Hechingen Bank was the most central component of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate—or rather, its trunk. The conglomerate's many large subsidiary enterprises were branches extending from that trunk, while countless leaves clustered around those branches: these companies' business partners, raw-material suppliers, sales outlets, small companies and enterprises invested in by Hechingen Bank, and so on. Hechingen Bank headquarters was the conglomerate's brain.
It was certainly impossible to relocate the conglomerate's main body to East Africa. East Africa currently could not support the development of a world-class conglomerate of this scale. However, the bank's headquarters could be moved to the East African mainland first. As long as communications remained smooth, it could continue directing the operations of the entire conglomerate.
Ernst said, "Let's settle this matter for now. Next! Let's discuss the second matter—the textile industry. Claisen, you're in charge of this sector, correct?"
Claisen said, "Yes, Your Highness."
Ernst said, "Tell everyone about the state of the textile industry last year and this year."
Claisen said, "No problem, Your Highness. The textile industry has developed very well this year. In particular, last year's war unleashed a huge wave of production capacity. We received large numbers of orders in both Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Especially with the abundant cheap labor in the Far East and the high efficiency of the new factories, we shared the burden on European factories and were the first among our peers to free up machines and workers, ensuring a continuous, ample, and stable supply for military orders.
"The military had always been the best customer. Germany's North German region alone expanded its army by a million men last year, whereas before that, the North German Federation's army numbered only around six hundred thousand. During the later stages of the Italo-Austrian War, Austria also conscripted two hundred