerning the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lia.
The appointment of a female Foreign Minister had provoked a powerful reaction among the public.
Opposition to women's equality and opposition to foreign immigration were core principles of the Workers Party. These two positions had drawn many people to their banner.
If they could show the public, especially potential voters, that the Workers Party was truly willing to act on those principles, it would undoubtedly expand their voter base even further.
Targeting the female Foreign Minister at the center of the controversy was the best way to win over right wing voters. At the same time, it would demonstrate to other parties opposed to the Progress Party that the Workers Party possessed both determination and teeth.
It would help them gather political allies.
As for the matter of foreign immigration, Hill had originally intended to attack Jewish streets.
But after some consideration, he realized that anti Semitism was no longer anything new. It would be difficult to attract enough public attention with that alone.
So Hill turned his gaze toward a group easier to strike.
The Chinese.
After all, there were more than a few supporters of the Yellow Peril theory.
.....
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