Bruno had no way of knowing it, but while the man was making his way to the front lines of the Russo-Japanese War once more. His wife was at home receiving news of his recent achievements on the battlefield and the prestigious awards he had been granted by the Japanese Emperor.
Heidi had just gotten off the phone, while her kids were in the background, engaging in various youthful activities. After hearing the tales of the legendary Mamushi, and his feats at 203 Meter Hill the normally timid and docile woman’s fingers clenched around the cord of the phone quite tightly.
She was conflicted internally. On the one hand, she was furious that Bruno was forced to break his promise to her by the shamelessness of the Japanese Generals in the field. Who tried to use her husband as a scapegoat to cover for their own repeated failures at Port Arthur.
At the same time, she was enamored with the idea of her husband returning home with such a prestigious award wrapped around his uniform. Something which only enhanced the attraction which she felt towards the man.
Still, the nature of her grievances did not go unnoticed by her young son Erwin who walked up to her and checked on the condition of his mother.
“Mommy… Are you okay? You look angry…”
Upon realizing that the wrath she felt towards the men who had wronged her husband was visibly on display for her children to witness, the woman did a complete 180 and let her hands slip free of the cord, instead grabbing hold of her young son and carrying him into her lap. Where she hugged the boy and pat his head, assuring him that she was perfectly fine.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about Erwin, your mother just heard some news that was unsettling. But that is not important! Rather, the good news is that it appears your father will be home in just a few months!’
She had not after all told her young children that their father had traveled across the world to take part in a foreign war for the sake of advancing his career. That would no doubt worry the kids. Instead, she told them that their father was taking part in a joint military exercise between the German Reich and their allies in Japan.
A small white lie, but one that could not easily be disproven by the means of children. After all, such matters on the other side of the world weren’t exactly commonly spoken about in public. Let alone around the presence of children.
Nor did the internet exist, or was there a prevalence of smart phones that were capable of instantly verifying whether or not the woman’s words were true. It was a simpler time, and because of this the children were happy to hear that their father was coming home sooner than their mother had initially led them to believe.
With Eva running up to her mother, the oldest of the three children, and looking at the woman with sparkling eyes.
“Daddy is coming home!?! When!?!”
Heidi sighed and shook her head, cautioning the young girl to remain patient as she informed her that it would still be a while before Bruno returned to his family. Something that at the young age of her children would feel like a lifetime.
“Your father will be home in a few months. So, in the meantime, you and your siblings must remain patient and well behaved. After all, if your father returns and finds that his children were not virtuous during his absence, then he will not be pleased!”
Heidi was far more stern with her children than Bruno was. At least insofar as her daughters were concerned. Bruno spoiled Eva and Elsa, finding it difficult to discipline them when they acted up. Whereas Heidi had no qualms about teaching the girls to remain full of virtue and dignity.
Patience was, after all one of the seven Christian virtues which Heidi sought to instill in her daughters so they would be raised to be proper noble ladies unlike a mere bastard like she had grown up as.
However, when it came to parenting their son Erwin, the two parents behaved in the opposite manner, which they did towards their daughters. Bruno was a stern disciplinarian figure to his son, while Heidi provided the love and warmth the boy needed to grow into a man of proper character.
If a child did not receive both of these things from both of their parents, regardless of which one acted in which manner, then there was a high likelihood that they would grow up to become an undesirable character.
Something that Bruno and Heidi both planned to prevent by any means necessary. Because of this, Eva and Elsa both nodded their heads to their mother in understanding of her words, all while eying their brother with envy who sat on the woman’s lap receiving her praise.
They could not wait for the old witch’s tyranny to end when their father returned home from overseas to liberate them. Such was the mentality that these two little girls had towards their parents.
Whereas Erwin felt the same, but in the opposite direction. He was basking in the warmth of his mother’s love, not necessarily dreading the idea of his father’s return. But enjoying the time free from his watchful gaze while he still could.
After all, there were certain things a father could teach his son that a mother could not. Such as how to properly throw a punch, wrestle, or shoot a gun. All of which he was far from old enough to experience.
Because of this, Heidi quickly got to her feet, placing her son together with his sisters, before running off to prepare dinner for the evening. Though she was slightly worried that her man might be once more thrust into a dangerous position at Mukden. She ultimately decided to trust that he would fulfill his promise of returning to her safe and sound.
—
Heidi was not the only one watching Bruno’s career closely. There were several interested parties throughout the German Reich, and even foreign empires who were keeping an eye on the situation in Manchuria, as well as the performance of the military advisors which Germany had sent to Japan.
Among them were the Kaiser and the General Staff located at the German Army’s Central Division of its High Command. As well as the Tsar of Russia, and several other interested parties in France. But at the moment, the Kaiser met with the Chief of Staff of the German Army, Generalfeldmarschall Alfred von Schlieffen.
The two of them were playing chess in the personal residence of the Kaiser and his royal family. While also speaking of matters around the globe. Matters of significant geopolitical importance at that.
“So, it would appear the young wolf has been branded by the Japanese as a venomous serpent. Proving he is not only capable of sniffing out and devouring rats, but also providing swift and lethal strikes against a much more fearsome enemy.
Was it not you who said it was unwise to make exceptions for young military talents who had yet to properly prove themselves in the field against an opponent of sufficient quality? Surely the Russian Army qualifies as such, does it not?”
At first, Alfred had been opposed to the proposal of the Kaiser, and several other high-ranking officers in the German Army’s high command, one that had allowed Bruno to enter the Prussian War College without meeting the five-year minimum requirement for military service.
He felt at the time that it was unfair to the other candidates who had managed to fulfill this condition. But Germany was the most meritocratic of the European Empires, especially when it came to its military.
Bruno had proven exceptional abilities in the field during his time in China. Which while many of the German generals felt was an enemy of insufficient quality, the Kaiser and several other Generals felt differently.
This was the reason Bruno was not treated with much respect during his brief time at the Central Division of which he was primarily given secretarial duties. That is how the German Field Marshal felt until now that is.
The Kaiser moved a chess piece, instantly cornering the German Field Marshal sitting across from him. Declaring, he was but one move away from achieving total victory with a smug smile on his face.
“Check…”
Though there were several possibilities for Alfred von Schlieffen to escape from his current predicament on the board, as well as previous possibilities to end the game prematurely in his favor. He knew when to concede to the Kaiser and quickly announced his intent to do so.
Not only hinting that he would no longer offer resistance in this game of chess, but also in terms of the Kaiser’s plans to foster Bruno into a future Field Marshal himself.
‘Well played, your majesty. I must concede…”
The Kaiser’s smug smile only grew more conceited as he knocked over Alfred’s king with his own piece before making a bold declaration.
“I see no reason that Generalmajor Bruno von Zehntner should remain in such a low position. He has proven himself in two separate wars at this point. And has shown his ability to lead an army sized unit in the field.
It is with this in mind that I intend to personally promote the man to the rank of Generalleutnant after he returns from Manchuria, assuming, of course he wins the war on behalf of Japan. That is unless you have any objections you wish to voice, my old friend?”
Although the aging German Field Marshal had been skeptical of Bruno’s abilities in the past. Seeing him sink the entire Russian Fleet in Asia in a single battle, and miraculously so via the use of Land Artillery.
In addition to having immediately recognized the failures of other generals in the field and capitalizing on such mistakes to achieve great success of his own. Even a man as stubborn as Alfred von Schleiffen had to admit that his past objections were unfounded.
Because of this, he smiled and shook his head, assuring the Kaiser that he would no longer impede Bruno’s progress.
“On the contrary, your majesty, after what that boy pulled at Port Arthur, even I now find myself interested in his future.”
Now that they were on the same page, the Kaiser wore an equally excited smile on his face while changing the topic.
“Now about the Tsar… No doubt if his forces are defeated in Mukden he will be compelled to sue for peace. Here is how we will advise the Japanese to handle this matter…”
After saying this, the Kaiser and the Field Marshal would continue to have a lengthy discussion about the world at large, and the German Reich’s place in it.
