Mussolini nodded. Reading through the book of Revelation, he understood what the other party meant: Britain, the greatest robber who had hindered the later nations from entering the sea, was now as dim as the sunset at five or six o'clock in the afternoon, and no longer had its former prime. After killing Germany as a challenger, exhausted Britain not only did not receive the reward it deserved, but was robbed of the cheese that the United States and Japan regarded as a forbidden belly, destroying others and burying itself. Therefore, as long as Britain can look back and examine its own tragic history, it will no longer be as aggressive and ferocious as it was in the past. Italy will be able to take advantage of this favorable external environment to gradually realize its expansion plans in a much more relaxed manner than before.

"Although your country's industrial and economic level is not the top in the world, it has its own unique advantages in the development of the navy. The Alps in the north provide your country with a natural land barrier, which can play an excellent role in blocking any invasion by foreign enemies; After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the pressure on your country on land has been fundamentally reduced, and more resources and energy can be devoted to the construction of the navy. Fang Yan added. From the beginning to the end, Fang Yan did not have much hope for the Italian Army; Instead of spending money to arm the vases of the army that could only cope with the colonial wars, it would be better to buy more useful guys for the navy.

Mussolini nodded again, and the shock of the young man in front of him had gradually turned into a strong sense of admiration. For the first time, he smiled gently from the heart, and said, "Little Jonas, your opinion is indeed subtle and clever, and this will surely be a broad road that will lead Italy to the light." In fact, I am also preparing to develop a fleet to consolidate maritime links between the homeland and the North African colonies. Since you have such a deep understanding of the navy and national strategy, you should also have a unique view of the specific implementation rules for the development of the navy, right? ”

Seeing this, Fang Yan secretly squinted his eyes, this fascist leader really regarded himself as a person under his command? He was neither an Italian national, nor his central think tank; To a certain extent, the current Fang Yan should stay away from Mussolini, because the relationship between Germany and Italy today is still very flat, and Fang Yan, who is in the German army, naturally has to abide by his own business and clear up many irrelevance with the outside world. Although Fang Yan wanted to answer him like this, he was unwilling to let go of such an opportunity to affect the construction of the Italian Navy, which made the dictator unhappy; After a long silence, his voice finally rang out in the room again.

"There are so many aspects involved in the construction of the navy that I can not communicate with you in a short period of time. In addition, I am only a small second lieutenant, and your country has dozens of admirals, who are not known to be superior to me in their professional fields. Fang Yan spoke calmly, and first pointed out his attitude to Mussolini. He paused slightly, and then said again: "But if you must ask me what my point of view is, I will tell you one thing in a clear way, and that is not to go down the path of Germany's defeat again." ”

"Your country's failures?" Mussolini was amazed. He didn't expect the young man in front of him to give him such an answer, which made him feel a little dazed and didn't know what to mean. You must know that in that book of revelation, this young man admired the construction of the high seas fleet in the past, and directly pointed out that Germany's vigorous development of the navy was the trend of the times and the expectation of the people, and there was no room for the Saxon executioners whose hands were stained with the blood of the European people in the slightest. Mussolini took a deep breath and said, "Jonas, can you tell me more details?" ”

Fang Yan sighed softly, and his gentle words carried a trace of regret and regret for the past: "In the past, although the German Navy was at the helm of Field Marshal Tirpitz and embarked on the right path in the environment of a hundred ghosts traveling at night, it made two major mistakes that were difficult to make up for in the specific implementation. First, the High Seas Fleet was created for purely peaceful purposes, that is, to force Britain to finally adopt a strategy of reconciliation with Germany by posing the risk of British war against Germany; But it was not established with the intention of engaging an imaginary enemy. The direct consequence of this was that after the outbreak of the Great War, the entire navy did not have even a set of war plans against Britain; As a result, the world's second-largest high seas fleet can only survive in the harbor for the vast majority of the time, rendering the meaning of 'risk' obsolete. ”

"We need a navy that can exempt itself from war. However, the only navy that can accomplish this task is a navy that is capable of conducting war. For the British robbers, who had long been accustomed to looking down on the nations of the overseas and dictating to others, no amount of preaching or protest could curb their greedy ambitions; Only by building and maintaining a strike capability that will frighten them, so that they are constantly exposed to a terrible punitive counterattack when they wage war, can we truly create a real peace for our country. This was a valuable experience that Germany had learned for generations at the cost of the destruction of the entire High Seas Fleet. Fang Yan said slowly.

Mussolini's heart was shaken, and once again he felt the clarity of an epiphany that came from the soul. Although this young German man was able to curse and insult Britain in his words, his views undoubtedly contained the most profound truth, which made people feel agree. After savoring Fang Yan's words carefully for a while, Mussolini couldn't help but ask, "What about the second point?" ”

"Second, it is the psychology of the weak of the late-developing naval countries. At the end of the 19th century, Britain was shining under the sun, and when Germany developed its fleet, it was natural that its warships should lag behind Britain in terms of major technology. In order not to irritate the British, Marshal Tirpitz had specifically warned the designers of the battleships to try to make improvements in inconspicuous places, so as not to cause dissatisfaction with the British due to the advanced appearance; This 'technological slave mentality', which is only the vision of advanced countries, has brought profound disasters to the High Seas Fleet. Almost all the main ships of the High Seas Fleet have 1~2 levels smaller than the British capital ships that started construction at the same time, which greatly reduces the combat effectiveness and deterrence of the High Seas Fleet, and makes the already arrogant and tyrannical Saxon robbers even more eye-catching above their heads. In fact, at that time, Germany's technology was better than that of Britain, and the Bavaria-class battleships completed in 1916 are the best proof of this! ”

Fang Yan's eyes showed resoluteness, and he said, "The navy is a direct product of serving the needs of the country. If the country objectively needs any warships, then it should do its best to pursue the maximum display of combat effectiveness. As for the resulting arms race, it is itself a never-ending theme in human history. If you tie your hands to yourself for fear of an arms race, you will be ceding the right to innovate technology to other countries, and you will be putting yourself at an even greater disadvantage. The launch of the British battleship Dreadnought in 1906 ostensibly threw 100 of its own dreadnoughts and first-class cruisers into the garbage heap, but in fact it was a helpless move in the technical environment of the time; Because if Britain had not built all-heavy gun battleships, it would not have been long before the United States would have started this epoch-making precursor, and then Britain's depreciation losses would have been even greater. Not having enough determination to build powerful warships was the second serious mistake that Germany made in the development of its navy in the past. We will never make the same mistake again in the future, and I hope that your country will learn from it the lessons of Germany as a loser. ”

Mussolini's gaze was fixed and silent for a long time, as if he was in a comprehensive and complex reflection; And Fang Yan, who told everything that should be said to the other party, did not say anything to disturb him, but sat quietly in place, waiting for his conclusion. The brilliant golden-purple sunset shone warmly on Fang Yan's body, and together with the sofa beside him, it cast a long shadow on the delicate and beautiful carpet. With a thin smoke in the distance, the inhabitants of Milan have begun to prepare dinner for the most relaxing night of the day.

"I'm so lucky to be able to meet and talk to you today with Jonas." After a long time, Mussolini finally raised his head, and his eyes returned to the normal look he had when he first saw him, and said to Fang Yan with a pale face. Fang Yan didn't support him, and gave a humble and decent response in his solemn words. As a minor player in a foreign country, he could only exert so much influence on the Italian Navy. Now Fang Yan can only hope that Mussolini will be touched, and give full play to his personal influence in the future naval construction, and upgrade the performance of his beloved big ships. Historically, Mussolini, like Hitler and Stalin, who were also fascist dictators, had a soft spot for large warships, and the Veneto-class battleships with a standard displacement of 41,000 tons were built under his strong promotion. And this is precisely where Fang Yan's "good intentions" lie in instilling so much information about the navy in him today.

As for getting the Italians to pay attention to naval aviation carried by aircraft carriers, Fang Yan can only wait until the time is ripe in the future to communicate directly with the other side's naval leadership. All he could say to Mussolini now was macro-strategic, and the latter neither understood nor cared about the specific technology. However, today's exchange between Fang Yan and Mussolini can be called an unexpected surprise for him, and if Italy's naval development can take a turn for the better, it will be an ideal ending!