In early February 1940, the German General Staff received a rumor: Colonel Rudolf Schmundt, Hitler's Chief Adjutant, had visited Army Group A headquarters and learned from staff officers that a Lieutenant General named Manstein had proposed a new plan for operations against France. When Colonel Schmundt returned to Berlin and reported to Hitler, he casually mentioned this matter, which piqued Hitler's interest.

Soon, this rumor was confirmed. Hitler personally ordered Manstein to come to Berlin to report on the new plan.

When Manstein heard this, he sneered inwardly again. He knew very well that Hitler did not want to fall out with the General Staff, which was why he adopted such a method to resolve the conflict between the two sides. However, Manstein did not care about this.

Sitting in the waiting room, Manstein tried hard to empty his mind; for such strategic issues, absolutely no subjective emotions should be involved. When his mood stabilized, a thought suddenly popped into Manstein's mind: If Wilhelm II were still in power, would Manstein act this way?

A moment later, Manstein had his conclusion. He would not pin his hopes on Wilhelm II.

After graduating from military academy, Manstein had once been assigned to Wilhelm II's guard unit. The members were all outstanding children of great German noble families. Having them serve as guards for the German Emperor was intended to give the Emperor some impression of these young men.

In this process, Manstein naturally formed an impression of Wilhelm II. In this impression, although Wilhelm II was a person interested in new things, he was *only* interested. But Hitler was different. From Hitler's army-building plan and his full promotion of Germany's latest war technology, Manstein could see that Hitler understood war, and possessed an unusually keen intuition for it.

Manstein's superior, Colonel General Rundstedt, mocked Hitler, saying, 'He is just a corporal!' But the Head of State did not need to command the war personally; fighting was the job of officers like Manstein. Manstein believed that the Head of State's unusually keen intuition for war was actually an extremely valuable quality.

Soon, the door opened. Hitler's Chief Adjutant, Colonel Rudolf Schmundt, walked out. A few minutes later, Manstein walked behind Hitler, who was standing in front of a large sand table in the office. Hitler turned around and extended his hand to Manstein in an approachable manner. After the handshake, Hitler asked, 'I heard you have a brand new plan for the war.'

Manstein immediately replied, 'Mein Führer, the premise of the General Staff's plan is that our army cannot completely defeat France in a single campaign. Given Germany's current strategic situation, if we cannot defeat France in a single decisive campaign, Germany's strategic situation will become extremely unfavorable!'

Such a frank exposition hit the part Hitler cared about most, but Hitler did not immediately express agreement. Even the old generals of the General Staff understood this. What Hitler wanted to hear was Manstein's operational concept, not this kind of useless nonsense. Even so, Hitler still appreciated the firm emotion in Manstein's tone. Hitler firmly believed that his ability to reach his current position relied entirely on unparalleled determination. Meeting someone with similarly firm thinking, Hitler instinctively felt a sense of closeness.

With the goodwill generated by this sense of closeness, Hitler called over his attendants and pointed to the sand table in front of him for Manstein. 'Lieutenant General, can you begin the deduction?'

Manstein had not given up on his plan just because he had been transferred to Poland to serve as the commander of the 38th Infantry Corps. He continued to perfect the operational plan on his own. Hearing Hitler's order, Manstein had the attendants set up models representing the German army and the four-nation coalition of Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. He picked up a pointer, pointed to northern France, and began to explain: 'At this stage, the Anglo-French Allied forces have already assembled in northern France. As long as our army attacks the Netherlands and Belgium, the Anglo-French Allied forces will immediately push north with full force to engage our army.'

Immediately, Manstein pointed the pointer to southern France. 'The French army has certainly seriously studied the possibility of our infantry groups attacking from the Ardennes Forest region and has made relevant preparations. Therefore, when our armored forces thrust through the Ardennes mountains without air cover, it will definitely be completely beyond the expectations of the Anglo-French Allied forces.'

Having said this, Manstein put away the pointer. 'Mein Führer. Regarding the various details of this war, both the enemy and ourselves have conducted comprehensive deductions. If Germany wants to achieve victory, it must adopt an operational line of thought that the opponent absolutely would not think of. The German armored forces are very powerful, but there are also a large number of tanks in the Anglo-French Allied forces. They not only anticipate that our army will use armored forces in the Low Countries, but have also formulated relevant counter-tactics. However, the Anglo-French Allied forces will not believe that our army will commit armored clusters in the Ardennes Forest region. Because in the understanding of the Anglo-French Allied forces, it is impossible for armored forces to traverse the Ardennes Forest under any circumstances. But I have conducted deductions and field inspections with armored warfare experts, and confirmed that our armored forces can definitely do it. This is where our army's advantage lies, and it is also where our army's inevitable victory lies!'

Hitler's attention was now completely attracted by the content Manstein described. He immediately asked about the specific operational arrangements. Manstein used the movement of models on the sand table to demonstrate his operational concept to Hitler. Hitler's brows furrowed; as the campaign unfolded, the furrow deepened. Because even Hitler felt that some of the operational arrangements were not quite right.

When Hitler finally began to feel that he could no longer make judgments, he looked up at Manstein. Some words of blame had not yet left his mouth when Hitler suddenly realized the truth. Coughing slightly to interrupt the words he was preparing to say, Hitler quickly adjusted his thoughts, and then said, 'Lieutenant General, have you prepared the report on the operational concept?'

Manstein asked Hitler's attendant to bring his briefcase and took out the campaign design document. Hitler nodded. 'I will let the General Staff study it.'

Leaving Hitler's Chancellery, Manstein got into the car and let out a long breath. It was evident that Hitler's means of handling problems were quite good. At least until Manstein's plan was completely successful, Hitler would not let Manstein join the General Staff's operational plan formulation. This was not because Hitler looked down on Manstein, but because only by doing so could a rupture between Manstein and the General Staff be avoided. Only by first saving the General Staff's face would the General Staff not persecute Manstein to death. It was evident that Hitler intended to reuse Manstein in the future.

After the car started, Manstein unbuttoned his collar hook, hoping to make his breathing smoother. But at this moment, Manstein intuitively felt short of breath. He knew that this time he had almost burned his bridges. If this plan was executed unfavorably, what would be lost was not just everything of his own, but the lives of millions of German officers and soldiers, as well as Germany's future.

Manstein only felt his breathing become much smoother after unbuttoning three buttons in a row. Carrying the expectation of German victory and his personal intense emotions, Manstein knew that besides waiting, there was nothing else he could do.

Just on the second day after Manstein left, Hitler summoned the heads of the General Staff to the Chancellery. As the German Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, Hitler issued orders to the General Staff in accordance with his authority. With Colonel General Rundstedt in charge and the General Staff providing full support, a plan for operations against France was to be reformulated in the quickest time possible according to 'the operational concept provided by Hitler.'

If Manstein knew Hitler had ordered this, he would certainly be grateful for Hitler's care.

***

At this time, outside the port of Jimo, He Rui reviewed two newly created aircraft carrier formations in the thin smog. China's industrial development was so rapid, and its foundation was the electricity generation reaching 420 billion kWh in 1939. Since the vast majority of this electricity was thermal power, the result was a surge in air pollution. Although it had not yet reached the smog levels of He Rui's original timeline, if thermal power continued to develop this crazily, reaching that level of pollution was only a matter of time.

But He Rui did not say much, only standing on the gray, misty offshore warship watching the looming warships pass by one kilometer ahead. The strength of powerful industry required a price, but the strength of powerful industry was indeed very frightening. Although the construction difficulty of WWII-level aircraft carriers and battleships was far lower than that of Chinese aircraft carrier construction in the early 21st century, China completing two aircraft carriers and two battleships, and finishing fitting out within 14 months—this speed was amazing enough.

Such results relied not only on industrial capacity but also on more advanced production processes and production concepts. Before the hull of sectional shipbuilding was completed, various equipment inside the ship was already in place. The entire assembly and welding was an extremely complex process, involving a calculation volume more than ten times that of other countries.

Although these two aircraft carrier formations encountered very many unexpected events during the construction process, they were resolved smoothly after all, and after-action reviews were conducted. First time strangers, second time friends. Now, 12 aircraft carriers, 12 battleships, and dozens of destroyers, frigates, and submarines were being built on China's slipways.

More sectional materials and equipment for aircraft carriers and battleships were being prepared. By the end of 1941, adding the naval vessels completed by Japan, the East Asia Allied Forces could complete at least 24 aircraft carriers; it was not impossible for 36 aircraft carriers to be launched. The United States would probably also be able to produce more than 24 aircraft carriers by then. When China started to wage war, there would be quite a fight.

After the two aircraft carrier formations accepted He Rui's review, they did not return to port but headed straight south. The fleet's mission was to go to France and bring Chinese citizens back to the motherland.

Although Fleet Commander Lieutenant General Lin Xuefeng was somewhat uneasy, he did not show the slightest fear. In the past few years, the Japanese fleet had been China's training fleet. Japan scrapping all its warships this time was not because Japan loved the new and loathed the old, but because after several years of high-intensity training, the ships had really been driven to the point of scrapping.

Although the Japanese fleet failed to sail to France, the fleet at least traveled all over the Western Pacific and reached the Indian Ocean. And this time, sailing brand new warships built by the motherland, the Fleet Commander had the confidence to conquer the windy and rough waters of the Cape of Good Hope and the vast South Atlantic. Moreover, on this voyage, all French colonies provided port services to the Chinese fleet. China's supply fleet had already set sail and was waiting at French colonial ports to implement en route resupply for the two aircraft carrier formations.

At this time, Lieutenant General Lin Xuefeng, the commander of this evacuation operation, received a telegram in He Rui's name. Looking at the words 'Bon Voyage', the Fleet Commander immediately ordered: 'Reply! Determined to complete the mission!'

The speed of the aircraft carrier formation was not too fast, because accompanying it was a cruise ship formation with a maximum speed of 27 knots. The cruise ships carried personnel for a full four aircraft carrier formations. They would frequently rotate personnel along the way to familiarize them with domestic equipment as soon as possible.

The living environment on the cruise ships was very comfortable, and the replacement personnel rested very well. Apart from rotation, they also had to study and train. What impressed everyone most was the 'Abandon Ship Drill'. Although this training looked very unlucky, the navy officers and soldiers did not think so.

Giant warships had numerous passages. Once heavily damaged in a naval battle, if crew members wanted to escape safely, they first had to run through very long passages. Moreover, once a giant warship sank, it would inevitably trigger a huge vortex. Even if officers and men jumped into the sea, they would be sucked into the sea by the vortex and drown alive.

When it really came time to abandon ship, wanting to abandon ship in a neat and orderly manner was a highly difficult technical job. It required very serious training.

And the Chinese Navy's view was: an aircraft carrier could be built in 14 months, but a shipful of naval personnel could absolutely not be trained in 14 months. Compared to equipment, people were more important.

The Chinese Navy officers and soldiers naturally had the determination to perish together with the enemy, and feeling such importance attached to them stimulated the officers' and soldiers' sense of honor and cohesion even more.

Moreover, during the more than one month of sailing, in the South China Sea, in the Indian Ocean, and at the Cape of Good Hope, they could see a large number of Chinese merchant ships on the shipping lanes. After bypassing the Cape of Good Hope and sailing into the South Atlantic, the aircraft carrier formation also successively saw a Chinese merchant fleet from China to Brazil, and a merchant fleet full of commodities returning to China from Argentina.

When these Chinese fleets learned that a Chinese naval fleet was passing nearby, they not only immediately sent telegrams to contact them, but when the two sides approached to visual distance, the Chinese fleets even hoisted signal flags to pay respects to the Chinese aircraft carrier formation. Observers at the observation posts could also see merchant marine crew members standing by the ship's rail, holding the Chinese national flag high and waving it ceaselessly.

If the figures of British, American, and French naval warships had not appeared beside the Chinese fleets, the Chinese Navy officers and soldiers would have felt even happier.

Seeing with their own eyes that there were still Chinese merchant ships tens of thousands of kilometers away from the country needing the protection of the Chinese Navy, the mood of the Chinese Navy officers and soldiers changed a lot. Sailing and training all the way like this, the time arrived at 13:00 French time on May 10, 1940. The evacuation fleet was still 3000 nautical miles from France. The command suddenly received a telegram: 'Germany has launched an attack on the Netherlands on May 10, 1940. The evacuation fleet is to advance in combat posture and do not approach within 500 kilometers of Spanish airfields. After the fleet arrives at a position 1000 kilometers southeast of France, cruise there. Anti-submarine warfare is to be enabled 24 hours a day; be ready for combat at any time.'

Fleet Commander Lieutenant General Lin Xuefeng immediately convened a meeting. His first sentence was: 'The Western Campaign has broken out!'