It wasn't that he didn't doubt Zhou Nan's words, but he quickly vetoed this in his heart. Zhou Nan is like his son, he has been raised by him since he was a child, and he knows very well what kind of person Zhou Nan is.

He is kind by nature, but there is a kind of Western romance in the shyness of the East. Although he grew up in a German family, Zhou Nan did not have any German rigor and was more like a Frenchman who advocated freedom. Unlike the unreliable French, he has an oriental conservative and responsible sense.

He loved music, he loved literature, he loved animals, he loved all things good. He can also do things he doesn't like at all, but he doesn't complain. Although his character is a little weak, he is by no means cowardly, and Hoffman has always liked him as much as he likes his three children.

There was no reason for him to weave such a lie to himself, not to mention, a large part of what he said was top-secret information that had already been confirmed.

Germany's defeat in the war in North Africa, due to the short period of time, even the British were still confirming the information and did not publicize it. So the vast majority of people would not know about the defeat of the Germans in North Africa three days ago, but Zhou Nan did.

Especially when he said that Falkenhausen would be involved in the plan against Hitler, Hoffmann was shocked, but he was quick to believe it.

Because all indications are that Falkenhausen is involved in a secret plan, which can be vaguely felt from his unusual behavior since this year.

From the time of his stay in the Far East, Hoffmann and Falkenhausen had been friends for years, and he knew everything about the general. There are many things about him that his secretary may not know, but Hoffman can see the difference.

For example, in the past few months, he has relaxed the control of Belgium, although there are laws to follow, but the tightness of the control is still different. And since Miss Qian interceded on behalf of the Belgians through him in March, at least more than a dozen resisters who should have been shot were simply imprisoned.

Of course, the more important reason is that Hoffman has seen him meet with several dove generals in a row, and although Hoffman does not know what they are discussing, he can also feel the undercurrent under the calm.

And what made Hoffman more and more certain was the appearance of General Rommel, which made him confirm his own ideas.

General Rommel had to return to China to recuperate because of conflicts with other generals, and when he returned to Germany, he met Falkenhausen once. And the day before yesterday, after the defeat of the North African campaign presided over by the North African commander Anim, General Rommel once again came to Senefer Castle and had a secret meeting with Falkenhausen for two hours.

Rommel was a traditional soldier, and he possessed the rigor of a German soldier and excellent command skills, which made him highly used by Hitler. However, his relationship with Hitler's later support for a series of generals was not good, and the defeat in the North African campaign was not so much a defeat for the German army at the hands of the British and American forces as a defeat in internal strife.

It was because Rommel was not supported by other generals and was beaten passively in the face of an allied army several times his size, so he became disheartened and complained to Hitler. It's just that no one expected that Hitler would really transfer Rommel back from Africa and let Arnim command the battle.

In just two months, Rommel returned home from Africa on March 10, but on May 13 the German army ushered in the worst defeat in the history of World War II.

As an outsider, Hoffmann clearly saw that there were many contradictions between the Wehrmacht and Hitler, between the Wehrmacht and the SS, including within the Wehrmacht.

But even so, Hoffman did not expect that Germany would lose in this war, how could Germany, which already controlled most of Europe, fail? How could it fail!

In the warm sun, the sound of the neat footsteps of a group of patrolling soldiers alarmed Hoffmann, and hearing their voices, Hoffmann could not have imagined that in the future, Germany would lose this war.

Today's Europe is almost entirely occupied by Germany, and from the south to North Africa, Germany cannot find any opponents.

And the three Nordic countries, including Denmark, also submitted to the German chariot. In the eastern theater, German soldiers had already attacked Asia, almost taking the largest oil fields of the Soviet Union.

At present, only the British have not completely admitted defeat, but even the British mainland has been bombed by Germany, do they still have the strength to resist!

Only the United States, a newly rising power, has the strength to compete with Germany, but they are now also mired in the Pacific War. Could it be that this country across the Atlantic really has the ability to open up two battlefields at the same time?

Hoffman was also not sure, because he was not a politician, nor a military strategist, he was just a businessman.

Coming to the front of the window, Hoffmann looked at the beautiful castle garden and fell into deep thought.

Zhou Nan's words were recalled sentence by sentence, and he thought about it repeatedly in his mind, hoping to find a suitable way out for Germany and the Hoffmann family.

He trusts Zhou Nan because he is his own child, and he doesn't believe that Zhou Nan will lie to himself. And he has always been obsessed with art, and he usually pays little attention to these political affairs, so let him weave such a set of lies, which he can see through at once.

He will die, and the family's wealth will be in vain, which is a bit unbearable for Hoffman.

He didn't care about his life, and if he could dedicate his life to a country that was only seventy years old, it was something that most Germans would be willing to do. However, what he can't accept is that the foundation of his family's continuity has also come to naught, and his wife and children are lonely.

What should he do?

He looked over to the main building of the castle, where he had a trusted friend who might be able to get some guidance.

However, he could not just tell him everything, because that would only put his Jonas in trouble. This matter, Jonas should be set aside, he is not a German and should not pay for the responsibility of the Germans.

There was a knock on the door, and he turned around, straightened his collar, and said, "Please come in." ”

Coming in was his military secretary Claudio and the liaison officer of the secret police, Koch, and they gave a military salute, which Claudio reported: "Your Excellency, the Fourth Army of Northern Europe has sent a telegram asking the Belgian military government to give them some fresh vegetables, the soldiers of Northern Europe are currently rationed less than 100 grams of fresh vegetables per day, but the fresh vegetables we have here are ripe. General Falkenhausen told you to deal with the matter and get back to the Fourth Army as soon as possible. ”

Because he was a military supply businessman, Hoffman was also hung with the rank of colonel. But this is only a fictitious position, and he does not have the power to lead the army to fight, but only to facilitate his liaison with the military.

These matters were just routine for Hoffman, and he asked the vegetable team to prepare fresh vegetables, liaise with the military supply train, and take care of these chores in ten minutes.

As they were about to leave, Hoffman stopped Koch. "Is the Governor at home today?"

Koch gave a military salute before saying, "Your Excellency the Governor has convened a meeting of senior officers this afternoon, and the meeting is still ongoing. ”

"Thank you, Sergeant. Please help me close the door. ”

Koch turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly.

Hoffman sat at the front of his desk and began to think again, and he was also waiting for Zhou Nan to call him.

At about four o'clock, the phone in his office finally rang, and Zhou Nan on the other end of the phone reported to him that he was safe. Hoffman then asked, "Jonas, I forgot to ask you at noon, what do you want to do next?" ”

At this time, even the phone of the Governor's Palace, I am afraid that it is also being monitored. Zhou Nan didn't understand why Hoffman asked him like this on the phone, but since he asked, Zhou Nan also told the truth.

"Yannick, I want to take Caroline's mother to Switzerland with me."

Hoffman pondered for a moment before he said, "I see." ”

Hanging up the phone, Hoffman couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. Jonas still thinks a little simpler, although there is no general mobilization in Germany now, but it is very difficult for a German to go abroad and immigrate now.

In particular, a military supply merchant like him is the object of strict control, and his family now wants to emigrate and leave Germany, which is simply impossible.

On the contrary, if it were just Jonas alone, the matter would be very simple. He was not German, and as long as the junta issued him a pass, he could leave the Netherlands and go directly to Switzerland.

Yannick thought about it, although there were a few people he knew who were now in Switzerland, but he didn't know how they were doing in Switzerland, and whether they could help Jonas settle down in Switzerland.

He retrieved his phone book, then shook his head and put it down. Now that the telephone lines to Switzerland have been cut off, even the lines that remain are being monitored by the secret police, and it is safer to write letters if they want to ask them for help.

He wrote four letters in a row, and after he finished writing, he didn't let anyone send them directly. Looking out the window at the already setting sunset, it occurred to him that it might be more effective to entrust this matter to General Falkenhausen.

To be able to set Jonas aside, but also to be able to vaguely remind Falkenhausen of the news of Germany's defeat, and change the fate of himself and General Falkenhausen, this needs to be carefully considered.

Relatively speaking, the immigrating of Jonas to Switzerland was a trivial matter for him and for General Falkenhausen.

Looking at the time, it was almost seven o'clock now, and the meeting should have been finished long ago. However, it was still early before dinner time, and General Falkenhausen should have time for this moment.

There was another knock on the door, and his secretary, Lady Laura, came in and asked, "Mr. Hoffman, are you going to dine here tonight, or are you going back to the villa?" ”

"Laura, don't worry about me, you can go back and rest early, I'll leave in a while."

(This chapter is a bit of a carvan, originally I wanted to write a little more about the international situation at that time, but I thought of the main line of the book, and I was afraid of harmony, so I finally accepted most of it.) ）