Chapter 507: Special Envoy

As the German Führer’s special envoy, Guff and his entourage descended the gangway and set foot on American soil. Although the soldiers of the two countries were already fighting a world-shaking battle in North Africa, on the surface, the two nations still maintained ambassador-level diplomatic relations and were, in the traditional sense, normal countries that were not at war.

So Guff’s arrival was no surprise. In fact, not long ago, an American special envoy had also arrived in Berlin to lodge a strong protest with the German government over the sinking of an American transport ship.

Of course, in response to that protest, Germany had adopted the panacea strategy of “delaying.” No one really went to investigate the German submarines sinking the American transport, nor did anyone really pay any attention to the hysterical roars of the American special envoy.

Dönitz’s submarine force was now spread all over the Atlantic and had even extended its reach into the icy Arctic Ocean. These underwater sharks operated in packs, sinking any ship they saw that was not flying the German flag. They had indeed sunk American transport ships, even hundreds of them, and these thousands of tons of kills were at this very moment recorded in the navy’s combat reports, the evidence irrefutable.

If you still don’t believe that they did indeed sink American ships, then just go and look at the submarine captains with the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves around their necks. These men would boast in bars about how they had plundered the food and fine wine on board like pirates before sinking the American transports, and they would show off their astonishingly large kill counts to each other.

On the one hand, the newest and coolest Mercedes-Benz cars, the most beautiful and charming women, and the most luxurious, newly renovated mansions were rewarded to these stars of the submarine war with their outstanding records. Huge sums of money were transferred into their private accounts. On the other hand, the head of the Foreign Ministry would be pouring out his troubles to the American special envoy, vowing with great earnestness that the German army would never do anything to attack their American friends. Even Merkel himself felt a little shameless, but he did indeed enjoy the process.

“Mr. Guff, this time you are representing Germany in our United States. You must explain the issue of our merchant ships being attacked to President Roosevelt…” The moment they met, the American State Department official in charge of receiving Guff brought up the successive incidents of German submarines attacking merchant ships in the Atlantic.

“I’m sorry, sir. I have come to the United States this time to represent our German Führer, the great Mr. Akado Rudolph, to meet with President Roosevelt… not to discuss such trivial matters,” Guff said coldly, glancing at the American diplomat beside him who seemed to be on the verge of a long-winded speech. “Are we also in charge of your maritime administration when your ships sink?”

“You…!” Who doesn’t know that you Germans are behind these sinkings? Who doesn’t know that your submarines have already begun to patrol our East Coast? We even sank one of your submarines a few days ago! the American diplomat cursed in his heart.

Finally, the American diplomat, his face flushed red with suppressed anger, could bear it no longer. He pointed his finger at Guff’s nose and said, “There will come a time when you will come begging us Americans! You had better remember today’s arrogance and rudeness. We Americans will repay it in double!”

Guff nodded and replied with a smile, “I hope there is indeed such a time. But even if there is, I will not be as hysterical as you are today, sir.”

“…” The American diplomat felt it was better to keep his mouth shut. It seemed that against such an extremely assertive diplomat from such an extremely assertive country, he really had no advantage to gain.

Soon, Guff met with President Roosevelt. The two exchanged greetings and then sat down on facing sofas. The atmosphere of the meeting was so friendly that one could not tell at all that the two countries were actually at daggers drawn, stabbing each other in the back in the Atlantic and North Africa.

“Your country still owes this old man an explanation, Mr. Guff. You have not yet given a reasonable explanation for the sinking of our country’s merchant ships,” Roosevelt said, not giving up on the issue of the Atlantic submarine war. After a few pleasantries, he shifted the topic to this matter.

Guff had clearly come prepared and did not beat around the bush or make excuses. He put away his smile, put on a solemn expression, and looked at President Roosevelt. “Mr. President, since you feel that there should be an explanation, then is this explanation reasonable: the German submarines sank transports heading for Britain, not merchant ships?”

“No, no, no, Mr. Guff, these were not transports, they were merchant ships!” Roosevelt sneered, playing the same game of denial that the Germans had been playing for a long time. He knew that those ships were full of munitions and strategic materials, but at a time like this, it was obviously impossible to admit it.

“Mr. President,” Guff said, having clearly anticipated Roosevelt’s attitude. “If you do not admit that those ships were transports, then we will not admit that those ships were sunk by German submarines. It’s as simple as that.”

It was clear that neither side was willing to tear off the mask, nor were they willing to give up the right to stab each other in the back in secret. So the game would have to continue like this, until the power of one of the two countries broke the world’s balance.

Roosevelt was silent, but Guff did not stop there. He looked at Roosevelt and continued, “American tanks and cars have appeared in North Africa. Our General Rommel has defeated an American army of unknown origin on the battlefields of North Africa and has captured more than 270 prisoners from this army… President Roosevelt, would you care to discuss this issue?”

“Is there such a thing?” Roosevelt feigned ignorance and called his secretary over. The two began to whisper to each other. It was as if they had really only heard this news today, and as if those American soldiers really had nothing to do with the United States.

After getting some information from his subordinate, Roosevelt’s expression clearly softened. He then looked at Guff with a smile and replied, “Those American soldiers are volunteers who went to North Africa to support the British war effort. Most of them have relatives and friends in Britain, so they joined the British army and fought for the British army. This matter has nothing to do with the United States government. Please ask the German Führer to consider the historical and traditional relationship between our United States and Britain, and not to let the spontaneous actions of the people affect the friendly relations between our two countries.”

Guff looked at Roosevelt, his eyes full of an “I knew it” expression. His face was practically written with the words “so punchable,” as if reminding Roosevelt: You’ve already gotten your revenge for the Atlantic U-boat war in North Africa, so next time, don’t keep complaining about the sunken merchant ships, or I’ll bring up the American prisoners in North Africa!

The two men were silent for a dozen seconds, as if they were both digesting the diplomatic attitudes that had just been revealed. Soon, they both seemed to understand and looked at each other and laughed.

“Germany does not wish to become America’s enemy. We will do our best to maintain restraint in the Atlantic and North Africa. You know that we have always been opposed to the Soviet Union’s westward advance and have been resisting the erosion of the Communist International,” Guff said with a smile. “We hope that America will not, at this time, disregard the common interests of the capitalist countries and do something that would harm them.”

Roosevelt nodded and replied with a smile, “America also hopes to maintain a friendly relationship with the powerful Germany. The minor frictions in North Africa and the Atlantic will not affect our broad cooperative relationship in other fields!”

Germany was now concentrating its forces on finishing the war on the Eastern Front, so it had no time or energy to deal with the powerful United States. And the United States was now worried about its interests in the Philippines being damaged by Japan, so it clearly did not want to make another powerful enemy like Germany. Neither country wanted to tear the friendly surface of their relationship, so they hit it off on this issue.

As if by agreement, the United States seemed to have forgotten about the German submarines wreaking havoc in the Atlantic; their hundreds of sunken ships had truly become tragic, lost souls. And Germany seemed to have never seen an American soldier in North Africa; Rommel’s prisoner-of-war camps had only ever held British soldiers.

Guff and Roosevelt had dinner together in perfect tacit understanding. The two critiqued the tender steak, tasted the vintage red wine, and even chatted about music and sports. The 1936 Olympics had been held in Italy because Akado was busy with rearmament, and the performance of the German delegation could only be described as mediocre.

However, it was clear that there was not much to talk about at such a diplomatic dinner. After avoiding many sensitive topics, the number of things that could interest everyone was very small. You couldn’t have the U.S. President and the Führer’s special envoy discussing women together, so fencing and sailing became the main topics of conversation.

“I hear that Mr. Führer has many mistresses? Is such a thing not a scandal for a leader in Germany?” Roosevelt asked Guff curiously as the banquet was about to end.

Guff was taken aback for a moment, then explained with great pride, “In the Middle and Far East, it is very reasonable for an emperor to have many concubines. Even now, if the Führer wanted to ascend to the imperial throne, I would support him wholeheartedly. Let alone just having a few more women.”

Nodding, Roosevelt brought the topic back to the Olympic long-distance running event. He lamented that his own legs were not so convenient and that he could not experience the charm of such a fast and passionate sport.

But in his heart, he was in turmoil. The Führer’s grip on power in Germany is clearly far greater than my own in America. Akado’s word is law in Germany, while my actions in America are constantly constrained by Congress. On this point, he admitted that he could not surpass Akado.

Published: 2025-08-31T02:22:14.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-12-04T13:48:53.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c507-special-137750346

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