Tyranny of Steel

On the edges of the Kingdom of France, a battalion of soldiers belonging to the German Border Guard stood in their trenches. These men were not the most highly trained or even veteran forces of the Imperial German Armed Forces, but they all had a role to play. The defense of the border was paramount, especially with so many hostile neighbors nearby.

It was because of this that Berengar had set into motion the plan to create a giant border perimeter designed to eliminate any army that dared to march into German Lands. These soldiers had chosen the German Border Guard as their branch of service, likely because they did not wish to deploy to some foreign battlefield. 

On the outside, it was honorable to desire to defend the fatherland from its enemies, but in the eyes of the German Army and Marine Corps, many of these men were cowards, not willing to engage in the combat that was demanded of them. Still, they were the first line of defense in case of an enemy invasion. It had been well over a year since the German Empire was unified, and with it, young men from across the Realm were conscripted into service. 

The armories had worked overtime to prepare enough arms for the new soldiers, and the fruits of their labor could be seen at the border where many German men stood idly by in their fortifications. As a few soldiers were playing cards in the trenches, they gazed upon the decks the army had issued them with smiles on their faces.

Though Berengar had never served in Iraq in his past life, he had heard stories from soldiers older than him that they issued decks of cards which contained the faces of the major leaders of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Taking inspiration from that, Berengar had replicated that tool in this life, and issued decks of cards to the border guards, with the faces of various important generals, and figures of the Kingdom whose border they guarded against.  The King in this card game was none other than Aubry, while the Queen was Sibilla. The soldiers gazed upon the French King and laughed at how feminine he looked.

"Are you sure this is a King? He looks like he's more fitting for the Queen role if you ask me!"

The other soldiers agreed with his statement as they nodded their heads and smoked their hemp cigarettes. While this card game was occurring, a train arrived on the nearby tracks, and with it, the supplies to continue border construction arrived. A single man stepped off the lead car and entered into the camp. Due to his uniform, it was clear that this man was a general in the Border Guard, and because of that, the soldiers immediately hopped to attention and saluted the man. 

Major General Johan Vilinger was a man who once served in the Austrian Royal Army and was previously deployed to the Iberian Theatre, where he defended a segment of the trench with his unit. Unfortunately, in the battle, he was the sole survivor of the Austrian unit. Despite the losses he suffered, he was rewarded for his efforts, and was later transferred to the Border Guard to live out a comfy life defending the Kingdom's borders.

With the unification of the German Empire, the need for skilled officers to preside over large segments of troops became a serious issue, and because of that a mere Colonel was thrust into a General Officer's position to maintain the border with the Kingdom of France. The man gazed upon the ongoing construction of bunkers, trenches, and no-man's-land and nodded his head in approval as he continued through the checkpoint.  Pa nda

Novel He eventually noticed a gap in the defenses which was used to facilitate refugees, merchants, and immigrants into the German Empire. The contrast between the semi-modern German Soldiers and the medieval folk of the French Kingdom was quite a sight to behold. General Vilinger quickly proceeded to inspect the border security and their ongoing operation as he witnessed several German soldiers halting a group of refugees who were fleeing from the Kingdom of France..

Rumors have spread about the advancements of the German Empire and the quality of life within. Because of this, even nobles from the war-torn Kingdom of France were giving up their homes in an attempt to enter the German Empire.

An example of this was a particularly beautiful French noblewoman who presented proof of her identity to the Border Guard. She had prepared herself for the journey and learned the German language, thus she was able to converse with the border guards quite fluently. 

"I am Anastasia De la Roche. I humbly request refugee status. My house is in ruin, thanks to King Aubry, and I am willing to marry into your Empire to escape the poverty of my family." 

The woman had long brown hair and fair skin with emerald green eyes. Many of the soldiers were attracted to her, however, they had to keep it to themselves, as she was a noblewoman and would likely marry a German nobleman.

Though these soldiers could achieve noble status through exceptional feats of valor on the battlefield, the likelihood of these men seeing combat any time soon was slim. It would still be some time before the Catholic Kingdoms launched their invasion of Germany.

Thus, they could only sigh in defeat as the woman's papers were inspected. For the most part, only nobility had written records of their ancestry and noble status, thus they were the easiest individuals to identify at the border. 

The soldiers confirmed the woman's identity and allowed her to go towards the customs section of the entry point, where she would continue through the lengthy process of immigration. Such a thing was a daily occurrence.  Just as Johan believed everything was progressing smoothly, he heard the sound of a detonation far away and shook in his spot. However, a nearby soldier mocked him for his vigilance.

"Relax General, it's just a runner!"

The General was perplexed by this comment and quickly followed up for further information regarding the incident.

"A runner?"

The soldier noticed the man was not aware of something as common knowledge as this and quickly handed him a cigarette before speaking of the matter.

"Yeah, every now and then we get some desperate fool who thinks he can rush past our defenses and storm his way into our empire. Nine times out of ten, these idiots will step on a land mine and get themselves fragged. If not, they're gunned down before they can cause any harm to the Nation."

While hearing this explanation, the soldier lit the hemp cigarette for the General who seemed a bit spooked. He was suffering from a mild case of PTSD after what had happened in Iberia and tried to brush off the loud explosion after realizing what had occurred. 

It was not entirely Germany's fault that people acted so foolishly and rushed into a minefield. The Border Guard had posted signs in the language of the people who resided on the other side of the defenses, detailing the risks of intruding into German Land. Still, some people were desperate to reach a land of such prosperity, and would willingly risk their lives in an attempt to do so. 

The German soldiers did not care in the slightest. Their job was to protect the border, and they were not allowed to allow just anybody into their realm. A common motto resounded among the members of the German border guard as they openly mocked the people on the other side of their defenses. Something the soldier who was instructing the General on the harsh reality said out loud. ᴘᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ

"A country is only as good as the people who live in it."

The meaning behind this mocking phrase was to insinuate not only was it not their responsibility to care for the people of lesser nations, but they would deliberately be ruining their own Empire if they imported the people from those nations as they were the cause of their own misfortunes. 

Johan was surprised to see the existence of these so-called runners and immediately questioned the man in front of him.

"Is there any way to stop these people from running into their deaths?"

In response to this, the soldier chuckled before informing the General of his ignorance.

"They know the risks. There are signs posted everywhere informing them of what will happen if they unlawfully cross into our land. Unless we can somehow project our voice to them in an attempt to convince them, it simply isn't feasible. Besides, a lot of money is riding on how long they will survive. It will seriously ruin morale if we are forced to stop these incidents."

Initially Johan did not understand what the soldier meant by that phrase, but he quickly saw men of his army exchanging coins after seeing the death of the runner. The German Border Guard were gambling over the survivability of these so-called runners. Such a thing was a frightening prospect to the German General.

It was because of this incident that Johan decided he would write a strongly worded letter to the Kaiser about the ongoing crisis at the Border. As the construction of Germany's border defenses continued, the soldiers dispatched to defend the regions grew increasingly callous about the situation of their neighboring kingdoms. As far as everything else went, things were progressing smoothly.