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墨書 Inktalez
Strasbourg is a small city located on the Franco-German border. This city is unremarkable, with the only characteristic being its lack of defensible positions.
As a result, over the past few hundred years, this small town has changed hands multiple times between France and Germany, officially becoming part of France in 1681. However, from 1871 to 1918, it was once again part of the German Empire, during which time schools began to prohibit French and only taught in German. This period corresponds to the time when little Franz attended school in "The Last Lesson."
However, with the defeat of the German Empire, this city returned to the embrace of France. The multiple changes in ownership have made the culture of this small town diverse. Many streets are named after either French or German names, and it's about fifty-fifty in terms of people with French surnames and German surnames in the city. It's not uncommon for French-speaking people to have German surnames and for German-speaking people to have French surnames here.
Originally, due to its location on the border, this area was supposed to be a bustling trade city. In the past, Strasbourg was indeed a prosperous little town; although it was not large, its economy was thriving. However, due to the war, the German Army and the French Army once engaged in a major battle in this town, and the intense shelling turned it into a wasteland.
So far, this small town has only just begun to recover from the ravages of war, and even then, it has barely returned to its pre-war state. The city center of Strasbourg has been beautifully rebuilt, but what does that have to do with the homeless in the suburbs? Every night, the homeless of Strasbourg gather at the city gate, waiting for the garbage truck to leave the city and dump its load. As soon as the garbage begins to fall, they rush forward, scrambling to seize the scraps.
At this moment, while these vagrants were scavenging for scraps, a group of people were crouching in a dense forest outside the city gate, whispering to each other.
"Do you all understand?" asked the man in military uniform who appeared to be the leader. After receiving affirmative responses from the others, he quickly gave his final instructions.
"Your new identities we have been arranged. When the time comes, you will blend in with these groups of vagrants. we have done the investigation. This place is very chaotic, with several homicides every day, and the police don't care. No one pays attention to whether there are more or fewer people. Once you have blended into the city, you can find the opportunity to join the French army."
French people Now, because of the "pacifist trend," we can't recruit people for the army at all. We can only try to recruit from remote areas, and it's very easy for you to blend in there."
"Of course, if you are unfortunate enough to be caught, then you will have to take the trouble to commit suicide. Your family will be taken care of by the National Defense Forces," the officer added.
"Hail Germany."
These soldiers disguised as vagrants muttered in low voices, then turned and disappeared into the jungle.
The officer watched the direction the soldiers went in, saluted solemnly.
······
Soviet and Polish Border
Late at night, the border station still flickers with dim lights, and two duty Soviet Union soldiers are leaning against the guard booth, bored, counting the stars.
For night shift workers, duty is always a very boring thing.
"Strange, why hasn't the shift changed yet?"
One of the sergeants looked up at the moon in the night sky. When the weather was clear, he relied on it to tell the time.
In the past, when the moon was directly overhead, the shift change should have occurred. But now, the moon has started to fall, and the replacement has not arrived. Just as the private was complaining in his heart whether the replacement had drunk too much again, a few figures faintly flashed in the distance. The soldier with the gun quickly raised his gun and aimed at the distant figures.
"Who are you?" he demanded sternly, but his gun was immediately pushed down by the sergeant from earlier. "Don't get agitated, we're on the same side."
The corporal's eyesight was obviously better than his companion's, and he could see the uniforms of the people hundreds of meters away in the moonlight. His companion hesitantly put down his gun, and it turned out he was not mistaken. Two soldiers in Soviet Union military uniforms had arrived and quickly entered the border station. One of them took out his identification from his pocket and handed it to the corporal, who took a look and confirmed that they were indeed border troops.
"You've worked hard. We'll take over from here," said the officer taking over the shift.
"No problem, but why have the people on duty changed today? You both look unfamiliar to me!"
The private was a little confused.
"The two before us got drunk on vodka, so they asked us to come over and take over the shift," the officer explained nonchalantly.
"I see, that makes sense." The corporal nodded. In the Soviet Army, soldiers drinking secretly off duty was not uncommon. Despite clear military orders prohibiting soldiers on duty from drinking, everyone turned a blind eye, after all, there's safety in numbers.
The political commissar also found it difficult to manage these Slavic people who are addicted to alcohol, and could only turn a blind eye to their drinking. As the soldiers on duty watched the departing soldiers from the previous shift, they immediately took their positions and stood ready, awaiting the arrival of another group. They didn't have to wait long before a group of about a platoon's worth of soldiers emerged from the distant hillside.
These people are agile, obviously trained soldiers. They quickly approached the guard post, but it was clear that both sides were aware of each other's presence, so a tense situation did not arise. The leading sergeant entered the guard post and skillfully asked the officer in Russian.
"Soviet-German friendship."
"Unbreakable."
The officer replied.
Both hands were firmly clasped together.
"You are fifteen minutes late," the sergeant said with a hint of reproach.
"No way, it took us quite some time to pass through the territory of the Polish people," the squad leader said somewhat helplessly. "It shouldn't expose your operation, right?"
"Of course, the soldier who's on guard duty today is an old acquaintance of ours. I've given him a few barrels of high-purity vodka to drink, so he'll be out for at least fifteen minutes, if not fifteen hours." The officer said smugly. "Just head east from here for about a kilometer, there's a small grove with a marked tree where a car is parked. Everything you need is in there."
"Thank you very much."
The squad leader didn't bother with pleasantries and left the outpost with the remaining soldiers.
At the same time, similar things were happening in many places, with many dark figures lurking from Germany to various parts of Europe.
"Right, that's correct, I am Heinrich. The initial phase of the 'Telescope' project has been deployed, with one casualty and three missing. The remaining personnel are all in position," Reinhard Heydrich reported to Berlin.
"All soldiers who are dead or missing will be promoted one rank. Their families should be prepared for condolences. All ranks will be discarded to confuse the enemy. Once everyone has completed their respective tasks, we will immediately begin the next phase of the mission."
"Yes, long live Supreme Leader Gregor Strasser!"
Heinrich saluted over the phone.
Strasser hung up the phone, and across from him sat the idle General Siket. The general was now free of official duties; aside from accompanying Anna on leisurely outings, he would often visit the General Staff of the Army for meals, under the guise of "inspecting Strasser's work." To keep the elderly man occupied, Strasser had sent several parrots to General Siket.
Although Seeckt was very interested in the talking birds, he clearly had no experience in caring for them. Strasser found it more practical to simply replace the birds rather than teach him how to help them change their food, ensuring that Seeckt's parrot would live forever. Fortunately, recently, the Nanjing government in China sent Strasser a beautiful set of Go as a token of appreciation for the cooperation from the Germans.
Strasser took the opportunity to present a Go board to General Siket. Under his guidance, Siket quickly learned how to play and began visiting the General Staff of the Army daily to practice with his old subordinates. However, these veterans were all novices, and Seeckt easily defeated them in no time. The only one with a higher skill level, Major General Mark, was too intimidated to win against his superior's grandfather. In the end, the undefeated Seeckt had no choice but to seek out Strasser, who had originally taught him how to play Go.
"I have already taken the initiative and have a significant advantage."
Strasser hung up the phone and placed a white piece directly on the board.
"Don't be too pleased too soon; everyone isn't foolish. Your moves are not something others can overlook."
Seeckt chose a spot and placed a black piece, instantly turning the tide of the game.
"You are right, Grandfather, I still need to place one more piece."
Strasser held a white piece, searching the board for a suitable position for quite some time, but found none.
Suddenly, the sharp-eyed Strasser spotted an open space and without hesitation, he landed there, turning the tide of the game once again.
"Once this piece is placed, I will win the game," Strasser said with a smile.
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