Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 233 The Propaganda Machine for Building an Empire
After Duke Rupprecht married Charlotte Wilhelmina, he would stay in Balria for at least ten days to two weeks before he could return to the front lines.

Other important guests also couldn't leave immediately, especially since Lelouch had just gotten engaged to Cecilia, so he ultimately decided to stay for three more days and leave Munich on March 28 to return to the front lines by train.

The Duke did not return to the front lines for the time being, and for the first two weeks, he handed over command of the 6th Army to him. For matters requiring the approval of the army commander, he would consult remotely by telegram or telephone; for decisions that were not too important, he would consult directly with the other generals who remained at the front.

During his last three days in Munich, Lelouch spent time with his family and getting to know the other members of the Barea royal family who would soon become his relatives. Cecilia also graciously acted as his guide, introducing him to everyone.

However, these things didn't take too much time, and Lelouch was able to rest and take care of his own affairs for most of the three days.

Because of attending banquets and gatherings one after another, Lelouch experienced all sorts of noise and tediousness every day, which gave him a bit of a headache.

At every banquet and party, especially cocktail parties, there are always a few people who want to show off, talking loudly and conveying some random ideas to the attendees. There are also children who get lost and need the waiters to help find them. Every time, it's a complete mess.

This situation repeated itself at the royal reception on March 26, making Lelouch somewhat irritable.

"In the days before megaphones, it was so troublesome to shout out a missing person notice. These days, if a child gets lost in an amusement park, it's impossible to notify the search party in time. Let alone an amusement park, even if a child gets lost at a party, it can take several days to find them."

To find some peace and quiet, Lelouch huddled in a corner of the banquet hall, casually reading a few newspapers to avoid unnecessary social interaction.

His newly engaged fiancée was also standing nearby, gently scooping out two oranges with a silver spoon and placing them on the fruit plate in front of him.

Lelouch was reading the newspaper and chatting with Cecilia when he suddenly noticed a tabloid tech news item.

"Since the Christmas broadcast last Christmas Eve, the San Francisco City Hall in California has gradually adopted electronic amplification..."

There was a lot more news content to come, but Lelouch was no longer in the mood to read it carefully word by word.

So, electronic amplification technology had already been invented? And it happened on Christmas Eve last year?

So, it's been a full three months now.

Lelouch quickly glanced at the newspaper in his hand. It wasn't a new newspaper from that day; it was one he had found among a pile of expired newspapers from the last two weeks.

During wartime, news from foreign lands, especially those from across the ocean, was often overlooked, particularly since the technology involved seemed unrelated to military matters.

It wasn't until two months after the incident that it was reported as a social anecdote by a local Demacian tabloid.

"As expected, after traveling through time for so long, I can't remember many historical details. I only remember reading a book in my previous life about the 'propaganda master' Goebbels, which said that he was good at using radio propaganda and mentioned that the technology of amplified broadcasting was first publicly used by Woodrow Wilson in 1919 when he tried to persuade the Americans to sign the Treaty of Versailles."

But 'loudspeaker announcements' and 'live loudspeaker broadcasts' are clearly not the same thing; there's a technical aspect to it: 'broadcasting.' These days, the Americans don't need 'broadcasting,' yet they invented it by the end of 1915… No, I need to talk to someone at Siemens.”

Lelouch thought to himself.

Cecilia, who was standing nearby, saw that he was holding more and more peeled oranges in his hands without eating them, and knew that her fiancé had fallen into deep thought again.

"Has something come to mind?"

Lelouch snapped out of his reverie, put down the orange, and patted his fiancée's hand: "Cecilia, have you thought about finding something to do? I'm thinking of talking to the people at Siemens and having them set up a subsidiary that does electronic amplification and radio broadcasting, combining these two existing technologies."

I've been attending too many banquets these past few days, and it's been so noisy that it suddenly occurred to me—people in the Ugly country across the ocean have now learned to use electronic loudspeakers to drown out the noise at public gatherings.

I believe this technology will be very useful for communicating the government's ideology to the people in the future, and the empire should start developing it as soon as possible. Those old men in Berlin don't have this vision, so we'll develop it ourselves first.

As a member of the royal family, and a woman at that, you're not suited to get involved in heavy industry, but you'd be perfectly suited for clerical work related to propaganda. Besides, I'm the head of the propaganda bureau of the Imperial War Department, although in reality I only handle external propaganda and not internal affairs..."

When they got engaged, Lelouch was already thinking about which aspect of his career he should have his wife help him with, and how to find something for her to do.

Lelouch could send his older sister and brother-in-law to manage the Volkswagen train factory and the large steel mill, and later, when his younger sister's university studies went smoothly, he could also arrange for her to enter the business world.

However, Lelouch never considered letting his wife appear in the business world, which was not in line with Demania's tradition.

Noble ladies generally didn't engage in anything involving machinery; at most, they might do some scientific research. For example, the wife of the famous chemist and Farben tycoon Fritz Haber, who had some aristocratic status, was a female scientist. At that time, it was generally acceptable for respectable women to do some scientific and technological research.

Now, Lelouch has finally come up with a win-win solution: perhaps his wife could join the propaganda front and help manage a nascent media format. If the voices against the war grow louder in the future, having propaganda tools would better unite the people, or at least prevent too many innocent people from being implicated when the people oppose Emperor William.

He could subtly guide public opinion and, when the angry soldiers wanted to find out who the "traitors in the court" were, let them know who the real traitors were and who was the culprit who had misled His Majesty and caused the empire's decisions to end up in this state.

In the Earth dimension, Rodendorff, in an era without broadcasting technology, relied entirely on the propaganda of newspapers and leaflets to exonerate many brutal generals in the General Staff who did not treat soldiers as human beings, making most people believe that the "culprits of November" were responsible for the collapse of the Empire (a considerable part of Rodendorff's propaganda was reasonable, but some of it was just to absolve himself of responsibility).

If Lelouch can gradually master his own propaganda tool within the next year or two, and get radios more popular among the public, or even just install some municipal loudspeakers in squares of major cities to broadcast content to the public for free, then at crucial moments, he can definitely influence public sentiment.

This is a ready-made answer; why not copy it? The later rulers of the Ugly Kingdom and Demania in the Earth dimension both made good use of this new tool, whether it was "fireside chat" or something else.

Technology itself is neither good nor evil; embracing new technologies and using them for our own benefit is good.

Lelouch briefly explained his idea to his fiancée, Cecilia, who readily agreed.

"Since we're getting married, it's only right that I support your work. Besides, this job isn't strenuous; it just involves socializing with people in the media, which I'm sure I'll find interesting."

Being able to do something that is both enjoyable and not tiring is a true blessing in life.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll go talk to the Siemens people tomorrow; they’re in Munich anyway. I have nothing else to do these next couple of days, and it gets pretty boring with all the banquets.” Lelouch immediately agreed.

Cecilia immediately offered him a suggestion: "No need for that. I remember Mr. Hermann von Siemens is on today's guest list. Just have the servants look for him."

Lelouch was taken aback, not expecting such a small surprise.

He knew, of course, that Siemens was headquartered in Munich. He recalled that a little over a year ago, when he was organizing the assault battalion tactics, he had even consulted with Siemens' technical director about lightweight radio technology.

The FU08 radio used by the Empire at the time weighed a hefty 70 kilograms, making it impossible for it to keep up with the infantry of the assault battalion. In the end, Lelouch personally instructed the Siemens engineers to separate the battery pack from the radio itself and have several soldiers carry it.

Finally, at the cost of an additional 5 kilograms in total weight, the improved FU08 was transformed into a 75-kilogram unit that could be disassembled into three 25-kilogram sections, each carried by one of the three soldiers. When the discussion about lightweighting the radio was initially raised, Lelouch was merely a captain and had no right to discuss the matter in person with Hermann von Siemens; they only met once. Subsequent business dealings were handled through Siemens engineers.

Even that brief encounter was only possible because Lelouch had a letter of coordination signed by Duke Rupprecht at the time; otherwise, Hermann von Siemens wouldn't have bothered to see him at all.

Just 16 months later, everything was reversed.

A few minutes later, Hermann von Siemens was brought before Lelouch, and the two met temporarily in a study inside Neuschwanstein Castle.

This third-generation leader of Siemens has lost his former arrogance and now appears quite amiable.
"Baron Lelouch, it's a pleasure to have the opportunity to discuss industry topics with you. I've heard you have some questions about radio that you'd like to discuss with me?"

Lelouch raised an eyebrow slightly and corrected him, “No, no, the opportunity to talk to me about industry topics is worthless. If Mr. Siemens wanted to talk, there were plenty of opportunities back then—have you forgotten? I contacted you back in November 1914, which was 16 months ago.”

Hermann Siemens was immediately embarrassed, as he had clearly forgotten about that incident from years ago. Although he hadn't said anything like "nice to meet you" that would give him away, it was only because he felt that his first meeting with Lelouch was limited to the banquets and occasional drinks they had over the past few days.

Fortunately, Hermann Siemens still had his social skills, and immediately tried to smooth things over: "We... back then, I didn't understand the specific technology very well, so I delegated some things to specific engineers..."

Lelouch smiled slightly: "It's alright if you have a bad memory, because back then I was just a captain, and it was Dr. Leonid Mandelstam of your company who contacted me."

The Dr. Leonid Mandelstam mentioned by Lelouch was not actually the person directly in charge of the lightweighting of the FU08 radio station. He was just the chief technical officer of the radio department of Siemens. Lelouch's little problem back then was not something that Dr. Mandelstam had to personally develop.

Don't underestimate Dr. Mandelstam. Although he has not left any famous achievements in history books, he was, after all, a prized student of the great scientist Karl Ferdinand Braun.

Karl Ferdinand Braun was one of the two co-recipients of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics. The other recipient was even more famous and was mentioned in high school textbooks; he was the Italian Marconi, the "father of radio."

Although Braun is not recorded in high school history textbooks, his achievements are still very significant. He invented the cathode ray tube oscilloscope, also known as the "Brown tube oscilloscope," and the oscilloscopes used in high school physics classes in later generations are based on him.

He also invented the radio receiver, which made radio broadcasting possible in later generations. This made up for the shortcomings of Marconi's radio at the receiving end, and together with Marconi, they solved the key bottleneck of radio communication for mankind.

One of Braun's most outstanding students became the technical director of the radio division at Siemens.

When Hermann Siemens heard Lelouch mention the past, he quickly apologized and picked up the phone in his study to call Siemens headquarters in Munich.

"Quickly send a car to bring Dr. Mandelstam to Neuschwanstein Castle! He has important matters that require his personal technical briefing to the royal family!"

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Siemens smiled and started talking to Lulush about business matters.

Lelouch couldn't help but sigh inwardly: He'd only just become the Crown Prince's prospective son-in-law, and things had already become much easier. The Nobel laureate's prized student was now on his way to Neuschwanstein Castle at a moment's notice, ready to answer any questions at any time.

However, Lelouch didn't want to waste time, so he first briefly explained his business needs to Mr. Siemens, and even offered him a copy of the newspaper he had on hand to look at beforehand:
"Those Americans across the ocean used electronic amplification broadcasting at the San Francisco City Hall annual meeting last Christmas. The Empire has the world's best radio experts, as well as experts in electronic amplification; Nobel laureates like Mr. Braun are all Demandians."

However, we have fallen behind the other side of the ocean in the civilian application of radio. We lack the idea of ​​popularizing and implementing scientific research results for civilian use, and have always only thought about using these things for military and political purposes. We should change our thinking in the future.

Fortunately, we now have an example from the Americans—how long would it take Siemens to build a public address system like the one at San Francisco City Hall?

Hermann von Siemens felt a sense of shame for Lalamove after hearing Lelouch's words.

He didn't feel that Baron Lelouch was insulting him; he was just ashamed of himself.
"What? Those shoddy country bumpkins from the Ugly Kingdom actually created something more advanced than the Empire? That's impossible! We were just negligent and didn't think to work in that direction."

Now that we have a ready-made demand and know how they do it, I guarantee that within a month... no, within half a month, Siemens will definitely produce something with the exact same function, and the sound quality and amplification effect will definitely be much better than the shoddy American stuff!”

"Alright, it's a deal then. Your first step is to replicate the American's plan, and the quality and effect must be better than theirs. As long as you can get it working, I guarantee that in half a month, the first electronic public address system in continental Europe will be installed directly in the banquet hall of Neuschwanstein Castle. At that time, His Highness can directly use your company's equipment when he needs to give a public speech to the guests."

Of course, His Highness's honeymoon is only half a month long. If you are slow, you will miss it. The sooner you finish, the more time you can show your face when His Highness personally hosts the guests... After this is done, I will naturally have follow-up technical requirements.

The royal family of Baria can handle the initial orders and R&D investment. If you have any doubts about sales volume later, the royal family can also invest in a joint venture with you to share the risks.

As soon as Lelouch finished speaking, Cecilia, only 17 years old, immediately chimed in: "Baron Lelouch's words are my words, and also my father's wishes. In the future, the Royal Family of Barea is willing to jointly establish a broadcasting and radio company with Siemens, and the business scope can also include loudspeakers."

At least within the Kingdom of Baria, we will fully support this cause. If it goes well, other states and provinces of the empire will surely follow suit.

Hermann von Siemens was once again spurred into focus. Since even the Crown Prince's eldest daughter had said so, and was already following her husband's lead, Siemens had even less reason to hesitate.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, Siemens will definitely not let us down."

After making those remarks, Hermann von Siemens immediately made some phone calls to make arrangements.

Soon after, Dr. Mandelstam was also rushed to Neuschwanstein Castle in a luxury car, where he met Siemens and Lelouch.

Siemens described the situation to him, but to his surprise, Dr. Mandelstam's expression was even more distraught than his own.

"What? Those trashy Americans? So that's how it works? We'll do it ourselves, produce a sample in 3 days, and make sure Baron Lelouch sees a ready-made, usable product before he returns to the front lines!"

"I'll make the arrangements right away. I can just give the specific technical instructions to the people in the company over the phone."

Dr. Mandelstam immediately patted his chest in assurance, revealing an expression of being insulted by his American country bumpkin colleagues.

At that critical juncture in 1916, Siemens, with its many Nobel laureates in electromagnetism, was truly unafraid of its American counterparts across the ocean. They simply lacked the imagination to put their technologies into practical commercial applications, and many of their technologies were not intended for such use.

Putting aside other things, just take Dr. Mandelstam's mentor, the Nobel laureate scientist Karl Ferdinand Braun, who was sent to New York by the Empire at the end of 1916 in the Earth dimension to carry out the mission of "improving and maintaining the radio communication network between the Empire and the United States, optimizing the accuracy and efficiency of signal transmission and reception, and reducing relays."

This mission was actually intended to facilitate the later "Zimmerman Telegraph" incident, but unfortunately, the Imperial Radio Code Department was full of incompetent idiots, which led to a major disaster. Karl Ferdinand Braun, due to his advanced age and the subsequent declaration of war by the United States, was forced to remain in New York, where he died in 1918.

The Demacian Empire at that time had such a surplus of scientific and technological talent that it actually had a Nobel laureate personally upgrade and optimize a specific radio communication project, which was simply a waste of talent.

If Lelouch wanted, he could easily bring together several Nobel laureates to launch his radio and broadcasting empire.

(End of this chapter)