Germany, East Prussia, this easternmost land in Germany is almost the coldest place in Germany in winter.

In a very beautiful castle on the outskirts of Königsberg, Lisa and her two children are enjoying the warmth of the fireplace in a small room. On this cold winter evening, a motorcade of horse-drawn carriages, mostly heavily armed soldiers, drove into the castle at a high speed. In this cold place, horse-drawn carriages are sometimes more reliable than automobiles.

After a while, little Zach led a general to the room where Lisa and the children were.

"General Matthew, why are you here today?" Lisa was a little surprised, but she still asked with a smile on her face, apart from Ollie and Thomas, Matthew was almost the best officer in Chentian's personal relationship. Little Andres was obviously familiar with this uncle in military uniform, and as soon as Matthew came in, he took the initiative to open his arms to hug him.

"Madam, in view of the friendship between me and His Highness for many years, please believe that I came here on the secret order of His Highness, don't ask anything, please leave here with me, don't bring anything, time is everything!" Matthew didn't care about Lisa's confusion, he hugged Andres and turned to Little Zack, "Little Mr. Zack, have you done everything Your Highness told you before?" ”

"Yes, everything is done without the god knowing!" Little Zach seems to know more about this than Lisa.

"Alright, let's go!"

Soon, Matthew and his soldiers escorted Lisa and the two children into one of the carriages, while little Zach and a few attendants led a few small boxes to the back carriage, and the inconspicuous convoy disappeared into the snowstorm, leaving only the European-style castle called "Castle in the Sky" standing alone.

Istanbul, Turkey.

Kemal's presidential palace is not very ornate from the outside, but this Ottoman palace is very large, and the simple decoration inside makes people feel small as soon as they enter the building, and their mentality is naturally very humble.

In a room full of bookcases and books, a man in a Turkish marshal's uniform and a man in a German major general's uniform sat face to face, although these two soldiers were quite different in appearance, but their ages and temperaments were strikingly similar, they were young, they were resolute, they were arrogant, they could be called outstanding representatives of the military world between the new generation and the middle generation, one was stronger than strategy, the other was good at tactics, and in the eyes of outsiders they were the best partners in controlling a military empire.

On the wall behind Kemal is a two-page calendar, the new year is coming soon, and he and Ollie are about to grow a year older, whether it is Kemal, who is about to enter the 34th year of his life, and Ollie, who is about to be 33 years old, their achievements at such an age are enviable.

Even though this is the study of the President of the Democratic Republic of Turkey, Oli's gun is still in the pouch of his waist. So far, he was the only German allowed to enter Kemal's study with a gun. Oli and Kemal had known each other since they were invited to lead mercenaries to Turkey in 1907, and the two of them became close comrades-in-arms with tacit understanding and mutual trust in their long fighting life, and Oli and German supporters became the most important pillars of Kemal's rise to power and control of Turkey.

Behind the close friendship between the two men was the strategic mutual support and support of Germany and Turkey, which had been supplying Germany with oil resources since 1910 (at this time most of Iraq and Iran were still part of Turkey, the original Ottoman Empire), and by the following year, Turkey had become Germany's largest oil importer. With the active progress of war preparations, Germany's oil investment and exploitation in Turkey was repeatedly expanded, and Kemal also contributed his full support to this, and during the war, a considerable part of the army was mobilized to help maintain the normal operation of oil exploration and transportation.

After the outbreak of the war, the railway transport between Baghdad and Istanbul and Berlin, which stretched for more than 2,000 kilometers and passed through Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary, was not interrupted for a single day, which was inseparable from Turkey's tough stance towards the Entente countries. After Turkey joined the Central Powers and declared war on Britain, France, Russia and other countries, the British also attempted to invade Turkey's oil-producing areas from Iran (the British actually controlled India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of Iran at the beginning of the 20th century) in order to destroy Germany's industrial and military potential.

If Germany had such a strategic partner in World War II, it would not have affected the combat effectiveness of the armored forces because of the lack of fuel, and the outcome of that war would probably have been different.

After Russia joined the side of the Allies, France surrendered, and Britain carried out strategic retrenchment, there were no hostile forces around Turkey that could threaten national security, so many of the reservists recruited for the war were disbanded, and Kemal's standing army only maintained nearly 600,000 infantry divisions, 8 cavalry divisions and some garrisons during the war readiness period, of which about one-third of the army is currently following the German army in Africa.

The German Expeditionary Force commanded by Ollie included 5 infantry divisions, 1 baggage division, 3 armored regiments, 4 flying squadrons and a submarine squadron of nearly 100,000 officers and soldiers, these soldiers can be called the most experienced fighters in all Germany, many of them participated in the mercenaries who aided Turkey that year, many veterans have been fighting in Turkey for several years, they have fought with the Turkish reactionary army, the army of the Balkan alliance (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece), the Russians and even the Anglo-Indian army. Compared with the small soldiers who have only experienced 5 months of war in China, they can be regarded as real old birds.

The Afrika Korps, composed of the German Expeditionary Force and the Turkish Expeditionary Force, was attacking Africa at this time, and the most direct result of the strategic contraction of the British was a vacuum in Africa, and most of the resistance encountered by the German-Turkish coalition was unorganized or even spontaneously carried out by the indigenous population, so in just two months, most of Africa had fallen into the sphere of influence of the Central Powers, and it was only a matter of time before Africa was occupied.

The only units of the German Expeditionary Force remaining in Turkey are one infantry division and one armored regiment, which were originally stationed in the port city of Iskenderun in southern Turkey, but from the afternoon of the 30th, the five most elite infantry regiments and armored regiments suddenly began to board the train to Istanbul, which is why Oli came to visit Kemal overnight.

"General, are these units of yours going to be repatriated? Are they too homesick? "Kemal's usual conversation is both relaxed and witty, and of course when he talks about business, he becomes very serious and serious, and it is clear that Kemal did not take this matter seriously at first.

However, Ollie's tone was very serious, "Mr. President, these troops are indeed going back to Germany, the General Staff has approved them to return to Germany for a period of rest, His Excellency the Minister of War is asking the Kaiser for permission to receive and review these brave soldiers, I believe that His Majesty the Emperor will soon approve it, and I will return home with them this time." In addition, I beg Mr. President to keep this matter a secret for us, after all, British spies are so rampant now! ”

"I see...... No problem, I'll get the gendarmes to act to block the news and keep the railroad open! Kemal's face did not change much, the German indestructible tank did not show any signs of failure at this time, the battle of England was also going on smoothly, in the current situation, almost no one smelled anything unusual in Germany, after all, there was not even half a dark cloud in the sky now.

"Thank you so much! Hope we can always be so happy to cooperate! For Kemal, Ollie is more respectful, in his heart only Chentian is a real reliable brother, so after receiving Chentian's telegram, he did not hesitate to act, and another important point is that people are still quite energetic at this age, if it is now forty or fifty years old and there is a large group of family members to take care of, Ollie will consider it more carefully.

As Oli walked away, Kemal suddenly fell into a confused thought, and the man who has historically been regarded as Turkey's greatest military genius seemed to have sensed something from it.

"Is the sky about to change? I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing for Turkey! Kemal muttered to himself, and he rang the bell on his desk to summon the officers waiting outside the door.

As the night wore on, Matthew's carriage was still quietly heading north.

"General, what the hell is going on?" Lisa hugged the two children who had fallen asleep, they were both covered with thick woolen blankets, and there was a small stove in the carriage, and it was not cold at all in the small space.

"Madame, believe me! Your Highness is working on your own destiny, and it is my duty to send you to safety in the meantime! After that, let's let us men go free and do a big job! Matthew had a very complicated expression on his face, which was both a desire to fight and a concern for his family.

"Well, General! Please take care of Your Highness for me, no matter what! Also, where are you going to send us? Lisa looked at the two children very worriedly, they were like two cute little angels when they slept, the carriage was not jolting and did not disturb their good dreams in the slightest, little Andres seemed to dream of something happy, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth. Once there is any accident in Chentian, this warm little family will not be beautiful.

"Please believe me, I will definitely ensure the safety of Your Highness with my life! In addition, Helen and the children will be traveling with you to Norway, and if anything happens, Mr. Zach Jr. will send you to the United States! You don't have to worry too much, our men's affairs have to be solved in our own way! "Being able to gain Chentian's absolute trust and participate in this kind of great action, Matthew already feels dead without regrets at this moment. For him, the meaning of life lies in such a struggle.

At this time, Matthew was in control of the East Prussian cluster with the 4th Infantry Corps as the main force, and these nearly 100,000 troops were the most reliable troops in Chentian except for the main force of the army group that was fighting in England.

It is worth mentioning that Königsberg is less than 500 kilometers away from Berlin, and it only takes half a day to get from Königsberg to Berlin thanks to Germany's well-developed railway network; The distance from Warsaw to Berlin is also nearly 500 kilometers, and the Polish cluster of more than 100,000 people commanded by Mackensen can reach Berlin in a day. Compared to these two forces, it would take longer for several of the main German armies currently stationed in France to return to Berlin in eastern Germany.

Towards 11 p.m., Matthew's convoy rounded the city to the port of Königsberg, west of the city, which was an inconspicuous place a decade ago and has become one of the key bases of the German Navy and the home port of the German Baltic Fleet. Since Matthew was now the supreme military governor of East Prussia, their party was not hindered in any way.

The motorized convoy finally stopped at a seemingly ordinary dock, waiting there was a light cruiser with two large chimneys, the lights on the cruiser illuminated the place where the carriage docked, and the white snow was very beautiful under this light, and the shadows of Matthew and the others were clearly reflected in the snow after getting off the car.

Only a dozen naval officers and sailors, including the captain, came to greet the ship, and the scene was not very grand, but the gangway was still covered with a red carpet in advance. There were also two carriages parked on the other side, apparently from Matthew's family.

"General, it's an honor to serve you!" The captain of this cruiser was a naval lieutenant who looked to be only in his 30s, and the biggest feature of the entire Baltic Fleet was that the ships and crew were very young, which was also determined by the background of the formation of the fleet. These young men and ships did not prevent the German Baltic Fleet from becoming the most important maritime power in the Baltic, at this time the fleet not only had armored battleships, but also the dreadnought battleship "Gangut", which had previously been captured from Tsarist Russia, was also repaired in dry docks, and soon it could be added to the combat sequence of the German Navy, and after a certain scale of modification, it would become the strongest warship in the Baltic Sea.

"Major, please help me take care of these passengers!" When Matthew handed Lisa to the captain, the young major was apparently surprised to recognize her, the wife of the Prince of East Prussia and the Acting Crown Prince of Germany, and little Zach and several other chamberlains were in charge of carrying the children and carrying the luggage.

"Yes! We will do our best to protect these valued passengers! The major put away his surprised expression and replied categorically, another feature of this fleet is that almost all the middle and senior officers are hand-picked up by Chentian and Heydrich, these officers are very loyal to the Chentian family, and the battleship selected by Matthew and the officers and soldiers on it are even more trustworthy.

The major was motioning for the sailors next to him to send Lisa and the others to the battleship, when suddenly an unpleasant voice came from the darkness not far away:

"Wait!"

Matthew and the others turned around and looked in the direction where the sound came from, a black figure walked out of the depths of the darkness unhurriedly, and the soldiers brought by Matthew raised their guns against each other, and the naval officers who came to greet them also pulled out their guns to block Lisa and the others behind them.

The black shadow didn't seem to be afraid of the dozens of guns here, and gradually, the light reflected his white face, which was all too familiar to Matthew and the others.

"Thomas! How did you end up here? Matthew was very surprised by the appearance of this person, and Matthew was very clear about the fact that Chen Tian and the legion were in danger of being hacked, and he was able to participate in this operation, and Chen Tian naturally told him that he would keep these things absolutely secret, and the object of secrecy also included the intelligence chief of the East Prussian region.

However, it seems that Matthew's move to send Lisa and the others away did not succeed in hiding from Thomas.

"Was it a surprise?" Thomas still looked grim.

"Are you here to see you off?" Matthew asked coldly.

"It's rude to leave without saying a word!" Thomas stopped five or six paces ahead of Matthew, who was unfazed by this, neither in the fight nor in the shootout.

"You don't have to worry about that, they're just going on a trip and they'll be back soon!" The two talked calmly face to face, Matthew backlit, and Thomas met the light, all of Matthew's expressions were obscured by the brim and darkness, but Thomas's every subtle expression was displayed in front of Matthew.

It's a pity that Matthew didn't find anything from the face that barely had any expression, he waved his hand and motioned for the soldiers to send Lisa and the others to the battleship, but Thomas said in a deep voice:

"Don't move anyone! There are 10 snipers behind me, the snipers of the Thornbird Legion, and they can't miss at this distance and in the light! ”

"You ......", Matthew's eyes widened, if they were only suspicious of Thomas's identity before, then this sentence completely revealed Thomas's true colors, "You are really that traitor!" ”

"Traitor? Oh, no, no, no! Thomas stretched out the index finger of his right hand and shook it in front of Matthew, "General Matthew, whether it is for the country or His Majesty the Emperor, I am the most loyal person!" ”

Matthew's heart was full of disdain and anger towards the betrayer at the moment, he never thought that his partner who had been working together from the junior military academy would actually betray his own people, if the original conspiracy in Poland succeeded, not only Chentian, but also the entire legion, including his countless classmates and alumni, would be wronged. But he can't punish this traitor at the moment, after all, the snipers Thomas said are not easy to mess with, people can't run bullets, not to mention that there are Chentian's most important family members here.