Section 5: The Emperor's Worries

  The small house at 12 Wasserburger Strasse had become the temporary chancellery of the Third Reich, and Eva's single telephone was almost constantly in use; those closest to her gave up trying to get through on the permanently engaged line and instead came to the door to report and confer, with so many people present that the small garden was sometimes filled.

  For years, she had hoped that Adolf would spend more time with her. For this small luxury, she had threatened to take her own life on several occasions. Now, after the Führer had stayed for two days, she was fed up. This wasn't keeping her company, it was like a marketplace, and there were also many female guests.

  After the cloud and rain of the first two nights, Li De fell asleep as soon as he lay down in the deep night, not because he was uninterested, but because he was too tired. He didn't have a moment to himself. Eva gazed at the exhausted man with a deep sigh...

  Early that morning, before the Fuehrer was up, General Halder, Chief of the Army General Staff, was already waiting in the salon. Hardly had he left when Grand Admiral Raeder burst in with the news: U-331 had sunk the British battleship Barham; the captain and 858 crew members were dead, and Vice-Admiral Vivian also fed the sharks.

  The Fuehrer's smile had barely begun to spread when the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Goering, appeared with a somber face and brought shocking news: Udet, the head of the German Aviation Technology Bureau, had taken his own life. But that was not all - the Luftwaffe ace, Modley, went to attend the funeral and crashed into a chimney.

  Li De asked about the reason for his suicide, and Gao Lin explained: "Wu Dedet was too idealistic and didn't understand that it's harder to stand firm in officialdom than to shoot down enemy planes on the battlefield. So when setbacks came one after another, his faith collapsed at a touch."

  Immediately following the original champagne salesman and current Foreign Minister of the Empire Ribbentrop rushed in: "My Fuehrer, on November 27th, the last Italian troops in Ethiopia have surrendered, British forces captured 11,500 Italian troops and 12,000 local troops."

  Li De looked at the Daily Telegraph in his hand and joked: "What other intelligence is there on the newspaper?"

  "Today I arranged for the Japanese ambassador to visit a military factory," Ribbentrop said, drawing closer.

  "Alright, we can arrange for him to visit the farm tomorrow and then have him present a flag to the Hitler Youth the day after." The Führer joked.

  The formidable Himmler entered, the hall fell silent, even the red-bellied gray sparrows in the cage stopped shouting. Ribbentrop tactfully retreated to one side, Himmler glanced at him and teased: "Ah, Ribbentrop, it's been a long time since we've had champagne, shall we have two cups?"

  Himmler came mainly to discuss the formation of the Eastern Division of the SS, and after finishing, he casually mentioned in Lidell's ear: "A colonel of the SS special action team reported that nearly 10,000 Jews were suppressed in the Baltic region because they assisted the guerrillas." After finishing speaking, he bid farewell, and before leaving, he also made sarcastic remarks to the Foreign Minister.

  Li De's heart was stirred: obviously it was the SS and local ethnic groups who were cleansing the Jews, yet they were falsely accusing the Jews themselves. But he couldn't be too lenient. He still understood the principle that "clear water has no fish, a man who is overly cautious has no friends". Moreover, pushing these ruthless executioners to the limit would not do him any good either. Just grasp the overall principle.

  Speer then brought up the issue of extending workers' hours, as he had taken over armaments production after Todt's death. Hitler flew into a rage: "When British women are going into the factories and Russian children are producing bullets, our German workers are still working a regular eight-hour day! You must discuss this with Goebbels; we have to get onto a war footing. Ah, here comes Goebbels."

  To Goebbels, Liddell Hart was candid: "A stern test lies before us. On the Eastern Front we are on the defensive; in Libya the British have launched a 'Crusader' counter-offensive using American M3 tanks and they have also assassinated Rommel... The Congressional vote to amend the Neutrality Act, allowing American merchant ships to unload war supplies in British ports, is not only a notable manifestation of the decline of isolationist sentiment but also a notable manifestation of President Roosevelt's political skill."

  When mentioning Roosevelt, the Führer was beside himself, speaking with both hands like pumping a bicycle, his face flushed and panting: "We are facing a powerful opponent, therefore, Goebbels, you and Speer draft the decree immediately and then pass it through the Reichstag, the overall intention is to switch to total war."

  After he calmed down, Goebbels looked embarrassed: "Two days ago, 25 Reichsmarks were collected from each worker, and some domestic newspapers ridiculed it. Besides, you said that the revolution in Germany at the end of World War I was because..."

  "I know." Li De-sheng cut him off bluntly, then repeated lightly: "I know Goebbels, but if we don't fully mobilize, if the war is lost... no, if the war drags on, it's still Germany's women and children who will suffer."

  He became excited again, and with his fists clenched he pounded the air: "Even if we enter an all-out war, we still can't catch up with America."

  The people in the room stared at him with their eyes wide open, "Clang" a sound, someone's cup fell to the ground, Aiwa rushed over with a heartache: "This was brought back from Ireland by my sister for me."

  Next came Eva's scolding and the maid's sobbing: "Who told you to use such a good cup to pour water, it's simply a prodigal son." "There are too many people, not enough cups, waaah—"

  In the living room, guests were gazing at the "rare treasure" in their hands.

  Li De patted Goebbels on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Yes, in this way, the burden of the people is heavier, and the material loss is made up for by the spirit. Do you understand what I mean?"

  The clever Goebbels understood: "Alright, import a few American Hollywood films and relax the restrictions in the arts."

  "Eavesdropping on the enemy's radio is mainly for education and fines." Li De added, suddenly furious: "Also, who ordered the shutdown of the radio station that played 'Lili Marleen'? A song liked by soldiers can turn the world upside down?"

  G?ring had left at midnight, and Lida and Eva had just gone to bed when Bormann telephoned to take credit: "My Führer, wasn't my timing good today? I was almost standing guard at the door, otherwise everyone would have rushed in..."

  ……

  The head of the household was busy all day, Aiwa was busy all day, and even the maid didn't have a moment to herself. The red-bellied grey sparrow was shouting until it was hoarse, and Aiwa suspected that it would lose its ability to speak afterwards.

  Ava lazily lay on the sofa, applying nail polish, and put her slightly swollen feet on a stool. She poked Li De, who was still reading documents with her ribs: "Hey, I'm saying, you move out tomorrow."

  Li De's eyes remained fixed on the document, mumbling vaguely: "Move where? I've paid the rent."

  "Aren't you avoiding the Japanese ambassador? Can't this be handled? Go down to inspect? Go visit Italy? Ah, pick up my nail polish and sleep, don't look anymore." She yawned repeatedly as she walked towards the bed.

  Li De's eyes lit up: Ah yes, we can go to the front line! Ran Ni Ya has been gone for several days. Thinking of her made him feel invigorated instantly.

  However, a huge shadow has recently been hovering before him, and in comparison, some of the difficulties he is currently facing are nothing. Only his powerful opponent can bring about this kind of inner panic, and that arch-nemesis is Roosevelt.

  Since the outbreak of war, he first declared neutrality and then gradually deviated from the track. He not only provided military aid to Britain but also openly escorted convoys all the way to Iceland. Hitler swallowed his pride many times, tolerating his public challenges, and even ordered German submarines not to counterattack even if they were attacked by the United States.

  On October 31, at dawn, west of Iceland's waters, the first US warship was sunk by a German submarine. Originally, your navy escorted the enemy to my turf, and U552 also got distracted, as a result, the Americans were quick to anger, but Roosevelt was overjoyed, he finally saw the belligerent American people, taking advantage of the situation to revise the Neutrality Act.

  He was as cunning as a spider, first submitting to Congress a bill allowing armed American merchant ships, which polls showed most Americans supported, and which Congress passed on October 17 by almost two-to-one. Then he produced a forged map of South America purporting to show Nazi plans for conquest there, and used it in a speech to demand that the Senate pass an even more stringent bill allowing ships to enter combat zones, which passed with 50 votes to 37, nearly succeeding.

  What troubled Li De most was not the enemy, but his allies. The vision of Little Japan was as short-sighted as their stature. Germany tried its best to avoid America's entry into the war, while Japan provoked America. When the German army invaded the Soviet Union, although you, Japan, couldn't gain an advantage over the Soviet army, you could have launched a containment operation with your million-strong Kwantung Army and occupied the Far East region without any problem, since 80% of the Soviet army was engaged in a bloody battle with Germany. However, Japan's pig-headed leaders invaded Indochina, provoking America to cut off oil supplies and forcing them to jump over the wall in desperation.

  Let's take a step back and say that since you've adopted the southern strategy, you should focus on fighting Britain with all your might. The isolationists in America have a certain market share, as long as you don't provoke America, America won't declare war on you either. Even if Roosevelt risks being bombed out of office to send a fleet to the Philippines, Japan can still pull off another "Battle of Malacca" against America. As a result, the Japanese took the worst approach - launching a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, helping Roosevelt turn a divided America into a united Uncle Sam. At the same time, the German leader's patience was shattered by those few bombs.

  "Bastard!" Li De cursed.