On February 18, 1936, the session of the new French National Assembly was filled with shouts of anger and abuse. This cabinet, established less than three months ago, was voting on the *Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance*. The previous administration had passed the agreement, but for it to take effect, it required ratification by the French parliament.

The composition of this French cabinet was not much different from the one before last, which was why the treaty was pushed to a parliamentary vote. The vote itself was not particularly turbulent; as long as it was directed against Germany, it easily garnered support within the French cabinet. However, immediately after the *Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance* was passed, the opposition party declared, "We are going to bring down the cabinet!"

According to the system of the French Third Republic, which was originally intended to implement a constitutional monarchy where the head of state was a King and no election for the monarch existed, bringing down a government was quite easy. For a monarch, a frequently changing government did more good than harm. Unexpectedly, the restoration failed. As time went on, the French Third Republic formed a tradition: there must never be another Napoleon. And they effectively achieved this goal.

Consequently, the revolving-door nature of the government became the norm for the French Third Republic. Since the French economy was not powerful—at least not powerful enough to produce two dominant political parties—a multitude of parties, large and small, held seats in the parliament. As long as the opposition party could rally a few cabinet members to launch an attack together, they could successfully topple the cabinet.

On February 20, the cabinet fell. The French political parties, accustomed to this, began their backroom dealings to form the next government based on shifting interests.

Hitler, who had already gathered all power into his own hands, was truly overjoyed. Even facing the opposition of the old generals of the German General Staff, his mood remained relaxed. The old generals of the Wehrmacht had received orders from Hitler as early as last year, when the *Soviet-German Mutual Assistance Treaty* was signed, to formulate a plan to march into the Rhineland.

Now that they had received Hitler's order to execute this military operation, the old generals still voiced their objections one after another. Although the Nazi government had declared in 1935 that it would no longer accept the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany and had expanded the Wehrmacht to 300,000 men—completing the expansion plan in 1935—most of this newly formed 300,000-man Wehrmacht were green recruits. There was a shortage of heavy equipment and insufficient training. Once France used Germany's entry into the Rhineland as a pretext to launch an attack, the German Wehrmacht would be unable to resist.

Hitler felt relaxed internally, but his expression was stern. "Generals, I will bear all political responsibility. All you need to do is fulfill your duties and execute the military plans you have already formulated. Who has any objection to this?"

The generals all fell silent. Hitler stood up, looking down at them from his commanding height. "Generals, what is your answer?"

More than ten minutes later, the generals left the office with gloomy faces. Hitler's secretary, Rudolf Hess, stepped forward and said to Hitler, "Mein Führer, when do you plan to go to the Reichstag?"

Hitler asked, "Hess, are you not afraid?"

Hess immediately straightened his back. "Mein Führer, I agree with your view. The French are merely bluffing. I even think France might want to use this agreement to gain benefits from the Soviet Union."

Hitler thought the second half of Hess's idea was a bit of an over-interpretation, but he did not mention it. That Hess could firmly believe France was bluffing already made him better than that group of generals in the Wehrmacht.

Hess was a bit anxious at this moment. He continued, "Mein Führer, how should I notify the Reichstag?"

Hitler thought for a moment and ordered, "The military operation will begin at 8:00 AM. Have the Foreign Ministry convey Germany's view to all signatories of the Locarno Treaties at 10:00 AM. Tell them that because France has abandoned the spirit of the Locarno Treaties, Germany will abolish the Locarno Treaties and propose Germany's own collective security system plan. And I will arrive at the Reichstag at 10:15 AM to announce this news."

Rudolf Hess answered cheerfully, "Mein Führer, do you have any other orders?"

Hitler had intended to ask Hess what China's reaction would be, but instead, he said, "Go and do it, make it quick."

At 8:00 AM on February 20, 1936, 30,000 troops of the German Wehrmacht crossed the Rhineland boundary and entered the Rhineland region.

The Rhineland region is German territory, west of the Rhine River, serving as Germany's western border, bordering the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The Netherlands, Belgium, and France are distributed from north to south; the Netherlands does not border France, with Belgium in between.

According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to station troops in the Rhineland. The Rhineland was a German industrial hub. In the Rhineland Crisis of 1923, France and Belgium marched into the Rhineland, occupied the area, and ordered local German enterprises to unconditionally hand over industrial products to France and Belgium to offset Germany's war reparations.

Seeing this situation, the Weimar government took advantage of the trend to create an inhumane hyperinflation, using the excuse of foreign invasion to default on the war bonds the German government should have repaid to the German people.

Although Nazi Germany shouted about abolishing the shackles imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, they had only restored conscription and had not actually recovered the Rhineland. The march into the Rhineland ordered by Hitler—an operation to completely control the Franco-German border—was the military action that truly tore up the Treaty of Versailles.

Just as Hitler arranged, at 10:00 AM on February 20, the ambassadors of the countries that had signed the Locarno Treaties arrived at the German Foreign Ministry and learned of Hitler's decision to abolish the Locarno Treaties because France had effectively passed the *Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance*.

At 10:15 AM, Hitler arrived at the restored Reichstag building and announced loudly to the assembled German MPs, "France has colluded with the Soviet Union, destroying the *Locarno Treaties*. This is the reason we must act. We have continuously reiterated our friendly relations with France and continuously appealed for the guarantee of peace, only to be met with France's response of a Franco-Soviet military alliance. This renders the *Locarno Treaties* meaningless and unnecessary."

The German MPs were generally unaware of Hitler's decision, but they knew that Hitler was absolutely not the Weimar government of the past that only engaged in verbal protests. Once German troops entered the Rhineland, it meant firing the first shot against French aggression. The MPs' first reaction was astonishment; they hadn't expected Hitler to have such backbone.

In the silence, Hitler announced loudly in his characteristic hoarse voice, "From today, the German government re-establishes its absolute sovereignty, unrestricted by anything, in the demilitarized zone!"

The Reichstag building was dead silent, but a moment later, the Nazi Party MPs stood up one after another, raised their right arms toward Hitler, and shouted loudly: "*Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!*"

*Sieg Heil* means "Hail Victory" in German and was a customary slogan of the Nazi Party. The MPs of Nazi Germany shouted "Hail Victory" from the bottom of their hearts. From 1919 to the present year of 1936, a full 17 years had passed, and Germany finally had a leader who dared to truly resist Britain and France. For this alone, the MPs of Nazi Germany felt incredibly excited.

At this time, the German people in the Rhineland were surprised to see the German Wehrmacht driving along the roads into the towns and cities. As an economically developed industrial region of Germany, the Rhineland was densely populated with towns. But in the past 17 years, they hadn't seen a single German soldier.

At first, these German residents of the Rhineland couldn't believe they were actually seeing German troops on German soil with their own eyes. The German soldiers, however, looked nervous and full of unease.

In the era when Germany only had an army of 100,000, the members of this 100,000-man force were either officers or NCOs, organized as seeds for the future German army. Even though Germany expanded its army to 300,000 in 1935, the proportion of officers and NCOs remained extremely high, far exceeding the armies of other countries.

Germany's current officers were basically university graduates, and NCOs were high school graduates. Their education gave them insight far beyond that of ordinary German citizens. Currently, Germany's neighboring countries could mobilize 90 divisions, approximately 1.8 million troops, at any time. The reserves numbered 100 divisions. Facing an army of 3 million, among Germany's 300,000 Wehrmacht troops, 200,000 had enlisted less than a year ago. As long as Germany's neighbors took action, the 300,000 German troops would be easily crushed.

The goal of this operation for the 30,000 German troops was to occupy key points on the German border. This meant that once the French army launched an attack, these 30,000 German troops would be instantly shattered. Facing the threat of death, every German soldier felt immense fear. Even if there were temporarily no foreign troops in the Rhineland, the German army still moved very cautiously, ready to flee the Rhineland at any moment.

The German people of the Rhineland, however, did not sense the fear of the German Wehrmacht. Upon hearing the news, ordinary people flocked to the roadside to cheer and pay tribute to the German army. Technicians ran home to bring out the Chinese-made plastic flowers used for decoration and presented them to the German troops marching on the road.

Wealthier Germans brought out silk flowers made in China or Japan, presenting these brightly colored, beautifully shaped silk flowers to the German army appearing in the Rhineland for the first time in 17 years.

A few thoughtful German citizens even sprayed Chinese-made perfume on the silk flowers. When the German troops carefully accepted the silk flowers, the petals emitted the scent of jasmine or osmanthus.

The German troops had not expected to receive such a warm welcome at all. They accepted the flowers helplessly and carefully, continuing their march forward. At this moment, the hearts of the German soldiers were filled with fear regarding the blow from foreign armies they were about to encounter.

Yet, their cautious and careful actions appeared to the German people of the Rhineland as a display of the German army's politeness and respect. Accustomed to the rough arrogance of foreign troops in Germany, seeing their own country's army treat the people so politely, the German people of the Rhineland could not help but cheer for the German army. Many young girls blew kisses to the German troops continuing towards the border line, shouting loudly, "I love you!"

The number of German troops marching into the Rhineland was 30,000, accounting for 10% of Germany's current 300,000-man army. Moreover, they were all elite German units. According to the plan, the German army would reach the border line within 48 hours, dig positions, and deploy artillery and troops.

By the morning of February 21, Italian Prime Minister Mussolini was the first to express support for Hitler. In October 1935, Italy began its invasion of Ethiopia. Both Britain and France expressed protests against Italy. Since Ethiopia, this African country, was also a member of the League of Nations, the League also announced sanctions against Italy.

Amidst such fierce opposition, only Nazi Germany gave Italy support. Hitler personally ordered a large batch of weapons and equipment to be sent to Italy. Returning the favor, Mussolini, admiring Hitler's bravery, naturally expressed support for Germany's march into the Rhineland.

Since the French cabinet had been toppled and a new government had not yet been determined, although the French Foreign Minister publicly expressed opposition, the French army remained hunkered down inside the Maginot Line, taking no action. Although Britain also expressed opposition, they took no military action either.

Hitler's accusation of France's betrayal of the *Locarno Treaties* was not irrational logic. The Locarno Pact was a collective security system, and this system excluded the Soviet Union. Although this content was not written into the pact in explicit text, the governments of the Locarno signatories were well aware of it and had discussed and completed verbal commitments multiple times. France, by signing the *Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance*, had indeed abandoned the spirit of the Locarno Treaties; Hitler's accusation was entirely valid.

On February 24, Nazi Germany hired a large number of civilians to participate in rapid fortification along the German border. Relying on Germany's industrial level and the patriotism of the German people, a large number of simple but effective defensive positions rapidly took shape in the German border areas.

By February 26, the 30,000 troops that had entered the border possessed the ability to rely on positions to resist foreign military invasion, at least enough not to be instantly broken by foreign armies. Upon learning this news, most generals in the German General Staff fell silent. The field grade and company grade officers, however, were jubilant.

The greatest threat of marching into the Rhineland was the initial 72 hours. If France had immediately dispatched a corps into the Rhineland to launch an attack, the 30,000 German troops with absolutely no defensive capabilities would have been immediately driven back east of the Rhine.

But once the German army succeeded in fortification, based on the experience of the Great War in Europe, 30,000 German troops were enough to delay 100,000 French troops for at least a week, while the German army could quickly organize armed personnel to come in support. Even ordinary new German recruits could be used as soldiers within the defense lines; when it came to trench warfare, the German army really did not fear France.

Moreover, something that made Hitler incredibly happy occurred. On March 1, 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, pitting the Republican government forces of Spanish President Manuel Azaña and the Spanish Popular Front left-wing alliance against the Spanish Nationalist forces centered on the fascist Francisco Franco and right-wing groups like the Falange.

The attention of countries like France, Britain, and the Soviet Union was also drawn to the Spanish Civil War. Their attention toward Germany's actions in its own Rhineland decreased sharply. Nazi Germany survived the most dangerous period and completed the march into the Rhineland, recovering Germany's complete sovereignty.

At this time, a new French government was finally elected. Seeing that the French Ambassador to China was about to formally convey news to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Li Shiguang hurriedly requested to see He Rui.

After listening to Foreign Minister Li Shiguang's report, He Rui asked, "What is the issue with the Foreign Ministry?"

Li Shiguang replied, "Chairman, it is not an issue with the Foreign Ministry, but a personal issue of mine. Why are we reacting so lightly to the Spanish Civil War?"

He Rui looked at Li Shiguang's serious expression and asked somewhat helplessly, "Minister Li, has the Foreign Ministry discussed the Spanish Civil War from the perspective of Realist Diplomacy?"

Li Shiguang shook his head. The Foreign Ministry had already clarified He Rui's previous attitude, so when discussing this matter, they were somewhat "second-guessing the superior's intentions." Judging only by He Rui's reaction, they had neither conducted a deduction based on Realist Diplomacy nor a discussion based on Idealist Diplomacy.

He Rui could only reply, "Among the countries with the most influence on the Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union and France are certainly included. Both of these countries are important trading partners of China. China's downplaying of this matter is simply because we do not wish for the Spanish Civil War to affect China's relations with the Soviet Union and France. This is the perspective of Realist Diplomacy.

As for Idealist Diplomacy, what price are we prepared to pay for the Spanish Civil War? And have the Spanish government and the Left contacted our country up to now? Did they notify our country in advance that a civil war was about to break out in Spain?"

Li Shiguang now completely understood He Rui's line of thought and felt a moment of shame. However, Li Shiguang quickly stabilized his emotions and replied, "Chairman, I understand. But I have a question: what is the basic line of thinking for China's Realist Diplomacy going forward?"

"For any matter where a foreign country publicly issues a request to our country, the Foreign Ministry cannot sit idly by. For any event that affects China's economy, the Foreign Ministry must proactively speak out." Having said this, He Rui added a sentence, "In the future, when encountering such matters, report to me immediately."

As Chairman, He Rui possessed much greater authority than the Premier. Li Shiguang immediately understood that He Rui was going to give direct orders to the Foreign Ministry. He immediately stood up and replied, "Yes!"

"By the way, if a discussion regarding the status of the Philippines appears in the US Congress, report to me immediately," He Rui added.

At this time, US President Roosevelt was listening to the report of US Secretary of State Hull. Hearing that Britain and France had allowed Germany's march into the Rhineland to be completed so easily, Roosevelt's face became even gloomier. Hull knew that the march into the Rhineland was a major event for Europe, but Hull felt that the United States had no reason to intervene in this matter.

In the Treaty of Versailles after the end of the Great War in Europe, the international concept proposed by the United States was "respect for sovereignty, national self-determination." The Rhineland was indisputably German territory, and the German government restoring sovereignty on its own national soil was completely in line with America's international diplomatic thinking. If the United States wanted to express justice, rather than criticizing the Rhineland incident, it would be better to attack Italy for invading the League of Nations member Ethiopia. From any angle, Italy's invasion of Ethiopia was a naked trampling of the League of Nations' ideals.

Roosevelt said nothing, only letting Hull finish his report. Sending Hull away, Roosevelt asked his female secretary to call Professor Franz at Columbia University and ask him to come to the White House. The female secretary stepped forward with affection to adjust the blanket covering Roosevelt's knees. With no one else in the room, Roosevelt patted his secretary—and mistress—on the buttocks lovingly and ordered, "Go quickly."

Watching the secretary's graceful retreating figure, President Roosevelt felt a surge of impulse. At this time of unclear national circumstances, appropriate relaxation was also necessary.