Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 157 Departure
"My dear general, it's such a pleasure to meet you here!" The fat Göring, holding the marshal's scepter, opened his arms and warmly embraced the other, as if the meeting between the two high-ranking officials of the empire was truly just an accident.

Upon seeing this scene, the adjutant instinctively glanced to the side.

The term "My dear General" is almost exclusively used by heads of state. For the marshal before us to greet us in this manner easily evokes other interpretations.

The others focused their attention on the army general in front of them, watching to see how he would respond.

The shrewd Manstein demonstrated just the right amount of social wisdom.

Facing Göring, who was two ranks above him, he did not directly point out the inappropriateness of the other's address, but instead raised his right arm and extended it diagonally forward.

"Hil Hitlr!"

Goring paused for a moment, then raised his right hand and replied somewhat listlessly, "Hil Hitlr!"

"Marshal, I am also very happy to see you here. Today is truly a good day."

"Your Excellency, the Führer has just appointed the Commander-in-Chief as the Imperial Marshal," a follower whispered. It was Fritz Loser, the head of the Rosenberg Special Task Force.

“Fritz, don’t do that. The appointment hasn’t been officially announced yet.” Göring pretended to be angry and reprimanded his adjutant, but his expression showed no displeasure whatsoever.

The title of Reichsmarschall was created by Hitler specifically for Göring, breaking the boundary of marshal as the highest military rank, meaning it was higher than an ordinary marshal. Until the end of World War II, only Göring held this title.

It is clear that the trust he had received at this point had reached its peak.

“My general, the train is about to depart. Let’s talk on board.” Göring waved his scepter and stepped forward. Manstein hesitated for a moment before following behind.

Goring's adjutant then ordered the men behind him, "Load all of His Excellency's personal belongings into the car, quickly!"

Large wooden crates were carried onto the train. When the SS officer who had just inspected the crates saw the grand display and the markings on them, he was stunned. He never expected that two important figures would arrive at the small train station at the same time.

At the same time, he was genuinely glad that he had been vigilant enough not to cause trouble for an escort officer; otherwise, he would probably have been in more trouble than just being arrogant.

With that thought in mind, the officer hurriedly ordered the soldiers to help safely load the Imperial Marshal's personal belongings onto the vehicle.

"Sir, what should we do? It seems like a lot of people are coming." The station attendant shifted her body anxiously upon seeing the scene at the station.

"Calm down! They don't know you, let me handle this." Qin Hao stepped aside and stood in front of the young woman.

Upon seeing the other person's broad back, Mademoiselle de Gaulle felt her heartbeat gradually calm down.

The soldiers carried the boxes onto the vehicle and found that some luggage had already been loaded onto the vehicle, and an officer was waiting at the door.

The other party seemed to disdain communicating with these ordinary soldiers, and simply turned their head to make way for them.

The soldiers looked at each other and carried the items inside in the direction the other indicated.

The two groups of items were placed together.

After all the items were moved, someone heard a clanging sound, and a rather oddly shaped carriage was attached to the very back of the train.

The train slowly started moving. Inside the enclosed carriage, Qin Hao and his companion stood up and took the little girl out of the box.

Anna was quietly leaning against the wall counting. The caretaker told her she had to count to one thousand before she could leave, but she couldn't actually count that many.

Looking at the large boxes piled up in front of her, the manager was utterly shocked.

"Woman in the Garden", "Self-Portrait", "Bedroom in Arles"...

Besides oil paintings, there are hundreds of sculptures and jewelry pieces piled together, and all of them are genuine.

Seeing a huge number of national treasures being taken away, Geneviève de Gaulle clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. Anger burned fiercely in her heart, and she had an urge to draw her pistol and empty the magazines of the German soldiers.

“Calm down, Geneviève. Anger won’t solve anything.” The man behind her pressed his hand on her shoulder. Then, the man in the German uniform rummaged through the contents of the carriage and turned back to say, “Perhaps we have a chance to get Anna out of here.”

the other side.

Two high-ranking generals occupied the middle seats of the carriage by themselves, while the Gestapo officers accompanying the train guarded the adjacent carriages to ensure the absolute safety of the senior officers.

Guards brought out refreshments and tea, and two senior officers sat facing each other.

"My general, I heard you refused the gift I asked Choltitz to deliver?" Göring asked calmly, picking up his teacup, his expression revealing no displeasure.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was what you meant,” Manstein said truthfully.

“It’s alright, it wasn’t anything special anyway. Please come with me to pick out a better one later.” Goring pointed to the carriage behind him and continued, “Besides, I have something here that has special meaning for you.”

After saying that, Göring waved his hand.

A guard brought out a specially made wooden box.

The box was opened, and inside was a tattered car rearview mirror with a specially made Renault logo on it.

“This is…” Manstein’s eyelids twitched, and a certain memory was awakened in his mind.

"My men found it in Foch's carriage, the one from the 1918 treaty with the French. The French seem to have turned it into a museum, putting some souvenirs from the last war inside."

"The French are about to surrender. The Führer personally ordered that the signing ceremony be held in this carriage. I'm here for two reasons: first, to move the carriage away, and second, to clean it up."

After saying this, Goring picked up the rearview mirror and casually fiddled with it.

"The Fox of Baladick, one of the spiritual symbols of the French in Verdun, seems to be the only relic he left behind. It seems that you and my former commander Sir Richthofen both had a significant connection with him. I am giving this to you as a gift."

Manstein knew the other was deliberately emphasizing his "succession" to the legendary hero Richthofen. The general sat quietly, waiting for Göring to continue. (Göring was the last commander of the 1st Fighter Wing, led by Richthofen.)
Sure enough, the next moment Göring put down the broken mirror in his hand and adopted a diplomatic tone:

“My general, I believe there should be a closer relationship between the air force and the army, just like when you and that knight hunted that fox together, don’t you agree?”

Manstein seemed to understand what the other person meant.

Although Göring was the Air Force Commander-in-Chief, he had been trying to get involved in Army affairs since 1937, and even hoped to become a Field Marshal of both the Army and the Air Force, but this was ultimately rejected by the Führer.

The biggest obstacle was the Prussian officer corps behind him, mainly composed of Junker nobles.

Himmler's SS was now gaining momentum, expanding its influence considerably through concentration camps and the administration of occupied territories. Feeling threatened, Göring certainly did not want to sit idly by and wait for his doom.

Is this an attempt to win over the National Defense Force behind me to fight against the SS?

Manstein's lips curled up slightly. Although he was willing to make certain political compromises for the sake of the greater good, it did not mean that he had no bottom line.

He absolutely did not want the military to be involved in political struggles.

Taking the broken mirror, Manstein rubbed its rough surface with his hand, seemingly lost in some memory. Then, under Göring's gaze, he placed something else on the table.

"Thank you, Your Excellency! However, please forgive me for not being able to accept this gift."

“It’s better to leave the past in our memories.” Manstein put the things in his hand back into the box and looked into the other person’s eyes.

"Also, didn't anyone tell you that guy's nickname?"

"Taking that person's things without permission will give you nightmares."

(End of this chapter)