The morning breeze blows the green spruce trees on both sides of William Street, and the green leaves flutter.

In the spacious and bright office of the Chancellery, Hitler was sitting at his desk and meditating; A huge map of the world was spread out in front of him, which meant that his thoughts were now far more than just the country of Germany that he controlled. Compared with the confidence of normal times, Hitler's face at this time was a little solemn and gloomy, and his eyes were condensed, and his attention had been cast on the vast Far East, which was thousands of miles away from Berlin.

By mid-August, German Ambassador to China Taudemann's efforts to mediate the Sino-Japanese conflict had come to naught. Japan has no desire for peace, and its fundamental intention is to completely conquer this ancient country on the mainland. By this time, the Japanese army had landed in the Pudong area, intending to take the capital of the Nanking government by opening up a new battlefield from the sea; The regional conflict has escalated into a full-scale war between the two countries, and what will happen to Germany, which is inextricably linked to both belligerents?

For Hitler, the southward advance of the Japanese army in Manchuria was undoubtedly the last thing he wanted to see. This not only meant that the pressure on the Soviet Union, which he hated in the Far East, would be greatly reduced, but also that the contradictions between the political alliance between Germany and Japan and the economic alliance with Nanking had become incompatible with each other because of the outbreak of the war. Japan could not tolerate Germany, an ally, at the same time as its enemies. The Japanese ambassador to Germany has already issued a statement to Germany, demanding that Berlin strictly abide by the neutrality law, prohibit any further arms sales to the Nanking government, and recall all military advisers in China. And no matter which one is abandoned, it will be a huge loss for Germany that will be difficult to part, and this dilemma is what made Hitler hesitate!

The office door creaked open, and Defense Minister Blomburg and the new Minister of Economy, Walter, appeared in the doorway; Hitler barely smiled politely at the invited guests, and then invited them to his seat after a brief handshake. Seeing the look of tiredness in Hitler's eyes, Blomburg whispered: "My Führer. Are you still worried about the war in the Far East? ”

Hitler nodded slightly, in response to the inquiry of his Wehrmacht commander-in-chief. His eyes narrowed slightly, and then he said: "Marshal, I would like to know the General Staff's future estimates of this war. We have a large number of military officers who serve as advisers to the Nanjing government, and we should have a very good understanding of the military combat readiness of that country, and I believe that the General Staff has done this basic work with the convergence of various information, right? ”

"General Falkenhausen sent back a lot of information to the General Staff, which allowed us to make a relatively clear prediction of the war situation in the Far East. From the point of view of military strength alone, without the direct intervention of foreign countries, it would have been impossible for the Nanking government to achieve victory in the war; Although their mobilizable forces are 5 times larger than those of Japan. However, due to the huge disadvantages in the quality of personnel, weapons and equipment, and logistical support, it was impossible for them to completely defeat this opponent in a head-on battle. However, this war will not end in 3~6 months as Japan claims. The Nanking government was not unprepared for war, and they understood that this time it had reached a point where there was no way back; With the depth of the mountainous terrain, they were able to hold out for at least 3 years. ”

Hitler did not speak immediately, but weighed these words repeatedly in his mind. After pondering for a long time, he turned his gaze to the ****** next to him and said, "What about the situation in terms of trade?" Mr. Walter, I asked you to count the details of trade with the Nanking government. You should have results in a few days, right? ”

Walter Gong claimed that he was, and then immediately told Hitler what he had learned in simple terms. At the beginning of August, Schacht, a peerless wealthy man, finally took the initiative to submit his resignation to Hitler because of the huge gap in his governance philosophy; Although Hitler wanted to maintain the image of the ruling class as a united force in front of the people. Schacht was retained in the post of president of the National Bank and appointed him as a non-minister, but the latter was the decision-making center behind his departure from Germany.

And Walter, who has been the nondescript "head of the four-year plan" for nearly a year, has finally been able to really come out of the shadow of Schacht. Today, Walter has gained all the power of his former boss. And the German economic train under his leadership is also rumbling towards the war goal that Hitler wanted, and all that is left is the actual firing at the end!

“…… Therefore. The loss of Nanjing's ore and materials would be an extremely heavy blow to our wartime economy. After enumerating a series of statistics, Walter immediately expressed his final opinion to Hitler: "The benefits of Japan's alliance with Germany have not only been lost in the slightest because of the outbreak of this war, but have destroyed our rich inherent interests in the Far East; This is nothing more than an act of contempt for National Socialist Germany and without the slightest regard for our feelings. For the sake of both political dignity and economic necessity, we should not give up our inherent trade with the Nanking government unless Japan can compensate for our losses by providing Germany with sufficient foreign exchange to buy the same raw materials on the international market. ”

Hitler's brows furrowed slightly when he heard this, although he had long known that there was a lot of trade between his country and the Nanking government, but he did not expect that it had deepened to such a point in recent years. Originally, he still had the idea of ending this trade quickly so that he could entrap the Japanese as a strong reinforcement, but now it seems that the price paid is still too heavy. As a shrewd and cunning statesman, Hitler was more concerned than anyone else with real immediate interests: if not, how could he have parted ways with the genius Schacht and insisted on pushing the country down the path of war?

"My Führer, I think that the will of His Excellency Walter is very much in the interests of Germany." Seeing that Hitler was still silent, Blomburg spoke again, "At present, Volkswagen has launched three new mortars of different calibers, which have obvious advantages in performance over our existing equipment; The army was preparing to phase out the mortars in its hands, and selling them to the Nanking government was clearly the most ideal scenario. At present, only the Nanjing government has the willingness and financial resources to purchase these weak equipment, and although Franco of Spain is also in a war situation where weapons are urgently needed, they can no longer come up with enough funds to pay for them. ”

Hitler glanced at Blomburg and knew the mind of the highest-ranking professional soldier. The army must have reached a private agreement with Walter and was prepared to use the proceeds of the arms sale to feed the army. However, Hitler had no objection to this, for it was an exchange of interests that would be very beneficial to both production and the army, and he was clearly happy to see the state apparatus under his control become stronger.

"Your Excellency, please go back first, I have already decided what to do with the affairs of the Far East." Hitler said.

Blomburg and Walter looked at each other and then bowed to Hitler. They have long been accustomed to the arbitrariness of the Führer in foreign affairs, and there is no difference in them. Although this former Austrian corporal was questioned by countless people at the beginning of his reign because of his humble background and shallow qualifications, with his incredible intuition and judgment to achieve amazing victories, all the voices of dissent no longer have any basis. Whether it was withdrawing from the Disarmament Conference, announcing an open conscription, or reoccupying the Rhine, Hitler used indisputable facts to tell generals and politicians who was the master of the truth!

A few days later, the German government responded to Japan's request. To the surprise of Britain and France, Germany showed an extremely gentle and kind attitude; The regret and disgust expressed in the statement for the outbreak of war are fundamentally different from the current Italian-Japanese fascists, who are baring their fangs and wantonly invading their immediate neighbors. Hitler once again spoke of his peace-loving old tune, implying resistance and opposition to Japan's war.

Hitler did not have any sincerity in resolving the most sensitive arms sales and military advisers: on the one hand, he announced that Germany would impose a military embargo in accordance with the neutrality law, and on the other hand, he implicitly instructed Danish cargo ships to carry out arms shipments. As for the military advisers in China, Hitler claimed that this was purely the personal will of the advisers, and that the German government and military had absolutely no power to influence their will.

"Now Japan has absolute maritime superiority. This not only means that they can establish a blockade line at sea, but also launch a landing attack on any mainland port at will. We can't expect the Nanking government to open up a sea line of communication, but they should at least keep a few ports in the south from being captured; If the Nanking government failed to do this, then trade between Germany and them would have been suspended. After receiving Hitler's approval, Walter approached Blomburg and expressed his concerns and wishes to him, "Therefore, I would like you to convey this message to General Falkenhausen that he, as general adviser, must not relax his defense of these ports." ”

"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Walter. The General Staff of the Army has sent the relevant decree of the Führer to the Far East, and it is believed that with the wisdom of General Falkenhausen, he will certainly take appropriate action. A slight smile appeared on Blomburg's face, and he said without concealment, "You have helped the Army win a great deal of interest in this matter, and the whole officer corps will remember your friendship." (To be continued.) )