* * *
Meanwhile, Ferdinand III was having his own conference with Moses Abrabanel, Reichsgraf Maximilian von Trauttmansdorff, and Georg Bartholomaeus Zwikl, his official spymaster.
“What do you think will happen with John George?”
“He’s gone, Your Majesty. Probably October, perhaps November.”
“We could send support,” Ferdinand offered instantly. But his tone made it clear the suggestion was tentative.
“That would be most unwise, I think,” Georg Bartholomaeus said. “Gustav always moves fast and he is apparently taking advantage of up-time techniques in surprising places, which are letting his army march even faster. By the time we could move much of a force around Silesia and through Poland into Saxony, it would probably all be over.”
“What do you think will happen when they meet?” Moses Abrabanel asked.
Georg laughed bitterly. “John George will either die or escape. If he escapes, he may well end up here, asking us to help him retake Saxony.”
“And the USE?” Moses asked.
“After Saxony, Gustav will go after George William of Brandenburg. Depending on how much of a fight John George puts up, that will be late in this year’s campaign season, or early next year. I suspect late this year. But next year, Poland.”
Ferdinand shook his head and changed the subject. “What about Murad?”
“They are coming, Majesty. Not this year. He is going to have to reorganize and consolidate his forces. But next year or the year after, at the latest.”
“Maybe. I am still not convinced. Baghdad will not be so easy to take. Even if that is what Murad plans.”
There was silence.
“Never mind. Tell me about the railroads.”
“Wallenstein has started a railroad from Prague to Cieszyn. He is using the single rail system that Herr Fortney recommends and wooden rails. Even if we don’t allow the line to Cieszyn, his railroad will still connect the Baltic to the North Sea by way of the Olga River. He already has the Elbe and the railroad will connect the two rivers. He is building other rail lines, one to Grantville from Prague and one to the Danube. It won’t cut us out of the Black Sea trade, but will cut us out of much of the Baltic trade. Even though they are wood lines, they will still carry a massive amount of cargo at very low cost,” Moses Abrabanel said. “And Elisabeth Lukretia von Teschen is building her part of the rail line to the—” Moses paused, clearly looking for a nonoffensive way of saying it.
“To the present border between Silesia and Austria,” Ferdinand III offered.
Moses nodded and continued. “Most of the cost is being borne by the Liechtenstein Improvement Corporation.”
“Which will also allow him to ship thousands of troops, fresh and ready to fight, from his capital to our border in hours. And if we extend the line to meet their lines, the railroad will allow Wallenstein to ship an army all the way to Vienna in just a few more hours,” Georg said.
Ferdinand nodded at Georg’s point. “I know Karl insists that the railroads are for trade and defense, but Karl has no military experience. He’s a good boy, but not a soldier.”
Reichsgraf Maximilian von Trauttmansdorff added, “He’s also sworn to Wallenstein, not to you.”
CHAPTER 25
The Expansion of Race Track City
July 1635
Race Track City
Before the printing plates got to Vienna, the staff and stuff had arrived. Three more personal assistants, plus a machinist, an electrician and a chemist. All down-timers, and three of them girls. They included one more “von” and four were former students at the university in Jena. They all moved out to Race Track City.
The equipment included things like a movie projector for the new down-time-made celluloid movies. Down-time-made machining equipment, typewriters, and anything the girls could think of. For the most part, that equipment also went to Race Track City. Both the people and the equipment increased the capabilities of Race Track City greatly. They were still selling more on credit than for cash, but you could almost hear the sucking sound as the money flowed out of Vienna. The biggest draw was the new movies.
Not all of those movies were exactly down-time made. A clever chap had figured out a way to project and photograph video tapes from up-time. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was considerably cheaper than shooting a new movie. Especially when special effects were considered. So there was a stock of movies, like a version of Casablanca dubbed in German, and Elvis would be known in two universes. Not that there weren’t one-reel wonders shot on soundstages in Grantville. Drawing room comedies, mysteries and small scale musicals. But it was Star Wars and the heretical notion of the Force that would cause them problems. All that would take months, and in the meantime the plates arrived.