Iron Cross

Of course there are risks in doing so, but after thinking about it, Hoffman decided to take the risk: he knew clearly that in terms of major industrial products during World War II, the one closest to Germany and the United States was coal. The historical data was 85%. Now after hard work, especially After the Donbas coal-producing area is restored, he believes that the total output should be able to exceed that of the United States; the historical data of power generation is 25% of that of the United States. Now due to the reduction of strategic air strikes and the construction of power plants, he believes that it is still relatively high to reach one-third or even 40%. It is certain that if a little more coal production capacity is released for power generation, the gap between Germany and the United States will be smaller.

Himmler was very satisfied with this, and then continued to ask: "Since thermal power is not enough, can we put more effort into hydropower?"

Speaking of hydropower, Hoffman's mind suddenly went bang. He suddenly remembered the story of the British bombing of the Ruhr Dam, and immediately asked Speer nervously: "How is the Ruhr Dam? Is it safe? Will it be blown up by the enemy?" "?"

"Blow up? No!" Speer explained. "Experts have assessed that the place is very safe. Let alone bombing, even burying explosives in the openings may not be effective unless the water is drained and the Just bury the explosives underneath.”

Hoffman smiled bitterly: Conventional bombs won't work, but they can't stop the British from using special bombs.

"No, air defense forces must be deployed immediately."

Jeshunek was startled by the sudden call from Dargos. Hearing the head of state's solemn explanation of air defense, Jeshunek quickly said: "Okay, I will dispatch 100 fighter jets and 2 anti-aircraft artillery regiments to protect it."

"The head of state said, double it again." Within 2 minutes, Dargos called again.

Jeshunek became even more nervous now: "Is there accurate information that the enemy is coming to bomb? When?"

"There are some clues, but I don't know the specific time. The head of state's instructions must be in place tomorrow."

After receiving the personal assurance, the relieved Hoffman continued the meeting - Jeshunek was very good at this. He could follow the top instructions to the letter. He didn't bother to explain the rationality. Anyway, the past few months were nonsense. Did a lot of things. Fortunately, there are a lot of fighter jets in Western Europe now. What if 200 of them are dedicated to protecting the dam and the Ruhr area? It would be best if the British didn't come. If they come, they won't be able to escape.

After the power dispatching came to an end, Himmler asked: "Fuhrer, why do you want to let some professors with bad brains go? They obviously have bad intentions..."

Speer also seemed confused. In his opinion, the head of state was not so easy to talk to before.

"You mean Hahn?"

"It's not just him, there are a bunch of people. Heisenberg is not a good guy either." Himmler said angrily, "If you hadn't stopped me, I would have asked the General Security Service to send the Gestapo to the door tomorrow to find out whether there was any contact with the enemy. Collusion, are they hidden traitors?”

"There are some things that we can't do anything about for the time being, like those Junker officers who are stubborn. What can I do with them? Kill them or lock them up?" Hoffman said calmly, "Scientific research is different from doing hard work. It is completely innovative. Relying on External coercion is not enough. We must rely on enthusiasm, motivation, and of course knowledge. If he doesn’t love this thing, how can he study it? What if we force them to study it and slack off? Or just give us wrong data or research directions? What to do? Didn't Canaris use false information to mislead us? Fortunately, there is still a chance to verify and compare. Who can you compare with when the American bomb falls on your head? The more important thing is that it will be over. The thing is, I don’t think the Gestapo can tell who is right and who is wrong, let alone you, even the experts themselves can’t tell who is right and who is wrong, who are you arresting?”

Himmler finally had to sigh.

Hoffman turned to Speer and said, "In the future, the Apollo program will be divided into two groups. The research work of the energy group will be in charge of the Ministry of Armament; the research work of the bomb group will be in charge of the SS. The overall project will still be carried out by Marshal Milch. implement."

The two looked at each other and nodded in unison: because Milch was taking the lead, the Ministry of Armaments actually gained a dominant position; because other experts from the Bomb Sect were included, which would greatly enhance the strength of Dibner's team, and the rubber factory and The secret base of Auschwitz was inseparable from the SS, so Himmler could also accept this arrangement.

"Führer, do you really want to promise them not to use nuclear bombs first?" Speer asked in confusion.

"This is a strategy and the essence of deterrence. We fight to win, not to destroy each other. Holding a nuclear bomb in your hand is more frightening than using it, and I don't think nuclear bombs have a decisive effect on the current war. ——Stalin still resisted even after 10 million people were killed, because if the nuclear bomb killed 500,000 to 1 million more people, he would surrender? "

The two nodded. The power of nuclear bombs is of course huge, but the problem is also obvious - the cost of manufacturing is too high. If this investment is used for tanks or aircraft, the utility ratio will be better.

"As for the no-first-use promise..." Hoffman laughed, "Am I that pedantic? It depends on scientists to make bombs. Whether to use them and how to use them is not decided by politicians. Besides, neither are experts. After all, there are only a few people with bad brains. If I organize a referendum and let the German people decide whether to fight with this new weapon, what do you think they will think? "

"Needless to say, there must be a strong demand to use it!"

"Finally, there is the issue of funding..." Hoffman tapped the table, "Since the previous stage of funding has been used up, the next step is to allocate 2 billion marks, 1.8 billion for bombs, 200 million for energy, and then all the uranium enrichment centrifuges currently used will be managed and protected by the SS, and the SS will also be responsible for providing the raw materials needed for other research."

"I agree with the 9:1 ratio, and the raw materials will also be allocated according to this ratio. Anyway, Heisenberg himself said just now that this scale is enough." Himmler said first, "The SS can pay 1 billion marks, and I plan to use all the Jewish profits in This, but let me make one thing clear first, this is all for the bomb faction, I don't care about the energy faction - I am not interested in nuclear energy; I trust Marshal Milch to manage the project, but I want to send someone to control the finances to prevent another corrupt element. "

Speer said helplessly: "Okay, the rest of the armaments will be given to me."

The SS has accumulated a lot of wealth through the "export" of Jews, and the scale has continued to increase. Even several medium-sized banks in the United States have secretly made "Hexagram Bonds" - banks provide funds to advance the ransom, guaranteed by local Jewish communities, and let the parties flee to the United States to repay the mortgage. Hoover actually knew about this, but the Jews were too powerful, and this obvious act of aiding the enemy was finally let off lightly. And Himmler stopped all the extermination measures in the concentration camps because of the export income - killing people also costs money.

"Three days later, after the scholars have chosen their own, I will gather the members of the bomb group to give them a speech to encourage them." After traveling through time for a few months, Hoffman found that his speech skills have greatly improved. It is no problem for him to speak fluently and nonstop for 1-2 hours. In the eyes of others, the head of state's eloquent speeches have become less frequent recently.

He explained: "In terms of knowledge, Dibner and his team belong to the second-tier team, but in terms of enthusiasm, they are top-notch. I believe they can create their own success - we must respect science, but we don't have to be superstitious about authority. If we are superstitious about authority, the German people will never choose a corporal as the commander!"

Hahahaha, the other two laughed.

On the other side, after Dibner came out, von Ardenne anxiously asked him, "How was the meeting?"

"It was great. The Führer gave us a very high evaluation. He thought that the working ideas and methods were basically correct. What was particularly worthy of recognition was the positive work attitude and enthusiasm. He thought this was more important than anything else... He was determined to vigorously develop nuclear bombs. Comrade National Leader just told me that the Führer promised to continue to increase investment, and Minister Speer also made a guarantee. We don't have to worry about the power problem."

"Great!" Ardenne was very happy. This is a very interesting person. Dibner at least has a doctorate title and has worked in a research institution for a period of time. He is considered a young backbone. Von Ardenne became a researcher completely out of interest after dropping out of high school. Let alone a doctorate, he doesn't even have a university degree. In Heisenberg's eyes, Dibner was a second-rate scholar, and people like Arden were not qualified to talk about these things. He arrogantly claimed, "Any physics student is better than him."

But it was this person who was looked down upon by Heisenberg who made achievements in Dibner's group: the isotope separation and purification work carried out by the "Rubber Factory" relied on Arden's scientific research results - the electromagnetic mass isotope separator, which was better than the calu tube used by the Americans. This is why the rubber factory used so little electricity to extract far more high-abundance uranium than Heisenberg.

Hoffman's determination to support Dibner was certainly not a whim. He carefully studied the report they submitted and thought there were many highlights in it:

First, Dibner was insufficient in theory, otherwise he would not rely on the research results of the Curie Laboratory to propose his own plan, but he had a strong ability to summarize and analyze. Just relying on that little foundation and the few words he got from Heisenberg, he proposed his own plan and succeeded. His insights into the sketch given by Hoffman were more profound than others;

Secondly, he was very capable in forming a scientific research team. Dibner Because he was discriminated against in academia, Dibner recruited talents in an unconventional way. If Arden had not met him, he would have been buried there. During the research process, Dibner's team worked hard day and night, exerting their subjective initiative to the maximum, unlike Heisenberg's team who were slow and unhurried, and not like Hahn who was restrained;

Finally and more importantly, Dibner faced the limitation of insufficient nuclear materials, and was not limited to the atomic bomb sketch provided by Hoffman, but proposed a brand new way to detonate the bomb - this shocked Hoffman!