Section 07: The Rooster Fight Performance of German and Japanese Foreign Ministers

  The headquarters of the 11th Army Group moved to a farm 28 kilometers southwest of Simferopol, with mountains in front, hills on the left and steppes on the right. The farm has many ditches that can block tanks; there is a vineyard on the east side, where the commander's car and anti-aircraft guns are hidden. The farm has several cellars, which can be used as underground shelters in emergency situations.

  The head of the army barracks management office regretted it so much that he was pounding his chest, why didn't they find this place earlier and suffer at the hands of Soviet tanks?

  The Soviet factory and farm were not lacking in auditoriums, and this was no exception. The auditorium with white walls and red tiles naturally became the headquarters of the army group, and the original party branch secretary's room next to the farm is now the temporary camp of the German leader. Li De will preside over a meeting here today.

  The commander of the 11th Army, Manstein, Chief of Staff W?hler, Commander of the 30th Army General Salmuth, General Hansen of the 54th Army, Commander of the 42nd Army General Hippernik, Romanian Third Army Commander General Dumitrescu in a fine uniform, Kupatt's 49th Mountain Army and Mackensen's Third Motorized Infantry Army as well as representatives of the Eighth Air Force attended the meeting.

  Li De looked around at the generals, to Manstein and everyone else, saying: "The stars are shining brightly indeed, with so many troops under your command, I suppose it's no problem to capture Sevastopol before National Day?"

  A buzz of voices, everyone chimed in unison: "Guarantee to complete tasks on time."

  January 30, 1933, Hitler became Chancellor, Germans consider this day as National Day.

  Li De stretched out his hand to introduce a General with sunken eye sockets and a round face who always had an angry expression: "Eberhard von Mackensen, Colonel General of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Army, I suppose everyone knows him, but you may not know his father."

  He paused for a moment, seeing the puzzled look on everyone's face, and felt very happy: "He is the conqueror of Serbia and Romania in World War I, a friend of the late President Hindenburg, and the son of Imperial Marshal August von Mackensen."

  Everyone pounds their fists on the table to show welcome, similar to applause.

  The supreme leader raised his hands and pressed down: "Originally, I promised to let your leader Shifu return to China for rest, so I assigned him to you. His subordinates have the 13th, 14th, and 25th armored divisions. For your sake, I've already offended the commander of the Southern Group Army."

  Manstein's face lit up, and he was about to say something grand when the Führer waved his hand to stop him: "I have to return to Germany in half an hour, so I'll give you two instructions while I'm still here."

  Everyone took out their notebooks and pens, but the leader told them to put them away: "Just listen with your ears and understand with your heart. Don't leave any written records, in case they leak out."

  "First: The 30th, 54th and the 4th Mountain Division of the 49th Mountain Army launch a full-scale attack on Sevastopol, annihilating the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. The 1st Mountain Division of the 49th Mountain Army serves as the reserve force in this direction, while the 170th Infantry Division serves as the army group's general reserve."

  "Romanian troops are assigned for coastal defense and as mobile units when necessary." He nodded towards those wearing ornate uniforms.

  "Secondly, and this is a point I want to emphasize again: the 3rd Motorized Infantry Corps must arrive within a week and be secretly deployed between Simferopol and Feodosiya. The purpose is that if the enemy leaves the fortress and counterattacks from Sevastopol, we will first show weakness and retreat, then the 3rd Motorized Infantry Corps will unexpectedly outflank them. If the enemy lands at Kerch, the 3rd Motorized Infantry Corps will also quickly strike, driving the enemy into the sea. Note that the Soviet army must not be allowed to capture the bridgehead. Whoever is negligent in their duty will be subject to military law."

  The generals couldn't help but shiver, Li De took out his pocket watch, only to find that he had forgotten to wind it up again. He nudged Bao Man beside him: "Do you have anything to say? Let's set off after you're done."

  Bao Man cleared his throat and said only one sentence: "Please ask the party member officers to pay their party fees on time." Then he picked up a red leather bag.

  "Ah! Heil Hitler!" The officers watched the Fuehrer out, then sat down, unbuttoned their collars and lit cigarettes.

  Two men and three women had been waiting for a long time, Miss Adelheid came running over, helped the Fuehrer into his dark green coat and casually pressed his water glass.

  Rania wore the red coat that the Premier had given her on her birthday, looking particularly charming. She took a few steps forward and inserted her hand, which was wearing black leather gloves, into Li De's arm, the cold wind blowing Rania's red hair, occasionally lightly brushing against the Premier's face, causing his heart to flutter.

  Miss Adelheid innocently held a cup of water and followed behind, while Bowman sympathetically pulled her hand into his elbow.

  The plane flew on to Munich, and then everyone went their separate ways: Renya went to Berlin with Rita, who would be at her disposal in the following days. Miss Adelheid returned home. Liddell, Bowman, and the two lieutenants headed south along the autobahn between Munich and Salzburg, passing through Rosenheim and Kufstein, turning right onto the autobahn towards Berchtesgaden at Siegsdorf, to the government quarter at the foot of the Obersalzberg.

  Snow-covered Upper Salzburg, silver-clad and pure. The guardsmen on the second car bid farewell to them, Li De said goodbye to the remaining three people on the steps, walked into his room, Li De threw off his hat as soon as he entered the door, entered the bedroom, jumped onto the Simmons bed.

  After a while, Lin Ge brought in a steaming cup of coffee, with a stack of newspapers tucked under his arm, as well as some internal reference materials. Li De drank the coffee and browsed through the newspaper summaries, which were all about the Japanese army's victories on the international page.

  There were two things that brought Lidell rushing back from the front line: one was Dr. Todt's funeral. A man's death may have been foreseen, and on the day he met him in Crimea, Lidell found Dr. Todt looking tired and distracted, never expecting that his plane would crash into the sea on the way back. When Goebbels called, they were busy dealing with the Soviet tanks.

  The second thing is to appease the Japanese. As early as late November, the Japanese ambassador came to ask for debt and generally found him hiding east and west for a while, but in recent days, he suddenly disappeared without a trace, and Ribbentrop even suspected that it was going to tear up the Triple Alliance treaty.

  As expected, when Binetorof brought the Japanese guests over in the afternoon, there were no more "Konnichiwa"s coming from outside. At the entrance of the reception room, the female chef came over with a tray, and she habitually hid behind it, preparing to respond to his greeting, but Oshima Hiroshi didn't even glance at her.

  The head of state stretched out his arms to welcome Oshima Hiroshi, but Oshima Hiroshi stood at the door and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and read: "Memorandum of the Great Japanese Empire: Article 3 of the Triple Alliance Treaty stipulates that if one of the three contracting parties is attacked by a country not currently involved in European war or Sino-Japanese conflict, it shall provide assistance with all political, economic and military means. The brave Imperial Army of Japan has fought its way through the thorns to defeat the monsters in Southeast Asia and repel the fierce tigers in Manchuria, all for the ultimate benefit of the three countries. However, the Kingdom of Italy only follows Germany's lead, and Prime Minister Mussolini is without his own views... Oh, I grabbed the wrong one."

  "...The great Japanese Empire, with its divine bravery, has hacked its way through the thorns and brambles, beheading the evil spirits in the South Seas, and repelling the fierce tigers of Manchuria. All this is for the ultimate benefit of the three countries. However, the German Empire does not wish to fulfill its obligations as an ally of the Triple Alliance, instead choosing to watch from the sidelines, thus betraying the trust of its allies..."

  The head of the German Empire suppressed his smile and gazed intently at the jumping beard, worried that he would make an excessive remark.

  After a lengthy opening speech, Li De's legs were numb from standing when Ren Dan spoke the following words under his mustache: "The Great Japanese Empire, in accordance with the principles of punishing past mistakes and treating illnesses to save people, strives for the two allied friends to return from their misguided path and walk on the correct track. We have decided to make a final urging, to take on responsibilities early, and to share benefits."

  "Finished?" Li De looked at him with a lowered head, as if he were a student who had committed an error.

  Oshima Hiro stared with his Japanese-style small eyes, his single eyelid flipped upwards, without making a sound.

  Li De had a smile all over his face, offering Oshima Hiroshi a seat and personally pouring him tea, but he stiffly refused.

  A moment of silence, Ribbentrop attempted to break the awkward atmosphere, but he only made things worse: "Recently we have again carefully studied the Tripartite Pact, which stipulates that if one of the three countries is attacked by a country not currently at war with Europe or involved in the Sino-Japanese conflict, it should be assisted by all political, economic and military means. Obviously, your country was the first to declare war on America..."

  Oshima's buttocks were like being stung by a horsefly, and he suddenly stood up: "Even you guys say that Japan fired the first shot, why are you in cahoots with the enemy? Why do you say that Japan declared war first? Isn't America's oil embargo on Japan an act of aggression? Isn't it provocative to ask the Great Japanese Empire to withdraw from China? Isn't...?" He was so angry that he trembled, asking ten "isn't"s in a row.

  The two men were like fighting cocks, coming and going, arguing until their faces turned red and their necks thickened. The short Japanese ambassador jumped up and down, cursing, while the tall German ambassador looked down and cursed, forcing the Japanese ambassador to curse while wiping away the spittle on his face.

  Li De quietly watched the two men performing a Malaysian rooster show, even suspecting that they would pounce on each other at any moment, fiercely pinching each other's necks. Fortunately, both were gentlemen and only moved their mouths without using their hands, until they argued to the point of dizziness and shortness of breath, with their voices getting lower and lower, and single syllables increasing, then Li De stepped forward to mediate.

  Previously, Li De had exchanged opinions with Ribbentrop and perhaps was dizzy from the high-pitched voice, but he didn't say a crucial sentence. Li De took advantage of the opportunity to mediate and gave him a wink, which was caught by Oshima Hiroshi, who snorted disdainfully through his nose.

  "Mr. Ambassador, the Three-Power Treaty was developed on the basis of the 1936 Anti-Comintern Pact, and according to this treaty, we should jointly deal with the Soviet Union."

  Ribbentrop finally remembered, without any prelude, and blurted out a sentence: "You declare war on the Soviet Union, we declare war on America, no debts owed to each other, fair deal." The last two sentences are not like something a foreign minister of a great power would say, but rather the words of a champagne salesman.

  As expected, Oshima immediately seized the opportunity and shot back: "German Foreign Minister, we are now discussing matters concerning the fate of two countries and even the world. This is not a contract for buying and selling goods. You have been engaged in product marketing, can't you tell the difference between the two?"

  Ribbentrop's Adam's apple was bobbing up and down violently, his lips were tense and he could hardly speak.