Chapter 50: A Sewing Needle

“Knock, knock, knock.” A knock sounded at Akado’s office door. Akado put down the pen in his hand and stretched. “Come in.”

Akado had been terribly busy recently. He had rushed to Bavaria to participate in Guderian’s latest tank assault experiment and then made bold predictions about the future equipment of the German armored forces.

The result of these predictions was that Germany began to produce the P-3 tank, which would later be famously known as the Panzer III. However, due to technical problems, Akado made some slight modifications to the original Panzer III design.

First, he abandoned the 50mm caliber anti-tank gun that was originally planned for the Panzer III, and instead directly installed a 75mm short-barreled gun, a type of cannon originally used for infantry support.

Because the larger cannon caused the turret of the Panzer III to repeatedly fail its tests, Akado directly used a turretless design, which was the Sturmgeschütz III that would be born in later generations. However, whereas before it was improved from the Panzer III, this time, under his influence, it was born directly. Akado was not stingy either, directly naming this tank the “No. 3 Assault Gun” instead of the originally planned “Panzer III.”

However, the German designers once again played a naming game with the Reichswehr’s commanders, naming this weapon the P-3 tank—this was the name they had originally come up with, and they had no intention of discarding it.

Unlike the French tanks of the same period, the German P-3 tank was born with a standard crew of 4: commander, gunner, radio operator, and driver. In contrast, most French tanks of this period only had a crew of two: the commander and the driver.

And with the help of Japanese funds, the Daimler-Benz company had already begun mass production of this strange, turretless combat vehicle. Akado’s Reichswehr would soon be able to equip itself with this very excellent super-chariot.

Hearing Akado tell him to come in, the person who had knocked pushed open Akado’s door. The visitor was none other than one of Akado’s trusted confidants, the head of the Reichswehr intelligence department whose rank had risen along with Akado’s, Lieutenant Colonel Gascoigne.

“Long live Greater Germany.” Gascoigne, upon entering, extended his right arm and gave the new military salute.

“Oh! Lieutenant Colonel Gascoigne, what is it?” Akado asked, leaning back in his chair.

“News from the Far East,” Gascoigne said very carefully. “Two pieces in total. One of them may not be good news for us.”

“Oh?” Akado was taken aback for a moment, then glanced at the desk calendar. This was a habit of his; he remembered the dates of many major historical events. This time, he saw that the date on the calendar was March 14, 1925.

“The first piece of news is that on March 12, the troops commanded by Mr. Chiang Kai-shek defeated Lin Hu’s forces in just 7 hours. Most of the weapons used were related to us, proving that the performance of these weapons is very reliable,” Gascoigne said.

Then he glanced at the document and added, “The second piece of news is that on the same day, March 12, Mr. Chiang Kai-shek’s leader, Mr. Sun Yat-sen, passed away in Beijing.”

“Phew.” Akado let out a breath, sorted out his slightly complicated feelings, and then spoke, “The death of Chiang Kai-shek’s leader is not necessarily a bad thing. From now on, we are friends with the most powerful person in southern China.”

“Go, and please bring Mr. Krupp, who has just arrived in Berlin, to me,” Akado said, waving his hand to end the conversation.

“Yes, sir!” Gascoigne turned and walked out of the office.

Krupp had arrived in Berlin by plane the previous night after inspecting the development of party members in various places as the vice-chairman of the Greater Germany Party. The Greater Germany Party now had over 700,000 members, controlled many of Germany’s super-enterprises and more than half of the Reichswehr. It could be said that it was already one of the most powerful political parties in Germany.

When Krupp arrived at Akado’s office, Akado was curled up on the sofa, asleep. His soft snores could be faintly heard in the room.

Krupp carefully turned around, intending to leave Akado’s office, but the old floorboards under his feet groaned under the weight.

Akado’s eyes fluttered open. Seeing the embarrassed Krupp, he said in a somewhat drowsy voice, “Oh, Mr. Krupp, you’re here. Sit, please sit. You’ve almost toured all of Germany this time. It must have been a hard journey.”

Krupp coughed twice and waved his hand. “You’re the one who has worked truly hard. You’re secretly calculating the country’s economy, the military is developing based on you alone, and you’re even involved in industry and even political diplomacy.”

He glanced at the now-awake Akado and said helplessly, “Are you willing to tell me how many hours you sleep in a day?”

“I slept for about 5 hours yesterday, so I’m in good shape today. I was just a little dizzy just now, so I was resting on the sofa,” Akado said with a smile. He hadn’t had his birthday yet this year. Logically, he was not yet 27 years old, but his workload was about the sum of three Reichswehr lieutenant generals.

“You should get some proper rest. I suggest you find a private secretary to plan your daily life. Otherwise, your schedule is simply terrible. Even I can’t bear to watch it anymore,” Krupp said, pursing his lips. “Do you need me to introduce one? Male or female will do.”

Hearing Krupp emphasize the word “female,” Akado smiled helplessly and then spoke, “Alright, Krupp. I know you’re all very anxious that I still haven’t found the time to go on a blind date. I think I should be able to find a day for myself recently.”

“Alright! You always change the subject,” Krupp said, laughing along with Akado. He, or rather, their merchant group, really did need someone at Akado’s side to act as an important and irreplaceable liaison.

Akado patted his cheeks, chasing away the last bit of sleepiness. He thought for a moment and said, “Krupp, how is our ‘Operation Sewing Needle’ coming along?”

“I was thinking you weren’t going to ask about that,” Krupp said with an expression of ‘I knew it,’ speaking very casually. “I don’t know why you’re so concerned about this secret plan. To be honest, I’m personally not very optimistic about it.”

“And that’s why I’m worth following, isn’t it?” Akado looked at Krupp with a wicked smile. “Otherwise, on what basis would you support me?”

Krupp nodded. “I have great faith in your vision. The facts have proven that you have an unparalleled genius mind, at least in weapons manufacturing and industrial production methods. The plans you’ve provided me have saved me millions of dollars. This is one of the premises for my unconditional belief in you.”

“Hahahaha. You really are frank. Is there no other reason?” Akado laughed for a few moments, getting to the bottom of it.

“Of course, there are other reasons. But they’re not so easy to explain. For example, I personally admire you very much. And for another, feelings similar to gambling, and so on,” Krupp waved his hands, trying to express his feelings clearly.

“Alright, alright! Krupp! People say you have no sense of humor, but I think you’re very humorous. Let’s stop here. Let’s not talk about these useless things. Let’s talk about ‘Operation Sewing Needle’,” Akado said with a smile.

Krupp thought for a moment before speaking. “Starting from the month before last, I and some completely reliable businessmen have begun to hoard US dollars and British pounds. Of course, we also exchanged some Japanese yen and French francs, but not much… The total amount is about 20 million or so.”

He was clearly regretful that this money was not being reinvested into production. “You don’t know how much we’ve lost! Some people have already started to complain.”

“I’ve said it before, we haven’t lost anything. We just haven’t made a profit,” Akado said with a frown. He was getting a little annoyed with the constant chatter of these big capitalists. These people were only after profit and were always self-righteously pointing fingers at some of Akado’s policies.

Krupp threw up his hands helplessly. “General, you are not a traditional businessman, after all. In our world, money that just sits there without making a profit is a loss.”

“I never said you had to hold onto it forever. We just need to hold out until 1929, and that will be enough,” Akado said with great confidence.

“With all due respect, Akado. Even if something really does happen in 1929, we only need to prepare in 1928. Why must we start so far in advance?” Krupp asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Starting a year in advance makes it easy for the big capital crocodiles to see the signs, which will affect our operation. I know our funds are very limited. Once those American financial magnates discover our intentions, we will be eaten until not even our bones are left,” Akado said.

He glanced at Krupp. “And we have to hide this from everyone on the books, including our own people. This money cannot be recorded openly, so we have no choice but to accumulate it a few years in advance.”

“On this matter, I have decided to stand with you and support you unconditionally,” Krupp said after some thought. “By the end of 1928, this sum will be in line with the plan, reaching and exceeding 15 billion US dollars.”

“Thank you.” The great stone in Akado’s heart finally fell. With Krupp taking the lead in supporting it, Operation Sewing Needle could definitely be implemented smoothly.

“Don’t be so quick to thank me. I have a condition,” Krupp said with a smile. “I hear the Reichswehr has recently been mass-producing the P-3 assault gun?”

These capitalists have sharp noses. Thinking of this, Akado had no choice but to nod helplessly. “Yes. In a secret production workshop of the Daimler-Benz company, there are already 10 units ready to be delivered to the Reichswehr.”

“The Krupp company should bear a portion of the production responsibility, correct, Mr. Chairman?” Krupp asked, as if seeking Akado’s opinion.

“That’s no problem. But when the Krupp company’s brand-new Panzer IV is produced, I hope Mr. Krupp can also give Daimler-Benz a piece of the pie,” Akado said, not forgetting to secure some benefits for his own company in the end.

“A pleasure doing business with you,” Krupp said with a smile.

“A pleasure doing business with you!” Akado also laughed along.