Although a series of large-scale moves to reduce the armed forces, increase the military budget beyond the limit, and forcefully reshuffle the cabinet, all of them were complete successes, they also cost Eric a lot of energy and brain cells, and even almost overdrew Eric's prestige in the current government, and almost caused a crisis of confidence in the federal party.

Although the noon meeting at noon that day, although the time was short, Eric seemed to have gone through a year of arduous journey, although he said nothing in the federal government, after all, the cabinet agency is not an ornament, if it were not for Strezemann and others to take the initiative to ask him about the truth of the cabinet reshuffle, I really don't know what kind of situation will be.

Eric spent the whole afternoon looking back on the scene, so much so that he didn't know how the two symposia at the Berlin Academy in the afternoon were finished. The elder Hindenburg later said that Eric's speech at the colloquium was very good, but Eric seemed to be self-aware.

After a hectic and heavy workload, Eric ended the last day of 1920 with a phone call with his family in Denmark at the end of the year and the beginning of the year.

Early in the morning of the first day of the new year, when the whole country was in a very festive atmosphere, Eric casually draped on an overcoat and slowly walked the garden path of the Hansa Felter Palace, savoring the first morning of the new year in solitude.

"Good morning, Dear Mr. President." A Hanseatic Palace clerk, who was working on the garden, saw the president walking alone in the garden and quickly greeted him politely.

"Good morning. Why are you here so early today? Oh, isn't it a holiday for everyone today? Eric did not have the slightest recliner of the president and asked him cordially.

"It was explained by Gu Chang, and besides, there was nothing else to do at home, so I came to work normally." The clerk replied, holding a large paper bag in his arms, standing still in place.

"Max? He didn't seem to come. Eric asked curiously, for he had gotten up early and had walked around the garden for so long without seeing anyone else.

"Back to the president, the chief counsellor has been working here all the way last night. I'm sorry Mr. President, but I also went out to buy breakfast and just came back, so I don't know the specifics. The staff answered Eric's questions.

"Okay, thank you, you go get busy" Eric straightened his coat sleeves.

"Goodbye, honorable Mr. President." After the clerk finished speaking, he went straight to his work.

"Mr. Max was here last night, and I didn't even know it after a night of work?" Eric looked back and asked the bodyguard beside him.

"Yes, Dear Mr. President. Came shortly after you fell asleep, to be precise, and have been working ever since" The bodyguard gave one of the answers that Eric wanted.

Eric wrapped himself in his coat, without the slightest intention of continuing his walk, and then strode towards Gu Chang's office.

The president's office and living area are separated from the chief prosecutor's office by a long corridor, but because there are usually many staff members in the chief manager's office, the area is larger.

As soon as I walked to the door, I found that there was a lot of movement in the office area of the chief manager, and it seemed that many staff members were busy. This may be because the Hanseatic Palace has been on holiday, which is particularly quiet in comparison, otherwise the activities in Gu Chang's office area are definitely not much movement. It's light-hearted.

Eric didn't immediately push open the false door, but stood at the door, bewildered, and went in to say hello? Just say: Happy New Year! Are you busy? And then say I'm gone? But it's stupid, and you don't know what's going on inside. The president should be concerned about his subordinates, but he also has to have a few decent New Year's words.

Max, who had been in the UK for more than half a year, did not return to China on a special plane until New Year's Eve, and Eric wanted him to spend more time with his family, but as soon as the international flight landed, he went into a state of crazy work, no wonder people said that Max was actually a workaholic. Indeed, the first day of the new year is not to rest at home or accompany the family out on a sightseeing trip, but to spend the whole night in the office, and this enthusiasm for work alone touches Eric very much. In that case, Eric always felt that he should go in and say hello.

When I opened the door, a stream of heat rushed in, and the aroma of coffee and black tea mixed together.

"Make a call to the duty officer at the Ministry of Finance and ask them to send a copy of the financial statement for the previous year this morning." The voice was Max, and Eric could make out it clearly.

"Oh! Happy New Year, Dear Mr. President! How did you get here, though. Max was surprised to see Eric walk in suddenly.

"It's nothing, I heard that you didn't have a break today, so I wanted to come and have a look, and by the way, I wish you a happy new year." Eric said, finding a spot in Max's courtesy and sitting down casually.

"Half a month later, the representatives of the Asian banking group of the five countries discussed the formation of a new banking group with the Chinese government, and I am collecting and sorting out relevant information in case of emergency." Max told Eric while busy.

"Isn't there still half a month to go, don't be in such a hurry, and there is Minister Yarma Schacht who can help you do these things well, you just have to spend more time with your family." Eric couldn't bear to keep Max busy.

"I haven't been back for more than half a year, and a lot of work is about to be out of touch, so I plan to take this opportunity to get acquainted with it." Max stayed up all night and was still in good spirits, when a clerk put a steaming cup of coffee in front of Max.

"What do you want to drink, Mr. President?" Max asked apologetically.

"No, thank you! Early in the morning, I didn't want to drink anything. Eric replied politely, then pointed to the coffee on Max's table and asked, "How many cups are you?" ”

"It's already the seventh cup." The clerk smiled and answered the president's question.

Eric looked at Max very sadly, but it was Max who gave Eric a reassuring look.

"My Excellency Gu Chang, don't exhaust your body, otherwise it will be difficult for me to carry out my work in the future." Eric walked over to the table and handed the coffee to Max himself: "Get done here before noon, then go back and get some rest and adjust." ”

Max is already one of the few henchmen that Eric can trust, and if he falls, there will be one less, and he is reluctant.

……

The Greco-Ottolian War was stagnant in Istanbul, and on January 9, the Kemal regime began to expand its influence throughout the country, and in addition to the Turkish regime in the Anatolian Peninsula, the surrounding regions began to follow suit and declare independence.

The Kingdom of Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which are located on the periphery of Kuwait, have chosen to side with the German Confederation; Iran, Afghanistan and other countries were subservient to Soviet power.

Syria and Jordan were added to the list of protected countries by France.

Lebanon and Yemen are also included in the UK's list of protected persons.

The whirlwind of disintegration in the Middle East has swept across the world, especially most of Europe.

Because the storm of independence came too suddenly, and because of the lack of information, the United States, which has always lacked influence in the Middle East, has missed a good opportunity and has no wedge point in the Middle East region, which has been repartitioned.

Feeling very disappointed, the United States could only summarize this practice of Britain, France, Germany, and the Soviet Union as an "imperialist" act and denounce it from the moral high ground.

On 18 January, a note ceremony held in Kyoto, China, was held as scheduled, and the delegation of the banks of the five countries signed an agreement with the government of Kyoto, China, officially announcing the establishment of the bank group of the five countries as scheduled, and at the same time marking that the Western powers had once again intensified their efforts to erode the financial circles in Asia, and the Soviets had become the forgotten ones of the spoils distribution conference.

On January 23, Eric looked extra energetic in Anata's outfit as he was about to meet with the leaders of the new regime that had just split up in the Middle East. They are the President of the Republic of Turkey Kemal, the King of the Kingdom of Iraq Atatuk, and the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Aziz.

After the three countries gained actual political power, they were quickly recognized by Germany, and in terms of international status, they were also recognized by Britain and France with the help of Germany, and then the Western countries, led by the United States, also recognized the independent status of the three countries one after another.

The three countries are well aware that the fact that they have been able to achieve full international status in such a short period of time is inseparable from the full support of Germany, especially Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Atatuk and Aziz had been hiding from the Ottoman Empire in Kuwait, and after Kemal took power in Turkey, Eric immediately sent military experts and political and economic teams to the Middle East to assist the two in seizing territory, thus stopping the unlimited expansion of Britain and France in the Middle East to the greatest extent.

The coup d'état that had been planned by Britain and France for a long time ended with Germany gaining the support of the majority of the country, and of course, this came from the long-standing friendly relations between Germany and Austria.

The reason why Eric is hosting these three guests today is to reconfirm whether many of the previous agreements with the Ottoman Empire are still valid.

As for Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and other countries, Eric believes that there is no need to care, and even if the German Confederation has unilaterally denied military alliances with these countries, it is natural that it will no longer sell them a series of weapons and equipment such as Type III tanks.

The first to arrive at the Hansa Felt Palace was the current President of Turkey, Kemal, who was greeted by Eric standing in front of the palace gate with a smile on his face.

"Hello Mr. President Kemal." Eric enthusiastically held out his hands and shook Kemal's hands.

"Hello President Eric Adrian,......" Kemal's expression was very natural, and he could not see the anxiety and sadness that the Greek-Turkish war was still leaving him.

Subsequently, the two sides walked to the reception area for foreign guests arranged by the staff in advance, and after another polite exchange at the gate of the reception area, they put on a friendly and warm posture under the flickering of the spotlights, and finally entered into substantive bilateral talks under the guidance of the staff.

Kemal finally got his chance to be alone with Eric.