Chapter 1355: Chapter 978: Truce Chapter 1355: Chapter 978: Truce Although there was no news about the German Chancellor, sometimes no news is the best news.

Under the “friendly consultation” of General Ludwig Beck, parts of the Berlin media began to publish news that the Chancellor had died in the assassination.

A single media report might not mean much, but when several or even about ten media outlets report such news, the people, even if unwilling to believe, couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.

That was precisely the effect General Ludwig Beck wanted.

As long as they could throw Berlin, or even the whole of Germany, into disarray, the rebel group’s military would have a better chance of controlling the government.

Headed by General Ludwig Beck, the rebel group quickly took control of the Berlin City Council and the Ministry of Defense building, and they occupied the office of the German High Command.

Just over an hour later, a brand-new command from the High Command was issued and broadcast to the German public.

In this command document, General Ludwig Beck repeatedly mentioned the harm the war had done to Germany and that at least three million soldiers had died in it.

Ludwig also mentioned that continuing the war was meaningless and would only result in Germans bleeding dry for this unnecessary war.

Therefore, Ludwig decided to dissolve the current German government, establish a new German Federation of Republics, and appoint himself as the first President of the Federation.

As for the war profiteer, the former German Chancellor, he would be tried by the new courts of the Federation.

At the same time as issuing the command, President Ludwig mobilized a large number of troops to attack the hospital where the German Chancellor was located.

He understood that if he could kill the German Chancellor, he could ensure the success of the coup. If the German Chancellor escaped, even if the Federation could control the situation in Berlin, they might not withstand the counter-offensive organized by the Chancellor.

Meanwhile, in another location, within the most advanced medical hospital in Berlin, Goering and Himmler, the two most trusted aides of the German Chancellor, were meeting with complex expressions on their faces.

Beside them on a hospital bed lay a person who no longer showed any signs of life.

“What should we do?” asked Goering, the once glorious Air Force Commander, now looking so lonely and helpless, turning his gaze towards the more composed Himmler.

“Seal off the news about the Fuhrer, use all our power to control the situation in Berlin,” replied Himmler. “We can’t let the rebels take full control of Berlin, that would leave us in a dire situation.

Right now, only by making the rebels realize that the Chancellor is still alive can we possibly resolve this crisis.”

The current situation for Goering and Himmler was the worst possible. Although the German Chancellor had not died directly in the explosion, he was seriously injured and fell into a coma.

While the guards reacted quickly and took him to the hospital, such severe injuries were beyond the capabilities of current medical technology to save.

The Chancellor had only held on for just over an hour on the operating table before he stopped breathing, and since then, Goering and Himmler had been silent.

“If it really comes to it, we’ll take an airplane to Romania, transfer from Romania to Africa, and then board a ship to North America,” Himmler said after a moment of thought.

Goring and Himmler, as the two closest confidants to the German Chancellor, were certain to face retribution from the new German government and other hostile nations after the Chancellor’s death.

This also meant that the two of them needed to find an escape route in advance because their world had collapsed, and the current situation was utterly irretrievable.

Goring nodded passively, though his heart had long since become numb.

The Chancellor’s death was indeed too sudden, and Goring was not at all prepared, nor did he know what he should do next.

If he didn’t arrange for an airplane to flee to North America as Himmler had suggested, he would only be sitting in Berlin waiting for death.

However, considering the current situation, the two of them, as the most loyal aides to the Chancellor, were destined to be saddled with blame that originally did not belong to them.

Should he follow the Chancellor to the end of a glorious career or live a compromised life in North America? Goring was undecided.

Seeing Goring fall silent, Himmler quickly understood what he was thinking. After about a minute of silence, Himmler finally said, “We have another choice.”

Seeing Goring look up at him, Himmler continued, “Regardless of our fate, those who dared to assassinate the Chancellor are definitely criminals of Germany.

Before we follow the Chancellor, we should avenge him and let that damned rebel group understand that Germany did not perish at the hands of you, me, or the Chancellor, but at the hands of their rebellion.”

Hearing Himmler say this, the numbness in Goring’s eyes dissipated slightly, and he nodded slowly, “Let’s do it this way. I am not willing to abandon the leader to cling to life; perhaps following the Chancellor in death is the best outcome for people like us.”

Under the command of Goring and Himmler, the German Army under their control launched a ferocious attack on the rebel forces.

At the same time, the Gestapo, the so-called secret state police at Himmler’s disposal, was fully deployed to investigate the mastermind behind the Chancellor’s assassination.

The investigation was relatively straightforward. The rebel group led by Brigadier Ludwig had already come forward, and by combining the list of military upper echelons who attended the gathering, it was possible to roughly identify the potential suspects in the assassination.

After careful comparison and investigation, Himmler turned his attention to Colonel Klaus and Brigadier Hans, who had temporarily left the gathering.

These two were the only high-ranking officers from all military attendees at the gathering who had escaped the effects of the explosion and had not suffered a single injury.

Futhermore, according to the statements of several high-ranking military officials, these two had been very close to the Chancellor and were the two most suspect figures among all military attendees at the gathering.

Without the slightest hesitation, the entire secret Police Force under Himmler mobilized to secretly arrest Colonel Klaus and Brigadier Hans.

Turning back to these two, they had been closely guarded by Brigadier Ludwig since the explosion at the venue.

Plus, with the military strength of a division under Brigadier Hans’ command, even if the perpetrators behind the assassination were discovered, the Police Force might not necessarily be able to extract these two men from the Military’s grasp.

As the Gestapo was responsible for investigating the assassination, Brigadier Ludwig, who had already taken control of the Ministry of Defense building and the Berlin City Council, had begun convening the first meeting regarding the new government of the Federal Republic of Germany and was discussing the sole topic of that meeting–which was to negotiate the price for a ceasefire with the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations.