In a cloud of rising white steam, a long train whistled and rumbled slowly into the Freedrestrass terminal in Berlin, Germany. Jiang Baili sat in the window seat, clutching the arm of his Japanese wife, Jiang Zuomei, his eyebrows tightly twisted. Major General Xu Haoyu, military attache of the Chinese Embassy in Germany, who accompanied them to Berlin, smiled. "Baili Gong, you have been away from Germany for 10 years, right?"

"It's been 12 years, I returned to China after 2 years of Xuantong, and I stayed in Germany for 4 years." Jiang Baili replied loudly in the midst of the noisy sound of the train.

"2 years of Xuantong, it was 1910! It's the time when Germany is at its strongest! ”

The train had stopped, and Mr. and Mrs. Jiang Baili and Mr. and Mrs. Xu Haoyu, as well as a few Chinese diplomats, got off the train together.

"That's the people from the embassy." Xu Haoyu had sharp eyes, and found a few Orientals in straight suits and top hats on the platform full of chaotic crowds, led by middle-aged people with a very straight nose bridge, slightly attractive ears, and very thin looks. He was smiling and waving, apparently seeing two Chinese in generals' uniforms.

"That's Ambassador Huang Yingbai (Huang Ying)." Jiang Baili recognized his fellow Zhejiang countryman at a glance. Huang Yin was active in the cultural circles of Beijing and Tianjin after the Protectorate War, and Jiang Baili also faded out of the military circle as a poet for a period of time after Zhang Xun's restoration, and the two met during this time.

"Brother Baili, Brother Baili!" Jiang Baili listened to Huang Yan shouting. "I haven't seen you for a long time."

Jiang Baili took Jiang Zuomei's hand and strode towards Huang Yin. Huang Yan took off his top hat. He bowed respectfully to Jiang Baili and said with a smile: "Huang Ying, Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Germany, has met Mr. Ambassador. ”

"Brother Yingbai, are you going to kill your little brother?" Jiang Baili grabbed Huang Yan's arm and shook it vigorously. He said in a low voice: "This ambassador will be returned to you sooner or later, before leaving Nanjing, the Standing Chairman had already promised, and now such an arrangement (referring to Huang Ying as a counselor) is due to the current complicated situation in Germany. Seeing Huang Yin's face with a smile again, Jiang Baili pointed to Xu Haoyu, who had already followed, and said: "This is Major General Xu Yunfei, the new military attache of the embassy in Berlin, and he is the person next to the chairman." ”

"General Xu. I've been looking up for a long time. Huang Yin hugged his fists and said hello to Xu Haoyu as usual. He is a person on Jiang Jshi's line, and he is still a brother to Lao Jiang, and Xu Haoyu of Chang Ruiqing's system naturally doesn't have much to say.

"Mr. Yingbai," Xu Haoyu said, clicking his heels together and giving Huang Ying a military salute, with a faint smile on his white face. "What is the situation in Berlin now? All I heard along the way was bad news. ”

"Uh, is that bad news? Isn't General Xu a GCD? Huang Yan said with some yin and yang weirdness. Now Berlin, and Germany as a whole, can be regarded as a revolutionary atmosphere. It's really not bad news for GCD people.

"Ah, I'm not a GCD. I only participated in the Left Youth League. ”

Hearing Zuo Qingtuan, Huang Yin's face became even more ugly. These Kuomintang leftists still have a lot of friends in the GCD. But the relationship with the Left People's Youth League can only be described as tense.

Jiang Baili saw that the scene was a little embarrassing, and he was busy laughing. "Brother Yingbai, Brother Yunfei, let's go to the embassy first. This journey can make me tired, once a person is over 40 years old, this body will not be able to do it. ”

Everyone got into the car of the Chinese embassy and drove to the embassy on the Elector Boulevard, and Jiang Baili, Huang Ying, and Xu Haoyu got into the same Mercedes-Benz car. The three of them became very harmonious, and seemed to have completely forgotten the little unhappiness at the train station just now. Along the way, Jiang Baili marveled at the scenery he saw on the street: the market was very depressed. There were few open shops or banks, and crowds of shabby clad people were rallying or marching, some led by the red flag of the GCD's sickle and hammer, while others carried a black swaskat on a red background. "What does that swastika mean? It can't be a Buddhist, right? ”

"Certainly not the Buddhist swastika, in fact they are two overlapping sins, the first letters of the German words 'state' and 'society'. They are supporters of the National Socialist Workers' Party, a party that has only emerged in the last two years. On January 25 of this year (1922), the party held its first congress in Munich. I was also invited to this meeting and met with their leaders, Mr. Hitler and General Ludendorff. ”

"Oh, the German GCD accuses the German National Socialist Workers' Party of killing their general secretary, right?"

"Yes. Since coming to power, the new German General Secretary Radek has been exerting constant pressure on the authorities to severely punish the real culprits and to ban the German National Socialist Workers' Party -- which is also the cause of the chaotic situation in Germany. The country had just seen a glimmer of hope, but now it is almost falling out again. ”

"Isn't that exactly what the Soviet Union wants to see?" Xu Haoyu interjected. "It must have been Soviet agents who assassinated the German General Secretary Blandler, and then blamed it on the National Socialist Workers' Party."

Hitler and Ludendorff said the same thing, declaring that Brandler and a section of the patriotic German top brass were ready to work with the National Socialist Workers' Party to save Germany – just as the Chinese GCD and the Chinese nationalists cooperated. So they didn't have any motive to assassinate Brandler, only GC International and the USSR had such motives. Hitler also declared that the GC International and the Soviet Union were Germany's worst enemies, and that all Germans, including the patriotic GCD, should unite to fight against it. ”

"It seems that not many people believe in Hitler." Xu Haoyu noticed that on the streets of Berlin, there were far more supporters of the GCD than supporters of the National Socialist Workers' Party.

Huang Yin nodded and said: "After all, the foundation of the National Socialist Workers' Party cannot be compared with GCD, and GCD still has the support of GC International. However, in South Germany, especially in Bavaria, there are still more supporters of the National Socialist Workers' Party than GCD. ”

"Are these two parties the largest in Germany right now?" Jiang Baili asked.

"No, it's not. The Social Democrats are now the most supporters in Germany. This is followed by the Democratic Party and the Liberal National Party. GCD and the National Socialist Party came in fourth and fifth place, and the Socialist Party of Independence came in sixth. But the supporters of the GCD and the National Socialist Party were the most belligerent, and the basic base of both was the masses at the bottom, the so-called proletariat. ”

Huang Yin, the Chinese ambassador to Germany, seems to be very conscientious, and in just over a year in office, he has thoroughly understood the situation in Germany. Along the way, he was talking about the situation in Germany to Jiang Baili and Xu Haoyu, and the latter also took out a notebook and pen, listened and recorded at the same time, and asked some questions from time to time. When I arrived at the embassy on Kurt Street, an embassy secretary in a suit and bow tie was already waiting there, still holding an invitation.

"Mr. Yingbai. This is an invitation from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Mr. Tranau. He wants to entertain you and Monsieur Baili at his villa on the outskirts of Berlin. ”

"Okay." Huang Yan took the post and glanced at it, and gestured to the secretary. "Go and tell Monsieur Sù Tranau, thank him for the invitation, we are ready to arrive on time."

After the secretary left, he smiled and said to Jiang Baili: "Brother Baili, the banquet is scheduled for tonight, before the submission of the credentials. After settling down, I'm going to go out again, and it's been a hard day. ”

"What kind of party is this Tranau?" Jiang Baili asked.

"It's the chairman of the German Democratic Party, a Jew. Billionaires are now the real people in power in Germany. ”

Huang Yin had already introduced Jiang Baili and Xu Haoyu on the way. Both the National Socialist Party and the GCD are now in the opposition. The current German government is a coalition of the Social Democrats, the Free National Party and the Democratic Party. However, it was some of Germany's big capitalists and the heads of the Junker aristocratic officer corps who held power. And this Tranau is the head of the Jewish capitalist clique, which is now very powerful in Germany. This time, he won great benefits for Germany at the Shanghai Conference, and has now become a popular candidate for the next German chancellor. As for the head of the Junker aristocratic officer corps, there are now three main people, namely Jiang Baili's old superior, Feng Baili, when he was an intern in the German Army. Hindenburg, the original control of the German General Staff Ludendorff, and the current head of the Wehrmacht, von Hindendorff, is also in charge of the current head of the Wehrmacht. Admiral Zekter. And inside their villa in Tranau, just outside Berlin, Jiang Baili and Xu Haoyu met with all of them, including Hitler's ally Erich. Ludendorff.

The villas in Tranau are quite luxurious, in contrast to the collapse of the German economy. The villa is surrounded by snow-covered lawns, woods, meandering rivers and thatched-roof sheds. The view is beautiful. The Chinese embassy car stopped at the entrance to the villa's main building, and a young maid of the Aryan race, with blond hair and blue eyes, was waiting at the door, welcoming Jiang Baili and the others into the ornate dining room with three rows of long tables. The pot-bellied Tranau stood at the door of the restaurant with a cigar in his hand, talking to an old man in an outdated German Imperial Army uniform, and Jiang Baili vaguely recognized the old man as the chief of the German General Staff during World War I. Paul. Feng. Hindenburg.

Seeing Huang Ying, Tranau ended his conversation with Hindenburg and came over to greet him. Huang introduced the new ambassador Jiang Baili and military attache Xu Haoyu to the German foreign minister. However, the two sides did not talk much about it. Just a few casual chats, and soon many guests arrived one after another. Among them were Haruichi Nagaoka, chargé d'affaires of the Japanese embassy in Germany, and Hideki Tojo, military attaché, but they did not meet diplomats from other countries. Jiang Baili thought to himself that China and Japan were both "friends" of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the Chinese GCD and the Japanese National Socialist Party were also observers of the GC International, and it seems that the Germans knew that the current chaos in their country was related to the Soviet Union, and they should have figured out that China and Japan should contact the Soviet Union and try to find a solution.

However, at the ensuing dinner, the Germans did not say anything about the current situation in Germany. The conversation focused on the Shanghai conference and the Dawes Plan. It wasn't until the prom after dinner that Tranau walked up to Jiang Baili, Huang Yin, and Xu Haoyu with a very beautiful young woman—none of whom had brought a female companion. Jiang Zuomei and Xu Haoyu's wives needed to rest because of the fatigue of the journey, while Huang Yin's wife Shen Yiyun accompanied the two of them at the embassy.

"This is the niece of the great Russian writer Chekov, Olga. Miss Chekova is also the most famous movie star in Germany today - these three Chinese diplomats in Germany, Ambassador Jiang Baili and Counselor Huang Ying. There is also the embassy military attaché, Major General Xu Haoyu. Tranau first introduced the two sides in English that several Chinese could understand, and then asked the three Chinese with a smile if they wanted to dance with Miss Chekova. Xu Haoyu was the first to leave his seat to dance with the beauty, while the German Foreign Minister sat in his seat, lit a cigar and began to talk about the current situation in Germany and Soviet-German relations.

“…… What Germany needs most now is stability, and a consensus has been reached on all sides, except for the German GCD. The German Jewish billionaire said in a somewhat muffled voice. The reason for this is that everyone knows that behind GCD is GC International, and behind GC International is the Soviet Union. So we have contacted the Soviet Union through certain channels, but there has been no response, which worries us all. ”

"Mr. Minister for Foreign Affairs. Is there anything we can do for you? Jiang Baili didn't want to beat around the bush, but directly picked out the topic.

"I think so, your GCD is a big party on an equal footing with the Soviet GCD," Tranau said. "Will China be able to broker a détente between Germany and the Soviet Union?"

"Ease?" Jiang Baili shook the wine in his hand, "Don't you consider the attitude of France and Britain?" ”

"Britain and France also did not want Germany to fall into chaos, which would not be good for everyone." Tranau took two puffs of his cigarette and said: "Germany is a bulwark against the westward expansion of GCISM, not a spearhead in the offensive against GCISM." Now the West just wants to curb GCISM in the USSR...... I think you can sue Lenin and Trotsky that it's not a big deal. They are still containing the United States, Japan, Germany, and you, China. This is international politics. Any hegemonic country must contain potential competitors. It doesn't mean war, it's not like that at all. ”

"I see, Mr. Foreign Minister." Jiang Baili and Huang Yan glanced at each other, and both of them had roughly figured out the intentions of the German government. While accepting the "Dawes Plan," they did not want to really tear their faces with the Soviet Union, but wanted to learn from China's methods and live in harmony with the Soviet Union in order to achieve the goal of "peaceful containment" of the Soviet Union. Although the two Chinese who were watching Qing thought it was possible, they accepted each other's request very happily. In the following time, the two of them danced with the charming White Russian actress. Jiang Baili was introduced by Tranau to meet many big figures in the German upper class. However, Hindenburg was not seen again, and Ludendorff and Admiral Zechter only showed their faces during the meal, and did not appear again. Jiang Baili guessed that these three big figures in the German ** world must be discussing another solution to the current crisis in a secret room now, right?

After returning to the embassy, Jiang Baili and Xu Haoyu reported to Nanjing the request made by the German side and some of their experiences in Germany through their respective channels. And Chang Ruiqing after learning about the request of the Germans. He immediately ordered the Chinese ambassador to the Soviet Union and the head of the Chinese and G delegations in Moscow to try to mediate, although he himself was very unfavorable about such mediation.

But then the news that Moscow fed back surprised him slightly. Zhong Zhijie, head of the Sino-G delegation to GC International, sent a telegram to him: GC International and the Central Committee of the Soviet GCD will send Yelena. Dmitrievna. Comrade Sostava and Comrade Yue Fei went to Berlin to start secret negotiations with the German government. Discuss the issue of normalization of Soviet-German relations. And at the end of Zhong Zhijie's message, he also told Chang Ruiqing a very intriguing thing. The Chinese delegation has just received a notice from GC International that they cannot leave the confines of the city of Moscow without permission! In addition, all Chinese trade representatives and students in the Soviet Union were notified to temporarily gather in designated places in several designated large cities. This also means that the intelligence collection system established by the Military Intelligence Bureau on the basis of the Chinese and G International Missions to the GC and the Chinese personnel in the Soviet Union has completely failed......

"Chairman," Chang Ruiqing handed the telegram sent by Zhong Zhijie to Mao Zd, who had just returned from an inspection in Xinjiang. "What do you think Lenin and Trotsky wanted to do?"

Mao ZD lit a cigarette and looked at the message carefully as he smoked. "This Comrade Sostava is an old Bolshevik, and he has also served as a member of the Russian Political Bureau, secretary of the Central Committee, secretary of the Petrograd City Party Committee, and other positions, and his status is not low. The fact that she went to Germany with the Soviet Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Yue Fei should have already shown the sincerity of peace. As for the sudden restrictions on the movement of our personnel in the USSR...... I can't say for sure. He glanced at Chang Ruiqing slyly: "Could it be that your people showed their feet when they were engaged in espionage?" ”

Chang Ruiqing didn't expect him to ask this, but he still said with certainty: "Probably not, there are spies among our personnel in the Soviet Union, and there are also spies among their personnel in China, which everyone knows well." ”

Mao Zd smiled. "That's a cover-up and I don't want you to know, it seems that Lenin and Trotsky don't trust our fraternal party very much."

"Is it a cover-up for military mobilization?" Chang Ruiqing's eyebrows raised. "Lenin and Trotsky wanted to fight? Where are they going to attack? ”