The Third Reich under the banner of the Third Empire Volume 3: The Song of Iron and Fire Chapter 9: Man cannot climb too fast

  The sound of "knocking" on the door rang out, and Xu Yang's three people stood up to turn their heads and look over. General Erich von Manstein led by General Heinz Guderian walked in. They didn't exchange any pleasantries, but came straight over.

  "This is Colonel Manstein; you will be working together from now on." Generaloberst Ehrle's words were very brief.

  Xu Yang and the other two saluted, their expressions somewhat unexpected. They seemed to think that the Defense Army sending a colonel to be in charge of preparations was not taking the 3rd Armored Division seriously enough.

  Generaloberst Heusinger saw the doubts of the young men and spoke frankly: "There will be no war on the Western Front, but it will get hot in the East. Our German colonels can do more than generals from other countries..." He paused for a moment, "The 3rd Armored Division will become the main armored force on the Eastern Front after this, you will prepare everything for the next two years because you will face a tough battle."

  He walked up to Xu Yang, took out a delicate box from his upper pocket, "I can very frankly tell you (Xu Yang), your identity is a bit complicated. Because of your existence, the development of the Third Armored Division will be much easier. You may hate us old guys for using you, but as a soldier, you have no reason to protest."

  Xu Yang's expression was very cold, he watched as General Erib took out a First Class Iron Cross medal from the box, undid his own uniform button, hung the medal on the button, and re-adjusted his military attire. A general personally awarding a medal to a captain, and personally hanging it on the button, is an honor anywhere! But Xu Yang was very cold, really very cold, he knew he was being used as a tool.

  General Eribo stared at Xuyang, wanting to find something from his expression. He only saw a face that was cold to the extreme. "Don't you want to say something?"

  The old marshal suddenly felt a bit emotional and didn't want to see a lifeless face at all.

  Xu Yang: "I know what I'm doing, and that's enough!"

  Rick and Joseph also saluted at the same time, just as Xu Yang said: As long as you understand that you are fighting for your nation, it is enough.

  Erich von Manstein is 69 years old this year, he has been working hard for Germany all his life, although some dishonorable things happened in between, but no one can deny that he contributed half of his life to Germany. He slowly walked to his office position and sat down, took out three boxes from the drawer, the structure and decoration of which were so monotonous, all of which were wooden shells.

  Manshtein met Xuyang for the first time, to be honest, Manshtein's understanding of Xuyang was limited to: this young man had an enviable background. As for ability? It seemed pretty good, there were no idiots among the Junker nobility, idiots had long been eliminated, and even if they entered the national defense army, they would not be recognized.

  "Hello! Field Marshal von Manstein." He used the honorific carefully, unsure of what to say next.

  Manstein was originally named Erich von Lewinski, born in Berlin, Germany. His father was a Prussian aristocrat and artillery general from West Prussia; Manstein was his tenth child. Soon he was adopted by his aunt's family and renamed Fritz-Erich von Manstein.

  Mansstein began his military career in 1906, initially serving as a probationary officer with the 3rd Guards Infantry Regiment. A year later, he was promoted to second lieutenant. In 1913, Mansstein was sent to study at the Berlin Military Academy. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1914. That same year, Mansstein returned to the 3rd Guards Infantry Regiment and soon became adjutant of the 2nd Reserve Guards Regiment.

  After the outbreak of World War I, Manstein served on both the Western Front and the Eastern Front. He was wounded in action, then sent to the General Staff Corps as a staff officer, where he participated in the German offensive against northern Poland. He returned to the Western Front, serving as a staff officer with the cavalry corps and infantry division. In 1915 Manstein was promoted to captain.

  Here is the translation:

  By the time Manstein reached the rank of Obersturmführer, he was limited by the Treaty of Versailles, like many other German soldiers, to remain an Obersturmführer for 12 years. In 1927, Manstein was promoted to Major. In 1929, he changed to work in the first department of the German Ministry of Defense's General Staff. In the early 1920s, Manstein married a daughter from a military family in Linz, and his eldest son was born in 1922. In the late 1920s, Manstein visited armored troops in several European countries, gaining much experience and information. In 1932, Manstein was promoted to Oberstleutnant, and in 1933 he was promoted to Oberst, at which time he was also commissioned to build the 3rd Panzer Division together with the legendary Kahr von Staaden.

  Xu Yang found it difficult to place Manshtein, saluting: "Hello! Colonel." Perhaps feeling that he was too cold, he explained, "I just returned from the Rhine to Berlin today."

  What can Manstein say? As a member of the Junker nobility, he deeply knows that when the Junkers have not yet recognized someone, they will not explain anything. The explanation behind Xu Yang undoubtedly makes him feel respected.

  "These two are my companions..." Xu Yang introduced Rik and Joseph to Manstein, "From now on we will work together, they are excellent soldiers."

  Joseph is a descendant of the Austro-Hungarian royal family. After World War I, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, young Joseph secretly escaped to Germany with the help of loyal servants. He joined the German army after growing up. During his service in the National Defense Army, his identity did not receive any special treatment. On the contrary, Xu Yang's requirements for him were extremely strict, almost to the point of intentional difficulty. In the early days, he was very indignant and protested to Xu Yang, but was rejected. What Xu Yang said at that time is still remembered by Joseph now, as for what it was, no one knows except the two parties involved.

  Mansstein had conducted an investigation when he received the order and found that Streck and the two lieutenants had a very strange way of getting along, as if they were doing something.

  That lieutenant named Rick used to be a deserter, unable to find use anywhere, but at Stargate, he was miraculously reused. In fact, it turned out that this guy had a knack for guessing what the enemy wanted to do, and living almost just to figure out what others were thinking.

  Joseph, a noble descendant of the Austro-Hungarian imperial family, had enormous resources at his disposal and an unusual relationship with Strack, more like that of a superior and subordinate than a mentor and protégé. After their encounter, Joseph disappeared for a period of time, only to reappear when the Strack family's finances became exceptionally robust, gradually becoming the leader in German military industry. Germany began to pay extraordinary attention to the situation in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, with the government making multiple adjustments to its diplomatic strategy.

  "These three men are not simple!" Manshtein was a very clever military man, he knew that the 3rd Armored Division was used by the government and the Ministry of Defense to let Strelkov... or maybe add Joseph, this division was a bridge for young guys to transition, what they had to do was to get more points so that they could climb higher.

  At this time, General Erib moved. The things in his hand were very eye-catching, which were three different military epaulets and collar badges. He walked to the front of Xu Yang and the others, first picked up the pink-based, two wheat ears intersecting, one gold-colored school star middle school shoulder badge, removed the upper lieutenant shoulder badge from Xu Yang's shoulder, and replaced it with the middle school shoulder badge. Patted Xu Yang's shoulder, indicating that Xu Yang would lean forward, and then removed Xu Yang's upper lieutenant collar badge and replaced it with a yellow-based, Brandenburg gate-shaped middle school collar badge.

  "Although I personally think you should spend a few more years at the grassroots level, ... your efforts have been recognized by all the national defense troops, great! You are now a lieutenant colonel." Marshal Eribu couldn't see any surprised expression on Xu Yang's face, which made him a bit depressed. "Are you not satisfied?"

  To be honest, Xu Yang was just distracted, and it wasn't until General Eribu's loud inquiry that he snapped back to attention, "No..."

  The words had not been finished, and Eribru Marshal puffed his beard and glared at him, "What? You're a hard-to-satisfy little madman. Others have served for many years before becoming a junior captain. Are you still not satisfied?"

  Xu Yang should give a good explanation, he said very seriously: "Marshal, please listen to me. I think my promotion is too fast, this is not a good thing."

  It's not like a lieutenant colonel who is still under twenty years old sounds awkward no matter how you listen to it.