NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73
In a space where cheers and roars whipped up a frenzy, Daniel paradoxically felt a wave of fear.
‘This was definitely a speech aimed at provoking the anti-war activists…’
But by the time he snapped back to reality, he had somehow inspired them to become supporters of the war.
Of course, not all anti-war activists agreed with the speech’s content.
Some simply got swept away by the atmosphere and stood up, still glaring at Daniel with displeasure.
The issue was that the number of them was so small that ‘some’ was a generous term.
Wondering where it all went wrong, Daniel let out a low sigh.
‘Damn it. I got too caught up in the warmonger act…’
The problem was that he inadvertently became so engrossed when he heard the crowd’s cheers during the speech.
Also, blindly trusting the statistics was another of Daniel’s downfalls.
He assumed that with the anti-war activists in the majority, everyone would certainly oppose his radical speech advocating total war.
‘But…’
Instead of opposing him, they threw away their anti-war signs and stood up.
The result of that was the scene now before Daniel’s eyes.
─ Daniel Steiner! Daniel Steiner! Daniel Steiner!
Seeing thousands of citizens standing and chanting one person’s name was almost surreal.
Yet, this was very much reality, and a phenomenon created by Daniel himself.
Unable to deny it, Daniel bit his lip and clutched the podium.
As Daniel received the citizens’ praises, Hans, the Public Relations Officer from the National Propaganda Department, let out a triumphant cheer from backstage.
“It worked! This is… this is a speech that will go down in history!”
Excited, Hans turned to his subordinate.
“Contact the director of the press office immediately! Tell him to cover this speech and distribute it throughout the Empire! Let those who couldn’t hear Captain Daniel Steiner’s speech know about it!”
“Yes! Understood!”
The subordinate grabbed the phone without a moment’s hesitation.
Other staff members were also noisily tapping away at the telex set up backstage to report to higher-ups.
While everyone was focused on their tasks with their mouths shut, the atmosphere felt electric.
Daniel’s speech had elevated the morale of the nation so much that even those in the propaganda department, who usually planned everything, were exhilarated.
Hans couldn’t hide his excitement either as he clenched his fist.
‘Although Captain Daniel didn’t read the speech we prepared…’
Since he succeeded beyond expectations, he might just avoid Princess Selvia’s reprimand.
If luck smiled upon him, the propaganda department staff might even receive rewards.
Just as Hans thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and smiled, the sound of clicking heels approached.
Turning around, Hans saw Daniel descending the stage.
Even after Daniel disappeared from the stage, the crowd was still chanting his name.
As if it symbolized the ideology of fighting against the United Nations.
‘But…’
Despite delivering a successful speech, Daniel showed no emotion.
Normally, speakers who succeed in their speeches would be overjoyed or ecstatic, yet Daniel just surveyed the propaganda department staff gathered backstage with indifferent eyes.
Looking at Daniel like that filled Hans with a sense of awe.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was witnessing a titan who had transcended the limits of humanity.
Daniel’s troubled gaze seemed to look beyond the present, as if peering into the future.
Thinking of that made Hans hesitant to approach him.
On the other hand, Daniel was just lost in thought, reflecting on what he had done.
‘I can’t believe this…’
He had no idea how to conduct himself going forward.
As Daniel’s mind became a tangled mess, Hans quietly approached him.
“Um, Captain Daniel?”
When Daniel turned to him with a sharp glance, Hans flinched and forced an awkward smile.
“Ah! It seems you weren’t pleased with the speech. If you had told me in advance, I could have made some adjustments. It’s entirely the National Propaganda Department’s fault.”
Hearing Hans’ words, Daniel let out a low sigh.
“…I’m tired. I’d like to go back to my quarters.”
“Ah. Yes! Of course! I have a vehicle waiting outside, so you can head straight there!”
Nodding once in acknowledgment, Daniel slowly began to walk away.
A staff member who had been watching him approached Hans and opened his mouth.
“Incredible. I’ve never seen someone finish a successful speech and frown instead of celebrating. What’s the reason?”
“How can we understand a genius’s ego? But one thing is certain…”
Looking at Daniel’s back with admiration, Hans smiled.
“As long as that guy is alive, this Empire will never fall.”
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*
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Later, in the Empire’s National Propaganda Department.
In the office of Minister Schiller Daines.
Knock knock─
Schiller, reviewing documents, looked up.
Seeing the wall clock above the door point to noon, he had a good idea of who was knocking.
It was Hans, the public relations officer.
He had instructed him to collect the data and report back at noon.
“Come in.”
As soon as Schiller’s words fell, the door swung open.
Hans entered, clutching a pile of documents, grunting as he approached and then plopping it down onto Schiller’s desk with a thud.
“…What on earth is this?”
At Schiller’s flustered words, Hans wiped the sweat from his forehead and said,
“This is the data investigating all the changes that have occurred in the Empire since Captain Daniel’s speech. You asked me to compile it! Shall we start with the most crucial statistics?”
Hans took out a statistical document from the pile and handed it to him.
Receiving the document, Schiller checked the statistics and widened his eyes in disbelief.
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《War Support and Opposition Survey Statistics》
Sample Group: 1,000 citizens from major cities in the Empire
Number of Respondents: Approximately 18,000
Question: What do you think about the current war the Empire is engaged in?
• Frequency Analysis
1. The war should continue – 14,166 people (78.7%)
2. The war should stop – 2,376 people (13.2%)
3. I don’t know / No response – 1,458 people (8.1%)
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More than half of the anti-war activists had shifted their opinion to supporting the war.
Now, those advocating for peace were but a minority.
This was merely within one week.
Change had occurred just this week since Daniel Steiner delivered his speech.
Flabbergasted by the enormous response, Schiller raised his head.
“Is this really true? So many people really changed their stance?”
“Yes. Many influenced by Captain Daniel’s total war speech have changed their minds. The proportion of supporters is still climbing in real time. Moreover…”
Hans pulled out several more documents to hand to Schiller.
“As you can see in these documents, the number of military recruits has surged dramatically since Captain Daniel’s speech. The training facilities can’t accommodate this many recruits at once, so enlistments have been postponed until the year after next.”
“Wow…”
“Furthermore, military production has skyrocketed. We’ll need to continue monitoring this, but it’s expected to show an additional 43% increase compared to last month.”
Schiller blinked in surprise and asked,
“Military production? What brought this on?”
“Workers at the factories volunteered to work even though they said they couldn’t receive overtime pay. It’s a miracle brought on by patriotism. Also, due to support flooding in from various businesses for the military industry…”
Hans pulled out one more document to hand to Schiller.
“We have secured enough funds to build about two more large-scale military supply factories. Thanks to this, there won’t be a situation where the available military supplies fall short of the new recruits.”
“…What about war bonds? How many have we sold?”
“The bonds….”
After a brief pause, Hans exclaimed excitedly,
“They’re selling like hotcakes! Both civilians and businesses are buying them! In just this week, we’ve already sold bonds totaling up to 27 billion!”
27 billion, which is three times the previously estimated 8.5 billion.
To think they sold three times the target amount merely within this week.
‘To think this incredible achievement came as a result of Captain Daniel’s single speech…’
Momentarily dazed, Schiller let out a chuckle.
“Perhaps… we might be at a historical turning point.”
Since Captain Daniel’s total war speech, the Empire was fiercely stirring.
You could say it was breaking free from its shell to spread its wings into the world.
Among the plethora of documents, Schiller could see it.
The future where the Empire would be reborn as a great nation once again.
Feeling the flames of hope igniting within, Schiller clenched his fist tightly.
‘Indeed. If anyone can make it happen, it might just be Daniel Steiner…’
The dawn of a new era, a future of the Empire that would become eternally great!