After a good night's rest, Rommel and his troops continued on their way early the next morning. This time, instead of taking the main road, they walked along the fields and woods on the banks of the Santa Maria River, without encountering any trouble along the way. So, when it was almost dark, they came to Puerto Tampico, where the Santa Maria River flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

After settling his troops in a wooded area not far from the port, Rommel prepared to enter the port area at night with Fred and a Mexican soldier who knew Tampico well, and told Gerhardt that if he did not return by dawn, he would take command of his troops and bring them back to the base.

Jehart nodded solemnly in agreement.

In order not to reveal their identities, Rommel and Fred removed superfluous items such as armed belts, hats, and daggers, and only hid a Luger 08 in their pockets. There is no need to worry about the military uniforms on their bodies, because there are no epaulettes, collar badges and other accessories, and they look the same as the clothes worn by retired soldiers, and on the coast of Mexico, there are not a few Europeans dressed like this, some are retired from Britain and France and other countries to engage in business, some are sailors on merchant ships, and some are pure military enthusiasts. Still, Rommel and Fred used a comb and water to clean their hair.

As for the Mexican boy Rafal who accompanied them, he was no different from an ordinary Mexican after being disarmed, but for safety, Rommel asked Gerhardt to lend him his pistol temporarily.

In this way, the group of three continued eastward along the Santa Maria River, and after more than half an hour they came to the outside of Tampico, by which time it was completely dark.

"Stop, where are you from?"

Before they were about to enter the city, the Rommel trio were stopped by a Mexican soldier with a rifle on his back.

Rommel stared at the soldier coldly with his head held high, without saying a word, and Fred beside him also had an unkind expression.

Just when the Mexican soldier hesitated, Rafal leaned over and explained:

"This is the son-in-law of our boss. At this time, Childe's bodyguard, we have just returned from a walk by the river! ”

"Walking, winter walking?" The Mexican soldier looked at them with a wary gaze, "Don't you know that you are not allowed to enter the city after dark?" ”

"Yes, Mr. Officer! But you see, it's getting dark a little too early now, and we're trying to speed things up! Rafal said pleadingly, and below he quietly shoved a silver coin into the soldier's hand.

After touching the silver coin. The soldier's expression suddenly changed dramatically, and he immediately got out of the way, "Oh! Get back to town early for your next walk! Bandits have been in trouble lately, and it can be very dangerous to stay outside the city at night! ”

Rafal nodded yes, while Rommel and Fred walked past the soldier with disdainful expressions.

"General, don't be like these people!" Rafal spoke fluent Spanish, but alas, Rommel could only appreciate his performance from his movements and expressions. As for Fred, although he can speak Spanish, he is not very fluent. After all. The first few batches of people who can speak fluent Spanish and are willing to come to Mexico have already arrived, and people like Fred do not speak Spanish very well, so the High Command has also arranged special Spanish tutors for them on the ship.

Therefore. Fred could only convey the Mexican's words roughly to Rommel. Afterwards, Rommel patted Rafal on the shoulder as a sign of approval and encouragement.

After walking about the old minutes, Rafal led them to a large two-story house and told them that there was a wealthy German merchant living there. He had been here with his companion a month earlier, and had received a considerable amount of aid from the businessman.

"You guys wait next to you, I'll go first and see the situation!" Fred offered to help.

Rommel shook his head resolutely, "No, you better go aside, if there is any accident." Get out of town at once, and let Captain Jehart move with his troops! ”

Seeing Rommel and Fred arguing in whispers in German, Rafal had no choice but to look to the left and right vigilantly.

Eventually, Rommel ended the brief argument with his rank, then straightened his collar and strode to the door of the house, knocking on it with moderate force.

Fred and Rafal, who were hiding around the corner, stared closely at Rommel's side, and after a while, the door opened, and it was opened by a large man dressed in black. They talked for a while at the door, and then the big man turned sideways to let Rommel in, and then looked out of the door vigilantly a few times before closing the door again.

"Alright, I'll watch here, you go get something to eat!" Fred said in his somewhat broken Spanish, then handed Rafal a silver Mexican coin.

"Well, I'll be back soon, wait!" Rafal took the silver coin and disappeared from Fred's sight with a puff of smoke.

Inside the house at this time, Rommel was sitting on the sofa in the living room, and the fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, and the whole room was very warm.

While the master had not yet come out, Rommel took a good look at the room. Two small flags were placed on either side of the fireplace in the classical style, one was a green, white and red Mexican flag, and the other was a black, white and red German flag, indicating that the owner was a German who had come to Mexico for long-term business and residence; The room is all covered with wool carpets, which are very textured when stepped on, and you can see that they are good colors; On one wall hung a number of guns, long and short flintlock pistols, single-barreled shotguns, and old-fashioned single-mount rifles, and on one wall hung a large deer head, and the owner was a man who loved to hunt if he was not a pure collector.

Rommel was speculating about the identity of his master, when a very gentle voice came from not far away:

"My subordinates say you have something important to do with me? Friends from Germany! ”

Rommel turned his head and saw a kind-looking old man, so he quickly stood up.

"Yes, sir! I just came from Germany a while ago, but I've been in some trouble lately! ”

"You may be seated!" Although the old man was old, he did not look old at all when he walked, and he came to Rommel's side as he spoke.

"Young man, tell me what trouble you're in?"

At this time, Rommel's greatest concern was not how to speak, but whether he should reveal his identity to the old man.

Seeing that Rommel hesitated, the old man turned his head. Motioned for the big man standing in the doorway to leave the room. After that, he said, "It's all right, lad! Since we are both Germans, just talk about your difficulties and see if I can help! ”

Rommel was relieved by the old man's fluent and honest German, and he looked into the old man's eyes, which were as still as water.

"Well, my men and I just came from the south. The rations you carry with you are running out, and there is not enough ammunition to defend against the beasts! I heard from my men that he had received alms from you, so come and try your luck! ”

"Oh......" The old man looked Rommel up and down, and his rich experience made it not difficult for him to figure out the identity of this young man.

Seeing that the old man did not express his position immediately, Rommel said: "It doesn't matter if it's inconvenient for you, I can try my luck somewhere else!" ”

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant!" The old man waved his hand, "Dare to ask your honorable name?" ”

"Erwyn Rommel!" Rommel gave his name.

"Erwyn Rommel! Déjà vu name......" the old man muttered to himself.

"Sir?"

"Oh, Mr. Rommel, I'm sorry. Could you please wait a moment here? ”

The old man got up and walked to the door. After explaining a few words to the big man outside the door, he closed the door and left.

Rommel was so surprised that he quickly stood up and pulled his pistol out of his pocket. Then walk gently to the door. There didn't seem to be any movement outside, and he quietly twisted the door open, and saw the big man in a black suit standing squarely outside the door.

"Broken ......" Rommel was worried, the old man might have gone to the authorities. So he closed the door gently, then walked to the window, and lifted the corner of the curtain, but fortunately, there was no one guarding the window.

After a few attempts, Rommel easily opened the window and looked down through the dim streetlights. Less than two metres below the ledge, there was a small flower bed, and he leaped down with agility, and then ran swiftly towards the corner where Fred and Rafal were hiding.

"I'll just say I've seen the name, it turned out to be Major Rommel of the Imperial Army!" When he pushed the door in, the old man was holding a piece of paper, which was densely covered with many names, and if someone here was arrested by the Mexican government, his task was to rescue him by various means. Of course, he has another identity. That was the head of the secret German transfer station for supplies and personnel in the port of Tampico.

"Major—"

Seeing the curtains blown by the wind, the old man was stunned.

"We need to get out of here quickly!" Rommel panted and said to Fred.

"But Rafal hasn't come back yet!" Fred was extremely surprised by Rommel's expression.

Rommel whispered as he dragged him away from the house:

"No matter, find a place to hide first! I'm worried that this person is an eagle dog of the Mexican government or the U.S. government, and that someone will soon come after me after discovering that I have escaped! ”

Fred was a little worried about getting separated from Rafal, but if the situation was indeed as Rommel had suggested, they had to hide, because their size and face could easily be spotted standing in the street.

A few minutes later, when Rafal arrived at the corner with several paper bags of food, he was greeted by several large men in black suits, who were about to walk away as if nothing had happened, but a large man forcibly pulled him aside.

"Boy, where's your companion?"

"Companions? What companions? Rafal pretended to be innocent.

At this moment, a well-dressed old man stepped out of the shadows.

"Do you remember me, young man?"

Just half a street from the Mexican army outpost, Rommel and Fred found a small Western-style restaurant and sat by the window.

"Gentlemen, what do you want?" The waiter asked them in fluent Spanish.

"Uh...... Two steaks, two glasses of water, a plate of bread! Fred struggled to utter the words.

The waiter quickly recorded in the small notebook, "Okay, how cooked should the steak be?" ”

"Uh...... Five...... Oh no, it's medium-rare! ”

"Okay, wait a minute!"

After the waiter left, Fred asked Rommel in a low voice, who had been staring at the outpost, "How is the situation?" ”

Rommel whispered in German: "No one seems to be out of town now!" ”

Fred thought for a moment, "Stumped we can't leave until dawn?" Or I'll go look for Rafal in a moment, or he's more familiar with this place, and if he can't find us when he goes back, he might have been wandering around the neighborhood all the time! ”

"It's okay, but the first problem now is to fill your stomach first!" Seeing the waiter coming with water and bread, Rommel felt that his stomach was empty.

"Sir, your water and bread!" The waiter placed two glasses of water and a large plate of bread on the table in front of them, "The steak will wait another five minutes!" ”

"Well, by the way, night...... Can't you go out? Fred gestured to the checkpoint.

"You two just came to the local area!" The waiter glanced at the checkpoint not far away, "It's forbidden to enter or leave after dark!" Now there are a lot of bandits outside, and even the government troops have to withdraw to the city at night! ”

Fred nodded, motioning for the waiter to go down first.

By this time Rommel had picked up the bread and ate it elegantly.

Fred had obviously been hungry for a long time, so he broke off a large piece of bread and munched on it.

After a while, the smell of steak wafted from the kitchen, which made the two hungry for a long time feel more appetizing. At this time, a familiar figure appeared outside the window of the restaurant.

"Hey, Rafal!" Rommel looked at his companion in astonishment, and when he saw the old man and the big man standing behind Rafal, he was even more surprised and speechless.

Quietly, he dug his right hand into his trouser pocket and felt for the cold pistol.

However, Rafal waved happily at them, and the old man behind him was even more smiling.

An hour later, the well-fed Rommel trio were taken to a hidden warehouse not far from the port area. When the lights were turned on, piles of wooden boxes covered in canvas appeared in front of them.

One of the old man's subordinates pointed to the boxes and introduced:

"This is a rifle! It's a bullet here! That's a machine gun! That's a grenade! It's all mortars here! And this pile, cannonballs! ”

Rommel's eyes widened.

"These are all transported from Germany, but there is no way to transport them to the base areas of the peasant army!" The old man explained later, "We can only transport supplies through people and horses on mountain roads, so the amount of each shipment is very small!" Since the US military established a blockade line, it has become more difficult to deliver supplies! ”

"God, that's enough to equip an infantry regiment!" Fred and Rafal were so excited that they could take a look at it.

"Of course!" The old man replied proudly.

"So, let's get our battalion armed today!" Rommel's eyes were also full of anticipation.