"Your Highness, I never imagined that Prince William would do such a thing. The palace has long since fallen into the hands of the rebels, and I fear for His Majesty's safety," said Prime Minister Bernhardt von Bülow, deeply troubled.
Since Crown Prince William had already lost his title, Prime Minister Bülow no longer addressed him with the honorific of "Crown Prince."
"Indeed! It is a miracle that Prince William has awakened, but why would he resort to such actions?" Foreign Minister von Kidderlin-Wacht shook his head in disbelief.
In his eyes, since William had lost his claim to the throne, he should not have even thought of attempting to regain it. Over the years, QinTian's capabilities and contributions as the Crown Prince of the Empire had been evident to all. His performance had far surpassed that of Prince William. Even if Kaiser Wilhelm II were to restore the Crown Prince title to William, it was unlikely that the empire's high-ranking officials would approve.
After all, the empire's current achievements had not come easily. No one wanted to see the Empire's development falter because of a dispute over the crown. To allow William to reclaim his position would risk undoing all the efforts of these past years.
"As for His Majesty, I know as much as you do. The entire palace is under the control of the rebels. I only hope that my brother will not cause trouble for the Emperor," QinTian sighed.
"Prince William surely would not dare harm His Majesty. What he desires is no more than the title of Crown Prince. The rebellion was surely a ploy to pressure the Emperor into reinstating him as heir," Prime Minister von Bülow stated.
"Your Excellency, that is difficult to say. The Emperor is a man of strong will. If Prince William intends to force the Empire into surrendering the Crown Prince title, His Majesty will certainly not agree. If, in his rage, Prince William were to harm the Emperor, it would be a grave issue!" General von Hindenburg spoke with a grim expression.
The others present, including Prime Minister von Bülow and Foreign Minister von Kidderlin-Wacht, couldn't help but feel a chill. Though they thought the possibility of such an event was slim, they had to acknowledge that it still existed. Should such a calamity occur, it would undoubtedly spell a dire crisis for the German Empire.
"If such a tragedy were to occur, then Crown Prince Oscar would immediately ascend to the throne as the new Emperor of the German Empire. I believe this is the wish of both the government and the military, as well as the entire nation. After all, no one is more suited to lead the German Empire than Crown Prince Oscar!" Prime Minister von Bülow declared.
"Yes, if anything were to happen to His Majesty, Crown Prince Oscar, as the rightful heir, should naturally inherit the throne," Foreign Minister von Kidderlin-Wacht added.
Their declarations, almost representative of the stance of the imperial bureaucracy, satisfied QinTian greatly. Of course, he couldn't show his satisfaction openly. To do so would suggest that he was hoping for Wilhelm II's death, and that would leave a poor impression on these ministers.
"I am certain that my father will be blessed by God and come through this safely. As long as we suppress the rebellion, His Majesty will be secure," QinTian said.
"God bless His Majesty!" everyone else quickly echoed. It was clear they recognized that discussing Wilhelm II's fate at this moment was inappropriate.
As QinTian's forces gained the upper hand, the remaining rebels hiding within the palace, including Crown Prince William and his followers, were trembling with fear.
"Your Highness, the situation is becoming increasingly dire for us. Oscar and his forces are indeed preparing to deal us a fatal blow. They have mobilized more than fifty thousand elite troops for the assault, including over two hundred tanks. The Imperial Guard is already on the brink of collapse. Their positions throughout the city have been overrun by the army and the marines, and their defenses are shrinking. It won't be long before they are forced to retreat to the palace," General Graf said, his face grim.
Hearing this, the faces of Crown Prince William and his supporters turned pale. They knew that once the Imperial Guard retreated to the palace, it would signify the failure of their coup. At that point, none of them would have a good end.
"Why is this happening? Why? How did Oscar react so quickly? How could he have mobilized such heavy forces to attack Berlin so fast?" Crown Prince William cried in panic.
Originally, he had believed his plans for the coup to be flawless. He had accounted for every contingency. Once they captured Berlin, all they needed to do was lure QinTian into the city, imprison him, or even kill him, and they would secure victory. But, unfortunately for him, QinTian had seen through the plot, not only avoiding capture but also sending in overwhelming forces to crush the rebellion, leaving a fatal flaw in their scheme.
Moltke's expression had also turned grim. A flicker of regret crossed his eyes. If he had rejected the temptations of the terms offered by Crown Prince William and not joined in, he would not be in this position now. From the current situation, it was clear that the chances of the rebellion succeeding were virtually nonexistent. Moreover, with Kaiser Wilhelm II being killed in the rebellion, their involvement had now sealed their fates. Should QinTian discover that Wilhelm II had been slain, they would all face execution. If Moltke had another chance, he would undoubtedly choose a different path.
Even General Pritwitz, who had long held a bitter grudge against QinTian, now found himself pale-faced. His hatred had once blinded him, and he had been fixated on removing QinTian from the position of Crown Prince. Now, he found not only that he had failed to achieve his goal, but that he had also doomed himself in the process.