Back in Berlin this time, Hersmann did not immediately see Hindenburg and Ludendorff. These two big men are now in a state of flux, and the affairs of Russia, the Baltic Republic, and the "Gray Plan" that helped Germany in its post-war revival have been put on the back burner. Stabilizing the collapsing front and seeking peace came first, and these two things contradicted each other - if democracy were to be pursued in Germany according to the will of the enemy, it would seem to be conducive to peace, but the German army would collapse as a result. On the other hand, strengthening the dictatorship will make the military strong-willed, but it will make it more difficult to seek peace.

It's almost a multiple-choice question with no right answer!

Fortunately, the person who is doing the question now is not Ludwig. Feng. Lieutenant Colonel Hersman. Just when Wilhelm II, Hindenburg and Ludendorff had a headache, Hersmann handed over the report of his trip to Moscow to his superior, Colonel Val T. Nikolai.

"Ludwig, the situation is getting worse and worse, your prophecies are coming true! I have to say, you are the most amazing crow's mouth in the General Staff! ”

Looking at the report sent by Hersman, Colonel Nikolai sighed with emotion.

Hersman frowned and asked, "Colonel, can I interpret your words as a compliment?" ”

"Yes, it's a compliment! Although most of your reports and plans are overly pessimistic, I have to admit that your pessimism is very prescient. This allows us to prepare for the most difficult moments, and that's a credit to you. ”

Should merit be promoted? It is impossible to get promoted to colonel, but the position can be promoted.

Colonel Nikolai's subsequent words confirmed Hersmann's conjecture. He said: "Major General Haushofer has retired, and you will take over his head of the Eastern Division, and from now on I will no longer act in this position." You are now the youngest chief of the departments under the Great General Staff, and you also have the rank of lieutenant colonel, I think you know what that means? ”

It was not easy to win the lead in the promotion race in the elite German Army, and most of the young officers with the same qualifications as Hersmann were now captains and lieutenants, and he was already a lieutenant colonel, and he also served as a division chief, and in a few years he might even become a colonel. This means that he is at least three ranks ahead of his peers, and in peacetime, when he is promoted little by little according to the system, it often takes fifteen to twenty years to go from captain to colonel!

This means that Hersman has plenty of time to advance to the general rank! Moreover, the Eastern Division and Stacy under his leadership will also give him enough opportunities to make meritorious contributions.

It also meant that Hindenburg and Ludendorff already saw Hersmann as the likely leader of the German army in the future. They want to pave the way for Hirschman before they lose power!

"The head of the Eastern Division of the Military Intelligence Bureau means responsibility, a huge responsibility!" Hersman replied solemnly.

"It's good that you understand that," Colonel Nikolai nodded, and lowered his tone, "then from now on you should not mention in your report any more support for the Hungarian Bolshevik Party or any other Bolshevik Party...... The civilian governments that are about to come to power are made up of people who are very timid. ”

It's up to Hersman to take the blame himself! It is not enough to be an official just by having a good vision, you have to dare to be responsible, especially if you don't have a particularly good father.

"I understand!" Hersman replied, "I'll take the blame." ”

"In addition, it is necessary to set up a number of companies for sensitive projects in addition to the Russian-German Economic Promotion Company...... They cannot be the property of the German government, but should be sacrosanct private property. ”

"Okay, I'll go find someone to pay for it. Colonel, do you want to invest a little? Those companies are sure to make a lot of money......"

"Well, that's going to be later." Colonel Nikolai did not refuse, but continued, "There is another message to inform you, it is top secret...... The 600 tons of gold secretly reparated by the Soviet Union and Russia will be converted into 2 billion gold marks, which will be deposited in the name of the Hohenzollern Foundation in the German National Bank. ”

Needless to say, the controller of the Hohenzollern Foundation is Wilhelm II and his successor. With this huge deposit, Wilhelm II was able to guarantee the continued influence of the German military and intelligence services in the event that Germany became a republic.

It is clear that Wilhelm II is already leaving a way out for himself.

Colonel Nikolai paused, and then said: "Now I will settle with you, the eastern office is yours, do it well!" ”

……

Paul. Feng. Field Marshal Hindenburg grew older, his hair and beard were almost completely white, the muscles of his face were loose, his eyes were bloodshot, and he sat limply in the chair behind his desk, like an old man on the verge of death.

With his head bowed and his reading glasses on, the marshal looked carefully at the handwritten letter and written assurances of Lenin that Hersmann had brought back - written assurances or something, which were quite serious in Europe at this time. Historically, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain also regarded Hitler's written pledge as "peace for a generation".

I don't know how long it took for him to finally read Lenin's written pledges and letters to Liebknecht and Luxemburg, and to hear Hersmann's oral report on his plans to support the Hungarian Bolsheviks, and then he was silent for a long time.

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Finally, the old marshal raised his head, and with a sharp light in his eyes, he looked at Ludwig, who had already hung up the rank of lieutenant colonel. Feng. Hersman. "You believe in Lenin?"

"I don't believe it." Hersman replied truthfully.

"So, what's the use of this guarantee?" Hindenburg put down Lenin's written assurances in his hands. "Once we are defeated, I am afraid that the Red Army will pour into Riga like a tidal wave!"

"Actually, it's up to Poland."

Soviet-German friendship depends on Poland! If there was no Greater Poland between the Soviet Union and Germany, where would there be more than 20 years of Soviet-German cooperation after World War I?

And a similar point was made in Hersmann's Plan for Greater Poland: the Polish corps should be strengthened. While the Eastern Front troops retreated, they could leave most of their weapons to the Polish Corps, allowing them to expand their army to 500,000 in a matter of months.

"A strong Poland will certainly covet Russian land." "Especially since Russia is in the midst of a civil war!" ”

"But Poland is strong, and it will also covet German land! East Prussia, West Prussia and Posen, as well as the United Principalities of the Baltics, could also be lost. Hindenburg said slowly, "Lieutenant Colonel, what do you think we should do?" ”

Is this an exam?

Hersman knew that the elites of the Great General Staff must have figured out a way a long time ago!

After personally participating in the development of a series of "surrender plans", Hersman was quite convinced:

In the original history, there must have been a surrender plan similar to the "Gray Plan". Otherwise, Poland would not have miraculously risen - Hersmann had studied Pilsudski's military strength, and before he became Minister of Military Affairs of the Polish Council of State, he had killed only 20,000 men in just three brigades. Although they were all elites with strong combat effectiveness, they were simply not enough to defeat the Red Army, which had gone through the baptism of a brutal civil war.

If the Germans had not sent Poland a large amount of weapons and ammunition, how could they have gone to war with Soviet Russia in March 1919? It was only a few months before the German surrender, and the Paris Peace Conference had not yet been completed. Even if the Entente wanted to provide military aid to Poland, it was unlikely that there would be many weapons and equipment in place. The only one who could arm the Poles was Germany, which had just been defeated.

And Germany only dared to arm Poland, in addition to wanting to use Poland to resist the expansion of the Bolsheviks, it must have left enough back. The "Freikorps Plan" formulated by the Strategic Operations Department of the General Staff should be the follow-up of the military aristocracy of Hindenburg and Junkers.

"Your Excellency," Hersman already had an answer at this point, "I think we will keep a strong army after the armistice...... If the Entente did not allow the German government to have a sufficiently large army, then we would learn from the Bolsheviks and organize an armed force that was not under the jurisdiction of the government. They will be made up of veterans, up to hundreds of thousands, real elite! ”

Hindenburg smiled a little, and nodded noncommittally: "Well, now I will give you a task, take Lenin's letter, and Archduchess Olga with you, and accompany the Social Democratic Councillor Albert on a trip to Breslau, I don't think he can convince those two stubborn fellows, but he should always try." By the way, this Albert MP is a very important person, give him a good impression. ”

――

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