Hersman leaves Adolf. It was already more than three o'clock in the afternoon at Hitler's chancellery, so he did not go back to the general staff of Tsosen, but went directly to his estate in Tsosen. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 When he walked into his living room, his wife, Chloe, stood in the door as usual, greeted him, gave him a hug and a kiss, and gently took off his heavy military coat for him. Then the two of them held hands as if they were newlyweds and went to the restaurant for dinner. Married for more than two decades, Hersman and Chloe have always been so close, even in the family of the conservative Juncker officer.

Dinner was already on the table, relatively simple, with vegetables, bread, sausages, broth, pickled cucumbers and some sliced apples. Because Chloe cooked it herself, it didn't taste very good - there were several servants in the Hersmann family, one of whom was a cook, but Chloe was still used to cooking for her husband, and the Polish cook, who was far more skilled than her, was only a handy for her and was responsible for the meals of the servants, adjutants, and guards most of the time.

Fortunately, Hersmann is not a foodie, and there is no good food in this part of Germany, and he has long been accustomed to this monotonous diet after living for more than 20 years and almost 30 years.

After eating a half-filled, Hersman put down his knife and fork and began to talk to his wife, Chloe.

"Oh dear, last time you told me that Queen Elizabeth wanted a husband for her sister Princess Margaret?"

"Yes," said Chloe, "the little queen wants to find a Frenchman for her sister, from the Bourbon and Bonaparte royal houses." She glanced at the thoughtful Hersman, "Is that okay?" ”

Hersman nodded and smiled: "Yes, of course, we don't want Canada to return to the territory of the British Empire, that won't do us any good." Now we have only two demands on Canada, it cannot be divided and cannot be controlled by any foreign country. I think the Bourbons and the Bonapartist dynasty should be a choice that all Canadians are willing to accept and be able to preserve the unity and unity of Canada. ”

Chloe frowned slightly, for she found that her husband had said something that he should not have said—that the European Community's demands on Canada were secret, and certainly not known to Chloe, an aristocratic woman without any public office. And Hersman has always been very strict with all kinds of secrecy, and even if he accidentally says something, the slightly old-fashioned Chloe will remind him.

"My dear, is Germany's request for Canada something I should know?" Chloe asked.

"You should know." Hesman paused, smiled and said, "And Elizabeth and Olga should be let know...... I think you should be actively involved in matchmaking for Princess Margaret. ”

Chloe, now a duchess, belonged to the most prominent social circles in Europe. Being a matchmaker for the royal family is actually part of the social activities of a woman like her. However, because her husband is the chief of the Wehrmacht General Staff, one of the most powerful people in Germany, she actively participated in this royal matchmaking activity, which means that the Wehrmacht General Staff supports the marriage between Marguerite and the French royal family.

"Okay, okay, I'll do as you tell me to do." Chloe knew in her heart what was going on—Hersman was ordering her, and of course it was a duty for the country.

As for why Hersmann wanted Elizabeth and Olga to know about Germany's demands on Canada, it was not Chloe's question. But even without asking, Chloe could guess that this must be part of a deceptive plan developed by the General Staff.

……

"Mr. President, we have a special piece of information."

At a White House Cabinet military meeting on January 30, 1945, Donovan, the director of strategic intelligence, reported to President Truman: "Elizabeth of England is acting as a matchmaker for 15-year-old Margaret and wants to marry her to a son of the French royal family, and has the support of Hersmann, the chief of the German General Staff, and the Empress Olga of Russia." ”

"Margaret?" Truman hadn't heard much of the name, "Who is she?" ”

"She is the heir to the British throne." Donovan paused, then added, "To be precise, she is the heir to the Canadian throne." ”

"Canada may not be a kingdom," Warsecretary Wallace chimed in, "and it's up to the people of Canada to choose." ”

Truman glanced at his Minister of War and felt a little helpless. To be honest, he didn't like Wallace's big white left, but Wallace was a Democrat and had his own small faction, the Democratic New Deal Alliance. There are seven or eight members of the House of Representatives and Senators who belong to this small faction, which is not a large number, but it is very important for the Democratic Party, which is already at a disadvantage in Congress! So Truman had no way of kicking Wallace, the Democratic white left, out of the cabinet.

"George VI is our ally." Secretary of State Edward. Stettinius, a confidant of Truman, understood the president's intentions and immediately opened his mouth to remind Wallace. "The United States cannot betray its allies, otherwise our international credibility will suffer."

"Allies?" Wallace laughed mockingly, "Then why did he marry his daughter to a prince controlled by the Nazis?" ”

"Who else can you marry if you don't marry a prince of Europe?" Stettinus shook his head, "It is tradition that the Queen's spouse must be from the royal family. And the choice of the French crown over the German crown already shows that the future position of the Kingdom of Canada is not pro-German. And...... France is a republic, the royal family is in the opposition, not official, nor Nazi. ”

George VI's choice of the French prince as Princess Margaret's husband also took into account the feelings of the American people - the French royal family, whether it was the Bourbon family or the Bonaparte family, was kind to the United States. The former was the foreign aid of the United States when it was founded, and it is difficult to say whether the United States would have it without the support of Louis XVI! The latter sold a large area of land in the Mississippi River Valley to the United States at a low price, allowing the United States to expand in North America. Moreover, the Bourbon royal family and the Bonapartist royal family are now in the opposition, and they are not at all on the side of the Nazis and fascists.

"But the Germans are in favor of this marriage!" Wallace offered his reasoning, "This must be a conspiracy!" ”

"William, what do you think?" Truman put the problem on Intelligence Chief Donovan.

"It's not a conspiracy," Mr. Donovan said, "but a tacit agreement." ”

"Tacit understanding?"

Donovan nodded, and said, "The Germans obviously do not want Canada to return to the British Empire, which will make it possible for Britain to revive with Canada and become a power that can compete with Germany for dominance in Europe." Elizabeth and her husband Friedrich did not want Canada to return to England, as that would affect the couple's rule in England. As for George VI's thoughts, I am afraid that his daughter Elizabeth wanted to stay in Canada as king rather than return to Europe. Because if he returned to England, he would lose power and become a prisoner of the Germans, and at the same time would cause Canada to be freed from the control of the House of Windsor. ”

His analysis was the first to speak, and the leaders of the US government and military present also nodded frequently when they heard it. When he had finished, Truman added, "I think such a Canadian kingdom would be desirable to the United States." He glanced at Wallace, "What else else?" Turn Canada into several states in the United States? ”

Wallace shook his head, of course it would not work to turn Canada into several states of the United States. If the world war is won, it may be possible to fully integrate the United States and Canada, but now that the United States is a problem to protect itself, how can it have the spare strength to expand?

"But we must guard against Canada falling into German hands," Wallace said after a moment's thought, "and there must be a large number of our troops on the island of Newfoundland." ”

"There are a lot of American troops there right now," Truman nodded, "as many as two hundred thousand!" Is it enough for so many troops? ”

"That's enough for now." Wallace replied, "Judging by all the information we have, the Germans are not going to invade Canada." But we must also be vigilant that the ground forces of the Army stationed on the island of Newfoundland cannot be reduced in any way. ”

The fact that the Army Ground Forces cannot be reduced means that the aircraft of the Army Air Corps deployed on the island of Newfoundland can be appropriately reduced. By the beginning of 1945, the U.S. Army Air Corps, which was supposed to be a loose force, was already a little overwhelmed. In particular, after the U.S. Army Air Corps began to take on the task of airlifting supplies to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, a large number of P51s were used for daytime escorts.

Because the islands of Trinidad and Tobago were too close to German-controlled Guyana, the German Fokker 636 could fly directly to the vicinity of the islands of Trinidad and Tobago to strike American transport planes. As a last resort, the U.S. Army Air Force had to devote a large number of daytime fighters to escort the convoy. The P51's low-to-medium altitude performance is not as good as that of the Fokker 636 (the practical ceiling of the C47 is only 8050 meters, and to land on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, you must first reduce the altitude, so they are often attacked by the Fokker 636 below 5000 meters), and a large number of P51s must be invested to ensure the safety of the C-47 transport aircraft flying to Trinidad and Tobago. However, the U.S. Army Air Corps found that their P51 numbers were insufficient, because a large number of P51s were needed to intercept German missiles attacking the east coast of the United States. As a last resort, the U.S. Army Air Corps had to work hard to expand the size of the P51 fleet on the one hand (that is, to let the pilots flying the P47 change to the P51), and on the other hand, to transfer the P51 from Newfoundland and northeastern Canada to reinforce the Caribbean.