At 10:30 a.m. on April 4, 1940, at the end of Karl Johanstrasse, the main street of Oslo, the Norwegian capital, King Haakon VII of Norway was in his palace listening to the report of General Ruger, Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces.

"Yesterday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., German aircraft were spotted again over the four cities of Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand, with a total of 17 sorties. Taking these figures into account, the number of German aircraft that have intruded into our airspace since 1 April has reached 54.

After these three days of observation, we can already determine that it is a German FW-200C aircraft, which was originally a passenger aircraft, which was later transformed into a long-range reconnaissance aircraft by the Germans. Obviously, they are here to spy on the armament of our army. ”

"Continue to monitor, but still exercise restraint, do not fire at them, do not give the Germans an excuse to attack us. I will solve this problem through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Norwegian Prime Minister Niegos Wall said.

Haakon VII nodded in agreement with Nigaoswall's suggestion, and then asked, "What new information is there?" ”

"The Germans did masse a large number of troops in the ports of Hamburg and Rostock, the exact number is unknown." General Ruger said.

Haakon VII's face became even more grim, and he turned to Nigaoswall and said: "We must prepare for war, and we cannot do nothing. ”

Nigaoswall's expression was equally serious, "Then prepare for war, but the preparation for war must be carried out in secret, and must not cause panic among the people, so as not to cause social unrest." Nor could the Germans find out, and they could not use this as an excuse to attack. ”

"I'll definitely do a good job of confidentiality." General Ruger said.

After sending off General Ruger, Nicoswall said to Haakon VII: "Your Majesty, the gold of the treasury and the secret documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been loaded. If Germany declares war on us, Oslo will be at the front line, and for your safety, you must leave Oslo as soon as the war breaks out, and those trucks will leave with you. ”

"Where should I go if war does break out? Sweden? Haakon VII asked with a lonely expression.

"Sweden is only an option, but I do not recommend going to Sweden, because the Swedes are not capable of helping us resist aggression." Nigaos Wall said.

"Yes, the Swedes are not capable of helping us against the Germans, and maybe, they won't even let me cross the border." Haakon VII said.

"There are more Germans than we have in the whole country, and the Swedes will certainly not provoke them. The most suitable way out is to go to England, after the outbreak of war, you retreat north with the royal family and those trucks, and then contact the British to come to our rescue, Britain is now at war with the Germans, and they will certainly not watch the Germans expand their sphere of influence. And the British have enough strength to help us, even if the worst happens, the British have the ability to help us recover. Nigaos Wall said.

"Well, if that day really comes, you must lead the main members of the government to go with me." Haakon VII said.

・・・・・・

April 4, 1940, 1:40 p.m., Narvik, Northern Norway.

Colonel Konrad Sundlo, commander of the Narvik garrison and commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade of the Royal Norwegian Army, was reading a book in his office as he read an English version of War and Peace.

The book was mailed to him by an old friend of his, Vicomte Quisling, who just received it today.

The speed at which an ordinary reader reads a book is ten lines at a glance, and Colonel Sundelo is a master among masters. At the speed of ten pages at a glance, in just a dozen seconds, he finished reading half of "War and Peace" as thick as a brick.

Finally, on page 518 of War and Peace, Colonel Sundelo found the "bookmark" he had been waiting for.

Although it has been agreed with an old friend, the English version represents the British pound, and the German version represents the Reichsmark. But in the spirit of the prudence and caution expected of a soldier, Colonel Sundelo still carefully checked the value unit of the bookmark, and after confirming that it was the pound sterling, Colonel Sundelo's tense face finally showed a smile.

According to the exchange ratio between the pound sterling and the Norwegian krone, Colonel Sundelo quickly calculated the value of the "bookmark", and then carefully put the "bookmark" worth 100,000 Norwegian kroner back into the book.

Locking War and Peace in a drawer, Colonel Sundelo picked up the telegram he had just received on his desk. The telegram was sent from Oslo with an order to the 5th Infantry Brigade to secretly carry out the first level of combat readiness.

A contemptuous smile appeared on Colonel Sundlow's face, Nigaoswall had only now remembered to carry out the first level of combat readiness, if this was during the war years, with such a sluggish reaction speed, how many innocent Norwegian servicemen would have been killed by the enemy in a state of surprise? How many innocent Norwegian soldiers will fight the enemy in the dilemma of lack of food and ammunition?

It seems that the nickname of Dumbwood really suits that old guy from Nigaos Wall, who is really hopelessly stupid. Fortunately, he has an old friend of Quisling, so he can keep abreast of the latest developments in the situation and not fall into passivity in the war.

Thinking that he had been secretly carrying out combat preparations as early as the end of last month under the reminder of his old friend, Colonel Sundelo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Judging from this first-class combat readiness order from Oslo, he did not take risks in vain, and the situation has really reached the point of 100,000 urgency.

"Tuk tuk", a knock on the door interrupted Colonel Sundello's thoughts, and the adjutant pushed the door in and said, "Major Crespo and Captain Hunsed are here." ”

"Invite them in." Colonel Sundlow said as he got up and greeted the door.

The port of Narvik is home to two ironclads of the Royal Norwegian Navy, two frigates and two submarines, with Lieutenant Crespo being the captain of the Edsforde and Captain Hunsed being the captain of the Nuoch.

After greeting the two, Colonel Sun Deluo handed the combat readiness order to the two and said, "I just received a telegram from the headquarters, ordering us to carry out first-level combat readiness. ”

After reading the telegram, Major Crespo's usual serious expression became even more serious.

"Who is the enemy?" Major Crespo asked sharply.

"Germans, I guess Germans. On March 31, the Germans had just occupied Denmark, and today we received an order for combat readiness, and I did not think of any other enemy than the Germans. Colonel Sundlow said solemnly.

"I also think it's German." Captain Hunsed said.

"I think the same way, what should we do?" Major Crespo asked.

"My opinion is that the distance between Narvik and Oslo is more than 1,000 kilometers, and even further than Germany, and the Germans cannot fly to us. The army of the Germans may come to us, but I think that the army of the Germans will not come from land, but from the sea with their navy, so ・・・・・・"

"So it was our navy that was the first to fight the Germans." Major Crespo said.

"Yes, I have invited you to discuss how to resist possible aggression. I have called back to the headquarters, and I have said on the telegram that I will protect every inch of the sacred land of Narvik from being violated, even if I am crushed to pieces. It is my sincere hope that you will fight side by side with me to defend our sacred homeland. ”

"Either the invaders will be crushed to pieces, or I will be crushed to pieces." Major Crespo said with a sense of righteousness.

"From today onwards, I will stay on the ship, and the combat readiness order will not be lifted for a day, and I will not get off the ship for a day." Captain Hunsed said with dignity.

"As the Supreme Commander here, I thank you for your support. Let's discuss the details of the operation, first of all, we will place the mines at the entrance to the Ufortfjord. Colonel Sundlow said.

・・・・・・

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