Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 224 I am doing this for the nation, not for the emperor.

Emperor William slowly processed Lelouch's words, and was deeply shocked.

He originally thought that although Lelouch's words sounded reasonable, they were probably made up by the young man himself.

It's normal for young people to have creative ideas; the younger they are, the more active their thinking tends to be.

However, young people often lack composure and frequently overlook important details. If that's the case, the lessons learned won't be as valuable.

As a result, Lelouch showed none of the arrogance of youth; instead, he displayed both originality and meticulousness. Every analysis he made was corroborated by the wisdom of the ancients.

From Sun Tzu's Art of War to the Longzhong Plan, and then to Helmut Moltke.

"Was I really wrong back then... Lelouch, I demand a direct answer to this question!"

Emperor William finally wavered.

This is an issue that cannot be avoided.

Lelouch could only take a deep breath, organize his thoughts, and then give a fair reply:
"The incident in July 1914 was not Your Majesty's fault, but the fault of the General Staff. However, deep-seated problems do not arise overnight, and in the more distant years, there were indeed some issues where Your Majesty was at fault."

The Empire launched a naval race before it was even confident of success, and when its navy was still weak, it pointlessly provoked the Boer Kingdom over the Boer question. There was also the issue of Morocco.

It's unclear when exactly, but the Empire has lost the patience of the Bismarck and Helmut Moltke eras to avoid simultaneously antagonizing several enemies.

The emperor was stunned and couldn't help but show his anger.

It's been many years since anyone has pointed out his problems so directly, and even if he knows the other person is right, he still gets angry.

"You really don't hold back. I was originally thinking of giving you a chance to transfer to the General Staff. You're being so direct. Aren't you afraid it will affect your future?"

The emperor made a self-deprecating remark with a hint of helplessness, not because he was truly jealous of talent, but simply to maintain his imperial authority.

“Your Majesty, I am just a foreigner. If I want to pursue a career, I can stay in Oreo. Although I have never attended a military academy, I can join the army in Oreo. The degree from the architecture department in Vienna is more recognized than here.”

In July 1914, I could at least have enlisted as a sergeant major in the engineering corps, instead of starting as a corporal in Baria. I have come this far for the greater Demanian national cause, which transcends the nation itself.

No matter how high the position, if one cannot practice one's ideals according to the path of saving the country and the people as I believe in, and is merely a person who carries out others' orders, then such a position is not worth having.

Emperor William was slightly taken aback again. He hadn't expected Lelouch to have the audacity to decline the opportunity to work directly in the General Staff. He couldn't help but ask:
"You really look down on the General Staff that much? If you think the original General Staff wasn't doing a good job, why don't you join in and do your best to improve it? Wouldn't that be better?"

Lelouch: "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but I am of low status and my voice carries little weight. Even if I am promoted to Major General, I will not be able to make any decisions in the General Staff. I will be swayed by the decisions of others and may go further and further down the wrong path."

Lelouch had no intention of currying favor with the emperor on this matter, because he knew very well that unless the emperor truly realized his mistakes and listened to him from then on, he would have no chance of doing anything if he were transferred to the General Staff.

If the emperor doesn't listen, and other conservative forces hinder him, his ambition will continue to grow, eventually leading to his self-destruction. In that case, Lelouch will be pushed out to take the blame, and his future will truly be over.

Therefore, we must be upfront about the unpleasant aspects.

The emperor, however, could not understand and pressed him for answers: "From what you're saying, you seem to be very dissatisfied with some of the General Staff's ongoing plans, and even think they are...stupid?"
Ah, I remember now. The other day, Falkenhayn mentioned that you had a falling out with a bunch of people in Potsdam and even made a bet with them? Was it about the ongoing Polish campaign?

Lelouch didn't mince words: "That's right, I think the current Polish campaign is too ambitious and reckless. Just because the Empire won a series of victories against Russo last year, we've forgotten General Winter's lesson."

Moreover, with the war having escalated to this point, I think it's very difficult to truly and calmly maximize profits. In the end, someone will always act impulsively, and no one can truly see where the turning point for maximizing profits is, or where it will lead. Taking another step forward will only result in a pure loss.

When he's losing, he thinks he'll stop once he turns things around, but once he actually does, he wants to make one last big profit before quitting, otherwise all his previous gains and losses are for nothing. How many gamblers can actually stop? Is it because they're intellectually deficient that they can't stop? I doubt it.

Lelouch's words were already quite honest, making it difficult for the emperor to accept, and the emperor was unwilling to respond under these circumstances.

Although Lelouch had already demonstrated remarkable foresight, how could the Emperor order the frontline troops to postpone their offensive simply because of a few words from Lelouch, given that Poland had been conquered a few months earlier?

Even if the emperor still wants to give Lelouch an important position, it would be better to let things cool down for a few days and wait for Hindenburg and Rodendorff to make progress on the front lines before using facts to slap Lelouch in the face and teach him a lesson for his unruly attitude.

Even if Hindenburg makes no progress, the Emperor will simply go with the flow and recruit Lelouch again. It will be Hindenburg who loses face, not the Emperor himself.

Moreover, Emperor William felt that the war had already reached this point, and he heard from his subordinates that the Lussa had already annihilated more than 600 million soldiers in this great war. How could they possibly hold out?
So the emperor hastily ended the audience, changed the subject for a few more minutes, and then amiably told Lelouch to go back to Potsdam, focus on writing his thesis, and wait for further notice after he officially graduated.

Lelouch pretended not to notice the change in the emperor's attitude and politely took his leave.

……

After bidding farewell to the emperor, Lelouch was in no hurry to return to Potsdam.

He had only been away for three or four days, but he had requested a full two-week leave.

So he hitched a ride with Gustav Krupp and went to Essen in the Ruhr region for a few days of inspection.

They've finished discussing military matters like guns and transmission systems, but Lelouch can still take some time to check on the current state of people's lives.

By the way, let's see how his previous business of expanding the production of rails and train cars using inferior steel, which he asked his sister and brother-in-law to do, is going.

Furthermore, I've heard that Lieutenant General Lyudmila Karl, the second-in-command of the National Railways and the vice president in charge of coordinating the construction of new railways and the procurement of locomotives and wagons nationwide, is now stationed in Essen. Since most of the Empire's train factories and rail factories are concentrated in that area, it's naturally more convenient for the National Railways to be based in Essen for centralized procurement.

On the train to Essen, Gustav began to feel increasingly awe of Lelouch, because he didn't know what Lelouch had said to the emperor the day before and assumed that Lelouch had gained more favor from the emperor, which made him even more respectful of him.

However, Lelouch chose to speak frankly about some less sensitive and more public topics, stating that he was upright and incorruptible and unwilling to carry out orders in the General Staff that he did not approve of. As a result, the Emperor calmed down and did not immediately recruit him into the General Staff.

Gustav felt deeply regretful after hearing this:

"Hey...you young people are too impulsive. How can you be so upright and unyielding when you're meeting the Emperor? You should also pay attention to how you speak. In any case, it's always good to get to the General Staff Headquarters first."

"You are still young. Even if the highest levels of the General Staff make wrong decisions, His Majesty will naturally know, and he will realize it wasn't your fault. Especially since you've already made some suggestions, and you were right in the end, do you think His Majesty will forget?"

Lelouch, however, thought differently: "Even if His Majesty could break it down to such detail and know exactly who is responsible for every decision made by the General Staff, it would only be known to a small circle of people. Would a hundred million people know these inside stories?"
If certain decisions that are detrimental to the people and the country were made during my tenure in the General Staff, even if I am not directly responsible, and outsiders have no say, I will not tolerate the infamy of such recklessness and risking the lives of the people and soldiers for personal gain falling upon my shoulders.

Lelouch knew very well that even if the war was ultimately won, the Empire would have suffered a total of 170 million casualties and prisoners of war. While this was much better than the 630 million of the Russa, the absolute number was still considerable, given that the Empire was fighting on three fronts and facing enemies all over the world.

The emperor's prestige has been damaged, and the people have suffered heavy losses. When they harbor resentment in the future, they will not care whether the decision was made by the emperor, the General Staff, or the civil service.

Unless someone is known for advocating for the people, for stopping the emperor from expanding the war, and even for risking their own career, then the people will single out that person when they are filled with hatred and seeking revenge.

This is precisely what Lelouch cares about. While he can ensure that there will be virtually no more disturbances from the Gil sailors in this dimension, it doesn't mean that the people's war-weariness can be completely suppressed. In short, gaining a good reputation among the people in the future is more important than gaining the emperor's personal trust.

The so-called "favor of the emperor" is not as valuable as it was ten or eight years ago.

Gustav remained silent for a long time, and roughly guessed Lelouch's priorities: This was a young man who valued popular support more than divine favor. What did he really want?

Thanks to the fact that Demania has no history of usurpation, Gustav didn't misunderstand and ultimately just thought Lelouch was a guy who valued his reputation.

If this were in the East, people would immediately associate it with the phrase "He takes no wealth and has no women to be violated; this shows his ambition is not small."

……

The train soon arrived in Essen. After getting off, Lelouch went straight to his sister's rail and train car manufacturing plant, which she had been running for only six months.

It's ironic, but Demania was originally such a large industrial country that, because its railway system was managed and operated by the national railway, the train manufacturing companies were also concentrated in one place and all belonged to the national railway.

Lelouch asked his sister to temporarily build a factory that produced cheap train cars using inferior steel, but the national railway complained that the poor quality would damage its reputation and didn't want to be associated with them.

Lelouch later had his sister register a "Southern Locomotive Manufacturing Company," although they actually only manufactured carriages, not locomotives.

This naming is somewhat similar to the CNR and CSR in the East, except that the locomotive company led by Proson wasn't called CNR. Hmm, it seems more appropriate to compare it to "State Grid" and "Southern Power Grid".

This fledgling railcar factory had only been built for six months. Lelouch had invested tens of millions of marks in capital, and had also collaborated with Krupp to acquire technical personnel and purchase a large amount of equipment.

In peacetime, how could such a company possibly grow so rapidly? But the huge transportation capacity gap created by the war allowed this makeshift company to build a massive factory capable of producing 300 train cars per month in just six months, averaging 10 cars per day.

Don't underestimate this number. In late 1915 or 1916, this was already quite an achievement, considering it was just a startup factory.

In the Earth's timeline, across the ocean, the United States achieved a terrifying industrial capacity in 1917, the peak of its industrial production, producing over 4000 train cars per month, and 5.2 train cars and over 2000 locomotives throughout the year.

Demand's pre-war train production capacity was only about 500 locomotives and 16,000 wagons per year, which was only about 30% of that of the United States (mainly because Demand's land area was much smaller than that of the United States, and in peacetime, it did not need that many trains).

After the outbreak of war, Demania's train production even declined because other industries took over the production of high-quality steel.

It was only because Lelouch dared to think outside the box and use inferior steel made from non-premium coke and non-premium mixed ore to directly manufacture train cars that he managed to squeeze out an extra production capacity of nearly 4 train cars per year.

Even at this current scale, the production capacity of train cars is only brought back to a level similar to that before the war. In 1916, the factory would need to expand its production by at least three times to barely meet the increased transport capacity requirements during the war.

If we want to fully develop the occupied territories in the East and transport coal, ore, and grain from the East back to our homeland in the West from thousands of miles away, the additional transport capacity required would need to be at least doubled.

After all, the distance from Donbas to the Ruhr region is two to three thousand kilometers. Although it cannot compare to the vast territory of the United States on the other side of the strait, the United States is only 1,500 kilometers from its east coast to the westernmost point of the Great Lakes. And the vast western region was not highly developed in 1915.

To achieve the same level of transport capacity surplus as the United States, Demania needs to increase its annual train car production to 40,000. Currently, excluding Lelouch's factory, the National Railways alone only produces 12,000 cars, while Lelouch's new factory can provide 3,600.

还剩下的2万4缺口，可不得让目前的工厂再乘以6~7，未来做到每天下线70~80节火车皮的规模，每天需要消耗2000吨以上劣质钢材，一年就是80~100万吨。按和平年代700马克一吨的钢价算，光是钢铁成本就要每年6亿马克。

Moreover, steel prices rose during the war, and if the same high-quality steel were used, the actual annual steel cost would exceed 10 billion marks.

Fortunately, Lelouch was able to use low-quality steel that wasn't picky about raw materials. These raw materials weren't subject to hoarding, and their prices didn't rise due to the war. In fact, some low-quality ores even became unsaleable due to a lack of high-quality coking coal. Ultimately, the actual total steel cost was controlled to within 5 million, effectively halving the cost.

In this situation, selling all the wagons at once would be incredibly appealing.

After giving a brief inspection of his family's wagon factory, Lelouch asked some questions with concern, worried that his sister was not good at running the business and that even just being a figurehead and auditing the accounts would lead to mistakes.

His older sister Cornelia, on the other hand, is growing up quite fast, and told him not to worry:

"Don't worry, although I'm not good at developing markets, I can manage costs and finances to a minimum. Most importantly, we just need to focus on production. Krupp and the National Railway will provide the technology, processes, and equipment, and we don't need to find our own sales channels."

Our wagons are sold at a 20% discount compared to pre-war models. We operate on a low-profit, high-volume model, and General Karl will take every wagon that comes off the production line. The current order gap for the National Railways is like a bottomless pit. Seeing how well our pilot program has gone over the past six months, they're even considering building a new factory themselves and starting to use inferior steel to make wagons, just like us.

Anyway, a few years less in lifespan doesn't matter. The original wagons can last for more than 15 years. Even if they're reduced to 10 years, they'll definitely last until the end of the war.

Upon hearing this, Lelouch also made a phone call to Lieutenant General Karl Lyudpot to inquire about the situation.

To everyone's surprise, when Lieutenant General Karl heard that Llullius had come to Essen, he said he would come immediately. He was in the purchasing department of the Essen State Railways, only two or three kilometers away from the wagon factory.

Just ten minutes later, Lieutenant General Karl arrived at the car factory in his BMW sedan, accompanied by a young follower, an old acquaintance introduced by Lelouch—Fritz Toth, a retired engineer major battalion commander.

This refers to Fritz Toth, who later became responsible for Demania's "Four-Year Construction Plan" in 1934 and planned the construction of a highway network.

In this life, he caught Lelouch's eye and was recommended because he helped Commander Lelouch repair the airship mooring base and field airfield on the western front.

Upon meeting an old friend, Lelouch casually shook hands with Lieutenant General Karl and reminisced: "Now that you're with the National Railways, do you feel it's not as enjoyable as the front lines?"

Lieutenant General Karl chuckled nonchalantly: "The front lines are exhilarating, but life is certainly tough. I've gained almost 20 pounds in the four months I've been back in the rear! As for you, I heard you're almost a major general? If you keep going, you'll catch up with me, won't you?"

Lelouch: "How could that be? Besides, military rank doesn't mean much. In the rear, it's a very lucrative position. I heard you're planning to let the National Railways build its own wagon depot?"

Lieutenant General Carl: "If you expand production quickly enough, I can also choose to invest and form a joint venture. I only want the profits, not management rights. Anyway, you have to ensure the supply volume and quality."

Lelouch: "Well then, since you don't want decision-making power, let's come up with a plan. The national railway shares can take 71%, and our family shares can only take 29%. But we can expand production all at once. In the first phase, we'll expand from the current 10 cars per day to 50 cars per day, and try to complete it within six months. If we need to expand production further, I can also inject more capital, proportionally."

Lieutenant General Karl calculated that if the expansion were only 3.5 times the current size, Lelouch wouldn't need to invest more money. However, if the expansion were to be 5 times the current size, even considering the premium of existing enterprises, Lelouch would have to make a symbolic additional investment. Further expansion would then have to strictly adhere to the ratio of 70% from the National Railways and 30% from Lelouch, with no further discounts allowed.

"You still have money to invest? I heard you're also building a steel mill in the east. You've probably run out of capital there by now," Lieutenant General Karl asked jokingly.

Lelouch: "I can sell the earliest three-phase electric arc furnace steel plant in Dunkirk. Its annual output is less than 20 tons. It was originally just a technology demonstration plant, and we saw that there was a lot of scrap steel from the shipwrecks there, about 20 tons. In a year, I've almost finished processing all the shipwrecks. I plan to start a new plant on the Eastern Front if I continue to work in metallurgy in the future. I don't want to get involved in Belgian and Northern France anymore. Once I sell the stuff there, I can invest that money in the cooperation with the National Railways. That should be enough."

Lieutenant General Karl: "Krupp also learned your technology, obtained your license, and built their own electric arc furnace steel plant, right? They'll buy from you, won't they?"

Lelouch: "If Krupp won't sell, we'll sell to Rheinmetall. Rheinmetall is starting from scratch in this field, with no technological accumulation whatsoever. I'll give them a ready-made three-phase electric arc furnace plant, which will save them from taking detours. They will definitely be willing to pay a much higher price than Krupp."

Lieutenant General Karl was taken aback: "Aren't you on good terms with Krupp? How could you sell an electric arc furnace steel plant to their competitor, Rheinmetall?"

Lelouch: "During wartime, anything that can enhance the Empire's industrial strength is worth doing. Besides, they don't have any production capacity competition right now. No matter how many cannons Krupp or Rheinmetall produce, the Empire will buy them one by one."

As for the post-war period, I think the Empire's military research and development could be reorganized, with different departments focusing on different product categories, and other areas serving as backup technologies. This would also reduce redundant construction.

Lieutenant General Carl: "You don't have that authority."

Lelouch shrugged: "Maybe I'll have it before the war ends."

Lieutenant General Karl seemed to no longer recognize Lelouch, looking at him curiously before finally accepting the reality: "Alright, your promotion is indeed astonishing, I believe you. In that case, I have another suggestion: have your brother-in-law resign and leave politics."

His job as the economic commissioner of the Billy King-occupied zone was boring. I made him the president of the joint venture wagon factory. With the national railway's large share injection, it wouldn't be right for the higher-ups to make your sister the president; her education, resume, and qualifications aren't up to par.”

Lelouch knew this was the truth and nodded in agreement.

Over the next few days, Lelouch, along with Lieutenant General Karl and Fritz Thoth, reviewed the Empire's logistics and transportation industry. Lelouch offered his advice whenever he could draw upon the wisdom of his predecessors to address any difficulties or shortcomings Lieutenant General Karl encountered.

The plan to further invest in and expand the wagon yard has also been basically finalized.

China Railway really doesn't want to waste any more energy figuring out how to build a new factory to manufacture wagons from scratch; there's already enough to do.

If China Railway has the energy, it would be better to build a new factory to manufacture locomotives. Otherwise, even if the production of train cars increases several times, the production capacity of locomotives cannot keep up, and the train cars can only sit in the warehouse collecting dust.

The technology required to build a locomotive is much more complex than that required to build a wagon body. This is a field that Lelouch is not capable of venturing into, and inferior materials must never be used to build a locomotive.

Without this differentiating competitive advantage, Lelouch would have no comparative advantage even if he forced his way in, so it would be better to let professionals do what they do best.

Another collaborative project involving hundreds of millions of marks was finalized in a very fast-paced manner.

Thanks to the large number of extra wagons provided by Lelouch, at least Demania's coal transportation will not have any more problems this winter, and all the coal-deficient rear cities can be guaranteed a winter coal supply.

Many Demanian people who were originally going to suffer from the cold were unaware that Lelouch, the unsung hero, had helped them prevent the disaster before it happened. It can be said that a good warrior achieves his goals without making a fuss.

Just as Lelouch was handling these matters in an orderly manner, news finally came from the East about the battle situation at the front.

Marshal Hindenburg's southward advance has been temporarily thwarted as his attempt to encircle Warsaw was thwarted by Rusa's renowned general, Brusilov.

Even the emperor was shocked when he heard the news that Marshal Hindenburg had been temporarily defeated.

Everyone thought the Lusa people were like grasshoppers in autumn, unable to jump anymore, but unexpectedly they were able to build fortifications and hold on to their deaths.

Moreover, I heard that the tank's diesel engine froze and couldn't be started because the weather was too cold a few days ago.

(End of this chapter)