Chapter 65: The Chaotic Far East

The headquarters of the Greater Germany Party’s Greater Germany Gazette. The ringing of telephones was incessant. Everyone around was busy, some writing furiously, others confirming issues with people on the other end of the line. At the very end of the room, a few people were sitting around a long table, holding a meeting.

“We need to hurry up with this! Use the largest font possible to highlight the chaotic situation in the Far East! Use the slogan ‘The Greater Germany Party Hopes for Eternal Peace’ as the subtitle. That’s right!” Fanny said, pointing at a sample issue and giving instructions to several cadres around her. “And here, make this advertisement bigger! This is the ad for the Daimler-Benz company! They have a cooperation agreement with us! So save the best for them!”

“Understood!” the several cadres nodded in agreement.

“In addition, how is the article criticizing Hitler for his contempt for peace coming along? I want to place it next to the commentary on Chairman Akado’s revitalization of the national defense cause in the next issue of the paper,” Fanny asked, raising her head.

“That… is… still… in preparation,” a cadre responsible for this matter stammered.

Fanny’s eyes swept back and forth between him and the others twice, then she waved her hand and ordered, “That’s all for the meeting. You stay. The rest of you can leave.” After she spoke, everyone except for Minister Matthof and that cadre hurriedly packed their things and left.

“I’ll give you 2 minutes. If you can’t give me a reason, I’ll dock your salary for three months,” Fanny said.

“Deputy Head Fanny, since Hitler’s release from prison, the activity of the Nazi Party has more than tripled. Our propaganda—especially the negative propaganda plan concerning the Nazi Party—has also been affected to a certain extent,” a cadre at one end of the conference table complained to Fanny.

Fanny’s brow furrowed. “Oh? We’ve also been affected? What kind of effect?”

“This, well, it’s not easy to say,” the cadre said evasively.

“Speak! Or you don’t have to come to work tomorrow,” Fanny ordered.

As if steeling himself, the cadre said in a low voice, “I heard that two of our reporters underneath were beaten up, and several others have received threats. They were told to use mild language as much as possible when reporting on the Nazi Party, and are not allowed to report on the Nazi Party’s negative news.”

Fanny was somewhat shocked. “What? They dare to hit people? Can’t you just call the police? Have you been beaten stupid?”

“We have no evidence. Those Brownshirts rush in and start hitting people, and then scatter as soon as they’re done. When we send people to identify them, they also have people to provide alibis. The police don’t like to get involved in this kind of muddled affair,” the cadre had been holding in his grievances recently, and now he poured them all out in front of Fanny.

“Get the car ready! We’re going to the Reichswehr High Command! Minister Matthof, please help me make an appointment with Chairman Akado. I need to see him immediately,” Fanny said, putting on her overcoat while speaking to Matthof, who was sitting to the side.

Matthof sighed softly with resignation. This Fanny was acting more and more like the propaganda minister of the Greater Germany Party, and he, the actual propaganda minister, was more and more like her secretary. Picking up the telephone beside him, Matthof habitually began to do things for Fanny.

“The situation in the Far East is turbulent. Although most civilian enterprises have already withdrawn from the war zone, one German expatriate has still been injured,” a member of the Greater Germany Party from the Foreign Ministry reported in Akado’s office. Sitting beside him were Reinhard Heydrich, Gascoigne, and the Foreign Minister, Stresemann.

“The Kuomintang’s troops officially began the Northern Expedition in mid-July. Seeckt has become Mr. Chiang Kai-shek’s personal military advisor. The Kuomintang troops have been victorious in battles everywhere, and the weapons and equipment that had been kept in storage for a long time have all made their appearance. They are now closing in on the strategic city of Wuchang,” Gascoigne reported.

“The Japanese are protesting that the arms we sold have affected the peace in the Far East. The Americans are also not very satisfied with the security situation within China and have put pressure on us,” the reporting diplomat added after glancing at Stresemann.

“The British are even more furious. They have directly intervened in the war. The warship HMS Cockchafer opened fire on the Chinese at Wanxian. The Chinese relied on the cannons they purchased from our country to carry out a limited counter-attack, but there is no news of any British troops being hit,” Stresemann also said, rubbing his temples.

Akado waved his hand. “I already know about this. Colonel Smith came to see me yesterday. He said the British government is very angry about our selling weapons to Chiang Kai-shek and demands that we provide an explanation.”

“The Japanese want an explanation, the Americans want an explanation, the British also want an explanation… We didn’t know China would start fighting this year. How are we supposed to explain it to them?” Reinhard Heydrich said with some annoyance. “I’ve seen the files. We sold most of the weapons to China before last year. Could we have predicted the future?”

“Ring, ring, ring.” The phone on Akado’s desk rang. Akado gestured for the others to be quiet, then reached out and picked up the receiver. “Hello, this is Akado.”

“Chairman Akado! This is Matthof. Miss Fanny is on her way to see you in a car. She should arrive in about 5 minutes,” Matthof’s voice came from the other end of the line.

“I know. You’ve worked hard. I will remember everything you do for the party,” Akado said and then hung up the phone.

He then continued to give orders. “Apologize to the Japanese, the Americans, and the British. Admit that we were inconsiderate in our arms sales. I will personally invite Mr. Smith to dinner. Germany supports the decisions made by Britain, France, America, Japan, and other countries in this matter.”

“Send a telegram to General Seeckt. Have him tactfully state this fact to Mr. Chiang Kai-shek: we do not wish to see the situation in the Far East deteriorate further, and in the Wanxian incident, we will support the side of the British government. We hope the Chinese side can restrain its provocations against the world powers,” Akado said, then stood up and took a breath. It seems that suppressing my original motherland is not a pleasant feeling.

“Then what should we do? If we stop the arms exports to Chiang Kai-shek, we will lose a source of income and also a partner in Far East China,” Stresemann said with a frown.

“Chiang Kai-shek is a clever man. He won’t make us his enemy over such a small matter,” Akado said, shaking his head. “It can be said that China has no true friends, which is why they won’t easily kick us aside.”

“So we just cut off our ties with China like this?” Reinhard Heydrich also asked, not understanding.

Akado glanced at him and smiled. “Cut off? How could we cut them off? Seeckt is still by Chiang Kai-shek’s side. Almost all of Chiang Kai-shek’s arms factories were built with our assistance. For every gun he makes, we get half the profit. How can a relationship like this be broken just like that?”

He walked to the wall opposite his desk, came to the side of the world map hanging there, pointed to China in the Far East, and then pointed to the Soviet Union above China. “Compared to the distant China, I am now more concerned about our plans in the Soviet Union.”

“Of the 14 railways being built with our aid in the Soviet Union, only 9 are under construction due to funding issues, and the progress is not fast,” the diplomat said, looking at the data in his hand. “On the contrary, the progress on the Soviet-class battleship being secretly built with our aid is flying. The keel for the first ship, the Sovyetsky Soyuz, has already been laid.”

“Reliable intelligence from within the Soviet Union: because of our machine tool and equipment assistance, the Soviet military can now repair captured French Renault F-17 tanks on its own. And the Soviet tank factories have begun to develop a new type of tank. The designation given by the Soviet military is the MS-1 tank,” Gascoigne reported.

“We must get the Soviets to focus their main energy on building roads,” Akado said after some thought. It seems necessary to have Merkel go to the Soviet Union again. I really don’t want my tanks’ wheels to get bogged down in the muddy roads of the Soviet Union in the near future.

As the few of them were discussing, a knock was heard on the door. After Akado said, “Come in,” the person who entered was none other than Fanny.

“What is it?” Akado asked as soon as he saw Fanny.

Fanny didn’t beat around the bush and said directly in front of everyone present, “Hitler has been released from prison, and the Nazi Party’s Stormtroopers are becoming more and more lawless. They are threatening our newspaper reporters, which has affected our propaganda activities! Although it hasn’t caused any major trouble so far, if this continues for a long time, I’m afraid we will be at an increasing disadvantage if we only use legal means.”

Akado nodded and looked at Reinhard Heydrich. “Reinhard, do you have any way to solve this problem for our Miss Fanny?”

“Very simple, Miss Fanny,” Reinhard said with a refined air. “Whoever comes to make trouble, we will fight them. Fight them back. Fight them until they dare not come to make trouble again. Fight them until the thought of their comrades lying in graves makes them feel that it’s good to be alive. Then we will be safe.”

“And this is?” Fanny frowned, looking at the handsome man before her. He was so handsome and dashing that it was hard to associate him with words like violence and cruelty. But every word that came out of his mouth was filled with bloodlust, with a suffocating terror.

“Oh, I haven’t introduced you,” Akado said, pointing to Reinhard Heydrich and introducing him to Fanny. “He is Colonel Reinhard Heydrich, Commander-in-Chief of the Greater Germany SS, responsible for protecting everything about the party. Of course, he is also responsible for the safety of everyone present.”

Reinhard took a step forward, stood at attention, and waited until Akado had finished his introduction before looking at Fanny. “Beautiful lady, please allow me to salute you. I will send men to protect your personal safety and bring the culprits who threatened you to justice as soon as possible.”

“Th-thank you,” Fanny was a little shocked at the speed of Akado’s retaliation against the Nazi Party. She had only just received the news, and Akado’s side had already prepared men to counter-attack.

Akado, you really are the most outstanding! Fanny thought sweetly in her heart.