Iron Cross

Chapter 105 I am a Party Member

Seeing everyone's eyes turned towards him, Kesselring didn't know what was going on, and it was inconvenient to ask in public. He could only remind him by coughing softly. At this time, Hoffman seemed to have just come back to his senses.

"I'm sorry, I just suddenly thought of something and got a little distracted." Hoffman smiled apologetically, "Can you allow me to listen to your story again?"

"Of course..." Kesselring had just begun to tell the reason why Rank was awarded the medal, but was interrupted before he could say a few words, "I'm not talking about this, I'm talking about the previous..."

"The one in front?" Kesselin was confused. "What's in front?"

"England...the period when he was in England."

"It turns out that the Führer is interested in this period of history." Kesselring scratched his head, because he was not particularly familiar with it, so he had to say, "Major Rank, please introduce yourself and the Führer."

Rank had been frightened just now, and his body was so stiff that he couldn't move. Kesselring called him three times before he could react and stammered: "The head of state...the head of state, Marshal Kesselring, I..."

"Young man, don't be nervous. Your superiors will not bury your contributions and achievements. They all see your growth. Your understanding and evaluation of your own value can definitely be improved." Hoffman reassured him, "I am just very interested in your experience before you resolutely returned to the German family. You must know that I resonate with you during this experience. When I see you, I think of myself when I was young - although I fought for Germany in the last war. I have been through life and death, but strictly speaking, I was not a German citizen more than ten years ago.”

Rank talked about his personal experience in detail. He was very nervous and restrained at first, but then he slowly relaxed. He described the whole past in a calm tone, and finally said in a choked voice: "Respect President, I saw that speech at the darkest and lowest moment in my life. Your words were like a guiding light that illuminated my way forward, freeing me from my confusion and taking the right path. In the big German family, I have a career, a status, and an honor. Although I have never fought in a war and have not received any systematic military education, I am not quite like a pure soldier when performing tasks. I am very scared, but when I think of your teachings and your ardent expectations, I feel full of courage. I am not afraid of these enemies at all. I believe we can succeed, and I am willing to use everything I have in exchange for the interests of the nation..."

Keitel suddenly reacted: "I remembered, you are the lieutenant who lectures to the military school students. You are the first lieutenant who does not work in the military school and can teach them."

"Marshal, you remember correctly, that's me."

Hoffman smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "I appreciate what you just expressed, but there is one thing I think you said wrong. What is a soldier? From when he puts on military uniform, loyal to the German people and bravely fights the enemy. He is an excellent soldier, regardless of his specific position - you see, when I became a corporal, I was just an ordinary orderly soldier. My shooting and stabbing abilities were also very average. I didn't kill many enemies with my own hands, but my commander was still They fully affirmed my achievements and awarded me this rare honor." He pointed to the Iron Cross Second Class that he always wore from World War I and said, "From then on, I made up my mind. Fighting for the German people until death - no matter what position I hold, the people believe in me and support me, and finally elected me as the head of state. "

Rank stood at attention, saluted, and replied with a sonorous and powerful voice: "I understand, no matter what position I am in, I will fight for Germany until death."

The awarding ceremony was finally over. After taking a group photo, everyone left the Prime Minister's Office. Rank was very cautious. He let all the officers with higher military ranks than himself and the heroes who were in front of him during the awarding go first - this was almost as if he was The last one to leave. Just as he stepped out of the door and was about to leave, a voice suddenly came from behind: "Major Rank, please stay."

"Who are you?" Looking at the opponent's lieutenant colonel rank, he first saluted habitually, and then asked doubtfully.

"I am Dargos, the chief deputy of the head of state. The head of state has something to ask you. He has asked me to let you see him again, but you need to wait for 5 minutes."

"Okay, no problem."

In the Führer's office, Bowman spoke in a strange tone: "Führer, do you really want to give up on this person? This is someone we have spent a lot of effort and carefully cultivated for a long time. He has all the conditions needed to perform the task. Smart, cold, ruthless, versatile and familiar with local conditions, everything meets the operational requirements. Why do you suddenly ask for a replacement?"

"No reason, because I found someone better and more suitable."

"who?"

"You just met."

"Just now?" Bowman suddenly remembered, "You mean Rank?"

Hoffman nodded: "That's him. I think he is far more suitable than the person you selected."

"Really? Why can't I see it?" Bowman didn't want to contradict Hoffman. He knew that most of the time it was difficult for the head of state to change his mind, but what was the reason that made the head of state change his mind after just a few minutes of contact? Did you decide at first glance that Rank was the ideal person? Perhaps it could be classified as the head of state's terrible intuition, but he felt that it was somewhat unclear logically. He hoped that the head of state could give him a reasonable explanation. After all, he had devoted a lot of effort to this action.

"On the surface, Rank has no training. Not only does he lack ruthless determination and the ability to deal with various difficult situations, his physical condition is not outstanding, and he is a little emotionally and mentally sensitive. He does not seem to meet the requirements of an agent. "But..." Hoffman elaborated in a drawn-out voice, "You have to understand that the person who implemented this plan almost escaped death. He must have great courage and loyalty, and he must be full of love for the German people. and the leader's love, the person you selected is just a scum of society at best. The reason why he agreed to serve us is entirely because we caught his handle, and at the same time he had to succumb to the Gestapo's methods - this was forced He reluctantly surrendered. If he fell into the hands of the British, how long could he survive the methods of the British spy agency? Could it be that he lacked the mentality to betray his comrades from the beginning? He highly identifies with the German spirit and is willing to die for it. In other words, he is performing the task based on reason, but for this task, reason alone is not enough. What is more important is faith, faith and will - and Ranke is exactly that. He is the most suitable candidate with these conditions.”

"Well, you convinced me, I hope you can convince this young man as well." Bowman sighed and no longer insisted on his idea.

"Dong dong dong" Dargos led Ranke and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

"Go in." He told Rank, "Relax in front of the Führer, he values ​​you very much."

Rank straightened his clothes, especially the Knight's Cross he had just received, and then walked into the office calmly. Dargos immediately closed the door and guarded the door nervously.

"Major Rank of the Logistics Department of the Africa Army Headquarters is here to see you." Rank raised his hands respectfully.

"Major Rank, we meet again so soon." Hoffman pointed at Bowman, "This is Comrade Bowman, our party manager."

Rank saluted Bowman again, and the latter asked directly without much greeting: "Are you a party member? When did you join the party?"

"I am a member of the Party, Party Card No. 05966413." Ranke replied without hesitation, "I submitted my party application to my superiors the second week after joining the army, but because my loyalty test took 2 years and 104 days, I finally accepted it. I passed, so I actually joined the party in my third year. My former commander in the division’s logistics department, Shublen, introduced me to the party.”

"There is a very important task now. The chance of success is only one in ten. The chance of safe evacuation after success is still 10%. I know you are a top student in the Statistics Department of Cambridge University. May I ask..." Hoffman suddenly said Something unrelated to the previous topic, "What is the probability of successfully completing the mission and evacuating safely?"

"Only 1%." Rank replied without hesitation.

"Comrade Rank..." Bowman stared into Rank's eyes and asked in a very solemn tone, "If the head of state and the party want you to carry out this almost life-or-death mission, are you willing?" Do you accept it?”

"I do!"

"You have to think carefully and don't answer so quickly. Maybe you may not be suitable for this task."

"No! Although I don't know what the mission is, since you let me stay, it proves that I meet the needs of the mission, and..." Rank also answered in a very solemn tone, "Can the head of state and you be so solemn about it?" The tasks must be related to the overall situation, the safety of the party, the interests of the country and the fundamental interests of the German people. I personally will never back down at such a historical juncture. I must be worthy of the country and the people, and I must be worthy of the leader. My love must be worthy of the medal I received!”

"Now I believe your decision is correct." Bowman turned to Hoffman and said, "The head of state always sees people more accurately than we do. He usually sees higher, farther and deeper. This kind of impassioned His attitude and down-to-earth spirit have never been seen in another person.”

Hoffman only smiled slightly and said nothing more.

Rank interjected: "And the probability of me completing the task may be more than 10%."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have to consider the issue of evacuation. If necessary, I can sacrifice myself to cover the retreat of other comrades, so the probability of success is greater." Ranke said with a decisive attitude, "From the day I applied to join the party, I vowed to Everything including dedicating my life to the party and the people was not a problem for me - I gained a new life from the day I returned from the UK. For a person who has already died once, death is by no means a scary thing. ”

"Very well, invite Otto Skorzeny to meet his best partner."

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