Chapter 9: The Price of Excellence

  The head of the Army Training Bureau, Walter von Brauchitsch, held a report in his hand and looked at it. Every time he saw something he agreed with, a smile would appear on his face, and every time he saw something he didn't understand, his eyebrows would move up and down, looking very interesting.

  The door to the office was tapped lightly, and before von Brauchitsch could react, it had been pushed open and a man wearing the uniform of an Army General walked in. Leeb was a stern-looking man who currently held the position of Commander of Military District VII (Munich) and commander of the 7th Division.

  "Walter, what's so urgent that you had me fetched?" Apparently, Leeb was quite familiar with von Brauchitsch.

  Feng-Blauichi reluctantly put down the file in his hand, his face filled with excitement: "I found a personal talent!"

  Leb glanced at the documents on the table, which were labeled "Shooting Theory", "Fire Network Formation Theory" and "Infantry 'Company' Unit Combat Concept". He asked: "Oh? Is this the person who wrote this report?"

  "Of course!" Feng-Bo excitedly stood up: "What a novel theory! This person is truly a genius, look... this includes shooting theories and methods. Genius! The author's intention was to describe the shooting method of firearms, but I saw cannon firing theory in it, which repeatedly mentioned 'shooting elements' and 'air compression' and so on. Good heavens! This person is a genius who surpasses all weapons!"

  Lerch was intrigued by von Brauchitsch's performance, he wanted to reach out and grab the documents on the table, but was preempted by von Brauchitsch who picked them up and held them close to his chest.

  Feng-Brauchitsch was a bit dissatisfied: "Don't be so rough, you'll mess up the file page!"

  Can't get it and will be more curious, plus the various actions of Feng-Brault, Leb was completely aroused with curiosity, he waved his hand: "Old friend! How can I express my opinion when you call me like this? What treasure makes you so nervous that even an old friend comes and doesn't want to ask your beautiful lady to bring me a cup of coffee?"

  "Von Brauchitsch said sternly, 'This is the property of the Army! Do you understand? So don't be so rough! And... nothing can be placed on the table, and the coffee you mentioned is not allowed to appear!'"

  Lerch only now discovered that everything related to the office had been removed, the windows were tightly locked, and even the small fish tank on Feng's desk was gone. It can be imagined how tight Feng's nerves were!

  "Improved; the theory of advantageous firepower, the theory of concentrated raids, new; the theory of gun operation, the theory of trajectories... Who wrote these? Good heavens! It's that Munich whiz kid... uh! No! Now he should be called the Munich genius Strachwitz, it was that little guy who wrote them! God! It's hard to imagine what kind of genius he is."

  Lebu was stunned, his mouth agape, and reflexively said: "You're talking about that little guy who always goes to the military department to translate documents? That 'rock' who always runs to the infantry barracks to watch soldiers train?"

  "Stones?" von Brauchitsch sat down again, "Oh! You mean little Strack likes to keep still and watch the soldiers drill? Right! He often does that! I heard that little Strack has the nickname ' Junker Licht' in Munich?"

  Lebu's surprised expression on his face disappeared and he was overjoyed in his heart, "Old friend, you should have said earlier that this report was written by the little guy."

  "Why?" Von Brauchitsch still held the document tightly against his chest.

  "He's mine."

  "No!!!" von Brauchitsch jumped up dramatically, his movement almost overturning the table, and shouted at Leeb's nose: "Little Stalingrad is a national issue!!!"

  "Because I am the commander of the Munich military district, and you are only the head of the training bureau, and besides, you are in Berlin. Ha ha... have you forgotten where the cadet corps' training camp is?"

  Feng didn't give up, "The little guy seems to have studied the basic training of soldiers? Oh! And he likes to eat Chinese food, I remember that there is a very famous Chinese restaurant on Wilhelm Street, what's the banquet like? Ah ha……I forgot for a moment, next time bring the little guy over to take a look."

  Leb lit a cigarette with a flourish, "Of course, of course! My Seventh Legion is the little guy's favorite place to go, he even ran drills and did shooting training with the soldiers. You know? That Manchu-Han full-course meal, what was that dish? Ah yes! Steamed pumpkin is really delicious." He licked his lips with great satisfaction, "Next time I'll have my little Starks introduce some more delicious Chinese dishes."

  Feng Bulaichi obviously lost this battle, but he still showed a stubborn side. "The assistant instructor of the Young Sprouts Military Academy, Eugene, is my direct subordinate. He and the little guy have a very good relationship. Last time, they even established an unbreakable friendship because of the 'leak' incident."

  Leb's breathing paused for a moment, "General Feng-Xi Ke came to see me a few days ago. He hoped I could arrange a company to conduct confrontation exercises with the cadets of the Sprout Military Academy. I attach great importance to this confrontation exercise and decided to go in person, hmm... maybe I'll stay at the Sprout Military Academy for a while."

  "Outrageous!!!" Von Brauchitsch jumped up, "This is dereliction of duty! A regiment, for heaven's sake! Does a regiment need a lieutenant general to supervise it?"

  Von Brauchitsch's left hand opened the drawer of the table, and his right hand quietly reached in to grasp the pistol inside. He intended to eliminate this general who had abandoned his post for the Ministry of War, the enemy of the Training Bureau, the pest of the state, and the public enemy of the world.

  Leroux seemed to have discovered von Brauchitsch's intentions, and with a suave gesture, he drew his pistol and placed it on the table, the muzzle pointing at von Brauchitsch. He blew out a beautiful smoke ring. "The bullets in this pistol are from the Stargard munitions factory, an improved version of the intermediate cartridge style. This type of bullet has great penetrating power; I've heard that when someone is hit, the bullet won't stay inside their body."

  Feng-Brauchitsch swallowed hard and nodded seriously to show he understood, and also placed both hands honestly where Leb could see them.

  Lerch laughed heartily, not putting away the pistol, "Old friend, come to Munich for a visit when you're free. At that time, I'll introduce my little Strak to you. He's a sturdy and handsome young fellow." After finishing speaking, he stood up and left the office.

  Feng Bulaichi was speechless, his face looked very decadent. He suddenly thought of something and burst out laughing: "The Young Shoots Military Academy belongs to the Ministry of National Defense, so the transfer order of that little guy is not in the hands of the big shots in the military department? Hmm... what kind of gift does Marshal like?"