Germany, Stettin.
Stettin was one of Germany's important port cities. Its name might not have sounded familiar, but in Ernst's previous life, it had a rather resounding "Polish" name—Szczecin.
This was the birthplace of Catherine II, the Russian Empress who founded the Russian Empire. Her father had been a prince of the Kingdom of Prussia.
The name Szczecin also appeared in the famous "Iron Curtain" speech, in which Churchill declared, "From Szczecin on the Baltic Sea to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the European continent." It stood as a witness to the Cold War.
Of course, in Ernst's previous life, Szczecin and Trieste had respectively been important port cities of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Their fates could be said to have been strikingly similar.
Germany was clearly somewhat better off. No matter how it was divided, it still existed, whereas the Austro-Hungarian Empire had disintegrated after World War I. That was why Ernst had always attached great importance to the issue of nationalism.
"Count Hermann, Germany's shipbuilding technology is absolutely reliable. Just ten years ago, the Far East Empire commissioned two first-class ironclads and three cruisers from our shipyard. They have already been thoroughly proven in the Far East, and can fully meet the needs of the East African Navy. Of all Germany's many shipyards, choosing our Vulcan Shipyard means you have truly come to the right place."
Vulcan Shipyard was also where the Beiyang Fleet had ordered its warships. Its predecessor had merely been a small shipbuilding plant founded in 1851.
Yet Germany had not even been unified in 1851, and the Prussian Navy had been extremely weak at the time. Thus, Vulcan Shipyard's starting point had not been low by German standards. It had been a pioneer of modern shipbuilding in the