Section 01 We will never take the initiative to declare war on the US

  A few days later, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshikazu Kase sent a lengthy telegram reiterating the historical significance of the Tripartite Pact, his efforts to bring about the pact and so on. At the end of the telegram he bluntly stated: "If Japan and America go to war and Germany cannot provide substantial assistance, then the Tripartite Pact is practically dead."

  Matters were serious, so Li De hastily called Goering, Goebbels and Himmler to discuss national affairs. Ribbentrop, as Foreign Minister, could not escape, Bormann followed the Fuehrer at all times, and they walked towards the "machine room" - a small tea house.

  This was the first meeting between Himmler and the Fuehrer since the attempt on his life, and the nationwide leader of the SS, with a pair of small eyes hidden behind glasses, explained in a few words of courtesy that he had not come to visit the Fuehrer sooner because he was busy with affairs, which seemed somewhat sincere to Lide.

  Himmler wanted to report on the inspection of the concentration camps, but Liedtke changed the subject and complained to Himmler that he had reminded the Japanese ambassador about password security, and the Japanese ambassador said that the passwords of the Great Japanese Empire could not be deciphered. He asked Himmler's intelligence department to grasp this situation and see if the enemy had deciphered Japan's telegrams.

  Himmler suggested that they should send false information on purpose. He boasted that his intelligence department did the same in Western Europe, where Gestapo agents posing as resistance organizations sent messages to Britain, and British intelligence agencies kept sending money and weapons.

  In a small teahouse, several people sipped coffee and admired the autumn scenery in the mountains while discussing decisions concerning the country's future. Li De pointed out: "The American President Roosevelt, who suffered from polio, was eager to go to war. Germany and America would inevitably clash for the following reasons: Firstly, Germany's rise would inevitably disrupt the global balance of power. That's how things work in the world: unless you hide in a corner, if you want to fight for your own interests, you will inevitably interfere with others."

  Li De took a sip of his coffee and said something irrelevant: actually, he would rather drink Chinese tea than coffee. As everyone stared at the cup of coffee in front of them, he continued to talk loudly:

  "Secondly, we have broken the US-led gold-based financial system, which has cut off their source of wealth. Moreover, with Jews dominating the American economy, they will hate us to death, won't they, G?ring?"

  "Yes, we confiscated a lot of Jewish art treasures that included some famous paintings. The American art world is constantly holding demonstrations to urge the government to go to war and get these paintings back." Everyone laughed, Goebbels' sarcastic laughter stood out in particular as he got up to relieve himself.

  Gorin whispered mysteriously as he saw him off: "I have a suggestion that can greatly improve Sino-US relations."

  As everyone's curiosity was piqued, he pointed to Goebbels' receding back and whispered: "Wasn't the nephew of former US President Hoover infatuated with his wife Magda? Why not have Dr. Goebbels sacrifice his wife for the sake of the empire and engage in a diplomatic marriage?"

  A burst of laughter erupted, with Gollin laughing so hard that he was wiping away tears, stuttering: "In... in the past, Catherine from a minor German princely family married Peter III of Russia and later became Empress of Russia. If Magda marries the nephew of former US President Hoover, who knows, maybe after several years she'll become the First Lady of America."

  Himmler waved his hand exaggeratedly and said sarcastically: "Oh, she's married to the former President, or rather, her nephew."

  Ribbentrop solemnly interjected that there had never been a female president in the United States since its founding, and everyone burst out laughing again.

  Ge Bo returned and curiously asked: "Your laughter can be heard hundreds of meters away, what's the happy event that I can also hear about?" Everyone saw him and laughed with their heads thrown back.

  Lee De smiled and continued: "Third, British Prime Minister Churchill, that old chain smoker, has been lobbying Roosevelt nonstop, and it seems he's close to succeeding. I also heard that the British intelligence agency created a fake map showing South America as part of the Third Empire's sphere of influence. Unfortunately, some American congressmen actually believed that inferior trick. In fact, we never had such an idea, nor did we create such a map."

  Gorin stirred his coffee and said, "The reason the United States entered World War I was because they discovered a letter from the German Emperor to the President of Mexico, asking Mexico to declare war on the United States. Americans still remember this vividly, and it was a chance for the British to take advantage of them. To say that the British are a rational nation is simply nonsense."

  G?ring stabbed the Führer with a sentence, because it was the Führer who always said that the British were a rational nation. He was influenced by the portraits in history books and held the British in high esteem, but they didn't appreciate it at all, preferring to lose their colonies rather than make peace with Germany and divide the world together.

  The Fuehrer no longer spoke in vague terms, Goebbels quickly expressed his opinion, the gist of which was that Germany and America were actually already at war, and America had long since violated its neutrality laws by providing large quantities of military aid not only to Britain but also to Russia. A few days ago a German submarine sank an American merchant ship off Norway with over 200 tanks on board.

  "Is the news reliable?" Several people asked at the same time.

  Goebbels couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the others looked at each other in confusion, then simultaneously focused their gaze on Goebbels' rapidly opening and closing mouth: "This is what the sole survivor of the submarine told us. This submarine commander was too curious, after launching the torpedo, he ordered the submarine to surface and wanted to see with his own eyes how the merchant ship sank..."

  "Perhaps the captain wants to salvage something. After a merchant ship sinks, weapons will sink to the bottom of the sea, but those food, handicrafts and other things will float up to the surface."

  "There might be a famous painting in it." Himmler interjected. Goebbels laughed before speaking: "A submarine just surfaced, and a tank that was blown up by a merchant ship and flew into the air landed right on top of the submarine, isn't that clever?"

  "What's next?" Himmler asked with a knowing glint in his eye.

  "The submarine was smashed in two, and what smashed it was a tank, not a zeppelin." Goebbels explained innocently.

  "Is that so?" Himmler's eyes gleamed, the gaze of a hunter who has seen his prey fall into the trap. "I find it strange that so many Imperial soldiers have given their lives for the country, and you can still laugh about it, telling us jokes."

  Goebbels suddenly withdrew the lingering smile, turned his head to the window and pretended to admire the scenery. For a while, no one spoke. Li De broke the silence, saying to Ribbentrop, who kept looking at his watch: "Why hasn't this expert on the British Empire spoken?"

  Ribbentrop said nervously: "My Fuehrer, the Japanese ambassador said he would be here at 12 o'clock to receive an answer in person. It is now 11 o'clock."

  Li De became anxious and complained, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Don't let him come here, make an appointment for him to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." He disliked dealing with Japanese people, their speech was strange, their behavior was awkward, they nodded and bowed, spoke in a roundabout way, he did not want to see his sour face.

  Ribbentrop got up and walked a few steps, then turned around and asked: "How should I respond?"

  Li De exchanged glances with the other three and said: "In short, Germany will abide by the Tripartite Pact. Specifically, when Japan is invaded by armed forces of Britain and the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, Germany will provide full support. You must pay attention to Ribbentrop, on the premise that Japan is invaded, understand?"

  Goebbels was indeed extremely clever, grasping the key to the problem at once. He stretched out a finger and pointed to his forehead: "As long as we don't declare war on America first, everything else can be tolerated. The Fuehrer has been patient with Roosevelt's provocations for a long time, it doesn't matter if he endures a few more days. We cannot fall into the trap set by Roosevelt and the Jews surrounding him. Moreover, we must not overdo it in dealing with the Jewish question, giving the enemy an excuse."

  Himmler sprang to his feet, glaring at Goebbels like a fighting cock. Liddell ordered him to sit down and pressed Goebbels' hand as he was about to rise to the challenge. Himmler said in a choking voice: "In the presence of the Fuehrer, I would like to establish a principle for the final solution of the Jewish question in the Reich. There have been many rumors lately that the Fuehrer has lost his nerve after being wounded and is no longer daring to strike at the arch-enemy, the Jews."

  Two fierce roosters sat down, and Ribbentrop again turned his attention to the Japanese aspect, sighing that he suspected Japan would be the first to attack. Li De thought to himself, this guy isn't stupid, why do others look down on him, not even daring to speak during meetings.

  Ribbentrop hurried away and Goring shouted after him into the background: "Don't forget to invite your Japanese friend 'Mitsu Mitsu'."