Imperial Elite

Chapter 93 Marching Towards the Capital

Fortunately, although His Majesty George sent Joe to the palace for a blind date, he did not force Joe to quickly choose one of these people.

So although each trip to the palace was troublesome, and some of the women there were incredibly stupid, as if they lived in a bubble in a vacuum, completely unaware of what the real world was like, and often said strange things, at least the women His Majesty allowed Qiao to meet were at least good-looking, so Qiao could still tolerate them. After all, the afternoon tea desserts and black tea in the palace were indeed royal specialties, and the taste was really good.

Of course, compared to this little bit of culinary indulgence, Qiao's frequent visits to the palace meant that the stock of Beihai Development began to rise steadily.

By this time, Joe had already achieved tremendous business success. Even if he cashed out all the stocks he had issued and left the market now, the money would be enough for him to live off for several lifetimes.

But Joe is no longer interested in money in general.

Although at the beginning, His Majesty George issued Joe a privateering license, sending him to the East to cage the plague of the left for the Empire.

Joe originally had a lot of objections to this matter. At the beginning, when His Majesty George asked Joe to build a mercenary force to intervene in the war in the East, Joe felt that this was purely a security anxiety brought about by the atrocities committed by imperialism.

If His Majesty hadn't personally spoken to him, Joe wouldn't have wanted to take on this mission at all. After all, he had already planned while he was in the tank that he would go into the media industry and make a lot of money through radio and broadcasting.

Then get involved in film and manufacturing, and if you can do both things well, your life will take off!
But since His Majesty has said so, what else can Joe say? After all, His Majesty still holds some authority in Bonitania.

Then, after Joe established Wagner and convinced two governments to sign a package deal, he discovered that running a defense company was incredibly lucrative.

Putting money aside, the power itself is incredibly fascinating.

So it was on the ship traveling between London and Riga that George realized this.

Simply making a little money and leading fellow villagers to common prosperity is a narrow-minded and unambitious lifestyle.

Real men should change the world!
Unlike in the past when a single order could cost hundreds or thousands of lives, now, with the expansion of Wagner Investments, at least for now, the lives of these people are changing for the better, although there is some element of conspiracy involved, but in the face of the tide of the times.

For many people, simply being able to live well today is already a good thing.

After all, just a few hundred kilometers away, people speaking a similar language might be squatting in trenches or among the ruins of buildings, unsure if they'll have a tomorrow.

So Joe felt that, putting aside some minor details, he was doing a good deed overall.

They gained wealth and power, while others gained peace and development; it was undoubtedly a win-win situation.

The only question is, how can this development be sustained?

After all, the capital that comes from Bonitania to develop this place isn't here for charity; it's here to make money.

They are generous with their investment now, but when it's time to reap the rewards, they will surely start exploiting the resources unsustainably.

Even Emerald Island, which is right next to the mainland, was forced to rebel and start a civil war. What more could Wagner's two remote small countries have?

You can't talk about morality with a group of immoral people.

Therefore, Joe felt that he had two things to solve first: first, to find a way to end the chaos in the East.

And they had to find a way to make the Revolutionary Alliance win, or at least not let them lose.

This gives them a long-term and stable excuse to allow the Bunitania capital to exercise some decency and not be too exploitative when reaping profits on Wagner's territory.

There's even a reason to ask the Bonitania cabinet and royal family for some aid: 'I, the Shield of the East, send money!'

If the People's Revolutionary League loses, then forget about providing aid; if those Bonitania capitalists don't turn this place into a second Emerald Isle, it would be considered a sign of them backing down.

Secondly, I need to find some economic sources in these two remote countries besides resource exports. Although those Bonitania capitalists are very greedy, they can still tell the difference between a full meal and a regular meal.

After gradually understanding everything, Joe felt that his past self was like a chess piece on a chessboard. Even if he won the first battle of Paris, he was just a slightly more important piece. A chess piece is meant to fight against other pieces on the chessboard.

Joe had long been fed up with war. Even though he had fought countless battles and never lost, he knew that in the long run, all bets must end in defeat. Even the mighty emperors who swept across the Old World eventually faced their moment of utter ruin, and those generals who had never been defeated in history simply did not live long enough.

To avoid his own moment of utter defeat, Joe felt he should start trying to transition into a professional chess player and strive to earn the right to sit in that position.

To become a player, Joe needs to make himself, or rather, the Wagner Group, big enough, at least to be like a hedgehog, so that others find him troublesome whenever they think of him. Only then will he be qualified to sit at the table and become a player.

Normally, this is difficult to achieve, but for the Wagner Group, a military group backed by Bonitania, it wasn't actually that difficult.

Although not recruiting Teutons reduced Joe's pool of high-quality soldiers, the actual impact was not that significant. When Wagner began recruiting, he recruited some unexpected members.

First, there were the Gauls. Joe originally thought that Gaul, after that great war and even due to war-weariness, had no way to recruit people.

However, since the Gallic army had been through the bloodshed at Verdun and Paris, the number of elite veterans was not small. In particular, since the entire north had been devastated, many Gauls and Teutons had personal grudges against each other.

Upon hearing that Wagner was currently recruiting and that there had been some minor friction with the Teutons, a number of Gauls joined Wagner's ranks.

These were either people who came to beat up the Teutons or simply Gauls who couldn't adapt to peaceful life after leaving the army; Wagner actually managed to put together a battalion of them.

Besides the Gauls, Joe also recruited a number of Italians, but these Italians were only interested in joining Wagner for the money.

Because Italy's economy was basically in a state of collapse after the war, many demobilized soldiers had difficulty finding work, so they joined Wagner's army based on the principle of working for whoever pays them.

With the addition of some veterans from both the homeland and the colonies, Wagner now had a strong and well-equipped army.

On the cruise ship bound for Riga, Joe felt that the plans for the Intercontinental Federation needed to be accelerated.

The so-called Intersea Federation is not a very new concept. Since Esti always believed that he was different from these barbarians in the East, and that he was a descendant of conquerors from the North, he always wanted to associate with northern countries such as the Lake Kingdom and Prag.

After all, the Lake Kingdom, historically known as the Lion of the North, was one of the most notorious bullies in the Old World. Both the Teutons and Lucia had been beaten by it, and beaten badly.

Therefore, Estée felt that he should associate with the northerners and build a great empire around the Baltic Sea, just like Rome, treating the Baltic Sea as an inland lake.

While the idea is good, there are two problems. Ever since Peter the Great, the emperor of all the Lusians, seized the lowlands where St. Petersburg is located from the Lake Kingdom and established the city, the Lusians in the east have had strong opinions about the plans of the Intersea Federation.

Meanwhile, in the south, when Letois was still associated with Poland, he was considered the most notorious bully in the East, having once forced Lucia and Teutons to kneel on the ground and sing "Conquer."

This led Letois, one of the Baltic sisters, to always want to associate with Poland and not bother with these barbarians from the north.

So although the concept of the Inter-Sea Federation has been mentioned by many people, many countries within this concept feel that while the idea has good intentions, it is best not to start it.

However, the current chaotic situation in the East makes Joe feel that this plan is not without a chance.

Firstly, both the Lucia and Teutonic Empires that used to control this region have disintegrated, and the area is now almost unmanaged. As a representative of Bonitania, I can do whatever I want here.

Secondly, although this place is also infected with the nationalist craze, this nationalism is mainly aimed at the Russians. So, as long as we exaggerate the Russian threat, wouldn't this make these guys start to band together, and wouldn't the Intersea Federation be formed?

Just as Joe arrived in Riga, the right wing of Prag also sent an envoy. Those guys on the left began marching towards Oulu. We can accept any conditions as long as we can save the country from the left!
Since Prag had indicated that he could accept all conditions, Joe didn't say much. He simply pulled out the same comprehensive defense contract as Esti and said, "Sign it. You sign it today, Wagner's troops will set off tomorrow, and they will be able to arrive in Prag the day after tomorrow to help you save the country."

Of course, since signing a contract with Wagner meant a complete break with the Teutonic Iron Army, the Plague representative said before signing, "Our situation is very bad, so we need your help to get rid of the Teutonic Iron Army."

Joe, of course, wouldn't refuse such a minor issue. In fact, after the representative of Prag trembled as he signed the contract, Joe said that dealing with the Teutonic Iron Division was not difficult at all. As comrades-in-arms, they wouldn't be wary of you at all. All you need to do is tell them to go to the square to collect sausages and beer, without carrying weapons, and then it's up to you whether you want to do something respectable or not.

Seeing the smile on Joe's face, Representative Praggle's expression turned into something even more unpleasant than crying.

“We can handle the first half of this, but the second half will probably have to be done by you.” Since the contract has already been signed, Joe doesn’t mind giving the Pragger right wing a little something extra.

So Joe quickly began to assemble Wagner troops under the pretext of preparing for a large-scale exercise.

As a unit composed almost entirely of veterans, Wagner frequently conducts large-scale exercises to integrate the various units due to some language barriers.

Most factions have become accustomed to Wagner's frequent exercises.

At the same time, in order to avoid provoking others too much and causing strategic miscalculations, Wagner's troops were deployed far from the border, and even exercises were conducted in areas close to the Baltic Sea.

This gave those forces, who were now fighting tooth and nail, a little more peace of mind, confirming that Joe wasn't after them this time.

However, this time, Joe did not intend to conduct a simple exercise. When he announced the exercise and began to mobilize the troops, Joe had the infantry battalion recruited from Gaul, along with the two mountain infantry battalions from Italy and the second battalion from Buntania, board the ship under the guise of mobilizing troops for the exercise.

Subsequently, these transport ships, which Joe borrowed from the Royal Merchant Fleet of Buntania, carrying these troops, began their journey to Prag, preparing to intervene in the situation in the north.

Meanwhile, Joe, who remained in Livonia, was also preparing to give those who wanted to assassinate him one last chance. After revealing his itinerary for the next two days, Joe said that there would be large-scale exercises in the next two weeks, so everyone would be very busy. He used the excuse of going back to rest and see his family to give his newly recruited guards leave.

Then Joe began to wait, and soon news came from agents of the overseas intelligence agency.

Joe's guards did indeed have spies, even excessively so. Four out of seven people in a squad were spies, a ratio that would be considered explosive even in the world of explosives.

Faced with this ratio, the regional head of the overseas intelligence office responsible for liaising with Joe jokingly asked Joe, "What's it like to have your bedmate as a spy?"

Hearing this, Qiao rolled her eyes at the regional head of the overseas intelligence department. "What do you mean, 'What's it like to have your bed partner be a spy'? Do I look like a lecher?!"

The head of the overseas intelligence department simply smiled and remained silent, while the head of the guard, Elena, rolled her eyes, her expression saying, "You know yourself best."

Now that the message has been sent out, the next step is to see if the other party takes the bait.

A day later, when the guards returned from their leave, one of them was caught red-handed by the Lucia Guard and agents of the Overseas Intelligence Service as he was preparing to plant a bomb in Joe's car.

After a round of talent shows, the guards immediately dropped everything they knew.

At this point, having obtained a confession, Joe could have taken immediate action.

However, adhering to the principle of going all out, Joe did not take action directly. Instead, he sent the guards who had demonstrated their talents to his vehicle and then drove to the ambush site in an armored vehicle.

Because Joe's guards were prepared in advance, and Joe had also deployed a platoon of the First Battalion around the perimeter.

So the assassins' only achievement was killing the four spies in the car.

Then this shameless sneak attack shocked the whole world.

The Britannians were enraged by the assassination attempt. "Damn it! How dare you lay a hand on Joe? This isn't your average assassin! We have to strike! Strike hard!"

The Teutons, on the other hand, were lamenting, "Damn it, these guys can't do anything right. A bunch of them went to ambush a car and only managed to kill the guards in the car. Bah! Shameful!"
While others were shocked, most of them also thought, "Are you guys fucking crazy?"
The last time you shot at the people in the car, it sparked a major battle. How many years has it been? Don't you guys have any brains?
Of course, there are also some people, such as the left and right wings in Lucia, who think that since this assassination has occurred, does it mean that there are some conflicts between Wagner and the local government? If so, can we do something about it?

While other parts of the world watched the spectacle unfold, the Estée and the Livonia went mad.

For ordinary people in both countries, the news of Joe's assassination was like a bolt from the blue.

Whether it was Wagner's intervention that pulled the two countries out of the quagmire of war, or the subsequent package of agreements that improved the lives of local residents through local development projects, the locals were filled with goodwill towards Wagner for bringing about change.

At this point, Joe is assassinated. Although Joe is not injured in the assassination, it will definitely cause some changes. What if Wagner gets angry and turns against the government and starts a civil war?
Fortunately, this concern did not last long, as Wagner announced via public broadcast that the exercise was suspended and all troops returned to their barracks and ceased operations.

This restrained attitude relieved many people, but then another, more terrifying thought came to their minds: what if Wagner had to cancel the contract because of this?
The current economic development relies entirely on the projects brought by Wagner. If they terminate the contract and run away, then there's nothing we can do about it.

Amid this panic, some suggested that if all else fails, we should take to the streets to protest the government's inaction regarding the assassination and, incidentally, express our support for Wagner.

Soon after, demonstrations in support of Wagner and protests against the government's inaction in the incident took place in both Tallinn and Riga.

In fact, both governments were completely baffled by this matter. They were cooperating well, and everyone was waiting for the economy to take off so they could live a life of leisure. How could there be such bastards doing this? Could it be that foreign forces are trying to sabotage our country's development?

Damn it! It must have been the Russians who did it!

In this panic, the nationalists who launched the assassination were obviously more flustered, because they had not considered what they should do if the assassination failed.

After all, there was a bomb in the car, and the guards and assassins around them. They even found three light machine guns. There was no reason for them to fail.

In the ensuing chaos, some tried to flee, some contemplated suicide, while others rallied their old comrades for a final desperate attempt.

In this situation, Brigitte, who had by then risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel, summoned his men to the military camp and declared that the government was incompetent and incompetent. He pointed out that such a huge event had occurred in the country, yet the government had not offered any explanation. He concluded that this meant that someone in the government was colluding with the assassins, or even that someone in the government had planned the assassination.

We cannot allow this to happen. The army must save the country from these conspirators. Are you willing to come with me to the capital and confront those scoundrels?!

Amidst the soldiers' cheers of willingness, Brigitte led her troops on the road to Tallinn.

The troop deployment naturally attracted a lot of attention.

At first, the residents who saw Brigitte's troops marching around thought that Brigitte was leading her troops to suppress a march in Tallinn.

So along the way, many people stood by the roadside cursing the marching troops, calling them bastards, villains, and thugs who couldn't stand the voice of the people, just like the Lucia.

Then, when they learned that the troops were preparing to enter the capital by force to demand an explanation from the government and to quell the situation as soon as possible, and not to suppress the demonstrations, the residents applauded the advancing army.

Soon, amidst applause, Brigitte's troops arrived in the capital. After announcing their purpose, and amidst the cheers of the street protesters, the police who had been maintaining order in the city moved directly to the roadside.

They only came out to work to prevent the protests from turning into violent incidents, and they were content with just getting paid.

Now that the military has intervened, and I only make a few dollars a month, why would I want to go against the military?

It was only at this point that the Esti government learned that a unit had broken into the capital.

They quickly tried to stop the troops and get them back to their barracks.

But it was too late. Before they could even raise their voices, Brigitte's troops had already entered the parliament building and the presidential palace, arrested almost all government members, and then announced a temporary period of martial law over the country.

As Brigitte's forces completed their control of the capital, troops trained by Wagner began marching towards the capital from Livonia.

However, the Livonia government reacted much faster than the Esti government. Upon discovering that troops had fled alone, it immediately began mobilizing troops from the capital and called Wagner, demanding that they immediately deploy troops to suppress the rebellion. It also stated that it would establish an investigation team to thoroughly investigate the assassination of Joe.

However, Wagner's side did not respond, and the troops guarding the capital's attitude towards the order was, why is the parliament rebelling?

Before those troops arrived, they took control of the city under the pretext of controlling the capital to prevent a rebellion.

Joe was somewhat bewildered by the strong reaction, since his initial plan was to use this as an excuse to get rid of those in the council who didn't like him and to strengthen his control over the area.

How did things turn out like this before I even took any action?
Two mutinies in a row—even in the world of explosives, this would be considered explosive.

Joe needs to quickly come up with a way to clean up this mess, otherwise people will think of a mutiny whenever Wagner is mentioned, and how will he do business then?
(End of this chapter)