**Chapter 829: The Era of Global Ebullition (7)**

Two dozen representatives of German farm owners in Poland sat uneasily along both sides of a long table, every one of them sitting bolt upright, not daring to show any slackness. Though they ventured a few glances at Reinhard Heydrich, the Governor of Poland sitting at the head of the table, their gazes quickly darted away.

Heydrich was satisfied with the farm owners' performance. After Germany's defeat of Poland, some Germans had moved there and acquired ownership of farms. These individuals all had some background back in Germany, and those capable of sitting before Heydrich were the exceptionally well-connected among them. Otherwise, Heydrich would not have granted them seats.

From their expressions, Heydrich saw fear. He knew well that these men actually had no idea exactly how many people his Gestapo had killed. In reality, the number of people the Gestapo truly executed might be less than a tenth of what these men imagined.

Heydrich looked down on those who relied on mass killings to establish authority or who killed the innocent indiscriminately. Killing can create terror, but it cannot establish true authority. Death is a sort of bottom line; once you go that far, you have nothing left to threaten people with. Moreover, wanton killing, besides proving incompetence, only triggers fierce hostility.

True fear does not come from death, but from the creation of an aura of omnipotence. For example, during his time as "Acting Protector" of Bohemia and Moravia, Heydrich had announced martial law in major Czech cities on the night of his arrival in Prague and began striking at the Czech underground resistance.

The martial law lasted three months, during which 404 people were sentenced to death, including six generals and ten colonels of the former Czech army, while over 5,000 were sent to concentration camps. Of the 404 executed, 169 were economic criminals, primarily speculators.

Heydrich could confidently say that everyone shot had been convicted with solid evidence. However, those 404 were chosen not because others were less guilty, but because they were the most representative, their backgrounds and crimes covering every facet of Czech society at the time. Executing them sent tremors through every field.

As for the 5,000-plus in concentration camps, most were taken from their homes in the middle of the night by German personnel and released in the same manner, dumped near their doorsteps. The purpose of this tactic was to let these individuals and those around them know, without saying it directly, that the secret police knew exactly where they lived and could come for them at any time to inflict immense suffering.

There were arrests, and there were releases. The actions didn't need to follow legal processes and were entirely at the Gestapo's discretion. This created an implication: as long as one didn't attract the Gestapo's attention, one could continue living. Through this approach, the "larger than life" persona of the Gestapo, existing outside the law, was constructed. As long as the Gestapo existed, ordinary Czechs would feel an ever-present pressure and would not dare to make a move.

While this tactic worked well against foreigners in Germany and directly controlled areas, Heydrich still calmly believed it might not be so effective against well-connected Germans. He was prepared to do battle with this group.

At this point, one German farm owner finally succumbed to the pressure and spoke cautiously: "Your Excellency, you require us to pay Polish laborers according to new regulations and without delay. But you must know, those Poles are lazy and do not work well."

"Then fire them," Heydrich replied coldly. Coming to this region where German farm owners clustered, Heydrich's purpose was to tell them they must strictly implement the decrees of the Governor's office, especially the wage regulations.

Hearing Heydrich's voice, which was cold enough to freeze someone, and seeing his blue eyes and expression as sharp as a blade, the farm owners actually overlooked the seriousness of the content of his answer.

Heydrich didn't feel he was deliberately intimidating them; he even explained with some patience: "The farms must now complete the orders issued by the Reich. These figures were formulated based on analysis reports from agricultural experts. As long as the farmworkers work hard, they can be completed. Therefore, what I care about is whether the workers can work hard. Those who do not must be fired."

Although suppressed by Heydrich's aura, the German farm owners still felt the pain of those wages. Compared to pre-war Polish farm wages, this standard was significantly higher. These men had paid money to acquire these Polish farms; higher wages meant it would take longer to recoup their investment. No one wanted to run a losing business.

Since the farm owners there all had backers, someone finally mentioned a German aristocrat with whom Heydrich had a decent relationship, hoping to drop a hint. Heydrich didn't answer immediately because his aide entered from outside, clearly having something to say.

When the aide approached and spoke a single sentence, Heydrich acted as if he couldn't hear and told him, "Speak louder."

The aide took the hint instantly and said loudly, "Reporting to the Governor, the Führer requests that you contact him as soon as possible."

Heydrich nodded. "I understand."

Turning back to the farm owners, Heydrich said, "I have business, so this meeting cannot last too long. I will ask only one thing: you will surely obey the law, won't you?"

The head of the Gestapo speaking of obeying the law—if He Rui heard this, he would surely be amused by the farcical contrast. But to the group of farm owners, the sense of both law and violence was so overwhelming that they didn't dare answer immediately.

Seeing that Heydrich was about to leave, the farm owners hurriedly expressed their absolute support for the Reich's Governor's office. But because of their full support, they claimed they had to adopt certain measures that better suited realistic difficulties.

Hearing this, Heydrich stood up. "The Führer is waiting for me; I cannot continue talking with you all."

Though the farm owners had backers, Hitler was far more powerful than any of them. Hearing Heydrich's words, no one dared say more and they could only rise to see him off. Walking to the manor gate, Heydrich said to his aide, "Arrest all of them in the coming days for tax evasion and interrogate them."

"Specifically which ones?" the aide asked, pulling out a notebook.

"All of them," Heydrich replied, then stepped into his car. The aide watched the car drive away, momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Heydrich to arrest everyone, but Heydrich's orders were not to be questioned. Putting the notebook back in his pocket, he realized that since they were all being arrested, the attendance list from the meeting records would save him a lot of trouble.

Back at the Governor's office, Heydrich immediately called the Wolf's Lair. He didn't expect to be connected to Hitler right away; Hitler had too much news to process at the moment. Out of self-confidence, Heydrich didn't believe there was anything particularly major in his administration of Poland that required the Führer's immediate attention.

Sure enough, Hitler's adjutant answered, saying he would notify the Führer and then hung up. Heydrich immediately began preparing for a meeting; while there were no major events in Poland, there were many minor ones. Soon, the meeting at the Governor's office began, and Heydrich asked first, "How is the recruitment for the logistics maintenance factories progressing?"

Poland's strength before the outbreak of World War II was neither weak nor strong. Especially in industry, Poland's heavy industry level lagged far behind Germany's. In Heydrich's plan, Poland was to be built into a German logistics hub. This center would provide not only material transport but also equipment maintenance and other services.

Although the Polish officials in the Governor's office were somewhat submissive, it was clear they didn't internally resist this policy. Sensing their mood, Heydrich asked, "Then where is the problem?"

"...Governor, may we use some 'inferior races' to work in the maintenance factories?" the Deputy Minister of Education asked cautiously.

Nazi Germany's racial policy was not simply about killing Jews, but a system of racial superiority. Based on this, Nazi Germany divided races into categories: first were the European Aryans, followed by European Germanics—the two Hitler considered most superior. Third were the Italians, Apennines, and Latins. The fourth tier were Aryans born in India—the Brahmins, a race produced by European Aryan men interbreeding with native Indian women. The fifth were Asians like the Chinese and Japanese, referred to as Mongolians. Sixth were the Slavs, who shared an ancestral feud with the Germanics. Seventh were Black people, referring to all black people regardless of location. The eighth tier were the Jews.

Heydrich knew the Polish Deputy Minister was referring to "Jews." He smiled. "If they possess professional knowledge..."

At this, Heydrich saw the officials become tense, which he found somewhat puzzling. Heydrich was actually quite handsome, but the aura surrounding him made his smile appear dangerous to others.

He continued, "Then dedicated factories can be established, and a portion of the work can be assigned to them."

In this era, while a mechanical professional might not have high status, it was at least a decent job. Heydrich's words were at least an acknowledgment of the professional capabilities of Jewish personnel. The German staff was fine, but the Polish officials were truly shocked. they couldn't imagine that the head of the Gestapo would admit that Jews were not all usurious "bloodsuckers," but that some among them were workers engaged in honest labor.

This view had quite a Western European feel. In Heydrich's eyes, racial superiority was a concept that didn't need to be taken too seriously in practical execution. When in Germany, he had felt the Third Reich was the country in Europe most capable of moving against the Jews. Once he had the chance to go abroad, he found that while Germany might be anti-Semitic, the intensity of hatred toward Jews there couldn't compare to that in other European countries.

With Heydrich's own "Jewish nose," if he were in France or Poland, just having such a nose would get him arrested. In Nazi Germany, whether you had Jewish blood wasn't the issue; the issue was only whether Germany *considered* you Jewish. In the Wehrmacht, there were a significant number of officers and men with Jewish blood, even those whose parents were both standard Jews. While not necessarily 300,000, there were certainly more than 200,000.

As for the German elite, even the Nazi elite, such things were merely excuses brought up during internal conflicts. No one actually took them seriously. For instance, Professor Karl, President of the German Academy of Sciences—his wife was a genuine, full-blooded Jew. After Hitler took power in 1933, he personally issued "Honorary Aryan" certificates to the Professor's family at a victory banquet.

Even as far back as after the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, when Hitler was imprisoned, Professor Karl and his wife had visited him. At that time, Hitler had been very respectful to the Professor's wife; many ideas in *Mein Kampf* regarding Germany's Eastern policy were actually proposed by Professor Karl.

Another somewhat farcical case involved the current Luftwaffe Commander, Field Marshal Kesselring, whose father was a standard Jew. Originally this wasn't an issue at all, but when Kesselring was promoted, jealous rivals brought the matter to the top. Even Göring, who had publicly declared "I decide who is a Jew in the Air Force," couldn't suppress it.

Because of Kesselring's merits, he was clearly destined to be a Marshal, which left Hitler in a difficult position. It was Heydrich who came up with an idea: having Kesselring's mother write a statement saying his father had been "cuckolded." But the elder Mrs. Kesselring was a standard conservative housewife who hadn't had any male friends since her youth, let alone after marriage. The Gestapo personnel responsible for the "investigation" were nearly moved to tears in their report, saying they had never seen such a virtuous and chaste woman.

Moved as he was, Heydrich had to find a way. Since those attacking Kesselring were persistent, a flawless answer had to be given. After a careful investigation, they had to take another path. By this time, Kesselring's uncle—his mother's brother—had passed away. In the document, the elder lady claimed that Field Marshal Kesselring was the product of an incestuous affair between siblings and had no relation to her Jewish husband. Thus, Kesselring was of pure German blood.

Even though the German elite all knew this was nonsense, both Göring and Hitler expressed their acceptance of the statement. Coupled with the fact that Kesselring had been greatly insulted, the attackers had no choice but to desist.

The fact that even a serving Luftwaffe Field Marshal's Jewish blood could be handled this way made Germany's true attitude toward Jews self-evident. Thereafter, no one in the Luftwaffe was ever "found" to be Jewish. Or rather, once you joined the Luftwaffe, a Jew was no longer a Jew.

So, facing the surprise of the Polish officials, Heydrich felt nothing. He wanted people who could run logistics well; as long as they did their job, whether they were Jews or Poles was not an issue. Of course, if they failed, those of Jewish blood would be treated more cruelly.

Seeing the Polish officials, though not daring to speak, had accepted the order, Heydrich added, "Then begin work immediately. Jews can be sent to work in specially established Jewish concentration camps."

After this meeting, Heydrich immediately began the next, focused on cracking down on speculators. Here, Heydrich was not so "tolerant." He told the officials in charge, "As long as those people's backgrounds cannot be fully proven, declare them Jews!"

In present-day Poland, to be called a Jew was truly to be seen as a low-life. One's family would surely suffer. Heydrich's requirement to pin the Jewish label on speculators was not just about killing, but about destroying their souls.

The third meeting concerned the handling of Polish university students' unrest. Heydrich severely scolded the Polish regional Education Minister, demanding that the ministry stop the "nonsense propaganda about German-Polish friendship." Those hot-blooded students were already full of rebellion; such education would only trigger more problems. Therefore, current propaganda must turn toward hatred of the Russians, highlighting the immense suffering Russia had brought to Poland!

The Education Minister, a somewhat brave scholar, asked Heydrich how he intended to deal with the students. Heydrich only said coldly, "While true subversives will not be let off, among the students who were caught up in it, no one will die."

The Gestapo gave an impression of lawlessness, and although Heydrich's words were filled with threats, the Education Minister breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the factual guarantee that students wouldn't be killed. He felt some trust in Heydrich's promise.

While everyone feared Heydrich—who was indeed a man who cared nothing for killing and had been nicknamed the "Blond Beast" by European nations—the European elite unexpectedly felt a sense of trust in him. This was Heydrich's characteristic: he was a beast, he was cold, but he possessed wisdom, was quite self-controlled, and knew clear priorities. Such men were rare in the Nazi Party.

The fourth meeting concerned laws for military order. A case had recently occurred where some Polish workers watched a German military transport vehicle suffer a blowout. The German soldiers, already in a bad mood, were infuriated to see the Poles laughing at them and proceeded to beat the workers. One hotheaded worker returned with his associates and knives for revenge, stabbing two German soldiers to death.

Heydrich informed those present, especially the heads of the Wehrmacht and SS garrisons, that the two Polish workers who committed the murders had been shot. However, the German squad that beat the workers had also been reported by Heydrich to the Wehrmacht; they had now been sent to the most intense section of the front.

"What I value most are victory and order. All who disrupt order must receive commensurate punishment. No exceptions!" Heydrich summarized coldly.

At this, the German officials, especially the military officers, looked grim, while the Poles were somewhat moved. The Poles never believed Heydrich would love Poland, but what they needed was a just Governor. As long as Heydrich was just, their lives would be much easier.

Heydrich looked at his subordinates' expressions with satisfaction. He believed Poland would ultimately have to gain independence in some form, so the best way now was to give the Poles hope—hope of being treated fairly and of future independence. Before the war, Poland had a population of about 35 million, including 3.3 million Jews. Currently, most Jews had been driven out, leaving a population of about 30 million. Heydrich believed that in this war against the Soviets, Germany could soon seize the remaining Polish regions, so effectively utilizing a Poland of 30 million could be of immense help to Germany. Thus, Heydrich had to manage Poland well.

The fifth meeting had not yet convened when Hitler's call came through. Heydrich hurried to his office to answer. Despite the static, Hitler's voice was clear: "Heydrich, can the plan you submitted before be realized?"

Heydrich replied immediately, "My Führer, I believe it can."

Hitler trusted Heydrich but was still somewhat skeptical. Germany's war against the Soviets had been launched very suddenly; while surprise made the war go more smoothly, it also presented many problems—such as logistics.

Heydrich's previous report detailed the materials he could raise from Poland; based on the numbers, these were sufficient to support the Wehrmacht's needs outside of munitions and energy. Hitler trusted Heydrich, so he had believed the report. When formulating military plans, Heydrich's report became an important part of the process.

The war had been going for less than forty hours, yet the ammunition consumption had already surprised Hitler. Facing the stubborn counter-attacks of over two million Soviet troops, the Wehrmacht's consumption was enormous. Hitler couldn't help but feel some concern, which prompted the call. Hearing Heydrich's assurance, Hitler had no choice but to continue trusting him.

Ending the call, Hitler turned back to the battle reports. After a day of fighting, German progress was relatively smooth. Although the Soviet troops were well-equipped, they clearly lacked the skill to use that equipment. Thus, while German breakthroughs and flanking maneuvers encountered some trouble, it wasn't enough to affect the offensive. By tomorrow, May 22nd at the latest, several large "pockets" would be formed, and the heavy Soviet concentrations would be encircled.

Scanning the map intently, Hitler hoped for news of a German victory as soon as possible.