Chapter Seventeen The Invisible Hand

  Soldiers of the Seventh Army District, fully armed, patrolled the streets in pursuit of possible putschists. The lower-ranking stormtroopers were frightened and hid at home, afraid to venture out; from morning till evening the sound of gunfire was almost uninterrupted in Munich.

  From dawn till evening, more than 200 Stormtroop leaders were taken to Munich's prisons for detention, and another 80 or so Stormtroop leaders lost contact.

  Men in black uniforms, secret police, were roaming around with a list in their hands. Their orders were to arrest or shoot on sight anyone who resisted.

  Some unimportant individuals were also affected, their doors were roughly pried open, men in black uniforms rushed in, confirmed the target and shot...

  Whether a musician, the owner of some factory, a learned professor or a prominent politician, anyone on the list was fair game for the secret police to shoot!

  Klossner was absolutely a ruthless executioner, from dawn to dusk he alone shot and killed twenty-seven targets on the list, he looked down at the list in his hand, and one name caught his interest - Mo Li Ge.

  Morgenthau was a journalist and editor who initially admired Hitler but later became fiercely opposed to him. In his early years, he had listened to one of Hitler's speeches in a small beer hall, and Hitler's charismatic stage presence had deeply impressed him, leading him to believe that Hitler was a man fighting for Germany.

  Later, Morgenthau invited Hitler to his home for an exclusive interview. He saw another side of Hitler and felt that Hitler's heart was full of arrogant ambition. From then on, he began to oppose Hitler in the newspaper and lost his job as a result.

  At this time, Mo Li Ge was in his office drafting a new manuscript, the manuscript was still secretly handed over to him about the scandal of Rome. Suddenly, he heard the noise downstairs, and before he could react, the glass door of his office had been pushed open, and the person who walked in was Klossner.

  "You're under arrest!" Klossner waved the list in his hand, walking over to pull out the sheet of paper from the typewriter. "Heh heh... you little clown..."

  Mo Li Ge was knocked down by a punch, his shattered glasses pierced into his skin and he bled profusely. He tried to get up but was kicked in the waist again and rolled over to the bookshelf.

  Klossner drew the pistol from his waistband, cocked it and slowly walked over to Morgenthau who was lying on the ground in agony. He put the gun to his head... 'Bang' Fresh blood and brain matter splattered all over Klossner's body. Morgenthau's body went limp on the ground, his eyes still open until death.

  ……

  Head of Departmental Affairs at the Central Transportation Ministry, Erich Krausner had just come home from work and was barely able to take off his coat and put it on the hook when he heard a knock at the door. He went over and opened it to find a helmeted SS man standing there with a weapon in hand, glaring at him angrily.

  Erich-Krausner's intuition told him that this was not going to be good, his first reaction was to try and slam the door shut and then run into the bedroom and lock the door. Unfortunately Erich-Krausner only managed to grab hold of the door frame before it was kicked open by some force which made him break out in a cold sweat as he turned around and ran towards the bedroom.

  Gildisch was Himmler's confidant, and the purpose of this trip was naturally to arrest Erich-Krausner or shoot him directly. Gildisch never liked complicated procedures, and many times he preferred to use bullets to communicate with people. He comfortably threw away the cigarette butt, took the rifle from the SS man's hand, raised it, made an aiming pose, and pulled the trigger. 'Bang' The bullet hit Erich-Krausner's occipital bone...

  "Who's next?" Jill Deitsch seemed to be asking what they were having for their next meal with such nonchalance.

  The SS man next to him walked over to check Erich Krahner's body, and after determining he was dead, placed a pistol in Krahner's hand to make it look like suicide. He then looked up and said: "Karl Stutzer, leader of the Berlin Stormtroopers."

  Gildy twirled her hair around her finger, "I hate flying, it's just not safe."

  Suddenly, the door was kicked open again and five 'secret police' with Sturmgewehr 1928 entered. The leader, Wolf-Martin Heinrich, had apparently heard the previous conversation and simply said "The Führer's order, aim..." The other four 'secret police' raised their guns and aimed, giving Gildisch and his seven team members no time to think. A loud shout: "Fire!!!"

  Giles Tillotson did not believe until his death that his comrades would shoot at them, and he still wanted to pose for a photo, but the bullets had already turned him and his team members into pumpkins.

  This time, Heinrich's team members were examining the bodies of Gildisch and his gang. The team member who was examining the body even spat on Gildisch's face. He saw Erich-Klausner's body lying in front of the bedroom door, with regret, "The target to be rescued has died, our mission has failed."

  Heinrich looked very distressed, this was his first time doing a job for the Strack family, and he didn't expect to waste time because of fear of being discovered, resulting in the target he was supposed to save being killed.

  This group of former stormtroopers, dressed in the uniforms of the secret police, quickly left Wilhelmstrasse and moved on to the home of another rescue target, this time not choosing their route with such care.

  It's all too complicated, since noon the day before yesterday, gun battles have been breaking out in various parts of Germany, sometimes between the SS and the Gestapo, sometimes between different units of the SS, and even the SA stormtroopers joined in around 3 pm. Finally, Hindenburg had to intervene by ordering the Reichswehr to restore order in the name of the President, and the gun battles gradually subsided, but it seems that everyone knew that Germany was ill and needed a major operation.

  On the morning of April 28 to the night of the 29th, more than 320 people were killed in two days, including over 200 Stormtrooper leaders. The sound of rifle volleys from executions at the Schleissheim camp echoed throughout the day near the camp, with chilling cries of "Fuhrer's orders! Aim, fire!" as row after row of men in civilian clothes or brown SA uniforms were led out to stand before a heap of corpses against the wall and fell into pools of blood.

  ……

  Hitler sat glumly in his office at the Nazi Party headquarters on Brienner Strasse, having just smashed three telephones.

  The first was the news of R?hm's death in prison, which he refused to believe was suicide and thought must have been a stupid assassination by someone within the party. Himmler was the prime suspect, this guy being a revengeful fool, but Hitler didn't have time to deal with it now.

  The second was the news of his own niece, Geli, committing suicide in her apartment. Hitler nearly collapsed; the pistol she had used to kill herself was one he had given her for self-defense, and it had become the instrument of her death at his own hands. Hitler couldn't understand why she would do such a thing when he loved her so much and had provided everything for her, even buying an apartment for her protection at great expense. Why?!!!

  The last message thoroughly drove Hitler into a pathological frenzy, he felt that the whole world was against him, it was obviously a very good action to eliminate dissenters, why did so many enemies wearing his own uniforms suddenly appear to stop the SS and Gestapo's actions!

  And then, those detestable Jews, how did they suddenly disappear? The people on the list suddenly all disappeared!!! Those Jewish bastards who advocated strange scientific theories, they just disappeared like air, who is opposing themselves?

  "National Defense Army!? No, no, it shouldn't be them, they are a group of reputable and conservative Prussian aristocrats. Who is it? WHO!!!"

  ……

  Hitler's eagerly anticipated letter of praise had not arrived, and almost every five minutes a phone call came into the Nazi Party headquarters, each one bringing another piece of bad news from party officials around the country.

  The Weimar Republic government of Hindenburg merely issued a brief statement, and having contained the situation within acceptable limits, there was no further comment. People from all walks of life were tight-lipped about the news of purging the SA leaders, and newspapers in various regions mysteriously carried headlines promoting harmony.

  The propaganda organs of the Kuomintang have also fallen silent, they are too ashamed to publicize their own internal scandals.

  When Hitler was incapacitated, Halder, who had previously given the impression of being weak-willed, stepped forward to take charge of the internal affairs of the Nazi Party.

  Hitler was grief-stricken over the death of his niece, and he believed that Hall had not been a threat. The weak and useless head of the Stark family was only good for adding bricks to his own business. Apparently, Hitler spent all day hiding in Geli's bedroom, unwilling to see anyone.

  This is Hitler's false appearance to the outside world, although sad, but he will not degenerate because of such a little difficulty. Time, Hitler needs time to think clearly and understand who is against himself!

  At this time, Hal was in the office prepared for him by Hess in the Barlow Palace, meeting with many National Socialist Party officials. Hal is not a good leader, no matter how he changes his attire, that weak image will not change in a short period of time.

  Two burly men in black suits stood beside Harl, these two men had only appeared in everyone's line of sight last night, and Harl kept them by his side at all times under the pretext that he needed security guarantees.

  A influential family head with two burly bodyguards is nothing out of the ordinary, however... these two bodyguards seem to be too eye-catching, anyone can tell at a glance that they must be from the National Defense Army!

  Ehrenfort, Colonel of the Defense Army's Berlin Military District's Army Intelligence Agency, excels at gathering intelligence and hand-to-hand combat, can proficiently use any firearm. Jacob, Lieutenant Colonel of the Defense Army's Bremen Military District, is calm in demeanor, familiar with social etiquette of high society, speaks several foreign languages, his appearance earns him favor from ladies in various settings. These two received direct orders from Headquarters to come and ensure the safety of the Stak family head.

  Jong-un and the National Defense Army are two in one, there's nothing surprising about that. What's important now is how to eliminate the crisis of the National Socialist Party. If possible, these cadres of the National Socialist Party yearn for their vice president to use his good relationship with the National Defense Army to improve the current situation.

  Himmler is a fool, but not all high-ranking officials of the Nazi Party are fools. G?ring is a sensitive politician who has already sensed something wrong and can be said to have no good feelings towards Harald, who has Junker nobility status, and he also received direct instructions from Hitler; secretly monitoring every move of the Stahlecker family.

  There is no such thing as a seamless garment in the world, and there will always be loopholes. Gorin's subordinates reported that some of the Stormtrooper leaders were taking refuge in Strack's home, evading this great purge. Those Stormtrooper leaders even led their troops to seek refuge in military camps across the country, and the National Defense Army accepted them, with a terrifying number of over 500,000 people. Now, those 'rebellious' Stormtroopers are safely training in the military camps, and some have already changed into the gray uniforms of the National Defense Army.

  "Damn it! I finally know why these Junkers have been supplying the Stormtroopers all along! They've been buying people's hearts for years, these rich Junker pigs are premeditated! G?ring didn't say out loud what he was thinking, but now the Nazi Party is like a wounded lion that needs time to recover. Once this lion regains its strength, all opponents and plotters will be dead!!!"

  Hess was absolutely a veteran of the Nazi Party, he joined the party when Hitler had not yet risen and always followed the leader Hitler. He is not a person who is good at fighting for power and interests, many times, he is more willing to disguise his talents. Many capable people, or those who threatened Hitler's position, have disappeared, only he is still safe and sound. When Hitler decided to promote Halder as Deputy Führer, he asked Hess for his opinion, and Hess replied that he fully obeyed the leader's arrangement.

  Goebbels was explaining the current crisis of the Nazi Party, this excellent Minister of Propaganda, without his usual smile on his face. "The local party branches are in a state of panic, they demand that the party headquarters come up with a plan or else they will defect to other parties. The ordinary supporters are scared off by the Stennes affair, if we don't come up with effective measures soon, we will lose a large number of votes, and the prospects for the elections two years from now are no longer optimistic."

  From the brink of victory to the depths of a dark valley, this phrase could not be more apt in describing the situation of the Kuomintang.

  Harl sat quietly listening, neither commenting nor issuing orders, occasionally lifting his coffee cup to take a sip.

  "Force! Force suppression! Traitors will be eliminated by bullets, my SS can accomplish this mission well!" Himmler seemed to have no intelligence at all. "The Führer once promised me that after the success of Operation Weserübung, the SA would be reorganized and placed under my control. What about the Armed SS? It's a great title!"

  Hans Dang wanted to stop his wife from speaking, but Helena didn't care at all. She thought the success of the National Socialist Party was her own hard work. "We currently have a crisis, and the big financiers in various places have indicated that if we can't control the situation, they will stop their financial aid to us." Her tone had lost its usual warmth, and she was more worried about the prospects.

  After almost all the senior officials present had finished speaking, Hal finally stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen! The crisis is not outside, but inside. If we can't calm down, the sandbox will collapse faster." He motioned to Jacob to distribute the documents in the briefcase to everyone present. "On days when the leader is not here, we must be stronger and calmer. Ladies and gentlemen, please read the document first, and then we'll discuss what to do next."

  ……

  Young Shoots Military School

  Leroux brought back a man who carried Heinze back wounded.

  Haines, this Roma's confidant, was really too lucky, the bullet pierced his lungs and he actually survived under the rescue of military doctors.

  At this time, Xu Yang and his companions were having a midnight revelry in the dormitory to celebrate their victory, which was tacitly approved by Feng Xue and the teaching assistants. The group of young people were delighted that they had made some contributions, and it seemed that they had all forgotten that they were just little demons who delivered messages for their families.

  They asked Xu Yang, "What is your brain made of?"