April 2, Unified Year 1941

Kaiserhoff, Prussian Republic

The national elections Tanya had promised the Parlament when she asked them for the Enabling Act were scheduled for one month's time. They would take place on May second. All the papers were in full campaign mode. The ones belonging to the Centrists harped on the recent changes and called for a return to good traditional values. The Socialist papers wanted even more legislation to protect workers and were yelling that large companies were deliberately keeping pay rates lower than they should be. The minimum wage, which had been such a blessing when it passed, was now seen as an artificial ceiling. Many employers were refusing to pay common laborers anything higher. Workers with special skills or training were, naturally, better compensated, but the majority were stuck. The few Black Soil outlets spoke about the high cost of modern farm equipment and the need for higher prices for their crops. The Nationalist papers were all hers how. After what had happened in Bavaria and the other states, Schumer and his toadies had come to her, hat in hand, begging to be allowed to join the National Union. Since they still had a lot of financial assets and wealthy supporters, Tanya agreed to let them in. The price had been seats in the Parlament for Schumer and any four other people he named.

Tanya laughed when she thought of that. Schumer had been President of the Republic for two terms and leader of what was, for a while, he country's largest and most powerful political party. He thought of himself as a brilliant politician, but he sold everything he still had for five seats in the Parlament. Well, to be fair, she supposed that was the best deal he could get. It wasn't as if he'd have been happier if he'd remained in the opposition. No, surrendering to the inevitable had been his best option.

Despite all the claims from people that she was a dictator, the other parties were allowed to campaign freely. The papers and radio ads were not censored any more than her own were. They could hold rallies and give public speeches. They put up posters with the faces of their candidates and their slogans. Walk through downtown Berun and you see them. And for every one opposition poster you would spot, there would be at least twenty NUP ones.

Many Socialist and Centrist posters would be ripped down, their billboards defaced, and their meetings and rallies would be broken up by violent attacks of men shouting; The Leader! Unity! Justice! Peace! These attacks weren't orchestrated by her or by Colonel Gunter or Goebbels. These were just common supporters who saw any opposition to her as treason. She appreciated their enthusiasm, but it really wasn't necessary. All the polls showed she had more than a ninety percent approval rating. Even the religious editorials that raged against the new legalized immorality, rarely mentioned her by name. They knew how much the people loved her and understood they would only lose the little support they had if they attacked her personally. They understood there was no hope of defeating the NUP at the polls. Their only objective was to win a few seats in Parlament and try to serve as an opposition party until the situation changed.

The situation is going to change all right, Tanya thought. But not in the way they hope.

XXX

She met with ambassador Henderson in her apartment. Tanya thought he looked a bit tired and a little apprehensive. Perhaps last month's crisis was still wearing on his nerves. Their countries had never really come close to war, but the situation had been tense for a short time. Goebbels had played up the danger to the absolute max in the papers and state radio. So, when she'd deescalated things wither her assurance, the papers had immediately given her the credit for 'saving' them again. Plus, it was more evidence that Prussia really was under siege and they could not relax even for a moment.

The ambassador sat down on the couch across from her. She offered him coffee and cake, which he accepted. When the pleasantries were out of the way they got down to business.

"I know things have been a little difficult between our nations recently," Tanya began. "So, I wanted to call you in for a pleasant chat. Prussia has absolutely no interests anywhere in the world that conflict with the Allied Kingdom or its empire. There is no reason for us to ever be enemies again. On the contrary, I hope to become good friends with you. Close ties between our two countries makes good strategic sense."

"In principle, the Prime Minister would agree with you. In practice, that is proving more difficult than expected."

"All Prussia wants is security in a dangerous world. I thought the Prime Minister understood that."

"He does," the ambassador nodded. "Prussia is free to rearm. He did not make any promises concerning Bavaria, Austria, Saxony, or Silesia. For that matter, he did not make any agreements with the other successor states."

"He wants a strong deterrent in central Europe to dissuade the Rus from going on any adventures here, like the one they're having in Manchuria right now. The more soldiers under arms, the more panzers, the more fighters, the less likely that is to happen."

"Your statement is not quite accurate President Degurechaff."

"Oh? How is it wrong?"

"The Prime Minister does not want any adventures in the heart of Europe, regardless of who might instigate them."

Tanya grinned and sipped her coffee. "Prussia is no threat to the peace and stability of Europe."

"Changing the map of Europe, even if it were done peacefully, would drastically destabilize the continent."

"You mean by forcing people who want to live and work together into one nation? Providing them with a single government, currency, and military? A nation strong enough to deal with unemployment, inflation, and external threats."

"One strong enough to attack its neighbors," Henderson said. "That would be the greatest danger of all. We did not fight for eight years to see the Empire reborn in any form. That is an absolute of our foreign policy. Any sort of political union between any of the successor states is completely, absolutely, and perpetually unacceptable to us and a casus belli for war."

"Oh, believe me ambassador, you and your government have made that very clear. The reason I asked you here today is to try and show you that all I want is peace! As a front line soldier, I understand better than anyone what war is. I am the absolute last person who would ever want to begin a war."

"Your reputation is not that of a peaceful individual, President Degurechaff."

She shrugged. "I'm a soldier, and I don't apologize for being good at my craft. I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't been. But in my entire life, I have never fought a single battle where I was not either ordered to, or was defending my people from attack. I never fought except when I had to."

"I concede the point. But you are known for being ferocious when you do fight. I myself saw this attitude at Eicheburg."

She gave him a smile that sent a cold shiver down his spine. "Oh, I never said I was soft or afraid to do what had to be done. If you're my enemy, I want you dead, and I will kill you as fast and decisively as I can. There is no mercy on the battlefield."

"Quite," Henderson said and took a sip of his coffee.

"But all that means is that when I fight it's always to the extreme limit. Not that I want to fight. Those men at Eicheburg were invaders standing on Prussian soil. If they'd stayed in their own country I never would have hurt a one of them. I'm not building up my military because I'm looking for conflict. I'm doing it because it's the best way to ensure peace. Weakness only invites attack."

"Whereas being too strong invites suspicion and fear."

Tanya sighed. "I have already stated I have no intention of forming a union with any other country."

"At present."

"At present," Tanya agreed. "We live in a volatile world. It's impossible to know what the future holds."

"I have already stated my nation's position. Any political union means war."

"I understand that, and I can assure you that I have no interest in ever being at war with your country again. For that matter, I don't want to be at war with the Russy Federation or the Republic again either. If my country goes to war again it will not be by choice."

"I hope you can understand why the Prime Minister has some suspicions as to your long term intentions. The central theme of your political party is the restoration of the empire. You have never made any public statement denying it, quite the opposite in fact."

She laughed. "I'm a politician. Do you really expect me to keep every promise I make? It was a popular line to take with the voting public, that's all. Of course, I understand that in reality it would be impossible. But ideas have power, and it's important to let the people dream even if you know the dream can't come true."

"So, you're disavowing any intention of reunion?" The ambassador frowned.

"Publicly? No, Hell no. Privately? You can assure the Prime Minister that political union with any other country is not going to happen."

"Then why would you allow four other countries to install National Union governments?"

She lifted an eyebrow. "They wanted to follow me. What was I supposed to do? Tell them no? And what happens when other countries elect National Union representatives? If people across the border ask me for help how can I turn them down? And while political union is out, there is plenty we can do together with the military and economy. While reforming the Empire is obviously not an option, perhaps a loose confederation might be possible. Perhaps something a bit similar to the situation pre-1848."

The ambassador put his cup down. "A confederation? I haven't heard any mention of such a thing before."

"It's a new idea, or an old one depending on how you look at it. All the states keep their individual governments, but cooperate with one another in important matters."

"Under your leadership?"

She shrugged. "If the governments are all National Union…"

"I don't believe this proposal would be acceptable."

"So not only can we not unite, we're forbidden to even cooperate with one another?"

"Cooperation is very different from forming a political entity."

"What if membership is completely voluntary? What if each member state can exit peacefully if they so choose? What if each nation reserves the decision to declare war? It would be a collection of separate states working together for a common cause, completely different from recreating the empire."

The ambassador continued to frown. "Whatever you call it, if it means all the successor states following your leadership it would still be unacceptable."

She leaned back in her chair. "Oh? Then what are you going to do when two years from now all those countries have National Union governments and they are following me anyway. Are you going to go to each one and tell them they can't? Are you going to threaten them with war unless they follow your foreign and domestic policies? What are you going to do when they tell you to stop interfering with their internal affairs? And how much cooperation are we allowed to have? Are we allowed to trade with each other? Sign extradition treaties? Conduct military exercises together? Have a common fiscal policy? What if, say, Ostland is attacked by the Russy Federation? Are the other states allowed to declare war and defend Ostland? Or would that also be unacceptable?"

The ambassador blinked and shifted in his seat. "You are bringing up matters that have never been mentioned before. I am not in a position to give you any firm reply at this time. But I can tell you the Prime Minister will not look positively on any radical changes on the current status quo."

"Change is coming whether he wants it or not. What I am offering the Prime Minister is the opportunity to reach an accord with me and set limits as to how much change there will be. And if he's willing to work with me I can offer him something he wants." At Tanya's feet was a leather briefcase. She opened it and took out a four page document which she handed to the ambassador.

"What is this?" He looked it over and then turned back to Tanya with both eyebrows raised. "A naval treaty?"

"That's right. Before the Great War the buildup of the High Seas Fleet caused a lot of tension between the Allied Kingdom and Empire. And during the war our U-Boats sank thousands of your merchant vessels. The Prussian Kriegsmarine renounces the right to build battleships and U-Boats, we agree to a limit of one aircraft carrier, four cruisers and twenty destroyers. We also agree to commence no new naval construction for a period of five years following the signing of this treaty. Given our lack of colonies and small coastline, these numbers seem fitting. The Kriegsmarine will never be any threat to the Royal Navy. I cannot imagine anything that would more clearly demonstrate that I have no hostile intentions towards the Allied Kingdom."

Ambassador Henderson returned to the document and began to read all the way through it. Given the fact he'd served in the Royal Navy she was not surprised. For hundreds of years the British had focused on their navy as the source of their strength and security. The Allied Kingdom saw the Royal Navy as the senior service and most valuable military asset.

Tanya had a very different opinion.

XXX

Two days before, she'd talked to Zettour about the offer she was planning to make. Her Chief of Staff had not been pleased by the idea.

"You cannot agree to this," Zettour had told her.

"Why not?"

"Because it guarantees we would always be inferior to the Royal Navy. We would have a second class fleet unworthy of a Great Power. If we are going to be a mighty nation again we must have a powerful fleet."

Tanya sighed. "Tell me something, would this navy serve an actual military purpose or just a propagandistic one?"

Zettour frowned. "I don't understand the question."

"Well, what I'm asking is before I spend the money and resources to build a bunch of ships what am I hoping to get in return? If we're building them just to give people pride in our country I'll have to pass. There are more cost efficient ways to improve the public morale. If you're telling me we need them for a military purpose then I need to know what that purpose is, if it's achievable, and if the goal is worth the cost and risk."

"While a powerful navy is a source of pride, being a military man, I would naturally focus on the military value. During the war, we suffered terribly because of the blockade, it slowly starved us and denied us resources. The only way to prevent a repeat of that in a future war is with a navy strong enough to defeat the Royal Navy in battle."

She nodded in seeming agreement. "Okay, that's fair enough. I agree that would be a worthwhile objective. But if that's the goal then, by necessity, there would be no point in beginning naval construction unless you were committed to building a sizeable. One large and powerful enough to give you a reasonable hope for victory in a battle with the Royal Navy home fleet. And we won't even add in warships from the Entente Alliance or Republic who would probably also join in. Would that be a fair supposition? That there's no point beginning unless you are planning to build a navy equivalent or close to equivalent to the Royal Navy?"

Zettour nodded. "Yes, that is what I am saying. That we need a fleet second to none."

Tanya sighed. "The Allied Kingdom is going through a moratorium on new construction due to the economic situation. That means the Royal Navy only has three super dreadnaughts, eighteen dreadnaughts, twenty battleships, two aircraft carriers, forty-five cruisers, ten fast cruisers, and about two hundred and sixty destroyers. So, you really want us to commit the money, manpower, and resources to match that?"

Zettour was silent for a moment. "But the navy your suggesting would be negligible. What would stop the Royal Navy from bombarding our ports or landing an army?"

"Our Air Force and Air Corps. For the British their navy is the first line of defense and how they project power throughout the world. For us a navy is completely irrelevant. It's land and air power that matters! We aren't a rich country. What Prussia is, is a working family scrimping and saving to try and afford a house. Every pfennig we can earn or save needs to go towards that house. For us, a fleet is like a shiny new car. It's luxury we don't need and simply can't afford. Not if we're going to pay for expanding and modernizing the army, as well as all the special research projects we have."

"Very well, I can understand it. The army and air units are certainly more important. But do we have to sign a treaty admitting to such weakness?"

"The treaty is a Trojan Horse."

Zettour stood there staring at her.

"The British are obsessed with naval strength and just assume other countries are too. Frankly, given how fervently the Kaiser built up the High Seas Fleet, I can understand why they might be afraid I intend to do the same. When I offer them this treaty, giving up battleships and U-Boats and any construction for five years, they'll see it as a concession. As me sacrificing a navy. But in reality, I'm just taking the resources that would be wasted in building a war fleet that could never be a real threat anyway, and using them where they will count for more. They'll see the treaty as a sacrifice, when it will actually help with my rearmament."

XXX

Henderson finished reading and very deliberately set the treaty down on the table. "In exchange for these concessions you want us to agree to the forming of a Confederation?"

"That, plus you agree we have the right to rearm however we like with the army and air units. If I am giving up so much at sea I certainly won't give up anything in the other services."

"I can only pass this on to the Prime Minister for his consideration, but I will tell you that personally I believe it will make a favorable impression. If you are serious about these terms it would greatly improve the relations between our countries."

"Wonderful! Let's be friends!"