Gravedigger of the Empire

The clanging noise woke Kahn. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and saw Albert sitting opposite him, looking at him.

"Alright, alright! I know I was being rash." Kahn rubbed his hair in frustration, his voice full of annoyance.

He promised Guderian he would get a batch of cars, only to find that he had no way of getting that many cars in Berlin!

That's a damn two hundred cars! Even in Germany, a country famous for its automobiles, that number was considerable in 1922.

So he could only write a report and find a reason to go to the place where he could get these cars.

There was no other way; he had to handle everything himself, especially things he wasn't even sure he could accomplish.

"I'm just reminding you that we're almost at the station." Albert smiled, his face lined with wrinkles.

"Thank you!" Kahn rubbed the skin on his face, finally feeling somewhat better.

He misses the trains that travel at 300 kilometers per hour; the trains of this era practically have a built-in vibration massage effect.

Actually, Germany is not bad; at least its railway system is complete.

In other countries, going out in this era is actually quite inconvenient.

"Good morning, passengers! We are about to arrive at Stuttgart train station." The train attendant greeted each passenger with a sweet smile, reminding them that the train was about to pull into the station.

German train service was quite good at that time, because people who could afford train tickets were not considered poor.

Of course, it also had to do with the carriages where Kahn and Albert were seated. After all, their tickets were more expensive, so the service was better.

Soon, the suburban scenery outside the car window disappeared, and a concrete platform came into view.

Many passengers had already crowded the platform; all sorts of people, all kinds of strange people.

"Sizzle..." The train began to unload its stored steam, and white smoke obscured the view from the platform.

Kahn grabbed a hat hanging on the carriage wall and put it on his head: "Let's go! We've arrived."

Love picked up his suitcase, Kahn only carried his briefcase, and Albert also had only a leather suitcase. The three men got off the train in this industrial city.

The air here smells of coal smoke, and people's leather shoes are covered with a layer of dust.

Baden-Württemberg is Germany's closest border to France and one of Germany's most important industrial regions.

Stuttgart is the capital of this state and also the headquarters of Daimler AG.

That's right. Strictly speaking, the "Mercedes-Benz" car brand didn't even exist in 1922.

At this point in time, Daimler was Daimler, and Benz was Benz; they were two completely different car companies.

Therefore, the car that Kahn drove in Berlin should be called a Daimler car.

No problem, just wait a few more years and Daimler and Benz will merge, and the historically famous Mercedes-Benz will make its debut.

"Have mercy! I haven't eaten for two days!" A beggar stood on the platform, waving a hat in his hand.

There were a few poorly printed banknotes in his hat, all German marks that had fallen to rock bottom.

A few hundred marks wouldn't buy you much food, even in Stuttgart.

Everything is getting more expensive now; every single item is going up in price every day.

Kahn habitually reached into his pocket, pulled out a banknote, and tossed it into the beggar's hat.

Because he saw that the other person only had one leg, and the other leg was indeed broken.

After the war ended, such "veterans" were everywhere, and many of them would die in some forgotten corner.

The beggar thanked him profusely. Two young men standing not far away exchanged a glance and then mingled into the crowd, moving closer to Kahn.

Just as the two of them were about to reach into Kahn's pocket, a soldier stepped between them.

The two walked away nonchalantly, as if they weren't the ones who had just tried to steal the wallet.

On the other side, where the soldiers had driven away the thief, Kahn was exchanging pleasantries with a captain.

"Hello! Lieutenant Miles! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The young captain was ordered to greet Kahn, who was on official business in Stuttgart.

He smiled, reached out and shook hands with Kahn, then introduced himself: "I am the company commander of the 2nd Company in the 13th Infantry Regiment, and my name is Erwin Rommel."

Kahn smiled even more broadly and patted the other man's arm: "It's nice to meet you, Kahn Miles."

He really didn't expect to run into this "old acquaintance" at the train station.

He had originally wanted to find some excuse to go to the 13th Infantry Regiment stationed in Stuttgart and take a look at this cunning desert fox.

"These are my two friends, they came here with me on business." Kahn pointed to Love and Albert beside him.

"Welcome!" Rommel was very hospitable, reminding Kahn that there were many pickpockets at the train station, while leading them to the other side of the station.

There was already a truck parked there.

"Sorry, we are a combat unit, so this is the only type of vehicle we have..." Rommel explained to Kahn somewhat embarrassedly.

Stuttgart is close to France and is a proper military zone, so it is impossible for them to be complacent.

So Rommel, the company commander, really couldn't get a car to pick up Lieutenant Kahn.

"Ha! It's alright! Our main work is in downtown Stuttgart this time, so we don't need a car." Kahn didn't intend to fuss over such unnecessary details.

"Oh? You're not going to the camp?" Rommel was quite surprised. "Didn't we say we needed to check the quantity of ammunition and weapons in the armory and move some of them?"

Kahn raised an eyebrow; he could roughly guess why the 13th Infantry Regiment had sent a company commander to greet him.

"Your unit is planning to upgrade to new weapons?" Kahn asked suddenly instead of getting into the vehicle.

Rommel was taken aback. He hadn't expected that the lieutenant from Berlin would bring up the very "topic" that their commander cared about most right here.

"Lieutenant Miles," Rommel glanced around, lowering his voice slightly, "Do you usually discuss matters in places like this?"

"No, I usually find a quiet place, enjoy a good meal, and then discuss similar issues," Kahn replied.

Rommel was even more surprised: "Then...this?"

"I have urgent business to attend to, the equipment for the 13th Infantry Regiment... Just tell me what you want," Kahn explained briefly.

Rommel nodded, then looked back at Kahn: "All our rifles, machine guns, and artillery... all..."

"Do you know anyone at Daimler AG?" Kahn didn't bring up the arms deal; instead, he asked another question.