Chapter 44: The Young Fox

Stresemann looked at Akado and nodded. “I will gather the personnel at once. We will perfect our party program tonight.”

“I will fly back to the Krupp factory immediately and order the person in charge there to assemble all the workers and have them join the Greater Germany Party,” Krupp also said.

“Then what about me?” Akado asked with a smile. “Both of you vice-chairmen are off to be busy. Is the chairman supposed to be idle?”

Krupp glanced at him and laughed heartily. “Chairman Akado, oh, no, tonight you are Major General Akado Rudolph!”

After speaking, Krupp extended his left hand. “Congratulations to you, a Major General of the Reichswehr at the young age of 26.”

Akado shrugged his shoulders and shook his hand. “Thank you.”

Stresemann also extended his own hand. “Congratulations to you as well, Mr. Akado, Chairman of the Greater Germany Party.”

Akado did not withdraw his hand and shook his directly. “Thank you as well.”

Krupp raised the wine glass in his right hand. “I wish you a pleasant evening.”

Stresemann simply nodded towards Akado, then turned and left the reception hall with Krupp.

How could he possibly have a pleasant time? Akado had to rush back to the German Reichswehr headquarters tonight, to deploy troops and arrange everything, to wait for tomorrow’s arrival. And he still had many things to do. Just as he had said, he had absolutely no personal time for romance. He was almost always either at home reviewing company accounts or in the Reichswehr High Command approving documents from various army units.

To command a reliable army of one’s own, it was impossible without putting in more time than others. Akado had no desire to be kept in the dark by his subordinates like Seeckt was. He often needed to be hands-on, to personally see what his subordinates were up to.

Watching the two of them leave, Akado took his wine glass and found a corner. To be honest, he was not very accustomed to the atmosphere of this kind of reception, nor was he very good at dealing with those passionate blonde, blue-eyed noblewomen and young ladies. They surrounded him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. Their constant talking made it impossible for him to think.

So he found a corner to escape the public eye, seeking a moment of peace so that he could breathe freely and maintain his meticulous thinking even in such a setting.

“General, sir.” From behind him, past his newly promoted bodyguard, Major Gehr, a timid voice came through.

Akado turned around, put on a kind smile, and replied, “Hello, Lieutenant. Is there something I can help you with?”

Seeing Akado turn around, the lieutenant, who seemed to be only a few years older than Akado, immediately stood at attention. While saluting, he replied, “General, sir, I am Captain Erwin Rommel of the Stuttgart Jäger Battalion. It was you who invited me to this reception.”

“So it is,” Akado nodded and joked with a smile, “It seems I’m easy to spot in a crowd of old men.”

“General, I don’t know why you summoned me here from Stuttgart,” Rommel said with confusion. “I have long heard of your great name, but I really don’t know how you could have heard of a lowly captain like me.”

“Gold always glitters, doesn’t it?” Akado said, smiling and patting Rommel’s shoulder. “My performance in my first battle was not as heroic as yours. I heard that during the last war, you led 3 soldiers to repel an attack by 20 French soldiers.”

“I also heard that you, General, saved more than 100 soldiers from poison gas during the last war,” Rommel said, looking at Akado. “I’m a rather impatient person. I like to be direct and not beat around the bush. What can I do for you?”

“I want to form a cavalry division and I’m short an advisor. Are you interested?” Akado was not angry at all with Rommel’s directness. On the contrary, he quite liked it when his subordinates had a straightforward personality.

“A cavalry division?” Rommel looked at Akado, his eyes lighting up. “What kind of cavalry division? Am I qualified for it with my level of experience?”

“A brand-new cavalry division, so experience is not required,” Akado said, patting Rommel’s shoulder. Although Rommel was a few years older than him, he still seemed a bit naive in front of Akado. Moreover, this future “Desert Fox” was so handsome that it made Akado a little jealous.

Although Akado was also a tall, handsome, traditional German man, he was a bit thin and spoke with a regional accent, so he felt he was still slightly inferior compared to a perfectly handsome man like Rommel.

As he patted Rommel’s shoulder, he forgot about the topic of who was more handsome and continued, “And this is a special cavalry division. Very special.”

“I can handle this position!” Rommel knew his chance for a meteoric rise had come and immediately made a decisive statement. “Please trust me!”

Akado made a placating gesture with his hand, stopping Rommel’s guarantee. “What I need is loyalty. Absolute loyalty! To me alone.”

Rommel was taken aback. “To you alone?”

“Correct,” Akado said. “Join the Greater Germany Party. Become my man. Become my loyal subordinate!”

Join the Greater Germany Party, become my man, become my loyal subordinate! This sentence became Rommel’s final memory of the reception. He returned to his hotel in a daze, completely unable to remember how he had gotten back to his own bed.

The inherent caution of a soldier made him not immediately agree to Akado’s conditions. He told Akado he needed to think about it, and so he left the reception hall in a daze, walking back while lost in thought.

But in the middle of the night, Rommel suddenly leaped up from his bed. He scrambled to put on his military uniform, pushed open the door, and rushed towards the Reichswehr High Command, because Akado had told him as he was leaving that he would be on duty at the High Command tonight.

At around 3 o’clock in the morning, Rommel finally saw Akado. Akado’s face was filled with exhaustion; it looked like he truly hadn’t slept all night. The moment they met, Rommel abandoned all reserve and hesitation, stood at attention, and said, “General, sir! I will be loyal to your will. I am willing to dedicate my life to your cause!”

“No need to think about it anymore?” Akado asked with a smile.

Rommel shook his head. “No. I’ve thought it over. If I strive on my own, it will take at least thirty years to become a general. But if I follow you, perhaps ten years will be enough. Twenty years of my life is enough to move me.”

“I plan to have you form the 26th Cavalry Division. However, your internal designation will be the 7th Panzer Division. Perhaps in two years, I will make you the commander of this unit. Do you think you can do it?”

“Of course! I believe I am up to the task!” Rommel replied with great confidence, just as Akado had once done.

“Your seniority is still shallow for now, so I will hand this division over to Major General Stumme first. I will tell him to cooperate with you in the formation work,” Akado said with a wave of his hand, telling Rommel that he would have to be patient for a while longer.

“Please rest assured, I know what to do. This division is mine. In the near future, it will be mine,” Rommel said.

“Not just this division. As long as you follow me, I will let you command more troops,” Akado said. “Learn more from General Stumme; you will need it in the future. Go through the procedures when you leave in a bit. You’ve been promoted, Major Rommel.”

“Yes, sir!” Rommel saluted.

A knock sounded on the office door. Akado said casually, “Come in.”

Gehr pushed open the door and walked in from outside. He stood at attention and said, “Mr. Krupp called. He said everything is ready.”

“How is the party program coming along?” Akado asked. “Have you followed the four points I mentioned? First, to seek welfare for the workers, farmers, and citizens, and to fight for their happiness. Second, to seek development for the capitalists, to expand technology and perfect production to obtain greater profits. Third, to seek survival for the empire, to establish a world power and realize a Greater Germany. Fourth, the Greater Germany Party is willing to give its life for the freedom and equality of all people!”

“It was basically drafted according to this, but it has been refined a lot. It also sounds more inspiring,” Gehr said while handing a document to Akado. “You should see for yourself, sir. If you agree, just sign it, and we will issue it as an internal document to all party members.”

Akado lowered his head and read it over. A few minutes later, he looked up, walked to his desk, picked up his fountain pen, and signed his name with a flourish: Akado Rudolph.

Then he picked up the phone on his desk. “Get me the 15th Division headquarters… Hello? This is Akado. General Reo, order the 15th Division to begin executing ‘Operation Helfa.’ The troops are to enter level one alert. You are not to leave the command post by a single step! If there are any unusual movements from the 1st Division or other units, immediately take over command of all armed forces in Berlin.”

Hearing General Reo on the other end firmly say, “Yes, sir,” Akado hung up the phone and looked at Gehr again. “Go and inform Major Gascoigne that he has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Reichswehr. Have him take his men and begin arranging the oath-swearing ceremony for the entire Reichswehr High Command. I will be there shortly to attend in person.”

“Yes, sir!” Gehr said with a salute.

“Also!” Akado continued to order, “You, personally take your men and take over the security of the entire High Command building! Order the soldiers to load their weapons! Enter level one alert! If you encounter any special problems, you may open fire directly! You do not need to ask for my permission.”

“Yes, sir!” After listening, Gehr turned and walked out, unbuckling the flap of his pistol holster as he went.

“Is there anything I can do?” Rommel asked, standing behind Akado. “I think I can help.”

“You? You can be my bodyguard for the time being. And watch a great drama with me, a drama of the dawn illuminating the earth,” Akado said.

He glanced at the rising sun and said with three parts nervousness and seven parts authority, “The first light of dawn illuminates the land. The empire has welcomed its dawn.”