Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 91: Capturing a Fleeing Rat

Chapter 91: Capturing a Fleeing Rat

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The award ceremony the Tsar threw for Bruno was rather extravagant, but in the end, Bruno returned to the railways, sleeping in the car that took him back to Saint Petersburg. Quite frankly, such luxurious and regal gatherings were always a matter of supreme social anxiety for the man who had risen to such great heights at such a young age.

It was because of this that he passed out in his seat with a cigarette still lit in the ashtray and his face lying on the table in front of him. Despite everything that had happened, Bruno now held the semi-honorary title of Field Marshal.

At least for the continued duration of the war, Bruno would be acting as a leader of Russian forces and foreign volunteers. But when the Tsar emerged victorious, Bruno's title would revert back to an honorary state. Especially after the man returned to the fatherland and resumed his active-duty status in the German Army.

Though Bruno believed that everything he had been given by the Tsar was excessive, the reality was it was all earned through his merit and efforts. Bruno had played a leading role in the war, ending up in the Tsar's favor.

While his actions in Manchuria had caused the Russian Civil War to start thirteen years early, he had, at the same time, ensured that the house of Romanov and, by extension, the Russian Empire survived it.

He was quite literally the savior of the Russian Empire, and the Tsar had rewarded him appropriately for his efforts. Sure, Bruno had played a critical role in the Russo-Japanese War, insofar as ending it much earlier in the favor of Japan. But that was not one fought for the very survival of the Empire of Japan or the ruling dynasty.

And because of this, Bruno was awarded rather well, considering Emperor Meiji was not nearly as friendly to the foreign powers of Europe as the Tsar was. Tsar Nicholas II was, after all, quite literally the cousin of the Kaiser, and though relations had been strained, no doubt due to Bruno's actions in China and Manchuria prior to the outbreak of the Russian Civil War.

The Kaiser's swift support, both in terms of material and manpower, had proven to be more than enough to mend such wounds. It was only natural that Bruno would be treated so well by the Tsar. And though Bruno didn't know it yet, he would be treated even greater in the future.

When Bruno finally awoke, the train had arrived in Saint Petersburg. He returned to his office, eager for a taste of coffee to help awaken him from his groggy state, only to be bombarded with some critical information about the whereabouts of one of his two remaining targets. After repeated losses over the course of the last year, and the death toll rising as the Red Army and accompanied Bolshevik Party members were routed out and killed in the streets by the Iron Division, Joseph Stalin appeared to have been spotted in the far east.

Specifically, on a train headed to Vladivostok. Vladivostok was a city in the eastern portion of the Empire, quite literally sitting near the border between the Russian Empire and Qing China. It was considered the "Terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway," which was completed only a year prior to 1904.

If Joseph Stalin was headed to Vladivostok, then it meant one thing, and one thing only: the man planned to escape into China. For what purpose exactly, Bruno was unsure. Perhaps the man intended to use China as a way to lose his pursuers and escape to some forgotten and undeveloped corner of the world.

Or perhaps, having suffered defeat in Russia, the infamous dictator from Bruno's past life planned to take advantage of the growing civil unrest within the Qing Dynasty to overthrow the monarchs and establish a communist state in China?

Either way, Bruno would not let the man's plans succeed and immediately ordered the Tsarist forces in the city to intercept and apprehend the Bolshevik Revolutionary when he arrived at the city's rail station.

Meanwhile, Bruno had no opportunity to change into more comfortable attire, nor even fully nourish himself. Instead, he hopped right back on the next train, this time headed across the entire landscape of the Russian Empire, into the far east for the third time in his life.

The train ride to Vladivostok was a long one. It was, after all, a steam engine pulling the cars, and it was a vast distance. However, Bruno immediately found the perks of his new status, revealing themselves upon sitting down in the car.

Not only was he granted a private car to sit in, due to his noble status, but it was the peak of luxury. Decorated in such a comfortable and extravagant way that only a nobleman of the era could truly understand or enjoy.

Meanwhile, there was a woman constantly attending to his needs, whether that was refilling his coffee, pouring him water, or simply preparing his meals for him. In this private car, there was even a rather extravagant bedchamber, which Bruno found to be a comfortable way to get some much-needed rest by himself.

The perks that came with being a noble in the lands one visited, as well as a war hero, were truly decadent, so much so that Bruno, quite honestly, would have simply preferred not to have such treatment. He was a man of more simple taste.

There was a reason Bruno chose to live in an old fachwerk manor on the outskirts of Berlin with his humble family. The man could easily afford a superfluous baroque estate with his degree of wealth, much like the one he had grown up in. But frankly, such a life was beyond what he deemed necessary, let alone something he did not find much comfort in.

Even so, it was nice for means of transportation to have such comfortable and plush trappings. Thus, he was not the least bit tired when he arrived in Vladivostok. The Russian garrison in the city was quick to greet Bruno, or at least the man in charge of it, along with the highest-ranking officers beneath his command.

Bruno was no longer some foreign general leading a group of volunteers from the German Reich. By all means, he was a Russian Field Marshal and a member of the nation's nobility. He was now afforded the most respect possible by everyone in society, especially those in the military and police, who were of a much lower rank than him.

The Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the city's garrison was quick to salute Bruno while announcing that they had succeeded in intercepting the rebel leader after receiving his telegram, and were quite ecstatic as they reported his current whereabouts.

"Marshal, sir! You will be happy to know that the man in question is currently detained and rotting in a cell within the local police station. I have an entire company of soldiers, those who are most loyal to me and the Tsar, watching him as we speak.

Even if the Marxists were to show up in full force, my men would die ensuring that bastard joined them in the afterlife!"

Bruno returned the man's salute, as well as the officers beneath his command. He wanted nothing more after coming all this way than to have a little chat with the would-be dictator one on one, and he made this request clear as can be.

"Good. You and your men have done an excellent job. It is not easy to catch a paranoid rat who is attempting to escape. For your efforts, I will personally put in a recommendation for you and your men to receive proper commendations. Now take me to my prisoner; I wish to speak with him alone..."

The Lieutenant Colonel quickly did as Bruno requested, taking the man to the local police station, where Bruno sat alone in a holding area. All the while, Joseph Stalin was brought to him in chains. No doubt the man had seen better days, dark circles existing beneath his eyes, showing that he clearly had sleepless nights.

In addition to this, his hair was ragged, while his beard was equally unkempt. This was, after all, the era before he grew his signature mustache. The would-be dictator who had caused the deaths of over 20 million innocent civilians in Bruno's past life was sitting down in front of him, gaunt and disheveled.

It was honestly hard to tell just how many people Stalin had killed or were either partially or wholly responsible for the deaths of. Various sources gave different information during Bruno's past life. With the low figure being espoused by communist sympathizers as being a mere 6-9 million innocents killed under his reign of terror.

But such estimates were obviously politically biased by those who espoused them. More accurate and non-biased sources, such as Conquest (1986, p. 234), cited that Stalin's Reign of Terror caused the deaths of at least 20 million people, and that was a minimum estimate, with the direct quote in regard to this figure being "which is almost certainly too low and might require an increase of 50 percent or so....."

Either way, the man had caused more suffering than nearly anyone else in history, at least if you included noncombatant deaths, or those not killed as a direct act of war in disregard to

civilian casualties.

This was a significantly higher degree of death and despair caused when compared to a man with a funny mustache who in the 21st century was commonly regarded as the most evil and

wicked throughout history.

Either way, it was because this man had been caught as a result of Bruno's actions before he could undertake such horrific crimes against humanity that he was smiling sadistically as he sat before Joseph Stalin. The first words he spoke were truly haunting to the rat, who had tried

to flee from his crimes.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't Joseph Stalin... You know, I have been searching for you for a very long time... And now that I finally have you in my hands, I have to ask... Would you care to have a drink with me? You know, before I send you to death?"