In March, when Hitler marched into the Rhine, another event occurred that would benefit Germany in the long run.

After more than four months of intermittent negotiations, on March 25, 1936, the United States, Britain, and France finally concluded the Second London Naval Treaty, which aimed to limit naval armaments. The treaty stipulated that the standard displacement of a newly-built battleship should not exceed 35,000 tons, and the caliber of guns should not exceed 14 inches (356 mm), and that the standard displacement of aircraft carriers and cruisers should not exceed 23,000 tons and 8,000 tons, respectively, and the caliber of guns should not exceed 6.1 inches (155 mm). In addition, if Japan and Italy do not join the treaty after a year, then the restrictions on capital ships will be automatically relaxed to a standard displacement of 45,000 tons and a gun caliber of 16 inches (406 mm). Compared with the previous two agreements, the newly signed treaty undoubtedly has stricter restrictions on single-ship indicators; Among them, the main guns of the battleships were reduced by 2 ranks, and the tonnage of aircraft carriers and cruisers was also significantly reduced.

Although Japan announced its withdrawal from the Conference on Disarmament in January and Italy did not sign the treaty, Britain, which led the conference, felt very good about itself, believing that it had successfully avoided the "nightmare of unbounded naval ambitions" of the American economic giant. In order to show its sincerity in limiting armaments, Britain happily played the trick of wielding its own sword as it did back then: in the planning of the replacement of the five old battleships of the Revenge class, the British strictly abided by the rules of the game they had set, and designed the new "George V" class battleships to be weak chickens equipped with only 10 356 mm 45 times the diameter main guns. And as early as 25 years ago, they themselves opened a new era of 381-mm heavy guns on battleships!

In contrast, the new battleships built by other powers at the same time were all more powerful. The Italian Caraccino class is equipped with eight 381 mm 42 caliber guns, and the Richelia class, which began construction in 1935, also has eight 380 mm L45 guns. Although the United States had no intention of provoking an arms race, because they judged that Japan and Italy would almost certainly not join the disarmament agreement before March 1937, they made two preparations when designing the new North Carolina-class battleship: it would be able to comply with the treaty and be armed with 12 356-mm guns. It also left the weight and space for the replacement of 9 406 mm L45 heavy guns in the future.

As for Japan, which had already been kidnapped by the military headquarters at this time and had unprecedentedly inflated expansion ambitions, it was even more dismissive of any treaty: their requirement for new battleships was to be able to defeat two enemies with one enemy, and none of its several new plans had a displacement of less than 50,000 tons. With the addition of Fang Yan's multiple design methods, the German Navy's newly started 45,000-ton heavy battleship is also terrifyingly strong, and you must know that the Italian Caraccino-class, which is in the same vein, has achieved a balance of performance of the ships carrying 15-inch guns with a standard displacement of only 30,000 tons!

And in the field of aircraft carriers. Britain's newly designed "Brilliant" class is also based on 23,000 tons, which is several levels behind the 30,000-ton large aircraft carrier that the German Navy has already started. The London authorities have always naively thought that their concessions would be exchanged for compromises from others, but they failed to see that the world situation today is completely different from that of the past: in the face of the aggressive fascist expansion, only by resolutely making the most resolute response can they truly protect their own interests and peace!

The dawn of spring, the blossoming of the mountains, and the dawn of April enveloped the whole of Germany in a prosperous and busy atmosphere. Fang Yan, who was on leave, returned to his home in Hamburg. share the peace and tranquility with Sylvia and her family; His daughter Alice is now two years old, and the innocent smile on her delicate face like a pink carving makes Fang Yan, who has been working hard for various affairs all day, feel sincerely relaxed and happy.

"Dad, there's a letter for you in the letterbox!" Alice trotted all the way from the gate of the villa to the courtyard, some baby fat little hands clutching an envelope covered in black. The fat nanny, who is over forty years old, is following behind this little girl, lest she will fall under her feet without paying attention. Since Sylvia came to Hamburg to live with Fang Yan, several maids in the family have all been replaced by her into half-aged who are out of shape, fearing that Fang Yan will be like other male hosts. What a spark to rub with the youthful and lively maid. Looking at his wife's extremely serious and loving eyes, Fang Yan was both moved and worried. He had to bury his relationship with Lina deeply, and gave all the care to this lover who had been with him for more than ten years.

Seeing his little little daughter running all the way, Fang Yan, who was sitting in the shade of a tree enjoying afternoon tea, hurriedly greeted him. He leaned over and picked up the little one, and the two spins in the air made Alice giggle and laugh. After kissing his daughter on the face, Fang Yan took the envelope from her hand, but his gaze swept slightly. His pupils shrank slightly, and his expression became solemn.

"Honey, what's going on?" Sylvia quickly noticed the strangeness of the person next to her and couldn't help but ask. Fang Yan handed his daughter into the hands of the nanny, and then opened the envelope of the letter and quickly read its contents. Soon, he exhaled lightly, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face again.

"It's a letter from the Führer, he invited me to attend his birthday banquet at the Prime Minister's Office on the 20th of this month, and he also invited you, Xiwei." Fang Yan handed the letter paper in his hand to Sylvia's hand and said with a smile. With the re-entry of the Germans into the Demilitarized Zone of the Rhine and the mobilization of the population to build a western defensive line along the river, Hitler's adventures of foreign expansion finally came to an end for the time being, and he entered a rare personal break. Previously, due to various reasons such as training at sea, Fang Yan never attended the birthday banquet after Hitler came to power, and this time in the face of Hitler's handwritten letters, it was inevitable that he would fulfill the contract on time.

"Really, Your Excellency the Führer even invited me to a banquet!" Seeing the relevant sentences on the letterhead, Sylvia was pleasantly surprised and said with a smile. Fang Yan said hesitantly: "This is a sure thing. Your brother has now become Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs and has been appointed by Mussolini as his successor, how could the Führer ignore your presence? You may arrive at the Prime Minister's Office and you will be one of the Führer's most attentive guests, so you will need to be fully prepared to face the spotlight. ”

Sylvia snorted, and her emerald green eyes shone with a slight glow of joy. Today, her father, Ciano Sr., has retired from the ranks of Italian politics and has been replaced by her eldest brother Galeazzo? Ziano's rapid promotion: in just 10 years, he went from a young man who had just stepped out of the ivory tower to a powerful minister. In addition to the deep friendship between the elder Chiano and Mussolini, the younger Chiano married Mussolini's favorite daughter Linda, which is also a pivotal reason. In this case, the Ziano family is already the undisputed number one giant family in Italy, but Sylvia did not expect that in Germany, thousands of kilometers away, her family would still receive such attention!

"I'm going to show myself and my family." Sylvia clenched her fists slightly and said with a serious expression.

The sun rises and the moon sets, the wind and clouds are soothing, and in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, the time soon came to the twilight of spring on April 20. Fang Yan changed into a beautiful evening dress belonging to the school officer, and arrived at the Chancellery in Berlin from Hamburg with his family: Rudolf, who had funded a large amount of money for the National Socialist Party, was also invited by Hitler. As for Fang Yan's uncle, Walter, he even locked in a place for guests early by virtue of his position as deputy minister of economic affairs in the government.

The Chancellery is located at 77 Wilhelmstrasse in the center of Berlin, covering an area of more than 10,000 square meters, and the ancient Roman-style buildings are majestic and magnificent. In the evening, the open square in front of the Prime Minister's Office was already full of cars, and many high-level figures from the party, government, military, business circles, and foreign friends stepped out of the cars and walked into the tall and wide concave gate in an endless stream. Eight tall and sturdy SS soldiers stood in front of the gate of the Chancellery with guns, as if they were carved wood clay sculptures, and anyone who saw these Germanic soldiers with handsome faces could not help but sincerely agree with Hitler's theory of racial superiority and inferiority.

When you enter the door, your eyes suddenly open up. A giant rectangular flower hall with a height of more than 10 meters and a length of thousands of square meters appeared in front of Fang Yan, with golden red walls and floor tiles, which was luxurious and magnificent. The dome of the flower hall is made of transparent glass, and when you look up, you can see the starry void. At this time, the hall was already brightly lit and crowded, Fang Yan glanced away slightly, and found many familiar faces when he landed.

Seeing these figures with lofty status or powerful hands, his eyes were not limited to Fang Yan, who was not limited to the navy, and his mind quickly became a little strangely active. Although his family's power has increased significantly compared with a few years ago, there is still a big gap between his family and the power center in Germany: his uncle Walter is only at the level of deputy minister, and there are more than a dozen ministers above him. Within a few months, however, a vital post would be added to the centre of power in Germany; And in this plane where Goering has been obliterated by Fang Yan in advance, Walter will most likely replace the former and succeed in taking the position! (To be continued.) )