"With this oil interest in the North African colonies, the Italians should be paying more attention to their naval buildup, right?" Sitting on the vehicle bound for Benghazi Port, Fang Yan muttered to himself. For Italy, which is also an oil-poor country, this huge oil field with extremely large reserves discovered in the depths of the Libyan desert can definitely be called a stimulant to revitalize the national economy; This will not only allow the Roman government to save a large amount of oil to buy foreign exchange, but also stimulate the development of many domestic industries, including oil refining and chemicals, and improve the economy while solving unemployment. For the fascist party currently in power, this kind of benign economic development can also be a stark contrast to the previous democratic regime, and further consolidate its own ruling foundations. In order to protect this interest, the Roman government further strengthened its navy, both publicly and privately, to ensure its right to use the Mediterranean Sea.

With the long whistle and the pleasant sound of the waves, accompanied by the gorgeous sunset, the Seastar oil tanker put away the anchor chain in the berth and carried Fang Yan towards the Italian mainland on the other side of the north. Due to the fact that the conditions of the Yofra oil field in the deep desert are really not complimentary, not only is the temperature difference between day and night extremely large, but there is a serious lack of sufficient fresh water and fresh food; Therefore, after Fang Yan understood the situation in the factory, he immediately embarked on the journey back. According to the person in charge of the oilfield, the employees in the plant have developed a set of skills to bathe in sand to cope with the lack of fresh water. Fang Yan obviously had no interest in trying this new project, and leaving this place as soon as possible became his best choice.

"There will be a big war here in the future, and I hope what I do today will change the outcome of the historical plane." Looking at the African continental shelf that was gradually disappearing on the horizon, Fang Yan's eyes flashed. He will not forget the North African campaign in another world, nor will he ignore the importance of the Mediterranean to the Allied strategy: it was in the North African desert that the clarion call for the British and American counteroffensive against Germany was first sounded in history. After the complete defeat of the German-Italian African Army, the American and British allies immediately launched successive landing campaigns on Sicily and the Italian mainland, directly threatening German domination in Europe from the southern flank. If we count from October 1942, when the Battle of El Alamein began, this period was a full 20 months before the later Normandy landings. To some extent, the Allies had already opened a second front of counteroffensive against Germany, but the scale of the war was not as large as the latter!

In view of this, Fang Yan must eliminate this second bridgehead that the United States can use to counterattack Europe, and the most effective way is to quickly expel British power from the land west of Suez, and completely turn the Mediterranean into a closed inland lake of the Axis powers before American industrial production can fully explode. If this were the case, German and Italian forces could be easily projected into North Africa, which would be enough to deal a fatal blow to the American army, which had limited equipment and personnel for the transoceanic expedition at the beginning. After all, every soldier and every bullet of the U.S. military has to be transported by transport ships from across the ocean thousands of miles away, and the force it can deliver is directly inversely proportional to the geographical distance; No matter how open its industry is, without the support of Britain, it is impossible to have the strength to confront Germany, which is fighting at home. In this way, with the entire Atlantic Ocean as a moat, Germany will be able to rule across the ocean with the United States, an open country, and win that glimmer of life from the pattern of inevitable defeat.

The prerequisite for achieving this goal will undoubtedly fall on the Italian Navy. Only when they achieve the premise of ensuring the smooth supply lines of the African army by sea will the German and Italian armies have the capital to sweep across the desert. What made Fang Yan feel reassured was that everything was developing in a good direction at the moment, and through the relationship with the old Chiano, he had almost got everything he wanted for this future ally.

As the Sea Star was full of oil on its return, its speed dropped to 10 knots, so it took a full five days for it to finally reach the ** port in northwestern Italy. Fang Yan reluctantly found that his holiday was running out, and he would soon return to Wilhelmshaven to serve on the ship. Although he regretted this situation, Fang Yan did not regret his choice, and he personally witnessed the changes he made in Libya, which was also an original motivation to change the future destiny of Germany.

Three hours later, Fang Yan returned to the gorgeous mansion in the center of Milan, and the old Ciano's car was parked in the courtyard, so that Fang Yan, who witnessed it, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly. Fang Yan adjusted his breathing, and then walked towards the door of the villa; I am quite familiar with this Italian dignitary, and it is completely reasonable to visit Silvia in Milan this time and meet my future father-in-law.

To Fang Yan's surprise, several strange men in black appeared in the corridor leading to the main living room, and looked at him as vigilantly as eagles and dogs, as if they were watching some dangerous person. As Fang Yan continued to walk forward, one of the leading men immediately reached out to stop him and asked him about his identity and intentions in a blunt manner. Fang Yan looked serious and informed the man of the corresponding information; The leading man looked the young man in front of him up and down suspiciously, and then gave his companion a look of retribution.

After a short while, the man in black quickly turned back and nodded affirmatively to the leading man. The sharp edge in the latter's eyes immediately dissipated, and his voice coldly spat out a syllable of invitation. Seeing this battle, Fang Yan's brows furrowed a little; Could it be that the elder Chiano, who had been assassinated in recent years, had become so cautious and wary of every guest who was not a member of his family?

Pushing open the door, the eyes suddenly opened. The main living room was as extravagant and gorgeous as Fang Yan remembered, and carefully carved glazed gold and jade could be seen everywhere. Old Chiano's figure was on the sofa not far away, he hadn't seen him for a few years, and his appearance had hardly changed, but there were some traces of time compared to when Fang Yan first saw him. And across from his old Ciano, there was still a man sitting; Since the man was facing away from the gate, Fang Yan couldn't see his face, and could only judge from the back that this was a burly middle-aged man with a slightly fat body.

Hearing the sound behind him, the man slowly turned his head, his square face was angular and angular, and there was a bit of sharp and flamboyant demeanor in the rough and heavy. Fang Yan's pupils shrank suddenly, and he instantly understood where the black-clothed bodyguards just now came from: because the middle-aged man who was currently appearing in front of him was Benito Mussolini, the leader of the fascist party, who was also the prime minister, foreign minister, and interior minister in the Italian royal government!

Fang Yan opened his mouth, his eyes were full of shock, he never expected that this fascist leader would appear here, which was completely beyond the scope of the script he had drawn up. However, he quickly reacted and saluted the other party meticulously and respectfully; Although Fang Yan did not have a good impression of Mussolini, a careerist whose political means were higher than military strategy, he was now in the other party's territory, and he had to do the corresponding etiquette.

"Kosi, is this the son-in-law you're looking for? He can really match your little Siwei. Mussolini looked at the old Ciano beside him and said with a smile on his face. Old Chiano smiled bitterly when he heard this, and said: "This is all forcibly brought back by my precocious and disobedient daughter, and it is useless for me to object, so I can only let their children develop on their own." Although there is a lot of regret in his heart, in the absence of other suitable candidates, he can only reluctantly accept Jonas as a member of the family. ”

Hearing Old Chiano's words, Fang Yan secretly squinted at each other: as a traverser, he was unique in this plane, and it was cheap enough for him to condescend to become the son-in-law of a treacherous businessman. Without his own help, the entire Ciano family would have become the dust of history with the fall of the Italian fascist party; Even his eldest son, Ciano Jr., will return to the West at the gunpoint of the Führer's firing squad!

However, in addition to the slander, Fang Yan was also surprised by the close relationship between the elder Chiano and Mussolini. The latter refers to the former as a simple name, and this can only be seen between blood relatives and extremely close friends. Rao is Fang Yan had long known that the relationship between old Ciano and Mussolini was extraordinary, but what he saw at this moment still made him feel surprised. Fang Yan couldn't understand how old Ziano and Mussolini became close friends; You must know that ten years ago, Mussolini was just an ordinary newspaper reporter, while the elder Ziano was a huge rich aristocrat in the whole kingdom!

Mussolini shook his head slightly and said, "Kosi, you don't have to be too modest. The apocalypse of the rise and fall of the High Seas Fleet alone is enough to prove the amazing talent of your son-in-law. He refocused his gaze on Fang Yan, showed a gentle smile that made people feel extremely kind, and said, "Little Yonas, Corsi is my closest comrade-in-arms, and we will be a family from now on. This time I just wanted to come to Milan for a vacation, but I didn't expect to meet you, which was also my unexpected bonus. ”

When Fang Yan heard this, he responded with gratitude, but there were some doubts in his heart: Mussolini's attitude towards himself was too good, even if he had an old relationship with old Chiano, but now he was only the lover of old Chiano's daughter, and he couldn't give himself such a warm face at all. However, soon, Fang Yan understood the reason. Mussolini's face gradually became serious, and he said, "Little Jonas, I recently read that book of yours, and I feel very touched. If you can, I'd like to invite you to have a nice conversation afterwards. ”