Iron Cross

That afternoon, Ribbentrop rushed to Lisbon and told the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs three things very simply: First, Germany has no intention of invading Portugal, but the Portuguese Atlantic islands, including the Azores, must be occupied because these The islands are conducive to containing Britain and the United States. Germany has great goals. These goals are not only for Germany, but also for a strong and prosperous Europe. However, Germany only uses these territories during war and has no intention of annexation; secondly, if the Lisbon authorities are willing Lease these territories to Germany, and Germany will pay considerable rent and promise to help Portugal expand its African colonies after victory; third, Germany very much welcomes Portugal to join the axis, and expresses understanding if it does not join for the time being, and Portugal can continue Relying on its special status to make a fortune, Germany will provide all kinds of care. Relevant minerals and agricultural products can be sold to Germany at a price slightly higher than the market price.

As for the rent, the Germans were also very sincere and offered to give Portugal 100 Bf-109s and 100 No. 4 tanks every year, which could be paid for three years in advance. After bargaining, they temporarily added two divisions of British equipment.

Although Salazar was extremely annoyed by the whole thing, he was so angry that he still had a very calm mind. He did not pester Ribbentrop endlessly like a resentful woman. When he met with the latter, he even opened his mouth. Joke: "Minister Goebbels's propaganda is too powerful. The German Navy sank 300,000 tons of Royal Navy warships? This number is so huge that I can't help you clarify it..."

"It is indeed a bit unbelievable, but it turns out that the British lied... Aren't the Tirpitz and Zeppelin, which they said were severely damaged, now well in the Azores? The reporters must have taken a lot of them. Photo." Ribbentrop responded with a laugh.

What the two said behind closed doors is unknown, but judging from the scenes of laughter and gossip during the meeting, it seems that Salazar himself did not take the matter to heart. By the time the talks were over, the relevant lease-related treaty was ready. The two people quickly signed it and issued a joint statement. Everyone only listened to a bunch of diplomatic rhetoric without any substantive content. The press conference did not give any information to the press. Leave time for any questions.

In fact, Salazar's confidants knew that the whole matter was by no means simple. Long before Ribbentrop arrived, he had urgently contacted the ambassadors of the United Kingdom and the United States, hoping to hear their thoughts. However, the two countries The more he heard the reaction, the more chilled he felt, and even angry when he heard the following: The British ambassador first accused Portugal of allowing the German fleet to replenish the friendly relations between Britain and Portugal, and then regretted that Portugal did not choose to resist to the end, saying that he would never sit idly by. The United States, on the other hand, wholeheartedly invited Portugal to join the alliance and expressed its willingness to provide military assistance to help the country resist German aggression. However, when asked about the specific warships and land forces to be deployed to support Portugal, it hesitated.

Salazar sneered and sent away the two ambassadors, and then called Spanish dictator Franco to listen to his opinion. Spain had recently promised to provide all conveniences to the Germans, except that it did not declare war on Britain and the United States. No one knew what they talked about, but several people could clearly see Salazar's melancholy expression after he put down the phone. He only muttered one sentence: "The United States is too far, the United Kingdom is too slippery, and Germany is too far away." close……"

"Head of State, Minister Ribbentrop sent a telegram: An agreement has been reached. Salazar promised to lease both the Azores and Madeira to us during the war. They will continue to remain neutral and the rent will be as agreed in advance. The price was paid, but the other party temporarily requested additional British equipment for 2 infantry divisions, and he agreed. "

"Well done!" Hoffman said with a smile, "Salazar is a smart man and more reliable than Franco. We should be more polite to the Portuguese."

After this period of tossing, it promised to provide British equipment to countries including Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Spain, Turkey, Portugal and other countries, and all the British equipment captured by Germany from Dunkirk to the end of the Egyptian campaign Either give it away or sell it and get rid of it. When Keitel reported the situation to him, Hoffman sighed and said humorously: "The British have been beaten too hard in the past two years. Let Churchill take a breath and leave time to produce more equipment. Next, other countries will prepare Give me art equipment and let Guderian work harder..."

Everyone in the Supreme Command was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

On the third day after the occupation of Porto Heroic, a transport fleet departed from La Coruña, Spain, arrived at Porto Heroic. Looking at the continuous flow of building materials, artillery, infantry, aircraft and other military supplies transported from the ship, Tom felt They felt desperate: the Germans did not act on the spur of the moment. They had already made preparations to seize the Port of Heroes - 3 days were not enough to prepare the materials and personnel, not to mention that it usually took 5 days to take a boat from Spain to the Port of Heroes. sky.

The city government issued an announcement clearly announcing that the Azores and Madeira Islands will be leased to the Germans. Portuguese citizens can continue to stay in Porto Heroes if they are willing to stay, but the port will be under military control in the future. If they are willing to return to their country, the fleet will They were brought back to Lisbon for free, but the municipality warned that the Azores may face war in the future and wanted all residents who could evacuate to evacuate as soon as possible.

Due to the vigorous negotiations of the Lisbon authorities and Hoffman's statement that he wanted to respect the Portuguese, the two sides reached an agreement on all British and American expatriates in the Azores and Madeira: these expatriates were not regarded as enemy aliens and were allowed to bring personal All property was returned to Portugal. As for the British and American ships seized at the port, except for the cargo confiscated by Germany, the ships themselves were still returned to the owners and could be used for this migration.

After the announcement was made, everyone became busy. Wave after wave of people left on boats. The number of people originally living in the "Hot Springs" hotel also decreased rapidly. Everyone was waiting for tickets to leave the Port of Heroes. But at this moment, someone actually came to the hotel to check in.

"Everyone is running to Lisbon, why are you here to check in?"

"What about you? Why don't you move away? No tourists will come to Heroes' Port in the future." The visitor asked Tom in return.

"I have no choice, I have to leave, but at least I have to make arrangements for all the guests staying in the hotel." Tom sighed, "All my assets are in Porto Heroes, and I have no friends when I arrive in Lisbon, so I probably can only go Begging.”

"Sir, you are so funny." The visitor looked at Tom with a smile, and suddenly the topic changed, "The painting behind you seems familiar."

"Really? You have a good eye! This is an early work of Cézanne handed down from my grandfather."

"It doesn't really look like it...it looks a bit like an original."

"Really? How about I sell it to you? The asking price is not high, you can take it for $1,000."

"It's not cheap, but I know a guy who might be willing to pay $1,000."

After saying this, Tom's energy seemed to be drained out of his body for an instant, and he felt a little unsteady - these inexplicable conversations were the secret codes that he had been waiting for for 25 years.

"Let's go and see your room..." After being led to the room, Tom closed the door and carefully looked around for fear of being watched. Then he lowered his voice and said in a slightly excited tone, "Who are you? You guys?" Why do you think of me here? I have been away from work for many years..."

"I work as a telegraph operator on a merchant ship. I am MI6's liaison in the transport fleet. Our ship flies the Portuguese flag, so it was not detained by the Germans. Last night I received inexplicable instructions from the radio, telling me Come to this hotel and ask the 'crow' to say these words..."

Tom felt like he was about to spit out his old blood. How could MI6 be so unreliable that they could just find someone to activate a spy who had been lurking for 25 years?

"Perhaps you may not be willing to accept this mission, and I don't want to force you. I will leave Heroes Harbor tomorrow." The visitor smiled apologetically, "They will issue instructions on the BBC program at 8 o'clock tomorrow evening, including sending reports. Frequency and requirements, etc., that’s all I know.”

"I have to think about it..."

"To be honest, this is not a good job." The visitor looked at Tom with sympathy, "I'm leaving."

"Do you want to do it or not?" Tom fell on the bed, staring at the ceiling: He always thought that he had been ignored and forgotten. He had been uneasy, anxious, and angry, but he really came when the order came. At this moment, he began to hesitate again, and the two voices in his mind began to quarrel:

"You have received professional training from MI6. When the country needs you, you should stand up bravely!"

"Come on, I have been lurking for 25 years. The statute of limitations has long expired. Now I am free, not an intelligence agent..."

"But you are a Briton, with Anglo-Saxon blood in your veins."

"Yes, but I am a Portuguese citizen now."

"The country needs you."

"Why was no one paying attention to me when I needed the country? They left me alone in Port Heroes and ignored me for 25 years, and asked me to run a hotel to make a living. How many 25 years do I have in my life?"

"Now the motherland has sent people."

"Such an unreliable guy looks like child's play - I repeat, you have never taken me seriously, either then or now! I'm not even a fucking chess piece..."

Finally he figured it out: listen to the BBC broadcast first anyway to see what the instructions were. As for the radio station, he smiled. It was not a problem for him - everyone familiar with Mr. Tom Philip knew that he was a senior radio enthusiast. In addition to running hotels, he liked to play with radio stations, mineral radios and other equipment. In Port Heroes Portugal is even famous among radio enthusiasts. There is an old-fashioned spark plug wireless telegraph machine in the hotel lobby. Many tourists like to take a look and touch it when they stay in the hotel.

This is "Crow"'s greatest pride in proving that he is an intelligence agent. Unfortunately, no one has ever understood his loneliness...