The Emperor's Shock

In the Potsdam Palace, German Emperor Wilhelm II rubbed his somewhat sore eyes. Though it was already eleven at night, his state affairs remained unfinished.

The Imperial Council had just ended, and the ministers had only recently departed. The British and French had signed an agreement: France pledged not to interfere with British actions in Egypt, while Britain recognized Morocco as France's sphere of influence. But this undoubtedly infringed on Germany's colonial interests in Morocco.

Wilhelm II and his ministers had just been deliberating a solution. As the British and French drew ever closer, together with the already allied France and Russia, an encirclement of Germany had taken shape. For Germany, this was unquestionably extremely dangerous.

"Father Emperor, on this Morocco issue, we absolutely cannot compromise or retreat again. Otherwise, it will cause serious damage to the German Empire's interests." Crown Prince Wilhelm's face was full of anger.

"Mm, I understand. I need to think this over carefully," Wilhelm II said.

He was certainly furious at Britain and France for harming Germany's interests. But at the same time, he knew that while Germany was powerful, if it went to war with Britain, France, and Russia now, its chances of victory were slim—it was completely unprepared. So Germany had to keep enduring.

Yet Wilhelm II worried this would be a heavy blow to the people's patriotic fervor.

The Crown Prince wanted to say more, but seeing that Wilhelm II didn't wish to continue the topic, he held his tongue.

Just then, the Imperial Family's steward, Essen von Jonait, entered.

"Essen, is there something else?"

"Your Majesty, Prince Oskar asked me to bring this to you." Essen von Jonait handed a check to Wilhelm II.

Wilhelm II took it and saw it was a check for two million Marks. Of course, for the man who ruled the entire empire, this was nothing.

"What is this?" Wilhelm II frowned. Oscar had actually sent him a check—what was going on?

"Your Majesty, Prince Oskar and my son Karl have jointly run a lottery sales company. The Prince has decided to donate twenty percent of the profits to the royal family. Additionally, they will put another twenty percent of the profits toward social welfare." Essen von Jonait spoke with approval. After all, Karl held shares in the German Welfare Lottery Sales Company and could take ten percent of the profits. As things stood, that investment had been incredibly worthwhile.

"Twenty percent of the profits?" Wilhelm II hadn't paid any attention to Oscar lately. In his heart, he had been completely disappointed in him, even considering giving up on this son. Though Double Color Ball had swept across all of Germany, to Wilhelm II it was still something beneath notice, and he hadn't bothered with it.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Prince's company has been doing very well. These two million Marks are from less than half a month's earnings. Going forward, the monthly profit share should be around four to five million Marks," Essen von Jonait continued.

"What? That much?" Both Wilhelm II and the Crown Prince were stunned.

If it were just two million Marks, they wouldn't think twice about it. But if it meant four to five million every month, that was a huge sum not to be underestimated. Over a year, that would be forty to fifty million Marks—about the cost of a single Battleship.

"Mr. Jonait, are you sure you're not mistaken? Are Oscar's lottery profits really that large?" The Crown Prince's face showed disbelief. At the same time, jealousy toward Oscar suddenly flared in his heart. Even as Crown Prince, he didn't own much property, and the wealth in his hands was very limited. That Oscar had built such a massive fortune in such a short time made him deeply resentful.

In a capitalist society, money's power was immense. With money, many problems could be solved. If this wealth could fall into his hands, his position as Crown Prince would undoubtedly be further secured.

"Even at four million Marks a month, that's nearly fifty million a year. And that's just twenty percent. So Oscar's own profit would be over a hundred million, close to two hundred million Marks. That's a fortune!" Wilhelm II marveled.

Though for Wilhelm II himself, a hundred million Marks wasn't much, for Germany's finances it was a huge sum. The empire's annual revenue was only a little over nine hundred million Marks.

"No wonder that fellow dared to offer Director Ludwig Birkenhagen the condition of donating a Battleship in exchange for four years. If he had this much income, one Battleship was nothing," Wilhelm II suddenly realized.

He had previously thought Oscar was daydreaming, using such a condition to avoid going to university. But now it seemed Oscar was simply confident in himself. With such earnings, gifting the German Navy a Battleship was entirely feasible. And it would greatly benefit both the navy and all of Germany.

"Your Majesty, I have to admit I completely misjudged things before. I never expected Prince Oskar to be such a business genius! He's only sixteen and already earning this much. Give him more time to develop, and he might become the most successful businessman in Germany, or even the world." Essen von Jonait was full of praise.

Wilhelm II nodded. Though he didn't fully approve of a prince going into business, if Oscar could truly amass such enormous wealth, it didn't matter. After all, this was a capitalist society where money reigned supreme. Wealth meant social status and power.

"Father Emperor, why does Oscar only contribute twenty percent of the profits to the royal family, while keeping sixty percent for himself? If he still considers himself a member of the royal family, he should hand over most of the profits and keep only a small portion. After all, our financial pressure is enormous. To counter the pressure from Britain, France, and Russia, and to expand the military, we undoubtedly need more funds." The Crown Prince stepped forward, speaking with righteous indignation, as if Oscar had committed some heinous crime.