Shortly after Christmas Eve, the bells of 1937 rang out one after another throughout the world.

Zhongshan Longpan, Hongshi Tiger Standing, the ancient capital of Jinling in the East, which is thousands of miles away from Central Europe, is a lively scene of the first day of the lanterns and the drunken gold fans. Brilliant neon lights change brightness and color around the billboards, reflecting the wooden buildings with exquisite eaves and tiles next to them. The bluestone streets are crowded with people, drivers running, and occasionally a black sedan honking through the city, attracting the envy of people in long coats.

In an elite residential area in the heart of the city, a tall, thin old man is sitting in front of a desk lamp and staring at the papers on the table. He was probably in his sixties, and his blue-eyed and hooked nose was exactly what matched the appearance of the Germanic people, and the most striking thing was the uniform of a German army general. If anyone can open the file of the service in the Wehrmacht, they will find that at this time there was only one general serving in the Far East!

58-year-old Alexander? Feng? Falkenhausen, a German-born aristocratic military family; With his outstanding performance in the world war and his excellent professional qualities, even during the republic when only 100,000 troops were allowed to be maintained, Falkenhausen was promoted in the army. In 1932, unable to compete for the only three generals in the army, Falkenhausen had to be discharged from the army under the terms of service for officers imposed by the Allies on Germany. However, under the introduction of his old boss Sickert, Falkenhausen, who was in the prime of life, soon found a new stage to exert his light and heat: the former, who was ill and sick, no longer had the energy to be qualified for the post of military general adviser to the Nanjing government, and Falkenhausen took over his presence in early 1935.

Although Falkenhausen did not become the second most transcendent presence in the entire Central Army after Chiang, as Sickert had done when he came to China, his seriousness and devotion to duty still won Chiang's high trust, and he was able to continue to hold all the advisory powers from troop formation, defense construction, weapons procurement, and personnel training, as Sickert had done. Thanks to his one-and-a-half-year efforts, 20 divisions of the Nanjing Central Army have completed their training. Three divisions, including the Teaching Corps, were fully equipped with German-style equipment. Although by the standards of the German Army, these units were all defective products that could not be put on the table, except for the teaching corps, in East Asia, where there were no tigers in the mountains, these reorganized and trained central divisions were already the core of the Nanjing government!

"General, a telegram has just been sent from the Berlin government." The young adjutant walked into the brightly lit office, handed the telegram in his hand to the other party, and said. According to Falkenhausen's instructions, telegrams from the Berlin government or the Wehrmacht headquarters could be sent directly to him without knocking on the door. Falkenhausen raised an eyebrow, and then his gaze moved to the page of the telegram handed by the adjutant; After a while, his eyes suddenly bloomed with bright and surprising light. So much so that he lifted his glasses again and read the full text carefully again.

"****** Brom?" Seeing the unfamiliar name at the place where the message was dropped, Falkenhausen couldn't help but be stunned; Soon, however, he reacted from his doubts, and a smile of joy appeared on his face again. Four months ago, the Führer appointed a new minister to take charge of domestic production, and because he had worked thousands of miles away from home, he almost forgot about the key figures in the cabinet. Excited, Falkenhausen grabbed the telephone receiver on the table and immediately dialed the phone number of the German Embassy in Nanjing. After an exchange with Ambassador Todman, Falkenhausen was able to confirm the contents of the telegram in his hand.

"Kaye, please go get the car ready, I'm going to the presidential palace now." Falkenhausen turned out the lamp on the table. Got up and said to the adjutant. Seeing that Falkenhausen's eyes flashed with a sharp light, the lieutenant who was called Kaye said awe-inspiringly, although the other party did not reveal a word to him, through his previous behavior when he read the telegram completely different. He could already sense that there was going to be rare good fortune to come.

The elite districts, where high-ranking officials and dignitaries lived, were less noisy and noisy than the rest of the city; Ten minutes later, Falkenhausen, with a small face, led the car all the way into the presidential palace. He stopped in front of the target building. The soldiers guarding did not stop the foreign general, and after less than a minute of waiting for the briefing, Falkenhausen had already walked up to the small building and pushed open the door of the familiar purple wood room.

The spacious room was not extravagantly decorated, but it had a magnificent rhythm, and the tall middle-aged bald head stood in the center of the room waiting for the arrival of the guests. In the meticulous salute, Falkenhausen only felt that the other party's face was indeed a little more gloomy and haggard than last month, and it seemed that the "military admonition" that had just ended had undoubtedly made the country leader, who had just passed 49 years old, been greatly stimulated and hit.

"Mr. Honorable Chairman, I bring you a New Year's gift from the German Government to your country." Facing the bald head's expectant inquiring gaze, Falkenhausen still did the same as usual, without the slightest hint of his intentions. The interpreter who accompanied him stood between the two and quickly translated Falkenhausen's words into the Jiangsu and Zhejiang dialects that the bald head was most familiar with: "It is the sincere hope of the German Government that it will further deepen its cooperation in arms sales with your country on the basis of the present situation." From this year onwards, Germany will completely liberalize its arms sales to your country, and as long as your country can provide sufficient ore and raw materials in exchange, Germany will respond with weapons of equal value. ”

Rao is bald head already has an extremely rich experience of knowledge, and he still can't help but be surprised when he hears these words. He looked at the interpreter with an inquiring gaze and motioned for him to ask Falkenhausen again to see if Falkenhausen had made a mistake or if he had gone wrong in the translation. After a short time, the bald head received the same reply again from the solemn looking interpreter. This time, his face finally changed, and many emotions such as surprise, excitement, and anticipation appeared one after another, mixed with a bit of confusion and doubt.

More than a month ago, Germany and Japan signed an anti-Comintern pact in Berlin, which, although nominally only a ******** declaration, made the bald head in Jinling feel a chill in his heart. Japan is undoubtedly the most threatening and fearsome adversary for his country: since the Russo-Japanese War, the Dongyi island nation has sprung up in power and is now one of the world's most industrialized nations. The country under his rule was not only devastated by warlord warfare, with almost no modern industry, but also politically fragmented and unable to form a strong rule. If a full-scale war against Japan breaks out at this time, then the situation of our side will undoubtedly be 10 times more difficult than the Sino-Japanese War 40 years ago!

It is for this reason that the bald head, who was disgraced by the Mukden Incident, will then seek foreign aid in order to put the country on the road to rejuvenation and strength. The only one who had the ability and the will, and at the same time did not have the same ambitions as Japan, was Germany, which had lost in the world war. Since 1933, the military cooperation between the Nanjing government and Germany has reached a full peak; The latter not only trained the bald troops and provided weapons, but also helped him establish a number of military-industrial enterprises capable of copying modern firearms and ammunition on their own.

Originally, the bald man pessimistically believed that the signing of the German-Japanese anti-Comintern agreement meant that Germany was about to abandon his weak military; However, now that he has received news from Falkenhausen, he has discovered that there is still a considerable turnaround. At the very least, Falkenhausen has sent a clear signal to itself: that military cooperation, which is currently vital to its side, will not be weakened by the proximity of Germany and Japan!

"The generosity and righteousness of your country can show the hearts of the heavens and the sun and the moon, and we will never forget this friendship that is as thick as a mountain." The bald head exhaled softly and spoke slowly. Falkenhausen paused, and then spoke again: "I have come to see you today, not only to inform you of this news, but also to know how much raw materials your country intends to invest in the future in exchange for our weapons and equipment. As you know, this figure will be directly related to the construction of your country's army, and this is also my mission and obligation. ”

The bald head seemed to think of something, and a look of pain and hatred suddenly flashed in his eyes; Soon, however, he regained his demeanor as the leader of a great power in front of his military advisers, and said in a calm tone: "Now the use of troops in the country has ended. The government was able to save the 30 million fiat money that was originally intended to be secured, and that money could be used to buy enough items in the country that your country wanted. In the next six months, the value of raw materials that China can provide will be twice as high as in the same period before. I'll have to discuss the situation with Dr. Kong, who is the financial head of our country. ”

The bald head took a deep breath, and finally a kind smile appeared on his face, and said, "As for what weapons should be purchased from your country, I think I still bother the general to list the corresponding details." In this regard, you have already proved your sincerity and impartiality with practical actions; So far, all the equipment you have procured for our army is the most suitable for our soldiers, and the price is the cheapest. I am always grateful, glad, and revered for all that you have done; No matter what happens in the future, you will be the dear friend of our people, and may God bless you forever. (To be continued.) )