Chapter 798: Visit

A transmigrator, no matter how capable, is very limited in what he can do. Akado had been very clear on this point for a long time. He could not provide detailed guidance on the development of weapons; he could only give a general direction with his limited knowledge.

His understanding of history allowed him to see the first signs of certain events, but because he had frequently changed the familiar history, the history that had deviated from its course was no longer known to him. As a result, he had gradually lost his original advantage.

In fact, governing a country is not something that a half-baked person from a future world can be competent at. Therefore, Akado understood better than anyone the importance of professional talent in all fields. These talents, in a certain sense, were more worthy of respect than a transmigrator like him.

The innovative military theories he had proposed were not met with a cold shoulder in the conservative Wehrmacht. A large number of young generals who supported him had immediately emerged. These men all looked to the future. Constrained by technology and the times, they had no good methods for improvement for a while. The result was that his appearance had let these people see hope. They had immediately gathered around him and had become the firm “Führer’s Faction.”

Guderian, Rommel, Dönitz, Manstein, Kesselring, Dick… so many great military strategists of land, sea, and air had helped Akado to realize and perfect his not-so-professional military theories, making advanced tactics like the blitzkrieg a proven and perfect rule.

However, these innovations had, after all, happened in history and had been studied by Akado himself, so when they happened, they had not brought Akado too much shock. But in other fields, fields where he could not give much guidance, German talent still emerged in droves and had miraculously kept pace with this transmigrator of his. This had to make one marvel at the wisdom of this nation.

Among these talents, the one Akado respected the most was the German Chancellor, old August. It should be known that in the other timeline that Akado was familiar with, the Third Reich had not had a chancellor for a long time, or the position had been a mere figurehead. For Akado to be willing to give this old gentleman the real power of a chancellor was enough to prove the old man’s ability.

This old man, who had only joined the Akado group later on, had, with his personal connections and his familiarity with all of Germany, helped Akado to dismantle the fatal Junker aristocrat group, to divide its vast power, and to integrate all the various factions in Germany, turning the entire country into a united and tightly knit war machine. Although there were occasional discords, on the whole, it could be said to be of one mind.

August had supported the economic reforms within Germany, had supported a large number of emerging monopoly capitalists like Krupp, and had given great responsibility to Schacht, who had been proven to be a super-expert in the economic field of the Empire, and Speer, a talent in industrial organization, to manage the various production and business operations within Germany as if they were an iron bucket.

It could be said that without this old man, even if Akado could have led Germany down the path of World War II, the country’s domestic affairs would have been a complete mess of his own making. He didn’t even dare to imagine what it would be like now. Without this old man, Germany’s internal affairs would have been a boiling pot of porridge. Let alone fighting a foreign war, just suppressing internal dissent would have been enough to make Akado have a mental breakdown.

Now this old man was lying on his sickbed, just lying there quietly, but it made all the dignitaries of the Empire even more nervous than the generals on the Eastern Front. Who would take over this important position? Who would continue to actually control this country for the Führer? Would the German war machine continue to charge forward as sharply as it did now, breaking through all the enemy’s blockades and becoming the hegemon of the world?

Akado walked quietly into the hospital room and sat down quietly by August’s sleeping bed, not waking the sleeping old man. He did not let anyone enter the room. He personally took an apple from the fruit basket on the bedside table and began to peel it, bit by bit, with a small knife. This was a hobby of his from his past life, to peel a complete apple peel with a fruit knife, without breaking it in the middle. He carefully adjusted the angle of the blade, letting the apple peel hang down like a girl’s long hair, all the way to the floor.

After he had finished peeling an apple, he cut the whole apple into small pieces, placed them on a clean plate, and arranged them in a circle like petals. Then he began to peel a second apple, until the entire plate was filled with apple slices, forming a complete pattern.

Only after he had finished everything did the concentrating Akado realize that old August had already opened his eyes and was watching his every move. And so he gave a slightly embarrassed smile, picked up the plate, and handed it to August, saying softly, “I came in a hurry and didn’t bring any gifts. I’ve peeled two apples for you. I hope you don’t mind, old sir.”

“I don’t mind, I don’t mind. In the entire Empire, I think apart from this sick old man, it’s not easy to get to eat an apple personally peeled by the Führer,” old August said, picking up a piece of apple with a slightly trembling hand and chewing on it, bit by bit. “For you to have rushed over from the front to see me, I am already very grateful, my Führer.”

“I’m sorry,” Akado suddenly apologized.

This abrupt apology made August pause for a moment. Then he realized what Akado was talking about and replied with some indifference, “The matter with my grandson, he brought it upon himself. It was also due to my lax discipline. The Führer has already handled it very well, and in the end, he has also given this old man some face. I am more than grateful. Why should the Führer apologize to me?”

Akado gave a bitter smile and then said softly, “When I dealt with this matter, I used too many underhanded methods. So I did not notify you and Krupp in advance, which made you worry.”

“Of course you couldn’t tell us! If we hadn’t reacted that way, then everyone would have seen through the ploy and would have believed that everything you did was your own plan! Only with Krupp rushing about desperately, and only with me ending up in the hospital, would your actions be understood, and would we have today’s effect,” August said, looking at Akado and admonishing him in the tone of a teacher. “What I’m not satisfied with is that you should have been more ruthless. My grandson, Krupp’s son…”

“August… you and I both know that’s not realistic. Every law has its loopholes. I can’t just watch as the people I know, the friends I’m familiar with, leave me. I am, after all, a man, not a god. And as a man, I must have emotions, and I must make choices that go against the rules because of my own emotions. I don’t regret it, because when time slips away from us, the things that are left, the things that can prove I once existed, apart from the cold records of history, are just the thoughts in the minds of those friends and family.” Akado said, handing a piece of apple from the plate to August.

Speaking of which, Akado gave a self-deprecating laugh and then looked at old August. “I am grateful to you, grateful for everything you have done for this nation, for this country, and also for me. So when I was faced with a choice, I would rather cover up and break the laws of this country than to let you, my friend, be harmed.”

“I still think, Akado, that you are more like a monarch than a head of state. You are worthy of my lifelong following. The only regret is that I am really old and can no longer walk with you for another 20 years. It is a truly painful thing,” August said, swallowing a mouthful of apple and sighing. He then said, “Three years. For this young friend of yours, for that ideal in my heart, I must hold on for another three years. Only after I have personally seen this world move towards the future under Germany’s leadership can I close my eyes in peace.”

“Three years is not enough. My little Caesar still needs you to be his teacher, to teach him to become a great man,” Akado said with a smile, waving his hand and joking with August. “You can’t slack off. At least live for another 20 years.”

“I can’t. I’m old,” August said, shaking his head, amused by Akado’s stubborn words. “I’ve already started to train a few students. They’ve been busy with me for half a year, and now they are quite talented.”

Speaking of which, he looked at Akado. “These students of mine are already reviewing documents and approving plans for me in the Chancellor’s Secretariat. I’ve just been supervising their work recently. It seems they have already grasped my essence. They are just lacking some experience and vision. Führer, you should not easily promote any one of them. Leave the position of Chancellor vacant. Give them a goal to strive for. One day, they will compete and give you a qualified Chancellor.”

This had the air of settling one’s affairs. Akado heard it in his heart, but his face showed no other expression. He just kept persuading August to take care of his health. At such an important moment, if August, the stabilizing pillar of the country, were to have a problem, it would definitely affect the combat on the front lines. This was definitely a result that Akado did not want to see.

Moreover, for a time, Akado could not come up with a decent talent to take over such an important position. Although there were many who could make do, in the end, there was no one who could, like August, suppress all the various factions and still maintain a balance, without in the slightest dragging down the development of the economy, military, culture, and education.

“Don’t let your thoughts wander, old sir. Just focus on getting well. I still need you, and the Empire can’t do without you,” Akado said, standing up and speaking softly to August. “As for your grandson’s matter, don’t you worry about it either. I’ve sent him to Kesselring’s side to be trained and to gain some experience! When the time is right, I’ll give him an Iron Cross and send him to the Air Force General Staff to be a major general. As for Krupp’s side, you can also tell him for me. I’ve thrown his son into the navy, to start from the bottom and learn from Raeder.”

“…” Watching Akado walk out of the hospital room, August said no more.

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