African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 10: Chapter 7 Expanding Production

No matter how Bismarck and Prussia decide, the flames of German nationalism have already been ignited.

The entire German region was mobilized by this great trend, and the people were swept along by public opinion; at this moment, every citizen in the German region is a ”patriot.”

At this stage, the nobles and capitalists of Prussia would not back down; Prussia’s rapid development urgently required new land and markets.

Schleswig, with its own developed economy and dense population, naturally became the target of the Kingdom of Prussia, not to mention the new Danish governmental bill aiming to annex Schleswig, which provided Prussia with a ready-made excuse.

Preparing for war is unavoidable, under Prussia’s top-notch mobilization capabilities, the army is already prepared for war.

Of course, as the fog of war goes, there was no need for widespread publicity; Prussia itself is seen by Europeans as a soldier state, so troop mobilizations are not unusual for other countries.

However, Prussian arms factories have already started to increase production in secrecy, and Ernst’s factory also began to work overtime.

This time, Ernst directly roped in Prince Constantine’s strongmen, after all, to market his newly produced tobacco and lighters to the army, connections were naturally necessary.

Ernst detailed the advantages of his products to his father, candidly saying that if the Prussian army equipped themselves with his cigarettes, their combat effectiveness would significantly increase.

Ernst spoke not of the dependency and harm of tobacco but only mentioned that tobacco could invigorate tired soldiers, emphasizing that the mechanized production of tobacco was cheaper (compared to handmade) and could be provided cheaply on a large scale to frontline soldiers.

Constantine did not pay much attention, but since it was a family business, he certainly had to give some pointers, providing it to the kingdom’s military within a certain scope was indeed feasible.

When Ernst presented the kerosene lighter, Constantine became interested, observing carefully and picking it up to play with.

To make it easy to carry, Ernst specifically produced a batch of compact kerosene lighters that could perfectly fit in a pocket, thoughtfully equipped with a hemp rope wrist strap that could be tied to a belt.

The kerosene lighter was, of course, prepared for the ”cigarettes,” but soldiers could use it to kindle a fire as well.

The cigarettes and lighters were specially made for war preparations, such as large boxes of cigarettes containing fifty each and small packs with five each. Lighters were crafted in bullet shapes, with Ernst even introducing two production lines dedicated to making the lighter shells, and a special version was also created exclusively for officers.

Of course, the civilian version retained a classic style from the future; the military version mainly focused on transporting and distributing to troops, while the simple kerosene lighter was purely to save costs.

Prince Constantine believed that such kerosene lighters could play a significant role on the battlefield; compared to matches that were prone to getting damp and breaking, these kerosene lighters would undoubtedly be well-received in a war setting.

The next day, after discussing some trivial matters with Ernst, Constantine once again rose to head to the Prussian royal palace, this time specifically bringing the kerosene lighters and cigarettes.

Indeed, having a top-tier noble father as a backer is a blessing, and Ernst’s two new products quickly received new orders from the military.

Having already started production, the cigarettes and kerosene lighters, stored in warehouses along with small kerosene cans, were moved in bulk to military camps and logistics warehouses.

Why so many people get rich during wartime is, of course, because of swift military payments, Ernst thought truthfully.

Of course, the premise is being in an orderly country; otherwise, if confiscated by force, there would be no place to cry.

The military orders instantly allowed the invested funds to break even; now Ernst had to begin expanding production scale.

War doesn’t end in a day or two; there will be more orders to come, while other sales channels will also need expansion.

As a temporary ally of Prussia, Ernst certainly would not overlook Austria. With previous cooperation experiences, maintaining continued engagement was natural this time as well.

With Ernst’s command, the various departments of the Heixinggen Development Company sprang into action.

The burden on the sales department also increased, with new products accelerating in external sales, and advertising became a top priority.

Simultaneously, hired salespeople were woven into a network radiating toward surrounding German countries. This scene inevitably reminded Ernst of those merchants from his past life who went to rural areas to sell water purifiers.

Fortunately, what Ernst sold were genuinely good products; once people started using and got accustomed to them, they’d fall into the ”it’s truly good” trap. It truly verified the saying: transitioning from frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality is hard. Of course, poverty is an exception.

Ernst’s factories were producing with overtime, yet Ernst remained unsatisfied, not to further expand production scale.

Now sufficient to initially meet market demands, Ernst mainly wanted to open up a few more battlefronts.

Funds were no longer an issue, as the industries on hand were starting to profit and recover; naturally, the money should be spent.

Ernst decided to first establish a dedicated R&D center, recruiting some engineers to tackle the everyday items well-tried in his previous life.

As soon as he decided, Ernst quickly selected a beautiful and secluded location in the suburbs of Berlin to build an R&D center.

Unlike factory construction, due to restrictions on raw materials, energy, and transportation,

the R&D center mainly handled experiments, with internal divisions into individual studios, focusing primarily on conceptual architectures, finalizing with drawing schematics and recording specific operational procedures.

Ernst categorized these areas based on function, with dedicated sections for clothing design, daily necessities design, and work on special metal items...

The second industrial revolution roared in energetically, and the layout in the electricity field could also begin; Ernst planned to allocate special funds to establish an electrical research institute nearby.

To attract talent, the Heixinggen Development Company started to post recruitment advertisements in Berlin, Bonn, Stuttgart, Munich...

Heixinggen Company, too, takes its first steps into industry upgrading, advancing toward becoming a research-oriented enterprise.

As Heixinggen Company grew ever stronger, Prussia and Austria also began preparing for war.

The German region saw frequent train, cart, and horse deployments, soldiers gathered for large-scale drills.

War clouds had already begun to shroud the Jutland Peninsula, threatening to shatter the peace of the continent at any moment. Ernst had already begun to mourn in advance for the poor Danish, though in his heart, he only had one thought: Fight well.

Without the Danish’s assistance, there’d be no path to prosperity; war is the best catalyst, and Ernst’s business also aimed to secure its share in the forthcoming conflict.

Ernst even hoped the Danes would put in more effort and not lose too quickly, so he could gain more; a capitalist’s heart is indeed that cold and ruthless.

No wonder Americans in the past life were so fond of waging wars; once you truly profited from it, you’d proactively push for the outbreak of conflict.

This war, in fact, was precisely the shared anticipation of the Junker landlords and Junker capitalists behind Prussia. Everyone hoped to grab their share in this grand feast.