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1917-June-3-11
''Oh, Ferdinand, excellent… could you hand me those papers over there, please?'' I said while approving some construction plans.
''Wow…'' Ferdinand said while shaking his head as he looked at me and the other twenty workers buried in paperwork.
''For today Ferdinand'' I said while reviewing another one of my projects.
''Here you go… Ruthenia is calm for the moment, although it has the same problems as the Baltic Duchy, since Germany is still deciding which member of the nobility they want to place there. Negotiations with the Social Democrats are ongoing, although so far nothing has been reported to me yet, since there may not even be a monarchy established there, but rather a government aligned with German interests. Although I have heard Waldemar von Hohenzollern mentioned quite often as a possible King of Ruthenia'' Ferdinand said after handing me the papers I had requested.
''Uh-huh… interesting to know. We will also have a Hohenzollern as a neighbor. Curious, a Habsburg monarchy and a Hohenzollern one… anyway, do you know anything about Poland?'' I asked while looking back and forth over the blueprint.
''August Wilhelm was elected King of Poland, although for the most part there is a military government now because of everything that happened with the insurrection and the Polish soldiers' rebellions… especially since it is said that Polish troops deserted in large numbers in France'' Ferdinand said.
''Damn it, did the architect get the blueprints wrong?...'' I said while noticing that the papers in front of me were incorrect. ''Well, that was to be expected. The Poles will not be very happy about having a German monarch, on top of losing all of their historical territorial claims'' I said while tilting my head slightly.
''And you… you are a Herzog now…'' Ferdinand said while staring at me with wide eyes.
''Fate's nonsense… though it certainly is not something I wanted… this place is…'' I said while observing the local workers who glanced at me every now and then. ''Complicated. It is not ideal for doing many things and, with a limited budget and a war that spares no one, there is little I can do to save this nation's economy without taking into account all the social problems that constantly arise from being a country ruled by an ethnic minority'' I said while pressing my lips together.
''Well, Hans already has his hands full with Friedrich in Ukraine. There is another small revolt, this time more tied to politics than anything else. Socialists complaining that the German minority has more representation than the Ukrainian people, and they called for strikes in a couple of factories. In a way it materialized, but new workers are being hired, the protesters are being fired, and the new workers are being protected so they can continue working in the factories, along with arresting anyone trying to block access to them…'' Ferdinand said.
''A pragmatic decision, considering that every conquered nation has an unemployment problem… there are more people willing to work. A strike only works if they have something they can use to pressure their employer, so from what I can see they handled it well'' I said while nodding my head.
''Ah, good to know. I thought you would ask for a more categorical response… like forcing them to work or imprisoning the Ukrainian politician who keeps stirring this up and calling for strikes'' Ferdinand said.
''Well, we may have to do something about that socialist leader if he keeps insisting on calling strikes. But if the workers, by blindly following their leader, end up unemployed, and now that food is no longer being handed out they literally have no bread left for their tables because they followed that socialist blindly… I suppose that is fine'' I said while pausing for a few seconds to think.
''Other than that, we have had no problems. It is just that the Ukrainian politicians are feeling much bolder now that you are gone. Apparently you had them intimidated by your presence, so it would be good if from time to time you appeared at the Rada just to scare the politicians a bit, since Hans does not have the same presence you do'' Ferdinand said with a faint grin as he looked at me.
''Because of the scar? Hans does not have one because, if I remember correctly, the man preferred horseback riding over trading saber blows at the academy'' I said while running my fingers across the scar on my cheek.
''That and the reputation you have in Kiev… you lose nothing by doing it. Whenever you have the time, stop by one of the Rada sessions and scare the politicians'' Ferdinand said.
''Oh yes, of course… once I finish here. You see, I am spending the Kaiser's budget on a great number of construction projects to put the local economy back on its feet and diversify revenue sources… on top of using my own miserable income on this'' I said while scratching my head with one hand.
''That is good to hear… well, here is my report. Let me know if anything comes up. I will return to White Ruthenia to make sure the Social Democrats do not start killing each other with the conservatives'' Ferdinand said while giving me a military salute.
''Thank you. I will keep you informed about everything'' I said while returning the salute.
Even after I returned it, Ferdinand seemed hesitant, clearly nervous about asking something.
''What is it, my friend? If something makes you nervous, then it must be serious'' I said with a smile as I noticed Ferdinand growing uneasy.
''You know that my… family is from Königsberg… right?'' Ferdinand said while clasping his hands together over his stomach.
''Certainly, we are both Junkers by birth, Ferdinand'' I said while focusing on another blueprint I was reviewing.
''My family owns a few fishing boats… I was wondering if you could grant them fishing permits in the waters belonging to the duchy, since there is not much exploitation of the fish stocks in these areas, and I thought it could be beneficial to exploit that food source'' Ferdinand said while his voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
''Ah… so that is why you came in person instead of sending the report with some subordinate… of course, no problem. How many boats are we talking about?'' I said while pulling out a coastal map of the Baltic Duchy and focusing on the fishing zones.
''Five boats'' Ferdinand said.
''Well, I can approve fishing rights around Ösel… but I will need everything unloaded in Riga, since it is necessary to measure the tax based on the size of the catch and have it purchased for processing'' I said while tapping the pencil against my chin as I reviewed the map.
''Of course… thank you'' Ferdinand said while licking his lips and showing a satisfied smile.
''Well, if that was all, you may leave'' I said while pointing toward the exit.
A few hours after finishing my work, I began inspecting the city, since at this point we had more supervisory work than anything else. I had launched numerous projects to industrialize the Baltic Duchy in an attempt to turn it into a place capable of competing with Germany's great industrial centers.
We were mainly focused on processing the region's raw materials. I was literally planning to steal the same idea I had wanted to apply to Ukraine during the Russian Civil War, and we began purchasing machinery from German factories, primarily to study it and eventually produce versions adapted to my own needs. One thing I had realized after carefully reviewing German machinery was that it was manufactured individually for each client and, in many cases, there was no standardization.
If a machine broke down while doing its job, the only option left was to return to the manufacturer that had built it in order to obtain replacement parts, so I was beginning to notice a critical flaw in German industry, something I had realized far too late.
But it was also a golden opportunity to make money, since one thing that could be done was creating companies dedicated to manufacturing specific types of machinery while following standardized models, pushing Germany away from its preference for custom-made machines and toward equipment that could be replaced or repaired quickly.
So while I directed Riga's construction efforts, since for the moment we ideally needed to focus our efforts on the capital, apartment buildings were being prepared for the arrival of large numbers of workers coming from nearby towns and villages.
At the same time, we were preparing a large number of textile factories, trying to create a massive textile industrial complex to take advantage of the flax plantations and sheep herds managed by the Baltic German nobility, along with the few landowning peasants belonging to the other Baltic cultures.
Since the lands that belonged to me had already been planted and only required a bit of labor to make sure the rye crops grew properly, I had to prepare a large mill, also using the new construction company, putting thousands of workers to build with local cement and Ukrainian steel all the facilities necessary to store grain and process it into flour.
So, as the days passed and the dam architects finished their studies and determined that the dam location I had selected, or at least the general area, was suitable, construction would begin as soon as it became feasible. However, we had to remain cautious in case heavy winter rains occurred, since they could cause the diversion canals I had created to overflow and destroy the entire process or damage some of the surrounding locations.
Construction continued, but now that the local economy was slowly beginning to move again thanks to the construction efforts, and with everyone temporarily working as builders, my attention shifted toward another objective.
Creating a special forces unit centered around the Baltic Duchy. It was time to perhaps design an assault rifle and put chemists and engineers to work on obtaining kevlar for me, while also putting doctors to work preparing for the Spanish flu.
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