Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 234 The First Broadcast Speech
Everyone in Siemens' radio division felt humiliated by their American, country bumpkin counterparts.

And once these people get serious, the consequences are indeed very serious.

In order to make a good impression on Crown Prince Baria and Baron Lelouch, the core technical staff of Siemens' radio division devoted themselves to working overtime day and night for the next two or three days.

Dr. Mandelstam personally oversaw every aspect of the loudspeaker project. He even consulted his Nobel laureate mentor, Professor Karl Ferdinand Braun, by phone at several key technical junctures.

Just two and a half days later, on the afternoon of March 28th, the first broadcast venue in continental Europe equipped with electric speakers, including wiring, was completed thanks to the concerted efforts of a team of Siemens engineers.

There are no novel technological goals involved; it's all stuff that the Americans across the ocean did on the night of December 24th last year. The technological path is obvious and easy to imitate. The only difference is that the Demacians have refined the quality and performance a bit more.

The integration of this entire technical system would have been impossible two years ago, because at that time there were still some shortcomings and bottlenecks in related technologies such as power amplifier circuits.

But war spurred rapid technological progress; both radio and power amplifier components developed at breakneck speed within two years of the war's outbreak. By this point, the integration of the entire system had reached a relatively comfortable critical point.

After everything was completed, Hermann von Siemens, the owner of Siemens, personally reported the project to Lulush:
"Your Excellency, everything you requested has been arranged. We have installed cables and loudspeakers around the central square of Neuschwanstein Castle. The amplification and reception effects are definitely better than those shoddy imitations made by the Americans!"

If His Highness the Crown Prince wishes, he may speak from his study, amplified through a loudspeaker and broadcast to the square. Alternatively, he may speak directly from the balcony facing the square using a microphone; we have all the necessary equipment.

When Siemens introduced the device, they didn't even use the word "microphone," but rather "radio unit," because the device for receiving human speech in that era was not the kind of microphone found in KTVs in later times. Instead, it resembled the microphone of a landline telephone, consisting of several horn-shaped radios.

In many old movies and TV shows, you can see that speeches by world leaders from the 20s and 30s were recorded using all sorts of strange-looking devices.

Lelouch was very pleased after hearing Siemens' report and said he would go and tell the Duke.

Before long, Duke Rupprecht learned that Siemens had come up with something new and became very interested.

Lelouch advised the Duke to take advantage of the banquets he was hosting over the next few days to give a public speech via loudspeaker, which would be clearly heard by everyone in the Neuschwanstein Square.

However, Duke Rupprecht was ultimately a little uncomfortable with the new technology. After all, he was an old man in his early fifties and not as receptive to new things as younger people. He was also afraid of feeling embarrassed, awkward, or making a mistake that would make him lose face.

Ultimately, he simply chose one of the many alternative options proposed by Lelouch that he could accept:

"Huh? This 'electronic broadcasting' you're talking about can amplify and play back the sound recorded on a phonograph? I'll give it a try. I'll say something first, record it on a phonograph, and then play it back privately with a low-powered test speaker. If there are no problems, I'll broadcast it to the public."

"Yes, you'll need to prepare a draft first. It'll simply be something to encourage the soldiers to fight hard and serve the country after returning to the front lines. You're from the Propaganda Department of the War Department, so writing these kinds of drafts should be quite good, right? As for the coordination and management involved, you can handle that for me."

The Duke also knew that he couldn't just suddenly play a recording out of thin air through a loudspeaker when addressing the public, as that would startle people. In addition, he needed to gather the audience in the square first, and someone had to maintain order and inform everyone what was about to happen.

Therefore, a role similar to a host or director is needed.

The Duke himself was not used to the new technology and new things, so he had to let the young people take on the roles of host and director to introduce the situation. This task naturally fell to Lelouch and his wife.

Lelouch thus became the first person in the world to give a live public address using an amplifier circuit—the broadcast from San Francisco City Hall last Christmas, just like the one given by Duke Rupprecht today, was pre-recorded and then played; there was no live broadcast.

Everyone else was nervous, even the top tech guys at Siemens, fearing they might make a mistake. Only Lelouch seemed calm and collected, without the slightest bit of nervousness.

Before his transmigration from the future, he was already tired of watching live streams. If you were to ask whether people from the future were more confident than people from the past in any particular area, it would definitely be the media field. After all, they were people who had been bombarded by media in the internet age, and speaking on live stream was as commonplace as eating and drinking.

Before the dinner that evening, all the guests who came to Neuschwanstein Castle were informed that His Highness the Crown Prince planned to hold an open-air cocktail party in the square garden inside the gate of Neuschwanstein Castle, and that there would be a speech.

The guests were very cooperative, and the castle staff went to great lengths to move hundreds of long dining tables to the central garden square and set them up, then laid out tablecloths, wine glasses, and food, enough to satisfy hundreds of guests.

At 3:3 pm, the most comfortable time of day, the weather in March is not hot, and the slanting sunlight shines on the guests in a pleasant way without being glaring.

Lelouch walked onto the castle's large balcony facing the square, with a similar pomp to that of a newly elected pope meeting his followers on St. Peter's balcony. He then cleared his throat from a distance and calmly strode toward a vertical pole in front of him, on which hung five microphones connected by wires.

The microphone has no grille or dust cover; it's like the outer casing of a modern speaker has been removed, exposing the diaphragm directly. It looks very retro and punk.

"Distinguished guests, a warm welcome to Neuschwanstein Castle for tonight's grand event..."

When Lelouch's voice came from the Siemens speakers in every corner of the square, even though he tried to soften his voice, it still startled all the guests.

Many women couldn't help but cover their mouths and gasp in surprise, looking as if they were making a big fuss, frantically turning their heads back and forth to look at every corner, trying to find the source of the sound.

Perhaps this is how humans reacted when they first heard the sound of an electronic loudspeaker.

"Oh my God! Where is that sound coming from?"

"Isn't that Baron Lelouch's voice? But why does it feel like he's everywhere?"

"I heard he's from the Propaganda Department of the Imperial War Department. Could this be some kind of cutting-edge technology from the Propaganda Department?"

Lelouch only needed to say hello to draw everyone's attention, without exception.

He couldn't help but sigh: In this era, attracting public attention is just too easy... Even if he just played some background music on the radio and said nothing, he could probably keep everyone who heard the sound listening. If it were in the future, in the age of media explosion, how much effort and how many brain cells would those video bloggers, audio podcasters, and film and television artists have to spend to gain some traffic and views?

Now, he doesn't have to do anything. All he has to do is put a few loudspeakers in the square and connect them to the radios that he told Siemens to speed up their development.

"Distinguished guests, I am Baron Lelouch von Hunt..."

"...On this joyous occasion, we must not forget that the nation is going through a turbulent time, and most of you are either soldiers or insightful individuals from the business world. His Highness the Crown Prince is very grateful for your support of the great war the Empire is currently waging. He also hopes that you will continue to unite sincerely and cooperate diligently. Now, please welcome His Highness the Crown Prince to speak."

Lelouch gave a few standard opening remarks, then waved his hand casually, signaling the technicians behind him to start playing the recording of Duke Rupprecht's speech.

The Duke is a seasoned public speaker, and he wouldn't normally be nervous in such situations. It's only because he's new to this technology and worried about making mistakes that he's unusually nervous and has to use a pre-recorded message.

The guests were unaware of the technical issues involved and assumed the Duke was speaking to them remotely via telecommunications from his office.

Many people didn't pay attention to the content of the speech; instead, they curiously looked towards the Siemens loudspeakers temporarily installed in the corner of the square, focusing entirely on the technical aspects.

It took a while for Duke Rupprecht to finish his speech, and the guests remained deeply engrossed in it.

To bring the event to a close, Lelouch had no choice but to continue as the host, speaking a few more words and spontaneously deciding to add a segment similar to a "Q&A session" to answer questions from the guests and boost morale. If no one asked any questions, he could then announce the end of the speech.

"His Highness the Crown Prince will be returning to the front lines next month to fight alongside all the soldiers of my 6th Army Group for the just cause of the Empire. Guests, please feel free to ask any further questions."

The guests were momentarily at a loss for words, but several members of the press reacted quickly and raised questions one after another.

The journalists attending today's event are unlikely to be ordinary reporters, as there's not much to interview anyway. Instead, there are several presidents and editors-in-chief from major newspapers.

The head of the Empire's top-tier newspaper, *Fox*, then raised a rather pointed question:

"Your Highness, after returning to the Eastern Front, how do you plan to defeat the Rusa people? You can't expect to completely conquer Rusa's vast territory, can you?"

Lelouch listened quietly, not having time to consult Duke Rupprecht, as the question was within his authority to answer.

He calmly and eloquently said, "This is a good question, but it is not really suitable for us to answer. If you have a little understanding of the position of the Imperial Foreign Ministry, it is not difficult to find that the Empire's attitude toward the Eastern Front has always been to annihilate the Lusa people's manpower and to effectively impose an economic blockade on them, ultimately forcing the people of Lusa to realize the evil of the Tsar and pressuring the tyrant from the bottom up to force him to end the war."

This is not my statement, nor is it said by His Highness the Crown Prince; it was said last month by State Secretary Gottlieb von Jago, who is in charge of foreign affairs.

The 6th Army, led by His Highness the Crown Prince, is, of course, merely a pawn used by the Empire to execute this grand objective. Soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, and we must, of course, do everything in our power, using all available military means, to help the Empire achieve its political and diplomatic goals.

Lelouch spoke in a steady, measured manner, without daring to elaborate at all in the first half; he was simply repeating the remarks of the Imperial State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (equivalent to the Foreign Minister. Gottlieb von Yago took office in 1911 and historically served until November 1916, after which his deputy, Zimmermann, took over, but the Zimmermann Telegraph Incident subsequently occurred).
Lelouch only made a slight move at the executive level, and his words were very appropriate.

Even though *Fos* was a left-wing media outlet in the Empire, known for its emphasis on limiting the scale of war and pursuing "peace through war," it couldn't find any fault with Lelouch's answer. The official in charge could only say that he was satisfied with the answer and had no further questions.

Lulu wanted to take the opportunity to end the situation, which was about to turn into a press conference, but he didn't expect that his answer would arouse even more people's interest.

Another newspaper, and the only one in the top tier domestic newspapers, whose stance is even more left-leaning than that of Forth, also had an executive jump out to ask questions.

If the Forth newspaper is considered center-left, backed by figures like Kautsky and Bernstein, then the far-left newspaper, the Forward, is backed by the likes of Lee Pohnsch and Rosenberg.

The head of the Forward newspaper then asked a more pointed question: "Is there any hope of ending the war by blockading the Russa? Foreign newspapers have recently been saying that the Russa's port of Murmansk will soon be operational, and the Imperial Navy is no match for the Royal Navy of the Burkina Faso in the North Sea!"

Moreover, I've heard that the Britannians have launched new offensives in the Levant and Iraq, and have amassed a large number of new troops during the winter. The Ottomans are already at their breaking point. Baron Lelouch, everyone knows that your mentor at the Potsdam Military Academy was Marshal Goltz, right? I've heard that Marshal Goltz was recently urgently recalled by His Majesty to the Baghdad front. The Ottomans need him to oversee the overall situation and hold off the Bretonnians' attack on Baghdad from Basra.

The Bretonnia have already invested heavily this year, continuously deploying Indian troops to the Middle East theater! What we see is the war escalating further. If the enemy opens up the land trade route from Basra to Baku, how will the empire's blockade strategy work?

Lelouch never had a good attitude towards newspapers composed of many foreigners who had infiltrated the ranks, and he simply said coldly:

"Military affairs are a continuation of politics. As the marshal, His Highness can only answer military questions. I am temporarily answering on his behalf, and I will only answer military questions as well."

The situations you described involve military secrets. As for how exactly to crush the struggles of the Russo and Bretonnians, I cannot disclose that. If you think it's impossible, then we'll just have to wait and see.

Among the many guests present were several centrists and heads of traditional major newspapers. Immediately, someone couldn't resist snapping photos of Lelouch, who was waving his arms and giving a passionate speech in front of the microphone.

Most of the portraits of people in this era are formal photos with serious postures. Even when emperors, prime ministers, and marshals appeared in the newspapers, they were always sitting upright or standing solemnly.

There are almost no precedents for news photos like Lelouch's, which are full of expressive gestures and dynamic movements.

His speech, along with the accompanying photographs, would soon appear in the empire's top newspapers, making him known to the world as "the world's first person to address a press conference audience using electronic amplification equipment."

Moreover, his resume, his identity, and his legendary rise from corporal to major general in just one and a half years as a meritorious major general will be included as an appendix in major newspapers.

Lelouch himself did not wait for feedback on this series of subsequent events; the day after his speech, he boarded a train and headed to the Caucasus front.

(End of this chapter)