A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

In a secret room of the Military Commission, General von Falkenhausen, head of the military advisory group, and Lieutenant Colonel Neviger, the confidential secretary, were struck dumb, their hearts churning with turmoil.

The news revealed by the Chinese side was like a bolt from the blue, leaving them stunned. Although they tried their best to remain calm, their expressions and eyes betrayed their inner turmoil.

Mao Qingxiang, director of the Military Commission's Confidential Office, watched them quietly from the side and slowly said, "Our experts have discovered a vulnerability in your Enigma cipher machine system. The high command of the Military Commission attaches great importance to this and has specifically ordered me to inform you."

Lieutenant Colonel Nevigel carefully studied the briefing provided by the Chinese side.

Prior to this, when Mao Qingxiang first communicated with General Falkenhausen, they regarded it as a fantasy and thought that the Chinese side was deliberately exaggerating.

The Enigma machine underwent rigorous testing by German experts and passed multiple rounds of review before being introduced into use, and was considered impenetrable. How could the technologically backward Chinese have discovered a vulnerability in such an advanced cipher machine?

"Unbelievable, this is truly shocking news. Thank you very much for your sincerity." General Falkenhausen, feigning composure, glanced anxiously at Lieutenant Colonel Neviger.

Lieutenant Colonel Neviger, as the confidential and communications officer of the advisory group, was responsible for coded communications with Germany and was naturally very familiar with the Enigma machine. General Falkenhausen specifically ordered him to carefully examine the intelligence presented by the Chinese side.

Lieutenant Colonel Nevigel was utterly shocked. He was horrified to discover that what the Chinese side said in the briefing was not false. He nodded to General Falkenhausen with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

General Falkenhausen was greatly alarmed. Having participated in World War I, he knew all too well the terrible consequences of the enemy deciphering the secret code.

During World War I, the top-secret telegram "Zimmermann," sent by the German Foreign Minister to the ambassador to Mexico proposing a German-Mexican alliance to attack the United States, was intercepted and deciphered by the British Royal Navy's "Room 40," ultimately leading the United States, which had originally adhered to neutrality, to join the enemy camp and declare war on Germany.

It was later learned that the breakthrough in deciphering "Room 40" came from the naval codebooks obtained from the sunken German light cruiser "Magnetower." By studying past German naval movements and the contents of coded messages, the British quickly grasped the patterns in German naval codebook writing. Subsequently, the British used this opportunity to ambush the German High Seas Fleet, winning the Battle of Jutland.

In a sense, it is no exaggeration to say that the leak of German codes during World War I changed the course of the war.

General Falkenhausen's mind raced, and he solemnly said, "This matter is too important. I must report back to the country. Could you provide detailed and reliable information?"

Mao Qingxiang was secretly delighted, but he said calmly, "Of course there is no problem. China and Germany are the closest partners, and we always treat our friends with the utmost sincerity."

The Military Commission had already devised a countermeasure at a secret meeting. Mao Qingxiang provided a carefully prepared document and, according to the prepared statement, said: "Some of the methods of cracking the code using modern computers are still being verified. If you are interested, General, I will accompany you to the Computer Institute to take a look."

This tactic of "testing the waters" was a grand and dignified way of inviting the other side into a trap. It was proposed by Song Hongfei at the meeting. He would steer the other side's thinking toward computers, making it sound profound and mysterious. In any case, China was ahead of Germany in this technology, which was enough to make them unable to resist and obediently lead the way.

"They've really got a good plan!" Falkenhausen smiled bitterly to himself. How could the shrewd and experienced General Falkenhausen not know about the Chinese side's little scheme?

Interests between nations are eternal, both sides are well aware of this, and it is always a transaction.

In General Falkenhausen's office, he and Lieutenant Colonel Neviger were engrossed in studying the materials provided by the Chinese side.

On a bright and warm spring day, the two of them were already drenched in cold sweat.

Lieutenant Colonel Neviger sighed, “I never imagined that anyone could come up with such a brilliant method to crack our proud and invincible Enigma machine.”

General Falkenhausen looked grave and remained silent in deep thought.

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "Judging from the method of cracking it, one must have a deep understanding of the internal structure and operating rules of the military Enigma machine. This is top-secret internal information of the National Defense Force. How did they obtain it?"

“Yes.” Lieutenant Colonel Nevigel nodded bitterly, realizing the key point as well. “Could it be their intelligence department? How could they have infiltrated our army? This is beyond my imagination.”

After pondering for a long time, Falkenhausen said, "China and Germany are partners, not adversaries, so they have no need to expose themselves. On the contrary, they have shown a warning to their allies—although their real intention is to use this to make a deal."

“One thing is very clear: there are moles within our country’s cryptographic communications department! Such top-secret information must have been leaked from within.” Falkenhausen pondered.

The two were well aware that this was clearly a terrible and astonishing fact.

“The Chinese are indeed very shrewd. This astonishing news is like bait, and we just can’t refuse it.” Falkenhausen shook his head and smiled bitterly. “It’s worth any price we have to pay for this news.”

Lieutenant Colonel Nevigel could only manage a wry smile.

However, they also understood that the Chinese side would not reveal the source of the intelligence, as it concerned the working secrets of a country's intelligence agency and was of paramount importance.

“Computer? For verification?” Falkenhausen silently recalled Mao Qingxiang’s words, and for some reason, the name Song Hongfei came to mind. He knew that Song Hongfei had made outstanding achievements in logic circuits and computer technology research, and had earned his Ph.D. from MIT based on these achievements.

"Germany has fallen behind in this regard, while China has taken the lead," Falkenhausen sighed helplessly.

Nevigel nodded silently and said, "Cracking it with a computer? It's hard to imagine that China, which has always been backward, has mastered such advanced technology. There's probably no precedent for this in the world. But why did they reveal such advanced technology to us? Is it really as they say—that they are being so honest with us, their partner?"

The worldly-wise Falkenhausen pondered for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "You know, they have a saying in China—'wait for the best price.'"

Both of them couldn't help but secretly admire the cunning of this seemingly respectable tactic of inviting someone into a trap.

"Use the highest level of cipher and send a report to the Führer in my name," Falkenhausen said solemnly and seriously after a long period of thought.

Nevigel was also taken aback: "Yes, General!"