Chapter 5
Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Dangerous Gamble
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wilhelm II's eldest son and the Crown Prince of the German Empire, Friedrich 'Wilhelm' Victor August Ernst, had been in a foul mood lately.
The reason was none other than the Eastern boy his father had brought in.
Hans Choi.
"What on earth is Father thinking?"
He acknowledged that the yellow kid had saved his father's life.
But to drag him into the palace instead of just handing over a bit of reward money? No matter how he thought about it, it was too much.
Even if it was his father's will and decision, the Crown Prince found it emotionally hard to accept this time.
"Father's head must be addled. Otherwise, how could he let a Chink into the palace?"
"The Hohenzollern imperial family is about to become the laughingstock of all Europe."
And the Crown Prince wasn't the only one unhappy about Hans Choi.
Second son Eitel Friedrich.
Third son Adalbert.
Fourth son August Wilhelm.
And fifth son Oskar.
All the brothers except the sixth son Joachim, who was still too young to know better, and the youngest sister Luise disliked the boy.
It was inevitable.
The Crown Prince and the princes clearly remembered what those yellow races had done in China just a few months ago.
Murder, rape, pillage, cannibalism, torture.
Atrocious acts too vile to even mention had been inflicted on the 'innocent' white people in China.
Of course, the German army had retaliated by massacring Chinese in brutal fashion, but to Crown Prince Wilhelm, living in an era where the madness of imperialism had peaked, that was nothing more than righteous retribution.
"But Brother Wilhelm, didn't you say Hans is from Korea, not the Qing?"
"Hey, Adalbert. Where's Korea? Indochina?"
"...Eitel, Brother. Korea is the country between the Qing and Japan. You forgot Uncle Heinrich visited there the year before last?"
"Ah, right. Yeah, that happened."
"Uncle Heinrich said before that Korea is a pretty nice place to live. Good climate, kind and polite people."
"Shut up, you idiots. Qing or Korea, they're all the same Chinks anyway. Same breed."
"Heh, yeah, exactly."
Of course, if Hans had heard that, he would've cursed inwardly, 'So, are all Brits, French, and Germans the same whiteys, then? All the same scum?' But in any case, Crown Prince Wilhelm had no intention of respecting Hans one bit.
The kid was surely the same breed as his fellow countrymen.
"......What did you say?"
But right now, Crown Prince Wilhelm unwittingly squeezed his eyes shut and revised his thoughts about Hans.
He's insane.
Forget yellow race—this guy was just plain crazy.
Did Hans, that damned brat, even know what he'd just said?
Probably not. If he did, he wouldn't have spouted such madness in front of anyone else but his father.
Of all countries, Britain. Britain.
His father admired his maternal homeland Britain but harbored a deep-seated inferiority complex toward it.
And that had worsened since Grandfather Edward VII ascended the throne.
'And this fool didn't just press Father's trauma button—he smashed it to pieces!'
It was an utterly mad act that even the Crown Prince himself lacked the guts to pull off.
And yet Hans had committed this insanity with a straight face, standing there brazenly.
BAM!
"Take that back right now!"
Admiral Tirpitz, enraged by Hans's response, slammed the table and shot to his feet.
His face was beet red, on the verge of exploding, looking ready to dunk Hans straight into the middle of the Elbe River.
"You think it's impossible for our Imperial Navy to surpass those island dwarfs? How dare a punk like you claim to know anything!"
"Admiral, calm down!"
"Don't stop me, Chancellor. Even if it's a child, I won't tolerate such an insult!"
"H-Hans! Apologize to the Kaiser and the Admiral right now!"
Empress Augusta cried out, her face pale as a ghost.
But despite his mother's concern, Hans calmly shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I only spoke the truth."
"What?!"
What the hell was in that kid's head?
Crown Prince Wilhelm seriously wanted to crack it open and see.
"You yellow monkey!"
Furious at Hans's unyielding attitude, Admiral Tirpitz finally lunged at him.
"Admiral Tirpitz! What insolence is this before His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress?!"
But at that moment, Chief of the General Staff Schlieffen, unable to hold back any longer, blocked the admiral's path and bellowed.
"Out of my way, Count Schlieffen! That brat insulted me—insulted our Imperial Navy!"
"Stop talking nonsense and get a grip. Even the Kaiser is staying calm—why are you making a scene?"
Father is staying calm?
To the Crown Prince, his father looked like he was too furious to even stand properly.
Look at that mustache quivering.
If not for his mother desperately holding him back, Father would've already throttled the brat.
"Young Hans. The Kaiser tells me you're a very bright lad."
Chief of the General Staff Schlieffen said.
"And from what I see, you don't strike me as the type to blurt something out without thought."
"......"
"The German Navy can never surpass the British Navy. That's what you declared, isn't it?"
"Schlieffen!"
"Calm down, Tirpitz. Now, Hans Choi. Care to explain your reasoning to me?"
At Schlieffen's words, the chaotic banquet atmosphere shifted strangely.
What? What's going on?
"Hey, Eitel. Any idea what's happening here?"
"No, if you don't know, how would I?"
Idiot, I shouldn't have asked him.
Crown Prince Wilhelm sighed and focused on the exchange between Schlieffen and Hans.
'I survived!'
I let out a silent sigh of relief.
When Tirpitz charged, I was genuinely scared.
He looked hot-tempered at first glance, but I figured he'd restrain himself in front of the Kaiser. Never dreamed he'd have zero self-control.
If Schlieffen hadn't blocked him in time, I'd be sightseeing the Elbe riverbed right now.
'Was I too reckless?'
Wilhelm II harbored a love-hate inferiority complex toward his island cousins, and Tirpitz, in original history, dreamed the vain dream of smashing the Royal Navy.
Declaring 'Your navy can't beat Britain' in front of those guys? Even I think it's idiotic I didn't get beaten to death on the spot.
'But I'm in a situation where I have to do something this stupid.'
Risky or not, I had to push now. No choice.
I needed to climb to a position of real influence in this German Empire as fast as possible—even one day sooner.
To turn the World War loser Germany into the victor, I had no time to wait until I grew up.
"It's simple, Your Excellency Chief of Staff."
I took a short breath, paused, then began slowly.
"It's the geographical difference between Britain and Germany."
"Geographical difference?"
"Yes. As you know, Britain is an island nation surrounded by sea on all sides. It shares no land borders with other countries. Their border is that vast ocean."
But the German Empire was different.
"In contrast, the German Empire is smack in the middle of the European continent."
"So it shares borders with many nations. And two of them are outright enemies that can never reconcile with Germany."
"France and the Russian Empire, I presume."
Schlieffen caught on, grimacing with a grunt.
"As long as those two nations are hostile to Germany, we can never maintain less than a massive army."
"And that's why, unlike Britain, Germany has limited resources to invest in the navy."
"Is that what you're getting at?"
I nodded in affirmation.
Britain could slash its army and pour everything into the navy without worry.
As long as they guarded the seas properly, invasion was impossible.
But Germany could never abandon its army like that.
It would only delight France and Russia, who shared its borders.
And that was the root of the disparity in naval power.
"The German Army is undoubtedly the world's finest. But we can't maintain the world's top army and make the navy number one. Even the British Empire couldn't pull that off."
The only nation that managed it and stayed intact was the United States—a cheat country seemingly built to be a superpower.
No wonder they call it the Heavenly Kingdom.
"You don't know until you try! Even with innate limits, if we unite all Germany and expand the navy... surely..."
"To my knowledge, 60% of the German Empire's budget already goes to military spending, Admiral Tirpitz. Pouring more into the navy to chase Britain will only balloon the deficit. Eventually, the Empire's finances will collapse."
And that pricey fleet they built? It didn't even perform.
"Then reduce the army a bit..."
"Didn't you hear the boy? We can't cut the army with enemies like France and Russia at our borders. Not to mention, I'd challenge you to a duel along with the entire army high command first!"
Schlieffen spoke with shameless yet firm resolve, and Tirpitz's shoulders slumped.
In original history, Schlieffen and the army brass had fiercely opposed Wilhelm II's plan to cut army funds for navy expansion, forcing him to compromise.
The Prussian Junkers were dead serious about the army.
"But... navy expansion is necessary."
"Your Majesty?"
As the mood shifted toward admitting the Imperial Navy surpassing Britain was unrealistic, Wilhelm II, who'd been watching Schlieffen and me, spoke up anxiously.
"For Germany to rise as a great power equal to Britain and France, a mighty navy is essential."
"Moreover, navy expansion isn't just my desire—it's the aspiration of the entire German Empire. We can't abandon it now!"
"Y-Your Majesty is right."
The Kaiser's fervor revived the near-dead Admiral Tirpitz.
As expected. These two navy fanatics would sooner die than give up expansion.
'My goal isn't stopping naval arms race altogether anyway.'
And I couldn't if I tried.
So I decided to use this naval issue as buildup.
Buildup to earn the Kaiser's trust and boost my standing.
"Your Majesty. I've never told you to abandon navy expansion."
"Young Hans?"
"What I'm saying is, we'll never catch or surpass the Royal Navy with this quantitative competition."
All eyes turned to me.
This was the key moment. Let's do this.
"Hans. What are you trying to say?"
"To catch up to the British Navy, the Imperial Navy must change its approach."
"Change its approach...?"
"The ultimate battleship that renders every existing one a pile of scrap."
"!"
"That's what Your Majesty needs right now."
Dreadnought.
The core of early 20th-century naval supremacy.
The steel monster that obsoleted all battleships upon birth.
"Tell me more."
The navy fanatic Kaiser refusing this?
I'd bet my life he won't.
Author's Note
Wilhelm II had a total of six sons and one daughter with Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein.
His eldest, Crown Prince Wilhelm, is famously the last Crown Prince of the German Empire. In original history, after the Empire's fall, he joined the far-right Steel Helmets for monarchist restoration and supported the Nazis, but was ignored by Hitler, who had no interest in Hohenzollern restoration.
Second son, Prince Eitel Friedrich, was a brave and leadership-driven soldier who shone on the front lines when World War I broke out. Post-war, like his brothers, he joined the Steel Helmets but didn't support Hitler and died in 1942.
Third son, Prince Adalbert—as you can tell from the photo where he's the only one in naval uniform—chose the navy over the army, unlike his brothers. After the Empire's fall, he stayed out of politics and spent his later years in Switzerland.
Fourth son, Prince August Wilhelm, is infamous among Wilhelm II's children for the wrong reasons: unlike his brothers who distanced themselves from Hitler, he was a die-hard Nazi who fervently supported him. Post-war, he was arrested as a war criminal and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months of hard labor.
Fifth son, Prince Oskar, served in World War I like his brothers and earned great merit at Verdun. Post-war, he succeeded his second brother Eitel as head of the Order of Saint John, where he worked hard to preserve German traditions against Nazi cultural purges.
Sixth son, Prince Joachim, lived the most tragic life among Wilhelm II's children. Frail from childhood (later revealed to connect to Sophie, Wilhelm II's sister and then Crown Princess of Greece), he was the Kaisers' sore spot. After the Empire's fall, he couldn't adapt, fell into deep depression, and ultimately committed suicide with a pistol in 1920, bringing immense shock and grief to the imperial couple.
Wilhelm II's youngest daughter and favorite, Viktoria Luise, was the only child to secure a cozy spot in her father's heart from childhood, as Crown Prince Wilhelm put it.
Wilhelm II was a strict father to his sons but doting and indulgent to Viktoria Luise—a total daughter spoiler. She later married Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick, becoming Duchess of Brunswick.