Chapter 400: Yamashita Visits

The conversation with the Chinese special envoy had improved Akado’s mood considerably. It had to be said that as one of the oldest ancient

The conversation with the Chinese special envoy had improved Akado’s mood considerably. It had to be said that as one of the oldest ancient civilizations in the world, China’s deep cultural heritage was not something that some plagiarists and nouveaux riches could surpass—it was even difficult to imitate.

Akado had taken the initiative to talk about the sinking of Carrier No. 5 in the Baltic Sea by a British submarine, which had given the Chinese special envoy a real taste of the cruelty and bloodiness of the European battlefield. Germany’s triumphant march all the way had not been completely smooth, and Britain, which had been passive everywhere, had not been just taking a beating—the sinking of hundreds of thousands of tons of warships, the contest between the main fleets of the two sides in the Atlantic, had all made the Chinese special envoy feel a great sense of awe.

“Mr. Führer, Britain, as an old capitalist power, still has a very deep foundation. So after enduring a painful defeat, they can still muster the strength to launch a successful surprise attack in the Baltic Sea. The information revealed in this is still worth your deep consideration,” the Chinese special envoy said with sincerity. “I think that in the future, the British will not only not surrender but will also resist even more fiercely.”

Akado nodded in agreement. “This is also the result I expected. The British will not easily give up their position as the world’s hegemon. Of course, we are also more willing to step on the bodies of the British to ascend to this position of hegemon.”

Subsequently, the Chinese special envoy had also described in detail some of the events of the Battle of Shanghai, including the matter of both sides using the Me-109C to compete for air superiority, and also the matter of the Krupp cannons beating the Japanese army until they cried for their mothers and fathers. Of course, everyone already knew the final outcome. The Chinese army had been forced to abandon the Shanghai-Wusong area and had retreated to Nanjing, which was now a field of ruins.

“You fought very well on the Shanghai-Wusong battlefield, even exceeding my expectations,” Akado said, praising the performance of the Chinese army. To be honest, he had really been scared by the performance of the Chinese army. Originally, he had thought that his aid would only slightly delay the process of the war, but as it turned out, the Chinese army had almost achieved a combat record of the weak defeating the strong.

This praise still made the smile on the Chinese special envoy’s face even brighter. After all, to be praised for one’s military strength in person by the leader of a military power was a very proud thing. Of course, if the person who was praising was the Führer of the Third Reich, who had destroyed Poland in 20 days and had defeated the five countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and France in 30 days, then the effect was even better. “Not at all, not at all. It cannot be compared with your army, Führer.”

With the serious business settled, the next ten minutes or so were mostly spent in a friendly atmosphere of mutual praise. In the end, Akado personally saw the Chinese special envoy to his car, ending this diplomatic negotiation. Akado stood at the door, the smile on his face gradually fading. After letting out a deep breath, he took the towel that Anna handed him and wiped his face.

“If you are tired, then cancel the meeting in a little while and get some rest,” Anna said, looking at Akado, who was wiping his face, and trying to persuade him with a look of concern.

“It’s someone I have to see,” Akado said, poking his face out from the towel and forcing a smile to Anna. “I know you are worried about me, but I have given the Chinese a sweet date, so I have to give that bunch of Japanese a sweet date too. Otherwise, if things get chaotic in the Far East, it won’t be good for us.”

In fact, arriving in Berlin, Germany, along with the special envoy from China, was also Akado’s old Japanese friend, Yamashita. This Japanese diplomat had even arrived a few hours earlier than the Chinese special envoy. But the result of the discussion between the old gentleman August and Akado was to first meet with the Chinese special envoy and, after getting the result, to go and deal with the Japanese.

Because compared to the cunning Japanese, China’s diplomatic environment was even more harsh, and the directions it could choose were also fewer. Both August and Akado believed that the outcome with China was easier to determine and also more stable. For the Chinese special envoy, Akado had decided to meet with him alone and to use the diplomatic means of moving him with emotion and persuasion. And on the Japanese side, the situation was more complicated, so Akado had also prepared a “human wave tactic” to deal with it.

So when Yamashita had entered the well-prepared conference room, he had been greeted by Akado, August, and Merkel. This lineup could be said to have made Yamashita feel flattered and terrified, and it had also greatly increased his pressure. At the very least, he himself understood in his heart that in the face of such an all-star lineup, his little tricks would be of no use at all.

“Welcome, my eastern friend, Mr. Yamashita,” Akado said with a smile, stepping forward and giving Yamashita a warm embrace. If one did not know that the Führer had just met with the special envoy sent from the Chinese side half an hour ago, just looking at his current performance, it was a complete picture of Germany and Japan being as close as two peas in a pod.

August smiled with understanding. This Führer was even better at acting than when the two of them had first met. His level of hiding his own emotions and thoughts was also getting higher and higher. He had really found a very good person to assist. Now, just by admiring from the side, it seemed he had a bit of the legendary aura of an emperor.

As August was lost in his endless reverie, Akado smiled and released Yamashita, who had also put on a smile. He said, “Mr. Yamashita is famous for not visiting without a reason. For what matter have you come to see me, this old friend, this time? Could it be that there is some problem with the expansion of the Japanese Empire in the Far East?”

Asking the obvious! If it weren’t for you Germans stirring up trouble in the background, how could the great Japanese Empire fail to defeat the mere Sick Man of East Asia? The Americans are the most difficult to deal with in this world, and the most sinister are you Germans! Yamashita thought to himself as he laughed heartily.

But after he had finished laughing, he threw the thoughts in his heart to one side and said, “Mr. Führer is busy with his work, so I will not beat around the bush. I have come to Germany this time to buy many, many things to take back.”

“What things?” Merkel asked from the side. Since it was the three of them who were receiving Yamashita together, he could not let Akado do everything. For him, Merkel, to just wave a flag for the Führer? Was this a joke? He was the one who was in charge of charging into the fray. It would be more like Akado waving a flag in the back.

Both August and Akado turned their eyes to Yamashita, waiting for his answer. In fact, what the Japanese wanted was also very easy to guess. What the Germans had to offer was nothing more than the tanks, armored cars, individual weapons, and air force planes that Japan lacked. There were many things, some could be given, some could not. It all depended on how the Japanese bid.

“One hundred and fifty Me-109C fighters. We, the great Japanese Empire, will pay in cash,” Yamashita said after a moment’s thought. “Of course, we are willing to pay an even larger fee and hope that Germany can assist our great Japanese Empire’s navy in developing a carrier-based fighter.”

He did not wait for the Germans to speak but continued with his lion’s mouth wide open. “In addition, we want to visit Germany’s tank factories, to send apprentices and engineers to learn Germany’s tank technology. What we want to see is the Panther tank’s production line! You can’t fool us with some random things!”

“And also!” he seemed to be addicted to speaking and rushed to pour out all his requests at once. “The navy of the great Japanese Empire hopes to cooperate with the German Navy and to share the complete combat summary reports! We are very interested in the operational plans and execution process of the German Navy!”

August nodded and said, “No problem. The friendship between Japan and Germany is unbreakable. We are willing to help our allies to complete their desire for expansion in the Far East. We can discuss all of these things… but we need a small favor from our Japanese allies in Asia.”

He knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Yamashita nodded and said, “Mr. Chancellor, I have long admired your great name. Please speak directly.”

August smiled slightly and brought out the plan that he had discussed with Akado earlier. “We need Japan to go north once, before going south.”

“This…” Yamashita had not expected the Germans to come up with such a difficult problem. To have Japan provoke a war with the Soviet Union in the Far East was no small matter. If they were not careful, Japan might be doomed forever.

“It’s not a full-scale war with the Soviet Union,” Akado said with a smile, smoothing things over. “As long as you have some conflicts with the Soviet Union in the Outer Mongolia region, a battle on the scale of at least five divisions, win or lose, we can meet the requests of our Japanese friends.”

Not a full-scale war? Then this matter is not impossible to consider. Yamashita frowned and struggled inwardly for a moment. It seems that it is not impossible to fight a probing war with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union wants to probe the true strength of the Japanese Kwantung Army, and why wouldn’t Japan want to test the depth of the Soviet Red Army’s strength in the Far East?

But now it seemed that the pressure that the Soviet Union was putting on Germany on the Soviet-German border was already quite large, which had forced Germany to compromise with Japan and to show its sincerity to divert the attention of the Soviets and to delay the time of the Soviet-German war in Europe… Was this a good thing or a bad thing for Japan?

After weighing it for a moment, Yamashita decided not to agree or refuse for the time being. He would use a delaying tactic to solve the problem and would drag it on for a few months before saying anything. “I must discuss this matter with the high command. I cannot give you an immediate reply. But if we were to cooperate on this matter, then what about the China problem?…”

“You can rest assured about that,” Merkel replied, rushing to answer. “Once our cooperation is so comprehensively launched, then Germany is willing to give up its interests in the Far East.”

Yamashita nodded, stood up, and took his leave. “I will go back to the embassy now, contact my home country, and urge the high command to make a decision as soon as possible.”

Akado also stood up and embraced Yamashita again. “I will send a car to pick you up in the evening. We will go to the best restaurant together to eat steak.”

“It’s a deal,” Yamashita clearly was also looking forward to it and agreed with a smile.

By the time Yamashita’s car had left the Führer’s Residence, Yamashita, in his car, had put away his smile and had cursed the word “bitch.” And Akado, who was sitting in the room, said with a smile to August and Merkel beside him, “The Japanese want to covet our technology. How is that possible if they don’t fill this hole with 20,000 men and carry the black pot for Germany’s Eastern Front for three months?”

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair