reform, a subject about which you yourself are enthusiastic?
By mid-morning, Ernst had half-forgotten that the young woman he was having such a pleasant discussion with was not only the most notorious political radical in the Germanies but someone whom it could even be argued, given the recent change in the USE's government, was an outright enemy of the state. By now, he had discovered that Gretchen Richter was perceptive and astute on the issue under discussion, in addition to being personally quite charming. Neither quality was one he had expected from her reputation.
In retrospect, he could see the errors involved. So far as Richter's understanding of the issue of education was concerned, this was no farm girl or tavern-keeper's daughter. Her formal education might be somewhat limited, but her father had been a printer. Ernst was aware that up-timers viewed the printer's trade as being what they called 'blue-collar,' signifying work that might require considerable mechanical skills and knowledge but was not in the least bit intellectual. But they came from a world in which the different aspects of most professions had been carved into separate crafts. In the seventeenth century, on the other hand, the distinction between a printer and a publisher and an editor was usually meaningless. A man who owned and ran a print shop did all of those things-and, often enough, served himself as an author as well. Print shops were centers of intellectual discourse and quite often hotbeds of political radicalism. That was the milieu from which Richter came, not milking cows or serving ale.
Then, there was her personality. Allowing for some harshness along the edges, here and there, she was quite pleasant company. Polite and very attentive, among other things.
That should also have been obvious, he now understood. He knew, at least in broad outlines, of the central role she'd played in the siege of Amsterdam. Absurd to think that such a role could have been played by a person who was capable of nothing more than scowling and shouting belligerently!
Eventually, though, he forced himself to remember his duty.
'This has been most pleasant, Frau Richter. Hopefully, productive as well. But now I must return to more immediately pressing matters.' He elided over the fact that they'd never actually begun that discussion, since Richter had driven over it right at the beginning. 'I am disturbed-let us say 'concerned,' rather-at some of the activities of the Committee of Correspondence here in Dresden.'
Richter nodded. 'To be precise-if you will forgive me putting words in your mouth, Your Grace-your concerns center on the following.' She began counting off her fingers. 'First, that the city's militia has largely disintegrated. While a rump of the official force remains, for the most part control of the city in military and police terms has fallen into the hands of the CoC's guard units. Second, those guard units are armed. Thirdly, they are well-armed, many of them with SRG muskets. A few even have breech-loading rifles. Fourth, much of the daily administration of the city has also fallen into the hands of the CoC or one of its affiliated organizations. In particular, the CoC has taken charge of sanitation and medical practices and is enforcing the needed rules vigorously.'
Vigorously. Ernst stared at her. He knew of at least one tavern-keeper who'd been brutally beaten by a CoC 'sanitation patrol.' True, the man had been fouling the streets around his establishment. Quite badly, even by the standards of tavern-keepers. Furthermore, Ernst didn't doubt for a moment that the CoC's 'vigorously enforced' sanitation rules were lowering the risk of disease and epidemic-always a major concern, especially in times of war and social unrest.
Still…
Richter pressed on.
'Fifthly, you are concerned that we are repairing and strengthening the city's fortifications, as if we are preparing for a siege.'
He cleared his throat. You certainly couldn't accuse the woman of evading delicate matters. She brought to mind the image of a very attractive, blonde glacier moving toward the sea.
'You are especially concerned because you suspect we are in fact preparing for a siege. Specifically, we are preparing to defend the city against the approaching Swedish army under the command of Johan Baner.'
She paused for an instant, to give him the first look you could really call 'cold-eyed' since the meeting began.
'In this suspicion, you are correct. The Swede general Baner is notorious for his brutality and has been specifically known to state that the proper use of a CoC agitator's head is as an adornment for a pike.' She tapped the side of her skull. 'This is one such head, and I have every intention of keeping it where it is. Under no circumstances will we allow Baner and his army into the city.'
Ernst sighed and looked away. He could hardly argue this particular charge. He'd worked with the Swedish general in the Oberpfalz for months. Baner was a brute-a thoroughly unpleasant man-and Ernst himself had heard the general make that remark about CoC agitators and pikes.
Before he could say anything, Richter added: 'And please spare us both the pointlessness of arguing that we cannot possibly withstand the Swedes. That's nonsense, meaning no offense, and you know it just as well as I do. You have considerable experience with sieges yourself, especially at Ingolstadt. Dresden was well fortified to begin with and we are strengthening the city's defenses still further. The city has a large population, most of whom are highly-motivated to keep Baner and his thugs outside the walls.
'That means that any siege will last for some time, which will require Baner to forage supplies from the Saxon countryside-a countryside which was already in rebellion against the Elector's depredations and has a large and well-armed military force under the command of the Vogtlander, Goerg Kresse. And while the core of that army of irregulars remains Vogtlander, they have recruited a large number of people from the surrounding area since they came down from the mountains. They can't defeat Baner in a pitched battle, of course, but they can bleed his army badly. Given the nature of Baner, that will inevitably produce Swedish atrocities against Saxon villagers, which in turn will ensure that your very worse fear comes to pass.'
She paused for just an instant. 'That is, you are concerned because in addition to the city's large number of well-trained militiamen-most of whom have now joined the CoC guard contingents-there are also several hundred veterans of the USE's army in the city, recuperating from their wounds. Most of them are from General Stearns' Third Division, and almost all of them are on very good terms with the CoC. You are worried that if a clash of arms develops between Dresden and Baner's army, those USE soldiers will side with Dresden and give the city's defenders a core military force which has already defeated the French, the Saxons and the Poles in open battle.'
He looked back at her. A blonde glacier indeed-except glaciers didn't move this fast.
'In this worry, Duke Ernst, you are also correct. You may rest assured that I have, am and will do everything I can to ensure that those veterans do the right thing if and when the time comes. And I am quite certain they will do so.'
Perhaps he should have stayed on the subject of education, after all.
Chapter 7
Dresden, capital of Saxony Eric Krenz propped his elbows on the tower's stone railing and gazed out at the Elbe. The river that bisected Dresden was more than a hundred yards wide, and about that far away from his vantage point on the Residenzschloss. The height of the tower provided a magnificent view of the Elbe valley.
He wasn't really studying the scenery at the moment, though. He was just using the appearance of doing so as an excuse to stall giving Tata an answer to her question.
As she well knew. The woman was infernally shrewd.
'How long are you going to procrastinate?' she asked, planting her hands on ample hips. 'I'm not pushing you, I just want to know. If it'll be a while, I'll go get some lunch.'
Not for the first time, Eric wondered what madness had possessed him to get attracted to this creature.
'Attracted'? Better to say 'obsessed,' he thought gloomily.
Being fair, when it came to Tata, most of the time his thoughts were quite cheerful. But the woman had an unnerving capacity to seemingly read his mind-and an even more unnerving relentlessness when she wanted Eric to do something.
'I'm not really an expert on this business,' he said. 'I have no experience with sieges.'
