The 18th Mechanized Cavalry Division

  Ba Ke's eyes rapidly scanned the room in a circle, finally returning to the leader. Everyone's face was tense, dozens of pairs of eyes scrutinizing the leader's constantly shaking head.

  He no longer sells Guanzi: "If the Soviet army breaks through the central defense line at any cost, the German army can retreat while fighting and even abandon Smolensk to withdraw to Minsk. At the same time, it maintains pressure on both wings of the Soviet army, allowing the Soviet army to form a huge salient, letting Stalin have a few days of excitement first. By the time spring arrives, we will have captured Leningrad and the Crimean Peninsula, freed up our troops, and Speer has installed tracks on 1 million trucks..."

  The commander-in-chief raised his head, closed his eyes and spoke out his grand plan in a dreamy tone. The generals, even Rania, held pens in their hands, with their eyes slightly closed, nodding their heads along with the commander-in-chief.

  Suddenly, a loud shout was heard: "The powerful German army is deeply surrounded by the Soviet army from both wings, and it is a big encirclement and annihilation. This is a large-scale Kiev campaign, and it is also the Battle of Cannae." When everyone opened their eyes wide, they saw the Führer's face flushed red, one hand clenched into a fist on the floor, and that signature lock of hair was disheveled across his face.

  Rania found that when she was in a trance, the tip of her pen had pierced through the paper on her desk, and the paper was stained with a large ink blot, just like the Crimean Peninsula. She vaguely felt that there would be a fierce battle there.

  A round of applause was heard from outside the door, and G?ring led the Politburo members into the war room. The Deputy Führer flattered: "The Führer's words are extremely correct. The Battle of Cannae was also a premeditated abandonment of the center, and Commander Hannibal won that battle with great courage and bravery. In this sense, the Führer is Hannibal, or even more courageous than Hannibal, because he commanded a mechanized Battle of Cannae. Adolf Hitler's name will be remembered in history along with Hannibal.

  Goebbels was not to be outdone: "If the Fuehrer's genius for grand strategy is implemented, then inevitably in a battle of encounter the main forces of the Soviet Union will be smashed, and Moscow will fall like a ripe fruit..." The rest of his words were drowned out by the eager chorus of flattery.

  Looking at Yuan Shou again, he bashfully played with the small wooden stick in his hand, as if he were a girl who had just been praised.

  The leaders were flattered by thunderous applause that sent goosebumps down their spines, but it didn't affect the torrent of applause.

  After the applause, Li De asked the two Chiefs of Staff of the Army to preside over the meeting and implement specific measures. He led the members of the Politburo Standing Committee to a small conference room next door for a meeting.

  On the eve of New Year's Day, members of the Political Bureau went to various occupied areas to offer condolences and conduct inspections. Now, everyone has reported on their situations, reporting all the way until evening. The leader made a summary speech: "Comrades have worked hard. First of all, I want to say that our political system reform has achieved phased results. Why do I say this? Because in the past, big or small things had to wait for my decision, even if I were divided into eight parts, I couldn't keep up with the work."

  Li De's gaze fell on Gollum: "Our Gollum used to hide in Carin's villa playing with jewelry and calligraphy, now full of energy. Of course, it can't be blamed entirely on you before, I know the bitterness of being the second-in-command."

  Gorin's face turned awkward, and his stout body shifted slightly.

  The head of state continued to ridicule him: "Our aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was built a long time ago, but there were no planes. Goering said at the time that anything flying in the sky belonged to the air force and he didn't give any planes to the navy."

  Himmler took over: "Does everything that flies in the sky belong to the Air Force? Sparrows also fly in the sky, what rank have you assigned to them?"

  Gorin hastily explained: "What I meant by this is..."

  Everyone finally found a happy target, and they all attacked together. Gorlin was overwhelmed by the pack of dogs and could only defend himself. Li De waited for them to finish venting and then pressed on with his speech: "Now, this difficult problem has been solved once and for all. Our beloved Gorlin has announced that next year, two large passenger ships, the 'Euro' and the 'Potsdam', will be converted into small aircraft carriers. Of course, I personally do not agree with devoting everything to building aircraft carriers, but I strongly support allocating a portion of our air force to establish a naval aviation unit to escort long-range submarines in battle."

  Rania walked in, handed him a military meeting minutes for his review. He quickly scanned it and then said:

  "Now it's fine, many things you can handle on your own within your authority and get them done quickly on the spot. If there are problems that can't be handled, they can also be discovered and solved quickly, coordinating relationships between different parties, putting forward opinions for concentrated research and resolution. This is progress and an important sign of the German Empire introducing modern management concepts. From now on, we need to grasp the measure well, achieve one-handedness without arbitrary decision-making, and deputy hands not overstepping..."

  The members of the Political Bureau nodded in agreement. His speech was interrupted by Bao Man, who saw that Bao Man was pulling Rania's sleeve and asked discontentedly: "A meeting is being held now, what are you doing? Rania, I have already signed on the meeting minutes, why are you still here?"

  Everyone turned their attention to Bowman and Rania, some with schadenfreude, others with a scowl. Bowman's face flushed as he explained: "It's like this, Your Excellency, my hand hurts today, so I wanted Rania to help me take notes."

  Li De let out a sigh and pretended to complain, "Nonsense, she's just a minor official in the Foreign Affairs Office. Letting her attend such a serious Politburo meeting is probably not suitable, right?"

  Seeing the misunderstanding, Bowman explained calmly: "This doesn't count as attending, does it? She's just an ear with a pencil, and she can't express opinions. I don't see what's inappropriate about it."

  Himmler objected: "After all, she is a foreigner." He was rebuffed by a scowling Goebbels: "The Fuehrer is also a foreigner, an Austrian."

  Gorin smoothed things over: "Comrade Bowman is getting on in years, and keeping records is a job for young people. Let's try it this way: let her give it a shot first."

  Himmler glared: "Anyway, whatever I say, you all gang up and attack me, so just do what you want."

  Ribbentrop sneered: "Let the Fuehrer decide then."

  Li De threw the ball to Bao Man: "You decide, but you shouldn't force someone's hand."

  "No, she didn't..."

  Bao Man was overjoyed: "Rannie, come sit here. This is a pen. From now on, I'll hand my pen over to you. I should also enjoy life."

  After a brief interlude, Li De continued to summarize, and upon finding Rennie by his side, he spoke more fluently:

  "I would like to express my attitude towards several issues you have raised. If comrades have no objections, I will forward them for implementation in the name of the Politburo meeting:"

  I think the plan proposed by Deputy Führer G?ring to solve the heating problem in Paris this winter is feasible. Someone mentioned before that the people of Paris were freezing, but I didn't expect the situation to be so bad. Paris is a model for the occupied territories; if Paris is stable, then all of Western Europe will also be at peace.

  "Secondly, Yoder brought up the issue of Greece's famine situation, which no one had reported to me beforehand. The British are fixated on the Balkan Peninsula; you must overcome difficulties and control the famine to the lowest extent possible. If all else fails, urgently transport some oats from Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, Albania, etc., to solve the most basic problem of filling their bellies. As for the issue of Tito's guerrilla forces in Serbia and Montenegro that you mentioned, consult with the army and make a concerted effort to eliminate them; otherwise, it will be like raising a tiger."

  Yodel's face was full of surprise: "How did you know the name of that guerrilla leader? We've tried every means and still couldn't find out."

  The leader smiled mysteriously and replied evasively: "Your work is very solid, it seems you didn't just go mountain climbing."

  The head of state went out to answer the phone, Himmler changed his contemptuous attitude towards Eastern nations and approached Renia familiarly, which made her both surprised and delighted, also beyond everyone's expectation.

  He asked Rania about the training of Soviet GRU, she replied truthfully: "Mainly trained how to walk in the forest without making a sound, how to survive by land, how to identify directions through stars, and how to survive in harsh weather conditions. They learned how to drive a single scull, how to use parachutes and sleds that run through the countryside, as well as how to make explosives using the simplest commodities, such as potassium nitrate, flour, and sugar. Mastering the skills of secret operations and self-survival; proficiently mastering the application of small arms, also proficiently using knives and Spanish garrotes."

  Himmler was a bit surprised: "Sounds almost like Germany's training program?"

  Rania said: "Of course, Germany's espionage is still learning from the Soviet Union."

  "Nonsense." Himmler's glasses flashed as he turned away and ignored her.

  Rania, however, did not miss the opportunity to engage in a crazy theory with this race. She also fantasized about slowly pulling out the deeply buried racial prejudices from Himmler's mind: "I have been trained in captivity in both the Latvian army and the German army, but it is impossible in the Soviet army because the Soviet Union does not acknowledge the phenomenon of being captured. Stalin's Order No. 270 issued on August 16, 1941, states that Red Army soldiers must hold out to the last man under any circumstances and never be taken prisoner. Commanders were authorized to shoot anyone who dared to become a prisoner to avoid death. Article 58 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code also stipulates that the families of captured Red Army soldiers will be brought to trial and exiled to Siberia."

  "Are you praising the Soviet Army?" Himmler's one sentence shattered Rania's fantasy.

  The head of state hastily came in: "The meeting must be concluded as soon as possible, Manstein suggested launching a general offensive the day after tomorrow, and the Army General Staff approved this plan. Everyone has their own responsibilities. Baurmann, Renya, we will rush to Crimea early tomorrow morning."