Chapter 161: The Wedding

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Germany’s annexation of Hungary caused a crisis with another country: its neighbor, Italy. Italy under Mussolini’s leadership had always regarded the Balkan Peninsula as its own sphere of influence and had harbored ambitious hopes of one day taking the peninsula and reforging the glory of the Roman Empire. Now that Germany had taken Hungary and opened a line of communication to the Balkans, it was possible that it would extend its hand there as well.

Therefore, an Italian special envoy, under the pretext of congratulating the German Führer on his marriage, rushed to Akado’s Führer’s Residence. However, to Akado’s regret, the custom of giving cash gifts at weddings was not yet popular here, and the Italian envoy had not brought any wedding presents. This naked utilitarianism made Akado feel much more relaxed; at least it would save a lot of time for more important matters.

“Mr. Führer, Il Duce is very eager to know whether Germany has any claims to interests in the Balkan region. This concerns the alliance between our two countries, as well as the basic trust between the nations of the Steel Axis,” the Italian envoy said anxiously, stating his position as soon as he met Akado.

After hearing the Italian envoy’s words, Akado immediately broke into a smile. “Germany does indeed have interest requirements in the Balkan region…”

“Mr. Führer, Italy…” the Italian envoy said, annoyed and wanting to interrupt.

Akado looked at the envoy’s unpleasant expression and waved his hand, signaling for him to let him finish. “But Germany’s interests in the Balkans need to be realized by Italy! Only if Italy controls the Balkan Peninsula can Germany’s interests in the region be guaranteed!”

That dramatic pause of yours nearly scared me to death, the Italian envoy thought. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, put on a smiling face, and chuckled along with Akado. “The Führer’s words are very well said! But can Italy trust the words of you alone, Mr. Führer?”

Akado nodded. “Germany has indeed been described by Britain and France recently as a perfidious and shameless country, but we firmly believe that Germany is still a trustworthy and honest nation. If necessary, Germany can sign a treaty with Italy to ensure Italy’s fundamental interests in the Balkan region.”

“Il Duce Mussolini thanks you for your generosity!” the Italian envoy said happily. “Italy will guarantee Germany’s interests in the Balkan Peninsula.”

“As I said, our two sides should sign a treaty to define the future spheres of influence in these regions, the obligations of both sides, and so on…” Akado said. “To avoid confusion of responsibility in certain places in the future, which would bring trouble to both of us. I think Mr. Mussolini would also agree with this proposal. Am I right?”

“Absolutely correct, my Führer! Your wisdom is admirable,” the Italian envoy said, quickly flattering him. “My Führer, I firmly believe that Germany will become even more glorious under your leadership. Italy is willing to provide a portion of its textiles and grain to thank you for your generosity.”

The reason I’m in such a hurry to draw a clear line is that I’m afraid you’ll drag me down when the time comes. In the last life, you rushed in, and in the end, wasn’t it Hitler who had to clean up your mess? Akado thought with an inward snort. In his past life, Italy’s failure in the Balkans had almost directly laid the groundwork for the failure of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union. In this life, Akado decided to first stabilize Mussolini, at least to prevent him from rushing to launch an invasion of the Balkans.

After sending off the Italian envoy, Akado met with representatives of the last batch of German soldiers to withdraw from Spain and awarded the Iron Cross to several of the most meritorious officers and soldiers.

At this small, inconspicuous meeting, Akado met another famous German air force personality he was familiar with: Adolf Galland.

“I hear you shot down a lot of enemy planes?” Akado asked with a smile as he shook hands with his former idol.

Galland was clearly flattered to be known by the great Führer. He was so excited he almost shed tears. He told Akado about the harsh weather in Spain and described in detail how he had piloted his fighter to engage the Republican air force.

He finally said to Akado, “My Führer! You are truly a great man who does practical things for the soldiers. The Me-109 fighter you advocated for has saved the lives of countless German pilots.”

“Starting tomorrow, your unit will be re-equipped with the newest Fw-190G fighter. It’s the liquid-cooled model we just successfully developed. Its performance is even better than the Me-109! I hope you and your squadron can bring me more surprises,” Akado said, patting Galland’s shoulder.

“Are you serious, my Führer?” As soon as the topic turned to planes, Galland became as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood. “Better than the Me-109? Doesn’t that mean our air force will be invincible?”

“Of course!” Akado replied with a smile. “What we want is for you to be invincible! The skies of Germany must be defended by excellent pilots like you!”

“My Führer! Adolf Galland swears to you! I will lead my squadron to defend every inch of German airspace!” Galland said, standing at attention and giving a German salute. “Heil Führer! Long live Great Germany!”

No one could have imagined how busy Akado was. After seeing off Galland and the other decorated personnel, he immediately met with the special envoy from Hungary in the same spot. Germany had suppressed some local unrest in Hungary and had quickly taken control of the country’s oil extraction. After laying out the plan for exploiting Hungary’s war potential, Akado then went with his tailor to the next room to try on his custom-made SS general’s dress uniform.

That’s right, tomorrow was the wedding day of this German Führer, Mr. Akado Rudolph. Yet today, he was still working in his Führer’s Residence until the afternoon. He hadn’t even looked over the full schedule for his own wedding once. His only impression of it was Mercedes’s description: “Hm, not bad.”

Many Germans are Christians, so they have three wedding ceremonies. First, they must go to a government office to obtain a marriage certificate to become a legally protected couple. Then they go to a church for a wedding ceremony, and finally, a wedding celebration is held at home. As the Führer of Germany, Akado enjoyed special treatment. Government officials brought the materials to the Führer’s Residence to handle the marriage procedures for Akado and Mercedes—there was no need for him to go to a government office.

When obtaining a marriage certificate, in addition to personal identification, witnesses are required by law. The witnesses cannot be relatives of either the bride or the groom, and the witness must also sign the official documents. The person chosen to witness for Akado and Mercedes was Krupp. The government official issuing the certificate didn’t dare to ask if the two consented and hurriedly stamped the documents.

The church wedding was set at the Berlin Cathedral. As it was formerly the private chapel of the royal family, unlike Gothic cathedrals which are ornate on the outside but simple on the inside, the interior of the Berlin Cathedral was extremely magnificent, to the point of being ostentatious. Its interior was resplendent with gold and decorated with intricately lined columns and exquisite murals; even the capitals of the columns were gilded. Its interior was designed by the architect Julius Raschdorff. The entire cathedral could accommodate about 500 people. The building was four stories high, with the highest point reaching 114 meters. The most unforgettable feature of the church was its 74-meter-high dome.

The entire ceremony was rushed because the Führer was busy with official duties. Because most national leaders are already over fifty when they take office, there is little precedent for a national leader to hold a wedding. Akado was clearly not a formalist; he was more concerned with how many cannons could be paid for with the money saved by simplifying the wedding.

Because the wedding was chosen to be on a weekend, many people spontaneously went to the streets to celebrate the Führer’s marriage. To ensure safety, Akado’s motorcade went all the way to the vicinity of the cathedral, where the security department guided the bride and groom to ride in a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage for one lap around the streets near the church. This completed the ancient ritual, after which they hurried into the church, where the clergy presided over their wedding.

Akado wore a black SS uniform with the rank of an SS-Obergruppenführer. At his waist hung an exquisite ceremonial sword. Coupled with his tall, thin stature, he looked exceptionally dashing. Mercedes wore a pure white wedding dress and was stunningly beautiful. When the two of them appeared together in the church, their friends and relatives were so captivated that they even forgot to applaud.

Of course, the later part had a bit of the nature of a wedding celebration prank. After returning to the Führer’s Residence, as soon as they entered the courtyard, the guests began to throw pre-prepared bowls and plates from the upper floors, shattering them all over the ground. There were a great many, and even the soldiers of the Führer’s Guard Detachment helped to throw them. Some guests had brought plates and dishes with them, which were all thrown to the ground. The bride, Mercedes, had to hurry to pick them up and throw them into a pre-prepared garbage can. The meaning was that from this day on, the wife had entered the home. In the future, there would inevitably be unpleasantness, quarrels, and the smashing of bowls and plates. By smashing them all now, there would be no more smashing in the future, and so they could live in harmony forever.

Then, in the courtyard, there was a pre-prepared pile of garbage and debris. The groom, Akado, had to use a shovel, and the bride, Mercedes, had to use a broom. Together, they had to clean the courtyard spotlessly to show that the couple would be hardworking and tidy in the future. Then, the two of them went to a pre-prepared spot where many coins had been buried underground. The bride and groom had to dig with their bare hands to find all the coins, symbolizing that they would earn their wealth through their own labor.

As the saying goes, of the four great joys in life, the wedding night is naturally an incomparably exciting one. And even more so when it is with a woman as beautiful as a fairy from a painting. Akado felt that his hard work had truly not been in vain: he had really achieved the legendary “drunkenly resting on a beauty’s lap, and awakening to grasp the power of the world.”

Akado, tired from a long day, now took the time to carefully look at the shy Mercedes sitting on the soft bed. The two looked at each other and smiled, suddenly realizing that they had both relaxed a lot.

And as the saying goes, the beauty of a spring night is boundless… Here we will skip a few million words. Dear readers, please remember to pay the fee. My account is… ahem.