Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 97 I'm just a colonel; don't come to me with such important alliance matters.
"Nanali, eat slower! Judging by the way you're eating, have you not had meat for half a year?"

That evening, in a private dining room at the Hotel Sacher, Lelouch's family members were all eating voraciously and without any manners.

So much so that he had to repeatedly remind his younger sister to eat slowly, while also pouring her orange juice.

The Hotel Sacher is a very upscale hotel in Vienna, located near the Hofmann Palace. Next door is the Golden Hall of the Vienna State Opera, which later became a "high-end karaoke bar" for Chinese arts groups.

Guildford had originally planned to invite Lelouch and the others to stay at his house temporarily tonight.

But Lelouch has more money than he can spend, so he doesn't need to make do. He simply booked all the rooms at the Hotel Sacher and decided that his sister and brother-in-law wouldn't have to go home anymore.

"I'm sorry, brother, it's just too delicious." Nanali gulped down three big mouthfuls of orange juice, swallowed the honey-roasted goose in her throat, and then started forking the stewed beef ribs on the plate in front of her.

The side dishes, such as creamed spinach and applesauce, which were originally placed on the side to cut through the richness, were completely ignored. Nanali didn't touch them at all, focusing solely on chewing the beef ribs.

Before he had even finished the first one, he used his fork to rummage through the bowl again, picking several more pieces onto his plate.

Lelouch stopped eating and looked at his sister quietly, unable to bear scolding her any longer: "It's all because I've been too busy. If I had just finished the battle that wiped out the Billy Kings, I would have let you know that I've made a name for myself and sent you some money. That would have been fine."

Hearing Lelouch say this, Cornelia and Guildford, who had also been eating non-stop, felt embarrassed and awkwardly stopped eating: "It's our fault for not taking good care of Nunnally. It's wartime, and everyone's life is difficult."

Lelouch quickly told them not to blame themselves: "No, no, no, this is not your fault."

Cornelia was also curious, so she couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you contact your family after you finished the first battle? You waited another four months."

Lelouch: "It's because I wasn't high enough in rank and didn't have much money back then. When the 6th Army annihilated the Biligin Army, I was only promoted to a mere captain. I didn't have the capital to invest in any real business, and I didn't lack people around me."

Besides, if a captain runs back to his home country and gets harassed by the conscription office, it'll be troublesome. I wanted to persuade my brother-in-law to give up his position as section chief at the city tax bureau and start over in a foreign country, but you guys probably wouldn't have been willing to let him go.

He had to spend another three months and fight another battle to earn the rank of colonel before he could even come back and recruit people.

Cornelia: "..."

So, in the younger brother's eyes, the path from captain to colonel was something that could be planned out in advance?
You think you can get promoted to colonel just because you want to... Is that even human?
Cornelia didn't want to dwell on the issue any longer, and instead asked, "So, what exactly do you need us to do for you this time when you take us to Demania? Nunnally and I don't know anything about officialdom."

Lelouch: "Having my brother-in-law as an official is enough. I've opened a new steel mill on the Franco-Belgian border, and I still have a lot of spoils from previous battles that I haven't dealt with. My sister can help me manage the steel mill's finances and, incidentally, help me liquidate the spoils."

You don't need to worry about technology, production, or operations; just be responsible for the money. Later, when I lead troops into battle, there may be even more unrecorded profits and spoils; you'll be in charge of handling those then.

Lelouch used to have to rely on outsiders to help him sell his spoils and cash out, which wasn't a good way to keep things secret. Now that his older sister is in charge, everything is much easier.

"No problem, there won't be any mistakes." Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that it was just about managing the money, and readily agreed.

Although her career hasn't been very smooth these past few years, she has a husband who works in the tax bureau, so she's quite familiar with these kinds of jobs and can quickly get the hang of them after a little more learning.

Lelouch ate a few bites of steak, then took a sip of anise liqueur to moisten his throat before continuing his plan: "As for Nunnally, she's still young. It's fine if she wants to go to university in Demania, or help with household chores. There's no rush. Or, if she has time, she could help me maintain relationships with the princes, dukes, princesses, and noblewomen."

Of course I won't force her. If my sister, Lelouch's sister, doesn't want to learn those formalities and finds socializing with noble ladies too tiring, then she shouldn't learn them.

Lelouch hasn't reached the point where he's short-staffed enough to not expect his little sister to do much.

However, Nanali didn't find any of the aristocratic etiquette wrong at all. Her eyes were full of curiosity and excitement as she nodded repeatedly, "Ah? Can I? I'll definitely learn well! I won't embarrass you, brother, but you have to buy me pretty clothes, otherwise it would be so impolite~"

Lelouch was taken aback. In his previous life, he was an only child and had no experience in coaxing younger sisters. He subconsciously thought that young girls all disliked formalities.

Now, upon reflection, it dawned on me: I must have been completely fooled by the Mary Sue tropes in my past life! Of course, Mary Sues have to portray themselves as "kind and aloof" to create a strong contrast with the "vain and scheming" rich and beautiful second female lead. Otherwise, how would you explain "the domineering CEO preferring them to the rich and beautiful woman"?
But in real life, Nunnally was used to living the life of an ordinary person from a young age, so how could she resist socializing with nobles? This reaction is normal.

"Since you like it, money is no problem. I will dress you up like a real princess."

Lelouch made the promise with doting affection, and the atmosphere at the dinner table was very harmonious.

……

Vienna is ultimately more culturally rich than Berlin and Munich. As an art capital, even during wartime, it was easy to find high-end, historical jewelry and to commission clothing from renowned designers with a long history.

The next morning, Lelouch had other things to do, so he sent his older and younger sisters on a shopping spree to order some custom-made items so they could better socialize with the Empire's high-ranking officials after returning home. Money was no object.

Lelouch himself planned to go and talk to Mr. Porsche, first to discuss some technical issues, and then do him a favor.

According to Lelouch's original timetable, after the three-phase electric arc furnace steel plant was initially established in one or two months, he would take the new materials to Krupp to conduct a technology transaction, bring back a mechanical and design team, and work on the tank project.

However, outsourcing all the technical design teams ultimately raises the suspicion of "putting all eggs in one basket," and Lelouch also hopes to have his own trusted confidants.

Getting to know Porsche is a good way to hear both sides of the story and avoid being misled by only one side. Historically, Dr. Porsche also designed many tanks, demonstrating his considerable talent.

The other party is currently concerned about procuring heavy artillery tractors for Austria. If I can inspire them, I'll have made contact with them.

To make the other party take him seriously, Lelouch specially changed into a full colonel's uniform, put on all his medals, and finally put on a trench coat he had just bought yesterday from a high-end Viennese designer, so as not to attract attention on the street.

At that moment, he was tidying himself up in front of the mirror in his hotel room, preparing to go out. Suddenly, the front desk of the Hotel Sacher called the internal line. Lelouch pinned on his blue Mark badge before casually answering the phone.

“Mr. Lelouch von Hunt, I apologize for disturbing your rest. A visitor requests an audience. The man identifies himself as Count Stephen Briand. We have confirmed his identity. Do you have time to see him?”

Lelouch thought for a moment: "I don't know any Count Brian."

“Let me speak to him,” a faint, distant voice came from the other end of the phone, followed by another person taking the receiver. “Hello, Colonel Lelouch von Hunt, I heard you returned home yesterday.”

Lelouch immediately realized that this person must have known he was back because of the little incident at the Vienna City Tax Office yesterday, and probably had done his homework.

Lelouch responded with a clever, unchanging approach: "Are you going to discuss whether I evaded military service again?"

The other party immediately laughed heartily and said, "Of course not. We have already investigated and found out that you left the country before the war broke out, and you went to an allied country. As soon as the war broke out, you joined the army. You are a respectable warrior, and you fought for the Demanian people wherever you were."

Let me introduce myself as well. I am the country's Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, responsible for coordinating relations with allies—you probably don't want to keep talking on the phone like this, do you?

Lelouch: "Of course, it was my rudeness. Please come up here and we can talk."

Two minutes later, a waiter from the Hotel Sacher led Deputy Minister Stephen Brian to Lelouch's room.

Lelouch also politely went to the elevator lobby to greet him:
"Sir Brian, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am truly ashamed that it is in this kind of setting. I have just returned home to visit my family after the war. I never expected that a mere colonel like myself could attract the attention of such an important figure as you."

Undersecretary Stephen Briand quickly and warmly shook hands with him. Those in diplomacy often have good intelligence and a wide network of information.
"Colonel Lelouch is too modest. I have already looked into it. How can someone of your talent be measured by the rank of an ordinary colonel? To be honest, last night I heard a report from below that an Austrian citizen had joined the army in an allied country, risen through the ranks with merits, and even captured Marshal French. So I investigated it."

I've even called His Highness Crown Prince Rupprecht of Baria. He and the Grand Duke of Baden both think highly of you. What am I, a mere Vice Minister? Strictly speaking, my visit is more about me needing your help—and of course, your homeland needs your help too.”

Lelouch: "I am truly flattered, but my authority is too low to know how I can help the Empire. Perhaps you need Demanian reinforcements? As far as I know, there are indeed reinforcements, but troop deployment and rest take time, and the specific timetable for reinforcements has already been compressed as much as possible. There is nothing I can do."

Deputy Secretary Stephen Briand: "I know that. We're all on the same side, so there's no need for us to keep things to ourselves. The full-strength army group that Demania is sending to reinforce the Reich will arrive on the Hungarian front in April to ensure the relief of Budapest. There's no problem with that, and the Hungarian garrison can hold out until then."

But now a new situation has just arisen, and the Empire hopes that Demania can further increase its reinforcements to deal with the new threat. I know you don't have the authority to make the decision, but I urge you to plead with Duke Rupprecht for more troops when you return home.”

Lelouch: "What's the new situation?"

Undersecretary Stephen Briand: "After their crushing defeat on the Western Front, the Britannians have become extremely willing to spend lavishly. According to my secret intelligence, they are using every means to persuade the Italians to join their alliance and declare war on the Empire and Demania!"

Our southwestern border is now facing new dangers. If the hundreds of thousands of Italian troops were to launch an attack, the Empire would be unable to stop them. We hope that the Demanian army, especially the army of the Kingdom of Balia in the far south, can move south to assist in the defense of the Alps! We do not need a large army; we only hope that your army can coordinate the allocation of troops when making deployments.

This will not harm Demacia's interests in any way, and if you can help facilitate this, you will receive more convenience and preferential treatment when you return to your homeland in the future.

Lelouch finally understood what they meant: They'd heard the Italians might declare war soon, and the general plan for Demanian troops to reinforce Austria was already set, but could they increase the number of troops? And could some of the already-determined troops be transferred from the Hungarian theater to the Italian-Austrian border region…?

But Lelouch felt that the other person was a little too nervous.

"I think you're overthinking it. Whether the Italians join the war or not, you can definitely hold them off on your own."

Lelouch is probably the person in the world who knows best just how weak the Italians are.

Italian cuisine was not only poor in World War II, but also in World War I. In World War I, Austria was known for its inability to win battles against any major power on its own, but it finally had a chance to prove itself against Italy.

After Italy entered the war, the entire First World War consisted of the "12 Battles of the Isonzo," which took three years to fight on the border river in the Alps between Italy and Austria, without making any progress.

The Austrian army, relying on its own strength and with a small force, won the first 11 battles on its own. It wasn't until the final 12th battle that a small number of German troops, as allies, came to their aid. Then the Austrian army launched a major counter-offensive and almost pushed all the way to Venice.

In all 12 battles, the Italians suffered more than 100 million casualties, with their furthest advance reaching only 3 kilometers from the Austrian border.

It's utterly worthless.

Unfortunately, it was still early March 1915, and the world had no idea how incompetent the Italians were.

Austrian Deputy Foreign Minister Stephen Briand was genuinely anxious, and he took Lelouch's attempts to comfort him as mere politeness.

Since that's the case, Lelouch was a little embarrassed: "If you really need reinforcements, I can allocate a little bit to you, the kind I can decide for myself. If you can't hold on, I can add more. I'll try to persuade Duke Rupprecht to turn a blind eye."

However… if I help you with this, what are your conditions?

Stephen Briand was taken aback: "What conditions do you want?"

-

P.S.: I don't know if there will be a second update today. If there is, it will be very late tonight, so you don't have to wait.

I'm going to attend a training course next week, which will be held for five days during the day. I can only write a little bit in the morning and evening, so the update time may be unstable and the amount will not be too large.

(End of this chapter)