Imperial Elite

Chapter 89 Resolution: Establishment of Wagner
Joe had many ideas about how to get revenge for being forced into the army back then. He even thought about how to repay those people when he was squatting in the trenches of the Somme and being bombarded by the Teutonics.

Now that Joe finally has a little bit of power and can be a little willful, he finds it a little difficult to get revenge.

It's not that someone is blocking Joe's way, trying to get him to give them face.

But someone had already solved the problem for Joe before he even returned to York.

Those who had dealt with him at the recruitment office back then, if you ask around now, basically all of them were thrown into the Middle East to eat sand when he returned from Paris. I don't know if they died or not, but none of them have come back.

Even in the entire York recruitment office, apart from one clerk who had a fairly good relationship with Joe and was willing to help Joe submit his materials repeatedly, he has now become a staff member of the city hall.

Back then, the people recruited by the conscription office were either sent to the Middle East to eat sand or sent to colonies on the dark continent to see black men baring their teeth.

As for those white feathers who had clashed with Joe back then...

The girl who was put in a sack by Joe's brothers soon went bankrupt, and she's now in a mental hospital.

As for the other white-feathered individuals who caused trouble in York, those from noble families sold off their assets at a low price and fled to colonies or the New World when Joe went to dismantle the Teutonic aircraft engines. Nobody knows where they went.

The remaining middle-class families with a little money didn't even last until Joe returned to York from Paris. Basically, their fathers were drafted into the army, their businesses ran into trouble, and those who fled quickly had already escaped to the New World, while those who fled slowly...

In short, with Joe's rise to power, the local lords of York, or other lords in higher positions, solved this small problem for Joe, without even revealing their names. This left Joe, who was preparing to take revenge, somewhat bewildered as he looked around with his sword drawn, and he also deeply felt that power and status were truly a good thing. Being a nobleman... was really enjoyable.

Since someone had already taken the initiative to solve such a small problem for him, Joe didn't mind returning the favor by including the garage gang's laboratory and York in the list of potential sites for a future semiconductor factory.

Theoretically speaking, it would be more advantageous to establish the laboratory in London. After all, as the capital of the Bonitania Empire, London has a full range of laboratories and research institutions, and most of the well-known universities are located near London. Placing the laboratory in Oxford would allow it to enjoy these locational advantages.

However, there are also some minor disadvantages to establishing the laboratory in London, namely that the cost of living and land prices in London are relatively too high.

At the same time, there were too many noblemen, members of parliament, and researchers, making our small research institution inconspicuous in London.

York is different. Even though it also has two institutions of higher learning, as a historically significant tourist city, it does lack in industry and scientific research.

While York himself was a figure of some importance, the city hall also offered him a package of preferential conditions. At least if the laboratory were located in London, Joe would never have dared to think about such an expensive and luxurious thing as providing housing for his researchers.

At the same time, as an ancient autonomous city, Joe, who is now a source of great pride for his hometown people, can do certain things without spending money, only needing to spend his influence.

For example, when news spread that Joe was planning to establish a research institute in York, before the location of Joe's research institute had even been determined, some well-informed people began to send Joe their resumes.

So for the next period of time, Joe frequently went in and out of the city hall to communicate and negotiate with the officials there about the future locations of his industrial zone, industrial park, and research institutions.

While negotiating the location of his industrial park, Joe, who had made a fortune with the Victory Chariot, was also preparing for his mission to the East.

The first thing Joe did after taking over the 17th-century manor on his fiefdom was to bring the female soldiers who had woken up with him in Elena's room on that absurd night to live in the manor.

These female soldiers shouldn't be assembling blades on the production line anymore; they should pick up their weapons and prepare for some rehabilitation training.

The situation in the east is bad right now, and Joe needs some trustworthy people to protect him.

This action made many female soldiers who missed the party that day regret it, and it also made Catherine a little upset.

Catherine knew Elena must have done something, but she didn't expect Elena to go this far. After seeing the female soldiers who brought their luggage into the manor and their intimate attitude towards Joe, Catherine immediately lost her temper.

However, there were too many of them, so their bluster was ineffective. Although Catherine was quickly calmed down physically, she still seemed somewhat resentful of Elena, the woman who had cheated on her husband.

However, this did not affect Catherine and Elena's work. Thanks to her good relationship with the Minister of War and her privateering licenses, Catherine quickly completed the procedures and obtained a number of Unyielding light off-road vehicles and matching light weapons for these female soldiers, allowing them to begin rehabilitation training.

While having the female soldiers undergo rehabilitation training, Joe was also thinking about what pretext she should use to go to the East and what she should do there.

During this period, the overseas intelligence agency also passed on a lot of information to Joe, which gave him a general understanding of the current situation in the East.

The current situation in the East can be described in one word: complete chaos.

The remnants of the Teutonic forces on the Eastern Front, nationalist groups that splintered after the collapse of the Habsburgs, the Polish-German restoration forces, the Luscan Left Wing, the Teutonic Left Wing, the Luscan military government, the Cossack Republic established by the Teutons, and various other nationalist groups were all making their mark on the land in the East at this time.

Since the Versailles Conference was already halfway through, most armed groups were trying to do something to secure more benefits for themselves at the conference.

Even the Teutons, who were theoretically disarmed, sent troops to fight against the Polish-Germanic forces in order to protect Silesia.

Just reading the reports, it would take Joe quite a while to figure out who was hitting whom, and figuring out who controlled which areas was even more difficult for him.

Fortunately, Elena, who had been promoted from factory manager to Joe's bodyguard, was very familiar with the geography of the East, so Joe quickly figured out the current situation in the East.

The Polish-German Revolutionary Army controlled most of the former territory of the Polish-German Republic, including Warsaw, and actively advanced northward and eastward, attempting to seize a sea outlet while also trying to acquire more territory.

At this time, the Teutons were engaged in a civil war in Silesia and the Teutonic region, while also fighting a bloody war against the Polish-Germanic Revolutionary Army. The Teutonic Right Wing was trying to preserve one of the two most valuable industrial areas of the empire, while the Teutonic Left Wing was trying to control this industrial area and advance eastward to connect with the Luscan Left Wing government.

Interestingly, at this time, the Teutonic Navy, except for those ships that were almost beyond repair, had all its ships under the control of the Royal Navy of Bonitania, while these nationalist groups and restoration forces in the East had no navy at all.

Therefore, the Lucia Left Wing Navy suddenly became one of the strongest forces in this sea area, giving the Left Wing forces a huge advantage on the coastline, and also enabling them to establish and maintain a supply line with the Teutonic Left Wing at sea.

The reason why the Luscan left wing and the Teutonic left wing forces maintained contact through sea routes was quite simple: between the Luscan left wing and the Teutonic left wing, there were not only Polish-German restoration forces, but also a large number of national armed groups attempting independence, as well as the Cossack Republic established by the Teutons and the Luscan military government.

Even overseas intelligence agencies can only determine roughly what areas these organizations currently control.

However, this chaotic situation was already unsustainable. Both the overseas intelligence agency and Joe could see that as the war progressed, several, or even one, victors would soon emerge from this chaotic conflict and devour all the interests in the region.

So if Joe is to do anything now, he has to act quickly.

Faced with this complicated situation, Joe, who held a letter of marque, spent two days thinking in his new plantation before deciding to take a risk and gamble a little.

Early on the third day, Joe took Catherine and Elena to London.

The reason for bringing Elena along was entirely because having a female officer like Lucia by his side would greatly increase the persuasiveness of what Joe was about to do.

Since the Prime Minister was still in Versailles, Joe went directly to see His Majesty. After leaving the palace, Joe went to the Ministry of War, where he was warmly received by the Minister of War.

In response to the situation in the East, the War Ministry prepared to send a military delegation eastward, specifically to Poland.

On their prepared list, Joe was a top candidate for the position of leader.

Although the guys in the War Department weren't very familiar with Joe, everyone knew how good he was at fighting.

So the Secretary of the Army personally received Joe and had his secretary brew a pot of black tea to entertain him.

Then, just as the secretary was carrying a tea set into the Minister of War's office, the secretary heard the Minister of War emit a sharp, explosive sound.

The reason why the Minister of the Army made a sharp bang was quite simple: Joe said that His Majesty had given him a privateering license to go to the East and do some things. If he was still an active-duty soldier in Bonitania, it would be inconvenient for him to do things. So could he transfer him to the reserve?
Logically speaking, Joe's request is reasonable.

After all, anyone with a brain higher than their ankles can see that going to the East now is definitely not for good deeds. Without official status, even if trouble is caused, it won't lead to a diplomatic dispute. The Buntanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs can also slam the table and say that Joe's personal behavior has nothing to do with the Buntanian government, while it is a very normal and reasonable thing to keep Joe asylum in the country.

But Joe's timing for doing this was not good, even though the Bunitarian army was as corrupt and opportunistic as all other Bunitarian bureaucracies.

However, facing immense national defense pressure and the experience of being repeatedly defeated by various adversaries on the ground over the past few decades, the Army Department has come to highly value personnel who can fight and win battles.

So, a talent like Old Joe, who only appears once every few centuries, and whose last appearance was during the reign of the Gallic Emperor, was able to win battles with fewer troops and lead the army to victory.

The officials in the Army had already planned out Joe's promotion path: first, he would spend a few years in Poland gaining experience in the military delegation, and then they would give him the temporary title preceding his temporary major general rank.

Then he was sent to the colonies to serve as a colony troop commander for a few years, to familiarize himself with logistics and political operations. By then, Joe would be almost forty and would be ready to be promoted to lieutenant general.

Whether Joe could rise further after reaching the rank of lieutenant general depended on how the world situation developed.

If Joe had been lucky, and this great war had truly ended all wars, then with his seniority, he could have easily risen to the rank of general before retiring.

If Joe is unlucky and the Empire gets embroiled in other wars after this great battle, then God bless Bonitania, and we'll have a new marshal.

But now Joe has proposed that he wants to transfer to the reserves and temporarily leave the military system, which has instantly shattered the tacit understanding that had been reached within the Army.

If Joe were to transfer to the reserves, not only would that career path be ruined, but it would also give the public a very bad impression: that being in the army is a dead-end job.

For a decorated officer like Joe, the first thing he did after the war was to be transferred to the reserves. Was Joe being treated unfairly? Or were there other problems within the Army? If even Joe couldn't make it, how could anyone else possibly succeed?
If something like that really happens, I, as the Minister of the Army, will be nailed to the pillar of shame!
So when Joe requested to transfer to the reserves, the Secretary of the Army refused without hesitation. "Don't talk to me about logic based on reality. We're talking about a major political issue."

Since the request to transfer to the reserves was denied, we can now discuss other conditions.

Faced with the Secretary of the Army's stern refusal, Joe scratched his head. Although he was completely unprepared for the Secretary of the Army's rejection, he could still use the original plan with slight modifications.

So Joe told the Secretary of the Army that since the Army would not allow him to transfer to the reserves, he would establish a defense contracting company as an active-duty officer, and His Majesty had already agreed to this.

Defense contracting companies—it was a completely new term. Now, a bewildered Army Secretary asked Joe what exactly these defense contracting companies were. Joe explained that a defense contracting company is a paramilitary organization independent of any nation-state, responsible for providing security services to companies, organizations, or individuals overseas who require them. Of course, given the current chaotic situation...

Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable and logical for defense contractors to have things like tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles.

Upon hearing this, the Minister of the Army slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "What defense contracting company? It's just mercenaries with a different name. Mercenaries plus a privateer's license!"

Thinking of this, the Minister of War immediately lowered his voice and asked Joe, "Given the current situation, this organization is not easy to deal with. Going to the east means going to war. Have you encountered any problems? Although it is inconvenient to appear in public, I can provide you with some assistance for the sake of the Empire."

Upon hearing the Minister of War say this, Joe, who was used to this way of interacting with gentlemen, immediately expressed that he desperately needed help.

We lack personnel, equipment, supplies, and everything else.

Upon hearing Joe's words, the Secretary of War said, "I can't help you much with these things. I can only offer you some reasonable discounts within the rules and introduce you to some officers. However, beyond that, I am personally willing to provide you with some financial support, since war is all about money..."

Qiao immediately nodded and said, "I understand, I understand. I will remember your help and repay you in the future."

After leaving the War Department, Joe went to the Quartermaster Department. Unlike the Secretary of War, Joe became much more familiar with Winston. Moreover, when Joe was procuring equipment for his guards, Winston knew that Joe, who had a privateer's license, was about to organize troops to go to the East.

Therefore, during this meeting, Winston directly told Joe that the Empire's armory was open to him, and that as long as Joe could afford it, he would have no objection whether Joe used the equipment himself or sold it to others.

So what is Joe planning to buy now? How much?
Joe didn't stand on ceremony and said, "I'm looking for equipment for a light armored regiment, but I don't have enough funds right now. So, could you lend me the equipment with a low down payment?"

Upon hearing that Joe wanted to get something for free, Winston's face darkened, even though he and Joe had a fairly good personal relationship. He said that he had already given Joe a discount on some items before because of their personal relationship. Now Joe was fast-forwarding to the point of wanting to get something for free, and even wanting to get a whole raid's worth of equipment for free. Wasn't that going a bit too far?
Seeing Winston's dark expression, Joe immediately patted his chest and said, "Brother, do you think I'm the kind of person who would take something for free? I'm paying a deposit, and then I'll borrow the equipment to perform in London. If the performance is successful, then I'll have the money to pay the balance. If it fails, then the equipment won't even leave Bnitania. Do you think I'd take your equipment for free? When the equipment is put back into the warehouse, the money will be considered rent. Is that okay?"

Hearing Joe say that, Winston's expression finally softened, and then Winston asked Joe, "What are you planning to do with the performance in London?"

Joe immediately chuckled, indicating that if that was the point, then he had something to say.

While studying the situation in the East, Joe discovered a bug in the East at that time because of Elena's noble birth.

Due to its expansion over the past few centuries, Russia has annexed many countries, including republics like Poland, as well as numerous kingdoms and duchies.

Among the countries currently experiencing nationalism and desiring independence, many had had their crowns stolen by the Lucia. At the same time, the deeply entrenched aristocratic relationships in the Old World had made the claims to various lands extremely fragmented and chaotic. So, is there a possibility, just a possibility?

How could they possibly gain a foothold in the East by relying on this wave of nationalism and the claim of restoring their nation?
Even Poland, as a republic, has had kings throughout its history. With such a vast territory and great potential, Joe didn't believe that as long as he announced the establishment of a defense contracting company, no sucker would come looking for him.

Once I actually go to the East, if I successfully establish a country, which country will listen to whom and follow whom? That's a question worth considering.

After hearing Joe's plan, a smile began to appear on Winston's face.

Winston patted Joe on the shoulder and said, "Joe, you did the right thing, you did the right thing!"

Then Winston agreed to let Joe borrow a batch of equipment without even asking for a deposit, so that he could use it to promote his defense contracting company, which currently only has one brand and a few dozen female soldiers.

After winning over Winston and the Secretary of War, things became quite simple.

Whether it was Winston, the Secretary of War, or His Majesty who subtly hinted to certain individuals, Joe privately inquired with his trusted subordinates whether they were interested in joining him on a heist in the East. While Catherine and her newly recruited secretaries were frantically going through the formalities in London, several prominent nobles approached Joe, asking, "Joe, would you like some angel investment?"

Joe readily accepted all offers of funding. Seeing Joe's confidence and recalling his past military exploits, the matter quickly escalated to the point where Rolls-Royce's manager approached Joe privately, accusing him of being dishonest and not considering his old friends. The manager then offered to provide Joe with a batch of six-wheeled armored personnel carriers and trucks as investment capital.

Joe's reliable subordinates did not refuse such an opportunity for advancement, and when Joe officially announced the establishment of Wagner Defence Contractors in London, the entire Old World was shocked by the news.

We've all seen mercenaries and private militias, but we've never seen a private militia with tanks and armored vehicles. This kind of luxurious equipment is something that's rare even for a private militia. As for tanks, apart from Bonitania, Gaul, and the Teutonic Kingdom, no other country can produce such things.

This defense contractor called Wagner not only has tanks, but it even has a whole battalion, which surpasses the armored forces of many "countries" in the East.

Many people didn't understand why Joe, a promising military officer, would suddenly establish a defense contracting company. However, after figuring out the scope of the company's business, many people immediately began to condemn Joe for disrupting the peace.

The most direct manifestation of this was that the Gauls immediately proposed at the Versailles Conference to prohibit all Teutons from establishing similar paramilitary organizations in any way, while the Americans also lodged a strong protest, stating that Joe's actions were undermining the peace.

However, the protests from the Americans were met with resistance from the well-prepared Buntanians, who, holding Joe's price list, declared, "Everyone, open your eyes wide and look carefully! All of Wagner Defense's business is defensive; there are no offensive options whatsoever. This isn't disrupting the peace; it's defending it! And compared to Joe, American entrepreneurs have far more troops. Why don't you accuse them of disrupting the peace?! Is it just because Joe founded this organization?"

While the Versailles meeting was debating the legality and legitimacy of such defense contracting companies, clients had already approached Joe.

Contrary to Joe's expectations, the first to approach him were not the nobles who wanted to reclaim the throne, but the Teutons.

Perhaps because they had been kicked in the butt, they knew best what Joe's abilities were, so the Teutons, who were fighting with the Polish Germans and the left wing in Silesia, immediately approached Joe and expressed their hope that Joe would accept their contract to guard Silesia, and that they would be willing to discuss any price.

Although the Teutonic blank checks were very tempting, Joe rejected the offer.

Because right after the Teutons took action, the others in the East also realized what was happening.

Joe's reputation speaks for itself. Even if Joe doesn't put in the same amount of effort as when he served in Britannia, the money spent on preventing him from joining the enemy camp is worthwhile just for the sake of that tank battalion.

Subsequently, almost every major power in the East with any influence sent representatives to present their offers to Joe, with the offer from the Lucia military government being particularly generous.

Unlike other factions that want Joe to help them defend a city that is under their control or about to be under their control, the Lucia military government only wants Joe to help them eliminate a rebel force called the "First Tank Regiment".

The commander of this force was none other than Constantine, an acquaintance of Joe's who had sent Joe a lamp and a letter after the capture of Constantinople.

Due to the outstanding performance of the tank units in the Balkans, the military government purchased a lot of tanks from Buntania. With the surrender of the Teutons, the Royal Fist tanks that Joe had rejected were disposed of by Winston and given to the Lucia military government.

With these tanks, the military government allowed Constantine, who had previously performed well, to expand the tank force, hoping that this force could easily crush the resistance of the left-wing government, just as it had done in the Balkans.

However, what the military government never expected was that although Constantine performed exceptionally well in the war, it was because of his patriotism, not because he was on the same side as the noble officers who made up the military government.

Constantine's father was a railway worker and his mother was a teacher. After his father died in a work accident, Constantine's family's financial situation deteriorated rapidly. Not only did his mother have to work odd jobs in a sock factory, but Constantine himself also had to drop out of school and work in the sock factory.

In 1912, Constantine was arrested and imprisoned for his involvement in the workers' movement.

No one knows when Constantine joined the left-wing organization, or even if he had ever actually joined one before that.

In short, when Constantine's armored regiment arrived in Kiev, preparing to attack the flank of the left-wing army, Constantine suddenly declared, "I'm going to start a revolution!"

He immediately led an entire armored regiment, along with the cavalry battalion that was cooperating in the operation, and joined the People's Revolutionary Alliance's forces.

Subsequently, a huge breach was opened on the flank of the military government's forces, causing the military government to not only lose the Battle of Kiev, but also lose more than 100,000 men in the battle.

This made the Russian military government hate Constantine to the core. Before the Battle of Kiev was over, the military government offered a bounty of 100,000 US dollars for Constantine's head.

It's worth noting that the Bonitania only awarded Marshal Haig a reward of 100,000 US dollars for the victory in the Great War, which shows how much the military government truly hated Constantine.

However, Joe also declined the contract from the military government.

It wasn't that Joe was considering any mentor-student relationship, but rather that even if he agreed to annihilate the First Tank Regiment, Constantine wasn't stupid; he would definitely run around aimlessly, making it a long process.

Secondly, it's a head-on clash between armored vehicles. For regular armies that have state funding, the losses are acceptable, but for a private military organization like Wagner that is responsible for its own profits and losses, it's a complete loss.

After considering the offers from various companies, Joe ultimately chose the contract from Esti.

The reason for choosing this contract was not because the Esti people offered enough; in fact, due to the small size of the land and the small population, their offer was less than half that of the Polish Germans.

They possessed the same courage as the Polish Germans. After the Lucian left-wing army drove out the Teutons in Tallinn, they immediately launched an uprising and drove the Lucian left-wing army out of Tallinn as soon as they left.

This gave Joe a basis for cooperating with them. Although the Esti people didn't offer much, they were able to organize a sufficiently motivated line-filling force so that Joe wouldn't be overwhelmed.

At the same time, Joe's decision to accept the contract was driven not only by economic reasons but also by strong political ones.

Because with the disintegration of the Lucia Empire, it wasn't just the eastern countries that experienced a wave of independence movements; even Lapland in the north was engaged in a purely physical debate about whether to go left or right.

The Baltic sisters, led by Esti, have a clear inclination towards independence due to long-standing minor conflicts with the Lucia. However, for them, as long as their superiors are not Lucia, it doesn't matter which family they are with.

So, looking at the map, if Joe can establish a foothold in Esti and unite the Baltic Sisters while preventing Lapland from turning left, and if the Poles, due to their historical conflicts with Lucia and the Teutons, will not lower their guard against Lucia regardless of who wins the Lucia civil war, then...

Wouldn't this create a barrier to isolate the left-wing tide?

Joe felt that it was safer to stay in the Baltic Sea than to go to the lands of the Cossacks and fight the Polish Germans, Russians, and Cossacks to the point of brain damage.

After all, even if things go wrong, the Royal Navy could still pull him out of respect for His Majesty and prevent him from being trapped somewhere.

When Joe chose to accept the contract with the Estites, most of the countries and organizations in the East breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, Estée has never been a place where much trouble has ever happened, so Joe's choice of Estée was clearly not for them.

Aside from Lucia's left wing, Joe's acceptance of the Estites' order means that their plan to retake Tallinn must be carefully considered, and even the entire northern operation plan needs to be more cautious.

(End of this chapter)