The melodious sound of the bell echoed in every corner of the living room, and the short and slightly chubby Franco sat on the sofa with some distraction, and his mind was still recurring to the scene he had seen at the main table a few hours earlier.

It was a picture he had never imagined, as vast as the mythical Mount Olympus. The overwhelming flags, the loud cheers in the sky, the slogans surging like clouds, and the boundless crowd of people...... All of them are even more magnificent than the Berlin Olympics four years ago. And what made him tremble the most was the music played at the opening ceremony. They are like sacred chants, and their melodies have reached the highest level of ingenuity: even if Franco does not understand German, he can feel the infinite admiration and admiration for Hitler! This situation instantly shook his original rock-solid determination, and it became unprecedentedly hesitant and shaken.

As early as when he was invited to Germany, Franco had an accurate judgment about this trip to Nuremberg. Hitler must have wanted to rush himself into the gang in order to solve as soon as possible the elbow and armpit problem of Britain, the only one still resisting. It is true that because the German government avoided the outcome of the battle of the Danish Strait, Franco could not get a glimpse of the dilemma faced by the German navy for the time being, but at the level of macro strategy, Franco's vision did not deviate in the slightest.

For the time being, Gibraltar, at the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, was an iron lock separating Germany from Italy, and perhaps with the addition of the fleet of Vichy France. And if you want to attack the British mainland, the navy is undoubtedly the most important link. If Britain could hold Gibraltar in the palm of its hand, it would still have a chance to turn the tables with the support of the United States, but once it is lost, the balance of power in the Atlantic will be rewritten in an instant!

Due to Gibraltar's unique topography, which made it almost impossible to capture from the sea, Spain's importance suddenly became the focus of attention on both sides. This situation immediately reminded Franco of Turkey in July 1914: although it was weak and weak, it had eaten Germany, France, Russia, and Austria, the top powers that had stomped on Europe, by virtue of its unique geographical location in the Dardanelles. In order to curry favor with this "stinking scoundrel of Asia Minor", Germany sent one main war cruiser, France gave a large loan, and the feud Russia swore again that it would never touch Constantinople again, as if a scoundrel in a desperate situation once repented and was determined to abandon his lifelong bad habits. If it weren't for Churchill's intransigent attitude, the British Empire would have had to show a flattering smile to this sick man and bad horse in their minds!

Now, the man who holds the trump card has become Franco, who is ten times more cunning than Enville Pasha, and he will hold it firmly in his hand and wait for the price to sell, saying that he will not put the chips on the table first. Since the defeat of France at the end of June, Franco has begun to hint to the United States and Britain in many ways that Roosevelt gritted his teeth with hatred for this dictator who had eyebrows with Hitler, and could only give benefits in every possible way and retreat step by step. With the massive influx of money from the American tycoons, there were clear signs of a recovery in Spain's devastated economy after the Civil War, which in turn became Franco's political achievement, strengthening his position of power at home.

By swinging between the two camps, Franco, who relied on the military force to rise to power, captured the hearts of the people for the first time and tasted the sweetness of a small day. It was only the beginning of September, and the economic plans had just begun, and it was clear that Franco could not accept such an abandonment. What's more, once Spain is in the middle of a war, the finances will usher in another disaster, and the people's livelihood in the country will wither, and the resulting crisis will be enough to shake his rule!

In addition to economic considerations, Franco's neutrality was driven by a deep suspicion that Germany would ultimately win the war.

Judging from the current situation, Britain, which is fighting alone, will indeed not be able to win on its own. But there is also the United States standing behind London, and the actions taken by the latter since the outbreak of the European war have all demonstrated to the world their position and beliefs. The White House authorities saw Hitler's Germany as the number one threat, and they would not sit idly by and let their opponents dominate Europe, even if there was a lot of opposition at home. Franco knew very well that Germany was finally defeated in the last war because of the intervention of the United States, and once the American giant rolled up his sleeves again, the situation of the war would be reversed in an instant!

In addition, in the east of Germany, there is a giant beast that is also eyeing it. The German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of August 1939 ostensibly prelude to a formal alliance between the two countries, but Franco knew that it was only an expedient compromise between Hitler and Stalin to settle Poland – Franco himself was a staunch anti-communist and knew unequivocally the position of Hitler's "comrade": he could not live peacefully with the Bolsheviks for a long time. Stalin's ambitions for European territory were equally clear, and the two sides were already at loggerheads over the Balkans. In the next few years, Germany will definitely go to war with the Soviet Union!

It was with these two potential scourges of instability in mind that Franco made up his mind at the beginning of his journey to take the Turks as a warning and never rush into a war of life and death. Don't wait for the market to be confirmed, and never place this bet. Although the Italians are a little impulsive, they have some real materials in their hands that can be weighed, and their nature is not comparable to that of poor and white Spain.

However, at this time...... Franco's heart was in turmoil. He suddenly discovered that his assessment of German power had deviated significantly, and this undoubtedly seriously upset the strategic balance in his mind, and made the whole decision have to be reconsidered!

Just as his thoughts were racing, there was the sound of footsteps outside the hallway of the meeting room. Franco's gaze froze, and he saw the figures of Hitler and Ribbentrop appear in front of the door. With a warm smile on his face, he quickly got up and shook hands with the two. Due to the changes at the opening ceremony of the Party Congress, the time of this meeting was originally postponed by 3 hours, but Franco did not show the slightest displeasure, as if as the younger brother of the *** camp, he should be loyal to his eldest brother consistently.

"Your Excellency, I'm sorry that I was temporarily unwell and kept you waiting in the hotel for a little longer. But I don't think that will affect the outcome of our meeting today. Hitler smiled and invited Franco to sit down, expressing his heart's will straight to the point. However, perhaps it was an illusion or something, Franco felt that the person in front of him had changed significantly compared to the early morning: there was an inexplicable aura lingering around him, so that everyone in front of him would involuntarily have a feeling of respect and worship.

"Germany and Spain have been close to each other for many years. At the end of the war, I sincerely invite your country to join the German-Italian alliance and to deal the final blow to Britain. Germany will not treat any of its allies badly, and as long as you join the Axis, we will give you all the support you need within reason. ”

Hitler spoke calmly, but his straightforward words startled Franco. You must know that diplomatic negotiations have always focused on returning to the circle and progressing layer by layer, and there are only two situations like Hitler's expression, one is that the victory is in hand and the general situation is directly pressing, and the other is that the other side is unwilling to spend more words, and the talks will not be successful, and they will directly break up in two. Judging from his performance in the past year, Franco feels that Hitler's move is mostly a combination of both: it is no longer an invitation to Spain to join the axis, but to force him to make a clear statement about this war!

Franco's mind was spinning rapidly, and he immediately thought of a set of words to delay his grievances, but Hitler's eyes pierced straight to him, and he said slowly: "Commander, I know that you have a far better vision of the current situation than ordinary people, so don't do any more formal articles as before." If in the first few months you had enough to wait and see, now all you can do is to move closer to Germany. Only by joining us can you achieve your ambitions with minimal effort. Otherwise, anything that happens will be something we don't want to see. ”

Hearing these obviously threatening words, Franco did not feel angry in his heart. He silently withdrew his gaze, and began to seriously consider the pros and cons of reversing to the axis for the first time.

It is true that Franco was determined to keep Spain out of the situation and not to reap enough benefits from the belligerents, but this was based on the premise that the forces of both sides were on the same level, or at least not out of balance. Once the balance of power is broken, the man riding on the wall loses the foundation of swaying from side to side, and the only option is to go with the flow.

Through the opening ceremony of today's party congress, Franco discovered what a terrible spiritual transformation the German people have had! The successive epic victories on the battlefield, coupled with the multiplication and amplification of the chant music, have made their will condensed into steel, and the resulting burst of energy is enough to melt the entire British Isles. This is not empty idealism, but it is deeply connected to reality: if the German people could work two more hours a day inspired by this spirit, how many more warplanes, artillery, and warships could be produced?

In contrast, although the industrial economy of the United States is far larger than that of Germany, the noisy and chaotic voices at home seriously restrict the exertion of this power. The White House's support for Britain was still hampered, and Roosevelt had to supply the British with old-fashioned weapons that the army did not use. By the time the Americans really recovered, Britain would have already become a corpse, and what would the United States do with Germany across the vast Atlantic?