"Welcome, Mr. Hopkins, you must be surprised by the situation here in Berlin...... Although our Luftwaffe had an overwhelming advantage during the day, it was a pity that there were still Soviet bombers coming to make trouble every night, and it was a pity that the mighty Luftwaffe could not dominate the skies over Berlin at night."

Naturally, it was Chancellor Adolf of the German Empire who spoke. Hitler, who was listening to him, was the U.S. Department of Commerce, who had just arrived in Berlin. Hopkins And the place where Hitler and Hopkins met tonight is really a little embarrassing, it is actually the basement of the newly completed German Chancellery! And from time to time there was the sound of rumbling artillery and bomb explosions, as if the great Soviet Red Army had hit the city of Berlin!

In fact, what made Hitler almost impossible to get off the stage was the TB3 heavy bomber of the Soviet Red Air Force, this four-shot heavy bombardment with really not very good performance, but now it has become the most headache for Hitler and Ludendorff As long as the weather permits, hundreds of such planes will come to the German capital every night and drop two hundred tons of damn bombs, although they can't destroy any valuable targets, but they can always kill dozens or hundreds of innocent German civilians, and by the way, they will slap the German Chancellor and the Chief of the General Staff in the face

And the mighty Luftwaffe, uh, actually has no available night fighters, and the thing called the radar is still in the real yàn, and it is so large that it can't be loaded with planes no matter how you look at it, and now the only thing that can help fighters fight at night is a powerful searchlight installed under the belly! The size of this searchlight is not small, the German Fokker D.21 and BF109 can not be installed, can only be installed on the HE111, take this plus a medium bomber as a night fighter to make do with the TB3 As for the effect, just look at the basement where Mr. Hitler is now

Hopkins looked at this mustache with a pinch of toothbrush, and always gave people a madman feeling the embarrassment of the German Chancellor in public, sitting on the fireplace in the basement, smiled silently, shook the cup of coffee in his hand, and said lightly: "These Soviet bombers all took off from Polish airfields, right?" Now the war situation in Poland seems to be very jīliè, I wonder if Germany has any hope of winning a complete victory? If Poland could be captured, these Soviet bombers would probably never be able to come to Berlin again, right? ”

Hearing Hopkins mention the Polish war situation, Hitler finally showed some smug looks on his face: "Mr. Minister, the shape of the Polish battle is now very favorable to Germany!" We inflicted heavy losses on the Soviets on May 6 and May 7, destroying at least 1,000 Soviet tanks! And our losses were less than 200 vehicles, and since May 8, the Soviets have not sent tanks to the front again, they have switched to human lives to consume our armored forces, or Polish human lives! In the Poznan salient, we are able to kill 20,000 Poles every day...... The lives of the Poles are really worthless in the eyes of their Russian masters, but it is a pity that those Polish youths never realized this, they were completely blinded by the Polish GCD! At this point, Hitler slapped the table and stood up, waving his arms excitedly and shouting: "If in 1923 we had not put Ernst. The Teller (referring to the German GCD) drove out of Berlin, and now it is tens of millions of heavily armed Soviet Red Army, German Red Army and Polish Red Army that have swept across the continent! Without Germany, is there a second country in Europe that can withstand such a torrent of GCISM? From this point of view, Germany is now the savior of Europe and the whole world! But a certain government, which benefited from Germany's heroic fighting, was not at all grateful, and colluded with the Soviet Union, the enemy of the whole world! This is a crime not only against Germany, but against the whole of Europe, the whole world! ”

Hopkins listened to Hitler's words with great difficulty, although his German was still passable, but Hitler's speech was too fast, and there was a strong Austrian accent, but in the end, he finally understood a rough idea, and he also knew that the government in Hitler's mouth was the French government, he smacked his lips slightly, and said lightly: "I know that Europe in history has experienced too many wars, conspiracies and betrayals, and this history has created a tradition of balance in Europe, and now the British, German, and Chinese alliance has shown its strength to defeat the Soviet Union, It is not surprising, then, that some countries want to make arrangements with the defeated Soviet Union and Poland in order to maintain the balance in Europe...... And the United States is very interested in certain post-war arrangements, of course, our starting point is completely different from that of some countries in Europe, we hope that a powerful German Empire can appear on the lands of Central and Eastern Europe, and become an ally of the United States of America. ”

Hitler seemed to hear what he wanted to hear the most, and his gray-blue eyes seemed to shine brightly: "Mr. Hopkins, it seems that your esteemed president has an unusual sense of responsibility and mission for the current historical process of the whole world, and I and most Germans also believe that an emerging power like the United States, which has a larger land area than the whole of Europe and ranks first in the world in terms of industrial strength, should occupy a very important position in the future new world order!" But the new order of the world in the future must be based on the victory over the evil empire of the Soviet Union, and I think President Roosevelt agreed. ”

Hopkins smiled and nodded, took a copy from the secretary who followed him into the basement, handed it to Hitler, and told the other party in a somewhat blunt German voice: "Of course, President Roosevelt held this view, but the situation in our country must be very well known to Mr. Prime Minister, because some of the adverse effects of the last world war are still at play, most of our people do not want to get involved in European disputes...... For this reason, our Congress also passed a "Neutrality Act", which is really a very bad bill, but as the President of the United States, Mr. Roosevelt must comply with this bill, so he can only help Germany as much as he can without violating the "Neutrality Act".

"Of course I understand Mr. Roosevelt's situation, every elected national leader must be accountable to the voters of the parliament, and I am no exception" Hitler took the text handed over by Hopkins while speaking, and carefully turned the pages to see that the text was written in English and German, Hitler didn't know much English, so he directly looked at the German version, and after reading a few pages, an expression of ecstasy flashed on his face, and then he twisted his eyebrows to reveal a trace of hesitation: "Mr. Hopkins, All the supplies listed on this list you have given me, including oil, scrap iron, non-ferrous metals, merchant ships and light ships, are urgently needed by Germany to sustain the war, especially 30 million tons of oil, with which Germany will be able to sustain itself for six years under a complete blockade...... However, most of the things you ask for, except for some technical drawings and equipment, are not available in Germany, such as silk, black sand, teak, natural rubber, soybeans, tea, tung oil, pig bristles...... These things seem to be Chinese specialties, Mr. Hopkins, are you sure that this barter contract is for Germany? ”

Hopkins smiled and nodded, and said with a smile: "Of course, I haven't confused this to the point of confusing the barter trade contract with China with the contract with Germany" He pointed to the text in Hitler's hand: "But you should note that the amount involved in this barter trade contract is very huge, according to the Neutrality Act, we cannot provide you with seller's credit, and most of the industrial products produced in Germany do not have much market in the United States, far less than those commodities of the Chinese are easy to realize."

Fortunately, the Chinese are in great need of German products and technologies, and since the outbreak of the war, many of the technologies and weapons you have provided to China have not yet been settled, right? Before the war, you also invested in a lot of factories in China, and many German companies also had large deposits in China, so I guess it won't be too difficult for you to raise $1 billion worth of commodities in China, right? And the Pacific route is now very smooth, and there is almost no risk at all from China to the United States for direct shipment"

Hitler pondered for a moment, a little confused, he did not understand why the Americans needed so much silk, tea, teak and bristles? However, he didn't think much about it, but shrugged his shoulders very happily and said: "Okay, I will find a way to make arrangements, and tomorrow I will let Mr. Schacht go to China......" He looked at Hopkins, who didn't seem to have any intention of getting up and saying goodbye, so he asked politely: "Mr. Hopkins, is there anything else I can do for you?" ”

"Oh, nothing important, just wanted to ask you a small question"

"Excuse me"

Hopkins looked at Hitler, nodded and said, "Can you tell me what exactly is the U project that you are jointly carrying out with China and Britain?" ”

……

Chang Ruiqing's new adjutant general, He Jinhan, knocked on the door of the prime minister's office gently, and heard Chang Ruiqing say: "Please come in" He pushed the door in, and saw Chang Ruiqing, who had just returned to Nanjing, sitting behind his desk, chatting with a blonde beauty with a proud chest and a bewitching face that was fascinated by death.

Chang Ruiqing was stunned for a moment, and the blonde beauty opposite, that is, Natalie, the Minister of Science of the National Intelligence Agency and the Adviser to the Prime Minister's Office. Leshinskaya glanced at Chang Ruiqing and said, "It's already 9 o'clock in the evening, did Minister Zeng say something?" ”

"It was a barter trade with Germany and the United States, and the amount of money was very large and the delivery date was very tight......

"Oh, then please let him in" As Chang Ruiqing spoke, Leshinskaya, who was sitting across from him, stood up and looked like she was about to leave

"Natalie, you stay and listen to it together, Mu Han will come over at night, things must be extraordinary"

Saying that, Chang Ruiqing stood up and wanted to go to the door to greet him, but he saw He Jinhan open the door of the office, Zeng Qi hurriedly walked in with a Wen Jiàn clip, nodded at Chang Ruiqing and Lesinskaya and said: "Chancellor, the Germans and the Americans may have reached a huge barter trade contract, and it also involves us."

"What's going on?" Chang Ruiqing raised his hand and motioned for Zeng Qi to sit down and speak, and poured a cup of tea for the other party with his own hands Zeng Qi opened the text jiàn folder and spread it out on the desk, inside was a yellow copy of the newspaper, he pointed to the copy of the newspaper and said: "This is a telegram sent by our trade representative in Berlin The German side has asked him to raise $1 billion worth of silk, black sand, teak, natural rubber, soybeans, tea, tung oil, pig bristles and other commodities to be shipped to the United States before the end of the year to pay off the arrears arising from the Sino-German barter trade. The insufficient part of Germany will be paid for with weapons and equipment and cash"

"A billion dollars!?" Chang Ruiqing took a breath, picked up the telegram and read it carefully, then handed it to Lesinskaya and said, "Natalie, what do you think?" Is there a deal between virtues? ”

Lesinskaya was probably the most knowledgeable senior official in China about European affairs (she was originally European, and she also had many Polish relatives in exile in France), and she quickly finished reading the telegram, which did not have many words in total, and her eyebrows frowned slightly, revealing a rare solemn expression: "Prime Minister, I think Roosevelt has made another good move!" ”

"How?" Chang Ruiqing's eyes flashed, as if he had thought of something

"Roosevelt figured out that the barter trade between China, the United States and Germany would greatly support Germany and free them from their dependence on Britain and France for raw materials and logistical transportation!" Leshinskaya's jade fingers tapped lightly on the table, and she thought: "In recent years, Britain and France have deliberately limited Germany's import of important strategic materials such as oil, non-ferrous metals, and iron ore, so as to limit Germany's war potential

For example, oil, the Germans have reserves of only 12 million tons, of which 10 million tons are Kuwaiti oil that we have provided in the past few years, according to the estimates of the National Intelligence Service, if Germany is completely blocked, their oil will last for two years at most, manganese sand, zinc ore, copper ore, bauxite, molybdenum ore, chromite and other important non-ferrous metals can only be maintained for two to three years, and iron ore reserves can only last for one year, after which Germany's steel production is likely to decline sharply, so it is subject to Britain and France in important raw materials. They did not dare to openly turn their faces against Britain and France, but the contradictions between Germany and Britain and France in the division of interests after the war were difficult to reconcile, and once Germany won a complete victory in the Battle of Poland, I am afraid that it would be ......."

Chang Ruiqing shook his head slightly, leaned back on the chair, and said with a bitter smile after a long time: "Roosevelt did make a good move, and the total amount of barter trade between him and Hitler must exceed 1 billion US dollars...... If all this money is used to buy oil, it can almost buy more than 100 million tons! The army that was enough for the Germans was open for ten or twenty years...... Such a big trade must not be hidden from Britain and France, but what can Britain and France do? The deal between the United States and Germany, oh, also dragged us into the water, how could Britain and France interfere? Stirred up by Roosevelt like this, it seems that the Anglo-German-Chinese Triple Alliance will not last long."

Hearing Chang Ruiqing say something a little frustrated, Zeng Qi shook his head and said, "Prime Minister, why don't we refuse the Germans' request?" It would have been difficult to raise so much before the end of the year, and Hitler wouldn't have been able to say anything if he had pushed it off, right? ”

"Shirk?" Chang Ruiqing smiled bitterly and shook his head: "How much can you push off?" I can't get $1 billion in supplies, but there are always $800 million or $700 million, right? And the Germans don't take our things for nothing, they exchange technology and weapons for equipment, such as radar technology, the latest special alloy technology, synthetic penicillin technology, and the latest engine technology...... It's all good stuff, Americans don't need it, we rack our brains to get it! Speaking of this, his face suddenly turned blue, "Not good! Nuclear fission bombs! Hitler would have told the Americans the secret of the U-project! ”

"Mr. Lawrence, have you met Einstein? How much information did they show you? What the hell is that U project for? ”

Chang Ruiqing guessed correctly, at this time, Hopkins was in the US embassy in Berlin to talk with the American physicist Lawrence, who accompanied him to visit Wèn, Germany, who, with Hitler's permission, visited an isotope separation plant under construction near Munich, and had a long talk with Albert Einstein, the head of the U project

Lawrence was sitting at a table, sorting out a bunch of information provided by the Germans, and when he heard Hopkins' question, he couldn't help but sigh: "The Germans didn't reveal much, but it was enough to confirm that the U project was used to study a super bomb, and the Germans, the British, and the Chinese were already far ahead of us in this regard, and they had mastered the method of purifying uranium-235 in industry!" This is the most critical and difficult ......"

Hopkins closed his mouth tightly, leaned forward nervously, listened carefully to every word of the scientist, and waited until Lawrence finished speaking, he nodded solemnly: "I understand, the United States must have this super bomb, preferably before China, Britain and Germany"

Lawrence shook his head: "IMHO, this kind of thing is unlikely to happen first, China, Britain and Germany have been secretly studying isotopes of separating uranium for many years, and have long mastered a very efficient separation method...... I visited the German factory in Dachau and saw the machines being installed, but I couldn't understand what they were doing. Second, they are now in a wartime state, and the U project has the highest priority, and China, Britain and Germany may have already spent a billion dollars on it, and they can spend more money, but what about us? Congress is clamoring for spending cuts, and they're doing everything they can to find a way to veto the President's proposed Navy Expansion Act."

Hopkins scratched his chin and sighed: "Professor, you're right, we can't build this super bomb before them, and there is a possibility that we will be many years behind, unless we can enter the wartime state in time!"