At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, Aunt Juncker's landing gear finally stopped on the hard airport runway. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The sun is shining brightly, and there are many snow-white floating clouds dancing in the clear blue sky, and the scenery is pure and beautiful, which makes people feel refreshed. Fang Yan straightened out his black major general's uniform, got up and walked to the open cabin door, the breeze blowing in his face was soft and light, refreshing and warm, making his whole person feel happy and comfortable.

For Fang Yan, this is not the first time he has been to Rome, but this time the situation is very different, he came to contact the Italian government on behalf of the German government. At this time, not far from the escalator, there were more than a dozen Italian officers standing neatly. The first person was dressed in luxurious dark blue, and the orange epaulettes were dotted with three gold stars, and before leaving, Fang Yan, who had made up for the rank system of the Italian army, instantly judged that this person was a first-class admiral!

"First meeting. I am the Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Italian Navy, Cavgnari, and I have come to meet General Brom and Colonel Zeitzler on the orders of the Leader. The old man who called himself Kavniari was smiling, and he did not show any indifference or contempt for Fang Yan, who were far below him. However, Fang Yan was taken aback, and hurriedly gave the other party the highest level of courtesy.

As a monarchy, the King of Italy is the nominal commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, so the Chief of General Staff is the de facto supreme leader of a branch of the armed forces, directly accountable to Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. Fang Yan didn't expect that Mussolini would give himself such a big face, although he and he are still theoretically related, but the relationship between his son-in-law's brother-in-law has long belonged to the range of names he has never even heard of.

"I guess this is not what Mussolini meant, but this Kavniari has something that needs to be done with his own strength......" Fang Yan thought calmly in his heart. Fang Yan quietly swept around the crowd and did not find a single air force officer, he was immediately blessed and understood Kavniari's plan.

Like Germany on a historical plane, the Italian armed forces were divided into three hills in the 30s. In order to extend the fascist party's power from the government to the army, Mussolini ordered the formation of an air force independent of the army and navy, with his loyal confidant Itano Balbo as commander-in-chief. And this Balbo is not only one of the best pilots in the world himself, but also known for his energy and organization. Under Balbo's strong command, everything that could fly in Italy soon became a ban on the Air Force.

For the Italian navy led by Kavgnari, the situation could not have been worse. At present, the only air power that the navy can command is a few seaplanes on battleships and cruisers, and even then, the pilots and ground crews involved wear air force uniforms and are only loaned to the navy. As for the shore-based air force stationed in the naval port, it completely disobeyed Kavnyari's orders. Without Balbo's instructions, even if the fleet was completely annihilated by the enemy, the fighters stationed in Hong Kong would have stayed where they were and watched the show!

"General Brom, tonight the leader will have a dinner at the Prime Minister's Mansion to welcome you two. If the leader asks you about the future development of the Italian Navy, I implore you to tell the leader the truth about the successful experience of your country's aircraft carriers, and at least to put the aircraft on board the warships under the command of the Navy. After some pleasantries, Kavniari finally confided in his intentions with a sincere expression.

He held Fang Yan's hand tightly, and the expression on his face was bitter and lamenting: "The Aquila aircraft carrier has been completed, but her carrier-based aircraft problem has been delayed for 5 years and has not been solved. As soon as he talked about withdrawing 5 squadrons and 80 crews from the Air Force, Marshal Balbo was like cutting flesh from him, and he did not agree in any case. Now only you can resolve this matter through the leadership path. If you can help the Navy with this, I, I ......" Kavniari was about to say that he would be thanked with a generous gift, but suddenly remembered that the young man in front of him was the son-in-law of the Ziano family, and his words suddenly stopped abruptly, and he couldn't hold back another word for a long time.

"Your Excellency, Admiral, need not worry. I have come to your country this time to organize an aircraft carrier fleet for your country that can compete with my country, and I will give honest feedback to the leaders of your country if I encounter any organizational and structural obstacles. Fang Yan opened his mouth with a firm gaze. Kavnyari was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly thanked him. He paused, made a gesture of invitation to Fang Yan with a warm face, and said, "I have already arranged a room at the King Hotel. Please come to the car with me and go rest and relax for a while. ”

That night, the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence in Rome was brilliantly lit, and Mussolini's face was obviously much older than Fang Yan remembered. Perhaps he was hollowed out by his wolf-like mistress, and Mussolini, who was walking slowly with a drink at the moment, was even worse than Hitler's health in Fang Yan's eyes: although he was still burly, the dull skin and loose wrinkles on his face could not be concealed.

"Jonas, we're meeting again." Mussolini clinked his glass to Fang Yan and said with a smile in a thick voice. Fang Yan's face was open, and he said politely: "Thank you, Your Excellency, Leader, for remembering me." Last time, I met you at my father-in-law's villa in Milan. Counting the time, a full 15 years have passed. ”

Mussolini drank all the red wine in his glass and said with a hearty smile: "Although I haven't seen you for many years, my ears have never lost your name." I can't believe that the cadet has now defeated the British Navy, which has dominated the ocean for three centuries, and has become a new star general who has shocked the world! And in the field of strategy, the argument you arrive at by combining sea power with economics is also a unique achievement after Mahan. For more than a decade, it can be said that the Italian Navy has been developing according to your strategic concept and has achieved remarkable results. ”

"Italy's rise from the post-war depression to its current prosperity is due to the wise decisions of His Excellency the Leader. In contrast, I don't dare to talk about my own merits. Fang Yan said politely with full acting skills. Mussolini was most proud of Italy's increased power during his 18-year rule, and he was in a good mood when he heard this compliment. He patted Fang Yan's shoulder like an elder, and said with a loud smile: "You can put down the work of a HNA consultant for the time being." The morning after tomorrow, I cordially invite you to accompany you in the review of the Italian fleet that has been built according to your strategy. ”

As the day passed, all parts of Italy were filled with the joy that preceded the celebrations. Zeitzler had no intention of giving himself a holiday, and rushed headlong into the army general staff in Rome before dawn; Fang Yan, who was invited, followed the senior generals of the Italian army to the military port of La Spezia early and stayed in a hotel in a commercial residential area. Looking at the matchbox-small ships in the distant military port, Fang Yan was a little itchy, but he knew that the big guys who were really worth paying attention to had already anchored in the open sea, and it was useless to go to the shore by himself, so he could only wait patiently for tomorrow.

On March 17, the brilliant morning light pierced the heavy white clouds in the sky, and although the weather was not the most ideal, the sea surface was clear and suitable for the parade. Fang Yan and Kavniari took a car to the pier, and then boarded a traffic boat of about 100 tons. Looking around, I saw that the deck was almost all uniforms, and the navy's dark blue accounted for the vast majority.

In a few moments, the elderly Italian king Emmanuele III also boarded the ship surrounded by Mussolini and several other cabinet dignitaries. Fang Yan suddenly had a ridiculous thought in his heart: if an Allied spy mixed up with this ship, then with just one bomb, he and the Italian high-level could be wiped out. As a result, Italy will be plunged into civil strife and will no longer be able to threaten it for a year and a half.

But soon, Fang Yan laughed at the idea. At present, Italy is still a neutral country and has not entered the war, and Britain and France, no matter how vigilant they are, cannot do such a thing. With the sudden sound of diesel engines, the coast was soon out of sight, and at the same time, a mast-lined warship emerged from the junction of sea and sky to the west. After more than ten minutes, Fang Yan's pupils gradually contracted, because he found that the giant ship that the traffic boat was heading towards was completely unheard of, and the overall appearance was seven or eight points similar to the German Bismarck-class!

"Welcome aboard the new flagship of the Royal Italian Navy, the battleship Vittorio Veneto!" Kavniari was very satisfied with Fang Yan's surprised performance, and introduced Fang Yan with a smile after boarding the deck of the giant ship. Seeing that Fang Yan was still puzzled, Kafnyari simply took advantage of the fact that the ceremony had not yet begun, and briefly told him about the construction background and main performance of the ship.

It turned out that shortly after the start of the construction of the Caracciolo class, the Italian intelligence services learned that the newly built French Richelieu class would most likely have a displacement of 38,000 tons allowed by the treaty. This, combined with the French plan to build more powerful ships to counter the gossip of the new German battleships, made it impossible for the Italians, who had always competed with the French navy, to sit still. Just kidding, the standard displacement of the new battleship that my family started a few years ago is only 30,000 tons, and if we don't take countermeasures, won't the French have a single ship advantage in the future?

At Mussolini's urging, a new battleship was designed in a very short time. It was largely modeled after the 1933 Caracciolo class, with an additional knapsack main turret on the foredeck after the hull was enlarged. In order to gain a firepower advantage over a potential enemy, the ship's main guns were replaced with a more powerful triple 420 mm caliber, and the barrel length was slightly increased to 45 times.

Even if you look at the whole world, this firepower is definitely among the top among the new types of battleships of the great powers. Mussolini was so pleased with the plan that he tried to get the parliament to approve the construction plan for the two ships. After nearly four and a half years of intense construction, the first ship, the Veneto, was finally completed ten days ago on March 7.