.“ Royal Hussar Regiment? Hum! Not so good, right? ”

A gray Prussian military cap with a dome cloth and an empty magazine withdrew. Beside him, other soldiers with pistols or rifles were firing down the hallway, bullets darting back and forth in the small space, making shallow craters in the ornately decorated walls.

However, the second lieutenant did not speak German, but pure French!

"Shut up, don't talk!" A lieutenant next to him, who was also holding a Luger 08 pistol, whispered, "Do you want to die? ”

The previous lieutenant then shut his mouth in a huff, changed the magazine, and continued to fire at the opposite side.

The soldiers of the Royal Hussar Regiment as the second lieutenant spoke of were suppressed at the other end of the corridor at this time, judging by the sound of gunfire, they were at a disadvantage in numbers and firepower, and the soldiers on the second lieutenant's side quickly set up a "Firebird" light machine gun, and with the rapid and crisp rattling sound, the soldiers on the opposite side were almost powerless to fight back.

At this time, the second lieutenant couldn't help but move next to the lieutenant and asked in a very small voice

"Sir, let's persuade them to surrender!"

Of course, the phrase is still in French.

"Fool, do you know the first order of the German Janissaries? Let me tell you, no victory, that is, death! The lieutenant was depressed and helpless to inform his men that the other side would not surrender under any circumstances. Glancing at the front with admiration and regret, the lieutenant waved his hand, and dozens of men in German infantry uniforms rushed forward without hesitation. Many of them were swept down by bullets along the way, but many eventually rushed to the end of the corridor, where a bloody and tragic white-knuckle battle broke out.

The one-sided battle began at midnight at the Tsirchenhofer Palace, which is known for its opulence and sophistication. The attackers attacked the palace gate and the side gates at the same time in a surprise attack, and then continued to advance into the palace. The palace was guarded by the Royal German 7th Cavalry Regiment, which usually consisted of only three companies, although it had 2,850 officers and enlisted men, 20 artillery pieces, 75 light and heavy machine guns, and 260 horses. Less than 400 men, including officers, were stationed in the Hoover barracks, 3 kilometers from here.

Despite the fact that it was an almost unforeseen battle, Colonel Fernand and the Praetorian Guard soldiers under his command took up arms to defend at the first opportunity. In the darkness of the night, it was difficult to discern the exact number of attackers, but the other side seemed to have an infinite number of troops, and the defenders knocked down the first few who rushed forward, and then several times or even ten times the number of enemies rushed up. Fierce fighting continued from one corridor to the other of the palace, with the defenders resisting with the help of rooms, railings, and all obstacles at their disposal, but as casualties mounted. The tide of the battle gradually turned against the defenders. After the death of Colonel Fernand, his soldiers did not give up their resistance despite the loss of their commander, and everyone had only one thought in their hearts: to hold on until reinforcements arrived!

Originally, it only took a quarter of an hour to run from Hoover Barracks to this palace, but the main force of the regiment, which set out from Hoover Barracks after hearing the sound of gunfire, was blocked by the enemy halfway through! Faced with pre-set trenches and dense machine-gun fire, the brave soldiers rushed three times in a row but could not move forward, and the battle was at a stalemate.

From the moment the shots rang out, the inhabitants of Potsdam fell into a helpless state of unease.

"What's going on?" The people's minds were full of such questions, but their police chief did not come out to answer the question, or rather, the man in charge of the security of the whole city had lost his freedom of movement. A group of unidentified militants quickly stormed not only the police station and the railway station in the city of Potsdam. Mines have also been laid on the main roads leading from the urban area to the outside world. All trains had to move 10 kilometres from the city centre because the tracks were damaged.

Despite the sound of intense gunfire, the streets of the city were empty, with only a few corpses facing the sky under a few street lamps. These were the first residents to go out of their homes to find out, but they were knocked down by bullets from an unknown source before they took to the streets. Looking at their family members or neighbors lying in pools of blood, some residents with weapons opened fire in horror at any suspicious location, only to fall under the strange sound of gunfire.

People didn't know that the Grim Reaper was on the tall church bell towers in the city, but after witnessing all this, the rest of the residents stayed at home and did not dare to go outside, even the lights were turned on, and almost every window was closed with thick curtains.

In this way, the small city of Potsdam, just a few dozen kilometers from Berlin, was incredibly in a panic.

Imperial capital, just a few dozen kilometres from the city, was not awakened by the noise. But the bustling city soon found itself in a similar predicament!

On the banks of the Havre-Tagore Canal in the southern suburbs of Berlin, there is a small, elegant-looking cottage that is rarely known to outsiders and whose owner does not live for most of the year. In fact, it belonged to a man of extraordinary stature, and only when a very important military meeting was held in Berlin, or when an event of great significance occurred at home and abroad, he would bring his guard to the place.

Also around midnight, the villa was attacked by a group of unknown people. An armed attack on the German capital would have been unimaginable in normal times, but it did happen, and the attackers had subdued the guards defending the villa in just ten minutes. None of the well-trained guards escaped the attack.

Obviously, this is not something that ordinary looters can do.

When the leader of the attackers, a man in the uniform of a second lieutenant in the German Army, stood in front of Tirpitz, the veteran marshal, known as the founder of the German Navy, did not panic in the slightest. The villa was his private property in Berlin, where he had been summoned not long before, and after meeting the Emperor, he did not return to the manor of his fiefdom, but stayed there temporarily.

The villa was defended by 30 officers and men from the Navy, three of whom were officers and 27 of whom were ordinary soldiers, armed with Navy Luger pistols and Mauser rifles, and three military horses for emergency communications and other emergencies.

"Honorable Marshal, I hope you don't mind such reckless actions on our part!" Even if it's a respectful and polite word. It is also insincere to speak the earth from this person's mouth.

Tirpitz calmly buttoned the last button of his shirt, ignoring the person in front of him.

The man in black sneered in embarrassment, as if he had been mentally prepared for this situation. He summoned one of his men to give a few words, and after repelling the crowd, he sat down in front of Tirpitz without hurrying.

"Don't worry, Lord Marshal, we won't hurt a single hair of yours, it's just that we're going to wronged you to stay here for a while!"

"Hmph. A bunch of guys who don't know whether to live or die! Tirpitz said contemptuously that the uniformed attackers were nothing more than a bunch of inconspicuous shrimp compared to the storms and waves he had experienced.

"Your Excellency, in the eyes of a big man like you, we are just some small characters who are not as good as sand, but who can guarantee that small characters will not be able to make an earth-shattering career?" The second lieutenant smiled wryly, judging by his age, expression, and tone of voice, he didn't look like an ordinary second lieutenant in any way.

For these details, Tirpitz naturally understands that the other party not only has a special identity, but the soldiers he brought are not ordinary people. Otherwise, his guards would not have been subdued without firing a shot.

"No matter how small the role. Hmph, don't want to shake the foundation of a country! Tirpitz said coldly, not just disdain. At the same time, he is also holding grievances for the victims. He knew the boys in his guard well, and they wouldn't be tied to the ground unless they lost the ability to resist, and that was exactly what happened.

The second lieutenant shrugged, not disappointed or angry at these words, in his consciousness victory or defeat does not depend entirely on strength and situation, if there is a strategy, the weak can defeat the strong, and the less can win the more, on the contrary, no matter how strong the person is, he may lose his life because of his own negligence.

When he saw the other party's shrugging movements, Tirpitz's eyes had a subtle change that was difficult for outsiders to detect.

"Do you think that kidnapping me will make Germany compromise with you? Then you really overestimate me! Tirpitz said as he observed the other man's expression.

The second lieutenant glanced at the old man disappreciatively, "Oh? What a shame then! I didn't expect that a person like you, who has worked hard and made great achievements, is so worthless in the eyes of the government! ”

"I am a man who is about to become history, but no wise government will compromise with another country for my sake! In my opinion. The best way is to treat me as a martyr on the battlefield, and punish those countries who are secretly destroying me! Tirpitz said impassionedly, as if he were about to die heroically.

The second lieutenant smiled, laughing so presumptuously in front of a marshal who was not many ranks older than him.

"Your Excellency, please don't get excited! I said at the beginning, we won't hurt you a hair, all you lose is a short period of freedom, that's all! ”

Tirpitz was silent.

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and a man in the uniform of an ordinary soldier entered. He muttered a few words in the second lieutenant's ear before leaving nervously.

After turning back, the second lieutenant regained the politeness he had when he first entered, "Dear Marshal, if you don't mind, please tell us where General Matthew is!" ”

"General Matthew?" Tirpitz looked at the other party in some surprise, "General Lucas Matthew, the commander of the Praetorian Guard?" ”

"That's right, it's the little fox!" The lieutenant gritted his teeth, his expression completely different from his previous indifference.

From this expression, Tirpitz was even more sure of his guess.

"I'm sorry, but I've never asked about the Praetorian Guard, and I don't have that authority! I think you should be well aware of the German military system, the Praetorian Guard was loyal to the emperor alone! ”

In response to Tirpitz's explanation, the second lieutenant actually nodded in agreement.

"This cunning guy has disappeared as if he was invisible!"

At the same time as the attack on Tirpitz's apartment, another group of mysterious men raided the residence of General Matthew, the commander-in-chief of the Berlin Praetorian Guard, and subdued the Praetorian Guards, but to their great surprise, Matthew, who returned to his residence at dinner time, was nowhere to be seen, but no vehicle left there the whole time!

Although this small incident did not fundamentally affect the attackers' plans, it was a bad sign for this group of guys whose identities and origins were quite mysterious.

However, after losing an important prey, the men were able to compensate for it from another place - the attack on the Cezilienhof Palace finally ended with the death of the defenders, who found the Duke of Württemberg, Albrecht, who was under house arrest, in a secret room.

"His Royal Highness! We are ordered to get you out of here! One of the captains at the head said in extremely broken German, and the Duke was obviously hesitant to look at these guys who wore German army uniforms but couldn't speak German well.

"Who are you? Did the emperor send you to kill me? Hmph, you go back and tell him that if you want to kill, you will kill, and you don't have to play such a funny farce! ”

"Your Royal Highness, we are the men of Archduke Ettel Friedrich!" The second lieutenant just now spoke word by word, for fear that his stiff German would not be understood by the other party.

Although he was still skeptical, the Duke thought for a few seconds and decided to leave with the group.

At this time, the whole palace had completely calmed down, but the sound of gunfire was still heard from time to time in the distance. In the richly decorated corridors, around the elegant garden fountain, and on the marble staircase, many corpses lay on the ground. Among them, there are those who wear blue ornate military uniforms and pointed steel helmets, and those who wear ordinary gray military uniforms and dome steel helmets, and the blood exposed to the cold air is rapidly turning from bright red to black.

Walking through the bloody palace, the duke and his party came to the main entrance, where a Daimler car was already parked. In that car, the Duke finally saw a familiar face.

"General Furman Curran, why are you?" At this time, Albrecht was still surprised, but he no longer hesitated, because the major general in front of him was a close associate of Ettel Friedrich, the second son of Wilhelm II.

"Your Highness, I'll explain everything to you later, we must get out of here as soon as possible now!" Coran then motioned for the driver to drive, and by this time the gunfire in the distance was still intense, and it seemed that the Praetorian Guards had launched another attack.

After the car left, the palace remembered sporadic gunshots, and after a while, the attackers quickly withdrew and burned the palace, which cost tens of millions of dollars, and was burned by the fire, in addition to valuable valuables, nearly a thousand soldiers on both sides who died in the battle. Eventually, most of the bodies were charred, and only identification tags were used to identify the deceased, but in the end, only the bodies of more than 300 Praetorian Guard soldiers were identified, and the rest were unknown assailants.