Battle of the Third Reich Volume 3 Chapter 7 Part1

Volume 3, Chapter 7

Xu Jun opened the door to his own room. However, he was stunned for a second.

Although this room was the same size as. .h.i.tler's, it was decorated like a palace. It could be more accurate to say that this was a treasury.

A full set of Louis XIV furniture, each corner inlaid with exquisite copper. A pure white wool carpet embroidered with purple flowers was stretched across the ground. Hanging from the ceiling was a full one-meter crystal chandelier. On the left side of the wall hung a few fine paintings. It seems to be some of Raphael’s portraits. Even in 1940, they would still be priceless treasures.

Also near the wall were three polished s.h.i.+ny sets of armor. The silver-plated surface was without blemishes or scars. From the helmet style and embedded gold coat of arms on the breastplate, it should be from a royal family's collection. Next to the armor were several medieval weapons hanging on the wall. All inlaid with gold and silver. In the corner were a few marble statues, probably be works from the Roman times. It must have taken a lot of effort from the soldiers to get them in here.

Other exquisite porcelain and crafts were spread out everywhere, however in the middle of this he even recognized a few pieces from China.

"What! This should be the imperial porcelain, right? If so then this is a national treasure!"

Seeing so many cultural relics, Xu Jun almost fainted from excitement. He looked at each piece for a moment, then realized that he could touch everything in the room. Completely immersing himself in the relics, forgetting the time and everything else.

As Xu Jun was trying to identify the origin of the white and blue bowls, a knock on the door sounded.

“Come in.”

Xu Jun reluctantly put down the bowl. Then Ruhr came in and said to him, “The Fuhrer would like to ask you to go to the restaurant for dinner.”

” Well, let us go then.”

Xu Jun put on the officer cap that laid on the table. Under the leaders.h.i.+p of Ruhr, he followed him to the restaurant.

The banquet area was already quite vibrant. Hitler sat on the end of a long table that was covered with snow-white tablecloths. The generals and Party officials were sitting on both sides, their voices loud and filled with laughter.

The table was decorated with beautiful flowers and elegant silver dishes. The toasted bread filled the room with an attractive aroma, and the fresh b.u.t.ter was placed on the little silver plates before them.

As Xu Jun walked into the restaurant, Hitler stood and everyone followed him. Everyone giving a warm applause. Xu Jun quickly went to the table, and expressed his grat.i.tude. He did not expect such a heartfelt warm welcome from his colleagues. Sitting in the seat provided, which happened to be the closest seat to Hitler, who sat at the very end of the table. At the motion of Hitler, everyone sat down.

Waiting until all the people were sitting, Hitler glanced at his subordinates on both sides with his sharp eyes. Then stood up and began to speak. Speaking first on the safe return of Xu Jun. Then expressed his grat.i.tude, and about how difficult and how crucial the battle was. Touting and exaggerating Xu Jun's amazing talent and that his perseverance should be a guide for the military.

Of course, they had to wait until he finished speaking to start feasting. However, no one expected that his speech moved to topics of the conquest of Europe, the German revival, and the such. Originally this brief welcome speech turned into a speech fit for one of the Party rallies. The poor generals and officials had to accept this horrific bombardment of words and contain their hunger.

However, Xu Jun was focused on something else. As. .h.i.tler began his speech, he had constantly been scanning the personnel gathered. Here, quite a few he could recognize in an instant simply from old photos. However, he after a brief scan his heart fluttered slightly. Nearly half of the senior leaders are all gathered here.

On the way to the restaurant, Ruhr told him that last night Hitler ordered the major Party officials to come over from Berlin. It seems that Hitler indeed spared no effort for his Wehrmacht idol plan.

One of the first people he saw was Göring who sat directly opposite him, Göring in 1940 was not too fat yet. Only perhaps a bit burly, however, it's starting to go in that trend. Göring was dressed in his white air marshal uniform, and equipped none of those lavish medals on his chest. Only waring only the Pour le Mérite medal that was awarded to him in 1918. Which was the result of his ill.u.s.trious services in the first World War. As a result, he is often depicted wearing it along with an Iron Cross. When Göring saw Xu Jun looking at him, he turned his head. Refusing to look at him.

Xu Jun knew that the relations.h.i.+p between Jack and Göring was once quite harmonious. But after Hitler came to power the two had to compete over funding. So, after a few unpleasant disagreements, the two now became as incompatible as fire and water.

Further down is the Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. Quite the shrewd man, however, he was. .h.i.tler’s most powerful tongue. He had a part in virtually all of the propaganda decisions in the Third Reich. One of Hitler’s fanatical admirers, he went from a n.a.z.i tabloid editor and climbed to his current position in these ten years. Perhaps the reason Hitler thought so well of him was that Goebbels was one of the few people that could listen to his full two-day speeches and not grow drowsy.

That little talker was sitting next to burly Göring, forming an amusing contrast. Goebbels wore a gray suit and a thin black tie. When Goebbels saw Xu Jun looking at him, he gave a courteous nod. Because of Jack’s position and status, Goebbels has always maintained close contact with him. So, the two of them were on good terms, Jack even went to his house and ate a few meals.

Then on the other side of the thin propaganda minister is another of the prominent figures. The notorious leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler.

The so-called “executioner” of the Germans in World War II. Along with his many other t.i.tles. He was currently listening to Hitler’s speech without even blinking, causing some sense of admiration from Xu Jun.

Presently, Himmler’s loyalty to Hitler was unparalleled. Hitler’s words were treated by him as the truth, and any man who slandered or opposed Hitler would be brutally destroyed by him. Hitler once said that Himmler was his most trusted subordinate. His fanatical wors.h.i.+p was always well known. It’s said that if Hitler wanted him to kill his grandmother, or all the country's balding men, or even people’s whose names starts with “a”, he would quickly do it.

The leader of the SS was dawning his black uniform, his hair even cut similarly to Hitler’s. He wore his signature silver-rimmed gla.s.ses, he stared motionlessly at the Fuhrer. It seems even Xu Jun’s direct stare had no effect on him.

However, Jack’s relations.h.i.+p with Himmler is even closer than that of Goebbels. First, because of his ident.i.ty as Deputy Fuhrer, he was also subject to the idol wors.h.i.+p. The second is that the two had a common enemy, Göring. Himmler always felt Göring looked down on him, treating him like a harmless chick. Finally, the third is that the two were both ruthless, especially towards the Jews.

So, because of this, by the time Xu Jun replaced Jack. The two were already good friends.