By the 12 hours since the outbreak of fighting in the Ruhr industrial area, no one from Ludendorff's faction had gone to the government to take a stand. But in the eyes of others, no statement is the best statement! The Ludendorff faction, which has always been tough and even radical, chose to acquiesce in the government's weak compromises.

Another group, also made up of a large number of former officers, went to the government buildings in Berlin with Hindenburg's handwritten letters, demanding that the government take immediate measures to support the SS Protectors.

0:00 a.m., inside Sickert's office. The general, who had worked for Germany for most of his life, was covering his head and said bitterly to Zhang Chengtian on the side: "Ludendorff is so disappointing, I originally thought he was just more radical and arrogant, but in essence, he was still thinking about Germany's national interests. But now, what he has done has shown that his radicalism is not for Germany, but more for his selfish lust for power. ”

Zhang Chengtian also said helplessly: "Although it is hateful, this is not unexpected." Now it seems that we are on our own. ”

"I'll contact Field Marshal Hindenburg tomorrow, and I'm sure he'll be on our side." Sickert muttered to himself.

Looking at the teacher's painful expression, Zhang Chengtian shook his head slightly. At present, the great enemy is still fighting within the country. It has to be said that this is a sadness.

Perhaps, it was a mistake to bring in Ludendorff to stop the Karp riot in the first place. But if he hadn't looked for Ludendorff, he would not have ...... today

That night, Zhang Chengtian and Sickert, the teacher and student, talked until half past two in the morning.

At 7 a.m. on January 12, 1923, Sickert went to visit Field Marshal Hindenburg. The two had a two-hour meeting.

The old and cunning Hindenburg did not say anything about Sickert. Allowing Sickert to speak, Hindenburg just didn't give a positive answer.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, with Sickert angrily leaving, Ludendorff also came to visit Hindenburg, an old comrade-in-arms. No one knows what they talked about, but it is clear that Hindenburg did not make any promises to Ludendorff either.

At 1 p.m., in the office of the President of Germany. As the leader of the country, Albert stood behind his desk with a pale face, his hands clenched into fists, propped up on the desk. His always kind blue eyes, as if they were blazing with rage, sharply pointed at the 10 Junker nobles in front of him.

Standing behind Albert, Sickert and Zhang Chengtian were standing upright on both sides. Although they have been away from the army for several years, the standard military posture of the two generals still reveals the tenacity of a soldier as if they had just received recruit training. This also gave Albert the confidence to dare to slap the table with the 10 Junkers representatives in front of him.

Angry, Albert shouted angrily at the Junker nobles in front of him for the first time: "There is no authorization from me as president, and Admiral Sickett, as the commander-in-chief of the army, has no idea. Who ordered the evacuation of the security team from the Ruhr industrial zone? Why did they wait until the head of the security regiment, Colonel Moder, made a report, and the military department did not get the relevant news. ”

Fortunately, the head of the security corps, Modell, at Steve's suggestion, had the idea of joining the SS. Immediately afterwards, a decommissioning report was submitted to the military headquarters of the Wehrmacht, with the route of the retreat of the security regiment mentioned in passing.

Otherwise, Albert, as president, would still be confused.

A full 10 Junker aristocrats turned a blind eye to President Albert's anger.

However, when they collided with the eyes of Sickert and Zhang Chengtian, these nobles like wooden people reacted.

In their opinion, as the commander-in-chief of the army, Sickert has a natural generalial majesty that will make everyone who looks at him feel empty.

And the young Zhang Chengtian has a kind of alertness and cunning in his eyes. makes people afraid of being dug out of their hearts by him when they look at each other.

Of course, this is all a sign of their weak heart. At this moment, Sickert was sulking at Hindenburg's inaction in the morning.

And Zhang Chengtian, thinking about ...... How to extort a sum of money from these nobles.

The gaze of the 10 Junker nobles quickly retracted. Then a short, somewhat rickety old nobleman looked at Albert and said, "Mr. President, please pay attention to your words. We were not criminals until there was no evidence that we ordered the transfer of the security corps. Your interrogative tone is very rude. ”

Another obese aristocrat also cried out with foam: "I have to remind our Excellency the President that it is very unwise to speak to these representatives of the Junker aristocracy here in such a tone. ”

It's no wonder they have nothing to fear. A discerning person knows that Ludendorff, who has been getting closer and closer to the Junker aristocracy recently, must have done a lot of tricks in this matter.

As for the evidence, it is estimated that it has long been destroyed by Ludendorff without a trace.

A leading nobleman calmly glanced at his watch and spoke to Albert in a provocative tone: "Let this matter be so done, my honorable President. If there is evidence of our involvement in this incident, you can always send someone to arrest us. But then, we are scheduled to have a meeting with the representatives of the parliamentarians. We are all punctual people and don't want to be late. ”

Blatant collusion with parliamentarians! Zhang Chengtian suddenly felt a burst of admiration for the shamelessness of this group of Junker nobles. My own cultivation is not enough......

"Rather than being punctual, you should probably learn how to keep one's most basic bottom line." Sickert, who has always been upright, unsurprisingly stood up and said a fair word.

Albert was pleased with this, and it was a good choice to call Sickert.

However, the aristocrats were clearly not ashamed of Sickert's sarcasm. The nobleman at the head replied lightly: "General Sickert, there is something I forgot to remind you. The Imperial Diet may soon raise a motion of no confidence in you, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. I suggest you be less nosy and go back and prepare. ”

After saying this, a group of nobles did not even say hello to the president, as if they were in their own homes, and turned away at will.

The rickety old nobleman who left at the end made a special "thank" to Sickert before leaving: "General, thank you for providing us with a good topic for our next meeting with the councilors. ”

The door to the president's office was slammed shut by the immediate aristocrats.

Albert, who had always been mild-mannered, suddenly became angry and slammed the table: "Unscrupulous! ”

In the president's office, there was a dead silence......

Subsequently, Albert, who had been silent for a long time, asked Zhang Chengtian, who had not spoken, coldly: "How is the situation on the Ruhr front. ”

Zhang Chengtian, who was still in the calm period, was stunned for a moment, and immediately replied: "This morning, the French armored forces once again launched an attack on the first high ground of the SS. The SS repulsed the enemy, but also suffered heavy losses. If the French had continued to attack, the SS soldiers on the heights would not have survived today. ”

Albert listened quietly to Zhang Chengtian's report. In an instant, the wrinkles on the face of the president, who had always looked young, gradually became prominent. The whole person seemed to age ten years in an instant......

Seeing this, Zhang Chengtian immediately comforted: "Your Excellency, this is only the forefront of the SS. The number of people on the position was no more than 5,000 people. According to Steve's report on the front, there are three such highland positions. What's more, SS reinforcements of 20,000 men are arriving one after another. ”

Albert, who was shocked, stared at Zhang Chengtian and asked, "You mean, defeating the Belgian army and blocking the French armored forces for 2 days is only a small part of the front-line troops?!" And now more SS troops are being transferred to the front! ”

Zhang Chengtian confidently replied: "That's right, Your Excellency the President." ”

Albert rubbed his hands together and said to himself, "Enough, enough." As long as it dragged until the Anglo-American intervention, this group of French people would have to roll back. ”

"And the Belgians." Zhang Chengtian playfully added.

Seeing that the president was a little relieved, Sickett also smiled and said, "Your Excellency the President's speculation is exactly the same as that of the little colonel Reinhardt. As early as last night, my student analyzed that Britain, which pays attention to the balance of power on the European continent, will definitely come forward, and the United States, which is also thinking about it, will not ignore it. ”

Unlike Sickert, who had a long conversation with Zhang all night, Albert had already made his own judgment.

Hearing that someone agreed with him, Albert said as if he agreed with him: "He is right, Britain has always taken the maintenance of the balance of power on the European continent as an established national policy. For 300 years, they have been on the underdog side every time. ”

After a pause, Albert summed it up by saying, "If France succeeds in crushing Germany, there will be no one on the Continent to compete with, and Britain's comparative advantage will be weakened." All this, obviously, is not what the British want to see. ”

Staring at the immediate direction of the Junker nobles, Albert said slowly: "It's not that I, Albert, don't know the times, it's that you have gone too far. Next, let's compare, whose means are more clever? ”

Since then, German President Ebert, who has always kept his distance from all sides, has formed a close alliance with Army Commander-in-Chief Sickert.

On January 13, 1923, the German Foreign Office, at the direction of the President, urgently sent a signal for help to Britain and the United States......