At about 8 o'clock in the morning of September 3, 1940, the party congress meeting hall in the southeast of the suburbs of Nuremberg was already full of people and flags.

More than 300,000 people and party members from all over Germany filled Ruitperd's main square, and the parade avenue, which is more than 40 meters wide, is also densely packed like an ant colony, stretching from the viewing platform to the March Square 2 kilometers away. More than a dozen loudspeakers were set up throughout the assembly hall to transmit Hitler's voice to all corners at the same time, and countless cameras were set up early in the morning, waiting to be filmed in all directions to produce a classic propaganda chapter that was better than "Triumph of the Will".

As the protagonist of this grand event, Adolf Hitler is now leading his core cabinet to welcome foreign dignitaries at the entrance behind the viewing platform. According to the arrangement, Mussolini, Franco, and others all had a formal meeting with Hitler this morning, and then ascended to the viewing platform together. Fang Yan stood in the middle of a group of important members of the National Socialist Party, quietly looking at the people in front of him: Hitler was wearing a special dark suit today, which was completely different from the yellow-brown party uniforms of the people behind him. This seems to be deliberately to distinguish himself from the crowd, so that he will be highlighted on the viewing platform.

"Goebbels's arrangement is well intentioned. It's just that I pity Hess, and I still fantasize that today will be the time for him to show his face. Seeing the flush of excitement on the face of Hess, the deputy head next to him, Fang Yan's eyes showed a little pity, and he sighed in his heart.

One year earlier, Hess had been chosen by Hitler as his first successor on the day of the war, and his position of power inside and outside the party was at its peak, but as Germany stormed away its surrounding enemies, Hess's influence fell like a comet, and after only a few months there was no longer a sense of existence. Members of the party organization such as Goebbels, Wärt, Ribbentrop, and Himmler played an important role in Hitler's great cause of foreign conquest and made many meritorious achievements; As the crown prince, Hess can only guard the small world of the National Socialist Party, and he is mediocre and unremarkable!

Unlike the absolute dominance of the Bolshevik Party in the Soviet Union, the National Socialist Party, due to the national conditions in Germany, is now in fact co-ruling with the Wehrmacht and the bourgeois bureaucracy. Therefore, even if Hess had the party title of "deputy head of state", there was no guarantee that he would be able to convey power to the whole country through the party line alone. What's more, Hess's righteous position in the party is not yet secure, and the new faction represented by the Polish governor Franck always covets his title: in the eyes of the latter, Hess is nothing but seniority, and he can completely replace him in this era of change!

At today's party congress, Hess must want to use the home advantage to show himself and save his declining prestige. However, in the planning of the two directors, Fang Yan and Goebbels, Hitler is the only protagonist, and any other individual will be completely covered up under the bright light of god-making. Regarding Hess's situation, Fang Yan sighed but had no regrets. Hess's will and means were not enough to withstand Hitler's crown, and as a loyal dog of the gatekeeper, he would retire peacefully from the power vortex in the future, which was his ideal ending.

As his thoughts surged, the SS honor guard in front of him suddenly raised their guns and saluted, Fang Yan gathered his mind and looked at it, and sure enough, it was Mussolini and little Ziano who appeared on the edge of the welcome red carpet on time. For the Italians, Hitler has always been very enthusiastic because of the kindness of the annexation of Austria back then, and Fang Yan, who was standing in the front row, had to put on a smiling face, trying not to roll his eyes and give cheap relatives.

After a handshake, Fang Yan finally waited for the person he wanted to meet. The Spanish dictator followed, wearing a boat-shaped hat and dressed neatly before Hitler.

Like the image in the photo, Franco, who is nearly fifty years old, has a slightly chubby face, kind eyebrows, and smiles like a gentle rich businessman's uncle. However, when he raised his hand, there was an indescribable sharp temperament that penetrated through his body, which made Fang Yan completely ignore his short stature when he had just reached Hitler's lower lip, and instinctively became alert. The man in front of him is a real political chess player, and I don't know how many Wallaces are better than Mussolini and Yuan Datou. When Hitler supported Franco to take power, he really warmed a poisonous snake in his arms to some extent.

What made Hitler particularly uncomfortable was that he was not able to deal with the Spaniards in the same way he had done with Hungary and Romania. At present, the reason why Germany can successfully subdue Romania and Hungary is due to the direct external pressure of the Soviet Union, a behemoth—Romania will inevitably be swallowed up by the Soviet Union if it does not cut its flesh and turn to the axis, and Hungary, which is caught between Germany and the Soviet Union, must also choose between Germany and the Soviet Union. But Spain is different. With the defeat of France, Spain no longer had any land pressure, and the United States and Britain tried every means to woo Spain and try to keep it away from the Axis lineup.

Therefore, in this case, Hitler's use of force to intimidate Franco would only be counterproductive, kicking away the neutral and close Spain. Moreover, the unwielding of the stick would have serious political consequences: Italy, Vichy France, and the countries of South-Eastern Europe would all be separated from Germany under the influence of Germany, and the resulting estrangement and mustard would be absolutely unbearable for the latter. The high-ranking people of these countries are not puppets, and they will think: "If the Germans turn their faces and use the knife just because Spain is disobedient, will they not treat us like slaves?" ”

As for Germany's support of new people to replace Franco in Spain, it is also impossible to implement. Not to mention that this will also make the governments of the surrounding satellite countries panic, and the key is that there is no one in Spain who can support it now. After the victory in the civil war, Franco immediately purged the opposition in the country, and at the same time greatly strengthened his centralized power; Now that he has the title of Heavenly Constitution and the absolute support of the army, who can easily replace him?

Therefore, for today's Hitler, the person he chose back then, even if he is kneeling, must continue to support. Hitler tried to smile peacefully at the Spanish dictator he hadn't seen for more than a year, and what made him feel a little balanced was that Franco in front of him was very enthusiastic. Franco first warmly congratulated Hitler on his victory on the Western Front, and then thanked Germany for its "fraternal support" during the Spanish Civil War. At first glance, he seems to be a positive and docile Axis Allied brother, and he will definitely bow down to Hitler in the future.

Seeing that Franco had already held Hitler's right palm with both hands, Fang Yan sneered in his heart, but he couldn't help but have a trace of sincere admiration. This kind of skill of emptiness and grievance, and returning to Tai Chi, Franco has indeed practiced to the realm of perfection.

According to information received by Fang Yan from Värter, Spain has decided to pay Germany an occupation fee of 2 million marks per month from September. Although this amount is nowhere near the 600 million marks a month in France, it is a clear sign of a political tilt towards Germany.

You know, only in occupied countries like France and Belgium will their governments be forced to pay for the daily expenses of the German occupation forces. And now there is not a single German soldier on Spanish soil! Franco's move was a clear gesture of goodwill to Germany: even if the talks with Hitler ended unhappily, relations between the two sides would not fall into a trough. In the future, Spain can continue to oscillate between Germany and the United States and pursue its interests to the maximum.

Fang Yan took a deep look at Franco, who was standing next to him, and then turned his gaze to the far end of the red carpet. There, another politician, also a military man, but too old, was walking slowly toward the place on crutches.

Philippe Petain, the Verdun hero of 1916, was at this time completely in his twilight years. His beard was white, his face was thin and thin, and his steps were as small as if a gust of wind could blow him down. However, Petain's back was straight, and his eyes were shining, not at all like the mental outlook of an 84-year-old man. Looking at the calm Hitler in front of him, Petain had countless complex emotions welling up in his heart. Eventually, he held his nerve and greeted him and extended his right hand as president of France.

During this trip to Nuremberg, Petain was strongly rejected and rejected at first. For for him, the leader of a defeated country, it was undoubtedly a great humiliation to attend the ceremonial party congress of the Germans. When Petain became commander-in-chief of the French army, Hitler was just a small soldier! It is true that Petain had single-handedly brokered a capitulation armistice two months earlier, but that was a reluctant move by circumstances. As a former marshal and soldier, Petain was unwilling to grovel and wagged his tail like a pug to Germany.

However, under the persuasion of Deputy Chancellor Reival, a hardcore capitulationist, Petain's mind gradually changed. As a result of Britain's unexpected insistence and stubbornness, France, which had hastily surrendered in June this year, was already in a rather awkward position. In order to show the people and the world that surrendering to Germany was a wise, correct and far-sighted decision, the Vichy government had to strengthen its cooperation with Germany and get Britain out of the war as soon as possible.

In addition, the Franco-German armistice agreement of June 23 was also based on the rapid surrender of Britain. Now the German-British war is still going on, and it will not be possible to end it even within this year; Many of these provisions will need to be supplemented and revised; As for the details of each benefit, France needs to work hard to fight for it. In order to save his beloved motherland and compatriots, Petain has resolutely gone out of the mountains this summer, and did not hesitate to destroy his halo of "Verdun Savior" to clean up the mess; If France's torment and pain can be alleviated, what does it matter if he is personally disgraced?

Faced with the French commander-in-chief, who had single-handedly destroyed the victory of the German army, Hitler no longer had the pleasure of revenge that he had a few months ago. His sight has gone beyond the corner of the Western Front and has risen to the whole picture, and all the French are the tools he uses to achieve the great cause of the thousand-year-old empire. However, if Petain could surrender and cooperate, it would save him a lot of trouble, and at present, in the eyes of the French, Petain is the savior of the country that can be followed wholeheartedly.