Chapter 399: The Chinese Guest

Akado was quietly playing with a blue and white porcelain vase from distant China. This was a gift from China’s Generalissimo Chiang. It was

Akado was quietly playing with a blue and white porcelain vase from distant China. This was a gift from China’s Generalissimo Chiang. It was from the hand of a famous master, and although it could not be considered an antique, it definitely had the value of becoming a unique piece. The corresponding German and Chinese text on it made this vase seem a bit out of place, but it was the handwriting of a calligrapher who would be quite valuable in later generations.

The reputation of old General von Seeckt in Nanjing was in no way inferior to Akado’s prestige in Berlin. The reason was that this old general had brought about a heaven-and-earth change to China’s national defense. These changes were not those flashy drills and obscure theories, but were things that had truly made the Chinese soldiers stronger.

It was the military-industrial base with more than twenty supporting production lines that had been established in areas like Wuhan and Chongqing. It was the precise data of personally laying out the trenches and bunkers, demonstrating how to hide each machine gun nest and how to crossfire. It was his describing the appearance of the First World War in his mind to the Chinese soldiers and, with his own strength, turning the Chinese army into a new army of the East.

This old man who had closed his eyes, the Chinese had no choice but to love and respect him as if he were their own kin. With this close relative and the military supplies and production facilities that Akado had intentionally or unintentionally subsidized to China when he was developing the German Wehrmacht back then, after China had been invaded by the Japanese in Shanghai and had lost Nanjing, they had naturally thought of this “friend of Europe.”

And so the special envoy of the Republic of China, carrying a personal letter from Generalissimo Chiang, was now standing so awkwardly in front of the German Führer, Akado Rudolph. To both present a state gift and to talk about personal friendship, he was naturally here to ask for something.

After the special envoy had finished speaking of the long-standing revolutionary friendship between the two countries and had sung the praises of the great achievements of old General von Seeckt, it seemed that he was about to talk about the future prospects of China and Germany—Akado had no interest in dealing with this kind of meaningless official courtesy. So he interrupted the Chinese special envoy’s endless talk and said, “You did not come here to sing praises, and I am not listening for the sake of vanity. We have limited time. Get to the point!”

And so the diplomatic meeting, which could have been dragged out for two hours or even longer, was reduced to three dry words—begging for support. The Chinese Air Force had taken a fancy to Germany’s Me-109C fighter and was willing to go bankrupt in the hope of buying another fifty of these fighters. The Chinese Army’s appetite was even bigger. They had taken a fancy to Germany’s anti-tank rocket launchers and sniper rifles. The navy, on the other hand, had not asked for anything—because it had been almost completely wiped out.

“The fighters are not a problem. I can even sell seventy of them to you,” Akado said with a smile, nodding and agreeing to the Chinese special envoy’s request. “But you are not to talk to me, but to go and talk to Romania. They have ready-made fighters and also have the production capacity. You can just talk to them about this deal. I will give you a letter. You can give it to their ‘Conducător,’ and he will give you a fair price.”

The Me-109C was now truly a world-class fighter. China used it, Japan used it, Romania, Italy, France, and even Britain were using it. Almost more than half of the countries in the world that could afford to use fighter planes were users of the Me-109C.

“As for the Panzerfausts and sniper rifles, we really cannot provide them,” Akado said with regret. “But you don’t have to be in a hurry. I can introduce you to two alternative weapons. At the very least, you can buy them from other friends.”

He smiled and walked to the side of the huge globe in his office, gave it a gentle push with his hand to make it spin, and then pressed one hand on the territory of the Soviet Union and said, “Buy their technology. Large-caliber anti-tank rifles. Although their power is not as great as the Panzerfaust’s, they are more than enough to deal with the Japanese’s tin cans.”

“Thank you for your generosity, Führer,” the Chinese special envoy was of course very satisfied with the German Führer Akado’s response, and the smile on his face became even more brilliant.

He couldn’t be blamed for being so impatient. After 1840, China’s diplomatic path had been a long scroll of humiliation and bitterness. Every diplomat who represented China could only bow and scrape and live a precarious life between the cracks, and it was rare for them not to end up in ruin and disgrace.

But ever since 1925, since this Führer of Germany had formally come to the fore, it seemed that China’s diplomatic environment had improved by more than just a little bit. All the things that had been impossible to do before could now find a breakthrough in German diplomacy. And China, through its complementarity and alliance with Germany, had actually realized its dream of becoming a strong country to a certain extent, which had given all the diplomats the confidence to stand up straight—of course, they had also become more and more grateful to Germany.

“But Mr. Special Envoy, I have a word here that I don’t know if I should say or not,” Akado suddenly said in a consultative tone. “On this matter, I, as the German Führer, am an outsider, and it is not good for me to say anything casually. So I am just giving a well-intentioned suggestion, and I will not record this conversation in the diplomatic memorandum. Can you understand?”

As his voice fell, the three secretaries who were responsible for recording the diplomatic memorandum all stood at attention, gave a German salute, and then withdrew. This made the Chinese special envoy even more amazed at this German Führer’s power and prestige in Germany.

Thinking of this, the Chinese special envoy would of course not go against his benefactor. He immediately nodded and said, “Mr. Führer, please feel free to give any suggestions you have. I will definitely convey your words to Generalissimo Chiang, verbatim.”

Akado thought for a moment and then said, “I’m sure your esteemed country has already suffered a great loss on the Nanjing defensive line, and has also lost a lot of its stockpiled ammunition and weapons. The current situation, rather than deceiving oneself and saying that it is not good, is rather that it is rotten to the core. Don’t be in a hurry to deny it. You can hide it from others, but you can’t fool me… Although our technical personnel have helped you to find a few small iron mines in some areas, I know about as much as your Generalissimo does about what kind of war your stockpiled materials can fight.”

At this point, Akado patted the somewhat embarrassed Chinese special envoy and continued, “So I can very responsibly say to Mr. Generalissimo that to rely on China to fight Japan alone is very unrealistic. Once Japan is completely worn down on Chinese soil, then Japan will compromise with the United States. In the end, the two sides will reach an agreement, and then China’s three eastern provinces, and even the North China region, will never be recovered…”

This was not an alarmist statement from him. Once Japan realized that it could not completely occupy China, it would retreat to the next best thing, compromise with the United States, and digest the occupied areas in the northeast. At that time, China would also have no ability to counter-attack. The final result would easily form a dead end where they would be forced to recognize the independence of the three eastern provinces. This was of course not a situation that China wanted to see, or rather, it was a situation that even Akado did not want to see.

The fundamental purpose of Germany’s aid to China was actually to delay the time of a direct conflict between Japan and the United States, to create the best opportunity for Germany’s strategic deployment in Europe. But the degree of aid to China had been a bit of a failure. It seemed now that they had given a bit too much, which had made Japan, which was also putting up a brave front, a bit unable to bear it.

What if Japan were to completely give up the idea of confronting the United States? Then Akado would have shot himself in the foot. The terrifying war potential of the United States would in the future be completely pressed on the German side. Akado just had to flip through the history of the Pacific War to know what the consequences would be, so he was fundamentally unwilling to try it easily.

Now he had no choice but to condescend and discuss the future world situation with China, which was not a world power in the Far East. “To rely on China’s own strength to confront Japan is easy to be thankless and to have Japan retreat to the next best thing and split China, which will have an adverse impact on China’s future development. So you should drag the United States into the water, find a way to make Japan challenge the United States.”

“Mr. Führer, I know that what you say is very reasonable, but to do so requires great courage, and there are also many unforeseen subsequent crises…” the Chinese special envoy was clearly not a fool. Or rather, the Chinese side had already considered the plan that Akado had not explained.

This plan was to give up a portion of its territory, to expand the crisis caused by Japan in China, to make the interests of the United States in Asia, or rather in the Far East and the South Seas, become an obstacle to Japan’s continued expansion, and to lure Japan to Southeast Asia to fight with the United States. It was just that to do so also had its risks. If the two countries, Japan and the United States, were not to be fooled, then it would be equivalent to China giving up a large area of its territory for nothing—this was certainly not a good thing.

“They must make a mistake! If they don’t make a mistake, Germany will be utterly defeated, and at least half of China’s territory will also become a prize in Japan’s pocket!” Akado said, looking at the sky outside the window. “We must gamble… gamble with our own lives, our own souls, our everything… for the future of the nation we love most.”

He turned his head back and said in slightly stiff but extremely fluent Chinese, “Please believe me, I have no ill will towards the ancient Chinese nation.”

The Chinese special envoy, whose German was quite good, was taken aback for a moment. He then suddenly looked at the tall German Führer in front of him, his eyes full of curiosity. After a long while, he finally spoke slowly, also replying in Chinese, “Please rest assured, Führer. I will definitely tell the Generalissimo what the Führer has said, verbatim.”

He then asked in German, “Mr. Führer, may I ask you an impertinent question? Why is Japan an ally of Germany, yet Germany is so helpful to the weak China in its resistance against the Japanese invasion?”

Akado smiled, a brilliant smile. “Mr. Special Envoy, as things stand now, Japan and Germany are allies. But in the long run, Germany is more willing to be an ally of a strong China. I have now planted a seed of goodwill. In a few years, it will blossom into a beautiful and splendid flower—and the fruit it bears will be able to change the whole world!”

“It seems you have seen a future that many Chinese dare not believe in… Will we be strong enough to influence the world?” the Chinese special envoy’s eyes were full of longing.

“As long as you never give up and advance just like Germany, you will be able to wait for the answer,” Akado replied with a smile.