At Christmas in 1867, if one had to say which country celebrated most happily, it was undoubtedly Prussia. Throughout 1867, the Prussia-led North German Federation saw major economic growth in the latter half of the year.
The establishment of the North German Federation linked the entirety of northern Germany together, connecting Prussia's most important western industrial regions with its eastern political center by rail.
Within the Federation, unified transportation and tariffs greatly reduced the cost of moving goods and raw materials across North Germany.
Any factory or enterprise of considerable scale had benefited from this wave of unification.
Ernst's Hohenzollern Conglomerate had naturally eaten its fill more than anyone else. Beyond joining companies such as Siemens in becoming Germany's locomotive in emerging economic sectors in Prussia—
In traditional economic sectors, the Hohenzollern Conglomerate had carved out territory through creation and invention. For example, in everyday consumer goods, Hechingen products accounted for fifteen percent of the entire German market, including the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Only heavy industries such as steel, coal, and machine tools remained firmly in the grasp of Germany's traditional industrial and commercial giants.
In finance, relying on the many companies under the Hohenzollern Conglomerate and investments in companies from emerging Second Industrial Revolution sectors, guided by Ernst's memories of his previous life, Hechingen Bank had gradually overtaken several traditional commercial banks.
It now sat firmly in third place across the German territories. Geographically, Hechingen lay in Southern Germany, yet politically it belonged to the North German Federation and also maintained close ties with the Austro-Hungarian imperial family. With the support of nobles from every region, it would have been difficult for it not to grow stronger.
Thus, Hechingen Bank's operations throughout the German territories proceeded extremely smoothly. Banks large and small were spread across Germany, extending south from the