My new story already has a chapter posted today. If you want to read it, it's called "Old Bloodlines."
---------------------------
4-January-1920
''So, where are you transporting us now?'' Nicholas asked, staring at me while remaining surrounded by his family.
''To Ukraine'' I answered curtly while observing the family of the deposed Tsar.
''And why? First we were moved to a mansion farther from the coast without being given any explanation, and now you are changing our location again. Is this going to be frequent?'' Nicholas asked with some annoyance.
''I suppose there is no longer any point in hiding it. As you have surely deduced from the rumors circulating among the servants, Germany lost the war and Russia is sunk in a civil war'' I said, revealing the truth directly to the former Tsar.
The only sound that could be heard was the rattling of the train while Nicholas remained with his eyes wide open.
''And… Willy?'' the Tsar asked, trying to find the right words.
''For the moment, he remains on the throne, but it would not be strange if he ended up abdicating in favor of his son if things do not go well. There will be elections soon and, considering the result of the war, they may not be favorable to the Kaiser'' I answered.
''How could they lose the war? The German Army seemed practically unstoppable…'' Nicholas said, bringing both hands to his temples.
''The Americans threw about eight million men into the meat grinder. Germany and Austria-Hungary were almost exhausted by the war, and when millions of fresh soldiers with high morale began arriving, there was not much we could do. Even less when I was at odds with the OHL high command. I thought Russia's situation would interest you more than Germany's'' I said, looking at the Tsar.
''Too much time has passed…'' he replied with a heavy sigh. ''I prefer to forget that I was ever Tsar of all the Russias. But that civil war… My brothers, are they well?'' he asked, raising his head.
''I suppose so. I know quite a lot about what is happening in Russia. One of your brothers took the throne and now leads the Russian Army. He is winning the civil war against the Mensheviks, to our misfortune'' I replied, smiling and showing my teeth.
''Why to your misfortune?'' Nicholas asked.
''We prefer having the Mensheviks as neighbors. They were the ones who signed the agreement recognizing my territories as sovereign States, even though the Treaty of The Hague declared those lands to be new independent States'' I explained, interlacing my gloved hands.
''Then you are not even Herzog anymore… Do you intend to hide us in Ukraine?'' Nicholas asked, looking at his family.
''I will continue being Herzog until the day a bullet takes my breath away. We are at war with the French and the British, but I control practically the entire east: Poland, the Baltic Duchy, Ruthenia and Ukraine. For the moment, all those territories are under my control'' I answered calmly.
''Ha, ha, ha… Do you seriously believe your rebellion can defeat the British and the French?'' Nicholas laughed while looking at his son.
''France was turned into chaos. Two thirds of the country are covered in unexploded ordnance, chemical residue, mustard gas and sarin gas. The American flu killed a good part of its population. France can barely preserve its colonial empire. The British economy, for its part, suffered enormously from the Suez blockade and from the campaign of attacks against commerce carried out by the German Navy'' I explained.
I leaned slightly forward without taking my eyes off Nicholas.
''In addition, we are winning. We have captured more than twenty-five thousand British soldiers and killed about eighteen thousand, although there are still many corpses left uncounted. Not long ago, we ambushed about twenty thousand Poles sent from France and we are negotiating with other countries so they recognize us as a legitimate State'' I added.
Nicholas's smile disappeared completely.
''Well, now you will be protected as guests on one of Vasyl von Habsburg's properties, the king of Ukraine, because we are going to announce to the world that the deposed Tsar is still alive. If your brother wins the civil war, we will need something to prevent him from invading us from Russia. So you are no longer a political protected person, but a hostage. Although, in practice, it will be exactly the same. Only the title changes, since you will continue receiving the treatment that corresponds to you. I made a promise to the Kaiser and I do not intend to break my word'' I said, crossing my arms.
''Incredible… Now I am going to become a problem for my own country'' Nicholas said, shaking his head.
''Do not worry too much either. It will only be temporary. For the moment, we have problems everywhere, but everything should be resolved within a few months or, at most, a year. That is assuming your brother does not win the war. However, later we will have to discuss a possible marriage with one of your daughters'' I said, looking into the deposed Tsar's eyes, which filled with hatred as soon as the last words left my mouth.
''Not even dead will I allow you to marry one of my daughters!'' Nicholas erupted, raising his voice.
''That can be arranged'' I replied with a smile, moving one hand toward the pocket of my coat.
Nicholas tensed his entire body, but I merely took out a canteen.
''What? Did you think I was going to shoot you?'' I added, observing his expression.
''Why do you need to marry one of my daughters?'' Alexandra asked, bringing her hands toward the young women around her.
''It is simple. Pure politics. I believe we will end up reaching some kind of agreement with the British. I do not think they are willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of men just to expel me from the Baltic, Ruthenia, Ukraine and Poland. We will reach a treaty in which I will concede some things and, in exchange, I will remain in power. To improve my chances of obtaining favorable conditions, I need to present a Russian princess as my wife. And not just any princess, but a daughter of the former Tsar and a descendant of Queen Victoria, the Mother of Europe. Attacking my legitimacy to rule would be almost the same as attacking a member of their own royal family. So later we will have to discuss how this matter will be resolved, because it will happen one way or another'' I said, staring at Nicholas's wife and daughters.
After that, everyone kept absolute silence. Not a single word was exchanged for the rest of the journey.
When we finally reached our destination, I looked through the window and saw that the station was packed with German occupation troops.
We got off the train and found Vasyl himself waiting for us near the Tsar's new residence.
''I see him and still cannot believe it. That great bastard truly is still alive'' Vasyl said, showing an expression of deep disgust as soon as he saw the deposed Tsar's face.
''Vasyl, I suppose you already know who he is, so introductions are not necessary. As we agreed, he will remain under the watch of my men. His servants are also included. All that remains is for you to obtain the food from the list I sent you to guarantee their care'' I said, pointing toward the Romanovs.
''Tsch… We should keep them on water and hard bread, not allow them to live surrounded by luxuries. They should experience the same thing the Ukrainians suffered when they were forced to eat grass to calm their hunger'' Vasyl replied, clenching his teeth.
''They are our guests, and they will be treated as such… If anything happens to them, Vasyl… just imagine what I can do when I am angry…'' I whispered into the ear of the king of Ukraine, who only closed his eyes and tilted his head.
I turned around and looked at the Romanovs.
''Well, I told you this would happen. The truth is that you are not very loved in many parts of your former empire, but, while you are under my protection, nothing will happen to you. Vasyl, I want a wall built around the entire compound. After seeing that reaction, we will triple the number of guards assigned to the Romanovs and raise several watchtowers'' I said, looking at the king of Ukraine before turning away.
''It will be done'' Vasyl replied before beginning to issue orders to my guards who served the regent.
''Good, this is as far as I go. Take care of yourselves. Young Aleksei's doctor will arrive soon, so you will not have to remain waiting too long in the cold'' I said, looking at the Romanovs. ''Vasyl, let us go. We have to review that military equipment before undertaking the trip to Hungary''.
I began walking toward the return train once all the Romanovs' belongings had been unloaded.
Already inside the train, we set off toward Kiev, where the final details of the weapons we had ordered built were being completed.
''So it is true… You entered Russia and managed to get him out'' Vasyl said, looking at me with his eyes wide open.
''Yes. It was not easy, and getting him out without being caught was even harder. So do not try to be clever with them, because I can return the favor. We need them alive to contain his brother when he wins the civil war'' I replied, staring fixedly at Vasyl.
''I understand… I thought it would be someone similar or some impostor. I did not think you truly had the Romanovs alive'' Vasyl replied.
''Bah… The important thing now is to review the latest progress on the weapon. I want to put the British Navy against the ropes and force them to begin that slow exchange of proposals until we can negotiate how to end all this''.
The trip to Kiev only lasted a few more minutes. When we reached the city's industrial zone, we found great activity inside the factory where the naval pieces were being installed on tank chassis. In addition, the presence of my occupation forces was considerable.
''Ah… Look at that beauty. With this, we will be able to exert direct pressure on the enemy fleet and we will not depend solely on finding them poorly positioned to attack them with naval bombers and torpedoes'' I said, contemplating the artillery piece mounted on the enormous vehicle.
It was a one hundred fifty-two millimeter naval gun placed on a large tracked chassis, powered by the most powerful engine we had managed to find without making the entire design unnecessarily complicated.
''When you said you would place the cannon of a battleship on a tank, I thought you meant a three hundred millimeter piece, not this. It is only a heavy artillery piece installed on a mobile platform'' Vasyl said, observing the row of fifteen vehicles.
''It is a gun belonging to a Russian battleship. It was literally part of the armament intended for a ship whose construction was stopped when we entered Ukraine during the war. We are reusing its secondary pieces, and they will be more than enough to exert enormous pressure on the British Navy'' I explained, pointing at the guns.
''Come on, Karl… Be honest. You found one of the largest artillery pieces you could get, installed it on the chassis of a Panzer and decided to call it a battleship gun. You do not need to try to fool me'' Vasyl said, shrugging while shaking his head.
''I am telling you they are guns taken from a Russian battleship. If you review the composition of the imperial fleet, you will find similar pieces installed on ships like the Imperator Aleksandr II. Besides, they are already preparing two hundred three millimeter versions intended to fulfill the same function'' I replied, raising an eyebrow.
''Whatever you say, regent'' Vasyl said with a smile.
''Bah, whatever. It is mobile heavy artillery, and that is all that matters. It will use ammunition manufactured with tungsten, which should give us considerable penetration capacity. If we manage to hit the hull of one of the larger British ships, we could cause serious damage. If we sink a cruiser or some even more important ship, we will probably force them to sit at the negotiating table. Then we can find out what they demand to end all this'' I said, pressing my lips together.
''Let us hope so. Things in Ukraine remain calm thanks to the new elections and the fact that the representatives were elected cleanly. However, many of them are proposing laws you will not like. This situation has a limit. If you maintain military control for too long, rebel groups could begin forming, willing to make your war effort difficult'' Vasyl warned.
''I have numerous counterintelligence agents deployed throughout Ukraine. I would like to see them try to organize an uprising without us finding out. But it does not matter. We have to get back on the train and head to the meeting point with the Bulgarians and the Hungarians. There we will negotiate the defense agreement against Romania in case any of us is attacked. You will have to sign it personally, because it will be done in the name of the Kingdom of Ukraine. That way we will prevent the Romanians from trying to seize the southern regions, where practically all national rice production is concentrated'' I said, looking at Vasyl.
''Are we going to make it public? I thought it would be a secret agreement to allow Romania to attack and then invade it from three directions'' Vasyl replied, making a grimace.
''I do not want to open another front. If a war against Romania begins, I will have to move tens of thousands of men. Although we receive new reinforcements from Germany every day, I do not intend to start a war we can still avoid'' I replied, signaling for him to begin walking toward the railway station.
''Well then, what are we waiting for?'' Vasyl said as he began walking.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Hello everyone! If you'd like to read chapters in advance, you can support me on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Currently, there are 11 chapters available
without spaces
p atreon. com/Chill _ean_GUY
Thank you all for your support!