Manstein smiled, he was only the commander-in-chief of the 1st Armored Division, and all the equipment was hidden after being covered in heavy snow, and he would only suddenly go out at the critical moment when President Eric gave an order.

However, at the same time as the order was issued to transfer the air force, the order of the Ministry of Defense in Berlin was sent to Strasbourg, and after urgent consultations, the commander-in-chief of the army, Rundstedt, and the commander-in-chief of the air force, Toth, decided to let the BF-10, a new fighter that had just begun mass production and service, show off its muscles on the German side of the defensive forward airspace of the confrontation between the German and French armies.

Since the Air Force has put forward its demands, the Army of course also has its own conditions, that is, the issue of command over this "flexing muscles" operation.

In fact, as the army that arrived in Strasbourg in advance, whether it is the familiarity with the local area, the defense situation of the German and French fronts, or even the level of the two armies, the army is undoubtedly the big brother.

Sure enough, the commander of the 1st Army, Fritsch, gave the order for the operation at the headquarters of the front corps in Nancy, and was commanded on the spot by the commander-in-chief of the 1st Panzer Division, General Manstein.

When the pilots of the 1st Air Corps, who had just rested for a day at Strasbourg Airport, heard the news, everyone was very excited, especially after Manstein read out Commander Frits's order, and some of the newcomers who had just been qualified to participate in the war were even more jubilant and eager to try.

From the Rosenheim base to Strasbourg, what they are waiting for is to test their combat skills in actual combat, not to mention that soldiers have the dream of soldiers, and the moment when the battle horn blows is the moment that a soldier dreams of.

However, it is very embarrassing that after the 1st Aviation Army was divided into several functional aviation regiments, there was no longer enough fighters, so the German Federal Air Force did not have a formed fighter group at present. The 42 fighters that flew from the Rosenheim base were actually cobbled together by two air trainers and two fighter groups.

Among them, Richthofen is the commander-in-chief of the 101st Fighter Group, Colonel Polk is the commander-in-chief of the 102nd Fighter Group, and Yinmaiman is the division commander of the 11th Air Training Division. This strange combination was really difficult for Keitel, because he had always wanted to get the advanced fighters that had just been produced and the young air force pilots to appear as soon as possible, so as to win President Eric's approval of the strength of the federal air force, so he and Commander-in-Chief Toth reluctantly managed to put together these 42 aircraft.

Fritsch's order was very clear: Excellent pilots were selected to form a flight formation to conduct a pollution-free flight over the German-French confrontation positions 30 kilometers west of Nancy to reconnoiter the deployment of the French troops, and set strict requirements for the air force pilots carrying out this mission: They could take pictures from multiple angles, but it was strictly forbidden to fire at the French positions, and when they encountered French planes rising into the air or intercepting them, they were not allowed to make provocative moves, and they must return safely immediately after completing the reconnaissance mission.

In the face of the treacherous world crisis, in accordance with the current international practice, Eric has repeatedly stressed that in all foreign affairs activities, Germany must be open-minded and absolutely cannot act as the party that stirs up trouble.

With specific operational orders and strict requirements, the immediate task is to select the commander and fighter formation for this mission from among the 42 fighters, that is, the two-plane formation of long planes and wingman pilots that emerged during World War I.

The 11th Air Training Division's aircraft weapons systems have all been dismantled, and they are certainly not suitable for this special mission, although it is unlikely that they will exchange fire with the French army through pollution-free passage, but the fighter without weapons still lacks a sense of full coefficient, after all, it is still a sensitive period, once the fire is really exchanged, this kind of fighter without weapons and equipment will only be beaten.

The rest were the 101st Fighter Group and the 102nd Fighter Group, and very coincidentally, both flying groups had 7 heavily armed BF-10s. As a last resort, for the sake of fairness, the two sides had to guess who would carry out the mission, and in the end, Polk won, and the 102nd Fighter Group was overjoyed.

The ecstatic Polk ran to the tarmac as a victor, ready to select the wingman who will be on duty tomorrow, however, due to the incomplete weapons and equipment of the fighters, there were only 7 team members to choose from, and in the end, Polk simply chose two young pilots with no actual combat experience and little training time, and decided to take them to fly once, as if trying a three-plane formation with a wider field of vision.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rathenau, returned home from London without a break, and officially declared the complete failure of the Four-Power Conference for Peace Talks, chaired by British Prime Minister Lloyd George himself.

After listening carefully to Deputy Minister Rathenau's briefing, Eric did not show any dismay, and such an outcome seemed to have been expected by him. After Ratnau left, Eric suddenly received a phone call from Vice President Paul von Hindenburg, and the two of them exchanged words on the phone, and then hung up the phone.

Then, with a serious face, Eric hurriedly processed several urgent documents, and hurriedly boarded the car and left the presidential palace. Ananta stared blankly, not knowing what was going on, and not daring to ask him. Ten minutes later, the guards put Eric and Vice President Hindenburg on the presidential plane bound for Cologne.

This is the first time that two German presidents have left the capital at the same time and traveled to the same place on the same plane, which makes Ananta and her cabinet officials feel very unusual, and it makes sense that one of them must stay in Berlin to deal with emergencies at home and abroad.

It turned out that Eric and Vice President Hindenburg left at the same time because of the sudden critical illness of a German military veteran, General Ernst von Hoppner.

As the founder of the Luftwaffe, General Hopner enjoyed a high reputation in Germany, including Hindenburg, Moltke Jr. and Ludendorff and other military leaders who respected him, and Eric admired this old hero who once laid a solid foundation for the Luftwaffe.

During his tenure, Hoppner trained many outstanding air pilots and commanders, including Richthofen, Polk, Inmaiman, Goering, Weaver, and Speer, and strongly supported the development of aviation aircraft in the German Confederation.

During World War I, Hopner was an unwavering supporter of Ludendorff's general warfare system, advocated the bombing of Britain proper, and for a time became the spiritual leader of the Air Force.

In his limited life trajectory, Student, Kesselring, and Keitel were all his subordinates. At the beginning of Eric's establishment of the Federalist Party, Hopner also actively voiced his support, not only did not prevent his subordinates from joining the Federalist Party, but also gave many conveniences.

If it weren't for Hopner's concern for his aristocratic status, his political line might have been more biased in Erik's favor, but Hopner had helped Eric a lot, and based on this, Eric should have rushed to Cologne to visit the respected old general in person.

Eric and Hindenburg, who hurried to the Hopner mansion, were not the first high-ranking government officials to arrive, and at this moment, Ludendorff was whispering to Hopner. At the sight of Eric, Hopner only smiled with satisfaction, and did not call him president respectfully.

Of course, Eric didn't mind these little things, but he just wondered why Hopner, who was already critically ill, could suddenly lie in bed and talk like no one else.

Taking advantage of Hindenburg's interjection, Eric asked someone about the situation, and it turned out that the transfer group of the 1st Air Corps was passing through here when a photographer on the ground happened to catch up, and the photo was taken and published in the local newspaper, which happened to be seen by Hopner again. On the blue sky, the black pressure and the large close-up of dozens of advanced fighters made Hopner's mood rise, his qi and blood rose, and he suddenly fainted.

After listening to this, Eric was very moved, this conscientious veteran who has devoted his life to the country has always cared about the country's national defense, which is really commendable.

Now that he's here, Eric would love to have a few words with Hopner, and it's nice to be able to get the old general's teachings.

Arriving in the bedroom, Ludendorff nodded at him as a greeting. Now, there is still a gap between the two, and although there are occasional agreements for the sake of national interests, it does not mean that Ludendorff has no opinion on Eric.

"Is the old general feeling better?" Eric was worried that Hopner would not be able to hear clearly, so he deliberately raised his voice by a few decibels.

"You don't have to be so loud, although I am old, I have no problem hearing." Hopner's answer embarrassed Eric for a while.

"The longevity of the old general is also a blessing to the country, and I hope you will recover soon. I'll have a better doctor take care of you. Eric said with great concern.

"Thank you Führer for your visit, but you shouldn't leave Berlin easily for the sake of me, an old man, you see, I'm fine now, the country needs you just when you need it, don't delay big things." Hopner graciously gave the eviction order.

Eric also understood that it was not advisable to go out for too long when there were internal and external troubles, and the old general Hopner also wanted him to return to Berlin as soon as possible to preside over the overall situation. Eric didn't leave immediately, but continued to chat with Hopner for a while before slowly getting up and saying goodbye.

As he was heading out, Eric had another lukewarm conversation with Ludendorff before boarding the car and returning to the makeshift airport parked outside the city, surrounded by security personnel.

Eric and Hindenburg took a special flight back to Berlin in the afternoon, and entered the Hansafelt Palace, where Annata was anxiously waiting for him.

Sure enough, shortly after Eric left Berlin, a telegram from across the ocean was delivered to Eric's desk.

"What's wrong, Annata?" Looking at Anata's anxious look, Eric asked curiously.

"Secretary Miller's telegram." Anatta handed him the papers on the desk.

Eric had not yet sat down, and after reading ten lines at a glance, he ordered: "Send a telegram to Miller, and leave the matter to him with full authority, and other concessions may be considered on the premise that Yugoslavia will not be divided." ”

Eric will never abandon his plan because the United States intervenes, because building a barrel of Central Europe is Eric's first expansion plan, and this dangerous move must be pursued.

Next, it is Greece to solve this thorn and turn around to clean up Romania, so that the integration of the central part of the European continent can be regarded as the first stage.

Once the Berlin-Ankara-Kuwait connection was successful, the German sphere of influence could begin to expand northward, and the huge Iron Curtain enveloped the western part of the Soviets, overlooking Britain and France to the east.

By that time, Germany's supremacy had already taken shape, and there was no shortage of resources to sustain the war in the vast strategic lands, and the right to speak would not be the same.