Hohenzollern Conglomerate

The Danish government's troubles had no effect whatsoever on Ernst—or rather, the Danes' suffering was what brought Ernst his happiness at this moment.

The Second Schleswig War directly drove the development of the Hohenzollern Development Company, sending its business capabilities soaring in a straight line.

As the war expanded, the coalition forces were bound to place greater emphasis on logistics. With one powerful offensive after another, their daily consumption of supplies multiplied.

Demand for tobacco, an essential wartime commodity, continued to rise, and the Hohenzollern Tobacco Company took the opportunity to ramp up production.

The new production lines had already been deployed, orders came flying in without end, and civilian orders were temporarily pushed back.

The Hohenzollern Company's senior executives were full of drive amid the bright prospects. The boss had already painted them a grand pie: the advantage was theirs, and once the war ended, the Hohenzollern Company would certainly rise to another level.

By then, the well-funded Hohenzollern Company would expand more aggressively into other fields. New factories and departments were bound to appear, along with new positions waiting for everyone.

As long as one was a capable hand, one stood a good chance of becoming the head of a new department. Inspired by this magnificent blueprint, everyone worked even harder, striving for better results and a place in the boss's good graces.

The workers at the bottom were equally fired up. Production efficiency rose noticeably, and with orders pouring in and new machines being rolled out, overtime pay also increased substantially.

Nothing could mobilize workers' enthusiasm for production more effectively than higher income. Moreover, the Hohenzollern Company's industries were all manufacturing sectors that demanded little physical exertion; what they required was mastery of machinery and more meticulous workflows.

Compared with the heavy labor industries of the same era, many lower-class workers wanted to work in Ernst's factories.

The population of the German territories in the nineteenth century was vastly excessive, and it continued to grow. The jobs created by ever-advancing industrialization clearly could not satisfy the needs of the local population.

In recent years, not only had the German nobility become a treasure trove supplying fresh blood to royal families across Europe, but residents of the German territories had also become the main force of global migration.

Large numbers of German residents sought new means of survival abroad every year. Especially in the countries of North and South America, German-descended immigrants formed an important component.

A great number of industrial cities emerged across the German territories. Backed by an abundant labor force and the spread of quality education, they propelled industrial development in the German territories. Even though Germany remained ununified for historical reasons, it had already begun to surpass France economically.

Limited by population and resources within metropolitan France, France had already begun to fall behind the German territories in the process of industrialization.

Fortunately, France possessed colonies and a global market second only to Britain's, satisfying the French industrial and commercial sectors' needs for raw materials and markets. Compared with the relatively fragmented German territories, France still did not feel any pressure.

However, Prussia's development in recent years had still drawn the French's attention, though the French government believed that Prussia's road to unifying Germany remained very long.

At the same time, the chaos of French politics led to severe internal strife. Royalists and republicans tangled with one another, often fighting their own people until blood flowed and lives were lost.

Although Napoleon III had accomplished quite a bit, he was constrained at every turn. He had to guard against the schemes of the Bourbons and Orléans while also keeping the republicans from causing trouble.

As an old revolutionary stronghold, France also had to beware of other political factions stirring up the people. Even a small demonstration could be exploited by those with ulterior motives and escalate into a riot.

Napoleon III himself had risen to power by relying on Emperor Napoleon's prestige. His authority was inherently limited, making it difficult for him to use hardline measures to unite all of France's strength and compete in the world.

Even so, relying on the rich political legacy and foundation accumulated over generations, France held firmly to second place among the great powers.

By comparison, though the German territories were scattered and fragmented, and the independence of their various states hindered German economic development, German nationalism had surged in modern times.

Men of insight throughout the German territories pushed for their unification. As talented people emerged one after another, all of them struggled toward the same goal.

Although disputes over routes such as Greater Germany and Little Germany had arisen, the process of unifying the German territories had instead moved another step closer.

Markets, transportation, and resources were rapidly integrated. Nobles and capitalists with shared interests actively promoted the development of the German territories, hoping to achieve German unification and join the competition for global interests.

Ernst was a beneficiary of this great tide. Whether a powerful homeland could protect and escort you was hard to say, but it was still far better than being duckweed without roots.

Ernst had been born a member of Germany's highest nobility. If Germany unified, the value of Ernst's noble status would also rise with the tide as the empire united.

However, Ernst still had to solve the problems before him. As his industries developed, how to more smoothly allocate and manage the resources in his hands had become the most urgent task.

To firmly seize both present and future markets, and to strengthen the management of the enterprises under his control, Ernst planned to establish a new commercial management center to oversee their operations and administration.

The Hohenzollern Development Company already showed signs of becoming a major enterprise. As the institutional framework and hardware facilities of its consumer goods factories became increasingly complete, many new product categories emerged. At the very least, in basic consumer goods, the Hohenzollern Development Company had already formed an operating model driven by a three-horse carriage.

With the help of the war, the Hohenzollern Development Company rapidly recovered its capital, and after turning a profit, factory construction spread out swiftly. Meanwhile, the commercial outlets and partners established earlier had formed a mature network, centered on the German territories and radiating outward in all directions.

Although the Hohenzollern Development Company encountered resistance from some traditional handicraft industries, during the gap before new products appeared, its competitors failed to produce goods with the same value for money.

This allowed the Hohenzollern Development Company to quickly gain a firm foothold in consumer goods, while also expanding the scope of the field. It wielded objective influence in the industry and was unquestionably a representative of advanced productive forces.

This led Ernst to plan to establish the already mature consumer goods sector as a separate subsidiary.

Tobacco was an industry of exorbitant profits. Ernst would separate the Hohenzollern Tobacco Company and turn it into an independent division.

Together with the R&D center established earlier, this completed the three-horse carriage of the current Hohenzollern Development Company.

Above the three-horse carriage, he would establish a supreme strategic decision-making body. This new institution would become the core of Ernst's industries.

After repeated study, Ernst formulated the general plan as follows:

First, establish the Hohenzollern Development Bank and, through sole ownership and controlling stakes, build a Hohenzollern Conglomerate centered on the German territories.

Second, establish an independent Hohenzollern Tobacco Company, using the German territories as its base while adding subsidiary brand companies in other regions.

Third, establish a new Hohenzollern General Merchandise Company to take over all of the Hohenzollern Development Company's current factories apart from the tobacco industry.

Fourth, establish the Hohenzollern Science and Technology R&D Center to uniformly guide product development and the opening of new markets for the other divisions.

Thus, the prototype of a Hohenzollern Conglomerate centered on the Hohenzollern Development Bank was born.

Beyond maintaining control over its current industries, the Hohenzollern Development Bank would participate in the development of emerging fields in the German territories through investment and shareholding.

These fields were all important industries of later generations, including electronics, internal combustion engines, and information technology such as radio and telephones—the core industries of the Second Industrial Revolution.

This was precisely the eve of the Second Industrial Revolution. Those scientific and technological achievements still lying in laboratories or in the minds of scientists and engineers, seedlings that had yet to burst forth with vigorous life, were Ernst's key targets for investment.