Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 19 Your Highness, do you wish the King to add white?
Lelouch was very sincere, telling Duke Rupprecht to ask any questions he had, and that he would answer them all.

But the Duke was not a reckless man. He took a few minutes to carefully read through the secret letter that his second brother, Major General Karl, had sent him.

Anyway, Captain Immelmann's plane needs to be refueled, so a little more time won't make a difference.

After reading the letter, Duke Rupprecht waved away his attendants and then solemnly asked what he considered to be the most crucial question.

"You told Karl that if, after this operation, it is ultimately discovered that the Imperial Navy's radio codes have indeed been deciphered by the Britannians, then we must not make a fuss. Instead, we must continue to pretend we don't know, keep this secret, and wait for a sufficiently profitable opportunity in the future to detonate this secret and make a fortune."

But don't you think that's difficult to do? Carl may not understand how numerous factions and how fierce the struggles are within the Navy, but I do. Even intelligence work is governed by multiple departments, each acting independently.

Once someone discovers this secret, they'll rush to claim credit and rewards. In a few days, or at most a few months, the Bretons will know the truth…”

The Duke immediately realized that Lelouch's hope for secrecy could very well lead to a "tragedy of the commons".

In departments where everyone is eyeing what they have but not what they need, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A plan that maximizes the interests of the empire may not maximize the interests of a small group. Who would be willing to hold back their achievements and wait to slowly reap a big reward?
Fortunately, Lelouch had already thought about this problem in depth on the plane.

After all, he had traveled back from a later era of market economy where competition was fierce and no means were spared, so he had long anticipated the selfishness of human nature.

The situation the Duke was worried about was like that of the mushroom hunters in "A Bite of China"—how could they wait until the matsutake mushrooms were at their most valuable before picking them? They would have been picked by someone else long ago.

Therefore, to deal with this tragedy of the commons, one must first be extremely selfish!

Lelouch hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and prepared to offer a pledge of allegiance.

"Your Highness is truly farsighted, seeing right through the crux of the problem—therefore we must keep it a secret from the Navy Department as well! From now on, all intelligence cooperation with the Navy will be conducted privately with Rear Admiral Hipper, who comes from the Barea faction, and we will only share intelligence with him!"
Your Highness, I don't intend to create factions within the navy. But I've always felt that the Prossenjunks are utterly incompetent and incompetent in intelligence matters. We can only trust our own people from the Kingdom of Balia—

And as you know, I am a foreigner, an Oreo. I came to Demania to serve in the military solely out of loyalty to the Demanian people, not out of loyalty to the Emperor, nor to those Prosen northerners.

Back when the Demacian Empire was first established, Prosen, for the sake of their own kingdom's interests, devised the so-called "Little Demacian Plan," aiming to exclude Emperor Oreo from the Demacian Empire so that someone from Prosen could seize the throne. This was, in effect, a betrayal of the traditions established since the Holy Roman Empire!
The Kingdom of Baria, where you reside, and the other three states of the Southern German States, have historically been closer to the Oreo royal family and share the same beliefs. Your ancestors supported the Greater Demania Plan until 1870.

That's why I joined the 6th Army, drawn by its reputation. I'd rather serve only you. Because I am an Oreo person, and my ideal Demandian Empire is the Greater Demandian Plan! It's about uniting all the Demanians of the Oreo Empire under the same banner!
The current war has devolved into a protracted conflict, making a swift victory impossible. The intense strain of a protracted war would have a severe impact on any nation with an emperor, forcing many to make necessary changes in the future.

The Oreo Empire is too weak in combat and plagued by severe internal conflicts between its various tribes. It's uncertain whether it can even survive to the end in this war. Who knows if this great battle might be an opportunity for the entire Demanian nation to be reshaped and reborn from the ashes?
In this environment, climbing the ranks from within might be more effective than seizing power militarily. The Kingdom of Baria, acting as a link between Oreo and Prosen, could easily play both sides and perhaps even do more for the country and its people…

"Enough! Stop talking! I already know. If that's the case, this secret might be kept for a long time, and many more new secrets in the future can also be kept secret like this..."

Duke Rupprecht dared not listen any longer and quickly interrupted the other party.

This young man, how can he speak without any tact?

Even though it's late at night, on the tarmac of a field airfield, and everyone else has been dismissed, the secret is kept secret.

But is this the kind of thing a lieutenant should say?

Fortunately, the Duke was unfamiliar with Eastern history; otherwise, he would have surely associated it with Yao Guangxiao's repeated attempts to instigate the addition of white to the throne in front of Zhu Di.

However, in the Duke's view, although Lelouch was somewhat fanatical, his motives were definitely good. He was certainly doing it for the sake of the entire nation, so that they could unite under the same banner and within the same country.

As a nobleman from one of the four southern German states, the Duke himself believed that the Greater Demania scheme was superior to the Lesser Demania scheme.

After all, the ancestors of the Kingdom of Balia were enfeoffed by Frederick Barbarossa, the first Holy Roman Emperor, and the two sides had a friendly history of more than 700 years.

Anyone who has played the Barbarossa campaign in Age of Empires II knows that in the campaign, Barbarossa finally defeated his great enemy, Henry the Lion, and then granted Henry the Lion's territory to his own subordinates, which led to the establishment of the Wittelsbach family of the Kingdom of Balria. That was in 1180, which is 734 years ago.

Lelouch's words today were a complete pledge of allegiance, making the Duke realize that he too was a like-minded person. Such a virtuous and righteous individual should certainly be given an important position!
As for whether Lelouch had his own ambitions, the Duke wouldn't even consider it. The other party's status was too low; it was good enough that he could serve as his pawn.

So after the reprimand, the Duke felt he should still offer a reward:
"Although what you said today was a bit excessive, I won't blame you because you're young and naive. Your plan itself is still effective. Take this secret letter and go to Hipper."

Also, this is my personal seal. You can take it with you for now, just in case there are any unclear details in the letter and Hipper doesn't trust you.

"Thank you for your trust." Lelouch accepted the secret letter and seal with both hands.

"Work hard, and if you really succeed this time, I'll promote you again." The Duke patted Lelouch on the shoulder as encouragement before leaving.

Meanwhile, Captain Immelmann's plane had been refueled and undergone the necessary maintenance checks. Lelouch boarded the plane again and flew straight to Port Wilhelm.

……

"I didn't expect the Duke to value you so much, brother. Are you really just a lieutenant? You must have connections, right?"

Bored during the long night flight, Immelmann couldn't help but start chatting with Lelouch less than half an hour after taking off.

"I'm just a foreigner, who could possibly be above me? It's just that His Highness the Duke and General Karl are kind and generous, appointing people based on merit." Lelouch responded flawlessly, his words perfectly appropriate.

"There really are generals who appoint people based on merit? Fine, I'll take that as you telling the truth." Yin Maiman was too lazy to argue any further and quickly changed the subject.

He patted the military belt he had just wrapped around his uniform with pride and showed off to Lelouch, saying, "You suggest adding seat belts to airplanes and having them carry weapons to shoot down the enemy's reconnaissance planes."

While refueling, I got a sudden urge to show off, so I asked the airport staff to get me a weapon belt and two C96 pistols. If we encounter enemy reconnaissance later, I'll just go up and fire a few shots; you'll be in charge of reloading for me.

As he spoke, Immelmann pulled out a pistol and waved it around.

Lelouch looked closely and realized it was the Mauser C96 pistol, the 20-shot Mauser pistol, which was often seen in later war films.

In situations where there's no time to load machine guns and the load capacity is insufficient, getting a few high-capacity pistols is indeed a good idea.

However, Lelouch still wanted to pour some cold water on him: "The idea is good, but even if there are enemy planes at night, you won't be able to see them. Besides, how could Britannia's planes possibly fly that far? Just consider this an experience of armed flight."

Yin Maiman knew that Lelouch was telling the truth, and was slightly disappointed.

The two chatted for another two hours as they flew, and soon Port William was in sight.

In this era, there were no air raids, so there were no nighttime light restrictions at military ports, allowing planes to land with ample lighting.

However, just as Immelmann was preparing to observe the landing, he suddenly noticed something and immediately exclaimed to the person in the back seat, "Hey! Look! It's a Bretonnian BE2!"

Lelouch looked in the direction the other person was pointing, but couldn't see anything: "Where? I don't see anything! Are you sure you can identify the model?"

Immelmann: "Nonsense! Our Dove's wings and tail tip slant backwards, like a kite. Only the Bretonnian BE2 has elliptical wingtips. Don't underestimate the eyesight of an elite pilot!"

Lelouch immediately shut up. Everyone has their own expertise, and Immelmann's eyesight is definitely much better than his, since he can become an ace pilot.

Immelmann was able to vaguely see enemy aircraft with slightly reflective lower edges of their wings because he was near a naval port, where the area below was brightly lit. In the darkness of an open field, such an enemy aircraft would be completely invisible.

The opposing plane didn't notice him, or perhaps it did but didn't care at all—there was no air combat in this era, so there was no need to worry about seeing enemy planes.

Immelmann then leisurely approached, only to realize upon closer inspection that the other plane was painted with the logo of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Flying Club, not the Britannian military.

Lelouch saw it too, and suddenly realized: No wonder it could fly over, it didn't take off from Britannia, but from a neutral country!
(End of this chapter)