Hitler pulled out a brown paper bag from the thick pile of papers and placed it on his desk, and Ribbentrop saw that it was a document stamped by his own Foreign Office. When Hitler took out the memorandum, Ribbentrop's pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly: this document was a trade agreement reached between Germany and Romania, a small Eastern European country, on March 24 this year, and he was a signatory on the German side.

"My Führer, does this document have anything to do with the current situation facing Germany?" Seeing Hitler's smiling face that had regained its complacentity, Ribbentrop was in a fog and did not understand what the other party was planning. Hitler, who sat back in his chair, took a sip of boiled water and said with a calm expression: "Although Europe is only the main stage of the four great powers of Germany, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, the small countries of Southeast Europe are also indispensable actors in this opera. Now it's their turn. ”

After a moment, Ribbentrop's face was still full of confusion and doubt; Seeing this, Hitler could not help but feel a little annoyed and dissatisfied in his heart, and a trace of imperceptible contempt flashed in the depths of his eyes. Soon, however, Hitler's mind returned to normal. The reason why he replaced his former Foreign Minister Newright with the shallow and mediocre Ribbentrop was precisely because the former's enthusiasm for Nazism and his subservience to his own orders enabled the Foreign Office as an institution to always act according to his own will. Thus, even if Ribbentrop was in many cases incompetent and unresponsive, Hitler would not easily shake his position.

"Now the solution that will allow us to reduce the blackmail of the Soviets will fall on the Romanians." Hitler resisted his temper and began to explain briefly to the believers in front of him as the leader of the party, "Romania has always been afraid of Germany, and at the same time afraid of the Soviet Union, and this time the division of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union will certainly cause a far greater shock in their hearts than on March 17, so that they will no longer dare to have any rebellion against Germany." And in this case, we can make all kinds of demands to them. ”

Ribbentrop finally reacted. He stared at the agreement document in Hitler's hand that he had signed more than half a year ago, and said with a bright eye: "We can force the Romanians to sign another economic treaty with us in the name of trade cooperation." And in order to defend itself against the Soviet behemoth, Romania can only curry favor with us, because Britain and France can no longer control their life or death. In this way, Germany would be able to obtain oil and various agricultural products at a very small cost, thereby reducing its dependence on Soviet imports. ”

"In addition to driving down the price of raw materials in Romania, we can also make changes in the way we pay." Hitler said unhurriedly, and sketched out a picture of excitement in an understatement: "According to the information available to the Wehrmacht, the Romanian army is very short of heavy weapons and mechanized equipment. The artillery firepower of their main division is only half that of our army, and the armored forces are extremely small, and our army has captured a large number of weapons on the Polish battlefield, and it is completely possible to trade these things that we do not need with the Romanians. Romania had long been friendly with France, and the legal equipment used by the Polish army was perfectly suited to their industrial logistics system. Even if we didn't threaten them, the Romanians would be happy to buy them. ”

Ribbentrop nodded his head again and again, and his admiration for Hitler was pouring out like the water of the Rhine. His eyes sparkled, and he patted his chest and said, "Please rest assured." If I can't get the Romanians to buy this equipment at more than twice the market price, I won't come back to Berlin to see you. ”

"I'll leave this matter to you." Hitler said calmly. Although the person in front of him was a shallow character who was not trusted by the Nationalist Socialist Party and government officials, he was still able to effectively accomplish such things that he had already assigned the direction of. After giving the order to do this, Hitler had the heart to send off the guest, and Ribbentrop, who relied on the obedience and wisdom of the upper ranks, was obviously an expert at observing words and feelings, and seeing that the seriousness in Hitler's eyes gradually dissipated, he immediately bowed down and stood up very wisely, ready to take his leave.

"Tuk-tuk." The heavy purple wooden door was suddenly knocked softly without warning, and Hitler was slightly startled, and his right hand, which was about to be outstretched, retracted and turned his attention to the center of the door that opened to both sides. To his astonishment, the naval commander Raeder, dressed in a dark blue military uniform, appeared in front of him: the other party held the marshal's scepter diagonally in his right hand, and performed an impeccable traditional courtesy to him.

"Your Excellency, why did you suddenly come to the Prime Minister's Mansion tonight?" Seeing Raeder's solemn and calm face, Hitler's heart was full of doubts. Although according to his order on September 1, the commander-in-chief of the army and navy and the chief of the Supreme Command could go directly to him without notice and regardless of the time in wartime, the strict and orderly Raeder always adhered to the rules of his subordinates and never used this power. Thinking of this, Hitler was a little inexplicably nervous in his heart, could it be that something happened to the main fleet of the expedition to the North Atlantic, which caused Raeder to come to report the situation to him in such a hurry?

Raeder spotted Ribbentrop standing in the room, and his eyes showed surprise, and he said, "It's great that Mr. Minister is here, and you need your help in this matter." Our ocean-going fleet has just sent back a telegram preparing to send 1 light aircraft carrier and 2 heavy cruisers to the Soviet port of Murmansk for repairs; In order to get the Soviets to agree to accept these warships, I implore the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do its utmost to help. ”

Hitler was relieved to hear the bad news that it was not the sinking of the capital battleship, but he soon frowned, feeling very confused and hesitant about Raeder's unprecedented request. Speaking of which, although Hitler was very fond of the mighty and majestic naval warships, he was an out-and-out land creature after four years of trench warfare on the Western Front, and his understanding of the navy has always stayed on the superficial surface. He turned his inquisitive gaze to the Admiral, signaling for a brief explanation to him, and Raeder realized Hitler's unfamiliarity with the question, and even briefly stated the reason.

“…… Murmansk, although remote, was the base of the Soviet Northern Fleet; The slaves of the Gulag camp dug a large dry dock more than 250 meters long in the frozen soil, which is fully suitable for our light aircraft carrier to be docked for maintenance. Raeder said with clarity in his mind, apparently knowing this information well, "Now that Germany has a direct border with the Soviet Union, we can transport the workers and parts needed to repair warships to Murmansk by land and train. In less than two months, the warship's external injuries will be repaired, and with high speed again, it will be easy for them to cross the Norwegian waterways and return to their homeland. ”

Hitler listened quietly, his deep, bright eyes sweeping over the already refreshed map of Europe on the wall. As Raeder said, as long as his fleet could return to the Norwegian Sea from the Atlantic, there would be no obstacle to the high latitudes of Murmansk. Although this Soviet port, which is more than 2,000 kilometers away from the German mainland, is located in the far north, it is a rare year-round ice-free port in Northern Europe; If the battleship had been repaired in the middle of winter in December, it would have been possible to go to sea and return south immediately, without leaving the German Navy to wait too long. Therefore, the only problem now is the attitude of the Soviets, as long as this group of Russian Ivan can do something conveniently, the whole operation can be carried out smoothly and step by step.

"The survival of large warships will be directly related to the victory or defeat of a war at sea. Now that we have such a safe port to use, there is no reason for us to risk an already injured ship. Mr. Ribbentrop, the matter of dealing with the Soviets is about to be entrusted to you. Hitler spoke slowly, his voice firmly and clearly declaring his will. Ribbentrop, who stood on the sidelines, felt bitter in his heart, and looked at Raeder with a gaze full of grief and anger, but when Hitler's eyes swept towards him, Ribbentrop reflexively put away all his thoughts, and respectfully proclaimed yes in a humble bow.

"If the Soviets take the opportunity to ask for strategic supplies, the Navy should pay accordingly." Hitler said another undeniable word, which made Raeder's face stiffen, and the joy he had just harvested dissipated in an instant. He thought that only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needed to intervene to solve the whole problem, but he did not expect that he would have to bleed for it to satisfy the gluttonous greed of the Soviets. However, in the face of Hitler's serious eyes, Raeder's words of argument could only be swallowed back into his stomach.

Since Hitler came to power, Raeder has been deeply aware that behind his good relationship with Hitler is the stark difference in their political positions. For more than a decade, as commander of the Navy, Raeder has always been a staunch defender of the Navy's independence and a clear opposition to the infiltration of any partisan political forces into the Navy. Even today, when Hitler was in power and his prestige was soaring, the German Navy still did not have a single member of the National Socialist Party under Raeder's command. In order to dispel Hitler's resentment and hostility, Raeder always treated him with great courtesy, and always stood firmly on Hitler's side in major military decisions such as the reconquest of the Rhineland and the invasion of Czechoslovakia. As long as things don't cross his bottom line, Raeder will choose to obey the Führer's orders out of consideration for the overall situation. (To be continued.) )