"He's just saying what's in his heart." Ludendorff, who was sitting not far from Seckert, said, "Arresting him doesn't help the problem we face." ”

Hearing Ludendorff's words, the German Prime Minister's face became extremely ugly, but he did not say anything to refute it.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the smoke of the First World War was long gone, and old Germany was enveloped in a storm of almost hopelessness. Before people could shake off the frustration and humiliation of defeat, serious livelihood problems loomed. Germany lost 10 percent of its population and nearly a seventh of its land in the war in exchange for an annual reparation of 100 billion gold marks, equivalent to a quarter of the total value of German merchandise exports in 1920. Germany could not come up with this money, so France, together with Belgium and Poland, unceremoniously occupied the Ruhr industrial area, the lifeblood of Germany's economy, for the "Ruhr crisis". When you are unlucky, you often can't imagine that one day you can be even more unlucky, so the scrambling German political axe has adopted the same old method of drinking water to quench thirst: issuing more banknotes.

The real catastrophe began. As the printing press started at full speed, on January 31, 1921, the unprecedented evil inflation in the history of world finance swooped down on the moribund German economy like a death with outstretched wings. The ratio of the dollar to the mark had risen from 1:64 in January 1921 to 1:4,200,000,000,000 in November 1923! This level of appalling is unprecedented in German history.

At this point, the ordinary life of the Germans can be imagined. The salary has to be paid on a daily basis, otherwise at the end of the month you will find that you will only have to buy bread crumbs for the money you would have paid for bread. Before the salary is paid, everyone should move their legs and feet, prepare their starting position, and as soon as the money is in hand, they immediately show the passion and speed of the 100-meter sprint - rushing to the market and the grocery store. Those with slower legs and feet often find it difficult to buy enough necessities. The production of agricultural and industrial products is shrinking sharply, there is a shortage of goods on the market, and the only thing that is not lacking is money, paper money! Paper money without purchasing power is like a surname organ without fertility, which makes people sad to think about it, and children play with them in the streets in large bundles and bundles.

The reactions of the opponents who had been in the war to Germany's miserable situation were not consistent. The old rival France naturally hoped that this strong neighbor and old enemy would be as unlucky as possible, and gritted its teeth on the issue of reparations without concessions; The Soviet Union was excluded from the West because of its social system, and it lost all the land compensation payments, and it fought another defeat with Poland, hoping to use Germany's advanced military experience, and began to secretly cooperate with Germany in 1922 (the result was to lift a stone and shoot itself in the foot 20 years later); Britain adhered to its usual style of annihilating giants and continued its continental policy of "balancing powers" and did not want Germany to weaken too much and make France bigger. Some of the small countries have broken out in the national revolution and are too busy to take care of themselves, and some are cautiously finding a place among the bosses to sit down and watch the performance, and they will have the opportunity to drink some soup.

The defeated pay the price, as has always been the case. In Europe, which has been fighting back and forth when nothing has happened in history, its interests have changed dramatically, and it has turned against each other for more than a thousand years, but that's it.

However, this time it was a little different.

In fact, most of the foundations of today's international relations and civilizational norms were laid by this unprecedented and tragic war. In a sense, the First World War really destroyed the foundations of the traditional world. If the wars in Europe were wars between kings and nobles in the past, then the First World War was the first war between countries in the modern sense. Regardless of whether active or passive, war becomes the participation of the whole people in the affairs of the state, and punishment also becomes the responsibility of the whole people with a theoretical basis. In this way, everyone inevitably has to reflect on what it means for everyone to fight this battle.

And through the First World War, human creativity in fratricidal warfare was not the strongest, only stronger. In the face of the meat grinder of Verdun and the tanks of the Somme, the naïve optimism of the 19th century, the self-confidence in mainstream classical humanism crumbled. New trends of thought have appeared on the stage, straightforward, ruthless, and in line with the guests and hosts of this iron-blooded and powerful era.

Pandora's box has been opened, old Europe is now full of broken pots and jars, and Germany has slapped the loudest, but the thinking activity of this people, which has produced countless philosophical giants, has always been magnificent and terrifying. And after painful reflection, it will become a torrent of steel in the future.

"Our immediate priority now is to recover the German economy as quickly as possible." German Reich Bank President Almar? Seeing that the atmosphere of the meeting had become a little tense, Schacht appropriately changed the subject, "As long as the German economy can recover quickly, the people's discontent will disappear." ”

"We've been trying to recover the economy, but we've been overwhelmed by the reparations." Ruprecht I sighed, "In this case, it is impossible to restore the economy." ”

"We should seek help from the United States and China." Shacht looked at his sad face and said loudly.

Arma? Horace? Grille? Schacht was born in Twinlife in January 1877, the son of a German-American citizen father and a Danish mother. His father worked for the New York Fair Trust for almost 30 years. Schacht was born in Germany instead of the United States only because his mother was ill and had to return to Germany for treatment. Like many immigrants around the world, the elder Schacht felt that the moon in the United States was particularly round, and in order to show his love for his second country, he actually put the name of an American anti-slavery politician in the middle of his son's name, which is the origin of his strange middle name. In the German nomenclature, middle names are supposed to be patronymic and grandfather's names, and the father's unique practice is like a bizarre prophecy that has left an indelible American mark on his life.

Clever and industrious, with the natural aptitude of an encyclopedic scholar of German history, he studied medicine, philosophy, and political science, and received a doctorate in economics at the age of 22. The young Dr. Schacht followed in his father's footsteps and joined Dresden Bank. His own outstanding ability, combined with the old man's extensive connections in the financial world, made Schacht smooth sailing and soon became a financial elite that attracted attention. In 1916, he became one of the directors of the Reichsbank. In 1923, Schacht was appointed president of the Reichsbank by the German political axe to save the German currency circulation system in the midst of disaster.

As the German Emperor said, the root cause of the collapse of the German economy was the heavy burden of reparations, which led to the evil inflation, and Schacht certainly knew that any financial reform that would only lead to more terrible turmoil if it did not solve this problem. When he took office, he had drawn up a plan to go hand in hand with the intention of seeking the support of foreign finance capital, and second, reforming the currency and replacing the old one, which had been extremely indiscriminate, with a new "mortgage mark".

So who to turn to for help? Which country has the ability and the will to help Germany? Europe's neighbors and rivals were either ill-intentioned or poor enough to be themselves, and Schacht simply did not count on them, looking beyond the vast Atlantic Ocean to his spiritual homeland, the United States, and its important ally, China.

Schacht knew that the most important consequence of the First World War was neither the fall of the Habsburg, Romanov, and Ottoman imperial royal families, nor the rise of the communitarian revolution, but the emergence of the United States as the most powerful, and even decisive, end of international economic and political relations. The Paris Peace Conference and the League of Nations provided its appearance, but economic penetration into the continent was an important way to truly deepen America's ability to control the world. And Germany's outstretched hand for help will surely be warmly welcomed by the golden wand of Wall Street.

China is a market and raw material supplier with huge potential for Germany, and China has always been in dire need of Germany's advanced technology and mature workforce. Schacht, who had already visited China secretly, was able to determine that there were no obstacles to cooperation between Germany and China.

"China has been recruiting a large number of skilled workers and technicians from our country in order to learn our technology." Seckert said.

"Why do you say that?" Ludendorff asked.

"Many of our outstanding officers and soldiers have also gone to China to serve as advisers to the [***] squadron or as mercenaries for China's political axes." Seckert replied coldly, "Although the Chinese's actions are now tantamount to doing us a favor, I don't think it will be beneficial for Germany if this situation continues." ”

"What?" Ludendorff was taken aback.

"The Imperial Army is only allowed to keep 100,000 men, I don't think you don't know." Seckert turned his head to look at Ludendorff, "There is no way out for officers and soldiers, and going to China can be said to be a better way out." The Chinese are helping us to keep our armed forces, aren't they helping us? ”

Hearing Seckert's clause in the Treaty of Versailles that the German Army should only retain 100,000 men, Ludendorff couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.

At this time, Ludendorff did not know what Seckert really thought about this "100,000 army".

Born in 1866 into an aristocratic background, Seckert was the son of a Prussian general. From 1885 he served in the Guards Grenadier Regiment of Emperor Alexander. At the age of 19, he was promoted to officer of the infantry regiment. After graduating from the Army Military Academy in 1889, he was transferred to the General Staff Headquarters. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he was chief of staff of the 3rd Army in Berlin. Seckert fully demonstrated his personal talents and leadership in battle, and he was considered a natural candidate for senior staff officers. In March 1915, he assumed the post of Chief of Staff of the newly formed 11th Army in Eastern Galicia, under the supervision of August? Feng? General Mackensen (later German Field Marshal and Grand Cross recipient). In the great offensive that began on May 2, the 11th Army and the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army served as the main attack, and they annihilated the Russian 3rd Army as if it were devastating, and in a month recaptured the Austro-Hungarian fortress of Přemyšl. Seckert's Highest Military Medal of Honor. At the end of June, the 11th Army captured Lemberg with more than 250,000 prisoners, then took Warsaw on August 4, and at the end of August captured the Brest-Litovsk fortress. The 11th Army advanced a total of 300 kilometers, and by the end of September it had completely uprooted the Polish salient and completely removed the Russian threat to Galicia. Feng? Seckert was promoted to brigadier general by leap through the ranks, and his superior, Sima Kensen, received the rank of marshal. At the same time, they were transferred to the newly formed "Mackensen Army Group", which eliminated the Serbian resistance and opened the way to the Balkans and Turkey. All Serbian troops were either annihilated or fled to Albania and Greece. The "Mackensen Army Group" remained in Bulgaria until the spring of 1916, preparing to wipe out the Allied forces at Thessaloniki in one fell swoop, but was aborted because the Battle of Verdun consumed a large number of German troops. Seckert was later appointed Chief of Staff of the newly formed "Archduke Karl Army Group", assisting Archduke Karl of Austria-Hungary in commanding the entire Austro-Hungarian Russian front. Seckert cooperated well with Archduke Karl, and after a bloody battle, the Russian army was finally stopped on the front line of the Carpathians. Immediately, Archduke Karl's troops, together with Falkingham's 9th Army, took part in the Romanian campaign, teaching the Romanians who had foolishly thrown themselves into the war a hard lesson.

In July 1919, Seckert became Chief of the General Staff of the post-war German Army, and a year later became Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht. After the war, the German General Staff was disbanded, and Seckert became the de facto Chief of the German General Staff as Director of Military Affairs. Despite the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, he was not able to perform as much as he had done in this position. But he was determined to build an army that would be the best trained and most capable of leadership of his time in an era of political turmoil and national chaos.

"100,000 people, that's too little." Ruprecht I sighed.

Ruprecht was King Ludwig III of Bavaria and Princess of Modena, and Maria, the Jacosian heir to the English throne? Teresa's eldest son. Born in Munich in 1869. In 1900, Ruprecht met with Duke Karl of Bavaria? Maria, daughter of Theodor (niece of the famous Princess Sisi)? Gabriella married, Maria? Gabriella died in 1912. At the outbreak of World War I, Ruprecht was commander-in-chief of the German Sixth Front in Lorraine. On August 14, 1914, he successfully resisted the French attack and won the Battle of Lorraine, crushing the French plan No. 17 to recover the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine in one fell swoop. Rupprecht launched a counteroffensive the following month, but failed to break through the French front, and remained at a stalemate on the Western Front until the end of the war. In 1916, Ruprecht was awarded the rank of Field Marshal of Germany. In 1919, when Crown Prince was killed on the front, Ruprecht was unexpectedly given the opportunity to inherit the throne of the German Empire (he did not realize it at the time). On April 7, 1921, Ruprecht married Antoinette, the fourth daughter of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Guillaume IV. On October 18 of the same year, his father, Ludwig III, died, and he became King Ruprecht I of Bavaria. After the end of the war, Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate under the pressure of the Entente, and a number of republics were established in Germany, and after seeing the danger of "reddening" Germany, the Entente changed its strategy towards Germany and supported the German imperial family to fight against the Soviet revolutionary forces, and Ruprecht ended the chaotic political situation in Germany with the support of the military and the domestic big bourgeoisie, and successfully ascended to the throne of the German Empire.

As the best army commander among the members of the imperial family, Ruprecht certainly understood what it meant for Germany to keep only 100,000 troops.

"These 100,000 people will be the spark for the future revival of Germany and the mainstay of the country." "I will have a concrete plan for Your Majesty." ”

In fact, Seckert had already drawn up a plan to rearm and reinvigorate morale, so that the greatest advantage of the German army, the officer corps, could be preserved, and a new tactical method of German warfare could be conceived. Although the Treaty of Versailles stipulated that the number of German troops should not exceed 100,000, Seckert's plan made the most of that number. The criteria he set were: soldiers should be in good health and have more than 12 years of service experience; Officers should have at least 25 years of military experience. And once you become a member of the Defence Force, you need to receive specialized training in a certain area, with a focus on developing leadership skills. Seckert attaches great importance to the individual skills and initiative of the soldiers. Although the peace treaty forbade Germany to have military academies, Seckert avoided the important and established a military education system in the regimental units that existed in the troops, so that every private was trained to become a sergeant, every sergeant was trained to become an officer, and every officer was trained to become a general. Moreover, the German army will conduct exercises every six months to improve professional skills and improve professional quality.

Seckert's ultimate goal was to build a 100,000-strong trained army, where each soldier would be able to retrain other recruits and lead operations, and officers would need to be trained to be future commanders and commanders. This army will become the backbone of the German armed forces in the future.

As for the Chinese side's move to recruit a large number of German [***] people to serve in China, Seckert actually couldn't ask for it.

(To be continued)