German Vice Admiral Lindemann, as commander of the Mediterranean detachment of the Imperial Navy, the German general who controlled the main Italian fleet in the Mediterranean, received a very embarrassing battle order at this moment.

He had to choose a very good time to prepare a very perfect battleship to transport a very important cargo to a very dangerous place - of course, this was not the most frustrating thing for him, because there was another requirement behind this order, that is: to ensure that the enemy's submarine could sink the warship carrying important cargo.

The German intelligence general who first conveyed this order, Gascoll's son Gascoll Jr., is a pivotal figure in the intelligence department, and the combat mission he personally deployed is definitely a very important task. So Lieutenant General Lindemann was completely confused, and he couldn't figure out what he was doing and how exactly he should do it.

"The transport you choose must be a warship, because the volume of the items being transported this time is not large, and this warship cannot be a destroyer, because it is impossible for us to know in advance that this warship is going to be sunk. So the kind of small ships that seem to be avoiding losses must not be taken out and used, and destroyers and light cruisers are not in the range of options. Gascoll Jr. waved his hand and rejected a plan of action that Lindemann had just submitted.

He looked at General Lindemann, who looked at him at a loss, and continued to talk about his strange theory: "Because this time your troops are responsible for transporting 'cargo', which is very important cargo! You can't use ordinary transport ships, and you can't use warships that are too small...... But in order to ensure that the ship would be sunk, not too many escort forces could not be used yet. ”

Originally, this plan was based on the premise of "not attracting attention, but reflecting the importance of cargo as much as possible", and Lindemann did not carry out such an intelligence mission that really cost expensive warships, and Lindemann did not seem to be very good at this kind of thing. If it was just for the sake of a deception that did not necessarily succeed, it was definitely a very cost-losing battle plan for Admiral Lindemann to take a main battle ship such as an expensive heavy cruiser.

How can anyone really lose a battleship to deceive the other party? The navy's warships are not only expensive gold-swallowing monsters, but also time-consuming and accumulated items with a high construction period.

"Can't you just tell me what I'm going to transport?" Vice Admiral Lindemann stared at little Gascol and said, "Hell, I'm also a vice admiral who nominally commands a fleet, and what level of secrecy is so high, I can't even know the whole plan as to why I sent my own warship to commit suicide?"

"You, don't say you're not good enough, Marshal Raeder, this plan only has an operation code, and there are no written documents or records. As if laughing at himself, little Gascoll spread his hands and complained to Lindemann: "Don't say it's you, even my father, and he only knows the code name of the thing he transports, 'Teutonic Knight', what it is, how much it weighs and how long, I don't know anything." ”

"Oh my God...... Few people know about the marshal level?" Lindeman immediately became cautious when he heard little Gascoll say this. At this time, it is very taboo to ask such a core secret in front of a big leader of a spy. So he hurriedly lowered his voice and quietly apologized to little Gascol: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to inquire about this. ”

"If it doesn't work, take a really reasonable cruiser from the home fleet and escort it with two destroyers...... Invest enough money to put on a shocking show for the British and Americans!" said Gascol Jr., patting Lindemann on the shoulder and smiling to the commander of the German Mediterranean fleet.

......

In the presidential office of the White House in Washington, Roosevelt leaned back in his wheelchair chair, raised his head and stared at the intelligence agency officer who had just brought shocking news. He really wanted to know now which piece of information he had in his hands that represented the progress of the Germans' research on atomic weapons.

Compared with the frontal battlefield of the Soviet Union, which seemed to have settled and there was no suspense, the only news that Roosevelt was most concerned about now was the battle situation of the American fleet in the Pacific Ocean and the development of the secret weapon of the Germans. If the United States is asked what way to turn the tide of the war, then in addition to the defeat of Japan, the most attractive thing is nothing more than a super weapon that can kick Germany out of the war at once.

In today's United States, the voice of hope and the Germans is getting smaller and smaller, and the increasing consumption of war has discouraged the capitalists and civilians, and the rest of the people have pinned their hopes on new weapons. However, compared with Germany, which has collected a large number of scientists and related talents in advance, the United States is really lagging behind in atomic energy research.

Roosevelt was always worried that the Germans would get ahead of the Americans in superweapons, so he tried to urge the United States to invest in relevant research, and on the other hand, he tried to interfere with Germany's atomic energy program and steal information about Germany's atomic program. Drawing on the experience of Germany, which has invested relatively more, is also a way for him to speed up the pace of the US atomic program, which he hopes will be able to catch up with the Germans and save money.

Just a few days ago, his efforts seemed to be paying off. A high-ranking spy embedded inside Germany has returned accurate information on the development of the German atomic bomb - intelligence that the Germans are developing their own superweapon with more terrifying and advanced nuclear fusion, and that they are taking the lead in this regard.

This information shocked the Americans, because they only had theoretical research in the field of nuclear fusion, and did not invest in more basic experiments -- this news made the United States feel uneasy, as if it were a sword of Damoxley, hanging over the heads of American politicians.

But the threat was still far away, and intelligence showed that the Germans would not possess such a lethal weapon until the second half of 1940, suggesting that the Americans still had time and could develop this terrible weapon of destruction before the Germans did. But just now, Roosevelt got another piece of information in his hand, and what was said in this information had to make Roosevelt handle the relationship between the United States and Germany cautiously.

"Are you sure? Are you sure that the Germans transported a weapon called the 'Teutonic Knights' to Africa for experiments through the Mediterranean?" Roosevelt held the piece of information in his hand and asked the intelligence officer standing next to his wheelchair: "What do you think is the probability that this German's secret weapon is a superweapon?"

The officer was silent for a moment, as if to consider how much of an impact his words would have. Eventually, he glanced at Roosevelt, and then said, "None of our intelligence agents in Italy have received this information, not even the slightest rumor of this in the intelligence network in Germany...... This level of secrecy, I personally still think, should be an important weapon worthy of secrecy. ”

"Whatever is the real secret weapon development progress of the Germans, we cannot afford to risk it. Roosevelt clutched the paper with a trembling hand, and finally said to the intelligence officer standing beside him: "Let your men act quickly and find the truth of the matter as much as possible...... We have to do something about it, and we can't let the Germans continue to develop so smoothly. ”

After saying this, he measured his head, pointed at the secretary waiting next to him, and ordered: "Let the navy find a way to transfer five submarines and arrange the most reliable manpower, and this submarine force must maintain a state of being ready to set off to carry out tasks at any time, waiting for our further orders." ”

Because of the fact that his health was not very good, after saying this, Roosevelt was forced to stop, and after he gasped twice, he once again strengthened his spirits, and pressed his other hand on the back of his secretary's hand: "Find me ...... Look for...... Find the admirals of the navy, I, I'll hold an improvised combat meeting!"

He was going to ask the experts who had combat experience to see if it was possible to throw a special operations force into Italy to seize the German secret weapon, codenamed "Teutonic Knights", along the railroad lines. If there is a chance to get that thing back to the United States, the whole course of the war may be rewritten - an opportunity that is more effective and more likely than the rebellion against Italy.

Even in Roosevelt's mind, he was already thinking about how to rebuild a submarine, how to send soldiers into Italy, how to seize the secret weapon of the Germans, how to rely on submarines to get that weapon back to the United States...... Even if this plan cannot be completed, he must find a suitable opportunity on the road and at sea to completely destroy this weapon from the earth.

Only in this way can the United States continue to look for opportunities in future wars; only in this way can the United States, which is bordered on both sides by the sea, continue to exist as the chosen country; only in this way can Roosevelt be regarded as giving the United States a chance to win the future hegemony; and only in this way can Roosevelt leave without worry.

"I need to rest and wake me up when they come......" Roosevelt said this, and then motioned for the waiter pushing his wheelchair to take him out of the reception room, and the director of the American intelligence bureau crouched down and began to pick up the intelligence documents scattered on the floor, which Roosevelt had failed to grasp because his fingers trembled violently as he moved.