Elsa had gotten into a better mood by the time dinner was ready. After all, she wasn’t the type to stay angry at her boys for long, at least not for something as minor as this. In addition to this, Heidi began to speak with Ludwig’s wife throughout the day.
Whatever grudges they may have seemed to have in the past thoroughly vanished by the time the family gathered at their exceptionally large dinner table. Nine sons had grown up in this house, along with two parents. And because of this, the dining room naturally reflected this reality.
Although Bruno and Heidi’s children were a bit awkward around their cousins, having not been on the greatest terms throughout the years. None of the young ones threw a fit worth mentioning. And because of this, the signs that Bruno was finally starting to actually get along with his brothers were starting to become apparent, even to those who had not been privy to this information.
Bruno was naturally aware of what Ludwig had been up to over the course of the last year, having kept an eye on his family members and their pursuits in life. After all, one seldom knew when a favor would need to be called upon, and who was capable of fulfilling such a request.
Because of this, he was quick to congratulate the man on his most recent appointment, having gained significant fame among the population for his actions as a part of the Iron Division. Thus, carrying forward with his objectives into kick-starting a political career.
After all, there were always those in society who venerated veterans, especially in a martial society like that of the German Reich. Thus, Bruno’s words acted as a sort of acknowledgement to his brother’s new position, as well as an expression of his hopes for their future cooperation.
“I should have sent my love to you, Ludwig, when I heard that you were elected to the Reichstag at the start of this year. A pity I was otherwise occupied with certain matters in the Balkans. Do accept my sincerest apologies, would you?”
The family was all too aware of the election results. Representing the interests of the German Conservative Party, Ludwig had been elected under their banner. After all, he was a von Zehntner, and one of the few men in politics from the younger generation who could actually say he was a combat veteran.
Bruno’s family was heavily entrenched in the German Consevative Party, as well as several other right-wing parties. With the head of their house, Bruno’s father being a former prestigious member of the Reichstag, and a current member of the Bundesrat, it was rather easy to rely on the family’s connections to gain support for Ludwig’s candidacy.
Ludwig did not in the least bit appear offended that Bruno was only mentioning this now in the midst of the summer. A full six months or more after his election. Instead, he was quick to thank Bruno for thoroughly decimating the competition. As he had rather unexpectedly dismantled any chance, the left wing had of winning significant representation in the German government.
“Oh, believe me, brother, I did not take the least bit of offense. Though I am not intelligent enough to see through your plans, I trust fully that you are always acting in the interests of our family, and the fatherland.
Without your actions in Russia, exposing the wickedness of Marxism, the Social Democrats may have obtained a decent amount of seats, let alone the other left-wing parties that have managed to survive the outlawing of Socialism, and Communism within the German Reich.”
Bruno was all too aware that the Social Democrats were supposed to gain 43 seats in the 1907 Federal Elections, at least if things had gone as they had in his previous life. There were other left-wing parties that were more to the center that had gained seats as well during that time.
But Bruno had changed things significantly in the empire, not only did the Social Democrats not manage to pick up a single seat, but the more center-left parties like the Free-minded People’s Party, the Free-minded Union, The German People’s Party, et cetera.
All of which were supposed to gain a sizeable minority chunk of the seats when combined together had all failed miserably compared to the previous timeline Bruno had come from. In fact, the Centre Party, which was supposed to get the majority of seats in this election with a total of 101, had perhaps half of that.
Instead, the German Conservative Party gained the majority due to the increase in popularity of the Kaiser that had resulted from Bruno’s actions, both increasing military prestige of the Reich, but also increasing economic output as he had significantly invested into the expansion of several critical areas of national development. As well as used his family’s political influence to achieve these results.
In addition to the German Conservative party gaining the majority of seats, the other right-wing parties had all picked up more seats than in Bruno’s previous life, meaning currently the majority of politicians in the Reichstag were Centre right, too far right in nature.
After all, the atrocities the Bolsheviks had committed in Russia, as well as the attacks on Bruno by the French, and the retaliation against the French Chief of Staff by German intelligence, both of which had been pinned on Marxist revolutionaries had sprouted a significant sense of disdain towards Marxism and its variations among people across western and central Europe.
Especially within the German Reich, where laws were made to outlaw political parties adhering to these beliefs under the guise of political extremism and revolutionary sentiment. As a result, many of the more radical left-wing parties were thoroughly taken off the ballot and disbanded altogether.
The Social Democrats only barely managing to escape this purge by claiming a new list of more center-left policies, none of which ended up gaining them many seats. In the eyes of the hardcore Marxists who remained free, they saw this as a betrayal of their cause.
And for those who were more center left to begin with, they saw the Social Democrats as nothing more than wolves in sheep’s clothing, trying to get them all to go down with them. Either way, Bruno’s actions in recent years had completely changed the results of the election.
This was something Bruno was quite proud of, even if he pretended to be completely humble about it.
“Me? How am I responsible for the failures of the Social Democrats? I had nothing to do with it. All I did was wage war against Communists in Russia as a foreign volunteer. It’s not my fault those wicked people kept doing evil things, and that those malicious deeds were exposed to the world.
No, brother, this victory is your own. I had nothing to do with it. Be proud of your achievements, and don’t think that I have everything planned in advance, nor should you think for one second that I’m some form of Machiavellian mastermind, pulling the strings of the major powers behind the scenes as some kind of puppeteer….”
This statement elicited laughter from Bruno’s family. All of them except for Heidi were laughing because it was an absurd statement, and perceived it as a joke. Whereas Heidi was laughing because the man dared to say he wasn’t actively doing such things.
She was all too aware that his actions had changed the course of history in ways that would be too subtle for most to realize. And because of this, she thought it was amusing that the man would even attempt to deny it.
Eventually the laughter subsided, and Bruno posed a question to Ludwig, one that he was not expecting.
“So, dear brother, what exactly do you plan to do now that you are in the Reichstag? Sure, I know your ultimate goal is to gain an appointment to the Bundesrat like our beloved father, but in the meantime, how do you plan to use your position of power you have recently gained?”
Ludwig would spend a significant amount of time speaking of his plans for his new position in the Reichstag. All of which were more or less in line with what Bruno had planned for the future. And because of this, Bruno had rather inadvertently gained a powerful political ally.
Especially now, when his only serious political connection was with his father. Who was getting on in years, and no doubt would be retiring altogether soon enough? Hence why Bruno would in the coming days make it a priority to increase his relationship with his older brother Ludwig.
As the man had become a powerful pawn to play on the global chessboard. One which Bruno was constantly and silently playing in the background. Thus, by the time Ludwig and his family left the von Zehntner estate when the weekend had come to an end, any grudges or awkwardness that existed between Bruno and Ludwig’s families had vanished altogether.
