"Heinz, our great hero, you're finally back."

In the Chancellery, Hitler opened his arms and enthusiastically gave Chen Dao a bear hug.

Goering stood behind Hitler, grinning and smirking as the two greeted each other.

Hitler still put on the posture of an elder, and greeted Chen Dao with concern.

After the three of them were seated, Hitler said to Goering: "I don't think Heinz has changed much, but he has lost some weight, and he should not be adapted to the adrift life at sea." ”

"In fact, I still feel the ground shaking under my feet when I walk." Chen Dao said.

"You have worked hard, Heinz, and the Empire will remember your hard work and sweat. I think Marshal Raeder has already prepared his new rank, just waiting for you to return for the ceremony, and I can't wait to present you with the Knight's Iron Cross with oak leaves. ”

Goering's face blossomed with joy, as if he had been promoted and delegated.

As soon as he thought about it, Goering's face changed, and he suddenly remembered that Chen Dao's rank in the Air Force was Vice Admiral, and his rank in the Navy was also Vice Admiral.

If Marshal Raeder promotes Chen Dao to admiral, Chen Dao's rank in the Navy will exceed that in the Air Force, wouldn't it be shameless to spread the word that his brother-in-law is his brother-in-law?

Goering was thinking about how to find an excuse to promote Chen Dao to air force general, when he heard Chen Dao say: "Führer, promotion and decoration are not the most important thing, it is better to wait for General Lütjens to return to Berlin before holding a ceremony."

The most important thing at the moment is the attitude of the United Kingdom. And the attitude of the Russians. Where are we in the Quartet? We urgently need the power of the Russians to intimidate the Americans and the British. ”

The smile on Hitler's face faded, and then he let out a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice: "Heinz." You are still so modest, you don't care about personal honor and disgrace, and you always put the interests of the country first.

"It's not the first day we met Heinz, he's always been like that." Without thinking, Goering put gold on Chen Dao's face, which made Chen Dao feel a burst of heat on his face.

Hitler bowed slightly, convinced of Goering's words.

"Heinz, negotiations have reached an impasse. The appetite of the Russians is too great, far beyond our expectations. ”

"Russians have always had a good appetite. We don't know that now, but what does their appetite have to do with us? Are we really negotiating with them? Chen Dao looked like a matter of course.

Hitler couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

"Yes, the Russians have a big appetite and we have nothing to do with it. It's just that. Don't you want to hear their requests? ”

Chen Dao quickly sat up straight and put on a posture of listening to his ears.

"First of all, the Russians want us to withdraw our troops from Finland and make Finland a Russian sphere of influence."

"Finland was originally part of Tsarist Russia, and Finland's strategic location was so important that it controlled both the Gulf of Finland and the 'head' of Leningrad, an important Soviet city, and I could understand Stalin's eagerness to seize Finland." Chen Dao said.

Hitler chuckled and said, "I understand his feelings, let's talk about the second point." In order to be able to guarantee free access to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Russians hoped to conclude a treaty of mutual assistance with Bulgaria and, on a long-term lease, to establish an army and naval base that could reach the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, and to include Turkey in Russia's sphere of influence. ”

This is a reasonable request. If I were Stalin, I would have made such a request, what other conditions did the Russians have? Chen Dao asked.

"The third is that Japan must renounce the right to mine coal and oil in the northern part of Sakhalin. The fourth is that we must recognize that in the direction of the Persian Gulf, the areas south of Batumi and Baku are the centers of Russia's territorial claims. Only if we can meet these four conditions of theirs will Russia join the Axis powers. Goering said for Hitler.

Chen Dao leaned back on the sofa with his arms crossed. His gaze wandered around and then stopped at the wall behind Hitler. There hangs a huge map of the world.

"Sakhalin is a matter between the Japanese and the Russians, it has nothing to do with us, let them negotiate on their own. About the Persian Gulf, don't the Russians want to enter Iran, Afghanistan and India? Seize an outlet to the Indian Ocean? This is the dream of the Russians for hundreds of years since Peter the Great. Chen Dao asked.

"The Russians didn't raise the issue, their main focus was on Finland and the Balkans, and what they wanted most was to connect the Black Sea with the Mediterranean." Goering said.

"Maybe it's because their navy is too weak, even if they take the Indian Ocean's access to the sea, it doesn't make sense." Hitler said.

Chen Dao squeezed the knuckles of his right hand with his left hand, and said categorically: "In any case, we must drag the Russians into this war, and use it to spur the British and Americans fiercely, and when was the last negotiation between us and the Russians?" Chen Dao asked.

"May 20th." Goering said.

Chen Dao immediately smiled.

"On May 20, the British Indian Ocean Fleet was not finished, Japan had not declared war on Britain, the situation in the Indian Ocean had not yet been reversed, and it was understandable that the Russians did not want to intervene. But now that the situation has changed dramatically, the Russians may never have access to the Indian Ocean if they do not intervene. We might as well take advantage of the change in the situation and exert some pressure to provoke the Russians to expand in the direction of the Indian Ocean and seize the territory of the British.

Since we want to use the Russians to stimulate the British, we must always act realistically. We might as well make a slight concession to Russia in other respects, and strive for them to send troops as soon as possible. ”

Hitler raised his eyebrows, the mustache on his lips trembled with delight, and asked with a smile: "What good can you do?" ”

"There's no way, it's just a little idea, let's discuss it together." Chen Dao said.

North-west of Red Square, Moscow. Office No. 1 on the second floor of the Kremlin.

Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov hurried to the office door, pushed open the thick oak door, and walked straight to Stalin's desk.

Stalin turned his back to Molotov. Standing in front of the window to the right of his desk, he smoked his pipe until he heard Molotov's greeting.

"Dear Comrade Molotov, the situation in Europe and the world has changed significantly. And you're about to return to Berlin, do you think about how to deal with the situation? ”

Stalin waved Molotov to sit down, sat down in his office chair himself, and asked bluntly.

Molotov first wiped the bald head exposed by the crown, and then said: "Dear Comrade Stalin. I've already figured it out. First of all, we must stick to the conditions that were put forward before and do not waver, and secondly. We also need to add new conditions. ”

Stalin smoked his pipe and encouraged Molotov with his eyes.

"My new condition is for Germany to include Iran, Afghanistan and India in our sphere of influence." Molotov said.

Stalin said with satisfaction: "Comrade Molotov, you are quite good at grasping the crux of the matter. ”

Stalin stood up and turned to the map on the wall behind him. Molotov hurriedly stood up and walked around to the opposite desk.

"The Indian Ocean has become the sea of the Axis powers, the Japanese are attacking Southeast Asia, the Germans have already occupied most of the Middle East, and it is only a matter of time before India in South Asia is occupied, and the British may soon have to sue for peace with the Germans. We must take advantage of this last opportunity before the British surrender to expand our strategic depth, and use diplomatic means to delay the Germans from starting a war and buy time for our war preparations. ”

It was not the first time Molotov had heard Stalin talk about this topic. Immediately understood.

"I will definitely find a way to delay the time until winter and fight for the best interests of the country." Molotov said.

Stalin was about to speak, when his secretary Bakhanov suddenly pushed the door open and walked in and said: "General Secretary." General Zhukov came. ”

Ten seconds later, Zhukov stood beside Molotov.

"Comrade Zhukov, I'm afraid the British are really going to surrender, the situation we are facing now is very serious, can you give me any good advice?"

"I've just checked our combat readiness and the situation is really not optimistic. We now have only 2.43 million troops on the western border, of which 700,000 are to defend Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. There were only 1,730,000 men left to use against Germany, and if the Germans attacked us, they would have at least three million troops, not counting the forces that his vassals could muster. ”

Stalin silently took a few puffs of his pipe, and then asked: "Our dear Comrade Molotov is about to go to Berlin, do you have any advice for him?" ”

Zhukov turned his head to look at Molotov and said solemnly: "The best situation is to lure the main forces of the German army, especially the German army, to other regions, such as the Middle East, so that they can attack India, so that we have the opportunity to continue our war preparations." ”

"The general secretary and I think the same way." Molotov said.

"Can the Foreign Office find a way to delay Britain's surrender, even if it's a month or two?" Zhukov asked.

"The Foreign Office can only try, but Britain is not a country under our control, and I can't guarantee it."

"I understand your difficulties, Comrade Molotov. But I would say that time is so important to us. If there is a war this year, we will be beaten out by the Germans, and if there is a war next year, I am confident that the Germans will be beaten out, everything depends on the results of your negotiations. Stalin said.

"General Secretary, for the sake of the great Soviet Fatherland, I will do my best." Molotov said.

Stalin said to Molotov with satisfaction: "I will not see you off, you continue to negotiate with the Germans according to our established methods, I am waiting for your good news." ”

Zhukov stood aside, mentally unimpressed by Stalin's brain-brained theory.

With the passage of time, the USSR is getting stronger, but the Germans are also getting stronger, and as for who can beat whose brains out, it will always be known when the fight starts, and it is too early to draw conclusions, and the general secretary is too optimistic. (To be continued)