Hainan Island, Wenchang City Military Government Building, Commander-in-Chief's Office.
Li Weidong and Ge Changming were sitting on the brown leather sofa chatting, while He Ying, secretary of the Secretariat, left after placing the brought tea set on the table. Of course, the two people chatting did not notice that He Ying was withdrawing.
The moment she opened the door, an inexplicable light flashed in her eyes. But because there were still two guards standing at the door, He Ying had to leave first.
"General! The plan you proposed is very good! I think the German government will definitely agree!" Ge Changming, the second-ranking figure in the Hainan Army, was lowering his head to sip a cup of tea. After listening to Li Weidong's narration, he couldn't help but admire.
Shaking his head, Li Weidong said: "Actually, I don't have much confidence in success. It just depends on Hitler's ability to control Germany!"
"Gudong... Gudong..." Perhaps because he was thirsty after talking for a long time, Li Weidong picked up the tea and took a big sip. Ge Changming, who was looking at him, felt heartbroken. That was the Dahongpao originated from Wuyi Mountain.
Tea! I only collected a little bit in total! Ge Changming felt so distressed that it felt like he was bleeding drop by drop.
Of course Li Weidong didn't know, because of this incident. After that, he and Ge Changming drank tea together again, and Ge Changming refused to take out the good tea he had collected even to death. To use his original words, Li Weidong
Drinking tea is purely like eating peonies.
At the same time, a heated discussion was taking place in Luxembourg, Germany, and the central point of discussion that triggered this issue was the news from Seekert, the leader of the visiting officer group, about a plan to purchase Helgoland-class battleships.
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Since Hitler came to power in 1933 and the Nazi Party became the actual political party in Germany, it has been quite contradictory in its stance and policies towards China. The German ruling party has also been constantly adjusting its diplomatic plans in response to changes in the international situation.
Before the Nazi Party took power, Germany was governed by the Weimar Republic. After World War I, Germany lost its interests in Shandong, China, and East Asia had already been carved up cleanly at that time. Therefore, the Weimar Republic was treating China
It has always maintained a neutral attitude on diplomatic issues. State officials and industrialists are not encouraged to directly participate in affairs with the Chinese government. The departments responsible for German import and export are also worried that this will exclude them from their role as middlemen making huge profits.
At this time, the wartime economic policies implemented by the emerging Nazi government and the need to cope with the long-term war in the future required the complete mobilization of the entire society and the storage of raw materials. In particular, some of the more scarce military resources, such as 'tungsten' and 'rare'
'With these large quantities of raw materials produced in China, the German heavy industry has an especially urgent need for 'tungsten', because once the war breaks out and faces the British blockade, it will be difficult for the German heavy industry to obtain enough raw materials from the Americas. Moreover, it is considered a place by the Americans.'
Germany doesn't want to set up another powerful country as its enemy.
Therefore, when facing the foreign policy with China, Hitler was considering that the diplomatic plan with China needed to be changed. China's huge raw materials had a very important impact on the development of Germany's military industry, and he also took a fancy to China's war potential.
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However, the Nanjing government has always been supported by the United Kingdom and the United States. The British power in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is not at all, and he has not found an opportunity to poach. It was really no choice but to find Japan. That arrogant
Arrogant island nations come as allies.
In fact, the World War II launched by Germany also had a strong sense of revenge. The "Treaty of Versailles" stipulated that Germany should compensate for the failure to pay in cash with mineral resources and industrial equipment, which aroused the dissatisfaction, anger and humiliation of the German people.
The infection quickly spread throughout Germany.
At that time, the German economy after World War I was very fragile, and only a small part of the compensation amount stipulated in the treaty was paid, but even this small part caused a great burden on the German economy and led to inflation of nearly 13%. At that time
One current article describes it this way: "A housewife goes to the mall to buy a jar of butter for spreading bread, and she has to carry a whole bundle of marks to buy it!"
At that time, the most active party in carving up Germany's overseas colonies was Japan. Logically speaking, China at that time was also a victorious country and should take back Germany's rights and interests in Shandong Peninsula. However, due to the unfairness of the Paris Agreement, the League of Nations will
German rights and interests in Shandong were transferred to Japan without the consent of the Chinese people. This also led to the May 4th Movement that took place on May 4, 1919, in Beijing, China, and was dominated by young students.
In this matter, Japan's "positive" performance also aroused resentment from the Germans. It's like: if you fight with someone, it doesn't matter if you lose, as long as you can find the place again in a few days. But if you lose,
, a Japanese 'dog' actually came to add insult to injury, so I had to kick him hard!
And when Hitler learned that a force had emerged in China that would defeat the Japanese invaders and could compete politically with the central government in Nanjing, the mysterious southeastern warlord Li Weidong came into his eyes, he knew that this was a good opportunity.
An opportunity to support a pro-German government in China. Therefore, he immediately sent a group of visiting officers to test the depth of the southeastern warlord.
The first time he noticed Li Weidong was in 1937, when the Hainan Army brazenly launched a war to invade North Vietnam, but at that time he just thought he was a bold and remote warlord. As a leader who controlled the political power of Germany, he led
How could a person who was on the path to rejuvenation in Germany pay attention to a small warlord in a remote place every day? Therefore, after that, he had no impression of Li Weidong.
However, just when Hitler had forgotten this little incident, the Hainan Army led by Li Weidong rose up strongly, defeated the Japanese invaders, and grew into a large warlord separatist in southeastern China. At this time,
Hitler knew that he could not underestimate this young man who was becoming more and more influential in China. He was able to become a warlord who controlled tens of millions of people and an area equivalent to Italy in such a short period of time. He definitely had the power to do so.
Outstanding.
Hitler was a man with a sharp vision and was good at seizing opportunities. When Li Weidong proposed the plan to sell warships, he keenly discovered that this was no longer a simple incident of a visit by an officer corps.
When he was testing Li Weidong, the other party was also testing him at the same time. This was a tacit understanding among fellow careerists.
And even if there was no plan to sell the Helgoland-class battleship this time, the cooperation plan with the Hainan Army is still inevitable. Because China has a huge consumer market, population, and resources, so Hitler believes that Germany can also
Get enough benefits from China.
Therefore, Hitler directly summoned his subordinates in Luxembourg, and at the same time asked people to notify the big guys in the heavy industry and steel industry. Today's Nazi Germany can be said to be Hitler's Germany. The fanatical propaganda made Hitler strong in the country, and these big businessmen
He was also a strong supporter of Hitler, so they quickly gathered in Luxembourg.
At the meeting, Hitler first presented the data proving the Helgoland-class battleships, which immediately attracted the attention of Marine Marshal Erich Raeder. His opinion was very obvious, that is, to capture the two Helgoland-class battleships.
Ergoland-class battleship, he believes that although the current German Navy's Scharnhorst battleship construction plan has been launched, even if it is completed, it will not become combat effective until the beginning of 40 years. The most important thing at the moment is to make up for the lack of German naval power.
Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau had a strong interest in the data of the T34 tank mentioned in the document, as well as various special weapons of the Hainan Army. As for Air Marshal Hermann Wilhelm Goering,
He didn't pay attention from the beginning, as if he didn't want to focus here, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Of course there are opponents, and there are more than one. They are mainly industrial giants. In the eyes of these industrialists, this plan is simply unreasonable, even if we don’t mention whether the Hainan Army has the ability to actually build battleships.
Simply purchasing warships from abroad will affect the economic interests of the country's industrial and commercial giants. It's like half a piece of meat in a bowl was not enough, but now one-third is given to outsiders. Who cares about this?
, no one wants to! What’s the difference between putting your hand in someone’s pocket and taking out money?
There has to be a limit to shamelessness! And now I don’t even see the shadow of the two Helgoland-class battleships, so I just rely on this data to negotiate the price. Besides, if the money is given, why can’t the warship be built?
What to do? These industrialists really think that the Chinese warlord has something wrong with his head! This is so shameless!
Therefore, regardless of political vision or economic interests, these industrial giants insisted on opposing opinions. However, the military mostly agreed with this document, and the conference room became noisy for a while.
In fact, Hitler was in favor of this plan. He believed that since Li Weidong dared to propose this plan to sell warships, it was precisely to show him that the Hainan Army had this strength. Moreover, it was not a secret that the Hainan Army had a South China Sea Fleet. He had also previously
I heard that the Japanese Pacific Fleet seemed to have suffered losses at their hands.
He very much hopes to win China into the Allied camp. But before, except for the Nanjing National Government, there was no other force in China worthy of his attention. But now the situation in China is different. The Hainan Army jumped out at this time, and it happened to have this
Strength, can this not make him ecstatic? God is blessing the German Empire!
In the end, during the fierce debate, Hitler convinced the industrial giants by promising some political benefits and then saying "Germany above all else!"