Make France Great Again-Chapter 945 - 936: Suppressing Koblenz

"You must head to the General Staff immediately and have Mao Qi suppress the Koblenz rebellion as soon as possible!"

After reading the telegram, Regent King William gritted his teeth and issued the order to Minister Ron. At this moment, his mind was already on the brink of fury, without any concern for the follow-up problems suppression might cause.

Standing by, Minister Ron evidently did not share the reckless mindset of Regent King William. Keeping a calm demeanor, Ron advised William I not to be too emotional, as the Koblenz parade did not warrant military suppression.

Recklessly deploying troops for suppression would only cause the Kingdom of Prussia to further lose popular support in the Rheinland Province.

"Ron, what do you think we should do now?" Clearly less astute than Ron, Regent King William, out of fear from 1848, hysterically shouted at Ron, "Are we supposed to wait until those thugs ignite the entire German Region like in 1848, and then flee Berlin disgracefully as we did before?

Wake up! Ron, the Russian Empire can no longer extend its help to us!

No one will aid us like before!"

"Your Majesty, things have not reached that point!" Ron tried to persuade Regent King William I to calm down, "This is merely an activity by a small group; most of the Rhine Land people still love the Kingdom of Prussia!"

"Love?" Regent King William curled his lips into a cold smile, "For a Rhine Land person to love a Prussian monarch is the funniest joke I’ve ever heard!"

"Your Majesty, indeed, we have some differences with the Rhine Land people, but on the bigger scale, we are all Germans!" Ron tried to use the concept of Germany to convince Regent King William, although Ron himself was dismissive of the idea of Germany.

"Germans?" Regent King William raised his voice to rebut, "We and the Austrians are also Germans, yet are the relations between our two countries good?"

When Regent King William brought up the example of the Austrian Empire, Ron ceased to argue.

"Those damn Rhine Land people, in the end, are just a bunch of thugs!" Regent King William said to Ron, "Their destination should be prison, not the streets!

Ron, I dare bet with you! If we don’t immediately take action, those damned Rhine Land people will force us to make more concessions!

They will demand the reopening of the two houses to replace my most loyal nobles!

Then, our nobles will gradually lose their rights under their oppression... They will also restrict all our military affairs in parliament, and you surely know that the Rhine Land people hate our army the most.

By that time, military reforms will inevitably be called off..."

Regent King William rambled on with a lot, but his core message was not to let the Rhine Land people go on strike.

Although Ron didn’t entirely agree with some of Regent King’s views, he still acknowledged part of Regent’s speech.

The parade in Koblenz could indeed destabilize the dominance of Junker Nobility in the Kingdom of Prussia, prompting Ron to lean towards suppression, considering the interests of the Junker Nobility (previously thinking from a German perspective).

Ron is a German and a member of the Junker Nobility.

When the interests of Germany collide with the interests of Junker Nobility, Ron can only choose the latter.

Even though it might seem cruel to the Rhine Land people, it was a choice that had to be made.

Though Ron’s heart had already leaned towards sacrificing German interests for Junker Nobility, he hoped to avoid suppression if possible.

Thus, Ron thought of a person who might resolve this dilemma, and tentatively asked Regent King William, "Your Majesty, shall we consult with Ambassador Von Bismarck? Perhaps he might have a solution that satisfies both sides!"

"Von Bismarck?" Regent King William paused for a few seconds, then spoke again, "I remember, wasn’t he dispatched to Austria as an ambassador?"

"Yes!" Ron nodded in affirmation to Regent King William, "We could send a telegram to Ambassador Von Bismarck to ask for his opinion on this matter!"

Regent King William felt a bit tempted upon hearing this, but he then recalled Von Bismarck’s actions in 1848, shook his head, and said, "Never mind!

Immediately send a telegram to Koblenz and order the local garrison to suppress the rebellion quickly!"

"Yes!" Ron obeyed Regent King’s order and replied.

Then, Ron left the Royal Palace and headed to the General Staff with Regent King’s orders, where he saw Old Maoqi in full military attire.

Old Maoqi was intently focused on the maps laid out on the table.

Ron walked closer to see that the maps displayed Berlin and its surrounding areas.

Wait! Berlin!

Ron suddenly realized something and looked at Old Maoqi in shock.

General Mauqi, could it be...?

Just as Ron was deep in thought, Old Maoqi’s voice reached Ron’s ears, "Minister Ron, what brings you to the General Staff?"

Ron snapped back to reality, nodded, and responded to Old Maoqi, "General Mauqi, I’ve come to deliver an order from Regent King William!"

Old Maoqi straightened up, revealing a readiness to march at any moment.

Ron cleared his throat and said to Old Maoqi, "General Mauqi, His Majesty orders you to immediately mobilize the garrison troops in Koblenz and enforce martial law in the Koblenz region!"

Upon hearing of martial law in Koblenz, Old Maoqi showed a fleeting disappointment on his face, then firmly asked Ron, "Did Regent King William specify the extent of the martial law?"

"That, His Majesty did not mention!" Ron shook his head and replied to Old Maoqi, "The General Staff can handle it according to the local situation!"

If possible, try not to cause any casualties!"

Even now, Ron still wanted to achieve victory at the lowest cost.

"Minister Ron, it is impossible for the army to enter Koblenz without causing casualties!" Old Maoqi responded to Ron with a strong tone, "If we don’t use the harshest means to suppress them, they might very likely inflict harm on our troops!"

"Alas!" Facing Old Maoqi’s aggressive tone, Ron sighed and replied, "You at the General Staff handle it as you see fit!"

With that, Ron left the General Staff.

Upon receiving the orders, the General Staff immediately had someone locate the map of Koblenz.

Looking at Koblenz on the map, Old Maoqi furrowed his brow, recalling the mistakes made when the Prussian army first attacked the Berlin region.

Therefore, Old Maoqi did not choose to let Prussia drag directly into an attack on Koblenz.

Instead, he ordered the garrison from cities near Koblenz to assemble under the guise of military exercises and, after completely encircling the Koblenz region, call them out of the city under the pretext that the National Army also needed to participate in the exercises.

As Old Maoqi saw it, the first failure in Berlin was due to the National Army’s mutiny, leaving the regular Prussian army unable to suppress and having to leave in disgrace. Cutting the contact between the National Army and the city would weaken the entire city’s resistance.

By the end of December, the General Staff announced temporary military exercises, and the troops near Koblenz secretly moved towards Koblenz upon receiving the orders.

At this time, even the troops arriving in Koblenz were unaware that they might be involved in suppressing Koblenz; they thought it was an exercise meant to deter demonstrations in the Koblenz region.

The troops took less than five days to gather the strength of two divisions.

Following this, the National Army of Koblenz was similarly informed to participate in the exercises.

Unbeknownst to them, the National Army was thus deceived by the regular Prussian army; as soon as they arrived at an open field outside Koblenz, they were disarmed by the regular Prussian army.

The general in charge of the Koblenz National Army looked shocked at the regular Prussian army, and the regular Prussian army quickly deployed personnel into the city of Koblenz, forcibly ordering residents to stop the demonstrations and return home quickly.

However, the residents of Koblenz refused to comply with the regular Prussian army’s arrangements, with some even angrily denouncing them as the King’s and nobility’s lackeys.

Facing such insubordinates, the Prussian army decisively used gunstocks to hit them hard and then forcibly drove them away.

Watching the Prussian army use brutal methods to disperse their group, the priest in the crowd also stood up to reason and was similarly subjected to a merciless gunstock strike by the Prussian soldiers.

For the Protestant Prussian soldiers, beating a Catholic priest caused no psychological burden at all.

The barbarous actions of the Prussian troops completely enraged the city; more and more Koblenz residents began to stand shoulder to shoulder in opposition to the soldiers of the Prussian Kingdom.

However, their actions had no effect on the soldiers of the Prussian Kingdom.

These soldiers, living on East Prussian soil, might show some mercy to Koblenz residents, but to the Junker nobility, they were merely seeking their own doom.

A bloody suppression was once again staged in Koblenz; to resist the ruthless suppression, the residents of Koblenz declared the Koblenz uprising, summoned foreign reporters, and announced the founding of the Rheinland Republic.

Unemployed workers and the middle class began building barricades in Koblenz, attempting to use this method to fend off the Prussian army’s advance.

Unfortunately, their power was even weaker than the Paris workers in 1848, and the so-called Rheinland Republic, after a brief existence, was completely subdued by the Prussian Kingdom.

In just this battle, over 4000 were killed or injured in Koblenz, and nearly a hundred of the Prussian army also met with similar fates.

The conflicts between Rhine Land and Prussia intensified further.