The solemn exterior of Schugel resembles an office building with a large garden, located on the banks of the Ruhr River in Essen, about an hour's drive from the Essen train station, surrounded by the homes of the industrialists of the Ruhr region.

From June 1918, Ludwig. Feng. Hersman became a regular here. He now travels frequently between the Ruhr area, Berlin and Riga. He acts in two capacities at the same time, openly as a member of the Industrial Promotion Council and an adjutant to the Chief of the General Staff (i.e., the adjutant of Hindenburg). The secret identities are Director Stacy and the deputy director of the Eastern Division of the Military Intelligence Agency. He needed to meet with the leaders of the Industrial Promotion Council in a public capacity to discuss ways to use the Courland Autonomous State and Russian-German trade to preserve military industrial power. At the same time, he also has to use his secret identity to command Stasi to escort the various plans formulated by the Industrial Committee Promotion Committee. Today, he and Carl. Haushofer came to Essen to meet with one of the most important members of the Industrial Promotion Committee.

In this day and age, when anyone mentions the war machine of the German Empire, the first thing that comes to mind is Krupp, and then the Great General Staff! So anyone with a bit of a brain can imagine that after the defeat of the German Empire, Krupp would certainly not have had a good life to live. Germany's enemies would not let it go (and in fact did not take Krupp as well), and the German army, whose strength was limited, could no longer be Krupp's biggest customer, as it had in the past.

So when the Industrial Promotion Council was founded, Gustav. Krupp is an ex officio member and he is also the vice-chairman of the Committee for the Promotion of Industry.

On the way to the Schugger estate, Hersmann took a closer look at the cityscape of Essen. It is a city full of chimneys because of the large coal mines in the vicinity and the excellent water and rail transportation. Since the Second Industrial Revolution, it has become the industrial center of Europe and the place where the working class is most concentrated in the whole of Europe. Contrary to the situation in Petersburg, Hersmann did not feel much of a revolutionary atmosphere in Essen. The railway station square and the streets are in good order, and there are workers hurrying to get to work. There were also "political activists" who distributed leaflets and speeches, all of whom were members of the German Fatherland Party, and who preached militarism that fought to the end.

"It seems that Lieutenant Colonel Schleicher's work has been somewhat effective." Cal. Haushofer said to Hersmann. Lieutenant Colonel Schleicher is now the Chief of Security in the Military Intelligence Service, responsible for dealing with various troublemakers in Germany. However, he has few men under his command and must work with the police to achieve satisfactory results. But this kind of cooperation is certainly subject to many uncertainties and constraints, and only a man like Schleicher who is good at dealing with mud can barely cope with it.

However, no matter how strong Major Schleicher's ability was, he could not control the increasingly disintegrating Austro-Hungarian Empire, let alone help Ludendorff, who was already a little anxious. Even though it started nearly two months earlier than in history, the Ludendorff offensive was still in trouble. The infiltration tactics he adopted did not change the overall pattern of the war, and the defense was still favorable. Even if the attacking side makes a breakthrough, the situation will be at a stalemate again because it will not be able to keep up with the subsequent attack quickly - due to the mobility of the dense railway network. The defending side can use the railroad to move troops quickly, while the attacking side will be sluggish and miss the opportunity because they are far away from their own rail network.

"It's a pity that it's not the Ruhr area where the winner is decided!" Hersman sighed and followed Karl. Haushofer walked into the Shugel estate. They had already been here a few times, and the guards at the gate - Krupp was so important that the military had assigned him guards - already knew them, but they still meticulously checked their documents before informing Gustav by phone. Krupp's secretary.

"Mr. Krupp, please come directly to his office, please come with me." A middle-aged man in a crisp suit, with a slender figure and a bun of hair, walked out of the building that looked a bit like an office building (the main building of the manor). He's Gustav. Krupp's secretary. After bowing politely to Hersmann and Haushofer, he led them into the manor.

The main building of the Château de Shugel is made up of two square buildings connected to each other, one with three floors and the other with four floors. It is connected by a wide asphalt road to the manor gate, and there are bronze street lamps on both sides of the asphalt road. It doesn't look like it's in a private house, it's a bit like it's on the street outside.

Gustav. Krupp has an entire floor of offices in a four-storey building, which can also be considered half of the headquarters of the Krupp company. In the corridor on this floor, Hersman saw many models of cannons, and two tanks that looked like lunch boxes were lined up at the end of the corridor with glass covers—German A7V and K super-heavy tanks. Hersman had seen the same model outside his office in the communications department of the Great General Staff. The former was Germany's first tank and had already been put into real combat, while the latter weighed 150 tons and was a monster with a big brain, and it was impossible for him to go to battle. Although both tanks have a relatively low value in real combat, they are the ancestors of the future German steel torrent.

"Come in, two of you." Krupp pushed open a heavy, carved wooden door.

Hersmann withdrew his gaze from the model tank and walked into a lavishly furnished office with Colonel Haushofer.

Inside the door of the office stood a couple side by side. A man in his forties with a well-rounded facial features, a huge Leninist forehead, and a Hitlerian mustache should be Gustav. Krupp. Beside him stood a tall, muscular woman—taller than him—with a long face and thick features, presumably Gustav's wife, Beta. Krupp (Big Beta?) It seems that it makes sense for Gustav to name the supercannon after his wife).

……

"Hello, Major Hersmann, General Haushofer, this is my wife, Beta. Today, she will also participate in the talks. "Gustav. Krupp said to Hersmann in a low and melancholy tone.

In Chinese parlance, he is a son-in-law. The Grand Beta is the real Krupp, and Gustav was originally surnamed Halbahi and was a diplomat. Because Big Beta's father, Friedrich. Krupp committed suicide because of the revelation of Kid, and the big beta was Friedrich's only child. Wilhelm II thought it was too bad to have a woman lead Krupp, so he personally selected Gustav to be his son-in-law and at the same time to manage the Krupp company - this shows the status of the German capitalists.

Today, Gustav asked his wife to participate in the conversation, which shows that Grand Beta still has the final say on some major issues. And what we are going to discuss today is such a big issue!

"The current situation is very difficult...... "Karl. Haushofer's face was very ugly when he spoke, and he looked like he was about to come to a great disaster. "Americans have arrived in large numbers. According to intelligence, more than 300,000 US troops will arrive in Europe every month starting in June! ”

"300,000 a month?" Big Beta exclaimed. "Colonel, how long will this process last?"

"It's going to last a long time, enough for us to lose the war!" Hersman replied in a poignant tone as if he were reading a eulogy at a memorial service. "The United States is an industrialized country with a population of 100 million, and in the Civil War more than 50 years ago, the North and the South mobilized 3.26 million people to join the army, and more than 1.03 million military casualties were ...... At that time, there were just over 31 million people in the United States. ”

Although the official German propaganda portrays the United States as a country without combat effectiveness, people at the level of the Krupps will not believe that kind of nonsense. Trench warfare does not require much cannon fodder, and in trench warfare on the Western Front, even Indians can become qualified cannon fodder, let alone the Americans?

"How long can the empire hold out?" Gustav. Krupp's tone of questioning also seemed to be asking how long a terminal cancer patient would live.

"I don't know...... "Carl. Haushofer shook his head, "In a little while, when the French shed a little more blood, they will try to make peace." ”

"What if they don't agree?" Big Beta asked, looking nervous.

Hersmann grabbed the armrest of his chair and said in a deep tone, "One defeat cannot frighten the heroic German nation, so there must be another struggle!" What we need to do now is to preserve the vitality of the country to the greatest extent, especially the vitality of the military industry, so that the German military industry will have the motivation to continue to move forward in the most difficult moment. So that we can get Germany to take up arms at once, if we need it! ”

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