Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 66 A pitiful midnight hour before the empty seat, after inquiring about the common people, he inquired about the prisoners of war.
It was already late at night, and Lelouch didn't want to disturb the other person's rest.

The two exchanged only a few words before Lelouch learned that the other person was willing to have a deeper conversation with him because he saw that Lelouch was a very special person despite his young age and that he hadn't taken offense when questioned by an ordinary soldier at the train station.

This might not seem like much in later generations, as everyone would consider equality for all to be a matter of course.

But in 1915, this was an exceptionally rare quality. At that time, equality between officers and soldiers was poorly practiced in various countries, and it was common for soldiers to be disrespectful to officers and to be severely punished and beaten.

Grand Duke Baden subconsciously regarded Lelouch as a leftist.

During their conversation, Lelouch also learned that the young, elegantly dressed guard officer next to him was named Joachim, the nephew of the Duke of Baden, who had arranged for him to work in the Department of Wounded Soldiers Affairs of the Army Ministry.

The Archduke of Baden had two older sisters. His eldest sister, Sophie, married King Gustav V of Sweden, who is now Queen of Sweden. The Archduke's eldest nephew is the future King Gustav VI.

The Grand Duke's second sister, Mary, married the Duke of Anhalt. After their marriage, she established a charitable organization, the "Demanian Women's Medical and Nursing Education Association." After the outbreak of war, the association was responsible for coordinating the training of female nurses nationwide and improving medical facilities for wounded soldiers and field hospitals at the front.

However, the association only accepted women as members, so the Grand Duke's second sister and niece could work in the association, while his youngest nephew, Joachim, could only come to his uncle's place to find some work, which was also to avoid unnecessary gossip.

After exchanging basic information, the Grand Duke of Baden casually mentioned their trip and why they had suddenly come to the front lines to inspect the work:

"Your Majesty has heard that there might be an opportunity to completely annihilate the Bretanian Expeditionary Force this time. This should be the largest encirclement and annihilation operation since the start of the war, and we will certainly be able to capture a large number of Bretanian soldiers as prisoners of war. We must find a good way to make good use of these prisoners; perhaps we can even improve our country's international image and force the Bretanians to sue for peace..."

"At the same time, the battles of Dunkirk, Stenford, and Kemer Hill have resulted in significant casualties for the troops, and the pressure on frontline wounded personnel is also immense. I'd like to have Joachim accompany me to understand the specific situation so that we can coordinate the overall operation."

Nearly six months into the war, Demania had annihilated over a million enemy troops. In all their previous battles against the French, they had each wiped out two or three hundred thousand enemy soldiers.

However, the number of enemy prisoners captured on a large scale was indeed less than expected this time, as they had never encircled such a large enemy force before. The French troops were mainly killed, with almost no large-scale encirclement and annihilation. No wonder the higher-ups attached such importance to this and came to scout the location beforehand.

When Lelouch heard the Grand Duke's original intention, he felt a little regretful, thinking that the Emperor was really being delusional.

The emperor actually thought that if he wiped out the entire 20-strong expeditionary force, the Kingdom of Burma would sue for peace? Alas, he underestimated the Burma people's determination to destroy the empire—more than twenty years later, another ruler on Earth thought the same thing, but history proved those ideas to be vain.

And isn't it a bit like popping champagne halfway through the game to consider these things now?
However, Lelouch felt there was no need to point this out. The Grand Duke of Baden's inspection of the front lines must have yielded some results. Even if he hadn't accomplished what the Emperor hoped he would, it would be good if he could accomplish something else.

Lelouch then followed up on the other person's topic, saying, "You must have gained a lot from your inspection these past few days, right? Although we haven't yet annihilated the Bu army, in the past month or so, we've captured at least 20,000 to 30,000 enemy prisoners in various battles, and they include people from all ethnic groups."

Grand Duke Baden, in high spirits, didn't hold back in saying a few more words: "We have indeed gained some insights. The morale of the troops from different backgrounds varies greatly. Without violating international law, the Empire should also formulate a differentiated policy for these Federation prisoners of war in the future, so as to ensure both humanity and take into account the costs and benefits of prisoner management."

"Those soldiers from South Asia have practically no morale. The Empire only needs a little food, and they'll willingly do manual labor. Those from Australia and New Zealand have no backbone either. Only the prisoners from Burkina Faso and Cannavaro are a bit more difficult to manage; I doubt they can do much work, and we also have to consider international relations..."

In short, the Grand Duke of Baden's core impression was that it was easy to deal with prisoners from the periphery of the other Britannian Federation, but difficult to cooperate with Britannian mainlanders and Lord Kanna.

Lelouch hadn't studied this problem before, but he came up with it on the spot after the Grand Duke mentioned it.

Fortunately, he had read a lot of propaganda war cases from later generations, so with just a slight thought, he came up with a propaganda rhetoric to sow discord among the prisoners of the Kingdom of Burma and make them willingly serve the empire.

However, this was just a thought that came to mind, and it was still rather vague, with some details not being perfect. Lelouch didn't intend to show off immediately, so he said:

"I think that human empathy is universal. People of all races can be educated. The prisoners of war from the Burkina Faso may very well be willing to serve the empire in the future."

"But it's a bit early to talk about this now. We can discuss this issue after the battle is over, if we can really capture that many Bu army prisoners, then we can do so during the handover."

Duke Baden frowned as he heard Lelouch seem to be spouting nonsense.

If we weren't all stuck on the same train, constantly running into each other, the Grand Duke of Baden might have simply walked away and ignored this delusional man.

But there's no way around it; long-distance trains have always been the perfect enclosed environment for leaders to give work reports.

Lelouch was well aware of this, which is why he dared to speak so arrogantly in order to quickly arouse the other party's attention.

Grand Duke Baden was mature and composed, but Joachim, standing beside him, could not tolerate the other's arrogance.

He was, after all, the son of the Duke of Anhalt, and had been pampered and arrogant since childhood. He immediately retorted:

"POW propaganda work is a very professional matter! What do you bunch of brutes who only know how to fight and kill understand! There's a lot more to it than meets the eye; you frogs in a well are truly ignorant of your own limitations!"

(Note: There is a German word "Froschperspektive," which literally means "frog-like eyesight," so it's perfectly normal for Demanians to say "frog in a well." Please stop criticizing the use of Chinese idioms.)
Lelouch was not angry at all when questioned by young master Joachim, which was a good opportunity for him to show his composure and magnanimity in front of the Grand Duke of Baden.

So he simply listened politely with a smile, waited a while, and only after confirming that the other person had nothing more to say did he slowly and deliberately respond:
"Indeed, I am still young, and sometimes I may be arrogant—or perhaps it is because the opponents I have encountered before were too weak that I am like this."

Who told me that during the Battle of Ostend, a single telegram I sent instigated infighting among the last three divisions of the Belighin army?

"Two divisions led by Major General Victor, just because of my telegram, led their troops to kill Lieutenant General Begham, the commander of the 1st Division, who was loyal to the King, and finally surrendered with courtesy." Upon hearing this, the Grand Duke of Baden finally widened his eyes, and the skin on his previously tightly wrinkled face completely relaxed, making him seem twenty years younger.

The results are verifiable! That's more effective than any sweet talk!
"You...the last three divisions of the Billy King Army were besieged in Ostend, and before the Burkin navy could come to their aid, they mutinied and surrendered to the Empire—was that your doing too?"

Lelouch: "Don't believe me? Then you can call Duke Rupprecht when you get back to Frankfurt."

The Archduke of Baden and the Duke of Rupprecht were both leaders of one of the four southern German states. The two were quite familiar with each other, and when Lelouch mentioned the Duke's name as a witness, the Archduke of Baden naturally did not question it.

"Hiss..." Grand Duke Baden finally couldn't help but gasp.

He was the Minister of Imperial Prisoners of War Affairs, and he had personally handled the incident in which three divisions of the Billy King Army surrendered with courtesy. However, he was unaware of the prior strategic details and at the time assumed that the enemy had surrendered only because they were out of ammunition and supplies.

"I didn't expect Major Lelouch to have such abilities. Could you tell me in detail how you persuaded Major General Victor and the others to defect?" Grand Duke Baden had completely adopted a humble and eager-to-learn attitude.

Lelouch didn't mince words, recounting the whole story again. He also mentioned that the psychological warfare tactics he used, such as "Chen Yu's instigation of Zhang Han" and "Therefore, a gentleman dislikes being in a lowly position," were learned from the *Records of the Grand Historian* and the *Analects*, with localized modifications. This made him appear well-read and knowledgeable about the world.

Grand Duke Baden was finally convinced. After a long pause, he sighed, "Talent is rare indeed. No wonder you, a mere corporal, were promoted to major by Duke Rupprecht in just three months. If you work for me, I'll recommend you to the Army Propaganda Department."

Lelouch: "I have other duties to attend to, but Your Highness, if you have any matters concerning prisoners of war to discuss in the future, you may contact me at any time. This is my contact information. We are all working for the Empire."

As he spoke, Lelouch handed over a business card.

Grand Duke Baden accepted the letter earnestly, saying that if there were a large number of Burkina Faso prisoners of war that needed to be utilized after the battle, he would come to consult him.

So engrossed was the Grand Duke of Baden that he didn't even realize it was past midnight.

Moreover, due to fatigue and gradually diminished hearing, I couldn't help but move forward several times during the Baden Grand Prix to get closer to the audience.

After finally finishing their discussion on the topic of psychological warfare against prisoners of war and undermining the morale of the enemy army, the Grand Duke of Baden was still somewhat unsatisfied and casually asked about Lelouch's earlier mention of "his plan to go back to Frankfurt this time and seek funding from Fabbon Chemicals for a new project about a new type of wound medicine."

"Could you elaborate on the wound care program you mentioned? My sister, niece, and Joachim are all in charge of wounded soldiers. There were indeed too many wounded soldiers in the recent battles of Kemer Hill and Dunkirk."

Before returning to Frankfurt, Lelouch observed that the recent two battles had resulted in a large number of wounded. He planned to develop sulfonamides, one of the earliest broad-spectrum antibiotics, upon his return. This was much easier to produce than penicillin, and there were no prior technological bottlenecks—because Farben Chemicals had actually created a primitive sulfonamide compound as early as 1908.

However, that substance itself has strong toxic side effects. Faben Chemicals initially discovered it by chance while researching chemical dyes. After discovering its toxicity, they naturally did not conduct further human experiments, and thus did not discover its medicinal value.

(Note: Many toxic but useful drugs at the time, as well as many easily settling poisonous gases in history, were byproducts of Fabien's research on dyes. Because they were too toxic to be used for dyeing fabrics, they were used for other purposes.)
Historically, Fabien Chemicals didn't discover the broad-spectrum antibacterial value of sulfonamides until the 1920s. Then, in 1932, they invented "Prontosil," a "prodrug" that could slowly react in the gastrointestinal tract to produce sulfonamides. This finally solved the toxicity problem of sulfonamides, allowing them to be used as broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs against infection.

So theoretically, now that Lelouch has arrived in Frankfurt, he could go straight to the headquarters of Farben Chemicals and ask them to provide ready-made sulfonamides for the seriously wounded. Theoretically, these could also fight infection, but the toxic side effects are too great, and the wounded are very likely to suffer kidney failure.

Even for people with strong kidneys who don't suffer from kidney failure, the lifespan of their kidneys will still be shortened. Of course, for those seriously injured patients who already have severe wound infections and would die without antibiotics, losing twenty years of lifespan due to kidney dysfunction is not an unacceptable price to pay.

However, regardless of the circumstances, if Lelouch wanted to rely on his own absolute judgment to forcefully promote the use of a chemical with serious toxic side effects to treat wounded soldiers, it would require extremely strict approval.

He doesn't have an authoritative scientific background in the chemical industry, so no one would believe him if he said it. Even if animal experiments were conducted first, and sulfonamides were administered to severely infected animals and showed results, it would still take several years to get the drug approved for market according to the Empire's standard drug regulatory and approval process.

During wartime, the approval process for human clinical trials of wound medicines may be accelerated, but it is still not fast enough.

Fortunately, Lelouch encountered the Duke of Baden and the people from the Bureau of Wounded Personnel Affairs, and with this connection, the matter could be moved forward more quickly.

So Lelouch began by half-jokingly laying the groundwork: "I have something to take care of when I go back this time. The Duke intercepted some data from a captured enemy field hospital, which showed that certain toxic compounds that our company, Fabre, can produce may have anti-infective effects, and the enemy has already approved human clinical trials."

In peacetime, following the standard procedures would cause a lot of delays. It's just a coincidence that I've run into you all today, and I have a favor to ask:
If, in the future, Faben Chemicals' compound passes animal trials, could the Bureau of Wounded Soldiers' Affairs grant emergency wartime approval to allow severely wounded soldiers, already infected and doomed without treatment, to try the new drug? Even if it's a last resort, it's worth a shot. Furthermore, nutritional subsidies could be provided to those who survive the trials, as a slight compensation for the organ damage caused by the drug testing.

This matter would be difficult to handle even if asked to others, but the Grand Duke of Baden is considered a leading figure among the Demandian leftists, having both the Ministry of Prisoners of War Affairs and the Bureau of Wounded Soldiers.

He got along so well with Lelouch and believed that the other wouldn't harm his comrades. In wartime, many things had to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

After only a few minutes of deliberation, the Archduke of Baden finally gritted his teeth and made the decision: "I will take responsibility for this. You just go ahead and do it! When we get back to Frankfurt, I will personally call the people at Fabien Chemicals and have them cooperate with you."

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P.S.: I finished all the updates last night without any drafts saved up, and I was too tired to get up late on the weekend, so I wrote this in the morning and updated it immediately after finishing it.

I'll try to get back to the normal pace of updating first thing at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)