Gonglu Palace, Berlin, Germany.

In the delicate but not extravagant conference hall, Kaiser Wilhelm III and his senior generals of the army, navy and air force were listed one by one.

This was the seventh joint meeting of the three armed forces since 1916, and on average once every 10 days, such frequent meetings gave people a strange smell of making major military decisions, conducting large-scale military operations, or before war.

At this time, Chen Tian had just gotten rid of the shackles of a wheelchair, but the taste of walking with crutches was not very good, and it felt like entering the old age stage in advance.

Chen Tian is 34 years old this year, which is the most energetic age.

Look at the sides of the long conference table, there are old and strong, and there are young and promising, from veterans over sixty years old to rising stars who have just passed the age of standing, such an age distribution is calm and energetic, experienced and vigorous, and reasonable is the envy of other countries.

Of course, there will be factions at the top of the military of any country, and the same is true for the generals of Chentian, however, these factions are not for power and profit, but for a certain group with relatively close backgrounds and iron relations. For example, the War Office was divided into the Meritorious Faction, headed by the Minister of War Carl von Büell, and the Chief of the Army General Staff. Paul. Feng. The Königsberg faction led by Hindenburg, the so-called meritorious faction is those generals who have been promoted step by step over the years because of their outstanding contributions to the country and the army, such as the commander of the army, General Adolf von Dimlin, the commander of the 2nd Army, Karl, von and Ernem, also belong to this list; The Königsberg faction, also known as the Kaiser's lineage, was composed of former classmates of the current Kaiser or had worked with him during his command of the East Prussian Army, among which Hindenburg served as an instructor in the Kaiser's youth, and they had a closer relationship with the Kaiser and were promoted faster than the average person, such as Matthew, Ollie, and Olge, all under the age of 35, but already prominent army generals. And François, Mackensen and several other field marshals were also among them.

Similarly, there were Meritorious and Königsberg factions in the Admiralty, but unlike the Army, the Admiralty was now largely in power, and those officers who had left the Baltic Fleet and the Königsberg naval base were still in a secondary position for the time being.

It is worth mentioning that after more than 10 years of painstaking operation and construction, the Königsberg Naval Base, which has excellent geographical location and harbor conditions, has now become the third largest military port of the German Navy after Kiel and Wilhelm, and is a shipyard under the Kaiser private industry Gigi Group. The shipbuilding capacity of the Königsberg shipyard has been greatly developed and is now one of the two largest shipbuilding centers in Germany, along with the Royal Shipyard in Wilhelmshamn. The shipyard is mainly for military projects, and can build all ships in the mainland, including battleships and aircraft carriers, and features the construction of large aircraft carriers and submarines, with an annual shipbuilding capacity of 500,000 tons in peacetime, and another half in wartime; Civil projects are mainly based on the construction of 10,000-ton ocean-going cargo ships, supplemented by small and medium-sized sailing fishing vessels.

In addition, although the scale of the Air Force Department headed by Air Force Minister Zeckert is not small, there are not many high-ranking generals, and at present there are only three generals and more than 50 colonelmen, and there is basically no faction. It is also often classified as a descendant of the Kaiser.

When everyone is there. Chen Tian said in a calm tone:

"After the end of the Lightning Project, I heard a lot of voices going eastward, and there were people who wanted to repeat the Lightning Project with the Russians. to completely eliminate our potential enemies in Europe. I wonder if any of you share that view! ”

As soon as Chentian's words fell, he saw Marshal François stand up:

"Your Majesty, I have served in the East Prussian Legion for many years, you know that! According to my opinion of Russia, this country, although economically and industrially backward, is a military threat that cannot be underestimated! In the 1914 East Prussian and Polish campaigns, we beautifully annihilated more than a million Russian troops, which can be said to be a miracle in military history, if we consider that the Russians are not to worry about it. Then it is too arrogant! At all times, the Russians have a large army, and the last time we defeated them, it was better for us to be prepared, and for them to send troops in haste, and if this situation were reversed, I think, the result would be unpredictable! Therefore, I advocate the use of blitzkrieg tactics once again. Strive to completely defeat Russia in the shortest possible time, at least, destroy St. Petersburg and the surrounding industrial zones and shipyards, so that the Russians will not be able to pose a threat to us for twenty years! ”

After François finished speaking, Chen Tian looked at everyone present, and many people nodded in agreement, it seems that there are indeed many people who hold this view. Next, Chen Tian pointed to Marshal Hindenburg, whose expression was relatively calm:

"My Chief of Army, what do you think?"

Hindenburg slowly stood up, "Back to Your Majesty, I think this matter should be carefully considered!" The potential threat from Russia is certainly there, and we did win great battles in East Prussia and Poland two years ago, but here I have to mention one name: Napoleon Bonapart! ”

With that, Hindenburg bowed slightly to Chentian, and then sat back in his seat.

These words are short and evocative.

Napoleon. Bonama, a name resounding, is still haunted by the defeat of the Germans, mainly Prussia, a hundred years ago. In the Battle of Jena-Olstadt in 1806, the Prussian army was almost completely wiped out, and Prussia was forced to sign the Peace of Tilcht with France, which left Prussia with all of its land west of the Elbe River and half of its land and urban areas. Prussia's population was reduced from 10 million to 4,930,000, its army was reduced to 30,000, and Prussia had many other obligations and huge war reparations. In this way, Prussia lost its independent status and was reduced to a vassal state.

The year after the Battle of Jena-Olstadt, Napoleon defeated the Russian army in Poland, and the First French Empire reached its heyday. However, the invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in Napoleon's illustrious military career, as he lost most of his elite troops in the ice and snow of Russia, and then collapsed, only to die on the island of St. Helena.

For Chen Tian, he thought of another name: Adolf. Hitler.

Chen Tian did not dare to say that his talents could surpass that of the Emperor Napoleon, or that his army could surpass the army of the Führer of the Third Reich, the times were different, and the conditions of war were different, but Russia's huge strategic depth, deadly winter, and bad roads were just as existing.

Chen Tian sighed lightly.

The next person to stand up and speak was General Ludendorff, First Quartermaster General of the War Department.

"Your Majesty. Given the geographical conditions of Russia, it is likely that our rapid offensive will not be able to achieve the same effect as in Austria. With only 200 kilometres from our border to Vienna and 700 kilometres to St. Petersburg, and Austria with good roads and railways, while Russia has only a handful of railways and a large number of dirt roads, it will be extremely difficult for us to travel in the event of rain and snow. In addition, according to our preliminary estimates. The invasion of Russia required the mobilization of at least 2 million regular troops, and the longer the battle line, the greater the cost of logistics and transportation, and the more soldiers were used for logistics transportation. By the time our army approaches St. Petersburg, we will have to deploy at least 500,000 men to defend logistics and supplies, and we will have to mobilize more than half of the country's resources! ”

Everyone present was stunned, although everyone knew that invading Russia would not be an easy task, but no one had ever reflected it with numbers before.

"Of course, this is only a preliminary estimate. I'm afraid that's not all! After adding. Ludendorff also bowed slightly to Chentian, and then sat down.

As far as Chen Tian knows, the historical German Third Reich launched 5.5 million troops and most of Europe's resources to invade the Soviet Union. This was already an army unprecedented in the history of mankind, but the result was the same as that of Emperor Napoleon. In fact, Napoleon's 500,000 troops were also "unprecedented" in his time.

Seeing that no one below took the initiative to speak, Chen Tian nodded to the chief of staff of the armored cluster again:

"General Olg, what do you think?"

Olg stood in response, "Back to Your Majesty!" As long as you give the order, the armored troops who are extremely loyal to you will rush to St. Petersburg without hesitation! It's just, like General Ludendorff said, our supplies will be greatly challenged, and. The state of the roads in Russia is really not flattering, and as soon as they blow up their own railways, we will have to go along their fields and dirt roads! ”

Chen Tian nodded, motioned for Org to sit down, and then, he nodded to Zekter, the Minister of the Air Department.

Zechter's answer was straightforward: "For the lightning invasion of Russia, I need an engineering force of 20,000-30,000 men to build enough field airfields in a timely manner, otherwise." Our aircraft will not be able to provide effective air support due to flight range! In contrast, the airship forces will be less troublesome, and we can strike St. Petersburg with air strikes to cause panic among the Russians from within. ”

After that, Chen Tian asked Marshal Boll about the possibility of landing in St. Petersburg from the sea, and Marshal Boll said that the waters of the Gulf of Finland are not large, and the Russians' mines will pose a considerable threat to the German fleet, but it is completely feasible to land and consolidate the beachhead from the sea, and the navy is fully capable of transporting a large number of land forces, and these landing troops will be like a sharp knife into the heart of Russia, but this will not be able to completely crush the Russians, because the Russians are likely to move the capital, and the war will be deadlocked.

After listening to everyone's speeches, Chen Tian expressed his own views to everyone:

"In terms of the current world situation, I personally strongly disapprove of a full-scale military action against Russia! This is not only because we are worried about following in the footsteps of Emperor Napoleon, but also because of the complex domestic contradictions in Russia and the ups and downs of revolutions, we should still follow the strategy of political division and disintegration and active military defense in Russia! Blitzkrieg, we don't yet have the ability to attack in such depth and quickly; A conventional offensive war will only drag Germany into the quagmire of a war of attrition, which will not only cause a huge waste of national resources, but also affect the morale of the army and the people, and moreover, Russia has a larger population and land area than us, and the result of a war of attrition will only drag down two countries! ”

In this way, François and others, who had been positive about the invasion of Russia, also withdrew their proposals. Indeed, it would be unwise to force a country that is gradually declining to resist desperately, not to mention that Russia has begun to show a temporary return to the past.

"As far as I know, the Russian Empress is purging dissidents and establishing cronies on a large scale, and we can use this opportunity to divide and disintegrate the enemy's camp, and to co-opt some of the old elites to work for us, preferably to cause civil strife or even civil war among the Russians! Moreover, under the powerful policy of Agreny, the Russian revolutionary armed forces suffered heavy losses, and their revolution entered a low ebb, and now, with the change of political situation in Russia, they seem to be showing signs of rising again. At this time, we should strengthen our support for the Russian Revolutionary Party and use them to disturb the days of peace in the Russian Government! ”

After saying this, Chen Tian couldn't help but think of Comrade Stalin, who was famous in another world, and at this time, he was probably planning his next rise in a corner of Siberia.

After giving the generals ten minutes to discuss freely, Chen Tian announced the start of the second phase of the meeting:

"Well, having said that, I just want you to turn your attention back to our main topic and not to the discussion of whether or not to fight the Russians! At the last meeting, we decided on the strategy of fighting against France, and now, I would like to ask General Hoffman to explain to you the newly formulated battle plan of the Army General Staff! ”

Hoffman, dressed in a crisp lieutenant general's uniform, stood up, and now his official position was Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Army, second only to Hindenburg and Ludendorff. As for the strategy of fighting against France at this time, it cannot be compared with the previous Schlieffen plan, because the former first army power in Europe only has half of its territory and an army of 100,000 men left.

Nevertheless, the fact that Germany under Wilhelm II did not destroy the main industrial areas in the south of France during the war and allowed France to retain government sovereignty gave the French hope of a reversal. In the coup d'état in Germany at the end of 1915, it has been confirmed that a group of French ** people were directly involved in the military operations of the coup army, which made Chen Tian and his cronies and generals very angry. However, they were well aware that the army of the puppet government in the north of France was disheartened and ineffective, and that it was almost impossible for them to defeat the French government in the south alone.

Therefore, taking advantage of this opportunity to turn the attention of various countries to the United States to invade Mexico, Chen Tian and his War Department prepared for the second war against France, and the opportunity was a group of French soldiers captured during the suppression of the coup.

The work of taking over the French colonies was completely completed in 1915, and the existence of the government in the south of France was no longer necessary for Chentian and the German government, and once the French puppet government took control of the entire territory of France, all French resources would be used by Germany.

For this reason, Germany specially prepared a hat for the government in southern France to "interfere in Germany's internal affairs", and the next thing was to wait for the powerful German ** team to complete the deployment and then attack.

This time, Germany did not even need to carry out a national mobilization, and the two Panzer Corps and the three Army Groups, which had just completed the invasion of Austria-Hungary, had already been transferred to western Germany for the final rest and preparation before the war.

As for the French, who smelled something strange, they were also making a last-ditch effort, both politically and militarily, but, in the eyes of most people, such efforts were weak in the face of the mighty German Army.