Lithuania is located in northeastern Europe, west of the Baltic Sea, in 1917, Eric ? Adrian led the German army on the Eastern Front to occupy the area, and it remained a sphere of influence of the German Confederation. After the end of the First World War, President Eric, with a stroke of his pen, divided the Baltic region, including Lithuania, into six oblasts, namely Kharyu, Tartu, Vizeme, Kurzeme, Shiauliai, and Kaunas, and stationed a cavalry division and an infantry division in the regions disputed by Soviet Russia, Tartu and Vizeme.

In the post-war Confederation, the Baltic states played a key role in providing the country with gypsum, limestone, clay, sand, etc., which were urgently needed for infrastructure projects. Starting from the northern state of Hallu, all kinds of scarce materials were transferred by land to Kielce, Krakow, Stanislavov and other inland areas of Germany via Wizemet, Kaunas, East Prussia, Pwoksk, Lodz and other regions. Maritime transport accounted for a larger share, with materials collected from all over the country reaching the ports of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven in the northeastern part of the German Confederation, and then transshipped to key construction areas in western Germany.

Krakow is one of the few oil-producing regions in the German Confederation, but the oil layers are deep and the reserves are very small, so it is of little significance to develop. With the great economic recovery on a national scale, forced by the extremely limited crude oil obtained from abroad, President Eric had to start developing these small and negligible fields from the end of 1917, and by the end of 1918, only 96,000 tons of crude oil had been extracted. This amount cannot meet the power demand of domestic production equipment for half a year, let alone the perennial supply. President Eric approached the project leader, Almar, to discuss the expansion of domestic production capacity, but due to the size of the field and the difficulty of exploitation, it was impossible to make significant progress in the scale of exploitation, and according to Almar's estimates, the next year's production, that is, by the end of 1919, could reach a maximum of 110,000 tons per year. The situation is much the same in Hannover, because Hannover is a recent development, with a short period of time and a large investment, and the mining volume will be slightly better than that of Krakow, perhaps reaching the level of 150,000 tons per year. In addition, the newly built synthetic oil processing plant has only just begun to operate, and the benefits remain to be seen.

According to the forecasts of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport, if the output of the three synthetic oil processing plants is considerable, Germany's crude oil imports are not urgent, at least at the current stage of development, it can fully meet the production. However, President Eric's thinking is very different from that of various ministries and agencies, and he has to repeatedly emphasize the importance of fuel, and his eyes cannot be limited to immediate economic development, but long-term, permanent strategic reserves, without fuel, there is no strong national military base, let alone sea defense and air superiority, oil is equivalent to a person's blood, if it is gone, the person will automatically dry up until death. The two ministers suddenly woke up from a dream and did not dare to slack off.

Military ships around the world have begun to take the lead in the transformation to diesel power, and the phasing out of the original coal-fired steam boilers, such a transformation will undoubtedly raise the status of natural resources, especially oil refining and processing, so that civilian ships have slowly entered the era of diesel power. The production capacity of various countries is uneven, and some countries and regions with scarce mineral resources have begun to pay close attention to the production and storage of crude oil, and even do everything possible to obtain energy from overseas at all costs and means. Germany had relatively advanced mining, refining, and oil production equipment at that time, and it was also the target of major powers, and they were very much looking forward to cooperation, but because these equipment Eric was simply forbidden to be brought to the negotiating table, such a plan could only be stillborn repeatedly.

With the development of diesel power, the disorderly consumption of petroleum resources is gradually increasing. Eric increasingly felt that the country's energy reserves had reached a very critical moment and had to step up his efforts against Foreign Minister Herman? Miller and the president's chief of staff, Likhovsky, also continued to communicate with Earhart? Milch strengthened direct contacts and hoped that they could make greater breakthroughs in these areas.

In fact, there are still several oil fields in Germany that have not yet been detected by the national mining department, and Eric has basically found the specific location based on the data left by the rescue capsule, but he cannot guide the mining department, because of the lack of scientific evidence, so it cannot be too abrupt. Like the Krakow region, once in a while, it's okay, but if this kind of thing is done too much, it is hard to guarantee that no one will wonder if he is a god-possessed president.

President Eric and his entourage of dozens were inspecting work in Nuremberg when a sudden news disrupted his trip. Just this morning, Thomas? On behalf of the Czech National Council, Masaryk issued a declaration of national independence in Berlin.

President Eric had long been aware of the Czech incident, and before that, the state security department had also made a prediction in this regard and reported it to the Hansafelt Palace, but he did not expect this moment to appear so quickly. Eric asked Ananta to inform the Minister of Finance, Almar, who had come with him to inspect the visit. Schacht and Transport Minister Otto? The two of them quickly went to the camp for a meeting, and instructed Minister Schacht and Minister Geres to lead a team to continue the inspection and guidance work along the southern part of the German Federal State all the way eastward, and also made other arrangements for the next tasks, and all industrial and mining enterprises that are conducive to national construction and national defense and military construction, as long as the conditions are ripe and as long as the situation is true, all of them will be registered and registered, and then submitted to the assistant to the president of the Hansafelt Palace, and the president will select them or gradually solve the relevant problems.

Minister Gerrers personally stepped forward to open the door for President Eric, and Nuremberg local officials and members of the expedition team gathered in a circle to see him off. Eric turned his head and waved his hand to thank him, and before getting into the car, he suddenly stood in front of the car door and paused for a while, looking up to the sky and sighing: "Poor Karl I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has finally died in his hands, this is just the beginning, wait and see, more difficult days are still to come, okay gentlemen, let's go!" ”

Ananta got into the car from the other side of the car, and then held Eric's coat in her hand.

The convoy continued to move northeast, and when it passed the foot of the Bohemir Mountains in the evening, Eric suddenly told the driver to stop, and Ananta hesitated for a moment before following the car. Putting on the coat that Ananta had handed him, Eric walked on foot to the eastern hillside until he stopped at a cliff and was followed by the other officers and guards.

At this time, the night sky is deep, the moonlight is bright, and the mountains in the distance can faintly discern clusters of high and low treetops. The insects of late autumn are low, the nightblind birds occasionally chirp, and the mysterious and ethereal valley is sometimes a hawk and a flying squirrel walking, and sometimes it is silent. Eric pointed to the far east and asked the officer, "Do you know where the lies ahead?" ”

Attorney General William? Max replied: "Your Excellency, fifteen miles further east from here is the territory of Austria-Hungary. ”

Eric interrupted him and said, "No! My Excellency, it is no longer the territory of Austria-Hungary, it should be called the Czech Republic now, and yesterday it was probably called Austria-Hungary, but it changed, and it changed completely. From today, we will establish diplomatic relations with the new Czech Republic. Oh, and any idea why I'm getting off here? ”

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then they all replied that they didn't know.

President Eric straightened the clothes he was wearing with both hands and said, "Actually, I don't know, it's God's arrangement, and it's the subconscious intention to let me get out of the car and have a look." Gentlemen, don't you feel what is happening right before your eyes? Yes, how powerful the Austro-Crarian Empire was, before the First World War, they were one of the eight great powers in the world, but now? What does it mean that they have become wretched creatures on the European continent? ”

Food Minister Philip? Scheedman quickly interjected: "We are all willing to listen to His Excellency the President's teachings. Others chimed in.

President Eric turned around and walked slowly to his car: "No matter how strong a country is, if it does not have a stable and prosperous economic foundation and does not do a good job in internal unity, it will not have overall strength, especially under the bewitchment of the outside world, no country can have long-term peace and stability." In the past, the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the multinational alliance was very strong, and we had to give them three points of face in everything, but the Czech Republic in front of us, although they successfully split from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, their overall strength was even more weakened. From this point of view, the German Confederation must at all times do a good job of internal unity and not allow external interference and destruction, otherwise, we will only be reduced to small countries like the Czech Republic and Hungary, and will be squeezed between the big powers for a long time, and will not even dare to speak out loud. As long as we, the German Confederation are united, there will be no so-called bullying talk from other countries. ”

Schedeman said puzzledly: "Your Excellency, this is a matter for Austria-Hungary and the Czech Republic, since it has already happened, is it necessary for us to rush back to Berlin in such a hurry?" ”

Eric smiled and said: "Your Excellency, the German Confederation will still do business with its neighbors in the future, if we don't care about this major event that shocks the world, and don't say a word, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get along in the future, no matter what, the posture is very important, we still have to talk about our views in due time, express the views of the German Confederation, otherwise, the United States, Britain, and even France will think that the Germans have fallen asleep, or fainted poorly, or even starved to death, what do you say, Your Excellency the Minister." The world is like this, often talk on the stage, whether it's right or wrong, people can feel your existence. If you say it wrong, others will say that you are arrogant, and if you say it right, someone will echo it, how good it feels. As long as you don't bring me down and don't drive me down, you can talk nonsense. ”

The entourage burst out laughing.

Defense Minister Brauchitsch, who had been silent, shouted: "Who dares to speak to the Federal President of Germany, Erik? Lord Adrian is disrespectful, I, Walter? Brauchitsch was the first to refuse, and killed him first. ”

Everyone laughed again: "President Eric is the hope of our German Confederation and our most revered idol, and no one dares to talk nonsense in front of him!" ”

The convoy continued north along the winding mountain road, stopping and walking, slowly getting closer and closer to Dresden.