The west wind sends the evening, the sunset shifts, and the beautiful and prosperous city of Milan is dyed by the afterglow of the setting sun, as brilliant and brilliant as the kingdom of God. Looking out from the living room window, the street scene of the building is as beautiful as a picture, even if you are in a villa more than 100 meters away, you can still clearly feel the vitality and vitality of the outside city.

Fang Yan sat on the sofa with his back straight, looking at the Italian Prime Minister in front of him with a look of neither humility nor arrogance. Perhaps because he and Hitler can get along calmly, at this moment, in the face of this group of leaders who are the most powerful in the whole of Europe, Fang Yan is not as cautious as ordinary people. For Mussolini's invitation, Fang Yan already vaguely felt that this would be an ideal opportunity for his future plans to be greatly promoted; However, he did not have the slightest recklessness, but waited for an ideal opportunity to launch his plan as a matter of course.

"Your Excellency, Honorable Leader, it is an honor for me to be admired by you." Fang Yan spoke softly, taking the lead in breaking the silence in the room. By this time the elder Ciano had already withdrawn from the door, and only he and Mussolini were left in the huge room. Fang Yan's face was as usual, and he didn't show too much restraint because of the identity of the person in front of him, and said unhurriedly: "Due to the limitation of time and level, I must have imperfections in the book, if you are willing to give a comment, I will definitely give you sincere thanks in accepting it with an open heart." ”

The middle-aged Mussolini stared at the young man in front of him, and after a long while, he slowly responded: "Although it may be a bit rude to say this, when I learned that the author of this apocalypse is actually you who are not yet 20 years old, the shock and disbelief in my heart cannot be contained. Because my lifelong dream of joining the revolution was to restore Italy to its former glory of the Roman Empire, and your book has opened a window of hope for a bright future in a dark cage. ”

Mussolini's eyes were bright, and he spoke at a much higher speed: "In the past, Mahan's "Treatise on Sea Power" showed the truth of the sea shrouded in fog before the eyes of the world; And your book of the rise and fall of the apocalypse points out a feasible path to the top, albeit tortuous, but practical, for the rising industrial nations in the maritime field. On this path, Germany was unfortunate to be a martyr of truth, while the United States and Japan were able to pass without a hitch and win at the Washington Conference what they deserved to reach the finish line. Although I feel very inspired after reading your book, I still want to talk to you in person. If Italy wants to follow the path that the United States and Japan did, what do you think should be done to succeed? ”

Fang Yan's eyes froze slightly, and he said, "Your Excellency, Honorable Leader, I think it may be a little inappropriate for you to ask me this. I am certainly the author of this book of the Rise and Fall of the Apocalypse, but I am also an officer of the German Navy, and I have neither the power nor the right or reason to interfere in the national policy of your country. There are more talents in your country than the peaks of the Alps, and the development plan must not be a problem at all, so why ask me as an outsider? ”

Mussolini smiled, and his temperament became as kind as that of the uncle next door: "Little Jonas, today I am just a reader to communicate with you. After reading this book, I naturally wanted to apply the essence of it to Italy, and I want to hear the opinion of you, the pioneer, is not a taboo? In addition, you have a deep connection with Italy. Your fiancée is Italian, and your family has close business ties with Corsi; As far as I know, your father's Brom-Forss shipyard also collaborated with Ansaldo in all its aspects, sharing the absolute core design know-how with the latter. In a way, Italy is your second home, so what else do you have to fear? ”

Hearing these words, Fang Yan was a little speechless for a while; In order to strengthen this future ally of Germany as much as possible, he did not have any secrets about the latter in many areas, and now that Mussolini had laid out the facts, he could not even do what he wanted to do. Fang Yan's expression changed, and finally he reluctantly nodded and said, "It's my honor to be favored by His Excellency the Leader. I am willing to comply with your wishes. ”

Fang Yan pondered for a moment, and then said slowly: "After four years of brutal world war, the political map of the entire Europe and even the world has been fundamentally changed. The German Empire, the Russian Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, Britain and France were also dealt an unbearable blow, and almost all the major belligerents were either defeated or victorious. However, there is only one European power that can truly claim to have won the war, and that country is the Kingdom of Italy under your leadership. ”

"Although Italy paid a terrible price of 700,000 lives and 1,500,000 maimed in the war, it received only a small amount of lost territory in the northeast, including Trieste, and less than one-eighth of the total German reparations, which were not enough to compensate for the great wounds caused by the war; But strategically, Italy was the biggest victor of all the major European belligerents. Because the Habsburg Empire, which had been screaming at your country for hundreds of years, had now fallen apart into five weak states, and neither Austria nor the United Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenia could compete with yours in strength. This will undoubtedly provide unprecedented convenience and opportunity for your country to become the hegemon of the Balkan Peninsula. Fang Yan said with a little envy. In fact, this is not exactly his pretense to Mussolini: the fact that a war scumbag like Italy can also obtain such a decisive benefit makes people sigh that God is unfair!

Mussolini's expression was solemn, and through the words just now, he no longer had the slightest doubt about the identity of the young man in front of him. This kind of insight is definitely not something that ordinary second lieutenant officers can have, which makes him marvel at it, but also have a strong sense of anticipation for what kind of opinion Fang Yan will have. Mussolini himself felt a little unbelievably absurd about the fact that he wanted to ask a German naval lieutenant about his own development path, but as the "new Copernicus" of the rising naval powers, his concept definitely has a considerable degree of reference significance!

"And on the seas, Italy has made a qualitative leap in its position vis-à-vis the other powers. On the eve of the World War, the British navy was 10 times the size of your country, and the French navy was at least twice as large as yours; In addition, there is a strong challenger in the Adriatic, which forces your country to devote most of its forces to it. However, after the signing of the Treaty of Washington, the British navy was greatly reduced to three times the size of your country, the French navy fell to a position equal to your country, and the Austro-Hungarian navy completely ceased to exist, and the Adriatic Sea became your country's absolute inner lake. Considering that Britain and France had to take care of their colonial interests in the Atlantic and the Far East, you are well placed to build a large fleet that dominates the Mediterranean. ”

Fang Yan calmly looked into Mussolini's eyes and said, "Your Excellency's ambition is to restore Italy to the state it was in at the height of the Roman Empire. In today's situation, there's now a great opportunity for you to make that blueprint a reality. I believe that this path can be divided into two steps: the first step is to expand the naval fleet to the upper limit allowed by the Washington Treaty, so as to strengthen its ties with Italian North Africa and to keep the resources and manpower of this land firmly in the palm of your hand. At present, extremely rich oil reserves have been discovered in North Africa, and as long as you manage it carefully, it will inevitably bring huge benefits to your country; And now your naval fleet, which depends on its colonial interests, is still far from the ceiling set by the Washington Treaty. These two objective conditions are sufficient for your country to expand its naval strength justifiably for a long time to come. ”

Mussolini nodded slowly, and the waves in his heart were already surging: in a few words, the other party had already analyzed the current situation facing Italy clearly, and gave a path exactly the same as that proposed by his cabinet think tank. He tried to calm the shock in his heart, and said, "What about the second step? What strategy will Italy adopt once it has done so? ”

Fang Yan paused and continued: "As long as your country can build ships up to the upper limit stipulated in the treaty, the strongest navy in the Mediterranean Sea is none other than your country, and the second step after that is to choose the opportunity to break through the treaty and carry out colonial expansion abroad. Although the world has long been carved up, there are still some areas where you can expand your power: Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in East Africa is the last barbaric land in Africa, and your country, which was on the ground 30 years ago, is now ready to fight for revenge. Albania, to the west of the Balkan Peninsula, was occupied by your country in 1920, and it will not take a little effort to recapture it across the Adriatic Sea. At that time, your country's naval fleet will not only be a force carrier for foreign expansion, but also an important tool for deterring Britain and France; If they dare to interfere with your country's expansion by force, they must first consider the risk of war with the most powerful navy in the Mediterranean. To some extent, your country will be similar to the German Empire of the past, except that Britain is no longer the Britain it once was, and France is not the France of the past. ”