Tsar Nicholas II took Bruno into his war room, where the German General was surprised to find that they were all alone. Afterward the Tsar shut the door behind him, and closed the blinds, before turning on the lights, where he revealed after pulling off a large blanket a miniature map of Western Russia, whose borders at this point in time were shared with that of the German Reich, as well as that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
On the map were little figures that were incredibly detailed, which represented the plans the Tsar had for the modernization of his forces. There were also figures based upon the changes the Germans and Austro-Hungarians had made thus far to their armed forces, or at least insofar as the Tsar was aware of.
It was abundantly clear to Bruno that the Tsar had taken inspiration from the war with the Bolsheviks and other Marxists who rallied beneath the banner of the Red Army. Realizing that his army was vastly obsolete by modern standards, he had begun to design, at least in theory by the figures some degree of modernization for his armed forces.
Whether it was field artillery of varying calibers that made use of some form of recoil mechanism, which was at the moment based upon the hydro-spring technology that was becoming the norm among the Great Powers outside of the German Empire who were already employing the more advanced Hydro-Pneumatic recoil system.
Or it was issuing heavy machine guns like those Bruno had used to great effect during the Russian Civil War, the Tsar seemed to have caught on to Bruno’s tactics, or at least his generals had and was now investing significantly into Russian industrialization and the modernization of its armed forces.
But from the eager look on the Tsar’s face, and the representation of the two other Great Powers which bordered the Russian Empire, Bruno couldn’t help but suspect the man was preparing to restore the League of Three Emperors from the second half of the 19th century.
However, Bruno first cracked a joke to the contrary, picking up the piece representing the average German soldier and making a comment on it.
“Am I to suspect that you wish to go to war with us, your majesty?”
Luckily for Bruno, the Tsar understood the man’s sense of humor after their brief interactions together and was quick to make a comment on it.
“I’m afraid that is a war I would not be able to win, even if I was given twenty years to prepare for it. No, I wanted your opinions on the theoretical concepts displayed here, and how effective they would be on a modern battlefield? You guys are preparing for a war with the French, right?”
Bruno raised a brow at the Tsar, making a comment about his willingness to fight another conflict so soon after the Russian Civil War had ravaged his country.
“Am I to believe that war is so enticing to you after gaining a taste for it that you would seek to join our pact even now as your country recovers from the wounds of the previous one you had fought?”
The Tsar was quick to correct Bruno’s assertion with a rather offended expression as he explained his thought process on the matter.
“Quite the contrary, I would endeavor to prevent my people from entering another war with all of my strength if it were at all possible to achieve. But there is a valuable lesson to be learned from this recent civil war and the scars it has left across Russia. Isn’t there an old roman adage about this very concept? What was it again?”
Bruno knew exactly what the Tsar was talking about and was quick to say the quote in perfect Roman Latin.
“Si vis pacem, para bellum”
Nicholas was quick to nod his head in approval of Bruno’s knowledge, and make a remark translating the adage into his own tongue.
“That’s correct… If you want peace, prepare for war. I’m merely ensuring that if we get dragged into the conflict, Russia is prepared for it. Besides, after the shit the French pulled here in my domain, I’m not exactly considering them a potential ally.”
Though Nicholas appeared hesitant to join sides with the French and British, Bruno did not make a move to recruit him, at least not so soon. Russia was still recovering from its civil war, which was fought much earlier in this timeline thanks to Bruno’s actions in the east.
They would require years of investment in infrastructure, agriculture, and industry to fully recover. And by no means would the people of Russia be so willing to take up arms in the name of aiding a foreign nation.
Pressing the Tsar now would only complicate the already complex diplomatic negotiations that would secure their allegiance when the time came to fight the Great War, instead Bruno shifted the subject by looking over at the figures which represented the theoretical modernizations the Tsar was looking forward to employing in the near future.
He examined them thoroughly before placing them back down. After doing so, he made his comments on it.
“I could just barely classify as an engineer, but I have to say it’s really impossible to know how functional these designs are from mere figures representing their outward appearance. I would need to understand the internal components to get a good opinion of them.
But as far as the machine guns go, the more you have, the better, and it should not be difficult to produce your own variation of the maxim gun, which is frankly where most nations are currently headed.”
The Tsar nodded his head while Bruno inspected the initiatives he was planning to undertake with more scrutiny. Frankly speaking, the Maxim gun and all of its derivatives were a true feat of human engineering.
During his past life, after the British Army officially retired the Vickers gun from service, which itself was a derivative of the earlier Maxim design, they decided to test the system to the point of failure. Because of this, they spent seven days firing five million rounds of ammunition through the gun, only changing the barrel once every hour and a half.
After concluding the test, the Vickers machine gun was taken to the armory, where it was inspected, only to find that the weapon was perfectly within serviceable specs in every single dimension.
There is not another weapon on the planet ever devised by humanity that could sustain such an overwhelming volume of fire, and still remain perfectly serviceable with the only component needing to be replaced being the barrel after a full hour and thirty minutes of sustained fire.
To put it simply, Bruno had immense respect for the maxim water-cooled machine gun and all of its derivatives. Unfortunately for him, it was simply too heavy to realistically employ in the manner which intended to. And because of this, the German Maxim Guns that had already been manufactured would only really be used in static defenses like machine gun bunkers.
Whereas the actual units engaging in assaults would use the much more mobile and modern MG-34. But of course, the Tsar knew nothing about Germany’s current efforts to mass produce these advanced weapons, which would not be matched by rival powers for decades to come.
And hence, he took Bruno’s approval and suggestion towards building as many maxims as possible with the utmost consideration. Afterward, he was quick to cover the table where his miniatures that represented the future of the Russian Army lied, and instead escorted Bruno out of the room.
Where the Tsar was quick to let Bruno understand the itinerary for the next few days.
“The guests for the ball should be arriving throughout the course of the next few days. In the meantime, you and your family are free to traverse through Saint Petersburg and do whatever you desire. I will, of course, provide security for the lot of you, so you don’t need to worry about such a thing. Other than that, if I have need of your services, I will send a messenger. That is acceptable, yes?”
Bruno was quick to thank the Tsar for the hospitality he was showing him and his family. Though the events of today were nothing too impactful on world history, at least on the surface. The meeting between Nicholas and Bruno had helped foster the growth of their potential friendship. Something that would be crucial to roping Russia into joining the Central Powers in the years to come.
