V4CH19: Solving the Confusion II
"It is indeed unbelievable, my marshal. That these cowardly generals would dare to confront their supreme leader was a myth until then." Wehrle nodded in agreement.
"These generals have been under Hitler's thumb for so long that he has completely worn out their military spirit. Look at that Keitel and Von Brauchitsch, look at the way they slaved in front of Hitler. I can't believe they would have any thoughts of betraying their masters." Xu Jun said excitedly, not noticing the bright light of excitement that flashed in Wehrle's eyes just as he addressed that great Führer by his name.
"My Field Marshal, those generals are indeed as you said, they have been worn down by Hitler in these ten years or so, and the sharpness they once possessed, is now dulled. The generals of the German command are the most cowardly group of people in the world, and they can make any concessions and compromises to keep their power and position. So the reliability of their support for you this time is not too high. I was going to warn you not to feel too optimistic about the support of the generals, but now it seems that it is no longer necessary. Your analysis of them is the same as what I thought, which makes me very happy." Wehrle smiled and said, "However, after analyzing the reasons for their reversal this time, I feel that at least they can still be trusted by us in this current situation."
"Oh, tell me about your analysis." Xu Jun asked curiously.
"You may not know, or you have not noticed. You are now strong enough to go head-to-head with the Führer. The most powerful of the Führer's forces are the National Defense Force and the SS, while the ones that can really make those generals fearful are the Gestapo and the Reich Security Service. They are afraid of the insidious tactics of these departments so they are lowering their heads to the Führer and dare not cross the line. Although they admire your military talent and appreciate your care for the German Army, this is no reason for them to risk their lives to support you.
But the strength you have shown now has surprised the generals, who did not expect you to gain the support of these two services, and you have taken away half of the Führer's forces at once. The power that threatens their fate is now out of Hitler's hands. And if you lose this struggle, then Hitler will regain his power, and at that time these generals will end up facing his wrath, they will be punished severely as your supporters. Although they did not make their attitude clear until then, from their support and praise for you in front of Hitler, they have made the impression in Hitler's mind that they are your followers, they may just wanted to make you gain more power in front of Hitler and make the Army get more benefits from it, now such a situation is not at all expected by them. By the time they understood that you were going to confront Hitler, it was too late for them to reposition themselves, and it was impossible for them to make Hitler change that impression.
Hitler, on the other hand, misjudged the situation and did not know that you had actually taken his most important weapon from him. He still thought that he was in control of everything in Germany, and that's why he was so blatantly hostile to the generals, who had been forced into this path by him. This was the first mistake Hitler made. Those generals now only choose you as their only way out, not to mention that according to your current power, may still win, they are gambling." Wehrle smiled and spoke his mind.
"Your analysis makes sense." Xu Jun nodded his head in agreement, he then asked Wehrle again. "Then how is this promotion order a thing? There must be a conspiracy in between, can you give me a reasonable explanation?"
"Hold your horses. My marshal, listen to me as I go on. Although the Army has this idea, they cannot yet directly turn against the Führer under the present circumstances, because it is not in keeping with the traditions of the German army, and they can only support you from the private side. Moreover, Hitler had a separate meeting after the meeting with those senior leaders of the Nazi party specifically to re-open a meeting, he may have realized his mistake. On the very next day, he began to use the policy of wooing the generals desperately, but to my surprise, all the generals showed a firmness they had never had before. Maybe it was because they felt that now they no longer had to be afraid of being set up by those conspiracies. Especially Field Marshal Brauchitsch, although on the surface he was still respectful to Hitler and once again expressed his loyalty to Hitler, after that he called all the generals together to discuss how to support you, in the meeting he was like a different person, active and surprising, which I still feel was very surprising.
We now have the support of the entire General Staff and Army Command, although they can not help you in force, they can definitely hold back a part of Hitler's forces, at least Hitler cannot use the power of the army to deal with you. And the Navy is now in the midst of a wait-and-see situation, and Ryder totally wants to stay out of it. He is now using delaying tactics against Hitler, and he is not a fool, it is dangerous for him to show loyalty to any side in this situation now. The attitude of the Air Force is very unclear, it seems to have divided into several factions, one led by Mirce to say that the Führer should be supported, while in the other factions, some want to follow you and some want to remain neutral, it seems that the Air Force can only react to this matter after they have reached a unified opinion. And now your biggest enemy is Reinhard Heydrich. He will be one of your biggest threats." Wehrle said seriously.
"Heydrich, he is indeed a very big problem, and this man's wicked intelligence will indeed be of great help to Hitler. I received information long ago that he hurried to headquarters the day after it happened, and he will certainly give Hitler some ideas. This despicable villain, the cruel butcher is definitely one of the most dangerous enemies on my way forward." Xu Jun's eyes radiated a harsh cold light.
"Speaking of which, I would like to ask you a question, which all those who support you want to know. You have not shown your attitude until now, we do not know what your ultimate goal is. Do you want to fight against Hitler, or do you want to replace him? I, the other "bishops" and the generals of the General Command would like to know what you think. Only when we know what you think can we make plans on how to help you and we will have the next step. In my mind, you are the only person who can replace Hitler, and I feel from the bottom of my heart that Germany can only be truly revived under your leadership. I am too disappointed by Hitler's actions after he came to power, and he will lead Germany into the abyss of darkness. So I hope from the bottom of my heart that your goal this time is the same as what I expect, to remove Hitler from power, to cleanse those dirty government institutions completely, and to bring Germany back to the right path." Speaking here, Wehrle's eyes were full of expectation.
"Wehrle, I can't promise you anything now, but I will make your wish come true." After saying that Xu Jun smiled and nodded to Wehrle.
Hearing Xu Jun's answer Wehrle could not help but be overjoyed, he said happily: "So you do want to do this, then I and all the "bishops" are also relieved that all the work we did before has paid off. We will do everything in our power to help you achieve this goal, even if it means breaking our bones. Eradicating evil to bring the Germanic nation to the light, you are indeed the apostle sent by God to save Germany." (TL: Isn't that what Hitler thought about himself too? )
"Well, well, this is not the time to talk about that, is it? You tell us about Heydrich." Xu Jun smiled and stopped Wehrle's bootlicking.
"Oh, I obey, my marshal, I shall continue then. Heydrich was received by the Führer as soon as he arrived at the headquarters. The two of them talked alone for the whole morning. No one knows what they talked about. But after this conversation, Hitler was like a different person, he showed before the worry and anxiety suddenly completely disappeared, as if they had come up with a good way to deal with you in this conversation, Hitler was completely back to his original state. Then he began to pull the wool over the generals' eyes, almost to the point of no return. But the generals had already tasted the bitterness of his trick, he had done so before he came to power, but immediately after he came to power, he trampled on those generals he had solicited, so this time he did not get any results.
Heydrich may have given Hitler a detailed report of what you did in Warsaw this time, and he may have told Hitler about your "bishop". Although we can't be sure how much he knows, we can be sure that Heydrich's friends in the Reich Security Service have already started a secret investigation into some of the departments we have. However, they underestimated our power, and we intercepted the order, which showed that they wanted to poison the "bishops" and that they had the power to execute any "bishop" without trial and hearing.
Unfortunately, they never thought that most of the investigators they sent were our "clergy", and to have a group of "clergy" arrest "bishops" is the most ridiculous joke I have ever heard. However, this is a great opportunity for us to get rid of the hard-liners we have been unable to get rid of before, and to make those damned scum the scapegoats of the "bishops". But this is just an idea, we still have to get your approval and consent." Wehrle respectfully waited for Xu Jun's reply.
"Yes, this is indeed a very good opportunity, I am still worried about how to deal with those guys if I succeed in bringing down Hitler this time. Now it's just right, I can use Hitler's hand to get rid of those scum of his, how can I give up such a good opportunity." Xu Jun went on to say, "What other information did Heydrich give Hitler, and what was the reaction of his master Himmler now."
"You won't believe it, Heydrich may have sold his master out."
"What? Tell me in detail."
"Heydrich doesn't know what to think, and he may have said something bad about Himmler in front of Hitler. He may want to take advantage of this critical period to replace Himmler. You also know that Himmler has always had a very cordial relationship with you, and it can be said that he worships you as his idol, and in his mind, you are second only to a great figure like Hitler. Because of this, Hitler became suspicious of him when you used his Gestapo and Waffen SS during the incident.
Now he was one of the most wronged victims of the affair, and Hitler did not allow him to attend the meeting at all. Heydrich saw this clearly and he saw this as his chance to go to the next level, so he went to Hitler and set up his master. We don't know what he said to Hitler, or whether Hitler believed at the time that his most loyal Heinrich had betrayed him. But what we do know for sure is that Hitler had indeed taken action against Himmler.
According to the information we now have, he has been completely hollowed out by his close aides. But since this matter is still only going on in the top echelons, Himmler still retains his command of the entire SS from the surface, but no one will carry out his orders anymore, and all the command of the SS is now in the hands of Heydrich.
I think he may have been mad about this, but in this way, Himmler was also to our side, our "bishops" have contacted his immediate cronies, although he lost his actual power, his great influence in the SS still exists, I believe he will play a role in our future actions.
As for the other top officials, we can't know what they really think yet, but some of them are already trying to contact us from various channels. However, after our analysis, we believe that at the time when you and Hitler have not yet clearly divided, many people will choose to fall on both sides, and the loyalty of these people can be completely negligible."
Hearing this Xu Jun interrupted Wehrle, he frowned and asked. "Then me in this matter, how will the German civilians see me?."
"My Field Marshal, this is the most critical question. Hitler is remedying his blunder, and he has given you the first blowback with his propaganda on the matter."
"How can things be." Xu Jun asked eagerly.
"Just on the third day after this incident, Hitler gave a speech on the radio about it. He praised you on the radio with all the praises he knew about this great purge. He also desperately railed and cursed those whom you had executed. In his broadcasts, he referred to you as his most reliable and faithful comrade in arms. He also enumerated your contributions to Germany and your great achievements at the front. He did this so well that all Germans now consider you to be the most popular of all the Führer's men, and they all now worship you fervently. And no one can know that you and your Führer have actually reached the point of incompatibility." Wehrle said seriously.
"A powerful move indeed, he wants to make it impossible for me to turn the tables on him publicly. He knows he doesn't have the upper hand in his current situation, so he's using this move to keep me from taking a shot at him. Good, really a smart guy, he really did not let me down. Now he has affirmed and made his gesture in front of the whole German people about what I have done. He thought that in this way I could not get any excuse to attack him for this affair, and he thought that I could not thus use it as an article to launch an attack against him. He wanted to stabilize me first, and then use other methods to restore his current unfavorable situation little by little, at that time, those who see the wind and rudder will fall back to him, and then he will use the thunderbolt to solve me once and for all. It's a good plan, but he really sees me as too simple. In this situation now, does he think I'll just stop? This is a joke. Don't worry, I won't let him have any chance to breathe. Now I understand. Why he promoted me, this is also a step in his plan of action, right?" Xu Jun laughed coldly.
"Field Marshal, your wisdom is really true to your name, these are indeed our preliminary conclusions after analysis, I did not think that you thought of these all at once, it seems that Hitler's intellectuals are not your match at all. It's true that this promotion is also a move for him to deal with you." Wehrle continued, "This promotion was, as I said earlier, a gesture of goodwill from the generals in the General Headquarters to show their support for you. The offer made Hitler jump in his office and he refused to allow you to be promoted to Field Marshal. But to his surprise, it was Heydrich again, who entered the Führer's office and within a short time, Hitler suddenly agreed to the offer. But he may still be a little dissatisfied with the matter, so he gave the order, that this promotion will be in accordance with the rank of field commander to award the rank. The generals protested several times without much result, so they had to agree to Hitler's request.
Since I had been your subordinate, the generals let me come and bring you the promotion order, but they still used the power at hand, they promoted me to brigadier general on my way out, and also gave your three best assistants a promotion, they wanted to show their humility in this matter. And I also got an important piece of information from the hints that the generals gave me that your promotion would be closely related to Hitler's next move. We don't know the details, but we know that they have developed a "Jack Flood" plan for you. Therefore, you should be more careful in your future actions."
"Jackfruit? Dragon Slayer? Haha, I would like to see how he actually slays this evil dragon. Hahahahaha." Xu Jun couldn't help but let out a loud laugh when he heard this. (TL: I have no idea what this means)