Paul. Feng. Letovin. Major General Forbeck and his 150 men were probably the most demoralized of all the German troops returning from the front, because they were the real victors. Maj. Gen. Faulbeck relied on only about 300 white men (including officers, doctors, and administrators) and a few thousand black soldiers, and had no reliable logistical supplies - the British played the role of transport captain in Africa - and fought the enemy force in the tens of thousands for four years and three months.

He fought until the unconditional surrender of Germany, his army was still fighting in Africa, and on 23 November, the army won Germany's final victory in World War I, capturing the fortress of Casama in British East Africa.

On 23 February, Major General Forbeck and his most effective officer, Theodore Brown, joined him. Feng. Captain Shipper was summoned together to the Grand General Staff at Königplatz. The two of them were brought in by a young lieutenant colonel with a blue Max medal (Falbeck also received one), Hirschmann.

To the surprise of these two triumphant heroes, they did not receive a grand reception at the Grand General Staff, but only entered the building through an unobtrusive side door.

"Mr. Major General, Theodore, no one knew you were coming," Hersman whispered to the two heroes. "So, please take off your East African troops' military caps."

The hat of the German army in East Africa is different from the German army in other places, it is a large topper hat with the right side folded upwards, which will be very noticeable in the Great General Staff.

"Ludwig, what's going on?" Major General Forbeck was an ordinary-looking little old man, somewhat emaciated, and his skin had been tanned by the scorching East African sun. He and Hirschman's father, Hirsman Sr., were classmates at school, and had spent several years together in China (first in the Eight-Nation Alliance, then in Qingdao), and were very familiar comrades-in-arms.

He had known Hersman for a long time and was very surprised by Hirschman's current rank and the blue Max medal that hung from his neckline. On the way over, I inquired and learned that Hersmann was the head of the now shrunken German intelligence department.

"Your Excellency Marshal has an important task for you." Hersman replied in a low voice.

"What important task?" Captain Shipper asked, "Ludwig, is it related to the Intelligence Group?" ”

Captain Shipper, who was about the same as Major General Falbeck, was emaciated and swarthy, with a hooked nose and slender eyes, and had a very sharp eye, and Hirschman was also an acquaintance. He was a classmate of Hersman at the military academy and went to Africa before the start of the world war.

"Let's go, you'll know when you see Your Excellency the Marshal." Hersman smiled at the two of them, then led the way in front.

There was a bit of depression in the Great General Staff, and it was no longer a lively scene of people coming and going. These days, every agency under the General Staff is slimming down, and many officers who used to work here have retired from active duty. The soldiers who remained in the General Staff looked very depressed.

They knew better than the "triumphant" servicemen outside, and naturally did not think that the war had not been defeated. Germany surrendered practically unconditionally, without any guarantees from the Entente, and the Entente still has not lifted the blockade of Germany. This is definitely not a good sign......

Field Marshal Hindenburg stood at the door of his office and shook hands with Major General Falbeck, and then smiled bitterly: "Paul, compared with you, we Germans in Europe should be very ashamed. ”

"I think so too...... The war can be continued, so why surrender? More than 100 of us plus more than 2,000 blacks can hold out in Africa without logistics, leaving tens of thousands of British troops helpless, why can't Germany fight here? ”

In the face of Major General Forbeck's questioning, Field Marshal Hindenburg showed a resentful expression, "We were defeated by bullets fired from behind, the front line was still maintained, but the revolution disrupted the rear ......"

"It's so damnable!" Major General Faulbeck looked at the marshal and asked in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, is the task I am going to accept to deal with the revolution?" ”

The heroes who came back from East Africa, of course, hated the revolution. Compared to the difficulties he encountered in East Africa, the difficulties at home in Germany were nothing at all! But he surrendered...... The historical one joined the Freikorps and led a brigade to suppress the "Spartacist League" in Hamburg. In 1920, he supported the Karp coup d'état and lost his military position.

"No, it's not that you have to deal with the revolution, there are many people who can do it." Hindenburg invited Major General Falbeck and Captain Shipper into his office, and Hersmann followed, closing the door of his office.

"And what do you want me to do?"

Hindenburg said: "Help our allies continue the war." ”

Major General Forbeck asked: "To continue the war?" What war? ”

"A world war, of course!"

"World war? Isn't it over? ”

Hersman chimed in: "Not actually! Major General, didn't you find out that Hungary, an integral part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, had not yet succumbed! ”

"Hungary?" Major General Faulbeck thought for a moment, "It seems that there is a revolution there, too." ”

"Yes," said Hersmann, "but the Hungarians did not revolutionize for the sake of surrender, they revolutionized for the sake of resistance!" ”

"Revolution for the sake of resistance?" Major General Forbeck had heard something about Hungary, and he frowned and asked: "Who are they?" Who are we here to help? ”

Hindenburg glanced at Hersmann, who said: "They are Bolsheviks!" Bolsheviks in Hungary! ”

"What? We're going to work with the Bolsheviks? The Major General looked at Hersman in surprise, "Lieutenant Colonel, do you know who they are?" ”

Hindenburg said in unmistakable terms: "He knew that it was with his help that the Bolsheviks in Russia actually seized power...... Of course, he acted so on the orders of the Great General Staff! And now, Major General, I order you, together with Lieutenant Colonel Hersmann, to help the Bolsheviks in Hungary resist the attack of the Entente, and Hungary will be the place for the German Empire to launch a counterattack! ”

……

"Mikhail, Vasily, welcome to Berlin."

Oscar. Feng. Etel greets guests today at the train station in Berlin. After Hersmann took over the military intelligence group of the General Staff, he became the general director of the Russian-German Economic Promotion Company, and after the January Revolution he returned to Berlin, where the headquarters of the Economic Promotion Company were in Riga, but the company had no business at the moment, and he had nothing to do as general manager.

Today he was ordered by Hersman to meet Borodin and Vasily at the railway station. Yellow.

Borodin is now a professor at the University of Tartu - the United Principalities of the Baltic Principality have a small population, but there are several good universities. The University of Tartu in the Autonomous State of Estonia was founded in 1632 during the Swedish rule.

And Vasily. Huang claimed to be a Chinese official who had come to Russia to study and was also a student of Professor Borodin.

Borodin and Vasily. Huang came to Berlin, of course, to continue Russian-German cooperation. Although the current cooperation is not going well and is much smaller than it was before the November revolution in Germany, neither side wants to close the door completely. Especially on the issue of the Hungarian revolution, the two sides still have common interests.

Because Hungary was not only the battlefield of the German Empire's counterattack, but also the main battlefield of Soviet Russia's attack on the Entente outside its borders!