On June 9, 1944, Truman was sworn in as the new president. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

He was not a democratically elected vice president himself, and because of the president's death, he became president, setting two American political records at one time.

After he became president, there was no vice president in the United States, and in view of the approaching election, Congress discussed and suggested that there should be no more need to be established, and Secretary of State Hull should perform some of the vice presidential powers.

Due to Truman's busy schedule and the fact that he had to postpone his travel to the states as president, Alben William Buckley, the vice presidential candidate who ran with him, had to do most of the daily work and deliver speeches alone, although the momentum was weaker than Dewey's, but the prestige of President Roosevelt, and the entourage of Kennedy, deputy director of the campaign office, and American hero, still earned Truman a lot of popularity.

At midnight before Truman's inauguration, the "Voice of Europe" expressed its condolences and life evaluation of Roosevelt, and although it believed that it was not wise for the United States for Roosevelt to rashly intervene in European disputes, it still called Roosevelt a "great man" in view of his great contributions to the New Deal. Dr. Goebbels gave a very high level speech, he listed the past of Roosevelt's New Deal through the construction of public infrastructure to finally stimulate domestic demand, solve people's livelihood and unite American society, and compared the "miracle" of the Führer's economic recovery and economic take-off in Germany, saying that "this is the common choice of great people and the only way for a great nation."

He went on to conclude that "why should such two great nations be killing each other for the benefit of the big capitalists and the Jewish oligarchs, when they could have lived in harmony?" On the occasion of the inauguration of the new President of the United States, we reiterate our call for a peace treaty with the United States. ”

At the time of these words, two Marine Brigades, which had been prepared for the second phase of the Icelandic campaign, had left the Mediterranean Sea for Brazil, this time with the intention of landing in Platana and further expanding the territory of the American Republic.

Under the pressure of public opinion, Truman was forced to openly express his willingness to achieve peace, and for the first time lowered his tone, and did not say such unrealistic words as "Germany must return the invaded European territories", but put forward only three basic principles:

First, Germany abolished its alliance with Japan and did not support Japan in any way;

second, the withdrawal of Germany's military presence in South America, including the outlawing of the illegal American republics;

Third, Germany returned confiscated American capital and industry in Africa, Europe, and elsewhere.

As for the non-reciprocal non-reciprocal non-reciprocal and the release of prisoners, etc., are the usual conditions and are not included in these principles.

As for the return, Truman did not say it in his speech, but those in the know understood that it was two: acquiescing to Germany's control of Europe and Africa (including South Africa) and recognizing Germany's special economic interests in South America.

In the eyes of the United States, these are great concessions, and even Dewey himself could not say anything. However, in Berlin's view, Truman had not yet recognized the reality and lacked the sincerity of the peace talks: the abolition of the Japanese alliance would have been a negotiable clause, but the American Republic was a country that accepted German protection written in the constitution in black and white, and it was the seed of the German nation taking root in the Americas.

The peace talks were obviously unsuccessful, but what bothered Hoffman the most was Mussolini, the dreamer and dictator of the new Roman Empire, who didn't know where and made a mistake, sent Ziano to Berlin to complain, saying that the Italian descendants of Brazil had been treated unfairly for a long time, and there was an urgent need to establish an Italian American Republic, and the implication was that Germany would give support, and implied that the Italian Navy followed Germany in the southern and northern wars, and the aircraft carrier was repeatedly bombed and sunk, so how much must be paid?

Ribbentrop was sneering at the time, but the news should still be delivered, introduced into the Führer's office, and after listening to the other party's explanation, Hoffman stared at Ziano for three minutes, and saw that the other party was in a cold sweat and worried.

In fact, Ciano and others persuaded Mussolini, saying that Germany treats Italy well: all kinds of military and heavy industries are imported, and a lot of coal and oil are also provided to help Italy develop its economy; Germany extracted Libyan oil, but Italy now took advantage of it and enjoyed the benefits every month. Germany was not stingy on turf, first sent the African Army to let Italy get hold of Ethiopian territory, and also cut a piece from southern Sudan so that Italy could connect Libia and Ethiopia and continue to Eritrea, which is equivalent to the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea; On the European side, it not only allowed Italy to consolidate its rule over Albania, but also ceded Serbian territory to Italy, making it clear that it was a reward for the Italian navy.

In terms of Italy's record and strength, this was a very good package, even if Mussolini had been paying in advance for his naval exploits. The repetition of new territorial claims now not only slaps the Germans in the face, but also exposes the dictator's insatiable nature.

But Mussolini did not listen to this persuasion, he believed that Britain was about to be defeated, the Italians made great efforts, Serbia alone was not enough, and Tito and the guerrillas were too much of a headache, he filled in more than 100,000 troops before and after, and used all available methods of anti-guerrilla warfare, even the "special pesticides" were sprinkled, but he was still unable to do so, and he had to make up for it with a little extra money.

At his roar, Ziano ran to Berlin. As a son-in-law and confidant, he knew why Mussolini made such a request: it was true that he was jealous of Germany's war dividends, but the bigger reason was that Mussolini was dissatisfied with the distribution of voting rights in the EU -- he had imagined that Italy, Britain, and France could have the power to balance Germany as a single big country, but he did not expect that Germany's EU principle was that Britain, France, and Italy combined could not compete with Germany. This made Mussolini uncomfortable, but it was inconvenient to show it publicly. So he was ready to balance it elsewhere and ask for compensation in exchange for agreeing to Germany's EU treaty.

He thought very beautifully, thinking that Germany would not express much opposition in order to get the support of Italy, and most of them were holding their noses and putting up with it, and besides, he wanted the territory of the Brazilians, not Germany's own territory, so what was there to be stingy about the Führer?

Ziano and some high-ranking party officials are not as optimistic as him, and they are very worried about the future of Italy: although the European Union system stipulates that Italy is the second-in-command, Italy's strength is too weak, and its voting power exceeds that of Britain and France, but its strength is still inferior to that of Britain and France.

After the armistice on the Eastern Front and the British question were almost settled, the situation became even more dangerous: 3 million German troops were about to return home, and it was a matter of minutes to cross Italy, and even 500,000 German troops could be done without 1 million; As for Italy's proud fleet, it does not pose a threat to Germany -- at a time when Germany's native aircraft carriers will soon be launched in large quantities and the Northern Sea Route will be completed, Italy may not be much sure that it will fight for the navy. If you really dare to cut off the route of Middle Eastern oil to Europe, according to Mussolini, I am afraid that the Germans will come immediately!

Mussolini was originally very close to Petain and Franco, and even vaguely had the idea of the three countries joining forces to suppress Germany. But the situation was changing day by day, and Franco's immike of Germany's imminent conquest of England shocked Franco, who did not dare to think about it, not to mention that there was Portugal next to him to contain Spain; Although Petain is as cunning and cunning, Darlan has reached an agreement with Germany that he will be the successor head of France in the future, and even Germany said that it will support the reconstruction of the French navy after the end of the European war, and if France intervenes when Germany fights Italy, there will be no place to cry - Turin, Genoa, and Milan are all under the threat of France, even if the French do not fight Italy itself, it is enough for the Italians to grab Sardinia.

As for Albania and Serbia to the east, they are also not steady, and there is a German little brother next to them: Romania, Hungary, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria are not fuel-efficient lamps. Italy got so much territory with the navy, and Romania and Hungary followed Germany to fight the whole Eastern Front, what did they get?

Ziano and others were much more sober in their minds than Mussolini, and they trembled at the German power -- suppressing the Soviet Union in the east, Britain in the north, and the United States in the west, as well as the big navy, rockets, and jets to help, and Germany's power was simply boundless, and daring to provoke the Germans now was no different from looking for death. Even Comrade Iron and Cigar Prime Minister have been planted, and a playboy leader dares to argue with the Führer?

According to his idea, Italy should now hug its thighs, vigorously advocate Germany's EU plan, European integration, the United Nations, and other post-war ideas, wave flags and shout for the head of state, and kneel and lick in many ways, so as to maintain its hard-won second-in-command position and gain some benefits. Germany, for the sake of Italy's knowledge, might have given it some additional benefits, rather than a slap in the face.

It is a pity that Mussolini did not listen to it at all, and insisted on pursuing the overseas territories of the Roman Empire, and wanted to establish an Italian American republic following the example of the Germans.

Sure enough, although Ciano had expressed Mussolini's opinion in as euphemistic terms as possible, Hoffmann immediately understood. After staring at it for a long time, Ziano was horrified to hear the Führer gritting his teeth and a phrase popping out of his mouth: "Where does he want?" ”

Ziano, who understood German and understood the dissatisfaction in his voice, wiped the sweat from his forehead and stammered, "Holy ...... State of São Paulo. ”

Ribbentrop's eyes widened in astonishment at the name of the place, and he looked at him in disbelief—a word that Ziano had not said until now, but now he was willing to say it.

The state of São Paulo is the most important region in Brazil, and the capital city of São Paulo is the largest and most modern industrial, commercial, financial and transportation center in Brazil and South America, with a population of more than 10 million people, and the city of São Paulo alone has a population of nearly 4 million. The German-controlled republics of the Americas, even if they were three states, had a combined population of less than 2 million. Even Germany did not dare to hit the idea of the state of São Paulo, and Italy actually wanted to swallow it in one gulp?