This statement, utterly deceitful and sophistry, has worked very well throughout the United Kingdom.

By trumpeting the murderous German crimes of destroying the peace, the British people soon subconsciously downplayed the 350-year-old Royal Navy, which had suffered a worse defeat in one night than the defeat of the Russian Second Pacific Fleet. They define Germany, which has been wielding guns and setting fires everywhere in Europe in recent years, as an enemy who has turned away from the civilized world; And in this case, no matter what the cost is, he must uphold the will of God and use the righteous light of the armed forces to completely purify the German devil.

Throughout the 4th of September, there was only a handful of chaos and commotion in the whole of the United Kingdom. The vast majority of people have borne the tragedy that happened in Scapa Bay as a doomed catastrophe for the nation. The tenacious and tenacious genes of the Anglo-Saxons, who once fought head-on with the sea and would rather die than bend, have finally been embodied in this generation of British people after more than 20 years. The Chamberlain government's approval ratings continued unabated, and the noisy House of Commons became more united than ever; There were long queues at the Royal Navy's recruiting points, driven by hatred and righteous indignation, eager to go out into the sea and fight the vicious German pirates.

The British, however, seem to have forgotten that the attack on Scapa Bay was due to their own initiative in waging war against Germany. The slap in the face of the Germans was as loud and painful as the foolish, arrogant and self-defeating declaration of war on Prussia by Emperor Napoleon III in 1870. As for Nazi Germany's acts of sabotaging peace and deliberate expansion in Europe, Britain is also the country in the world that is least qualified to criticize: how many hatreds and wars have Britain provoked on the European continent and in the whole world in the past few hundred years, and how many people have lost their blood and how many families have been grieved? If we talk about trampling on peace, we will export war. No country is more so than the sanctimonious hypocrite of England!

In the middle of the Apennine Peninsula in southern Europe, there is an ancient city that shines like a diamond star in the Mediterranean. It was the capital of the ancient Roman Empire, so its city name is the same as that of the empire of the past; Since the unification of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, the city has been reborn after more than 70 years of development. It is a complete fusion of historical heritage and modern prosperity.

In front of a magnificent golden baroque building, 56-year-old Mussolini is silently feeling the bright morning of early autumn; Brilliant sunlight poured down from the sky, reflecting a dazzling sheen on his bald head. Beside him, the young Italian Foreign Minister Ciano Jr. followed suit, and the latter's eyes flashed with a strange look that could not tell whether it was shock, jealousy, longing, or hesitation.

"I can't believe that the British suffered such a miserable defeat." In a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, little Ziano softly broke the silence in front of him and said slowly. "The 250,000-ton warship, including five capital ships, was sunk, and tens of thousands of officers and men were killed and wounded. Who would have thought that the British giant, who was as strong as an ox twenty years ago, would become even weaker today than the last crown prince of Tsarist Russia, who was suffering from hemophilia; With the pitiful strength of the German Navy, they all achieved such a jaw-dropping victory? ”

Mussolini looked up at the brilliant sun rising in the east and said with emotion: "There is really no eternal sunshine in this world. Even if it is the polar day of northern Russia, there will be a time when it will fall into darkness. Galaiazzo, your lovely brother-in-law is right. Since the end of the world war. The days that belonged to London are history, and the world has now entered a new era of shining stars. ”

Little Ziano was stunned when he heard this. It seems that he did not expect the leader to suddenly mention the young German. His mind was racing, and he soon smelled something unusual in Mussolini's words.

Although his youngest sister's husband, Jonas, has a special status in the German army that is not limited to his own rank, he is not very close to him, let alone his father-in-law Mussolini. As far as he knew, the young German had only had one contact with Mussolini: in his villa 12 years earlier. Jonas, who had just made a name for himself in the naval industry, made an inspiring statement about the future development of the Italian navy at Mussolini's request.

At that meeting, Jonas put forward the theory that Italy was the only real victorious country in the world war and encouraged the Italian Navy to go its own way. Like the United States and Japan, they are adamant about the use of the oceans. Does the mention of that man now by Mussolini mean that his will has been changed by the victory of the German Navy, and that he is determined to jump into Hitler's chariot in the hesitation of swinging on both sides?

Thinking about it, little Ziano was horrified to discover that Mussolini might have done so.

Perhaps it was the young German who really moved Mussolini, or perhaps it was the discovery of a large oil field in Libya in 1924 that multiplied Italy's dependence on shipping in the Mediterranean, and since 1927, Italy, which had just emerged from the trauma of the world war, tightened its belt and entered the violent part of naval construction. Even the ensuing world economic crisis of 1929~1933 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930 and 1936 aimed at limiting arms did not change the Italian government's devotion and favor for the navy. With the exquisite design methods provided by Fang Yan, the Italian Navy, which has been fully funded for 13 consecutive years, has undoubtedly built a powerful fleet that can be called the most powerful in the Mediterranean.

At present, the Italian Navy has a total of 6 battleships, 2 fleet aircraft carriers, 8 heavy cruisers, 12 light cruisers, 58 destroyers, and 44 submarines, with a total tonnage of more than 530,000 tons. Although it is still slightly inferior to the French in terms of lineup, it is far superior to its opponents in terms of the quality of new large and medium-sized ships. 4 Caracionot-class battleships were enough to defeat the French 2 Dunkirk + 2 Richelieu, and the Skyhawk-class aircraft carriers were also superior to the French Zofia-class.

As for the cruisers, Italy has absolute self-confidence: the Taranto-class and Zara-class heavy cruisers, which inherited the German miniature battle cruiser bloodline, are not comparable to the pure scum of France that even destroyer shells cannot resist? In terms of light cruisers, the Italian Navy was also affected by Fang Yan's technology, and was ready to upgrade them to heavy cruisers early: the seat of its triple 152 mm main gun left room for the twin 203 mm turrets in advance. As soon as the situation requires, it can achieve a leap forward in firepower in a short period of time.

Since the second half of 1937, when the world's navies officially entered the no-treaty era, the Italian Navy began to replace the main guns of these light cruisers. Today, the work is in its final stages, and the 12 light cruisers will soon be reclassified into heavy cruisers.

Although, in addition to the French Navy, the Italian Navy will also face pressure from the British Mediterranean Fleet; However, due to the weakening of the British, the St. George's fleet stationed in Alexandria at this time no longer had the strong authority that had once dominated the seas. Today, the British Navy has only 2 Queen-class battleships, 1 aircraft carrier Glory, and 15 main auxiliary ships in the Mediterranean. They lacked sufficient high-speed strike power, which would undoubtedly significantly reduce the actual power of the British fleet.

What made Mussolini even more excited was the victory that the German Navy had just won. If the Germans, a group of land creatures, were able to beat the British fleet far outnumbered by them, why couldn't the Italian navy, which had twice the size of the former and had warships as good as the Germans, not do this? Perhaps it will not take a few battles for Italy to dominate the waves of the Mediterranean, and the glory of the former Roman Empire will shine in his hands at the hands of Mussolini!

"But Leader, Italy is not ready for war." Little Ziano spoke in a solemn tone, and sang straight to the person in front of him. In the face of Mussolini's serious gaze, Ciano Jr. did not feel the same fear as other people in the country, but said in a clear manner: "We lack almost all the basic raw materials and related equipment needed for war, whether it is coal, steel, or guns and ammunition. It will take quite some time for us to stock up on supplies, produce weapons, and send a sufficient number of troops to North Africa to protect our oil bases. And on the north-western frontier, we also face the threat of France. French planes can easily bomb our northern industrial regions, and their land forces are a major threat to us. ”

Mussolini's face changed, and the battle light in his eyes finally dimmed. As his son-in-law said, Italy's preparations for war were far inferior to those of Germany, which was industrially strong: after satisfying the navy's kryptonite needs, the army was left with only a few residues. On August 26, the reason why **** fled when the war was about to break out, in addition to the fear of Britain, was that Italy's preparations for war were not satisfactory. If you rush into battle, the result of the land battlefield will almost certainly be beaten by France, and it is not good to say that even the Libyan oil fields will be wiped out by the British and French troops in North Africa!

In addition, the current direction of German diplomacy is also very contrary to Italy's feelings and interests. I don't think we should just go to Berlin's side so easily. Little Ziano was silent for a moment, then spoke again. (To be continued.) )