For Want of Much
But for the stroke of a sword, one Polanian state might have stretched from Novgorod to Constantinople. But for a woman, a Polanian state might now exist from the lands of Tver and Chernigov to the lands of the distant Qing: a country that might have rivaled and perhaps even surpass Germany or Arcadia. A Russia. Chernigovian novelist, Burian Alliluyeva
For a man of his distinct military heritage, he had never felt out of place amongst his fellow soldiers. To be a Bekhuzov in the military was much akin to a great whale in the ocean; it was their natural environment. Yet this character trait of the Chernigovian military which he cherished was one of the aspects which he had been tasked to expunge from the army. There was no place for aristocratic pretensions to come into play with the Tverian military juggernaut bearing down upon Chernigov. Unfortunately, that might not exactly bear the same urgency upon his comrades.
Fellow lords, it is not with little alarm that I sense changes within the command structure of the Chernigovian High Command. While it is highly possible that those not born of noble birth do indeed have great skills, it cannot be said that they possess a great deal of marital ability. Indeed, these self-made men have found great success in the civilian spheres of life: our Prime Minister himself was born of a rank only barely above that of commoner, and many men born with nothing now dominate the various industries.
Of course, I am not saying that those of non-noble birth cannot show military skill. I speak for many when I say that those of noble blood are better suited at the arts of war. Noble blood should thus be an asset; those of nobility should advance higher in the ranks than those not of noble blood. It is our birthright. The suggestion of the Grand Prince, well-intended as it is and excellent in the ideological field, has little practical military merit. Although I am sure our excellent Marshal Bekhuzov will have a different opinion.
He smiled at General Nikitin. Aristocratic and blue-blooded, Nikitin was undoubtedly a most superbly competent general. His skills laid not so much upon the actual strategies or the tactics, but the sheer logistical and organizational ability he possessed. It was not with a scent of irony that he noted that the most ardent defender of aristocratic privilege within the standard military be someone who was not even a member of the standard military.
If my memory serves me correctly, which I doubt considering my already old, infirm and hopelessly confused mind at this, chuckles broke out among those gathered, many of whom were significantly older than he was,
you, General Nikitin, received your position mostly based on merit, or was that not the case?
With no response from the otherwise still young man, he continued on what he hoped would not be a long-winded speech.
There is no doubt that geniuses produced from excellent noble blood and pedigrees are the finest work of our Benevolent God. Yet that ideal often falls short, and instead of noble blood uplifting the worthy, it has become a mechanism for which many are crushed under. That is unacceptable. Out of all the major modern industrial powers of the world, only Chernigov retains such a hopeless nostalgic attitude towards our nobility. If we do not govern ourselves, we invite the further governance of the military by our civilian counterparts.
It is preferable that the General Staff change before the Reichstag changes us.
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The Orient.
With beautiful tiled terraces, the city glistened under the sunlight. Beijing was a city not at all in the twentieth century. And perhaps that was fitting, as it was the seat of an oriental Emperor. As a city, it was perhaps the most well-fortified city he had ever seen. Chernigov, as well as most European nations, had long given up fortifying large urban areas. That was not the case with Beijing.
Sprawling defensive city walls surrounded the city on all sides, equaling up to tens of kilometers long if not longer. These massive city walls were only reinforced by a series of towers, all bristling with modern cannons. Outside of the city walls were a series of military encampments intended to protect Beijing.
Looking at his guide, he could do little but grimace. The march to the front would not at all be pleasant, but at least he was not too inconspicuous. After all, he was a Turk Buddhist subject of the Grand Prince of Chernigov. His task was simple. To write and to be published.
It was after all, the greatest war of the Twentieth Century.
