Airship
"Revenge.... How can I, a mere inventor, take revenge on the Kaiser, the absolute monarch of the German Empire, if it's impossible to realize?"
Bismarck shrugged as Jörg looked like he was about to burst into tears.
Then, with a dark look on his face, he said.
"Revenge doesn't always mean murder or poisoning."
"Then...?"
"It's using your skills to punch the arrogant emperor in the nose. The me you abandoned is actually the best engineer in the German Empire! The me you abandoned is a treasure of the German Empire and the House of Hohenzollern. Your failure to recognize me is your mistake!"
"....."
"So kneel down."
"No.... I didn't want to go that far...."
In the German Empire, where absolute monarchy is alive and well, I'm expected to bend my knee to the emperor....
To report to a commoner inventor for a luxury not even Napoleon, the man who had Europe on his ass, could afford....
Jorge threw up his hands in disgust at the thought.
Was that the reason?
She didn't see it.
Bismarck's expression changed strangely.
'Hmm... I guess your hatred for the Emperor doesn't run as deep as I expected. A Communist or Republican would ask for a weapon at the mere suggestion of taking revenge on the Emperor, but with a reaction like this, I don't think I need to tear you apart.'
Bismarck was aware of Horch's talent.
But when she decided that her relationship with his master had reached a point of no return, I traveled all the way to this dungeon to personally exterminate her.
"There's an old man in Bad Cannstatt named Friedrich Hermann Wölfert," he tells her, "and you should visit him and use your talents."
"....."
"If you can use your talents to create a rare invention, you'll be able to get a pardon, not to mention a punch up the Kaiser's nose."
Horch immediately nodded at Bismarck's offer.
But she didn't know it.
An old man named Friedrich Hermann Wolpert was the crazy inventor of a flying coffin.
***
The problem is, is he a crazy inventor?
Or rather, he's the kind of crazy inventor who climbs into an airship to see how his engine works.
"Then we'll take off."
"Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! You actually got on an airship?! Do you think I let you out of the dungeon for that?!"
"Hehe, I'll leave you to your freedom!"
-Woof!
Wölfert's airship, powered by a gasoline engine.
The heavily built airship finally lifts off on its own.
The great and glorious sight of man's conquest of the skies.
I, Bismarck, Princess Louise and Bertha Benz stared in awe.
"....."
"....."
"....."
"....."
As we stood there, staring at the enormous object rising in the sky, we were all moved to tears.
We were all moved, but in very different ways.
First, Princess Louise and Bertha Benz.
They marveled at the invention of the airship and the fact that after thousands of years of struggling with nature, mankind was finally reaching for the sky.
"...Wow. Does that thing float?"
"Apparently our Jorge has modified a gasoline engine. Smaller in size and weight, but less efficient. It's our daughter, after all."
"Anyway, it's so romantic to think that people can fly. It's like a childhood fairy tale unfolding before my eyes."
"You know, I used to envy birds gliding through the sky while lying on the lawn, and now my daughter has made that dream come true."
"You brag about your daughter. I'm proud of her. Your daughter is amazing."
"Heh. Does Princess Louise know this now?"
While the inventor and the princess were talking romantically, I, the Emperor of the German Reich and holder of Heaven's mandate to unite the Aryan peoples, and Bismarck, the military genius, were imagining something quite different when we saw the airship.
How many bombs could it carry?
How fast could it go?
Would it be safe from enemy fire?
What effect would it have on the war and the front lines?
...How many people could this airship kill?
But we didn't say it out loud.
We know.
What a killing machine the dirigible is.
"....."
"....."
"Bismarck.... Do you think we can make it with this airship?"
"Is this the unifying word for the Aryan people that the Emperor has been saying every day since his coronation?"
"It's....."
"....."
"....."
"To be honest, I didn't think it was possible until I saw that airship."
"Bismarck. I believe that whoever controls the skies controls the world, and while maritime powers like the sea are still important, without the power to deliver, battleships and people alike are a dumping ground."
"Well.... That airship raining down bombs from the sky must be pretty effective, even if it's a battleship that costs % of the national budget."
But that's not the end of the airship's awesomeness.
We all know the truth, don't we?
We all know who these airships were built for, who they were developed with, and who they were built to tear apart.
"...Is it possible for an airship to win a war against the British Empire, a country that still doesn't dare look at it?"
"...We don't know yet. But we do know that the British Empire will not stand idly by and let others get ahead of it like the Qing Empire did."
"....."
"After Napoleon's Naval Blockade. The island nation of Great Britain has been obsessively anxious every time a major power has built a single warship, imposing all sorts of economic, military, and political sanctions. Why should they give a shit?"
"....."
"They were afraid. Won't the next Napoleon come along and dry up the mainland British Empire? In such a situation, the airship that appeared could be the key."
The problem is that the British Empire knows this very well….
But the German Empire doesn't have that option.
The British Empire is an imperialist nation, a nation of evil, a nation of colonizers, a nation of thugs.
There is only heaven to save the groaning, suffering Aryan people from them.
This does not mean that we will abandon the sea.
The sea should only be attempted after the unification of Greater Germany, which Bismarck founded.
And that reunification is now at hand.
***
The road map is before us.
All that remained was to follow it.
So I turned my head and stared at Bismarck.
"Bismarck."
"...Yes."
"Approximately how much liquid assets does the House of Hohenzollern have?"
Bismarck stroked his chin at my question.
Then he shook his head and said.
"...You mean without counting the real estate, art, precious metals, interest, bonds and securities that make up the bulk of the family's wealth?"
"Yes. Those would be difficult to cash in right now, or would cause problems if we were to dump them on the market in large quantities, so I'm just asking how much is in the bank?"
"Hmmm. I guess deposits are also a big factor in triggering bank runs, but .... Well. I don't remember much because I saw it a while ago, but it's estimated to be around 100 million marks (2024: $8 billion)."
I shook my head at Bismarck's comment about only 100 million marks.
The Hohenzollerns had invested their wealth on the continent rather than abroad for hundreds of years, from the days of the Templars to the present day.
Meanwhile, the German Empire had one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world, becoming the third largest economy in the world.
With that kind of economic growth, it's normal to accumulate astronomical wealth, but not too much money, at least not too much.
"Why only that?"
"Well, he's been fighting wars since the days of the Potato King, and he's sold off his wealth from time to time to pay for them, so I guess most of it has gone into the mouths of junkers."
"....."
"Still, it's a lot compared to other royal families. Of course, it's a drop in the bucket compared to the Romanovs of the Russian Empire."
"....."
I thought I was rich, but it was actually a bubble....
I couldn't keep my mouth shut in shock.
Just in time, the airship returned after a 10-kilometer flight from Cannstatt to Aldingen (part of Remseck am Neckar).