Part 10 Since joining forces with John George, the Elector of Saxony; Albert of Wallenstein has come to a realization. It is a realization more commonly reached by privates than generals in time of war - there are people on the other side who want to kill him. To Wallenstein's logical mind the solution is simple - he must have an army that is larger than those of his enemies. Since Saxony is a relatively poor province this presents problems. In the past Wally has been able to raise vast armies by using his estates as collateral; gambling that he will seize booty or be reimbursed by his master to repay his borrowings. With his estates now behind Imperial lines his credit is not good. Surprisingly, it is English mercenaries in John George's army that give Wally an idea. He notices that some of them have ideas of 'taking from the rich and giving to the poor'. This contrasts with their more level-headed German comrades who simply practice looting from whomever and keeping. Or 'foraging' as it is called. These eccentric English soldiers call themselves Levelers. Only there seems to be two kinds, due to the unusual political arrangements in the England of 1635. As near as Wallenstein can tell, it was the decision by King Charles to invite a Scottish army into England three years earlier to re-establish the Church of England that triggered the English civil war. Not that many English fought on the King's side. The King had already alienated the Commons and the Independents. By inviting in the Scots to establish Presbyterianism he had alienated the Bishops and the rest of the Lords. After the King and his eldest son had fallen in the rout of the Scots at the battle of St Albans, the war had been effectively over. The Queen and her youngest son were safely in Spain. A coalition between the Church and the Levelers dominated the Council of Regency. Not that James, the new heir-presumptive, was likely to be crowned any time soon owing to English misgivings about the education he was receiving at the hands of the Dominicans in Madrid. But one group of Levelers was unhappy with this result. They were republicans, 'Democratic Levelers' they called themselves, and they had no truck with the Council of Regency. It was the Democratic Levelers who formed the bulk of the English mercenaries in Saxony. In fact, one of the finest English generals of the Civil War, the victor of the Battle of St Albans, was amongst their number. Wallenstein had taken his idea to John George for prior approval. Wally knew he was not entirely trusted, so it was best to keep everything out in the open with his new master who had, after all, power of life and death over him. "Your Majesty, I propose to give your army, in lieu of pay for ten years, Austria." "Hang on Albert," the Elector said, "can you do that? I mean, I stood aloof when Frederick seized Bohemia from Ferdinand because Ferdinand was the rightful ruler. I've only joined the war on the Protestant side because Saxony was invaded. I can't hardly approve of Ferdinand being deprived of Austria." "Your principles are a byword throughout Christendom, your highness. Yet Ferdinand means to establish Hapsburg absolutism throughout the Empire. If you fail to oppose him successfully you will become at best a vassal; at worst, dispossessed, like Frederick. Yet you can't oppose him successfully without a strong army at your command." Wally smiled inwardly. He had said 'your command' but meant 'my command'. And it would not just be the army that would be his. Wally's new policy of keeping everything out in the open did not mean everything. Out loud, Wallenstein continued, "And the only way you can afford a strong army, your highness, is to offer Austria. It's either you or Ferdinand. In the end, there can only be one." John George[1] was still puzzled. "But this whole war was about Bohemia. Why turn it into a fight over Austria?" "Your highness, your soldiers whether Saxon or mercenary are for the most part Protestant. Bohemia was once substantially Protestant but has been cleared these last seventeen years. Many of these Protestants have fled to the friendlier Austria. Austria is the last, best hope of a Protestant southern Europe." Austria is also more central, more strategic than Bohemia, Wally thought. Just let me have a little parcel of land, the Brenner Pass. The tolls I could charge there! "But will men fight without pay?" the Elector wanted to know. "Men will do great things for honor, your majesty. They will still be given rations. But they will fight for a hope, the hope that one day every man of them will be a knight or better." John George agreed, although not without misgivings. These misgivings became more profound three days later when he heard that Wallenstein's words "every man of them will be a knight or better" had been simplified into the password "Every man an elector!" This was taking liberties, in a very real sense of the word 'liberty'. But what could the Elector do? He couldn't disband his army. He had a tiger by the tail and couldn't let go.

"Normally we'd ransom you" explained the fresh faced Saxon major, "or exchange you for our own soldiers taken captive. But we have heard from Count Gallas that the Imperial army is refusing ransoms at the moment. No doubt due to our English Regiment capturing his field treasury." Typical! thought Captain Rudolf von Goisern. As long as General Matthias 'Insanity' Gallas remains in charge of the our forces we've as good as lost to the Franco-Protestants. Still, it's a blessing in disguise. It'll mean the war is over that much sooner. The major continued, "Nor can we exchange prisoners for Gallas has taken naught of us this summer. Instead we offer a simple choice: join our ranks or the gallows." Colonel von Metdorf rose. "I think I can speak for all our men when I say that we would rather die than betray our Emperor." His batman looked somewhat uncertain and whey-faced but stood up beside his Colonel. Lieutenant George von Wittstock moved to stand up but crashed to the ground grasping a shin in agony. Rudolf quickly looked the other way then just as quickly returned his gaze to George, his face a mask of concern. "Don't get yourself killed, George," he whispered. Gritting his teeth, George tried to return the whisper. "Captain, have you got a wizard wheeze[2] to get us back to a friendly fortress?" Rudolf wondered if he should tell the truth. No, George couldn't handle the truth. The Captain instead used a favorite phrase of his man-servant Švejk, "I have a cunning plan." That seemed to satisfy George who sat quietly, nursing his leg. As von Metforf was being led away he shouted "You cowardly pigdogs!" "Yes, yes," said Rudolf dismissively, "thank you very much." It was a huge relief to no long have to suck up to that prize ass. "Silence!" commanded the major. "You new recruits to the Saxon army will wait here. The sergeant-major will be along in a few minutes to show you the drill." An awful lot of military life is spent waiting, thought Rudolf. He pulled out his old leather bound diary, meaning to amuse himself in the re-reading of some juicy passages in the time he had available. His movements caught the departing major's eye. "Hello, hello, hello.[3] What have we here? A war diary? You!" he pointed to Rudolf. Both George and Švejk gave an involuntary flinch. "You three! Come with me. We're going to see the Boss."

The Boss was General Albert von Wallenstein and his field headquarters was a manor house he had taken over. There was a deathly hush about the house. Curtains were drawn and the three prisoners were instructed not to make any noise and not speak unless spoken too. Rudolf, George and Švejk each had a silent musketeer guarding them. The major entered a bedroom, motioning the prisoners to remain in the corridor with the three musketeers. He was gone for a good three-quarters of an hour. At last he emerged. He motioned that the three former Imperialists should go inside. "But what of the musketeers?" whispered Rudolf. "The Boss doesn't like too many visitors at once. The musketeers will remain outside guarding the door. But don't worry about the Boss. If anything happens to him the soldiers will charge straight in and shoot first and ask questions later. Understand?" "Perfectly," Rudolf replied.

Rudolf could see how shocked George was at the sight of Wallenstein, in the flickering candle light of the windowless room. The mighty general was old, stooped with a lined face. He wasn't even in uniform, just dressing gown, slippers and a night cap - all black. He peered at the three. "Which of you is von Goisern?" he asked. Rudolf put up his hand. "Of course you are, of course you are. Remarkable. I've been looking through your diary. Very little of military import sadly but that is by the by. But your mind, man! You remind me a little of myself at your age, although I wasn't having all that sex of course." Rudolf looked, fascinated and repelled. The greatest general of the war seems to like me, he thought. But am I going to end up like that? "You are a man of many talents, von Goisern. I need someone like you and your two cronies on my staff." Rudolf could not believe what he was hearing. Had Dame Fortune patted him on the head and said "Rudi, you've been a good boy"? "What I want you to do for me is this..." But exactly what Wallenstein had in mind would not be known because at this point the general had a brief but dramatic coughing fit and fell down, obviously dead. "What happens now, Captain?" asked George in a concerned voice. "Well, any minute now, three homicidal musketeers come through that door and shoot us as assassins," Rudolf explained. He looked around the room angrily. "Who would build a bedroom with only one door and no windows? It would make having illicit liaisons impossible," he said, answering his own question. "I have a plan, sir," Švejk volunteered. "Really, Švejk, a cunning and subtle one?" asked Rudolf, who had a fairly low opinion of the Bohemian's intelligence. "Yes, sir" "As subtle as a serpent who has just been given the Chair of Subtlety at Hull University?" [4] "Yes, sir." The door crashed open. The three musketeers took in the sight of the dead Wallenstein and leveled their weapons. "Well," Rudolf observed, "I'm afraid it's too late." [To be continued]

[1] In another timeline his parents christened him 'Paul Ringo'. But that alternative timeline had a much earlier Point of Divergence. [2] 'Wizard wheeze' is an approximate translation of the large and ungainly German compound noun George would have used. [3] Literally "Good day, how are you?" [4] Even in the seventeenth century the University of Hull had established a formidable reputation across Europe.