A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Berlin, Reich Chancellery, Office of the Führer.

Hitler's face was ashen, his gaze cold and stern; it's likely no one could know what he was feeling at that moment.

The three figures who held the reins of military intelligence in the Third Reich—Minister of War, Field Marshal Blomberg, Göring, and Himm—sat silently, their hearts churning with dread.

At that moment, the alarming coded telegram sent by Falkenhausen from Nanjing, China, lay on the table in front of them, and the Führer's unpredictable expression revealed his inner fury.

Hitler had a high nose and deep-set eyes, his gaze flashing like a cold light, ruthless yet possessing a kind of magic that seemed to see into people's hearts. He stared at the seated figures, his whole being exuding an aura of intimidation that was both terrifying and indescribable.

Hitler was an extremely fanatical and extreme nationalist. Since the Nazis came to power several years earlier, he had been trying to establish a new order in Europe with Nazi Germany at its head and advocating for the expansion of the living space of the Germanic people.

He politically purged the country and implemented a strong, state-controlled plan for economic development and industrial production. He also attempted to break through the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, reorganize the armed forces, and expand the military.

Faced with Germany's aggressive stance, Britain, France, and other continental European countries only lodged verbal protests. Although they reached a mutual defense agreement that remained on paper, they did not take any concrete measures to implement it.

Having figured out why Britain and France dared not confront him directly, Hitler, having tasted success, became even more arrogant and reckless.

Under his strong leadership, Germany's economic situation improved across the board in just a few years, and the country's and military's strength was greatly enhanced. A German empire that was constantly growing and expanding and whose pace of external expansion was gradually accelerating was about to emerge.

Hitler was ambitious; his grand dream was to make the European continent tremble under the iron heel of the Germans, with all countries bowing down to him, and ultimately the German Empire unifying Europe and standing at the top of the world.

Such unparalleled achievements are truly awe-inspiring throughout history and unmatched by anyone in the world.

The sense of pride and exhilaration he had felt over the past few years was indescribable, but this sudden and astonishing secret telegram was nothing short of a severe blow to his ambitious mind.

Blomberg, Göring, and Himmler all had different expressions. These were all formidable men who had experienced all kinds of grand occasions and great storms, but at this moment, under Hitler's deep and piercing gaze, everyone felt a sense of awe that the Führer was truly a man of profound and unfathomable cunning.

Hitler withdrew his piercing gaze and looked around.

His arms waved continuously as he spoke, as if brimming with boundless energy and indignation: "At this moment when this nation is in dire need of resurgence, I am fulfilling the vow I made before: to strive tirelessly until a powerful, free, and glorious German Empire is once again built upon the tragic ruins of the past!"

"But now, our supposedly impregnable fortress is being eroded, being devoured from within! Traitors! Disgrace! Disgrace to Germany!"

"This is sabotaging me, sabotaging Germany! This is an unforgivable betrayal! We are in a very passive position!"

The Enigma machine was considered by German experts to be impenetrable in security and was a high-tech weapon that was unparalleled in the world at the time. The German army was trying to rely on this unique weapon to play a huge role in military expansion and foreign expansion.

Hitler was shocked when he received Falkenhausen's secret telegram. After the chief of the Führer's office repeatedly verified the contents of the telegram, he realized that the communications department had leaked top-secret information. He then immediately summoned three people who held the core power of the Reich's military intelligence to discuss important matters.

Minister of War Field Marshal Blomberg was somewhat pale. The Communications Bureau, which was in charge of Enigma cipher communications, was a subordinate department of the Ministry of War. With such a major leak, he had an inescapable responsibility, especially since he and the head of the intelligence department had been completely unaware of it beforehand.

The two massive intelligence agencies, the German Air Force's Intelligence Research Office and the Gestapo's Intelligence Department, were completely unaware of this, leaving Göring and Himmler extremely embarrassed.

It wasn't until the head of state summoned them and presented them with this astonishing secret report that the three learned of this shocking news.

"It's certain that a mole infiltrated the communications bureau and leaked the cipher machine information," Blomberg stammered. "But how did it end up in the hands of the Chinese? It's unbelievable. Could they possibly infiltrate our national defense forces with their methods? And what are they so keen on researching and cracking our codes for?"

This is a critical problem!

Göring and Himmler looked at each other, neither of them answering, nor did they know the answer.

Goring asked cautiously, "Has this method of cracking been verified?"

Hitler looked at him and said, "After careful examination by communications experts, there is indeed a very high probability that the Enigma code can be cracked."

The Germans also faced a major problem.

The decryption materials provided by Song Hongfei and Yu Dawei contain a large number of calculation formulas and various charts and symbols. They not only explain the methods, principles and processes of decryption, but also include extensive mathematical modeling and proofs.

After careful word choice and meticulous crafting, the two produced a rigorous document resembling a mathematical paper, totaling tens of thousands of words.

Nevigel was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Chinese text, mathematical formulas, diagrams, and symbols.

Due to the limitations of communication technology at the time, they were unable to send the documents and materials carefully prepared by the Chinese experts back to Germany in their entirety via radio.

Although wireless fax technology had existed for some time, it had gradually been used in China since the 20s. After the German military advisory group came to China, the Nanjing Nationalist Government purchased Siemens wireless fax equipment, and the two sides successfully conducted long-distance wireless faxing trials between Nanjing and Berlin.

However, due to technological limitations, wireless fax at that time lacked encryption capabilities, and its reliability and security could not meet the requirements. Furthermore, the transmission rate was low and the quality was poor; when faced with text documents containing tens of thousands of words, the successful, complete, and error-free transmission of wireless fax could not be guaranteed at all.

Moreover, with such confidential information, who would dare to test the waters with a feather?

The intelligence agencies of the major powers are not to be underestimated; if their intelligence is intercepted or stolen, the country is doomed.

If carried by human porters, there are also safety issues, and the timeliness is extremely low; a ship from China to Germany takes a month to travel.

The experts from the Huaxia Project Team enthusiastically declared, "We have always been open and honest with our German friends, never holding back in the slightest."

Falkenhausen and communications officer Nevigel could only manage a wry smile, while inwardly cursing, "Damn it, they've made this old fox sound so refined and elegant!"

Falkenhausen and Newegel went to great lengths to first understand the entire Chinese "academic paper," then condense and summarize it into an abstract, and finally translate it into ciphertext and send it back to Berlin via radio.

This inevitably leads to problems with the accuracy of understanding, translation, and expression in the two languages. Falkenhausen and Neviger deeply understood the profound Chinese proverb: "A difference of a hair's breadth leads to a difference of a thousand miles."

As for the part involving computer-based cracking, the two were completely baffled, as computers were cutting-edge technology at the time. Even the communications officer, Nevigel, had only a superficial understanding of computers, and despite working tirelessly through the night, they were powerless to solve it.

Looking at Lieutenant Colonel Neviger, whose eyes were dark from lack of sleep, Falkenhausen couldn't help but comfort him, saying, "Fortunately, we still know the general principle. You've done your best. I think this part requires the combined efforts of cryptographic communication experts and computer experts to complete."

As soon as these words were spoken, both Falkenhausen and Neviger felt a chill run down their spines.

They all knew that Song Hongfei was the one who started all of this.

How could someone possess both of these qualities? Just who is this Song Hongfei?