Chapter 32: A Visit

“Why didn’t you give this plan to President Ebert? If he had been able to see the detailed content of this plan, perhaps he wouldn’t have made the foolish move of betraying Germany and the Reichswehr,” Gustav Stresemann whispered to Akado as they descended the steps together.

Akado, pulling on his leather gloves as he walked down the steps, didn’t look back at Gustav Stresemann but said directly and loudly, “If it were possible, I had planned to bring this plan out in two years, because this was a tool I was saving to deal with a much more troublesome figure. Unfortunately, because of that fool Ebert, I had to use it ahead of schedule.”

“A troublesome figure? Are you planning to deal with General von Seeckt?” Gustav Stresemann asked with a frown. “Although you and he have many political disagreements, he is still a man of integrity. I don’t see him as being particularly troublesome.”

“Of course,” Akado nodded and said, “I intend to use this plan to counter the expansion of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party during the upcoming world financial crisis.”

“The Nazi Party? You mean that political party that has been gaining a lot of momentum in the Bavaria region recently? I understand your foresight in taking precautions, but isn’t being so wary of an emerging force a bit overly cautious?” Gustav Stresemann asked, somewhat puzzled. “And aren’t you being a bit too pessimistic about the world economic situation? The war just ended a few years ago, and the economy is slowly improving, isn’t it?”

“Time will prove everything, Gustav. Trust me,” Akado said with a smile. He got into the car that was already waiting at the bottom of the steps and said to Gehr inside, “Drive.”

Akado’s car drove away. Gustav Stresemann stood on the last step, staring blankly after Akado’s car.

“President Ebert shouldn’t have died at the hands of such an arrogant and despicable man, should he?” Behind him, the pockmarked, bearded man snorted. “You don’t plan to avenge President Ebert, to whom you were always loyal? You plan to support this vicious opponent instead? Or were you scared stupid by his pistol?”

“Shut up!” Gustav Stresemann turned and looked at his subordinate with arrogance. “Pack your things and get out this afternoon! You are dismissed! I call the shots in the Foreign Ministry! Always!”

After speaking, ignoring the ashen-faced bearded man behind him, he quickly descended the last step and walked towards his own car in the distance.

Akado did not return to the Reichswehr High Command. After all, there was a General von Seeckt there who didn’t particularly like him. The two of them now barely spoke a word to each other; their relationship was at rock bottom.

Seeckt had even, due to personal feelings and his own stubborn ideas, begun to place obstacles in Akado’s work. For example, after Akado officially took over the reorganization of the 22nd Reichswehr Division, Seeckt used his authority to appoint a new Director of the German Reichswehr Inspectorate of Motorized Troops—Colonel Nazmer.

As soon as Colonel Nazmer took office, he rejected the armored offensive theories of Major Brauchitsch, Major Guderian, and others. After reading the data and reports provided to him by Guderian, he pursed his lips, tossed the report aside, and then looked at the young man standing before him and said contemptuously, “To hell with it! What damn combat unit? The armored troops you’re talking about are only fit to transport flour for my army!”

And the predecessor of this Colonel Nazmer who fully supported Seeckt’s decisions, the original Director of the Inspectorate of Motorized Troops, General Zeitzler—also a supporter of General von Seeckt—was reassigned by Seeckt to be the commander of the 2nd Reichswehr Division. Seeckt hoped to strengthen his own control over the Reichswehr through this appointment.

Compared to Seeckt’s aggressiveness, Akado was much more reserved. He just quietly accepted the authority to reorganize the 22nd Division and then went to visit the old subordinates of Field Marshal Hindenburg.

Akado had Gehr drive him to the train station, because today, besides attending President Hindenburg’s emergency meeting, he had another important task to attend to.

Outside the train station, a young major, not yet 30, was standing there with a look of anticipation. When this young major saw Akado’s car approaching, the anxiety and urgency on his face were swept away, replaced by excitement and joy.

“Colonel Akado! Your loyal supporter, Heinz Wilhelm Guderian, salutes you!” Seeing the car stop in front of him, and as soon as Akado stepped out, Major Guderian saluted and greeted him loudly.

Akado stepped forward and shook Guderian’s hand. “Thank you for the various data you provided me. You’ve worked hard in Munich! As for the matter with Colonel Nazmer, I already know about it! At all times, reformers must face the刁难 (deliberate difficulties) of the die-hards.”

“Colonel Akado, please rest assured! I will not be defeated by that old stubborn fool! During an exercise in Munich, I met a major who you will definitely be interested in. His name is Brauchitsch, Walther von Brauchitsch. He also strongly supports your armored force theory. He asked me to send you his greetings and said he is at your disposal at any time,” Guderian said enthusiastically, introducing the new friend he had made in Munich.

“You’ve done well, Major Guderian,” Akado was also pleased that his team could gain a new member. However, he still patted Major Guderian on the shoulder and said to him with a smile, “We should hurry to the platform. The train is about to leave, and we’ll be too late to see them off.”

So the two of them went to the platform. There, two young men dressed as civilians in trench coats were waiting for someone, holding large suitcases.

Akado and Guderian walked over and embraced the two men warmly.

“Major Albert Kesselring. I’ve arranged for you and Captain Dick to go to Moscow to study air combat command. You’re not angry with me, are you? Once you go to Moscow, we won’t be able to drink and chat together for a while,” Akado said with a laugh after embracing one of the young men.

Kesselring, who had been embraced, smiled and said, “This is a very rare opportunity! I will definitely preserve the spark for the future German Air Force. Once the time is right, I will use this spark to nurture a raging fire that will burn across the entire European continent.”

“Then I’ll entrust the German skies to you, Major Kesselring! And you, Captain Dick!” After speaking with Kesselring, Akado turned to his old acquaintance, Captain Dick, who was beside them.

Dick nodded. “I know why you sought me out, and I know it was because of your recommendation that I was able to stay on at the Special Aviation Office. You gave me the chance to dream of flying again. From that moment on, my life was yours!”

“Go there! Plant the seeds of our revenge in that soil! And then come back from there! Bring back our hope and our dawn!” Akado stood solemnly at attention and gave the two men a military salute. “May Greater Germany protect you!”

The two did not return the salute. They just picked up their suitcases and boarded the train that was about to depart.

“We will become the hope of Germany! For Greater Germany!” Kesselring said in the carriage, looking at Akado outside the window.

Dick glanced at Kesselring, then at Akado outside, and said gravely, “For Akado Rudolph!”

After hearing this, Kesselring burst out laughing, then nodded and said, “There is an old saying in Eastern civilization, that a woman displays her beauty for the man she loves, and a warrior fights to the death for the friend who appreciates him—so we should indeed dedicate our everything to Colonel Akado.”

The train slowly began to move. He looked at Akado and Guderian, who were already moving backward outside the window, and said softly, “For Akado Rudolph.”

This month, through Akado’s arrangements, 70 pilots and air force commanders were sent to Moscow. At the same time, over 500 soldiers and officers went to Moscow to receive tank force training. These people all went anonymously, without any official records. They even paid for their own travel expenses. Just a few days ago, there was an accident at the secret air force training base Germany had established in the Lipetsk region, 220 kilometers southeast of Moscow. The bodies of three deceased German pilots were shipped back to Germany in large wooden crates marked “spare parts.”

…

When Akado and Gehr arrived at the hotel, it was just after 2 o’clock in the afternoon. They felt that this day had been incredibly busy. In the morning, they had to attend a meeting at the President’s office. Before noon, they had to see off Kesselring and Dick. In the afternoon, they had to rush to the hotel to meet a very important person.

This very important person was Gustav Krupp. Although his name was the same as the Foreign Minister, Gustav Stresemann, they were indeed two different heavyweight figures.

If Akado wanted to revitalize the German Reichswehr, it was impossible without weapons. But to produce weapons and equipment, it was impossible without Krupp. If Seeckt was the leader of the Reichswehr, then Krupp was the leader of German military industry.

The two met in a hotel room. Krupp spoke first, without waiting for Akado. “Frankly, we have cooperated before. Although we haven’t met, you provided me with an emergency plan for the Ruhr industrial zone, and I also gained some benefits from that plan, so I still trust your abilities.”

Akado smiled. “Thank you.”

“General von Seeckt’s appetite for new weapons is far too small. Machine guns, rifles, cannons, armored cars—he’s not interested in any of this equipment. He seems to prefer bicycles and horses. This causes us German military-industrial enterprises a lot of distress,” Krupp said, getting straight to the point.

He glanced at Akado. “I admire you, because you are striving to add truly new equipment to the Reichswehr. You replace horses with trucks, and bicycles with motorcycles. You also take risks to procure armored cars for the troops, and you even once secretly funded my Krupp factory to design a new tank…”