Chapter 17 – Recovery
May 1588
Markus von Quitzow had his doubts and concerns about inviting the unholy Muslims of the Ottoman Empire to assist, but they proved to be an ideal counter to the misguided Reformed heretics of the Commonwealth. While the adherents of the two false religions slaughtered each other, the Brandenburg army focused on retaking lost land and even expanding their borders further. The Ottomans were content to be given only a single province for their trouble, so at least their worrisome expansion was slowed for another cycle of truces.
The only major struggle was in taking these fortifications in Kolberg. A larger force of elite Austrians forced the siege to be abandoned several times, including one attempt that broke down into a devastating fighting retreat. In the end, the fort fell and a peace deal quickly reached before the Austrians could meet on the field again.
Brandenburg dignity had been restored, and the whole ducal family had come to tour the area. Markus von Quitzow had caught the occasional glimpse of them moving about the fortress from the room he was using as an office on the second floor. The elder duchess Jelena was still going strong at age 58, claiming first pick of the loot from the captured territories. Anna Maria I was showing 4-year-old Georg Wilhelm the view of the sea from the top of the Kolberg castle.
The castle used to be the home of Magdalena I, so Markus thought there was a malevolent spirt to the place. When the Gersdorff’s came to power, it was assigned to Anna Maria’s uncle Christian as his new seat. He had not had time to visit it before the Poles took it, but he was here now, overseeing the repair crews and letting his children, Christian Jr and Miriam, run around and explore their new home.
Markus felt the prince-consort Albrecht clasp his shoulder and congratulate him again on a successful campaign. This war was the perfect opportunity for Albrecht to demonstrate his grasp of strategy and military organization to both his subjects and the allies of the Protestant League.
“Well done, General. Brandenburg is now back on course.”
“If you say so, my Prince.”
“It is. Now that I have a chance to talk to you alone, did you find the library? Was it still intact, after all that conflict?”
“It was.”
“Excellent. And did you find Johann Georg I’s diary?”
“I did. Here,” Markus von Quitzow retrieved a leather-bound tome from the shelf and handed it to the prince-consort, “although I don’t know why it deserves all this secrecy.”
Albrecht started paging through the diary, “There is evidence that he was working on plans for a new form of government, a sort of militarized kingdom. The only evidence I have been able to find are occasional references in official records and statements from a few of the old timers who were around then. Magdelena I moved all of his personal documents here after he died. If he wrote down any thoughts on how such a government would come about, it would be in here.”
November 1591
Albrecht lay on the ground of his balcony, enjoying some sunlight before the brightness and heat became unbearable. He slowly got to his feet, glad that he was able to walk without vomiting for the first time in over a week. Once back inside, he collapsed into a chair, his head spinning but his condition much improved.
Two winters ago, the first reports of influenza cropped up in western Brandenburg, and before long alarming reports of the casualties started arriving. When presented with the option to quarantine the province, Anna Maria I had scoffed and said that the disease would likely pass in a few weeks and the deaths of relatively few were not worth the economic cost of a lockdown. Jelena concurred, boldly stating that the disruption of the income stream would cause more death than the disease.
However, the disease did not go away and instead exploded across Brandenburg. Under immense public pressure, Anna Maria had instituted a quarantine over most of the country. The economic damage was far greater than would have occurred had smaller measures been implemented earlier and more aggressively, though.
Jelena had retreated to her estate outside of the city. She continued to issue orders to her business managers, forcing them to keep workers on the front lines while she was able to isolate safely. Albrecht had lost a lot of respect for her, but still decided to send Georg Wilhelm and his cousins Christian Jr and Miriam to live with her as the deaths within Berlin increased. As much as it pained them to be separated from their son, Albrecht had managed to convince his wife of the necessity. This turned out to be a smart move, as eventually the influenza made its way through the palace.
The spymaster Jakob von Quernheim was among the first to succumb to the disease and perish. The Landtag was suspended when several members fell ill, Christian Gersdorff Sr among them. He managed to hold on for several days, but eventually Uncle Christian died as well. Anna Maria’s food taster was the next to go, and then the Elector and Electress themselves fell sick.
Albrecht remembered trying to read some more of Johann Georg I’s diary but would up reading the same page over and over trying to focus. He was struggling to keep his sinuses clear and food down. Eventually, irritation from the light and smoke form the candles made reading impossible and before long breathing became a chore. He had days of angry and feverish dreams, unsure of the passage of time. He remembered being fed concoctions to drink, being bled by leeches, being asked confusing questions. At some point, he remembered his wife being carried away...
After vomiting again, Albrecht curled up into a ball on the floor while the emotional reality of the last few weeks hit him, mingled with the lasting effects of the illness and incapacitated him for another half hour or so. Eventually he pulled himself back up and managed to eat a few more bites of food without feeling nauseous again and was able to fully consider his situation.
Jelena had the children, and he could thank God that they were healthy out in the countryside. Did she know yet? It was hard to tell how much time had passed. The advisors, the church officials and the Landtag would support him as regent; he was more popular than Jelena. He was credited with winning back territory from the Commonwealth that Jelena’s husband had lost. Georg Wilhelm I was now the hope of the nation, but he was only a boy of six. It was the father’s duty to prepare the way for the son.
He rang a bell to summon a nurse. It would probably be days before he would be able to leave his chambers, but it would be important for news of him being healthier to spread, and he needed to write some letters...
December 1595
Georg Wilhelm spent most of the rest of his childhood playing with his dear cousins and studying with Grandmother at her estate. He barely remembered his mother, but most people spoke fondly of her and everyone had a funny story. He was able to see is father at least once a year, but running the country kept him extremely busy. When they did meet, he often asked Georg Wilhelm about his studies and asked questions on how he would run Brandenburg once he turned 15. The meetings were brief, but Georg Wilhelm left them feeling appreciated and smart, at least until it was time for his father to leave. Grandmother said that he did not love him as much as she did, and often disapproved of the topics of conversation or the solutions they came up with.
However, his cousin Christian had snuck into Grandmother’s study one night and brought back a stack of letters that she had been withholding. They were full of questions on government and words of love and memories of his mother. He wondered why she was trying to keep them apart; Christian said that she changed after the influenza claimed her daughter and brother-in-law and was losing her mind. He often vowed to run away and take up the family seat in Kolberg once he came of age.
Grandmother was always excited to show him how finances worked, and showed him the ins and outs of taxation, trade, and the various businesses she had invested in. Georg Wilhelm started seeing her in a new light. He was happy to learn how they worked, but was starting to question some of her tactics, and why so much money was diverted to odd accounts.
When Markus von Quitzow, or the master of mind Ernst von Derfflinger, visited the estate they would bring news of the outside world, and Gerog Wilhelm started asking more questions about his father and grandmother. Markus simply told him that they had different opinions on how he was raised, and that he should obey his grandmother for now. Ernst explained to him how people who loved the same person could sometimes appear to hate each other, and that he should forgive his grandmother because she was not healthy. When Georg Wilhelm asked to be taken away and to visit his father, Ernst assured him he was safest with his grandmother right now. He did agree to deliver letters and go around Grandmother, and brought him news and books from the outside world.
Hamburg had called upon Brandenburg to return the favor and help them with an offensive war last year. Their objective was to claim the remainder of the Jutland peninsula, which was held by Cleaves, or more accurately heretical rebel militias. In the chaos, the nation of Friesland declared independence from Cleaves. Five months later, though, they abandoned independence and joined the Republic of the Netherlands, the newest power to emerge within the Holy Roman Empire.
The war was brief. Hamburg rushed into the rebel-held areas and took control of the peninsula while Brandenburg and the other allies sieged down the other holdings with minimal resistance, forcing Nassau to regain its independence. Grandmother was excited to hear that war reparations were also part of the deal in one of the few times she spoke highly of his father.
There was also concern with the Reformed provinces in the eastern portion of the country; while his father was sending missionaries to show them how the state church operated, there was concern that a disaster of religious turmoil could boil over. However, his father had enacted the Popery Act, offering a cash prize to anyone turning in priests who were not supporting the Protestant way of thinking. The missionaries found their work easier and disaster was averted as the citizens of those provinces came around.
Another item that Georg Wilhelm found particularly interesting was that the Pope had decreed that Canada was the sole domain of Scotland, and that it was a sin for any other Catholic power to settle there. He had enjoyed a good laugh at the silliness of the Catholics, but there was something on the map of the colony of Nova Scotia that caught his eye. There was a small settlement there called Albrecht, just like his father. He wondered why a Scottish colony would have a German name for a town.
The item that Georg Wilhelm treasured the most, however, was a book that Markus had given him. It was an old book, leather bound. Markus explained that his father wanted him to read it, and that it would be very important to understanding how to rule Brandenburg. It was a diary, that of the Prince Johann Georg I, who had come to power a century ago. It was a difficult read, full of words that he did not know, but he found it more fascinating than any of his lessons. Johann Georg I had started it when he was not much older than Georg Wilhelm, and he found that he could relate to the ancient prince, who also had a father who was absent most of the time, and the more he learned about him the more he liked.
(Author’s Note: This chapter was written in late June 2020, while the gameplay itself took place in mid-March 2020. If you are reading this in the far future, this was right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I confess my frustrations with the situation poured out onto the page. In my other games when faced with this event I always choose to quarantine, but based on the IRL debate at the time on how to respond to COVID I tried not closing down the province, and surprise surprise it quickly spread and within a few years Anna Maria mysteriously died. Now it really isn’t fair to compare an event chain in a game to real life, and every disease is different, but using world history as guide there are plenty of examples of what general tactics and mindsets will exasperate an epidemic. I am trying to be vague and apolitical, but some may not see it that way; if I violate any community standards regarding that sort of speech I will edit it but I have vulnerable loved ones so I have strong feelings about this. TY for understanding and stay healthy everyone.)
