Is it worth reading so far?

  • No, kill it with fire.

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • No

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • Meh, could be much better

    Votes: 6 42.9%
  • yes

    Votes: 6 42.9%

  • Total voters
    14
hello all, i'm not sure if what i'm about to right counts as alternate history (more like historical fiction) so sorry if it isn't, i'm very bad at descriptions but here it goes. The story follows King Carol and his advisers as they try to make a big splash on the international stage but no matter how hard they try nothing they do ever amounts to more than a drop in the sea. they are bumbling and incompetent with stereotypical yet unique personalities. just read the first few chapters, if you get inside, historical jokes then i'm confident you'll love it, i'm going to flesh it out more later but i want to see if it's interesting before i put all my time into it, i'm currently 5,000+ words into this so i'll post it in smaller chunks, tell me what you think, thanks. :)


Romania Rising

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(left to right) Ferdinand (nephew), Carol I, Carol (grandnephew)




Chapter 1: A Fresh Start.


Part i) 10/04/1910. Royal Palace, Bucharest. 12:00 PM


Deep In the heart of the Romanian Royal Palace, King Carol joins a meeting with his advisors.


“I’m sure you’re wondering why i’ve assembled all of you here on such a short notice.” Carol said as he walked briskly to his seat at the head of the table.


“I’m wondering why you assembled us here.” Vali Stanescu replied, obviously unamused.


“I’ve assembled all of you here because i have good news. A thing that you have failed to grace me with since becoming my economic minister, Vali.” Carol retorted.


“I, ugh, ugh,” Vali stammered, obviously caught off guard.


“Anyways.” Carol said, unphased by Vali’s sputtering. “Long story short, pack your belongings gentlemen, we’re moving all of you to Peleș Castle!” He said excitedly.


Everyone looked at Carol in shock.The room would’ve went completely silent had it not been for the annoyingly loud tick of Tavian Petrescu’s pocket watch and the sound of Dominik Bumbescu in the adjacent room yelling at the top of his lungs.


“Get in here this moment, Dominik!”


The doors to the main hall were thrown open as Bumbescu entered the room. “Your damned aides won’t let my poor Vlad inside!”


“Who is Vlad?!” Carol said, obviously getting impatient.


“Vlad is our national animal, my pet! Those ignoramus peasants in your employ won’t let him inside!” Bumbescu said with great exasperation.


“Why in gods name would they let a lynx in the grand palace?! Better yet, why do you even have a pet lynx?!”


Silence fell once again across the room, that silence lasted only a few moments as the room erupted with laughter.


“Why are you all laughing?!” Yelled Carol.


“The lynx is not our national animal m’lord.” chuckled Serghei Donceanu. “The golden eagle is.”


“No it isn't” Mihaita Mechitbayeva piped up “our national animal is the great white pelican.”


“No!” Ciprian Nechita replied angrily “the Dacian hound is our national animal and the golden eagle is our national bird!”


“Are birds not animals too?!” Serghei replied, obviously confused.


“No they are not!” Ciprian snapped back. “That's why they are called birds, not animals!”


“Both of you, shut up.” Carol interjected. “Birds are animals, our national animal is not a bird, it is a lynx you daft asses.”


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“You tell that to my poor Vlad!” Cried Bumbescu. “He is not one of those overgrown house cats, he is a great and mighty auroch”


Carol was shocked, he knew that aurochs had supposedly been extinct since the 17th century. “Where on earth did you get one of those?!”


Auroch “I was on my way here when one of the wheels on my carriage broke near Viziru. My chauffeur, Pyotr, could not fix the wheel so we went into the town to find help. After we bought a new wheel we proceeded back to my carriage to find that my beloved horses had been stolen by the peasant potato vagrants that call the countryside home.” Bumbescu continued. “Fortunately, a good samaritan came by with Vlad, he offered to give me the magnificent auroch in exchange for my carriage, i jumped at the offer. I dismissed Pyotr and rode my majestic beast the rest of the way here.”


Carol settled into a suspicious stance. “Alright, bring in this ‘Vlad’.”


Moments later a grungy, brown steppe cow was lead into the room. “Is this Vlad?” Carol said impatiently while studying the foul farm animal in his royal palace.


“No, it's Bumbescu’s 5th wife” snickered Prince Ferdinand.


“I’d take a cow for a wife over my cousin.” Scoffed Bumbescu with a smirk. “I’m sure the cow would be more faithful.”


A few of the men in the room chuckled as Ferdinand's face blushed red with embarrassment and anger. “You insolent, fat weasel! When i am king you will be the first person of the many in this room i send back to the potato farms and coal mines!” He yelled.


“You will do no such thing Ferdinand.” Carol replied calmly. “I have written in my will that the king's advisors are life time positions and only the king who appoints them can have them replaced.” Ferdinand mumbled as Carol continued. “We have gotten way too off track, gentlemen. Get that animal out of here.” He said, pointing at the last spot he had seen Vlad.


Everyone turned to look at Vlad but all that was left of him was a pile of dung. “Where is your damn cow now?!” Carol yelled.


“I I-I don't know sir, he was standing right here just a moment ago” Bumbescu replied meekly.


“How do you ‘not know’ where your filthy animal is?!”


“I don’t know sir, i seemed to have lost him.”


“You ‘lost him’?! How does one even ‘lose’ a cow?!”


“I don’t know m’lord, he just disappeared.”


“Unless this cow is related to Joshua Slocum i wouldn’t think it capable of disappearing so easily.” Carol replied sardonically. “Now go look for it and don’t come back until it’s off palace property.”


Without a word Bumbescu slunk out the door.


“Now then” Carol said, turning his attention back to his general staff. “Any more stupidity, or can we continue this meeting?” Without waiting for a response he continued. “Good, now as i mentioned earlier, we are all moving to Peles castle, any questions?”


Tavian raised his hand.


Carol sighed. “Other than what time lunch is served.”


Tavian lowered his hand.


“Uh, yes. What about our families?” Emilian Lupei enquired.


“What about them?” Carol replied.


“What happens to them? Do they come with us?”


Carol thought for a moment. “Hmm, i guess they should come along then.” Carol sighed. “They’ll have to live in sinaia though, i don’t want any smelly peasants residing in my pristine castle.”


“I will tell my wife to pack our belongings.” Emilian said with dismay.


“Good.” Carol replied “our train leaves at 8 AM tomorrow morning, any last question before i adjourn this meeting?”


Everyone sat silently.

“Ok, back to work gentlemen, and remember, Nos nihil absque Deo!” He said with enthusiasm as he exited the room.


End of Part i
 
Part ii) 11/04/1910. Outskirts of Bucharest. 8:05 AM


The train had rolled out of the station exactly on time, any superstitious romanian would see this as a good omen considering it was (and still is) rare for a romanian train to leave at all, much less on time. The general staff were randomly spread about the train as Carol had made his plans on such short notice that a civilian train had to be commandeered.

‘Cuza’ class passenger train
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Roxana Dalca and Stelian Albu are sitting together in the first passenger car making light conversation. “I just don’t get why anyone would want to be Carol’s personal assistant.” Stelian said with a smile “he’s a complete man-child, no discipline at all and hair-brained ideas are not a good match.”


“Hmmm, i see. that's why he made you his secretary of state, no?” Roxana replied sarcastically.


“And how you got to be his personal secretary?” Stelian coolly retorted, still smiling.


Roxana blushed. “i just got lucky.” She said meekly.


“I think it's more than just luck that got you here.” Stelian replied.


“What do you mean by that?”


“I mean it takes a woman of great talent to get to such a position as you’re in now.” He said with a grin.


“You flatter me Stelian.” Roxana stiffened. “But your courting efforts are wasted on a woman who’s devoted to her work.”


“Your loss.” Stelian replied. “If you do not mind i’ll rest my eyes for the rest of our journey as i find rejection most tiring.”


“Of course.” Roxana said. “Do as you wish. I too grow tired from the attention of men.”


Both Stelian and Roxana relaxed into their seats, each thinking of the other. Meanwhile, 4 seats behind them, father Tomas and Quang Tri sit silently, staring at one another.
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“You’re one of those ‘chinks’, right?” Tomas inquired in his thick irish accent. he pulled a clear flask of brown fluid from his coat pocket. “You sure are quite a hanful for Europe.” He chuckled and coughed as he took a heavy swig from his glass.


“I’m a Vietnamese” Quang said with annoyance. “You’re one of those ‘holy men’, right?” He said mockingly. “You sure are quite un-orthodox in your behavior.

Both men sat staring at eachother for a few moments before Tomas broke the spell. “Your good!” He said with a laugh. “I can see us being good friends. Tell me how you ended up here, did the french kick out your gook ass.” His erratic behaviour caused him to spill some of his beverage on to his fresh-pressed pastor suit.


Quang broke into laughter. “Did the english kick out your illiterate, drunk, ass?” He howled. “Or did you just run out of potatoes?”


“You’re quite funny for a yellow man.” Tomas replied with a chuckle. “Want a sip?” He pushed the glass at Quang's chest.


“What is it?” Quang said, pushing Tomas’ hand away..


“Haven't you ever seen whiskey before?”


“Never heard of it.”

“How do you know of the Irish without hearing of whiskey?!” Tomas exclaimed. “It’s the only thing we drink!” He said with a laugh.


“I’ll have to pass, father Tomas.” Quang replied sarcastically.


“Suit yourself.” Tomas said, unbothered. He gingerly took a box of matches and large cigar out of the black bag on his lap. “How about a smoke?” He offered.


“I’ll pass on that too.”


“Ok then,” Tomas said as he brought the cigar to his mouth. “More for me.” He chuckled as he lit the cigar. “You still haven’t told me how you ended up here.”


Tomas’ first puff of the cigar reached Quang causing him to cough. “Do you have to smoke that in here?” He said, obviously annoyed.


Tomas sighed. “I guess it can wait.” He sighed wearily as he flicked the cigar out the window.


“Thank you.” Quang replied. “Now to answer your question to how i got here.” He continued. “I came here because i was tired of the rice paddies and wanted a potato farm” he said sarcastically.


“If you don’t want to share the real reason that's fine.” Tomas replied. “At any rate,” he continued. “I’m going to get some shut-eye, you should too, i have a feeling we won’t get too much of it from now on.”


“Sure,” Quang said. “Whatever you say.”


Father Tomas nodded and pulled his hat over his face, he was snoring loudly within moments. Quang Tri looked out the window, wondering if coming to Romania was a mistake. “Why not London? Paris? Rome? Berlin?” He whispered to himself as he slowly drifted into sleep.


Carol and Emilian are sitting at the back of the second passenger carriage reading silently. Out of the corner of his eye Emilian spotted a familiar man wearing glasses near the front of the carriage, “could he be Bumbescu?” He thought as a quizzical expression came over his face.


Carol looked up from his book. “Is something the matter?”


“Uh, no sir,” Emilian responded. “I just need to use the washroom.”


“Ok, go then.” Carol said with a hint of annoyance. “I don’t need you smelling up my part of the train.”


“Yes sir” Emilian said, getting up from his seat. “I’ll be back shortly.”


As Emilian made his way towards the front the familiar man looked down and pulled a book close to his face. “Excuse me,” Emilian said softly. “Is this seat taken? May i sit here?”


The man gave a grunt and motioned for Emilian to sit.


After a few moments of silence Emilian spoke up. “What are you doing Bumbescu?”


Bumbescu looked shocked. “How did you know it was me?” He whispered anxiously.


“Who else in the king's entourage looks like you?”


Bumbescu thought for a moment. “Nobody, i guess. But what about the glasses?”


“What about them?”


“How could you recognize me?”


Emilian sighed. “Lucky guess.” he said with a quick roll of the eyes.


“Well?” Bumbescu enquired. “What do you want?”


“I want to know what's going on!” Emilian whispered impatiently.


“I’m supposed to be back at the Royal Palace looking for Vlad.”


“You still haven’t found him?!”


“Ugh, no.” Bumbescu said nervously. “I’ve heard him but haven't seen anything more than moving shadows”.


“For goodness sake, man!” Emilian said with exasperation. “You most certainly are a fool's fool, aren’t you?!” He asked rhetorically.


“B-but i-i can’t catch a ghost!” Bumbescu stammered.


“I don’t even have a response to that Bumbescu. I don’t even want to know, just keep that to yourself.” Emilian replied.


“Fine.” Bumbescu mumbled. “Are you going to tell Carol?”


“Why would i do that? Carol can’t even remember what he had for breakfast, much less anything he said yesterday.” Emilian said with a chuckle. “I think you’re safe to take off that ridiculous ‘disguise’.”


“Oh, ok.” Bumbescu said nervously as he removed his glasses and placed them in his luggage bag. “I hope you’re right.”


Emilian scoffed. “I’m always right.” He said smugly. “Now excuse me, i must get back to my seat.”


Bumbescu nodded and went back to reading his book.


Emilian got up from his seat and made his way back to Carol. As Emilian sat down near Carol, the king spoke up. “I just realized that there are no toilets on this train. What were you up to?” He said suspiciously, not looking up from his newspaper.


“Nothing sir, just talking to Bumbescu, that oaf seems to think he’s not supposed to come with us.”


“That rings true as long as he has taken care of that beast in the palace.” Carol said impatiently.


Emilian thought for a moment, he realized that this was an opportunity to possibly have Bumbescu do his bidding, or at the very least add some drama to such a boring place. “I think i remember him telling me that the situation is dealt with.” He finally said.


“Good.” Carol replied as he relaxed into his seat, a burden obviously lifted from his shoulders. “You know,” he continued. “There is many a priceless work of art in the palace, it honestly gives me the shivers to think of what havoc a farm animal could wreak on a Von Aachen.”


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“I see, i’ll keep you posted on what i hear, alright?” Emilian offered.


“Yes.” Carol paused for a moment. “Thank you, Emilian.”


“Don’t mention it sir, it's my duty.” Emilian replied. “I’ll let you get back to your book now.” He said softly.


Carol nodded and turned his attention back to reading.


Emilian could barely stop a smile from coming to his face, he could hardly believe that he had leverage over Bumbescu and his king indebted to him.

End of Part ii)

(sorry for bad formatting, copy and pasted it from google docs) :p
 
Part iii) 11/04/1910. Near Buda, 10km NW of Ploesti. 11:20 AM.


Everyone was surprised when the train suddenly came to a screeching halt. Serghei went to the front of the train to ask what happened. The conductor seemed stunned. “I-i think th-the men ou-outside are hajduci!” He stuttered. “They blocked the train tracks!”


“You’ve got to be kidding me,” He sighed. “I’ll go outside and talk to them.” Without waiting for a response Serghei exited the train.


Upon exiting the train, Serghei spotted about a dozen odd men in colourful cloaks and hats with vibrant feathers standing near the engine yelling at the conductor. Upon spotting Sergei, one of the men approached him, he was the only one of the men with a black cloak and featherless black hat.. “Give us all the valuables and any Turks or Austrians you have on this train!” He demanded.


“Are you mad! Who do you think you are as to block the tracks and demand anything at all!?” Serghei asked rhetorically.


“They call me Marele Salvator, I lead the great protectors of the Balkans! Who are you to question our authority?” He said angrily.


“I am part of the king's entourage!” Serghei replied with great exasperation. “Now clear this track at once and i’ll consider not having you all thrown in jail!”


Marele shifted his cloak to reveal a sword in a scabbard attached to his hip. “What were you saying, friend?”


“I said clear the track and get out of my site you filthy highwayman.” Serghei replied calmly as he shifted his own black cloak to reveal a P08 Luger in its holster.


Marele grinned then laughed. “That’s not your line!”


Serghei was confused. “Pardon me?! What is going on here?!” He demanded.


Out of the bushes alongside the railway a short man in a suit wearing a black beret appeared. “Cut!” He yelled through his megaphone as he made a beeline for Serghei. The rest of the ‘Hajduci’ relaxed, they started to chat and smoke with one another. The short man started cursing in French as he approached Serghei, once he got within a few feet he paused. “Wait a minute, you are not my actor!” He bellowed in a thick French accent. “Get this peasant out of here!”

Serghei stood dumbfounded as two muscular men in military uniforms appeared from the bushes and walked towards him. “Stop!” Serghei said when one of the men tried to grab him. “I am Serghei Donceanu! head of security for our great king!” The men paused for a moment, allowing him to continue. “Now both of you get rid of this man at once!” He yelled, Pointing to the Frenchman.


The men whispered to each other for a few moments until a voice from the train yelled. “What in the heavens is going on here?!” Everyone turned towards the voice, it was king Carol exiting the train followed by a few of his staff. “Who are you?!” He continued.


“I am René sir,” he said weakly. “To what do i owe the pleasure of speaking with you?”


“That's what i was going to ask you, René.” Carol said with agitation. “What are you doing here?”


“Pardon me sir,” René replied looking down. “But, you commissioned me to make a movie about the exploits of the hajduci in their struggle against the evil Ottomans, sir.”


Carol thought for almost a whole minute before finally remembering having given funding to this man only a few months before. “Ah, yes!” He said excitedly. “If you could just clear the tracks and let us on our way you can continue.” He continued. “Also, if you don’t mind, could you remove the accent above the last ‘e’ in your name? It annoys me.”


“Uh, yes sir, it will be done.” Rene replied. “But what about the train that was supposed to be here at this time? I need the actors and a train in order to shoot the movie, sir.” He said nervously.


“Uh, yes, of course.” Carol said hastily. “I’ll have my secretary send a message back to Bucharest as soon as humanly possible to see what has that train held up, alright?”


“Ok sir, i shall be waiting patiently.” Rene replied.


“Good, now i shall board my train and await my leave, take care Rene, i hope to see you at the films showing my friend.” Carol said as he motioned for his advisors to follow him and proceeded back towards the train.


Everyone filed neatly back onto the train, exhausted from the stress of possibly being ambushed by 18th century warriors. Serghei kept his eyes open and his ears alert to anything suspicious, he realized the very real threat to the king's life that these situations could represent and how it was his responsibility to protect him from all dangers, obvious or not. Serghei is a man devoted to his work, a most loyal advisor and servant to the king, he could not forgive himself if anything was to happen to his lord, for he is a knight without armor in a savage land, his lord he must protect, but with what? How can one protect a man bold as Carol, who charges danger head on with the reckless abandon of a madman? That question was yet to be answered.


End of part iii)
 
Part iv) 11/04/1910. Sinaia. 2:30 PM.

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Postcard of Sinaia, circa 1890.



It took about half an hour for the actors to clear the obstruction from the railway and a few more hours to reach Sinaia. After pulling into the station an hour late everyone packed their belongings and dragged them two kilometres up the hill to the castle, grumbling the whole way. They mostly paid no attention to the pristine fountains and ornate sculptures that dotted the green, acre-sized lawn of the great estate, many of them had seen the same sights many times before while on summer ‘vacation’ when the king would retire to the ‘fortress of the mountains’ as he liked to call it. With great difficulty the men pulled their belongs up the large, granite, double steps and through the giant solid-oak doors, beyond which housed an inner courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded on all sides by three story tall walls, adorned with chiseled designs and murals on the light-brown bricks, colorful bards and other characters were embossed on all different heights. The courtyard also contained a couple sandstone sculptures, each tucked away in different corners, vines hanging down from the wood terraces above almost covering them completely. Everyone rested a few moments beside the fountain before heading inside.


(will describe interior later, too hard right now, slowing me down)


Everyone received their respective keys they headed off to unpack in the room assigned to them and unpacked their belongings. It was early enough that after awhile the staff began to relax and explore the place that they would call home for an unknown amount of time, others went to help their families and spend time with them, others wandered the grounds outside the castle and took in the views and fresh air. There was much entertainment to be had at castle peles, 2 theatres, 3 libraries, an observatory, botanical garden and more, one could spend days just observing and taking in the art and sculptures that adorned every wall and corridor of the place.


Another train bringing the different embassy staff and other VIP’s came around 4:00 PM and got themselves set up, all were very stressed as they bickered with each other constantly and obviously had no plans to get along any time soon.

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Clockwise from K to Q: King Carol, Roxana Dalca, Vali Stanescu, Constantin Cristescu, Serghei Donceanu, Aurel Vlaicu, Ion Dragalina, Premzin Alec, Niklos Balenzo, Claus Eichorst, Fridwald Krupp, Faruk Pasha, Ruman Chilikov, Prince Ferdinand, Princess Marie, Robert Bingham, Ivan Stali, Yves Forgeron, Alex Godwin, Erwin Aders, Tavian Petrescu, Dominik Bumbescu, Henri Coanda, Mihaita Mechitbayeva, Vacant, Nicolae Paulescu, Stelian Albu, Elisabeth of Wied.


Dinner was served at exactly 7 o’clock, the dishes included beef, ham, shepherd's pie, apples, vegetables, and wine. Before everyone began to eat, Carol clinked his glass with a spoon, everyone turned to look at him. “Tonight… is a special night,” he said soberly “it marks the start of a new beginning for great Romania and her peoples, many changes are needed in the army, navy, economy, culture, and last but not least, science. Anything short of a complete overhaul would make it a fallacy to think we’d improved. I need everyone to not worry, this does not mean i’m firing any of you, it means that you have to work harder and believe in a better future for your family and others, you must come with the knowledge of the great change to come to romania over the next decade…


I digress, i’m guessing that you all want to know exactly what i have in mind, most important will be our scientific and industrial development as they go hand in hand, next will be the raising of the standard of living for every romanian, the build up of a new, more powerful, army, navy, and airforce, last but not least, to take back land that has been taken from us… others may see it as just ‘clay’ with a few peasants living on top, i do not see it that way though, what i see is a grand and fertile land with happy peasants who are like family to me dirty and smelly family but still family...


We must also be free from outside influence, there are many dark and dangerous forces that lurk not just in the shadows but in plain view, all are working only for their own agenda and interests and would like to see nothing less than the utter annihilation of this nation and the subjugation of its people, with no offence intended i point to our ambassadors at the opposite side of the table, they represent each of their respective natures interests, not yours, and certainly not mine, therefore be watchful and do not let yourself be manipulated by any merchant that gives away his product without price as nothing is free, everything has a price, whether it be now, or later...

Be wary as to not let worthless things influence you, gentlemen, for not all is as it seems and these threats are not just physical, they are deep in the minds of every man, woman, and child, keep an eye on all and do not let the greed, wroth, insecurities, lust, jealousy, and mistrust that lay in wait distract you, they will destroy even the noblest of men if given room to grow. A lie is not just a lie as to a seed not being just a seed, if given the proper care both will sprout and spread the fruitage of what was sown. An open wound is not just an open wound as a blight is not just a blight, if given no care, both will fester and spread, leading to destruction far and wide. So i ask you gentlemen to tend properly to what needs to be tended, and that you discard what is nothing but trouble, thank you for graciously listening.” he ended solemnly as he sat back down.


Every Romanian at the table cheered, the ambassadors looked around the room and at each other with great anxiety. After a few moments the cheering winded down and everyone at the table began to eat, chatter, and gossip. The German and Austrian ambassadors (Eichorst and Krupp, respectively) spoke quietly together while keeping an eye on their counterparts across the table (Godwin and Forgeron, respectively) who did the same to one another. The Turkish and Bulgarian ambassadors (Pasha and Chilikov, respectively) quietly argued while Pasha kept his right eye focused on Stali (Russian ambassador) for the entirety of dinner. Bingham (United States ambassador) was engaged in animated discourse with Stali over ridiculous plans to link the Trans-Siberian Railroad across the Bering Straits to Anchorage.


On the Romanian side, Carol kept to himself while occasionally turning to his wife and mumbling. Roxana and Elisabeth gossiped about everything from the latest fashion trends to the maids and butlers who served them. Vali and Mihaita had friendly banter over the possibilities of ‘Universal’ health care for all Romanians, nothing said was serious. Constantin silently watched the seat opposite of him, he wished with all his heart that he was sitting there and staring back at himself. Serghei sat quietly, taking in and digesting Carol’s speech while keeping a watchful, mistrusting, and shifting eye on everyone in the room. Aurel and Henri excitedly talked of new ideas for the advancement of flight, such ideas included 10+-winged planes, Blimps, ‘jet’ propulsion engines, and submersible planes. Ion was making up hypothetical campaigns and had Premzin spend his entire dinner writing them down. Niklos quietly looked over his notes and wrote down some more, mostly about the others in the room, he couldn’t wait to fill the quota of arrests in order to maintain his budget. Ferdinand and Marie quietly bickered about his duties as prince and the responsibility to his family. Erwin (War Minister) and Dominik (Trade Minister) casually talked about the prospects of developing tracked ‘metal boxes’ with machine guns and selling them overseas, Tavian (Trade Secretary) quickly writing down notes on what was being said. Nicolae (Internal Affairs Minister) talked at Stelian - who was far too busy admiring Roxana across the table to engage - about possibly getting foreign investment for the expansion of the Ploesti oil fields and search for oil elsewhere in the country. Dinner was over by 10 and everyone toasted the chef for the fine meal that was prepared then left the table.
 
So far so good, I have a strong suspicion that if I spoke Romanian I would find even more humour in the tale. I look forward to seeing how things develop for King Carol and his merry band. I do have a couple of questions firstly on the Dinner shepherds pie? ( based on my Romanian wife's reaction to this wonderful English dish I wont be making it again) surly the mince would be better used to make Mici, the potatoes used to make Galuste cu prune (Gumboc plum dumplings) and a dish of fasole cu ciolan afumat would be enjoyed much more. I would love to see the ambassadors reaction to toasting King Carols plan with Palinca.
More seriously I think you have made a rod for your own back by placing a poll you will get more readers than responses for example a poll I placed looking for the most readable font to post my time line in was viewed hundreds of times but got only 13 votes!
Please do continue the story but don't be surprised if at times you feel no one is reading it (the views count will come back and can be an encouragement when it seems the only person posting is you)

Will Sasa Cuza son of the deposed Domnitor Alexandru Cuza stir up problems for the King ? ( edit No due to the inconvenient fact that he died over a decade before the story begins ! Apologies for a stupid question)


I wish you and your thread well

Dave
 
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So far so good, I have a strong suspicion that if I spoke Romanian I would find even more humour in the tale. I look forward to seeing how things develop for King Carol and his merry band. I do have a couple of questions firstly on the Dinner shepherds pie? ( based on my Romanian wife's reaction to this wonderful English dish I wont be making it again) surly the mince would be better used to make Mici, the potatoes used to make Galuste cu prune (Gumboc plum dumplings) and a dish of fasole cu ciolan afumat would be enjoyed much more. I would love to see the ambassadors reaction to toasting King Carols plan with Palinca.
More seriously I think you have made a rod for your own back by placing a poll you will get more readers than responses for example a poll I placed looking for the most readable font to post my time line in was viewed hundreds of times but got only 13 votes!
Please do continue the story but don't be surprised if at times you feel no one is reading it (the views count will come back and can be an encouragement when it seems the only person posting is you)

Will Sasa Cuza son of the deposed Domnitor Alexandru Cuza stir up problems for the King ? ( edit No due to the inconvenient fact that he died over a decade before the story begins ! Apologies for a stupid question)


I wish you and your thread well

Dave

thanks dave, sorry for the late response, i lost the encouragement to continue due to the lack of interest by people i submitted my story to for review, the time i spent on it also caused me to fail one of my classes so thats a knock against me. i guess i'll continue now, i can't salvage a mark but i can salvage the progress on this (hopefully) novel, as long as one person other than me enjoys reading it i will continue. besides, i think i've gotten better as the story has progressed and i expect to get better as time goes on as long as i can remain patient.

i was a bit embarrassed for a moment that i might of forgotten about Sasa when you mentioned him :coldsweat: i guess i'm in the clear for now, eh?

i will try to post the next update the moment i'm done writing it, i have big plans for the future unfortunately trapped in my mind, enough for a trilogy or more... thanks again for the encouragement Dave. :extremelyhappy:
 
made this update on the fly, it is set immediately after the last update.


Immediately after leaving the table, Eichorst motioned for Krupp and Pasha to follow him out on to the second floor balcony that overlooked the gardens. “Do you know why i’ve brought you out here?” he said staring motionlessly out over the valley before him.

“To look at the valley?” Faruk asked.


“Don’t be an idiot,” Eichorst replied sharply “we’re here because we have to plan, in secret, for the continuance of our influence over this land.”


“Why isn’t bulgaria here then?”


Eichorst waved the idea off. “They’re already hooked and are nothing but trouble, they are going to get what's coming to them soon with their instigative behaviour”.


“Oh, i guess that makes sense then.” faruk replied weakly. “But are we ever going to tell them anything? If so, when?”


“Never.” Eichorst calmly responded. “They’ll find out as things come, they will always be nothing more than a footnote in history, their brief experience with independence might last a thousand years, or justa few more months, they are extremely insignificant and nothing more to us then a bargaining chip and a tool.”


“Then what about Romania?” Krupp chimed in. “how are they any more important to our cause then bulgaria? They may have a German king but it’s people are very pro-russian, the Russians gave them their freedom and they are a people of strong superstition, most strongly believe that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Turks are the enemy of both the Russians AND the all the balkans, how would we remedy that?”


“And the Austrians have done much for the romanian people who love them so?” Faruk replied sarcastically with a drawn out eyeroll. “fix your own ‘Empire’ before you criticize others, i can’t say i’m surprised hungary sent as ridiculous a slav as you to here to do their dirty work.” he chuckled.


A smile slowly spread across Krupps face. “Then what would that say about the reason you are here?” he asked smugly “are all the ‘good’ ambassadors too busy licking britain's boot to come here? Or are they at russia’s door begging for non-aggression pacts?”


At that comment, the two began to incoherently bicker with one another as Eichorst looked on completely unimpressed with what he had to work with. On one hand was an energetic, middle-aged, wiry little Austrian, certainly not more than 5’11”, 56 kilos, dressed in an oversized grey military uniform adorned with about a dozen or so medals, all of which were most likely not earned, the son of dying nobility that ironically shared the name of a booming arms manufacturer. On the other hand, an old man, battle hardened from the balkan wars, cynical of change and hence, kicked to the farthest fringes of turkic society due to his resistance to the drastic changes of 1908, the Young Turks and their ‘revolution’. He may of been old but he was still more than a match - physically - for men half his age, but rather weak-willed, he was a large man, 6’6”, 80 kilos, dressed in the same bright blue and red uniform and fez he wore at the Battle of Shipka Pass. “how could a patriot like that be forgotten? A man like that would be a hero in Germany.” Eichorst would often think to himself.

After dwelling on his thoughts for awhile Eichorst finally spoke. “Why do you two incessantly argue?” he calmly asked. “it doesn't help either of you, sure you can hate each other all you want but when you have the opportunity to advance together why don’t you? You just bicker and yell, nothing gets done and you both lose, i thought that being assigned here might help me make your two empires see that they can cooperate, even in a small place like this, i was obviously mistaken.” he slowly started walking inside. “I’ll be in the observatory until 11:30, if you both decide to get along don’t hesitate to come and finish this conversation, if not, you can both continue to waste all of our time.” he finished as he left the balcony, not waiting for a response. Krupp and Faruk both quietly retreated to their rooms.
 
i will try to post the next update the moment i'm done writing it, i have big plans for the future unfortunately trapped in my mind, enough for a trilogy or more... thanks again for the encouragement Dave. :extremelyhappy:

Odoban I'm glad my post gave you some encouragement and I will be keeping an eye out for future updates. Please don't worry about the length of time between up dates real life should always take precedent Alt history will wait collage deadlines, exams etc. wont and as you read other people threads you will soon realise no mater how fast you can write people read faster and are always looking for more.:)

As for Sasa, your time line saved my own as I was able to edit and stop his death :eek: before posting so thanks.

I look forward to seeing Carol's story unfold and hope to see Romania rise if you feel like helping them to fly then Traian Vuia may be of interest to you a bit more luck and funding and he could possibly be used to provide Carol with an Air force. (I mention him because of a replica of his plane out side Timisoara air port which also is names after him.

looking forward to the next update (though please don't get distracted and drop and more marks)


Dave
 
Took me awhile for this update because work and research, hope people like it.

Unbeknownst to the central powers diplomats, Niklos Balenzo had followed them and had been taking grossly overexaggerated notes from behind a hanging pot of geraniums just inside. Niklos was a short, pudgy man who wore a bright baby blue trench coat that had supposedly been passed on to him from his father who was the police captain of Iasi until he died of a heart attack in 1905. Niklos was known as an ambitious, flamboyant schemer and had even attempted to indict Serghei of treason (he had envied Serghei’s position since becoming chief of police), the result of which was Serghei presenting to Niklos evidence of the captain’s indiscretions with crime investigations, the case was immediately dropped. After his targets had left, Niklos proceeded to his room to conspire against the people who he believed could help him reach his aspirations, whether they wanted to or not.


While the Central Powers diplomats had a rough night, their counterparts had quite the opposite. Immediately after dinner they made a beeline for the theatre for a screening of Ben Hur, then continued their happy chatter until heading off to bed at 12 pm. Serghei had followed them to be sure they weren't up to anything and was slightly troubled that they had not talked politics or the change in their situation at all, it was almost as though they were still in Bucharest, living up life on cigars and whiskey. Trusting that they were not going anywhere else, Serghei went back to his own room for a well deserved rest.


Ferdinand had retreated to his room immediately after dinner for the night, he had to finish his top secret plans that he was to present his military staff the next day. Elisabeth reluctantly let him be and practiced her knitting. Everyone else either continued their conversations after dinner or went back to their rooms to rest, everyone was asleep by 1 PM.


End of part iv)


Part v) 12/04/1910. Sinaia. 7:00 AM.


Servants were sent to instruct Ion and Erwin to come down to the dining room as soon as possible, upon getting dressed both men obediently headed there where they were met by Carol, Constantin Cristescu, and a few other officers who were pouring over some maps and other papers.


Ion and Erwin stood at the door for a few minutes patiently before Carol noticed them and motioned for them to come in, as they approached the main table Carol began to speak excitedly. “Good morning gentlemen! I just realized earlier that i had not informed you of the current staff meeting, you may look around and talk to whomever you like until the briefing begins in a few minutes” he said as he waved them off. Both of the men just looked at eachother in surprise and stood in uncomfortable silence as those who knew what they were doing continued to work diligently.


After a few minutes everyone sat down around the table and a few of the junior officers stood by the doors. Carol, standing up from his usual seat at the head of the table began to speak. “Good morning everyone, in order to fill everyone in on what is going on i will start from the beginning. A few months ago at the encouragement of Constantin, i began planning for a sweeping military reform program aimed, primarily, at strengthening the military and one day retaking the land of ours that the austrians now possess, there is a major storm brewing over europe and i am not afraid of stabbing the austrians in the back to get back our lands and people that they have subjugated. The first part of the plan is diplomatic, we can either make a deal with germany in order to take austrian lands when they collapse then get bessarabia from the russians or just join the “Entente” and settle with transylvania, i have not decided which one to go with yet.


The second part of the plan is to begin construction of fortifications in order to protect us if things go south, if we are getting pushed back then all we might have to do is wait for our enemys enemies to defeat them or hold out for a white peace. The third part of the plan is for the reform of the army, the rough outline of this plan is described on one of the papers each of you have in front of you. The fourth part is the finishing of plan T, the invasion of austria-hungary and bulgaria, the rough outline of which you will see before you. And last but not least, part five, the reform of the navy, we will need to invest in coastal submarines in order to mount a successful war against both russia and bulgaria. A new military headquarters will be built just a few hundred feet downhill from this palace along with accommodations for it's staff, that will be all for now, please look over the information provided for each of you and contribute any way you can in it’s development, if you have any questions please direct them to constantin or, if it's very important, to me, thank you.”

Everyone nodded and continued with their task at hand, Erwin and Ion looked over the plans.


grup de armată I


1st armată (base army organization on creation): 155,000 strong in 3 corps. 1st corps with 55,000, 2nd and 3rd corps with 50,000 each divided into 5 divisions 10,000 strong in 4 brigades each. 62 brigades (2,500 each), 16 divisions (15 with 10,000 each, 1 with 5000) , 3 corps (2 with 50,000, 1 with 55,000), 1 army (155,000).


2nd armată (base army organization on creation): 155,000 strong in 3 corps. 1st corps with 55,000, 2nd and 3rd corps with 50,000 each divided into 5 divisions 10,000 strong in 4 brigades each. 62 brigades (2,500 each), 16 divisions (15 with 10,000 each, 1 with 5000) , 3 corps (2 with 50,000, 1 with 55,000), 1 army (155,000).


3rd armată (base army organization on creation): 155,000 strong in 3 corps. 1st corps with 55,000, 2nd and 3rd corps with 50,000 each divided into 5 divisions 10,000 strong in 4 brigades each. 62 brigades (2,500 each), 16 divisions (15 with 10,000 each, 1 with 5000) , 3 corps (2 with 50,000, 1 with 55,000), 1 army (155,000).


4th armată (base army organization on creation): 155,000 strong in 3 corps. 1st corps with 55,000, 2nd and 3rd corps with 50,000 each divided into 5 divisions 10,000 strong in 4 brigades each. 62 brigades (2,500 each), 16 divisions (15 with 10,000 each, 1 with 5000) , 3 corps (2 with 50,000, 1 with 55,000), 1 army (155,000).


620,000

Plan T: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n5DG8cEemP6o1cbiAcn0h4MH4ETS8NPLxCXnsetOqm0/edit?usp=sharing


EDIT: side note: i'm currently working on diagrams for the alternate planes, trains, ships, and cars. hopefully will add armored car one next update = D
 
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Odoban I'm glad my post gave you some encouragement and I will be keeping an eye out for future updates. Please don't worry about the length of time between up dates real life should always take precedent Alt history will wait collage deadlines, exams etc. wont and as you read other people threads you will soon realise no mater how fast you can write people read faster and are always looking for more.:)

As for Sasa, your time line saved my own as I was able to edit and stop his death :eek: before posting so thanks.

I look forward to seeing Carol's story unfold and hope to see Romania rise if you feel like helping them to fly then Traian Vuia may be of interest to you a bit more luck and funding and he could possibly be used to provide Carol with an Air force. (I mention him because of a replica of his plane out side Timisoara air port which also is names after him.

looking forward to the next update (though please don't get distracted and drop and more marks)


Dave

thanks dave, i'm doing my best. you're writing your own timeline too? if you can, maybe send me a link to it? i'm sure i'd like to read it :D
 
Hi, I’m really enjoying your thread and looking forward to future updates. I am green with envy at the quality of your map.

Moving on to look at Carol's plan, wow, you can't fault a guy for ambition but if the data here is correct an army that encompasses 10% of the total population is a stretch, not that I would want to tell the King that.

Were I Carols chief of staff I would look to shift responsibility by pointing out the shortage of armaments but insisting that the divisions called for would be raised and trained.

Your Majesty each army will have a permanent establishment of 3 corps made up of 3 2 brigade divisions, each of these will reach 4 brigades with the addition of a further 2 brigades of "national reserves" serving 6 months in 3 years. So giving us 60 trained brigades or another 15 4 brigade divisions ready to fill the armies to the levels needed and provide replacements in time of war. While at any time 36 brigades are ready to fight. This would have the added advantage your majesty of not alerting our neighbors to our strength enabling a surprise attack following a rapid mobilization. So with your inspired plan a swift victory with minimal casualties and a rapid return to normality for the economy can be achieved.


I am sure others on the forum will be able to provide a much better system and more detail on what force levels are sustainable

As for my own timeline (two empires unite) you can find it in the alien space bats section.

I’m looking forward to the rest of Carol’s plans.

Thanks again Dave
 
hello, long time no post. : > i was very busy over the summer, tis' life. No schematics this time :( but at least i got more done :D. anyways, without further ado, the next slice of this pie:


Immediately after having looked over the plan outline Ion spoke up in an agitated manner. “These plans, in theory, are quite interesting to say the least, but… there are numerous issues, first, this plan requires a large amount of men to be under arms, we don’t have the officers, equipment, and possibly able-bodied men for this, any reinforcements will have to be scraped from the bottom of the recruitment barrel. Second, who will work in the factories? Old men, young boys, women? This is a problem, 10% of the population under arms might not seem that bad at first glance but there is still an economy that has to be run, fields to be farmed, when you are missing 30% of suitable men what can you do? Third. Where will we get all of the weapons? We currently don’t even have 20% of the weapons needed for such a professional army, i assume you want it to be a professional, well trained army, not a militia. Artillery, machine guns, aeroplanes possibly, and other small arms, do you think that britain or germany would give us weapons if they thought we might use them against those we bought them from? Or do you propose we develop and make all of our weapons here? It would take at minimum 5 years to build the military infrastructure, develop and produce these weapons, when do you think this hypothetical war of yours will begin? Fourth, along with the many political issues, the war plans don’t make any sense, after you drive down to Varna what will you do? Hope that the bulgarians will capitulate? The same issue arises in Hungary, do you think the “Austrians” will just hand over the land you will gain in an undoubtable “sneak attack”? History has proven that time and time again, you have to occupy a great deal of land and inflict great damage on the enemy morale in order to get a small amount of territory. What happens if Austria-Hungary makes great progress against Russia while the Romanian army is getting into place? They could attack an unprotected and overextended front, if the Germans send reinforcements we could be finished within a year and lose so much and gain nothing. I could go on and on about the foolishness of this plan. In conclusion, i think this is a silly little sham concocted by Constantin “the warmonger” Cristescu in order to keep his position and be seen as important, with your permission i will make an alternate plan, one to attack Russia and still get what we want, then you will see who will help create a greater Romania.”


After a moment of shocked silence Constantin began to speak calmly. “Pfff, do as you wish, i am completely confident in my plan. I have all the military staff on my side helping me, who exactly is going to help you?” he enquired.


“I don’t need military staff to help me.” Ion responded with a shrug. “they would help but i can do it alone. I will give you all a general idea of my plans right now if our King will allow it”. Everyone in the room turned to face Carol. “I don’t see why not, please proceed.” he said.


“Thank you, Carol.” Ion said graciously. “My plan is to ally with Germany and Austria when there is another major war in Europe, they will most likely have to fight Russia, i can see the Ottomans and Bulgarians fighting against Russia as well. It is reasonable to think that if we wait until the war turns into one of attrition we will demand bessarabia, Transylvania and Romanian Alföld in return for breaking the stalemate, that may seem like a ridiculous assumption but it is an offer that they can’t refuse, otherwise they lose the war and much more as a result. This is just an outline of my plan, I will provide much more detail as planning and situations develop.”


Constantin scoffed. “Good luck, how old are you now, 27? … you’re only military experience is killing a few unarmed peasants, know your place.”


“It is better to have some military experience then to have none at all Constantin, are you questioning my handling of a marxist revolt that threatened to tear this country apart?! It pained me but i did what had to be done.” Carol said sternly.


“No no no, i did not mean it like that, i did not mean to question your judgement.” Constantin replied weakly.


“Good, now get back to working on your plan, Ion and i must speak alone.” Everyone went right back to what they were doing before the debacle. Carol got out of his seat and walked to the door. “Ion, come with me for a moment.” Ion dutifully rose from his seat and followed Carol out into the hall.


Once Carol closed the doors behind them he began to speak. “Ion, you are a good man, i see you doing great things in the future, you are not a career officer like Constantin… you care about Romania and her people, as i do. I will give you half of Constantin’s staff, make your plans good, do not worry too much though, even if i pick Constantin’s plan it will not be him to preside over it, if you prove yourself worthy you could very well end up at the top.” Carol sighed then continued. “As you know, i don’t have a legal heir and i don’t have any faith in Ferdinand. I will not be alive for too many more years, i might possibly need someone who is worthy to take my place when my time comes… that is where you come in-” Carol was interrupted as Niklos came bounding down the hall.

P.S. thanks for the help and support Dave.
 
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