Almost immediately after Hans succeeded his father as the Kaiser, he declared that he would be annexing the Kingdom of Poland, which lied on the eastern border of the German Reich.
The reasoning for this was simple, by now there were enough german citizens living in Poland, who had migrated there after the crusade to help rebuild, that it could be considered a semi-german state.
Thus, Hans planned to annex the territory in its entirety, and Germanize its Slavic population throughout his reign as Kaiser. After all, one of his brides was a Polish Princess, and she had already been thoroughly Germanized.
The annexation of Poland came as a welcomed gesture by many of the people who lived in the backwards feudal state. Though they had been a vassal of the German Reich for decades, Germany had never bothered bringing their nation up to speed with the fatherland and its colonies. Because of this, they were operating largely with medieval technology, albeit with an improved agricultural system.
But to be annexed by the Reich meant that they would enter a new era of peace and prosperity. One where they too could live the luxurious lives of the German people. The cost of which was their national identity, culture, and language, but that would come at a later date. For now, the polish people were simply happy that they could bask in the wealth and power of the German Reich as its newest residents.
Currently, Hans was meeting with the current Polish King, who was a relative of Natalia, who was obviously by her husband's side during these negotiations. The Polish throne had undergone several successions since Berengar first annihilated their army during the Crusades, and because of this it was now a distant cousin who was roughly Natalia's age, who was their current king.
This man was not what Hans expected from a king. He was particularly slothful, as if even attending to this meeting was the most tiresome chore he had ever had to deal with. He had mid length amber hair, and a clean-shaven face. Along with pale blue eyes. In many ways, he was similar looking to Natalia.
Despite his decent appearance, the man rested his head on the palm of his hand as he sat in a chair in his office. His words were laced with laziness as he spoke to Hans with a disinterested look on his face.
"So, you wish to annex Poland and incorporate it into the Reich? Although I believe I already know the answer, I still feel obligated to ask why? And don't peddle me that propaganda of Poland basically being Germany 2.0. You and I both know better than that."
A stern expression appeared on Hans' face. He flexed his fingers in contemplation for a few moments, before finally voicing his intentions with a grim tone in his voice.
"The answer is simple. I intend to annihilate the Rus, and resettle their lands with Germans. Poland is in the way, and thus, I intend to annex your Kingdom, and incorporate it into the Reich. As I am not a fan of disconnected borders for a myriad of reasons.
You can remain the King of Poland for all I care, but Poland will be brought into the new age. We will invest in infrastructure, education, military outposts, airfields, you name it, and by this time next decade, Poland will become just another state of the Reich. Or we can invade your country, topple your dynasty, and incorporate Poland as a part of Greater Prussia. The choice is yours..."
There was not a hint of fear in the Polish King's face. In fact, all that really existed was an expression of complete and total exhaustion, as the man sighed heavily, and groaned before agreeing to Hans' demands. After all, there was no point in fighting against the Reich. Everyone knew how powerful their military was, and if they wanted Poland, there was not a thing that the Polish could do to stop them.
"Very well, Poland is yours do to with as you please. Just make sure I retain my status of nobility, and my family's fortune. I would hate to have to move out of this palace. Seems like a lot of work..."
Hans could not believe the man's reason for wanting his title and fortune. It was simply because he felt like moving was too much work. He had never before in his life met such a lazy King. But if there was one upside, this meant that the annexation of Poland would be a simple matter.
Thus, Hans pulled out a contract, signing over the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Poland to the Kaiser of the German Reich, and the von Kufstein Dynasty. The man did not even bother reading the contract as he signed the dotted line, as if to do so was a hassle that was not worth the effort.
Once more, this surprised Hans, who looked over at Natalia for an answer to why this man was the way he was. But the Polish beauty simply sighed and shook her head, as if her cousin had always been this way. How this man had ever ended up as the King of Poland, Hans did not know, but he expected that either his father or mother was responsible for it. As if they were preparing for his ascension to the throne.
With this said, Hans got up from the meeting and exited the Polish Palace, where he immediately gave the green light for the German occupation of Poland. The Reich's soldiers and engineers would ensure defense of their new eastern borders while also aiding in construction efforts so that Poland could be rapidly modernized into a proper Nation-State.
Within the hour, German troops had arrived in the tens of thousands. Much to the surprise of the Polish people who were naturally unaware of the Reich's plans to annex them, even if Hans had announced it shortly after claiming his rightful place as the next German Kaiser.
As for Hans, he walked hand in hand with Natalia, who he had known since he was a young boy. The two of them smiled as they saw the German tanks and IFVs roll by. Walking in this Polish city reminded Hans of the way the world was before his father had begun to change everything.
After all, Hans had a good enough memory to remember the early days of his life when his father had marched off to war with muskets and cannons. Poland was almost exactly the same as Austria was back then, in its current technological state. Something which Hans could not help but comment about.
"It is amazing what the Reich has become in a matter of decades. To think that I used to live in a world just like this. Many memories are now flooding my mind about the way life used to be, back when it was simpler."
Natalia nodded her head in complete and understanding. It had been decades since Eckhard had taken her from her father's side and dragged her off to Kufstein as a prize for the von Kufstein dynasty. Never would she have imagined that one day she would be the wife of the Kaiser, or that she would be happy to see her homeland have the banners of the German Reich wave so proudly above its castles.
However, she had to admit, after a lifetime of being raised in Germany, she was no longer a Polish Woman, even if she was technically a former princess of their Kingdom. She had been thoroughly Germanized, in culture and blood.
After all, she had married a German man, and gave birth to German children. And though Natalia's children were technically considered half-breeds by the Reich, her grandchildren would be considered German citizens, and that was good enough for her.
She looked over at Hans with a happy smile on her pretty face before saying the words she had long meant to convey to her husband.
"I'm glad that I was raised as your family's ward. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I were to have been raised by my biological parents in Poland. And hopefully, you can do for my people what your father did for yours!"
Hans hugged his wife tightly and kissed her on the forehead before expressing his intent for Poland and its people.
"In two generations, the Polish will be considered another German state. And by then, our Children will be their rulers. But more importantly, Poland shall be the staging ground, from which I shall strike at the Rus. After all, I have a debt that has yet to be paid in full, and I will not wait until the entire male bloodline of the Rus population is annihilated from this world..."
Natalia nuzzled her head against her husband's chest. Like his father before him, he was a vengeful man, however unlike Berengar, Hans had inherited his mother's cruelty, and because of this, he did not consider his vengeance complete, even after maiming the former Grand Duke of Moscow. No, retribution would not be paid in full, until the entirety of the Rus population felt his wrath.
