Chapter 259: Chaos

Advanced chapter at my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair

“Akado! Akado!” Mercedes threw aside the documents in her hand, ran over in a panic, and, placing her hands on Akado’s shoulders, called out anxiously, hoping her lover would wake up. Even the usually calmest of Mercedes, when she saw Akado collapsed on the table, his face pressed against its surface, with a large amount of blood flowing out, was as flustered as any other woman.

“My God! Blood!” Anna shrieked from the side, pointing at the blood that had flowed onto Akado’s documents. “Quick! Get a doctor! Get a doctor!”

“Right!” Reminded by Anna, Mercedes also came to her senses. She quickly grabbed the phone and cried out in a hurry, “This is the Führer’s office! Get the Führer’s personal physician and all the doctors here to the Führer’s office at once! Quick!”

In her panic, Mercedes had forgotten the most critical issue for a country at war—secrecy. For a country’s important head of state to suddenly have a health situation during wartime was a very serious matter. Moreover, this head of state was somewhat special; he was not just a decision-maker but the spiritual pillar of the entire nation.

And Anna, with her military background, had even made another call to Brauchitsch after Mercedes had put down the phone, telling the military leader about the Führer’s collapse. This caused the Field Marshal, who had just returned to his own temporary command post, to have to rush back to the Führer’s camp at the Felsennest.

Soon, the doctors, who did not know what had happened, arrived at the Führer’s office. After learning what had transpired, they carefully lifted Akado up from the office desk. The poor Akado had already had his face pressed against the tabletop for a full ten minutes or so.

However, after the doctors had lifted the Führer, they discovered that the real reason for his bleeding was that his nose had hit the tabletop, causing a nasal fracture. Of course, this condition had a more common name: a nosebleed. But at this time, the doctors still did not know if there was a more serious condition in Akado’s head.

After some simple treatment, the doctors helped Akado to stop the bleeding and then began to check for internal injuries. Of course, by this time, there were more and more people in Akado’s office. There were the Führer’s security personnel, other doctors who had rushed over, Akado’s economic advisors, the Minister of Industry and the Minister of the Interior who had accompanied Akado to the Felsennest, and even a minister from the Greater German Party had come.

Of course, after a thorough examination, the doctor gave a very conservative estimate of the Führer’s condition. He said to the Führer’s wife, Mercedes, “Honorable lady, the Führer’s breathing is very stable now, and there are no abnormalities in his pupils… His heartbeat is slightly rapid, but of course, this does not affect anything… In addition, the bags under his eyes are a bit dark, which is probably caused by lack of sleep… He may have temporarily lost consciousness due to extreme emotional agitation, or it could be said that he fell asleep due to fatigue… Of course, I cannot estimate how long he will sleep. Unless he can wake up on his own, this state may continue.”

Finally, he gave a very pertinent suggestion. “If the Führer wakes up, he can drink some sugar water and eat some light food. Of course, what is more important is to soothe his emotions and to avoid this kind of emotional agitation.”

But the politicians, who feared the world was not chaotic enough, interpreted another meaning in these words. Soon, a piece of news was transmitted out of the Führer’s office in the Felsennest through various channels, flying to every corner of the Third Reich. Some began to contact their potential supporters to compete for the position of the next Führer. Others began to worry about the future of Germany and started to prepare for the signing of a peace treaty.

A luxurious army general’s car stopped at the main gate of the Felsennest. Brauchitsch, holding his bright red marshal’s baton, got out of the car. Two officers who had deliberately come out to greet him immediately stood at attention and saluted. “Heil Führer!”

“What on earth happened? I heard that the Führer fainted from over-excitement after hearing the news of the navy’s victory?” Brauchitsch asked, taking off his greatcoat and handing it to his adjutant, his eyes fixed on the two officers who had rushed out to see him.

An elderly general stepped forward and said in a low voice, “It’s a complete mess inside. The Führer is unconscious, and there is no one to take charge of the overall situation. We feel that if the Führer is summoned by God and leaves us, only you, Field Marshal, can take charge. Our war of revenge against France must continue, and the victorious Germany will regard you as the new Führer.”

“Are you insane? How can anyone replace the Führer? If something happens to the Führer now, we are all finished!” Brauchitsch said in a rage. “Have you got water in your brain? At this critical moment, you’re still thinking about how to gain power? If I were sitting in the Führer’s position, I wouldn’t dare to go to war even with another 100 divisions!”

He glared at the presumptuous old general. “Taking a thousand steps back, I would rather have that old man August take his place! Do you think that position is so easy to sit in? Without the Führer’s strength, anyone who sits there will be burned to a crisp! So if you don’t want to be garroted with piano wire, then keep your mouth shut and pretend you’re a mute for the next twenty years.”

He frowned as he walked up the steps. As he went up, he looked at his adjutant. “Go to the guard room at once. Have all the officers and soldiers return to their posts. Don’t impose a lockdown, but you must control all the exits… Then you go to the telegraph room and send a telegram to Prime Minister August, and also to Krupp, Schacht, Jelinek-Cassia, Heydrich of the SS, Fanny of the Propaganda Ministry, and the commanders of the army, navy, and air force. Just say that the Führer is not in serious danger and have them come to the Felsennest as soon as possible to report on their duties.”

“Field Marshal, if the Führer wakes up, doing this will be disadvantageous to you,” the adjutant reminded him.

“Then change the last sentence… Tell them not to act rashly,” Brauchitsch said with a nod of approval. “And then, in my name, issue a strict order within the army. The content is only one sentence: Any rumors about the Führer’s health are being spread by enemy spies!”

“As you command,” the adjutant saluted at attention and retreated. Brauchitsch, on the other hand, entered the corridor and, under the terrified gazes of some of the low-ranking personnel, pushed open the door to the Führer’s office and walked in.

The next day, this news had spread to almost the whole country. Only then did Mercedes and Anna realize what a huge problem their momentary panic had caused. Now, even the front lines were buzzing with the rumor: just as the German army was winning on all fronts, the greatest leader of Germany, Führer Akado Rudolph, had fallen ill. He had fainted while working, and his health was in a worrying state.

Although the military high command subsequently issued a notice that this was a rumor, the news still spread at an astonishing speed, even affecting the combat situation in some local areas. Of course, the rumor of the Führer’s illness did not cause much of a stir among the top military and political circles in Germany. Prime Minister August flew to the Felsennest as soon as he received the news. Krupp, after glancing at the telegram, continued his inspection of German industrial achievements. Schacht continued to oversee his plan to exchange MEFO bills for Marks. Jelinek was busy with the Volkswagen subsidiary in Munich. Fanny, on the other hand, believed it to be true, so she boarded Prime Minister August’s special plane in a fury and went to the Felsennest to see her dream lover…

The protagonist of the whole incident, that is, the Führer of the Reich, our protagonist Akado, did not know about any of this. He had well and truly fainted. He dreamed of the beautiful female student from his past life, who had sat below the podium, smiling sweetly at him. He dreamed of Anna’s wet kiss after the victory in the Rhineland. He dreamed of tumbling in the clouds with the beautiful Mercedes after his marriage. He dreamed of Hitler’s eagle-like eyes as he left his office.

An hour after he had fainted, the two telegrams he had ordered to be sent were finally dispatched in the name of the Reich High Command. Fortunately, it was not too late. After receiving the news, Raeder immediately ordered a return to base and slipped out of the British Royal Navy’s encirclement. The bloodthirsty Royal Navy chased Raeder for a full two days before finally giving up the operation.

It was not until the evening of the next day that the German Führer, Akado, who had been unconscious for a full day and four hours due to excessive fatigue and emotional tension, finally woke up. He felt the ruddy and soft sunlight of the setting sun shining into the balcony of his west-facing bedroom. So he opened his eyes and began to look for everything he was familiar with.

Soon, he saw the dense crowd of people standing in front of his bed. So he tried hard to force a smile but found that his face was very stiff. He reached out with the hand that was under the covers and touched his nose, which was protected by a dressing, and only then did he remember what had happened.

“I’m sorry to have worried you all,” Akado said, his voice muffled as if he were pinching his nose. He struggled to get up and, with the help of Mercedes, Anna, and Fanny, sat up. He suddenly felt that after so much rest, his whole spirit was much refreshed. So he added another sentence. “I’m fine now. I’m in pretty good shape.”

“My Führer! I suggest you respond to this incident immediately,” Fanny said with a frown. “The news of your collapse is now known to almost the whole of Germany.”

“We must find a way to stabilize the mood in the country. The army also needs the news that you are safe and sound,” Field Marshal von Brauchitsch, who was standing to the side, said with a nod.

“This matter will not be easy to quell. If we just say it’s a rumor, there will still be sensitive people who will let their imaginations run wild,” Fanny said, finding the situation very tricky. “And with the Führer’s current state, even a broadcast might not have a good effect.”

August, who was sitting by Akado’s bed because of his age, thought for a moment and then came up with his own plan. “Then we’ll frame Britain and France! We’ll have the Führer admit that he was injured! The reason for the injury this time was a sneak attack by British spies. The Führer was only injured in the nose!”

“That’s a good idea! If the Führer inspects the front lines while ‘wounded,’ the effect will be even better,” Fanny said with a nod.

“Let’s do it,” Akado also agreed.