Chapter 291: I Will Remember

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Through the spacious and bright large glass window, the wooden window frame was spotless. Akado sat by the window, looking at the ice and sn

Through the spacious and bright large glass window, the wooden window frame was spotless. Akado sat by the window, looking at the ice and snow that had already melted on the balcony, but his mind was on the progress report of the secret weapons development that had been submitted to him from Berlin.

The Krupp company, under his instructions, was now focusing on the development of a brand-new super tank to provide the German troops with a response to possible enemy tank threats. This tank, codenamed “Tiger,” completely subverted the previous concept of tanks and brought together many unique technologies that seemed very advanced, yet were exceptionally mature.

Anna stood not far behind him, her hands behind her back, looking at the surrounding scenery. The mud outside, the neatness and serenity inside the room, the dancing flames in the fireplace—all of this would soon be far away from her.

Because today the Führer was returning to Berlin to formally accept the surrender and allegiance of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in the Führer’s Residence. From then on, the Netherlands would cease to exist and would become the “Dutch Autonomous Province” of the Third German Reich, with a status higher than the “East Polish Autonomous Province” and the same level as the “West Polish Autonomous Province.”

“Knock, knock.” Just as Akado was deep in thought, a knock came at the office door from one of his officers. Akado looked up and saw the officer who had entered.

“Heil Führer!” the officer said, saluting at attention. “The arrangements for your return to Berlin have been made. The car is waiting for you downstairs, my Führer.”

Akado nodded, stood up, and took the greatcoat that Anna handed him. “I know. Wait for me downstairs.”

With Anna’s help, he straightened his clothes and then walked out the door.

The corridor was not as spacious and bright as his office. For the needs of air defense, more than half of the Felsennest was an underground bunker. Although some large offices and conference halls with glass windows had been built on the cliff face, most of it was still passages with only ventilation fans and dim lights on the walls.

In this dim and rather basement-like concrete corridor, the staff of the Felsennest raised their right hands and saluted him. “Führer, long live!”

Yes, long live… Akado thought, smiling and nodding to the people before him. This kind of scene reminded him of a movie released in 2004 called Downfall. In Hitler’s final moments, it was also a basement similar to this, and also so many people raising their arms to salute him.

This scene made him panic, because in the history he was familiar with, he not only knew the glory of the Third Reich but also many things that were not known to people. These things were called the “endgame.” Yes, the endgame. Akado feared the arrival of that final judgment. He was afraid that all his efforts would ultimately become a laughingstock for others.

Although he had not, like the Nazi Party and Hitler, arrested and persecuted Jews on a large scale in Germany, which had in turn made Germany’s rule more unbreakable, if you knew the dark side of the Third Reich, then you would know that the Third Reich under Akado’s rule was by no means a perfect country.

The SS under Heydrich’s command was also arresting those democrats who were dissatisfied with the rule of the Greater German Party. They were also plundering the wealth of the people in the eastern Polish region to subsidize the country. They had divided the defeated Poles into three, six, and nine classes for divisive rule, persecuting and squeezing the lowest class of the elderly to revitalize the economy of other regions.

It is no exaggeration to say that under the surface prosperity of the Third Reich was also a history of blood and tears for the countless people in the occupied territories. It was just that Germany’s new mode of operation had compressed the hated population into a very small range and had not magnified the domestic contradictions. But Akado knew very well that once he was defeated, these crimes could still send him to the gallows, and nothing less…

“My Führer, we can set off,” an officer said, coming over to Akado. The crowd on both sides began to cheer and applaud him.

Only then did Akado find something to overcome the panic in his heart. At least in the cold end, he would not have applause and cheers. So he took a step forward, his face a little grim, but forcing a smile as he passed through the crowd, heading for the main gate of the Felsennest.

It was not until he saw the sun again, not until he breathed the cold but very fresh air again, that Akado found himself. He glanced at Anna beside him and, amidst the frenzied cheers of the crowd, got into the already prepared car.

The rise of any nation is accompanied by squeezing and persecution. No single person can stop these dark things from happening. Thinking of this, Akado couldn’t help but feel relieved, because this was not him acting on his own authority. This was a state machine in operation, without any emotion, measuring gains and losses solely on national interests.

So the wheel of history would not stop because of his fears. Time would still roll forward mercilessly. His decisions could no longer stop this slaughter that had already begun. All he could do was to do things to the best of his ability and to avoid going down that bloody road of no return.

Sitting in the back of the car, Akado raised the corners of his mouth. It seemed there was nothing to be conflicted about. Every nation, every country has such a bloody and dark past. Just like the slogan shouted by the majestic Emperor Wu of Han: “Those who offend our mighty Han will be punished, no matter how far.” Just like the sentence spoken by the smug Japanese diplomat in front of Li Hongzhang: “Whether you agree or not…”

That’s right, there’s nothing to be conflicted about. If you put aside all the high-sounding rhetoric, what’s left is nothing more than the naked law of the jungle, where the weak are the prey of the strong. No one reasoned with the late Qing dynasty, even though they were the eight most “civilized” countries in the world. No one reasoned with the Xiongnu, even though they were one of the most brilliant human empires at the time. No one reasoned with the Indians, even though they would later call themselves the most democratic and free United States. And no one reasoned with the Germans. They had disbanded their army and demanded reparations, so I led the Germans to rise up in resistance—there’s nothing wrong with that!

No one cares about the destitute farmers who have lost their land. No one cares about the Polish corpses rotting on the side of the road. No one cares about the soldiers covered in mud, rolling on the ground. And no one cares about the parents who have lost their sons. These are all the necessary prices to be paid for the rise of an empire.

The car was, of course, a luxury sedan produced by the Mercedes-Benz company. In the relevant laws passed after the Greater German Party came to lead Germany, the official vehicles of the government departments were designated to be purchased from domestic car companies, and the Führer’s car was determined to be the 1927 model luxury armored car “Firmament,” produced by the Mercedes-Benz company.

This car was simply a tank with a good field of view. The 5-ton car had steel plates added in many places as protection. The bulletproof glass could not be lowered because it was a full ten centimeters thick. This car was completely handmade and was equipped with a high-power tank gasoline engine. Its top speed could reach 120 kilometers per hour.

The car started slowly, and Anna also leaned on Akado’s shoulder. “Your face was very grim just now. Did you think of something unhappy?” It had to be said that whether in the East or the West, the meticulousness of women was incomparable to men. They were sensitive and good at observation and could quickly discover the slightest changes in the things they were interested in.

Akado nodded, looking at the scenery outside the window, as if thinking about something. After a few seconds, he finally spoke. “Yes, I was thinking about some problems, but it seems I was overthinking. At least for now, our situation is not bad.”

“What do you mean, not bad? It’s excellent,” Anna said. When she smiled, she had a unique charm, captivating and confident, which made Akado, who had just turned his gaze back to her, feel a stir in his heart.

Seeing Akado taken aback for a moment, Anna’s smile became even more charming. She put her arms around Akado’s arm, and with the magnificent curve of her chest, she rubbed against the Führer’s upper arm, making Akado’s mind wander before she continued, “In the last war, we used all our strength to achieve today’s results, yet the war could not be continued… Today, we still have a large amount of strategic materials stored in the country, and yet we have already gone further than in the past.”

Akado breathed a sigh of relief and continued to nod. His expression was a little more relaxed than before. He smiled and said, “Yes, we have achieved a more glorious combat record than our great predecessors. But all of this is fragile. We cannot afford to fail. Even a single small mistake will plunge us into an abyss from which we cannot recover.”

He glanced at Anna, stroked her hair with his hand, and then pulled her into his arms. “My love, we have already experienced one failure. If we make any mistakes this time, then the great Germanic nation will be completely enslaved. Our people will be persecuted, our territory will be occupied, and I, who have caused all of this, how can I face the soldiers who have died for me?”

“So I can only do my best, do everything to the best of my ability… until one day, we become the masters of our own destiny. At that time, we can truly breathe a sigh of relief and then leave this world with a clear conscience,” Akado said finally. After speaking, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. In the days and nights at the Felsennest, he had hardly rested well. Every day, he had to deal with a mountain of official duties, and it was not until very, very late that he would go to sleep.

Leading a country is not easy. Leading a country as a near-dictator is even more difficult. And for someone like Akado, to lead a country in a state of war as a dictator—the difficulty can be imagined. He had to deal with trivial problems and then intervene in every detail of this country to avoid losing control of the entire country due to his own laziness.

“Sleep…” Anna whispered, gently stroking Akado’s hair. “Everything you have done for this country, someone will surely remember. At the very least, I will remember!”