Four judicial officials died mysteriously in Germany, and it was rumored that it was an unbelievable traffic accident such as a three-car collision, which made everyone sweat for Germany.

At the beginning of 1922, automobiles were not as popular as they are now, and there was no endless traffic on the streets and alleys, especially at eight o'clock in the evening, and there were even fewer cars on the streets.

However, the German side did not cooperate with the French investigation of the case, and hastily concluded the investigation as a traffic accident, and the German representative Sickert vented his bitterness in front of the Allied Arms Control Committee, believing that the French officer's late night outing was itself very suspicious, and this statement won the sympathy of at least some officials of the Allied Forces Commission.

The incident chilled relations between the Wehrmacht and France, with the two sides blaming each other at international conferences, and another sudden crisis that made it impossible for France to tolerate the hostile attitude of the German government.

At the end of 1922, when the Deutsche Mark began to depreciate wildly, German leader Ebert telephoned the French Prime Minister and the British Prime Minister, and sent a note to the British ambassador to Germany. The purpose was to ask the Allied governments to suspend the heavy war reparations demanded by the Treaty of Versailles.

However, this seemingly helpless but reasonable request was rejected by French Prime Minister Raymond Poincarre. The French side is adding fuel to the fire and frequently mobilizing border troops, making it a little difficult for the prime minister to ride a tiger. For a while, clouds were over Europe, and war seemed to break out at any moment.

At this moment, in Paris, France, in a conference room, the French top management is holding an impromptu meeting on this matter. At the meeting, most of the generals believed that Germany should be sent to completely destroy Germany's monopoly on the entire European continent, but people who knew a little about politics were not optimistic about this plan at all, and the United States, Britain, and even the Soviet Union could not tolerate a powerful France dominating the European continent, so once the action was launched, France would be in crisis by the enemy on several sides.

"Mr. Chancellor, we must make the Germans pay the price! The blood of the French must not be shed in vain!" a general sat on his seat and challenged French Prime Minister Raymond Poincarre.

French Prime Minister Poincarre shook his head helplessly: "Your Excellency, General! We can't declare war on a country because of an accident that looks like murder! The national budget has been cut three times because of the end of the war, what can I use to support a huge war?"

"Hmph. Another general sneered: "Germany now has only 100,000 men, we only need to send the strength of two army groups, we can completely destroy their entire army, and then we can hit Berlin and let the German Ebert and that hateful Sickert kneel in front of us!"

Have you ever thought that if we try to dominate Germany, Britain will stand on Germany's side, and the United States will follow suit, and then it will be a dog chain on our body!" French Prime Minister Poincarre was a little helpless about a group of generals who did not understand politics, and he had to translate the problems he faced into words that these generals could understand.

He pointed to the map and poked hard at the border between France and Germany, where there was a long, thin line on French territory: "The parliament has just passed a bill to build the Maginot Line, and the bulk of the military budget will be spent on the creation of this super line of defense that guarantees that France will never be invaded, and the plan of attack you envisage will not be allowed at all." ”

"So, sir, what if we make a slight modification to this plan?" In the corner, a colonel raised his hand: "What if we send only one division to occupy the Ruhr region, an important industrial base of Germany, on the grounds that Germany owes us war reparations?"

He took a step forward and said: "We can achieve two goals by this: first, the Allied Arms Control Committee has recently received news that Germany is secretly building up its army, and it is obvious that they are not willing to accept the defeat of the last time, and we can completely destroy the foundation of their rearmament! That is the Ruhr industrial area; second, if Germany resists, then their military strength will be exposed, so that they will immediately arouse the vigilance of Britain, so that our actions will not be hostile to Britain, right?"

"That makes sense, Colonel de Gaulle, that our plan would be much more secure, that we would send fewer troops, that would not arouse the hostility and resentment of the British Government, and that as long as our diplomatic department held out for a week, Germany would submit. One of the generals stood up and said.

Colonel de Gaulle frowned: "General, I don't think we can estimate the situation so optimistically, I expect that it will take at least a month for this operation to receive the desired effect." We must be prepared for the Wehrmacht not to resist. ”

"If we don't resist, then we will occupy the Ruhr area, and use the products there to cover the cost of our troops and the war compensation. The general sneered.

De Gaulle wanted to say anything more, but he was interrupted by Mr. Chancellor, who could not wait to agree to this smaller-scale plan of action, after all, it was much more comfortable than the original plan to send dozens of divisions: "No problem at all, Your Excellency, General, I will persuade the parliament to agree to this action by the military." ”

"I hope the Germans are as stupid as our generals. At the end of the meeting, de Gaulle lamented to his deputy: "If this plan fails, there will be no one to stop Germany from rearming itself." ”

The plan to invade the Ruhr industrial area in Germany was approved by the parliament, and the French team immediately began to mobilize, and the logistics department began to distribute spare ammunition and fuel to the front-line troops participating in the operation.

"Bell, bell, bell!" Major Gascoll of the Intelligence Section of the General Headquarters of the Wehrmacht picked up the phone, and after a few seconds, his eyebrows were twisted, and then he ordered in his thick Prussian emphasis: "If there is any further information on this front, report the contents directly to Colonel Accardo." ”

Then he hurriedly hung up the phone, took his hat and fastened it to his head, and walked out of his office, upstairs, and came to a room with a closed door that read "Office of Special Affairs."

Gascoll straightened his outfit, then knocked solemnly on the door. Hearing the words inside, he pushed open the door, and then looked eagerly at the man sitting in front of him without looking up, knocked out a click with his heel, and saluted upright: "Colonel Accardo! The Intelligence Section has important information to report to you! The French have moved!"

In fact, Accardo is only two levels older than him in terms of military rank, and he is not Gascoll's direct superior, after all, the Intelligence Section is nominally directly responsible to General Sickert, and it stands to reason that Gascol should not treat Accardo like this.

However, Accardo single-handedly created the current German intelligence department, and painstakingly created the current almost pervasive German shadow force, so that the German intelligence department has a great name that will be heard by future generations, the Gestapo.

And Major Gascol is a heartfelt subordinate who has been cultivated by Accardo and secretly promoted, and respects Accardo like a god.

Therefore, the Gestapo, the intelligence section of the German Wehrmacht that Sickert has always been very satisfied with, has actually been an important force under the control of Accardo.

"The French have moved?" Accardo looked up at his excited subordinates and smiled, "They finally can't help but make a move!

"Mr. Colonel, exactly as you expected, the French are preparing to invade the Ruhr area, we have deployed the 4th and 6th divisions near the Ruhr area half a month ago, this time we can easily eat the French invasion force. Gascoll felt that Accardo's foresight was unmatched, and he succeeded in predicting the actions of the French at the very beginning of the crisis.

"No need! Plan A is put on hold, and the order is given to carry out Plan B, and I will immediately report the matter to General Sickt, and this time, I will use this trap to bury many people. Accardo smiled and waved his hand and said, "Go back! Don't come to me casually next time, if General Sickt discovers something, you may lose your position!"

After Gascol left, Accardo took out the prepared plan and went to Sickert's office with his arm between them.

"Look at the good deeds you have done, the French have really acted! Do you know that once the war breaks out, we will be completely wiped out?" Sickert frowned and looked at the relaxed Accardo, and pretended to be angry and reproached: "Tell me, what plan do you have!"

"War will not break out! Because the Wehrmacht will not put up any resistance!" Accardo said with a smile: "The resistance is spontaneous, it was launched by the people of the Ruhr industrial area! ”

With an eyebrow raised, Sickert immediately understood Accardo's intentions: "A clever plan to kill two birds with one stone! ”

Otherwise, the 1st Division and the 17th Division, which had the strongest combat capability, would not have been held in place, and there would have been no sign of a half-point transfer. Accardo was so relaxed that he could not tell that he had stabbed at the same time against several enemies in France and Germany.

"First, the inability of the Wehrmacht to fight back proves that military spending will increase. The German government is in crisis and needs the support of the military, and this is what we have earned; second, there is a rift between the French and British governments, and the arms control committee has been dealt a heavy blow, and it is easier for us to fish in troubled waters. Sickert looked at Accardo, "I feel more and more that I made the right choice of you as my lieutenant in the first place!"

"At least, for the Wehrmacht, it's perfectly correct!" said Accardo, looking at General Sickert, who was increasingly wary of him.