Since the "Grena Affair", there has been a strange phenomenon of meetings in the Hanseatic Palace, which is nicknamed the Meeting of Sixteen internally.

The so-called 16-member meeting is actually composed of the president, the vice president, the prime minister, the chief of staff, the minister of the interior, the minister of defense, the chief of the general staff, the director of the general office, the minister of finance, the minister of justice, the commander of the army, the commander of the air force, the commander of the navy, the director of the joint intelligence department, the director of the joint investigation bureau, and the director of the military intelligence bureau. The purpose is to reduce noise and improve the efficiency of the meeting.

In this way, the rest of the cabinet became decorations, and the power of the country was almost entirely in the hands of these sixteen people. The head of the president's office, who was originally insignificant, has become more and more important because he is in charge of propaganda and the media, as well as the day-to-day work of the Hanseatic Palace, and there is a faint feeling of being on an equal footing with the minister.

If it weren't for the lack of precedent in Germany, Anata's prestige would have been a no-brainer for the Federalist Party's secretary-general, and no one even doubted it.

Flipping through Annata's biographies, many people are ashamed of their own hass. the first Federalist members; veteran of the Commonwealth Founding; Member of the highest executive body of the State; His prestige and interpersonal relationships within the party are remarkable, and he is the president's most trusted aide.

In the meeting of the sixteen, Ananta was ranked very high, which shows that she plays a pivotal role in the federal government.

With Annata's personal abilities, there is certainly no problem in becoming a Minister of the Interior. Of course, the current Minister of the Interior is almost as powerful as the Prime Minister. Because after Eric's cabinet was reorganized, all the sub-institutions were placed under the Ministry of the Interior, and the judicial, financial, public security, and military powers, which really grasped the real power, are now in the hands of Heinrich Brüning alone.

The meeting of sixteen can basically decide the direction and future of the Federal Republic of Germany, in fact, Eric does not want to be a dictatorship, of course he wants to be arbitrary, but such an idea can only be imagined. It's easy to get rid of dissidents, but it's not so easy to find someone to replace you. Otherwise, it's one thing to change someone casually, whether you can do it or not, if you make things worse and worse, it will become the target of public criticism.

The news sent back by Niu Wright from Nanjing undoubtedly made everyone unhappy, and the sixteen people exploded as soon as they got together. Eric could clearly feel that Luther and Hippert were looking at him complainingly, after all, the person who had made this happen in the first place was the president in front of them.

The reason why Hans Luther "scolded the street" was actually to show his colleagues, because he and Max were also supporters of the president's decision-making, but they didn't expect things to get to the point where they couldn't get off the stage.

"It's a shame." Hans Luther never expected that the poor and weak China would also make a tone in front of the Germans.

Hoffman, the chief of the General Staff, looked displeased, and sat quietly in a corner not far from Eric as the others walked into Room 1 one after another.

"This Chang Kaishen is not likable in China, and I heard that he is an incompetent dictator. If the Japanese don't fight, but specialize in fighting the civil war, we should stay away from such people. The CIA chief was the first to break the silence.

"I agree with Director Ramsden's opinion that if Huaxia unites to fight the Japanese, we will support it, at least it can help us keep the existing mining areas and factories in Huaxia, but he will use the money to fight the civil war, which will not work." Yarma said.

"You've only seen what you're looking for, and you don't know that the wise President is brewing a bigger strategy." Zekett chimed in.

"Your Excellency, will you be able to make public the true intentions of Mr. President?" Everyone was very curious and coaxed.

Zechter looked back at Eric, and only after receiving tacit approval did he tell the real purpose of Foreign Minister Niu Wright's visit to China.

"So that's it? In my opinion, Chang Kaishen had two goals: he was short of money and weapons, and he hoped to get financial support from Germany, but he hoped that Germany would not have a stalemate with the Soviet Union for the time being, and that the Soviet Far East 14th Army would return to the Heilongjiang River in order to contain the arrogant Japanese. "Chief of the General Staff Hoffman said bluntly.

"It's kind of funny, this greedy guy is really not small, asking us to pay for it, but he is unwilling to form an alliance with us, which is the opposite of Mr. President's strategic intentions." Army Commander-in-Chief Rundstedt said with a sneer.

"It's better not to align, and then we can't help them fight the hateful Japanese. To put it alarmistly, as soon as our eastern part is empty, it is tantamount to ceding the territory to the Soviets. "Said the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, Richthofen.

"Chang Kaishen is an unreliable person, and we can't put bets on him. It is said that his wife has a very good relationship with the United States' high-level officials, and has also received a lot of money and weapons assistance from the United States; since the United States has always regarded Germany as a competitor in arms sales, Chang Kaishen will certainly not take Germany in his eyes since he has climbed the thigh of the United States. The head of the military intelligence agency, Earhart Cecil, said bluntly.

"Since this is the case, then there is nothing to discuss, I suggest that we transfer back to our East Asian Fleet, Chang Kaishen wants to hug the thighs of the Americans, then let him hug it." Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Franz von Hipper said very angrily.

Prime Minister Hans Luther, Vice President Hindenburg, and generals of the three armed forces echoed the proposal that the East Asian Fleet be evacuated from the sensitive theater of operations and temporarily returned to the oil tanker terminal in Kuwait for standby. During this period, it was possible to consider keeping the frigate formation in Shanghai to protect German merchant ships on that channel.

"The two countries had only a verbal agreement, and since Huaxia was unwilling to assist Germany in completing the encirclement of the Soviet Union, there was no need for this drama to continue. Mr. President, take ideas, it's time. "Hipper, though he's old, can be tough at times.

However, other people don't think so, even if Chang Kaishen is indeed unwilling to cooperate with Germany, but as Germany's main source of raw materials, Huaxia is still very critical.

Although everyone's opinions are very different, Eric is still very happy, which shows that the federal government officials are not paid for nothing, and they are all capable people who can distinguish between right and wrong.

In fact, Eric is not wrong to think that China is an important source of raw materials for Germany, but it is a bit alarmist to say that it is the main source. In overseas markets, including the Middle East and Northern Europe, Germany has already found alternative raw materials. Taking advantage of the Spanish Civil War and the civil strife in Portugal, German companies quickly solved the problem of supplying many scarce resources.

Wanting to get stuck in Germany's neck in terms of resource imports, Eric can now roll up his sleeves and tell those with ulterior motives that it is not 1914 anymore!

However, Eric really did not want to give up the idea of encirclement between Asia and Europe, because Huaxia was the key to this plan, and once it formed an alliance with Germany, it would be a strong fortress stretching for thousands of kilometers, which would be an absolutely fatal blow to the Soviet Union.

In the end, no resolution was reached, and neither Eric nor Hoffman spoke. To put it bluntly, Eric just wants to hear everyone's thoughts and how to do it, and he doesn't want to close the coffin too early.

Hans Luther has always been able to calmly accept and sincerely support Eric's policy decisions, but in this "meeting of sixteen", Eric's attitude is not clear, and Hoffmann, the chief of the general staff, has not said a word, and Hans Luther seems to have found a breakthrough in the problem. After the meeting was temporarily suspended, he did not return to the chancellor's office, but drove directly to the United Front Work Department, ready to talk to Hoffmann privately.

Hoffmann was surprised by the arrival of Hans Luther, after all, the two were limited to official business, and had no friendship in private.

After entering the door and sitting down, Hans Luther directly explained his intentions. He hoped that Hoffman would advise Mr. President to try not to trade the interests of the country for the joining of the Chinese.

"In the case of Germany and its existing allies, there is no need for the help of the Chinese to deal with a rampant Soviet Union. We can also use the power of the whole country to crush the Soviet ambition to invade Germany. At the same time, in order to establish a good image of Germany, it is necessary to let the Chinese people learn a profound lesson from this reckless diplomatic reply. Hans said.

Hoffman looked embarrassed and squeaked, feeling that some things were not good to be completely explained, after all, this Eurasian encirclement plan against the Soviet Union was his original proposal, and it was an important link in the "Barbarossa Plan". Now this plan has to be reversed, not only will he and the president lose face, but it will also make Germany's foreign measures passive.

I have to admit that Germany was indeed able to make the Soviets feel uncomfortable without the help of China, but it only played a role in stifling and could not shake the Soviet Union's ambitions for expansion.

Hans Luther did not gain any valuable talk about Hoffmann, but he also knew that Britain, France, and the United States were preparing to see a "good show" in which either the Soviet Union was defeated and forced to retreat from Poland, or crossed the Oder River and invaded the Federal Republic of Germany.

However, Britain, France, the United States and other countries need a relatively strong Soviet Union to hold back Eric and give their own countries a chance to breathe.