Chapter 16: The Sacred Land of Weisi Plan (Part 2)

  "Is it locked up? Good. I have something for you to take care of, oh...? A certain Storm Troop Lieutenant named Wolf-Martin-Heinrich has been looking for me? Understood, you will arrange them at home. Yes, give him everything, and also, trouble Forster to come over, I need his help with something very important."

  The phone was silent for a few minutes before Foster's voice came on, "Young master, something big is going to happen tonight!"

  Xu Yang certainly knew that something big was going to happen, and this afternoon he learned from Lebu that the National Socialist Party would have a good show tonight. What's the good show? Oh... my god! What other good show could it be? All signs indicate that the Stormtroopers are in trouble, or the entire National Socialist Party is in trouble! The Holy Land of Weisi has always been the gathering place for the leaders of the Stormtroopers, and Lebu led a regiment to set up camp in the forest near the Holy Land of Weisi, obviously to monitor the movements of the National Socialist Party.

  Lebu even secretly said to win Xu Yang's favor, "The forest is very suitable for outlaws to hide from some bad things. We are standing by the river 'watching' if the fishermen will intentionally release the fish."

  Surveillance! The surveillance squad is also monitoring Hitler to see if there are any fish that have fallen into the net. From this action, the national defense army can know whether Hitler is acting or has fulfilled his promise!

  Xu Yang heard too much information from Lebu's words, this regiment led by the lieutenant general himself was in charge of this direction, and some troops were scattered around the Holy See of Weisi for close surveillance. Once Hitler did something that disappointed the National Defense Army, then... they would all go to hell!

  "I need you to find someone. Leon Foster? Yes, that's him, the very astute fellow, still as sharp as ever."

  "Foster on the other end of the phone was obviously a bit nervous, 'Young Master, you're playing with fire, the old master will oppose it.'"

  "No!" Xu Yang said seriously, "Father will agree with my idea, he knows how to get the most benefit. Hitler is demolishing his own bridge piers, he... sees the benefits but throws aside the potential dangers, he's a born adventurer! Can't you see that the biggest beneficiary of this deal is the military? Once they lose their gun, they'll be beaten back to their original shape, but that has nothing to do with us, as long as we gain from it, it's a victory!"

  Foster said: "Perhaps you would not think so if you knew a few things. The adventurer you speak of came to see the old gentleman a fortnight ago, accompanied by that G?ring, whose secret police have already enlisted a large number of Storm Troop leaders who have sworn allegiance to Hitler."

  "Of course it should be like this..." Xuyang gripped the phone tightly, "We are followers, you know? Followers need their own strength! In the safe at my bedside, there is a document... Yes, still with the original password, those names on the list, arrange them in..."

  "I see," Foster said calmly. "You're snatching food from a tiger's mouth."

  Xu Yang laughed eerily, "No, no, it's not me who is snatching food from the tiger's mouth, it's 'a member of the national defense army like me' who is snatching food. I'm doing this for the sake of the national defense army, do you understand?"

  Foster was quite helpless. "You're always so arbitrary. Since the old master has agreed to let you do this, I'll go and do it right away. But are you sure the National Defense Army will open the military camp?"

  "You're always so gloomy." Xuyang loosened his grip on the phone, "Of course, you go find your father to get the transfer order signed by General Eribu. Ah, this order was originally prepared in case of an emergency, to borrow troops from the national defense army, now it's being used."

  Foster was shocked. "I have to say, the Starks are a bunch of... uh..." He managed to come back to his senses before finishing the sentence.

  Xu Yang took that sentence as a compliment, "The National Defense Army is eager to get fresh blood, those who have undergone simple training are the best supplements. Hmm...? On the premise that they are loyal to the country and not to 'individuals'. I'm not as capable or farsighted as you think, this strategy wasn't thought of by one person, it's the idea of the General Staff Department, the Strak family is the agent used by the National Defense Army to contact civilians..."

  Xu Yang couldn't make some more obscure things clear. Don't underestimate the regular army of a country, no matter how restricted it is, once it wants to explode its power, it's absolutely not something that a civilian organization can contend with!

  Xu Yang hung up the phone and turned around to quietly look at Feng Xike and Lebu.

  This is the heart of the Sapling Army Academy, von Zecktor's office.

  Leb looked very surprised, he couldn't think of what language to use to describe the horror of the Stark family. He thought: "Maybe I don't have the qualifications to touch the core of the country yet... No, that's not right, I'm a lieutenant general and the commander of the Munich military district!" He was really depressed.

  Feng Weixi apparently didn't know about these either, he thought he was old and should be excluded from the strategic core. However, he wasn't unhappy, on the contrary, he felt extremely happy. The old general who had been loyal to the country all his life felt very relieved, the country's strength was mature enough to handle internal conflicts, how could this not make him feel relieved?

  "I won't ask what's going to happen next." Feng Xike walked over, put down the phone and patted Xu Yang on the shoulder encouragingly, saying warmly: "You really are a talent not to be underestimated. Actually... Stark, you shouldn't get mixed up in the dirty political whirlpool, let the grown-ups handle it. In three years... no! Five years, you'll shine with your own light... as a member of the National Defense Army!"

  Xu Yangmu stood rooted to the spot, his head spinning. History had changed, really changed - was it himself who had changed history, or had history chosen a better prospect? Would this choice push Germany over the cliff, or onto a flat road?

  ……

  Never envy anyone, for the pay and return are in direct proportion. Envy will only bring greater pressure, if you don't have the ability to do more, then... try starting from what you can do!

  ……

  Hitler gazed out at the scenery with a melancholy mood, his breathing slow, as if he wanted to stop breathing altogether. Fragments of his time with R?hm kept appearing in his mind, remembering when they first returned to Munich after leaving the army, and the scene where R?hm shot dead the rioters who destroyed the German royal monument.

  Remember when I was struggling to find a job and that good fellow who seriously read reports in the mayor's office.

  Adolf Hitler? Mayor, you should find this man a good job...

  Hitler lowered his head, gazing at the Iron Cross medal on his chest. He reached out to touch it, as if he had returned to the trenches amidst gunfire and explosions, surrounded by the stench of gunpowder, watching his comrades clutch their heads with open mouths, gasping for air.

  A jolt awakened Hitler from his reverie, and he gazed at a small tavern by the roadside, where an open window framed a youth standing on a table reciting something. He recalled his own first speech...

  When I was a child, I heard a story about the Holy Grail. Only those who are pure can find it. Our country also had a sacred history, but we encountered difficult times, our army became disorganized, and our economy suffered damage, but this is not poverty, nor is it scarcity, it's our own problem...

  Hitler smiled, the past was really worth remembering. Who would have thought that a poor boy who retired from the army would become a heavyweight figure today? He clenched his fists and his eyes became determined. If some people were destined to be eliminated, then he should be the one to eliminate them!

  The sky had gradually brightened, and Hitler and his entourage finally arrived at the sanatorium in Wiesbaden where Westerholm was staying.

  There was only one stormtrooper standing guard at the entrance of the sanatorium. He didn't tense up when he saw the truckload of soldiers approaching, perhaps in his mind, Romm's welcome was higher than anyone could have imagined. He lazily walked towards the first truck to ask something, and the rifle sticking out from the window made him shut up quickly.

  The stormtrooper saw Hitler emerge from the car, his face filled with disbelief. He wanted to shout something loudly, but a dagger thrust into his throat from behind only allowed him to make low, gasping sounds. In fact, the stormtrooper had merely intended to salute Hitler.

  Dozens of trucks kept jumping down armed soldiers, and the SS quickly surrounded the entire sanatorium under Himmler's leadership without making a sound. G?ring led the secret police to follow Hitler into the house with a momentum. G?ring had been waiting for this day for a long time, and he was resentful of asking why that infamous R?hm, who liked men, was higher than himself!

  The secret police first took control of the sleeping SA leaders, not allowing them to make any noise. Then G?ring led Hitler to R?hm's bedroom, he apparently knew the location of R?hm's bedroom. Seeing Hitler standing in front of the bedroom door without moving, he urged secretly, "My Führer, we must act immediately!"

  Hitler looked at Goering with red eyes and roughly pushed open the door...

  Rohm sat on the edge of the bed, where a handsome young man was half-reclining. When Rohm saw Hitler enter, he stood up and asked calmly, "Adolf, have you come to arrest me?"

  Hitler couldn't bring himself to meet R?hm's gaze, fearing he would soften. "You're under arrest!" The pistol in his hand was trembling, and his mood had turned extremely foul.

  Rome calmly put on his clothes, and as he walked out of the bedroom, he turned back for a moment. "Adolf, you will regret it." His words were more like a sigh than a threat.

  Hitler let out a roar, raised his hand to the ceiling and pulled the trigger. "Bang...bang...bang..." The shots rang out until he had emptied the clip. He stormed out of the bedroom, so excited that he stumbled in the corridor and fell into another room. There he found himself in Heines' room, where he discovered Heines, one of Roehm's closest associates, trembling with a young stormtrooper who was about eighteen years old.

  "Heinz! You have 5 minutes to get dressed, otherwise I'll shoot you on the spot!" Hitler yelled, holding his unloaded pistol, his finger having already pulled the trigger multiple times.

  ……

  In the forest near the sanatorium, Leeb was looking through his binoculars. From the beginning to now, since Hitler led people rushing in, he had already ordered the whole camp to prepare for battle. The sudden gunfire that had just sounded made him excited for a while, but unfortunately, the gunfire stopped quickly.

  A lieutenant colonel ran over to report, "Your Excellency, the troops from other departments are ready and can counterattack at any time."

  Lebu's eyes stared fixedly in the direction of the nursing home, "Is the howitzer test done?"

  The lieutenant colonel, who was sent from the headquarters to coordinate the action, had no excitement on his face. He even looked a bit worried. "Sir, the howitzer has been calibrated and is ready to fire at any time. However... sir! The order from the headquarters is that we cannot launch an attack unless we are threatened."

  Lev lowered his binoculars. "Major Sheleral, your orders are to cooperate with me fully."

  "Yes!" Shereel bowed and then vanished into the depths of the forest.

  "Hitler, let's make a bet!" Leb raised his binoculars again and stared intently at the sanatorium. He had discovered something - one of the windows on the second floor was open, and someone jumped out from it, looking very flustered.

  "He's running this way!" A smile appeared at the corner of Leub's mouth, "Oh... oh! It's Rom's confidant Heinz. This kid is really lucky. Baby, run faster, come here..."

  There was a loud crack of a rifle and Haynes fell into the bushes, which left Leb utterly dismayed.

  ……

  Hitler emerged from the sanatorium with Himmler and G?ring, but while their faces were flushed with excitement and anticipation, Hitler's face was dark and foreboding.

  Rohm and the heads of his storm troops were pushed to one side, scrambling very disheveledly onto the truck under the rough pushing and shoving of armed soldiers. As Rohm was being led away on the truck, he turned around to look at Hitler, who laughed and pushed aside the armed guards, sauntering up himself with a nonchalant air.

  Compared to Rome, some of the squad leaders were dragged to the laundry room of the sanatorium without even having time to put on their clothes, and they were tied up like dumplings and rolled around randomly. The secret police's escort action can only be described with the two words "rough" and "violent", as if driving a group of pigs about to be slaughtered.

  ……

  In the distance, Leb's line of sight kept shifting back and forth between Rome and Hitler, and he said in a voice that only he could hear: "The Last Hero."

  ……