Es Geloybte Aretz - a Germanwank

[Sumeragi]

The evil French, putting people under such harsh heat.....

 

[carlton_bach]

The evil French, putting people under such harsh heat.....

Well, the Vorwärts is a Social Democratic paper. You can expect little sympathy for the rulers of this world.

 

[carlton_bach]

03 July 1905, Zarskoye Selo

To my Russian People

In these days of our great struggle against a foreign enemy who has treacherously attacked Russia, a great evil has befallen my dear fatherland. Disloyalty and rebellion threatens to destroy all gains our heroic army has made and undo the might of Russia, through the treacherous acts of foreign foes and internal traitors. To safeguard the future of my country, the welfare of my people and the honour of my army, I call upon all Russians of good will and true patriotic spirit: Defend your country and your monarch! Rally to the flag, and stand ready to strike at invaders, traitors and subversives wherever you find them! The hour approaches when Russia's gallant army will crush the foreign hosts that have attacked us, and when treason and rebellion will be rooted out from the Russian earth. We pray for this hour to come soon, and trust in God to grant victory to the Czar of all Russians and his loyal people of true orthodox faith. Do not stand aside in this great struggle!

Nicholas, Czar of all Russians

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, still slumped in the wheelchair his injury forced him to use, looked at the printed page bearing the words of his brother Nicholas with resolute determination. This would make matters clear, it would make the lunatic and misled masses understand that their emperor expected their obedience, and that no form of rebellion or remonstrance other than humble petition could be tolerated. Too many had had their heads filled with nonsensical Western ideas of a democratic patriotism, a loyalty that questioned the might of the ruler in the treacherous guise of humble service. Trepov had done a marvellous job printing hundreds of thousands of these, and they would go up on walls throughout the empire. They had to be distributed widely, even to the most remote of villages, to reach the true Russian patriots unsullied by the corrosive influence of modernism and socialism. The men of the soil, the orthodox believers who had always upheld the throne of their Czar with their strong shoulders and carried the country on their patient backs, not the uppity rabble of the stinking, industrial cities with their degenerate habits and their vodka-addled, overeducated minds. The St Petersburg governor was a genius for this kind of work. Pobedonostsev may have helped Nicholas to draft the text, but he had smoothed it, made it easy to understand, and provided the picture block prints and stories that illustrated it to the simple-minded. Russia would awaken, and in waking, rid herself of the foreign filth that had too long infested her body politic. Prokurator Pobedonostsev laid aside his copy to remark, in a quiet, husky voice, “It is perfect, Your Majesty.” Grand Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich, standing aside in a window niche, fought for composure. He was aghast. The Rus? Czar? Subjects of the true faith? Was Nicholas going insane? There would be blood. The Grand Prince was terrified for the people on whom the wrath of the Russian mob would escend, and even more for the rulers of the country. Trepov and his henchmen were masters at creating outrage, but they had little regard for the future. Ivan Grozny, Nicholas had reminded him, had returned from his self-imposed hermitage to lead his loyal people again. Grand Prince Nikolai had vainly tried to make him understand what devastation had followed Czar Ivan's death. He prayed that such horrors could be avoided.

 

[Barbarossa Rotbart]

And that is the beginning of the Russian civil war. Why? Because those Russian will attack everyone who is either not a Russian or an Orthodox Christian or who is trying to stop them.

 

[carlton_bach]

And that is the beginning of the Russian civil war. Why? Because those Russian will attack everyone who is either not a Russian or an Orthodox Christian or who is trying to stop them.

What those Russians fail to understand is that the good people of the soil have had their fill of Father Czar. Well, as a wise AH.commer once said - one nation's wank is another's bukkake.

 

[Faeelin]

I'm not entirely clear why things are so much worse for Russia. It didn't collapse in 1905; it didn't collapse until it had suffered three years of Total War. And now the regime looks like it's about to collapse, because some Jews in Poland shot up a column?

I mean, France is busy grabbing the Congo while the Germans basically engage in an unprovoked war to destroy their ally?

 

[Sumeragi]

one nation's wank is another's bukkake.

That has got to be the greatest quote I've seen here.

 

[Barbarossa Rotbart]

I'm not entirely clear why things are so much worse for Russia. It didn't collapse in 1905; it didn't collapse until it had suffered three years of Total War. And now the regime looks like it's about to collapse, because some Jews in Poland shot up a column?

I mean, France is busy grabbing the Congo while the Germans basically engage in an unprovoked war to destroy their ally?

First, Germany is not at war with Russia. They only support Polish nationalists. Russia is at war with Japan.

Second, France does not know that Germany is behind the insurrection in Poland.

Third, do not forget that the first Russian Revolution in OTL happened in 1905. Without outside help this Revolution was doomed.

 

[Faeelin]

First, Germany is not at war with Russia. They only support Polish nationalists. Russia is at war with Japan.

I didn't say they were at war. They're just ferrying weapons, sending instructors, etc.

I don't know why the French wouldn't be aware of this. How long are you going to keep this a secret? The French intelligence don't notice a lot of extended vacations by commanders?

 

[carlton_bach]

I'm not entirely clear why things are so much worse for Russia. It didn't collapse in 1905; it didn't collapse until it had suffered three years of Total War. And now the regime looks like it's about to collapse, because some Jews in Poland shot up a column?

The Jews shooting up a bunch of soldiers are just one random thing that happened. In 1905/06, without any outside help, Russia suffered a massive collapse of public oder and a crisis of deference of enormous proportions. As late as 1908, General Brusilov said that the army was in such a state of disarray they could not have stopped the Germans and Austrians from walking in, had they wanted to. For about a year, the Russian government lost control of the countryside and many major cities, and it could only restore its position by pretending to compromise with the less radical elements while setting up an organisation that, except for being pre-1918, we would readily identify as fascist. The means used to restore order in the countryside - terrorising raids, random executions, large-scale expropriations, rape, torture and deportation - are familiar to anyone who studied colonial warfare. Rebel in Poland had control of large parts of the countryside, and Finland was de fact ungoverned for the better part of a year, the entire country in a state of civil disobedience. That was OTL, with a cooperative German government sitting on one frontier and an intact army in Manchuria. As of now, the Germans, the Jews, or the Poles have very little to do with what is happening. This is the Russians' own doing. Of course, much as their power was an illusion, so is their weakness. The central government came back strong in 1906 IOTL.

I mean, France is busy grabbing the Congo while the Germans basically engage in an unprovoked war to destroy their ally?

Not exactly, but in the long run, yes. Right now, for all the delusions of grandeur Wilhelm has, what the Germans are doing amounts to relatively little. It is basically bog-standard cold war policy, arms, money and a handful of covert advisers, something that is imaginable only at a time of a nation's weakness. There are no German-supported rebels in Russia proper. Arming and advising the Polish rebels created a power structre in a vacuum (Pilsudski is the Germans' man, which gives him the power to distribute their largesse and everyone not in his camp will get none). How that structure can hold up once the vacuum ends remains to be seen. But what is happening is basically Nicholas II's OTL nightmare - another country has realised how weak Russia's government really is and decided to screw it over. The French have their own problems.

 

[carlton_bach]

I didn't say they were at war. They're just ferrying weapons, sending instructors, etc.

I don't know why the French wouldn't be aware of this. How long are you going to keep this a secret? The French intelligence don't notice a lot of extended vacations by commanders?

They are in the process of finding out. The next question will be what to do about it. There aren't a lot of good options, really. Fighting a war with Germany while Russia is weak would be suicidal. Fighting it when Russia has recovered would defeat the purpose. And there is no guarantee that if France were to go to war, Russia would follow suit. Theirs is a defensive alliance. It is not in Nicholas' interest to see his ally destroyed, but if he sees this as the only option to hold on to his throne, he may just decide to watch the fireworks and put his own house in order during the lull this affords him.

 

[Arrix85]

what a beatiful mess! Can't wait to see how it unfolds...

 

[carlton_bach]

04 July 1905 Darmstadt

The clink of expensive cutlery on fine china and animated conversation made a pleasant background to the private visit of the Count of Ravensberg to the home of Ernst Ludwig of Hessen-Darmstadt. Wilhelm enjoyed these occasions, not only because they allowed him to be away from his duties, but also because he could freely spend time with Fanny zu Reventlow. Grand Duke Ersnt Ludwig not only proved an understanding host, he had a reputation for amorous adventurism himself that made any scandal around Wilhelm pale into insignificance. As a patron of modern art, he shared Wilhelm's liking for clear lines, uncluttered design and simplicity. As a man of the world, he had much to teach the innocent emperor. The exhibition grounds of the Mathildenhöhe, the art colony he had set up in Darmstadt, held fascination not only in the works depicted, but also in proving that once you had established your bona fides as a genius, you could apparently get away with anything. The comparison with Berlin's prim and dull official society was as stark as could be imagined.

On the morning of the second day, the company was relaxed and happy. Ernst Ludwig was newly married, his charming wife still happy in the first bloom of their relationship, and Wilhelm had been able to spend a day and a night with Countess zu Reventlow, something that his schedule in the capital rarely allowed. Once the host had discovered that his guest was happy to debate substantive issues, the conversation over the breakfast table turned to current events.
“I hear it is quite terrible.” Ernst Ludwig opined. “The Berliner Illustrirte ran articles about the refugees in Poland. They have practically nothing, and no consulate or government to turn to.”
Wilhelm agreed. “The interior ministry studied the situation. Thousands of people already crossed the borders, and they fear many more will. It was suggested that we set up temporary camps to control the flow and return them once the situation normalises. The main problem is that we can't really control camps this big. There isn't enough police, and there isn't enough money, apparently.”
Fanny snorted derisively. “Bureaucrats! How is there enough money for the Siegesallee, but not this?”
Ernst Ludwig tried to intervene, but Wilhelm spoke first: ”Different budgets, apparently. The money to help would have to come out of contingency funds, and we don't have that much ready cash. Anything bigger would require a Reichstag vote, and as you know...”
The new Reichstag was about to be elected. The Poles, as a commentator had put it, had picked a bad time to be starving. Fanny bit back the retort that the emperor could allocate funds by decree. These were things you only did in a serious emergency, and starving foreigners did not count as a serious emergency. Albert, she thought, might have had the gumption to stand up to the political class. Wilhelm was more cautious. Of course, she mentally corrected herself, Albert also did not care much about the humanitarian concerns of other people. “I hope at least private donations can be sent there.”
Wilhelm nodded cautiously. He and his consuls had, in fact, been instrumental in establishing the Polnisches Nothilfekomittee, an organisation that funneled aid to Poland. Of course, its leadership was also in close contact with the National Army, and a fair amount of the donations turned out to come in the form of tinned meat, hard biscuits, instant pea soup, greatcoats and boots. He was careful not to channel arms through this conduit, but otherwise, it was fair game.
“I don't really have all that much.”, he pointed out. “The Hohenzollern property belongs to the family. I can't just cut into that. And it would be rather inappropriate if the emperor went and called for donations from the rich.”
Duchess Eleonore spoke up now. “How about donating part of the royal art collections? Auctioning it off could raise a lot of money, and I am sure many other collectors would follow suit.”
“You're just after his impressionists!” Fanny teased, but the idea struck her as good. She prepared to turn her most imploring eyes on her lover, but found him already convinced.
“Good idea!” Wilhelm said. “I am sure a lot of people in Berlin would be happy to part with some of their collections for a good cause. And I will be able to get rid of some of the trash my ancestors accumulated.”
“It should certainly raise its market value.”, Duke Erst Ludwig pointed out with quite un-noble business acumen. “A lot of newly rich philistines will pay through their nose to own something that the kings of Prussia collected.”
“Oh, well. In that case I won't feel to guilty for what I will sell them. Some of the stuff is absolutely ghastly.”

 

[carlton_bach]

09 July 1905 Lisbon

Elihu Root was sick. He was sick with the heat and stuffiness of the Portuguese capital. He was sick of the grandstanding of all the greedy European politicians, sick of the sanctimonious preachiness of the French and British, sick of the Belgian bombast and the unctuous slickness of the Portuguese angling to dismember the Congo. He was above all sick of the way every uninvolved principality on the continent seemed to horn in on the discussion to extract its own pet concession. That was why, on this hot, pointless, stifling day of haggling over the tributaries and courses of the Lualaba River found on the various maps the powers had brought, he had accepted the request of the German legate von Jagow for a private meeting on the Polish crisis. Root had gained a positive impression of the young man during the interminable days of the conference, though his very youth and junior position indicated that Germany did not regard the Congo question as terribly important. Other nations had sent ministers, not undersecretaries. Still, Jagow was smart, calm, and careful. His interest in the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Poland was not new, but Root suspected that he had been given instructions to address it more actively. Most likely, this showed the hand of young Emperor Wilhelm, who tended to be much more active in international affairs than Albert had been. Generally, the youth had taken admirable, if often unrealistic stances.
“You are correct,” the secretary of state parried a strategic compliment, “that the United States is known for its generosity towards the unfortunate throughout the world. And it is with great pride I can say that committees for Polish relief are already collecting money and preparing shipments of aid. I have to admit, though, that I am somewhat surprised to find Germany taking so – generous a stance in this matter.”
Von Jagow understood, and decided to be honest. “Mr Root, you must understand that we are concerned over the outcome of this crisis. Yes, Prussia is a partitioning power, but we have no designs whatsoever on Polish territory. It is true, though, and I hope you will be willing to inform your president accordingly, that, should an independent Poland emerge, this would be in our interest. Understand that we are in no way expressing aggressive intentions towards Russia. We do not look for war. But the rebellion is a fact with which we have to contend.”
Root nodded. He could see the point. An independent Poland would, by default, be Russia's enemy, and thus Germany's friend, since she would need her protection. That much made sense, and he was glad that Berlin understood it. Still, he was not entirely sure he approved of upsetting the apple cart. The Poles could have chosen a better year to rise.
Von Jagow continued. “At this point, though, our main concern is the situation of the civilian population. Russia has denied permission to cross the border to all foreigners, and the reports that reach us indicate that the situation in Poland is dire. We are in the process of setting up temporary camps for refugees inside Germany, but – you will understand we cannot allow them to stay permanently.”
“You wish us to take them in?”, Root asked.
“It would be a possibility, but I doubt many of them would wish to go. In any case, while this would be appreciated, it is not a solution for the numbers we are talking about here. Of course we can issue transit papers for people who want to go and can afford the passage...”
“There are charities that will pay for the passage, and I am sure the American public will be welcoming to those poor souls.” Root informed the German. “We should set up formal channels to process the requests as they come.”
“Indeed.” Von Jagow made notes. “The Prussian interior ministry will be responsible, but I am sure this will not be a problem. I will forward the matter to Berlin. No, our primary concern is whether you would be able to persuade the Russian government to allow Americans to provide aid directly. As I said, the borders are formally closed. There are intrepid souls who do cross, of course, and we can hand over food and clothing at crossing points controlled by the rebels, but any organised effort is made impossible.”
Root thought about his interactions with the Russian government. He sioghed. “I will put the matter to my president, and Mr Roosevelt will no doubt do his best. He is sympathetic to the Polish cause himself. However, I do not estimate our chances highly.”
Von Jagow nodded. “I feared as much. That brings me to another point. German aid committees have informally begun cooperating with the Catholic church to distribute aid. We believe that this could be a very promising avenue, but – Prussian diplomats do not enjoy great standing at the papal court.”
Root smiled knowingly. The legacy of Bismarck could be a heavy one. “You think we could enter into negotiations?”
“If it were possible? Your country is home to millions of Polish Catholics, and your motives are above reproach.”
“I will put the matter to Mr Roosevelt, and I am sure he will agree. There is one question, though: A large number of the refugees, I am told, are Jewish, and thus the Catholic Church would be ill-placed to assist them. You have thought of taking up similar contacts with Jewish charities?”
Von Jagow gave him a look of astonishment and gratitude. “We have not, Mr Root. But I am sure we will. Thank you.”

 

[carlton_bach]

15 July 1905, St Petersburg

Sergeant Shternmiler was a worried man. It was not that he objected to loyalty in principle. He was, after all, an Okhrana officer. But the people that had come out to proclaim their faith in the Czar and his government after the proclamation was published did not fill him with great confidence. Of course, neither had the proclamation, but that was politics for you. You had to use big words. It had just sounded a bit too – desparate. That was probably the word. Especially from a government otherwise not accustomed to admitting that problems even existed. But the main problem he had on his plate, right now, called itself the Patriotic Union of Russia, and it stank, in many cases literally. There was the occasional young gentleman with something to prove, of course, silly Slavophile literati and brawlers whom the army hadn't wanted, but by far the majority of his charges were the dregs of St Petersburg. Some, he suspected, were fugitives from the law, some he knew to be criminals who had been protected from the police by working for the Okhrana, and many were just nasty fellows in a general sort of way. They did a lot of marching around with crosses, candles and icons, which was all right as far as the sergeant was concerned, and some had gotten themselves into bruising encounters with the revolutionaries who owned large chunks of St Petersburg. The Okhrana officers were under orders to provide them with weapons, liquor and the descriptions of known enemies of the state and let them loose. Those who were sober and intelligent enough were also given training whenever the time allowed, but that was not often. Some had already killed each other with the rifles and revolvers provided by the authorities, a few even accidentally. This was no way to fight a rebellion.

It was not that Shternmiler objected to violence on principle. He had killed in the past and was perfectly happy to do so again. Traitorous scum deserved no better. But he preferred to run an operation quietly, observing his targets, making arrests where necessary in a civilised fashion, and trying to turn his oppnents to his purposes. Some could even be rescued. The Okhrana had a few officers who had been Social Revolutionaries in their misspent youth, and the sergeant respected them highly both for their skills and the courage of their convictions. What sat ill with him was the disorganised, emotionalised, utterly unprofessional way they were going about this. Neither skill nor cunning was involved. They were turning loose an army of thugs in the hope they would do damage to the right people. In some ways it was working. The lukewarm, fair-weather revolutionaries were more careful now they knew what could happen to them and their families if they got too noisy. Workers' wives and daughters no longer felt safe using suburban marketplaces, which meant the strikers could not supply themselves as easily. The streets no longer belonged to the rebels uncontested. All of this made sense. But nagging worry remained in the back of Sergeant Shternmiler's head. You won the fight against rebels and anarchists by being more organised, smarter and more methodical. He had always lived by this motto. How anyone could hope to beat a rabble with an even worse mob was beyond him. He doubted that the Patriotic Union had the numbers to simply swamp the rebels if it really came down to a stand-up fight. And why wasn't the army doing this? Where on earth was the army?

 

[carlton_bach]

18 July 1905, Berlin

A Polish Holiday
Visitors to the remoter parts of Posen will lately have noticed a number of changes to the lovely countryside. Farmhouses have their doors locked, and the fair maids whose charms so alleviated the rigours of a long ride are rarely seen walking their careless way along the tree-lined streets. The reason for this ominous change, hard though it seems to fathom, is that the government of Prussia has chosen to expend a large, if undisclosed sum of money to provide free holidays to any Pole who makes it across the border. While one has had to get usaed to any number of stranger ideas in recent years, the thought that this kind of generosity from the taxpayers' purse should be extended not just to layabout workers of our own nation, but to foreigners as well, is astonishing beyond anything even the Social Democrats have proposed. The camps set aside to allow the assorted company of rabble-rousers, agitators and their women and children to relax safe from the attentions of the Russian authorities are being built with public funds and, since even the most kind-hearted gentlemean of the government must be aware of the thievish proclivities of the Pole, lightly guarded by the police. What future events may bring for the wages of agricultural labour, the safety of livestock and the virtue of German peasant girls remains to be seen. Meanwhile we await with bated breath the disclosure of the cost of this enterprise.

(Kreuz-Zeitung)

 

[carlton_bach]

19 July 1905, Berlin

It was not often that members of other factions came to visit the fearsome Socialist August Bebel in his office. To see the Polish representative Jan Brejski, who was a union man and a Socialist, was not too great a surprise, but Ferdinand von Radziwill, conservative, nobleman and prince, was a rare bird in such company. The issue that had brought the men was weighty.
“Mr Bebel,” Prince Radziwill implored, “we must have your party's support for a supplementary budget in the new Reichstag. There is no other way to manage the relief for the Polish refugees.”
Bebel was flattered. The two assumed – as, truth be told, did he – that the SPD would play an important role in the next parliament, and they had decided to request his cooperation in advance. No doubt this was wise. There was no chance that the conservatives, the liberals or the various splinter parties would rally behind their cause, and while the Zentrum most likely would support relief for the refugees, it did not have the votes on its own. There was no guarantee that even with the SPD and Zentrum, the Polish, Danish and Alsatian factions and perhaps even some left liberals they would have enough votes, but the chances were good. Surprisingly good, in fact, now that the conservatives had started running candidates against each other in many districts. And try as he might, Bebel could see very little wrong with the scheme.
“Is the situation really as dire?” he asked.
“Sir, it is far worse than that. I have read letters from residents who have seen the camps. We cannot fault the government for trying, but the means are utterly inadequate. Many of the refugees have neither a roof over their heads not even the most basic of food. Tents are in short supply, wells are fouled almost as soon as they are dug, and the few houses that are built are crowded with the weakest and sickest. We have heard of doctors closing their practice to work in the camps for free, but there are not enough drugs, not enough beds, not enough of anything. Once proud farmers sit begging in the streets. Girls, mere children, sell their bodies for a loaf of bread. We cannot solve this situation except with a great and concerted effort of the gov ernment.”
Bebel nodded. He was no stranger to human suffering, and his long-standing animosity against the enthnic factions channeling working-class votes away from their natural party notwithstanding, he was inclineed to agree.
“Gentlemen, you have my vote and my voice. Let us see if we can bring help to these unfortunates.”
He paused, as if for effect. “There is one matter, though. I am told that much of the relief is currently being distributed through the churches. It is my belief that this has alienated even a few reasonable liberal representatives, and it will make persuading my party to vote for an increase harder than it should be. Would you be amenable to changing this?”

 

[Monty Burns]

18 July 1905, Berlin

Well, I guess anything that alienates the Emperor and the followship of this particular newspaper is good. If all this previews further cooperation between Zentrum and SPD, only the better.

 

[carlton_bach]

22 July 1905, Paris

My Dear Dr Nordau,

... and though I am, of course, personally in entire agreement, I regret that current circumstances do not permit me to take a public stand on the matter of the Russian Jews. This is, I assure you, not a matter of my own convenience, but you must be aware that the coming elections, to be held perhaps even sooner than next year, will decide the fate of France more forcefully than perhaps any in its history. The question today is no less than whether France will continue a bastion of liberty in Europe, or whether, in the guise of patriotism, tyranny will overwhelm her defenses more surely and more finally than any exterior foe could. In this struggle, all my energies and efforts as a true patriot must be firest and foremost on the preservation of my country's freedom. This does constrain me in other areas, though, and much as it pains me to say, this is perhaps the most forceful contraint laid upon me by the exigencies of the political climate: the word Jew has become a violent poison in today's discourse. It is apt to make French voters insane. Therefore do not, Dr Nordau, ask of me to put the future of my country to such grave peril by speaking up – honourably, but futilely – for the fate of such distant unfortunates and thereby consigning to clerical obscurantism and aristocratic tyranny my own countrymen. ... as you yourself have noted, the German government has been more active by far in such affairs, but you must understand, too, that an emperor does not face the test of public elections. Wilhelm III is a man of honour, I grant, but he stands to lose neither his office nor an ally by taking a stand that, if adopted by any French government, would lead to the loss of both. Perhaps it is, at this junction in history, indeed the fate of the Teuton to be the saviour of Eastern Jewry, and if it is so, humanity would for once have just cause to thank his race. ...

(letter by Georges Clemenceau to Dr Nordau)

 

[carlton_bach]

23 July 1905, near Uliasutu, Outer Mongolia

Sergeant Jiang Jilie crested a low hill and halted, carefully scanning the landscape. Infantry scouting was a poor idea as far as he was concerned, but the loyalty of much of the garrison's native cavalry was in doubt since Bogd Khan had had himself declared independent ruler. It was a stupid idea, Jiang fumed, and it meant that a lot of good men on both sides would die. Even a year ago, the thought of a Russian-backed Mongolian kingdom looked possible, but between these twelve months lay the utter defeat of Russian arms by the Japanese army at Port Arthur and Mukden. Anyone who read the newspapers could see that Russia was a broken reed, a wounded beast helplessly flailing about. But the Mongols didn't read the fucking newspapers. Which put him out here at the arse end of nowhere, doing the job a cavalryman should be doing. To think he had hoped for a quiet billet training backward troops in the modern ways of the Beiyang Army. Now he would be facing not just the lousy climate and awful food of Mongolia, but also the threat of hostile warriors and defecting troops from his own side. He did not see how the war could be fought, with so much desert and steppe between the Chinese and the rebels. He certainly did not feel he should be here, risking his life in so pointless an endeavour. Apparently, the governor had decided that honour had to be satisfied by attempting a push towards Kobdo, where Bogd Khan and his spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama had holed up. Honour be buggered, Jiang decided as dust blew into his face. Nothing here. He could just trot back to his commander and reoprt that much. A real soldier would have taken in the realities of the situation and prepared for a decisive strike, with modern riflemen, artillery and machine guns, not tried his luck with the scrapings of local garrisons. But if he lived to see the next yaear, then he would see a campaign. The Wuchang Army was too proud of its little walk into Lhasa, scaring away the Dalai Lama. Let the Beiyang boys show them how to do it properly. They would bring him and his damned tame Khan back to Beijing in a cage. And the Russian officers, too, if they stayed long enough to let themselves be captured.