Read Online Ambition by Yoshiki Tanaka - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Yoshiki Tanaka
Tags: Fiction, Science-Fiction
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gods for help at the outset, even Lord Odin will curl his lip in disgust. It might be different if they offered him a beautiful virgin sacrifice, but knowing Duke von Braunschweig, he might just take her for himself.”
Mittermeier, von Reuentahl, and Wittenfeld raised their voices in laughter.
Wolfgang Mittermeier’s build was a little on the small side, but with his firm, well-proportioned physique, he certainly looked sharp and agile. He had tousled blond hair the color of honey, and lively gray eyes. When it came to high-speed tactical maneuvers, he had no peer. At the Battle of Amritsar last year, he had pursued an enemy fleet that had taken flight and moved so swiftly that his own fleet’s vanguard had gotten mixed up in the tail of the fleeing enemy formation. Since that time, he had been honored with a nickname: Wolf der Sturm—“the Gale Wolf.”
Oskar von Reuentahl was a tall man, with brown hair so dark it was nearly black. He was quite handsome, but what always took people aback was his eyes. Thanks to a genetic fluke called heterochromia, his right eye was brown, and his left eye was blue. He had performed many daring feats, both at Amritsar and in other battles besides, and was highly regarded for his skill as an operations commander.
Fritz Josef Wittenfeld had somewhat longer reddish-orange hair and pale brown eyes. Some likely felt that something was slightly off in the contrast of his narrow face and powerful build. As a tactician, he was a bit lacking in flexibility, which had worked to the detriment of his comrades at Amritsar.
In addition to these, Reinhard’s top executives included Admirals Kornelias Lutz, August Samuel Wahlen, Ernest Mecklinger, Neidhart Müller, and Ulrich Kessler. Each was unique in his own way, and all of them were young. Together, they formed Reinhard’s most prized asset.
Speaking of assets, there were whispers lately of an impending financial crisis due to the prolonged war and the chaos at court. But when Reinhard said, “The fiscal crisis will be resolved in one fell swoop,” he wasn’t simply shooting off his mouth irresponsibly. The imperial family’s assets aside, there remained a vast source of untapped revenue: the assets of the nobles.
Naturally, he would confiscate every last thing that Duke von Braunschweig and Marquis von Littenheim owned; nor would he spare those who had joined themselves to their cause. And once he applied a regime of inheritance taxes, fixed asset taxes, and progressive taxation to those nobles who remained, the treasury would overflow with monies easily exceeding ten trillion reichsmark. The trial calculations had been completed already.
There would be a political necessity for gentler treatment of those nobles who sided with him, so from that perspective, the more nobles who made him their enemy, the better.
Squeezing the nobles dry would do more than simply meet the empire’s fiscal necessities. The common class had amassed a five-century store of anger and hostility toward those who lived immersed in extravagant lifestyles and held vast fortunes on which they paid no taxes.
Reinhard had to calm that anger, and he had to use it as well.
Certainly, he had a desire to reform politics and society. But for Reinhard, that had to come with the side benefit of the Goldenbaum Dynasty’s overthrow. This would all be for nothing if political and societal reform breathed new life into the Goldenbaum Dynasty.
The Goldenbaum Dynasty that Rudolf founded must end in bloodshed and devouring flames of judgment. That was the sacred oath he had taken as a young boy, the day his beloved sister Annerose had been stolen away by a hideous old ruler. It was also a vow that Siegfried Kircheis shared.
Eugen Richter and Karl Bracke were regarded as leaders of the group known alternately as the Reform Faction and the Civilization and Enlightenment Faction. One way they showed the posture they had assumed was by voluntarily omitting the von from their
Mittermeier, von Reuentahl, and Wittenfeld raised their voices in laughter.
Wolfgang Mittermeier’s build was a little on the small side, but with his firm, well-proportioned physique, he certainly looked sharp and agile. He had tousled blond hair the color of honey, and lively gray eyes. When it came to high-speed tactical maneuvers, he had no peer. At the Battle of Amritsar last year, he had pursued an enemy fleet that had taken flight and moved so swiftly that his own fleet’s vanguard had gotten mixed up in the tail of the fleeing enemy formation. Since that time, he had been honored with a nickname: Wolf der Sturm—“the Gale Wolf.”
Oskar von Reuentahl was a tall man, with brown hair so dark it was nearly black. He was quite handsome, but what always took people aback was his eyes. Thanks to a genetic fluke called heterochromia, his right eye was brown, and his left eye was blue. He had performed many daring feats, both at Amritsar and in other battles besides, and was highly regarded for his skill as an operations commander.
Fritz Josef Wittenfeld had somewhat longer reddish-orange hair and pale brown eyes. Some likely felt that something was slightly off in the contrast of his narrow face and powerful build. As a tactician, he was a bit lacking in flexibility, which had worked to the detriment of his comrades at Amritsar.
In addition to these, Reinhard’s top executives included Admirals Kornelias Lutz, August Samuel Wahlen, Ernest Mecklinger, Neidhart Müller, and Ulrich Kessler. Each was unique in his own way, and all of them were young. Together, they formed Reinhard’s most prized asset.
Speaking of assets, there were whispers lately of an impending financial crisis due to the prolonged war and the chaos at court. But when Reinhard said, “The fiscal crisis will be resolved in one fell swoop,” he wasn’t simply shooting off his mouth irresponsibly. The imperial family’s assets aside, there remained a vast source of untapped revenue: the assets of the nobles.
Naturally, he would confiscate every last thing that Duke von Braunschweig and Marquis von Littenheim owned; nor would he spare those who had joined themselves to their cause. And once he applied a regime of inheritance taxes, fixed asset taxes, and progressive taxation to those nobles who remained, the treasury would overflow with monies easily exceeding ten trillion reichsmark. The trial calculations had been completed already.
There would be a political necessity for gentler treatment of those nobles who sided with him, so from that perspective, the more nobles who made him their enemy, the better.
Squeezing the nobles dry would do more than simply meet the empire’s fiscal necessities. The common class had amassed a five-century store of anger and hostility toward those who lived immersed in extravagant lifestyles and held vast fortunes on which they paid no taxes.
Reinhard had to calm that anger, and he had to use it as well.
Certainly, he had a desire to reform politics and society. But for Reinhard, that had to come with the side benefit of the Goldenbaum Dynasty’s overthrow. This would all be for nothing if political and societal reform breathed new life into the Goldenbaum Dynasty.
The Goldenbaum Dynasty that Rudolf founded must end in bloodshed and devouring flames of judgment. That was the sacred oath he had taken as a young boy, the day his beloved sister Annerose had been stolen away by a hideous old ruler. It was also a vow that Siegfried Kircheis shared.
Eugen Richter and Karl Bracke were regarded as leaders of the group known alternately as the Reform Faction and the Civilization and Enlightenment Faction. One way they showed the posture they had assumed was by voluntarily omitting the von from their
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