Lelouch’s attitude was very sincere. He told Duke Rupprecht to ask whatever questions he had, and that he would answer them all.
But the duke was not a rash man. He still took a few minutes to carefully read the secret letter his second brother, Major General Karl, had written to him personally.
In any case, Captain Immelmann’s plane still needed to be refueled. A little time made no difference.
Only after finishing the letter did Duke Rupprecht wave his attendants away. Then, solemnly, he asked what he considered the most critical question.
“You told Karl that if, after this operation, we ultimately discover that the Imperial Navy’s wireless codes truly have been deciphered by the Britannians, then we must not make it public. Instead, we should continue pretending not to know, preserve this secret, and wait until some future opportunity with sufficiently great returns before detonating it and making a great haul.
“But don’t you think that will be very difficult to do? Karl may not understand how many factions there are within the navy, or how fierce the struggles between them can be, but I do. Even intelligence work is split among multiple authorities, each acting on its own.
“Once someone discovers this secret, they will certainly rush to claim credit and seek reward. When that happens, in a matter of days at the fastest, or months at the slowest, the Britannians will inevitably learn the truth…”
The duke saw at a glance that the secrecy Lelouch was counting on could very well turn into a “tragedy of the commons.”
In departments where everyone ate from his own bowl while eyeing the pot, a bird in the hand was worth ten in the forest.
The plan that best served the empire’s interests would not serve the interests of each small clique. Who would be willing to sit on credit and wait to slowly make an even greater haul?
Fortunately, Lelouch had also thought deeply about this issue on the plane just now.
After all, he had transmigrated back from a later age of fully developed market economies, where every side schemed against the others and stopped at nothing. He had long since fully anticipated human selfishness.
The situation the duke worried about was just like those mushroom pickers in A Bite of Huaxia. How could they possibly wait until the matsutake grew to its most valuable size before picking them? Someone else would have damn well picked them long ago.
So, to deal with a tragedy of the commons, one first had to be extremely selfish oneself!
Lelouch hesitated one last time, then gritted his teeth, preparing to offer a pledge of allegiance.
“Your Highness is truly farsighted. You have seen through the crux of the matter at a glance—which is precisely why we must even keep the Naval Ministry in the dark! From now on, in all intelligence cooperation with the navy, we will privately contact only Major General Hipper, who comes from the Bavarian faction, and share intelligence with him alone!
“Your Highness, I am not trying to create any faction within the navy. But I have always felt that the Prussian Junker officer corps is far too amateurish and idiotic in the field of intelligence. We can only trust our own people from the Kingdom of Bavaria—
“And as you know, I am a foreigner. I am Austrian. I came to Germania to serve in the army only because I am loyal to the Germanian nation, not because I am loyal to the Kaiser, and not because I am loyal to that group of Prussian northerners.
“Back when the Germanian Empire was first founded, Prussia, for the sake of its own kingdom’s interests, created the so-called Lesser Germania Solution, all for the purpose of excluding the Austrian emperor from the Germanian Empire and allowing people from their Prussian kingdom to usurp the highest seat. This was, in truth, a betrayal of the traditions that had existed since the Holy Roman Empire!
“And the Kingdom of Bavaria to which Your Highness belongs, as well as the other three states of the four South Germanian states, have since ancient times been closer to the Austrian imperial house and shared the same faith. Your ancestors, before 1870, always supported the Greater Germania Solution.
“That is why I came in admiration to serve in the Sixth Army. I would rather be loyal only to you. Because I am an Austrian, and the Germanian Empire in my heart is also the Greater Germania Solution! It is one that unites the ethnic Germanians of the Austrian Empire under the same banner!
“And the war before us has already fallen into a prolonged struggle. A swift victory is no longer possible. The violent attrition of a protracted war will produce a severe impact on any country with an emperor, and many countries will be forced to make reforms in the future.
“The Austrian Empire’s combat strength is too weak, and its internal ethnic conflicts are too severe. Whether it can hold out until the end of this war is still unknown. Who can say whether this great war might not be an opportunity for the entire Germanian nation to reshuffle itself and be reborn from the flames?
“In such circumstances, climbing upward from within may be more effective than seizing power by military force. As the link between Austria and Prussia, the Kingdom of Bavaria can absolutely maneuver between both sides. Perhaps it may even be able to do more for the country and the nation…”
“Enough! Say no more! I already understand. If that is the case, this secret may indeed be kept for a long time, and even more new secrets in the future can continue to be kept in the same way…”
Duke Rupprecht did not dare listen any further and hurriedly cut him off.
This young man—how could he have no sense of propriety when he spoke?
Even if it was now deep in the night, on the apron of a field airfield, and all attendants had been dismissed, with no third pair of ears present.
Was this sort of thing something a mere lieutenant could say?
Fortunately, the duke did not understand Eastern history. Otherwise, he would certainly have thought of Yao Guangxiao repeatedly dancing before Zhu Di, urging the king to add the “white” atop “king” and become emperor.
However, in the duke’s view, although Lelouch was somewhat fanatical, his motives were absolutely good. He was surely doing it so that the entire nation could be united under one banner, within one country.
As a noble of the four South Germanian states, the duke himself also identified more with the Greater Germania Solution than the Lesser Germania Solution.
After all, the ancestors of the Kingdom of Bavaria had been enfeoffed by the earliest Holy Roman emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. The two sides already had more than seven hundred years of friendly history.
Anyone who had played the Barbarossa campaign in Age of Empires II knew that, in the campaign, Barbarossa ultimately destroyed his great enemy, “Henry the Lion,” and then granted Henry the Lion’s territory to his own subordinate. That was how the Wittelsbach family of the Kingdom of Bavaria came to be. All of that had happened in 1180, seven hundred and thirty-four years ago.
Lelouch’s words today amounted to a complete pledge of allegiance, making the duke realize that this was a man who shared his ideals.
Such a man of lofty ideals naturally ought to be put to important use!
As for whether Lelouch had ambitions of his own, the duke would not even consider it. The other party’s status was too low. It was already good enough if he could serve as a pawn before his horse.
So after giving him a warning, the duke felt he should still offer him a sweet reward.
“Although what you said today went rather too far, considering that you are young and inexperienced, I will not blame you. Your plan itself is still useful. Take this secret letter and go find Hipper.
“Also, this is my private seal. You may take it with you for the time being as well, in case some details are not made clear in the letter and Hipper does not believe you.”
“Thank you for your trust.” Lelouch accepted the secret letter and the seal with both hands.
“Do your work well. If you truly make a contribution this time, I will promote you again.” Before leaving, the duke patted Lelouch on the shoulder in encouragement.
On the other side, Captain Immelmann’s plane had already been refueled and undergone the necessary maintenance checks. Lelouch boarded once more, flying directly toward Wilhelmshaven.
…
“I didn’t expect the duke to value you so highly. Brother, are you really just a lieutenant? You don’t have someone above you, do you?”
The long night flight was dull. Less than half an hour after taking off, Immelmann could not help chatting with Lelouch.
“I’m just a foreigner. What sort of person could I have above me? It is only that His Highness the duke and General Karl are courteous to worthy men and appoint people by merit.” Lelouch responded flawlessly, his wording perfectly proper.
“There really are generals who appoint people purely by merit? Fine, I’ll take it that you’re telling the truth.” Immelmann was too lazy to fuss over it, and soon shifted the topic elsewhere.
He proudly patted the equipment belt he had just strapped over the outside of his uniform and showed off to Lelouch. “You suggested that planes should be fitted with safety belts in the future, and that we should carry weapons to beat up the enemy’s reconnaissance planes.
“When we were refueling just now, my hands got itchy, so I had the people at the airfield get me an equipment belt and two C96 pistols. If we really run into enemy reconnaissance later, I’ll get close and give them a few shots. You’ll be responsible for helping me reload.”
As Immelmann spoke, he even pulled out a pistol and waved it.
Lelouch looked closely and realized it was the “box cannon” often seen in later anti-Japanese war films, the twenty-shot Mauser broomhandle pistol.
When there was no time to hastily install a machine gun, and the payload was also insufficient, getting a few high-capacity pistols was indeed a decent idea.
Still, Lelouch could not help dampening his enthusiasm a little. “The idea is good, but even if there are enemy planes at night, you won’t be able to see them. Besides, how could a Britannian plane possibly have the endurance to fly that far? This time, just treat it as experiencing armed flight.”
Immelmann also knew that what Lelouch said was true, and was somewhat disappointed.
The two chatted idly for more than another two hours as they flew, and Wilhelmshaven was already in sight.
In this era, there were no air raids, so naval ports had no night blackout controls. Planes could land with ample lighting.
However, just as Immelmann was preparing to observe the landing, he suddenly noticed something and immediately cried out toward the rear seat, “Hey! Look! It’s a Britannian B.E.2!”
Lelouch looked in the direction he indicated, but saw nothing at all. “Where? I don’t see anything! Are you sure you can identify the model?”
Immelmann said, “Nonsense! The ends of our Taube’s wings and tailplane all slope backward, like a kite. Only the Britannians’ B.E.2 has elliptical wingtips. Don’t underestimate an elite pilot’s eyesight!”
Lelouch immediately shut up. Every profession had its specialist. Since Immelmann could become an ace pilot, his eyesight was definitely much better than Lelouch’s.
It was also because they were close to the naval port, with the lights below blazing brightly, that Immelmann could faintly see the enemy plane’s wing surfaces reflecting a little light along their lower edges. If they had been above an unlit wilderness, in pitch darkness, it would have been absolutely impossible to see.
The plane opposite them did not notice him. Or perhaps it had noticed him but did not care at all—there was no air combat in this era, so there was no need to worry upon seeing an enemy plane.
Thus Immelmann calmly closed in. Only when he was very close did he clearly see that the other party’s plane was actually painted with the emblem of a flying club from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, not the Britannian military.
Lelouch saw it as well, and realization dawned in his heart. No wonder it could fly over here. So it hadn’t taken off from the Britannian mainland, but from a neutral country!