Empire in Progress

Chapter 71: Raid on the Rhineland (6)

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During these few days at home, Lin Wei responded to Linda or his parents' requests. Living with his family was a must-have happiness, and immersing himself in trivial matters was sometimes an ordinary happiness. For example, going shopping with Linda was something that Lin Wei would never go back to before. But now Lin Wei is very willing to enjoy this kind of life. He likes to watch Linda look happy to buy a small trinket and discuss it. Which sausage is better

Of course, it would not be so pleasant to share such a heartwarming thing with a bunch of shadows. No one wants to go shopping with a bunch of military police. Lin Wei talked with the military police captain who followed Lin Wei. It turned out that these military police were Heydrich's men, it turned out that Heydrich was concerned about Lin Wei's safety and gave these 'military police' orders to follow Lin Wei wherever he went. Although Lin Wei was grateful for Heydrich's concern, he always felt a little uncomfortable. Finally, Lin Wei gave in. In order to prevent these "gendarmes" from violating Heydrich's orders, Lin Wei pretended that he had not seen these people. , but they had to keep that one in the dark so that Lin Wei wouldn't see it.

Just when Lin Wei was living a happy life in Essen, the international situation changed. A few days later, the situation gradually became clear. The British government adopted a detached attitude. The French did not receive support from the British, and the French government became independent. Facing Hitler's challenge, he hesitated a little, and in the end hesitated and tended to compromise. With the mediation of the British government, he finally decided to talk to solve the problem.

The British still want to maintain the balance of power on the European continent, so they want to support the rise of Germany, but the French are no longer so confident in facing their own thousand-year feud. After all, France paid a huge price in the last war, and now there are still domestic There was no return to normal, so we had to compromise. This was the beginning of the appeasement policy.

For France, it was the beginning of the end. Its allies in the east, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia, were suddenly faced with the fact that France was unwilling to fight against German aggression in order to maintain the security system that the French government itself had taken the lead in establishing with great difficulty. But the problem doesn't stop there. These Eastern Allies began to understand that even if France was not so conformist, France would soon be unable to provide them with much assistance as Germany desperately built a western wall of defense behind the Franco-German border. They know that the establishment of this fortress defense line will soon change the strategic situation in Europe to their disadvantage. France has 100 divisions and they dare not repel three German battalions. Then when the German army attacks the east, it will be even harder for them to expect France to be willing to shed blood and sacrifice its young people to attack the difficult-to-break German fortifications.

Regarding Germany's actions to rearm the Rhineland, the Americans chose to watch from the other side. The British hoped to support Germany against the Soviet Union. The Soviets hoped to divert the trouble to the west. The French chose to compromise. The ultimate beneficiary was the Germans. Now Germany has begun to move forward. A solid step has been taken, and I don’t know who will be unlucky next.

In fact, France also has its own difficulties. The economic crisis from 2029 to 2033 also dealt a huge blow to France. France, which has not emerged from the economic crisis for a long time, has a high fiscal deficit and a turbulent domestic situation. The people want peace and hate war. , it can be said that the French's current attitude towards war is completely opposite to that of the Germans. People in Germany now generally hope that the war will come soon so that they can avenge their shame.

Under the current circumstances, without the support of the British, France would not go to war with Germany and risk losing both sides.

The victory in the Rhine stimulated the government and the Wehrmacht, and also greatly improved the people's self-esteem and self-confidence. Under a deliberate propaganda, the people began to prepare for war under the leadership of the government. This kind of war preparation does not mean yelling, they put their enthusiasm into their work. It seems that everyone knows that there will be a war in Germany in the future. If they are not prepared now, nothing can be done in the future.

In order to rectify its armaments, the government issued a "State Volume" at the suggestion of Schalt. The National Defense Institute is a purely fictitious organization whose capital is provided by major arms manufacturers. The German government uses this kind of securities to pay for arms purchases. Under the guarantee of Deutsche Bank, these securities will not be cashed after they are handed over to the arms manufacturers, or the cashing period will be postponed as long as possible, and the interest will be paid by the government. This is equivalent to Deutsche Bank extending a huge credit to the government.

This measure was very successful. The government's money for armament rectification was not obtained from taxes from the bottom of society, but was exchanged for future benefits with major arms manufacturers. Germany's armaments have been strengthened without increasing the burden on the people. On the contrary, the construction of people's livelihood has brought unlimited benefits to the people, and Germany's unemployment rate has also dropped to an acceptable percentage.

Of course, the lack of basic consumer goods in the country means that the increase in purchasing power is only on paper. As one of the solutions, the government advocates a simple, peasant-style life for the people, seeking food and clothing rather than luxury. People were called upon to substitute fish for meat, brown bread for white bread, and margarine for real butter. High-end foods such as game, shellfish, caviar, foie gras and imported high-end wines were sold only in large hotels and high-end food stores. The consumption of these delicacies was promoted as un-German, sinful and depraved behavior. Ordinary middle-class delicacies such as tropical fruits, imported meats, coffee, white bread and fresh butter are not often available in German markets.

Generally speaking, poor Germany cannot afford too much consumption, and the government has too much to prepare. The people also understood this advocacy. They were once down and out and hungry. luxury? No one wants to. They like cannons more than butter now!

Raw materials are Germany's biggest pain. Germany, which lacks raw materials, needs to buy a large part of its raw materials from the international community. This is why Hitler advocated the "War Preparation Plan". Germany will exchange large quantities of raw materials from China, Denmark, the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Agricultural products and raw materials are paid for in advanced industrial products.

The Soviets were very sure that they could control Germany and lead the German disaster to the West, so the Soviet Union spared no effort to help Germany. Basically, the Soviet Union would give Germany whatever it wanted. Maybe they imagined that when Germany and Britain and France would fight in the future, the Soviet Union The mechanics from behind can swallow up the whole of Europe with one sentence, but when the German tank is at full speed, who can guarantee that it can still control it

Lin Wei now has very complicated feelings about China. On the one hand, it was originally his motherland, but on the other hand, his current motherland is Germany. It is impossible for him to lead the German army across the sea to help China fight now. That is Unrealistic. Lin Wei knows very well what will happen in the future, but a country can only rely on itself to stand up and cannot rely on the help of external forces.

Fortunately, before Lin Wei, the elites of the Weimar Republic had already begun to notice this country with unlimited future. In 1927, after the first total breakdown of the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the Nationalist Government of China quickly expelled the Soviet military advisers and began to send troops to Germany. Seeking military assistance. Germany was defeated in World War I. According to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, it could only have an army of 100,000 people. A large number of professional soldiers were forced to leave the army. Apart from military knowledge, they had no knowledge or technology in other fields. Soldiers who are knowledgeable have become famous teachers that all countries (especially countries that are relatively backward in the military field) are vying to hire.

However, the Treaty of Versailles clearly stipulates that German citizens are not allowed to serve as military advisors in foreign armies. The German military hopes that they will serve as military advisors in foreign countries so that these retired personnel can take advantage of the opportunity to serve in foreign armies and acquire the latest military developments. Knowledge and technology prevent the German army from experiencing gaps in military academics, and it also contains the hope that these personnel can continue to serve in the German army after returning to the country. Therefore, the German military provides these personnel with the opportunity to serve as military consultants abroad. It is secretly encouraged and supported.

At the same time, China's abundant natural resources (especially strategic resources such as tungsten and antimony) and its vast market for industrial products are also important and convenient conditions for Germany's rejuvenation.

After learning about the cooperation between Germany and China, Lin Wei persuaded the big guys in the arms industry, including his own father. Finally, under Lin Wei's persuasion, the German-made 1924-style standard Mauser series rifles were , five thousand Mark heavy machine guns and design drawings, Mauser M1932 semi-automatic pistols, and even the MG-34 light machine gun that had just been equipped with the troops, all came to China across the ocean.

As for artillery, although the Krupp family is famous for its artillery technology, after all, they have to provide soup for their people to eat because they cannot eat alone. Among the artillery sent to China, there is a 75mm German L/29 Krupp The best artillery performance is the 24 150mm German-made L/32sFH18 Rheinmetall heavy howitzers and the 24 150mm German-made L/30sFH18 Krupp heavy howitzers.

However, for China's millions of troops, such a small amount of arms is still a drop in the bucket. Lin Wei contacted the military officers currently in China through the officer corps.

General Hans von Seeckt said that China's mineral resources could be exchanged for German arms. Chiang Kai-shek was overjoyed when he found out and immediately agreed to this suggestion.

After only a few days in Essen, at the request of Lin Wei, his precious son, Gustav invited all the Junkers in Germany who were on the stage. This conversation can be seen as a preparation for war within the Juncker landlords. The plan, the war preparation plan even mentioned how to utilize the resources of the occupied territory. The industrial investment structure will be adjusted as the burden on the economic system becomes increasingly heavy.

Fortunately, the current public opinion is supportive of this kind of economic mobilization for war. The major chaebols, capitalists, and bankers have also seen the benefits in the future. They believe that the only way to get benefits is to continue to participate in construction, not to mention the preparations for the implementation of the war plan. Sometimes, they can still get benefits. The country's ordnance orders and various preferential policies make them laugh out of their dreams.

The international environment is changing day by day. In order to reclaim what belongs to Germany, everyone knows that war will definitely come. If you are not prepared, you will only wait to be destroyed.

In a word, Germany now wants cannons instead of butter and cheese.

Then Lin Wei and Gustav talked about the annual production of Panzer IV tanks. After getting his father's assurance, Lin Wei knew that he would not have much time to stay at home. Now Lin Wei is the national leader of the SS. As the Prime Minister of Bavaria, there are many things waiting for him to deal with every day.