In late June, the budget meeting for the next fiscal year was held in the large round table conference room of the Prime Minister's Office. Eric, who is never late every year, is absent this year.

At this time, Max had not returned from a trip to the mansion, and most of the people in charge of the ministries were young men supported by Eric, and Hans Luther was very embarrassed, feeling that he was nothing more than a self-absorbed dancer, with no one to cheer on, no one to shout at, and there was not even a person around him who could speak.

During the two days of the budget meeting, the president was busy with the replacement of the weapons and equipment of the three armed forces, and he did not see anyone, and even the chief of counsel, Grener, did not attend on the grounds that there were too many foreign affairs, so that the outlook for the next fiscal year lost the enthusiasm it should have.

Three days later, President Eric Adrian himself presided over a small financial meeting at the Hanseatic Palace, but it was not comparable to the large round table of the Chancellery, both in terms of venue and political influence.

Because the people who attended the meeting at the Hanseatic Palace this time were several heads of departments directly under the direct management of the presidential palace, there was no speculation from the outside world at all, let alone irresponsible remarks.

Hans Kluge, commander-in-chief of the National Guard, Colmar Ramsden, director of the Federal Intelligence Service, Gustav Stresemann, director of the National Strategic Material Reserve, Grenner, chief of staff of the President of the Hanseatic Palace, Ananta, director of the Office of the Presidential Office and director of the National Policy Propaganda, Shacht, minister of finance, and Keynes, chairman of the National Production Management Committee of the military-industrial complex, all of them took leave and all of them arrived at the meeting on time.

The meeting was small, but the agenda was almost identical to the Prime Minister's Office's budget for the fiscal year. The meeting was held at the Ground Operations Command of the Presidential Palace. This was almost an exception, and it was the first time in the Eric government that a small meeting had been arranged here, except in the early years of the Federal Republic of Germany, in order to crush the counter-judgment of the Air Force logistics chiefs, Prey von Henrik and Rudolf von Ruppcht.

Before the meeting, Schacht stressed the level of secrecy of the meeting, and the fact that Ananta had chosen the location of the meeting made it impossible for the outside world to know what was being discussed in the presidential palace.

During the meeting, the three meals a day were carefully prepared by the Logistics Support Department of the Presidential Palace, and no one came in and out at will, even at night.

The meeting went very smoothly, with individual proposals, breakout sessions, and a synthesis of Eric and Schacht, all of which were not left behind.

Just as Schacht finally announced the end of the meeting, the operator channeled an incoming call into the Presidential Palace Ground Command.

Eric was taken aback and very angry. In such a secluded venue, there are people who break the silence, is there still a safe place in Germany? Just as he was about to lose his temper, Ananta clung to his ear and said that it was from Hanover.

As soon as these words came out, Eric was even more stunned. Although the old man didn't hate him as a fast son-in-law, Eric didn't have much contact with the Yue family, especially after Sylna accompanied his son to Denmark, Eric was even more focused on work. August III stopped talking about politics a long time ago, and he did not agree with his son-in-law's military expansion, so he did not have much contact.

The caller was the owner of the castle in Hanover, Eric's father-in-law, there was no doubt about it. Eric quickly got up and went to the phone room.

Silna's grandfather, August II, died of illness in the castle. The old man, who was once the most prestigious man on the European continent, has passed away.

When Eric heard the news, he didn't know what to do.

With the illustrious status of August II, the state should arrange the funeral of the old man in a lively and beautiful manner according to the state rites. However, the person who is shouting at the stage at the moment is his own grandson-in-law, and what is even more unfortunate is that the state is spending a lot of money for the construction of the three armed forces.

This is all secondary, and what makes it even more difficult for Eric is that August II was once famous in Europe, a great man of a generation, a figure of Bismarck's time, and his death must also send condolences to countries such as Britain and Denmark, which are related by blood. It's not going to be easy, and Eric is at a loss.

Although August III did not want to disturb his son-in-law, the death of a great man was no longer just a family affair. Not only that, but Eric also has the right to know, after all, because of Silna, August II is also Eric's grandfather.

Eric's expression when he answered the phone was extremely complicated, and the news caught him a little off guard, and he didn't know what to arrange.

In his lifetime, this old man did not seem to have contributed to the revitalization of the Federal Republic of Germany, so few people know that he and Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Mackensen and others were actually the anchors of the German Confederation. Not to mention anything else, with the old man here, the arrogant Juncker family did not dare to confront Eric in the open, especially those old camps from various power institutions, which became an important political force for Eric.

Although Auguste III's political ability was also good, he was not worthy of his father in terms of power, energy and social influence, because his son-in-law was on power, he had to give up his idea of continuing to enter politics.

Putting down the microphone, Eric froze in place. Now he was thinking about how to deal with his grandfather's aftermath and whether to send a message of condolence to his neighbors.

Ananta stood not far from the door of the phone room, and had already learned the details of the call. For now, she needs to figure out Eric's own thoughts and remind him to continue to finish the agenda of this meeting.

"Everyone is waiting for you to speak, and you must conclude this meeting before you can deal with your grandfather's funeral." Anatta walked over and whispered to him.

Erik, of course, is well aware of the importance of the two things that lie ahead of him for Germany's future and destiny. So he turned and walked towards the small conference room of the headquarters.

Seeing Eric's sad face, Shacht gave a puzzled look and didn't ask Eric what was going on. The others didn't ask, because they all knew that if the president didn't say it, there must be a problem with not saying it.

"It is very unfortunate that the honorable August II passed away from illness in the early hours of this morning." Eric sat back in his seat and said lightly.

Except for Anata, almost everyone was taken aback, and if it weren't for Eric's sudden announcement of such bad news, they would have forgotten all about such a respected old-timer.

"Is Mr. President going to handle your grandfather's funeral in his own name, or is he going to handle the funeral of August II in the form of a state ceremony?" Schacht asked very bluntly.

"Is all the agenda complete?" Eric looked at Schacht in response.

"It's all done, Mr. President, and all that remains is the minutes and the resolved resolution waiting for you to sign." Schacht then handed the two documents to Eric.

Eric didn't even look at it, took the materials and signed his name separately.

"Your Excellency, what do you think should I do with the funeral of the elderly? You can all help me with ideas, too. Eric said, looking at Shacht and all the attendees.

"In my humble opinion, if you only handle the funeral of the old man in the name of your grandfather, it will definitely not work, and if you put aside the accountability of your neighbors, the domestic repercussions will be very violent, not to mention that there are not a few old people in the empire, and they are all loyal to the federal government because ......of the influence of August II," Shacht said.

"Of course I know about it, otherwise I wouldn't be so distressed. However, given the position I am in, it is not appropriate to overdo it. Besides, that's what my father-in-law meant. "Eric is torn between a rock and a hard place.

"If that's the case, I don't think you can leave this matter alone, you just have to mourn in the name of your grandson." Stresemann said.

Something like this has happened many times during his tenure as chancellor. Generally speaking, the bereaved family members who enjoy a high reputation in Germany will take the initiative to send the "funeral notice" to the Chancellery in advance, not to mention that the August family is so prominent, maybe Hans Luther already knew the news.

"Well, if everyone thinks so, then please ask Your Excellency the Director of the National Reserve to assist Chancellor Hans Luther in dealing with the aftermath of August II." After speaking, Eric announced the successful conclusion of the meeting and encouraged everyone to continue to contribute to the cause of Germany's economy and national defense.