Chapter 195: A Grim Reminder of the Cost of War
Bruno came out a fortnight after his father's retirement on a public radio broadcast, speaking about his father's achievements, both on the battlefield and within the field of politics, throughout his lifelong career of service to the German Reich and the Kingdom of Prussia.
The radio broadcast went on for some time, and it was only thanks to the substantial investment in both German infrastructure, as well as scientific talent, that such things were able to occur across the country so early in the 20th century.
But eventually, the subject came to the recent retirement of Bruno's father, as well as the award he had been granted personally by the Kaiser for his decades of service to the German Reich.
However, there was a third question mixed in, one which Bruno suspected was arranged by the Kaiser for Bruno to advocate for Ludwig to fulfill the role, a man who had yet to be even considered a candidate for the newly vacant position.
Bruno was quiet at first as he took a drink from a glass of water that was provided to him by an aide for the sake of the interview. It was clear to those listening that he was thinking through his exact words.
And evidently, he had put some thought into them as he went on a long-winded speech about his thoughts on the subject that conveyed some deeply personal opinions and excessive emotions toward one particular subject that nobody expected.
"First of all, I would like to say that it is the foremost honor that a son could ever ask for in this life to be the progeny of a war hero like my father. For those who are not aware, my father is a man who spent the better half of his life serving the interests of the House of Hohenzollern and, by extension, the German people through selfless sacrifice via military service.
My father is a highly decorated senior officer and a veteran who fought on the front lines of three wars that had been waged over the course of the previous century for the purpose of unifying our people into the great Empire that we are today.
And I would also like to mention that this honor extends to my grandfather as well, who had the esteemed fortune of fighting alongside His Highness King Frederick William III and his Royal Army at Waterloo, where we earned our nobility by sending that French bastard Napoleon into exile where he belongs.
Now, I mention this because it is entirely relevant to the point I am about to make. So please bear with me as I continue with my thoughts. After his retirement from the German Army, my father went on to have an exceptional career as a politician, both in the Reichstag and the Bundesrat.