Decisions and Laws

Eitel opened the decisions interface first, and more than a dozen unlockable decisions appeared before him.

As he looked at the effects of those decisions on the screen, Eitel's heart gave two rapid beats.

Both the short-term and long-term decisions had powerful effects.

If he combined them with national focuses, he hardly dared imagine how quickly the German Empire would develop.

But then he looked at the political points needed to unlock those powerful decisions, and then at the political points he currently had.

"Even the cleverest cook can't make a meal without rice."

With a sigh, Eitel looked at the upper-right corner of the screen. He had 76 political points left, and his political points were currently increasing by 3.5 a day.

Apart from the 1.5 political points provided by his national focus, the system had given him another 2 political points per day after Eitel officially ascended the throne and it fully awakened.

"What can I do with 76 points?"

Eitel pondered as he looked at all the buffs on the screen.

Even with a buff that increased stability, his current stability was still at a dangerous level.

On reflection, that was understandable. The country was short of supplies, and large numbers of troops urgently needed to be demobilized. These soldiers, who had spent four years fighting on the front lines, would cause no small amount of trouble after returning to society.

The economy was depressed, workers' rights needed protection, and the demobilized troops needed proper arrangements. Apart from the Junker officers and ministers who supported him, some political parties were also expanding their influence.

Add the external pressure, and when he thought about it carefully, there really were quite a few things that needed handling.

"I'd better prioritize maintaining stability for now, and farm some PP along the way."

After thinking it over carefully for a while, Eitel opened the decision at the very top.

[Nationwide patriotism campaign]

[Political point cost: 50]

[Time required: 35 days]

[Effects: stability +5%, war support +8%, a small increase in daily political points]

"The ways of our ancestors must never change. You're the one."

Eitel clicked it. Since he had few political points available, he would use the old method and pick the nationwide patriotism campaign first.

It would boost stability and increase political point gain, with the rise in stability further increasing political point gain.

It killed several birds with one stone. As for the war support, that was of little use for now, so he would just treat it as a bonus.

After selecting this decision, Eitel looked at the political points on the screen, more than half of which had vanished in an instant, and winced.

Having chosen a decision, he opened the laws again.

The same interface, the same few laws.

This time, however, Eitel did not waste much time. He had already made his choices before opening it.

"Select the free trade act, civilian economy act, limited conscription act, and local administration policy."

[Free trade act unlocked. Opening a trade-category law for the first time costs no political points. Subsequent law changes will cost 150 political points.]

[Free trade act]

[Effects: total factory output +15%, dockyards +15%, all construction +15%, research +10%]

[Civilian economy act unlocked. Opening an economy-category law for the first time costs no political points. Subsequent law changes will cost 150 political points.]

[Civilian economy act]

[Effects: consumer goods factory requirement +35%, civilian factory construction speed −30%, military factory and dockyard construction speed −30%, civilian-to-military and military-to-civilian factory conversion costs +30%, crude oil-to-fuel conversion efficiency −40%, fuel storage capacity −25%]

[Limited conscription act unlocked. Opening a conscription-category law for the first time costs no political points. Subsequent law changes will cost 150 political points.]

[Limited conscription act]

[Effects: recruitable population 2.5%, no equipment attrition penalty, no factory output debuff]

[Local administration policy unlocked. Opening an occupation policy for the first time costs no political points. Subsequent changes will cost 150 political points.]

[Local administration policy]

[Effects: resistance target −20%, garrison requirement −50%, greatly increased progress toward conversion into a puppet state]

After selecting the four laws he needed for the early stages, Eitel looked at their effects and let out a long breath.

Although there were rather more debuffs in the early stages, once he completed the final route of the economic miracle, the German Empire would become an invincible empire with an endless stream of resources and a powerful military.

When that time came, he would have enough confidence to plant the German Empire's flag all over the world.

Before that, however, there would still be some growing pains.

"These debuffs really are terrifying. I can only hope President Wilson comes through."

"This is my first time taking the economic miracle route. I never expected it to be inside the real German Empire."

After that remark, Eitel closed the system interface and looked at the documents on his desk.

The first document was the contract for America's five-hundred-million-dollar loan, followed by a string of assorted American foreign trade contracts and documents pledging support.

A few British documents were scattered among them as well.

As for France's diplomatic directive demanding that he dismantle military factories and demobilize troops as soon as possible, it lay quietly in the wastebasket.

The Frenchies' demands were not worth Eitel's attention at all. After all, it was impressive enough that they still had a breath left to send him diplomatic directives.

Presumably, Prime Minister Clemenceau was also tearing his hair out over all manner of domestic affairs right now.

At that thought, Eitel picked up the pen on his desk and began reviewing and approving the documents one by one.

He approved all the American contracts and gave the British ones selective consideration.

The day passed as he dealt with all manner of complicated affairs.

The next day, he woke in his bedchamber.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the ceiling. There was little ornamentation, and the simple decor put him at ease.

He sat up in bed and had a quick wash.

Eitel arrived at his office, where General Ludendorff was already standing outside the door.

Upon seeing His Majesty Eitel arrive, General Ludendorff immediately gave him an imperial military salute.

"Your Majesty, this is the roster of the hundred thousand troops being retained. Next, we will send them to various officer academies in batches for further training."

"We will ensure that every outstanding officer and soldier retained receives the best military education."

Eitel glanced at the thick roster in General Ludendorff's hands and immediately felt his scalp prickle.

Quickly taking the roster from General Ludendorff, Eitel sat down in his chair.

"What is Field Marshal Hindenburg doing now?"

At His Majesty Eitel's question, General Ludendorff straightened and reported, "Your Majesty, Hindenburg is arranging the first phase of troop demobilization. The first phase is expected to be completed in one month."

"At that point, the German Empire will have another 300,000 police officers, 150,000 workers, and 50,000 registered hunters and flying club members."

Eitel smiled as he listened to Ludendorff's report.

"Registered hunters and flying club members? When it comes to exploiting loopholes, you really are the experts."

"You flatter us, Your Majesty. These were all decided according to their interests. We have already asked them what work they want to do after leaving the military, and these were their decisions."

"All right, get back to work. Remember to have Chancellor Max come see me. I have some matters to discuss with him."