Chapter 100: The Parliamentary Election

Schleicher stood in the corridor of the German Reichswehr headquarters, clutching his leather briefcase. He was the assistant to the Minister of Defense and also one of the more influential figures in the German military. Almost no Germans had heard the name Schleicher, but he was indeed a big shot.

It had to be said that this Schleicher did indeed have a strong background. He was a descendant of the great noble Brandenburg family. In 1900, he had joined Hindenburg’s old legion, where he met and became friends with a young man named Oskar, and this Oskar was the son of Field Marshal Hindenburg. Subsequently, during the First World War, he served as an adjutant to the current Minister of Defense, Groener. He began to distinguish himself when Seeckt was in charge of the Reichswehr and, together with Akado, established the secret cooperative relationship with the Soviet Union.

It was just that at that time, he had not been optimistic about Akado, so the two did not have a deep relationship. Because compared to Akado, in Schleicher’s eyes, there was a bigger, thicker thigh waiting for him to hug, and that thigh was President Hindenburg.

Unfortunately, time proved everything. By the time Schleicher had become a trusted confidant of President Hindenburg through his friend Oskar, Akado had begun to distinguish himself, becoming the most powerful figure within the Reichswehr and even throughout Germany. At this point, Schleicher found it was a bit too late to go and seek refuge with Akado, because Akado already had many people under him who possessed his talents: for example, Merkel within the Greater Germany Party, and for example, the rising star of the Reichswehr, General von Brauchitsch.

At this time, another faction had sought him out, promising him many things, including the position of Minister of Defense that he had been coveting—unfortunately, the current Minister of Defense, Groener, was very skilled at handling the problems of the Reichswehr and was trusted by both Hindenburg and Akado.

He did not agree to these people, because he was now a bit unable to see the situation clearly. And when one cannot see the situation clearly, it is very difficult to make a choice. He knew that those conditions obviously came with a price. The so-called high official positions and generous salaries were nothing but the devil’s temptation. Whether he could get those promises depended on luck and the result.

So he decided to stand here, having decided to knock on the door of the office before him, hoping to talk to Akado about his own problems. This was a gamble. According to his habit, this time he still bet everything he had on the side with the greater chance of winning.

“Mr. Schleicher, General Akado will see you now,” Cindra said, walking out with a pile of documents. She glanced at the assistant to the Minister of Defense waiting outside the door, spoke softly, and then walked towards the other end of the corridor. Schleicher had no choice but to push open the door to Akado’s office himself and then, mustering his courage, walked in.

“Welcome! Mr. Schleicher, long time no see,” Akado said with a smile, pointing to the sofa in front of his desk and gesturing for Schleicher to sit. “Anna, please pour a cup of coffee for Mr. Schleicher!”

“Thank you! The coffee isn’t necessary,” Schleicher was not polite either. He plopped down on the sofa and waved his hand courteously as he heard Akado’s words. And as he spoke, he placed his own briefcase on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Then, as if he didn’t care at all that Anna was right beside Akado, he directly opened his briefcase, pointed to the documents inside, and said, “These are all my trump cards, General Akado. If you’re still interested, name a price.”

Akado immediately burst out laughing. “Mr. Schleicher, you really are too interesting. I know your personality, and I’ve heard a little about your style of doing things. So I imagine the price my enemies have offered you is more tempting. So—why have you come to me?”

This question was somewhat pointed, because only Schleicher himself knew that deep down, he was fickle. His greatest skill was climbing up by using someone else’s shoulder, and then, after getting to the top, never looking back at anyone. There was an old saying in the distant land of China that was used to describe him, and that saying was “to burn the bridge after crossing it.” He was confident in his own wisdom, believing that no one could not be betrayed. He was confident in his own methods, believing that no one could not be manipulated. This was also why he dared to come here today, and wanted to come here.

“Very simple! I like to stand with the victor… because if I win, then I at least get some benefit. If I lose, then I will have no benefit and may even have to pay with my life!” Schleicher said with a smile. “I know what kind of person I am, but even if I am not very reliable, there are still many places where I can be of use, right?”

Since he had been seen through, Schleicher had no intention of hiding it. After all, his past was not difficult to investigate. He had relied on his family to get close to Oskar, used Oskar’s friendship to hug Hindenburg’s thigh, and through Hindenburg’s arrangement, he had become Groener’s assistant. And now, leaving Hindenburg’s control, what he wanted was precisely Groener’s position.

He glanced at Akado, a trace of imperceptible contempt in his eyes. “So, let’s name a price.”

Akado was silent. He thought and thought, and finally, he spoke to Schleicher, laying out his own chips.

“The position of Minister of Defense, what do you think?” Akado asked, raising his eyebrows. “My government needs a Minister of Defense. But I hope you can understand! What I need is an obedient Minister of Defense.”

Schleicher was greatly shocked. He had never expected that Akado’s chip was no lower than what those other people had offered him, so at this moment, he was somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

But Akado looked at Schleicher and added, “Of course, this Minister of Defense is just a decoration, with no real power, just a role similar to a mascot. Are you willing to become such a character?”

This time, it was Schleicher’s turn to be silent. He longed for that position, not that title. In other words, what he wanted was immense power, not a pitiful chair. He thought for a long time, and finally, with difficulty, he spoke, “I think I should have some power. Otherwise, it would be better to just ask for a sum of money.”

“You should know, sometimes being a stay-at-home Minister of Defense of a victorious nation is far more respectable than being the commander-in-chief of a defeated nation,” Akado said, his eyes narrowing. “At least I can give you a guarantee. When we are victorious, I will call on you to be in the negotiating delegation!”

Schleicher heard Akado’s words, and at the same time, his eyes lit up. So he turned his head, stared at Akado’s face, and then asked excitedly, “Can you really do it?”

Akado nodded and replied, “I will do my best with my life to do it! I feel this is also something every German wants to do and must do.”

Schleicher listened very seriously to his words, was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh and burst out laughing, as if he had encountered the funniest thing in the world. He laughed until tears were about to stream from his eyes before he stopped laughing and then spoke, “I really never thought that I would come here to gamble my life, only to have someone use another bet to negotiate with me.”

He stood up, packed up the documents on the table, walked to Akado’s desk, and the trace of contempt in his eyes had turned into admiration. “I greatly admire your ideals, and I also yearn for the distant future you have given me. So I have decided to stand on your side!”

With that, he placed his briefcase on Akado’s desk, then turned and walked towards the door. As he walked, he added, “I will give those people an unexpected problem, of course, after this election is over—consider this my thank-you gift for you agreeing to let me join. I would very much like to see how far you will go in the future, and how far you will let me go.”

Akado stood up to see him off. “Rest assured, I won’t disappoint you.”

The parliamentary election was held as scheduled, without being delayed by any issues. The Greater Germany Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Nazi Party, and the Communist Party all brought out their greatest strength to compete for the seats in the parliament. And judging by the public opinion polls, the number of people supporting the Greater Germany Party was still the largest, but unfortunately, the number was vaguely less than half of the total electorate.

In the few days before the election began, the propaganda offensive of the Greater Germany Party came in wave after wave. With their economic advantage, they could mobilize almost unlimited resources. The sky was filled with slogans, and the streets and alleys were plastered with posters, making the entire city of Berlin seem to change its color.

No matter what kind of contest, a result must eventually be determined. After repeated counting and verification, the results of the votes were finally freshly released.

The Social Democratic Party, which had achieved nothing during the economic crisis, did not receive many votes. They clearly had not yet recovered from their last defeat, so in this battle for parliament, they once again lost, completely dazed.

The Communist Party also did not win the support of the majority of voters. The number of seats they obtained was about the same as the Social Democratic Party, so these two parties could be considered brothers in misfortune in this parliamentary election.

Of course, the Nazi Party was a bit better off than these two parties. The parliamentary power controlled by Hitler was greatly enhanced. Although the Nazi Party still did not have as many parliamentary seats as the Greater Germany Party won in the election, they had achieved their strategic goal—to curb the overwhelming advantage of the Greater Germany Party.

The biggest winner, or perhaps the biggest loser, of this parliamentary election was Akado’s Greater Germany Party. They won a glorious victory in the election, obtaining 47% of the seats in the entire parliament, which could be said to be unprecedented. However, they were not able to achieve their strategic goal of obtaining more than half of the seats. So only Akado and a few other people knew that in fact, they had lost this election, or rather, had not won.

The Speaker of the Parliament, in a solemn atmosphere, solemnly announced that General Akado Rudolph was to become the Chancellor of Germany and exercise his due powers. Once Akado placed his hand on the Bible and swore the oath, he would be able to succeed Stresemann and become the new Chancellor of Germany.