A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

A few days later, at the invitation of the Commissioner, Conte and his entourage visited the Upper Salzburg residence in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, to meet with the commander with the mustache.

The convoy wound its way up the mountain roads of the Alps, and the official residence was built on the mountainside at an altitude of more than 1000 meters. Surrounded by peaks, the view of the lake and mountains was unobstructed and very impressive. This was the later famous "Eagle's Nest" villa. However, at that time, the road tunnels and other supporting facilities were not yet fully completed.

The mustachioed commander, dressed in military uniform, shook hands with everyone.

Envoy Kong first expressed his admiration for the leader, and the leader asked the envoy to convey his respect and greetings to the Chinese leader.

The special envoy said, "During this revisit to your country, I have seen great progress in everything, and I greatly admire the outstanding work of your government."

The leader politely replied, "Although there has been progress, it is still not ideal. As a political leader, one must have a long-term vision, looking decades or centuries into the future, and not be satisfied with the small achievements we have made so far."

The two sides then shifted to the topic of cooperation.

The special envoy stated, "We hope to continue deepening our economic and military trade cooperation with your country. The aggression of the island nation in the East has seriously harmed the interests of both China and Germany. We urgently need to seek international support and assistance, and hope that, if necessary, the leader can use his enormous influence to mediate and stop the aggression."

The leader said, “Our country has no political objectives in the Far East, only a desire to conduct trade. Your country has abundant mineral and agricultural resources, while our country is an industrialized nation. The prospects for cooperation between the two sides are very good. We hope for peace and friendship between the Far East countries. If a conflict between the two countries requires me to act as a mediator, I am willing to do my best.”

As the talks progressed, the atmosphere became increasingly relaxed and harmonious.

The commander was clearly in a very good mood. He looked at Gui Shuaizhen and Song Hongfei and said, "You have carried out a brilliant armored assault. Our generals told me that this battle of the Training Corps can serve as an excellent demonstration lesson for armored forces and mechanized infantry operations."

Gui Shuaizhen and Song Hongfei were both secretly surprised. It seemed that the commander was quite familiar with the situation of the Battle of Xijing in China and knew that the two of them were the commanders of the participating troops.

Lieutenant General Gui Shuaizhen pointed at Song Hongfei and laughed, "I'm just the boss behind the scenes, a hands-off manager. In fact, he was the battlefield commander for this battle; back then, he was just a lieutenant colonel battalion commander."

The commander laughed heartily and said, "General Gui is too modest. The Training Corps made meticulous plans and commanded well in this battle. It was a brilliant combined arms operation, and the Falkenhausen Military Advisory Group praised it highly."

He then turned to Song Hongfei: "Colonel Song's visit last year shocked everyone present, and I was deeply impressed by it."

The commander added, "What's even more surprising is that you always manage to achieve incredible results. I am delighted to see the increasingly in-depth and extensive exchanges and cooperation between military and technical experts from both sides, which have yielded fruitful results."

"This battle was under the unified deployment and command of the Chief of the General Staff. I was just the assault captain on the front line." Song Hongfei also laughed. "We tried our best, but we could only assemble a battalion-sized formation of tanks and armored vehicles. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to observe the exercise of the 2nd Armored Division of the National Defense Army. That is a truly formidable and powerful modern armored force."

The commander laughed again, looked at Song Hongfei, and said, "Colonel Song, your words seem to have a hidden meaning. It seems you're eyeing my Panzer II tank again?"

Both sides burst into laughter.

"We are the closest partners, and our cooperation in the economy, technology and military will not only not be reduced, but will be strengthened and deepened." The leader still had a smile on his face, and then solemnly said, "In order not to provoke that island nation too much, the arms purchases between the two sides can be carried out under the guise of trade and economic exchanges."

The meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, was very fruitful. Both the host and guests enjoyed themselves, and everyone in the delegation was delighted.

Following the commander's instructions, the German military, economic and industrial technology departments acted swiftly. After the delegation returned to Berlin, the two sides continued their in-depth trade cooperation through barter and discussed specific issues.

Given the extremely urgent situation at the time, some of the ordered weapons and equipment had not yet been produced by the arsenals, and the warehouses did not have enough spare parts. After discussion, the delegation members believed that waiting for the arsenals to complete production would take a long time, and they feared that the island nation might interfere or cause unforeseen changes.

After negotiations with high-ranking German officials, the German side agreed to directly select the same type of active-duty equipment from the German Armed Forces, remove the German military markings from the weapons, and ship them to China. These weapons had undergone rigorous factory testing, had not been in service for long, and had not experienced any wartime wear and tear; they were in excellent condition.

Subsequent events proved this to be an extremely wise, forward-thinking, and insightful move.

近年来的军事合作中，华夏国府为加强陆军炮兵作战能力，分几次总共订购了性能优秀的德制sFH-18型150毫米、leFH-18型105毫米两种榴弹炮各100门，每门炮配备1000发炮弹，打算各装备4个24门制的机械化炮兵团。

Along with the artillery, the procurement also included Henschel T33G1 artillery tractors and Mercedes-Benz L3000 ammunition transport vehicles, as well as a large number of supporting observation, measurement, command, and communication vehicles and equipment.

In addition to the previous batch of one regiment each that had already been delivered, two regiments of each type of artillery have been mobilized this time. The remaining units will be produced as soon as possible according to the arsenal's production capacity and delivered and shipped with priority.

That month, these weapons and equipment, along with a large amount of other military supplies, were loaded onto eight cargo ships and sailed across the ocean to China, with several more ships also preparing to be loaded and set sail.

During his visit to Europe, Deputy Special Envoy and Minister of the Navy Chen Houfu inspected the navies of Britain, Italy, and Germany, and visited a German naval shipyard. He then discussed the purchase of torpedo boats and submarines with Germany. This ultimately led to the Nationalist government ordering five submarines from Germany for 9900 million marks, with the first expected to be delivered the following year. Following the purchase agreement, the Nationalist government sent a group of naval personnel and technicians to Germany for training.

Admiral Chen Houfu, a first-class naval officer who deeply cherishes the dream of aircraft carriers and a strong navy, was so excited that he saw hope for the path to realizing his dream. He has dedicated his life to revitalizing the navy and making the country rich and powerful.

Of course, all of this could not be kept secret from the island nation of Japan.

The Japanese were greatly annoyed by the friendly cooperation between China and Germany over the years and had repeatedly protested to Germany, demanding that it not sell weapons and equipment to China. Germany, unwilling to offend the island nation or lose its trade with China, claimed publicly that it was merely ordinary trade and economic exchanges in order to appease the Japanese.

The island nation of Japan may appear helpless against Germany, but it is certainly not indifferent.

Tokyo, the Five Ministers' Conference.

Within the island nation's cabinet and military leadership, policy towards the mainland can be divided into two main factions: the radicals and the cautiouss. Both factions share the same goal of aggression against the mainland, but their views and strategies regarding the current situation differ greatly, with disagreements on timing and methods. The radicals advocate a strategy of "wild annexation," while the cautiouss advocate "nibbling away."

After the success of the September 18 Incident, radical figures such as Sugiyama Gen and Tojo Hideki became extremely arrogant, believing that China was already vulnerable and could be conquered effortlessly with just a military intervention.

The cautious faction, represented by figures like Kanji Ishihara, the head of the First Department of the General Staff, who were still able to see the bigger picture, believed that the time was not yet ripe. If a full-scale attack on the mainland were launched rashly, it could lead to a protracted war from which the country could not be extricated.

During the Five Ministers Conference, the leaders of both factions agreed that in recent years, with the help of military cooperation, the Chinese army has implemented a military reorganization plan, introduced a large number of advanced equipment, and greatly improved its technical and tactical level. Naturally, it cannot be left unattended. If it is allowed to grow too large, it may become a formidable enemy in the future.

However, they also found themselves in a difficult situation during such a sensitive period. China and Germany were protesting under the banner of economic and trade cooperation, but they could not afford to fall out with the Germans at this time.

The decision was finally made at the Imperial Conference, where Hirohito, the head of the island nation, listened quietly to the reports from the newly appointed Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, Army Minister Gen Sugiyama, and Chief of the General Staff Kotohito Kan'in.

Hirohito's gaze was cold and stern. He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "We must take concrete measures to consolidate the foundation of the nation, promote its development, and ensure the Empire's position and interests on the East Asian continent."

Hirohito's methods of managing his subordinates were also extremely skillful. He neither explicitly rejected nor explicitly supported any faction, nor did he give any specific instructions. The spirit of the policy was left to the individual to understand, and whoever messed things up had to take the blame and commit seppuku as an apology.

But the leader of the Locust King had already made his decision. His supreme will, which could not be disobeyed, was enough to make both factions act on his orders toward the established goal.