"Socotra Island has been completely occupied by the Japanese Combined Fleet, and now it is its temporary anchorage, and some of our naval officers and men are conducting joint training on it, and the Japanese fleet will be handed over to our army after returning home. The island is strategically located not only to provide a barrier for the fleet transporting oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, but also to serve as a nail in the coffin for imperial control of the northern Indian Ocean, which the Führer has directed to be built into our naval and air bases, our unsinkable aircraft carriers in East Africa. To this end, not only will it become an overseas territory directly under the empire from the Protectorate of Aden in terms of administrative division, but it will also move a small number of indigenous people to the Protectorate of Aden, building the first line of defense in German East Africa in the future. To this end, the Supreme High Command decided to send additional forces for large-scale construction and garrison. Keitel explained, "The construction focus is four, the first is to widen the hangar, runway, and increase the deployment of aircraft; the second is to build fortifications and send additional ground troops; the third is to build artificial wharves to facilitate the docking and unloading of 10,000-ton ships; Fourth, it is necessary to build submarine caverns to provide convenience and concealment for U-boat operations. Taking into account the location and mission characteristics, the base camp will be responsible for the initial construction of the island, and then it will be handed over to the navy for management, and the aircraft and ground forces on it will also be included in the navy's management, and the high command will separately allocate 100 million yuan for it. ”

According to Keitel's introduction, in addition to Socotra, Cyprus and Crete will also form military bases, which are the defense packages of the Third Reich in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

"In view of the fact that the strength of the Marine Corps is not strong at present, I will coordinate the army and transfer some of the men and horses to the existing forces to form a new Marine Brigade -- according to the temporary establishment of Panzergrenadiers, 6,000 men, more than 50 amphibious tanks, armored vehicles, and light artillery, which will be integrated into the command of the Navy in the future, and all officers and men will join the Navy after being transferred from the Army, and the Supreme Command will consider expanding it into an Panzergrenadier Division at an appropriate time." Keitel said, "The expanded equipment and personnel are drawn from the Army, and do not account for the Navy's military spending. ”

Since Hoffmann planned to build a navy, make up for his shortcomings, and hold these islands, he had no choice but to work on the details. But this favor he decided that it would be better for Keitel to do the job - Keitel is the chief of staff of the three services, and is not only responsible for the army.

Richthofen transferred from the Air Force to the Navy, which greatly improved the relationship between the Navy and the Air Force, and made up for the rift caused by the aircraft carrier Count Zeppelin in the Goering era, and the Army was also thinking about future operational problems, taking the Middle East and North Africa campaign as an example, it was unthinkable to do without naval accompaniment and support, and logistics alone would crush the Army, and in the future, if the Persian Gulf crude oil was to be safely transported back home, maritime power was absolutely indispensable, so Keitel and Zeitzler were not interested in the funds that the Navy would receive. Anyway, the Führer promised not to deduct it from the army's military expenses, and they not only agreed to the outline of Plan Z, but also agreed to the request to build a naval base and transfer some troops to join the Marine Corps, believing that it was necessary to increase the influence of the army on the navy.

"Thank you, Führer." Having said that, of course, Raeder would like to express his deep gratitude, speaking of which, this is the first overseas base of the Navy.

Although Raeder was a little disappointed that he did not get the construction of battleships, he was still very happy with such a large number of aircraft carriers, aviation battleships and cutting-edge destroyers - this shows that the status of the Navy in the mind of the Führer is constantly improving, although the funds have not been found, he is now completely bottomless in his heart, but with 600 million foundations, at least the previous ship construction and renovation projects can be smoothly promoted, as for the rest, he believes that the Führer will be able to find a way. The key now is that the navy, especially the surface warship units, must prove their worth in combat, and thinking about it, his mind drifted to the upcoming "tsunami plan."

Dönitz didn't feel much of a sense of loss: he never thought that he could win the war with submarines alone, and the contradictions between him and Raeder were not as serious as the outside world exaggerated, and the revised Plan Z was more pragmatic and reliable in his eyes than before, and if Germany could really complete the naval power building according to this plan, he felt that it would at least have the strength to fight Britain.

On the way back from leaving the naval headquarters, Speer deliberately chose to ride in the same car with Hoffmann, and he asked with concern: "Führer, how do you plan to solve such a huge funding gap?" ”

Hoffman quipped, "I didn't think you talked much at the meeting, and I thought you had figured it out." ”

Speer shook his head: "I can't do anything, but with 600 million in hand, the previous plans can be launched as scheduled, and the navy will get more as long as it proves its value." ”

Hoffman did not directly say what to do, but asked: "Will there be difficulties in production?" I'm talking about people, resources, or technology. ”

"It's a big difficulty, but I can overcome it by trying to figure it out - the program is ambitious, but it's less than one-eighth of the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding program, and the time span is three years, which is a challenge for me, but it's not an unattainable task. I now particularly understand the importance of the navy, this time if it were not for the combined fleet to block and eliminate the reinforcements of the British and American forces, the North Africa and Middle East campaign would never have been so easy to win, once the war is stalemate, we must continue to throw money into the Middle East and North Africa, it will not be a matter of billions, it will only make us pay an unbearable price. So, as long as you have a way to get the money, I'm sure to find a way to turn these drawings into real things. ”

Everyone is a smart person, and the money Speer is talking about definitely does not mean the ticket - if that is the case, he only needs to start the machine to print a little, which requires Germany to really come up with hard currency or materials, even if the Western European countries temporarily accept the Reichsmark, they will also grab money from Germany in the future, moderate inflation will help lubricate the economy, and relying entirely on printing tickets to maintain turnover will only lead to an immediate collapse of the economy. If someone has to buy the treasury bonds, he can't imagine who will buy such a huge number.

Hoffmann pondered for a moment and then asked, "If I were to issue 20 billion marks of government bonds to these industrial giants, do you think they would be able to pay them?"

"It's a little difficult, but between 100-15 billion should be fine." Speer thought for a moment, "The question is how do we convince them to buy?" It is not possible to rely on coercion. ”

"Since rearmament, they have made a lot of money, and although they have bought a little national debt, I believe they still have leeway." Hoffmann said, "The amount of government bonds is set at 20 billion Reichsmarks." ”

"Can it be mortgaged and repaid?" Speer worriedly said, "There are not many things that the occupying powers can sell to them right now." ”

Hoffman gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words from his mouth: "With oil!" ”

"With oil!" Speer's eyes lit up, "Führer, you go on. ”

"What is the price of a barrel of crude oil in the Middle East right now?"

"The market price is about a little over $2, but it's going up every day, and we can't buy it, because it's all under our control -- the British will soon run out of gas." Speer gloated, "I think if I say 8 marks a barrel, there will be countless people who want to buy it." ”

"Well, let's sell the bonds at 8 marks a barrel, and we sell the bonds at the current price, and repay that amount of oil at the end of the term, plus an interest rate of 1% per annum to them, taking into account the repayment period."

Speer quickly understood: "You mean that if we lend 20 billion to the capitalists, we will be responsible for repaying 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil, regardless of whether the mark depreciates or appreciates in the future?" -- Is it equivalent to selling crude oil futures to them in the name of the state now? ”

"You can give them a cash option, either a mark or oil at the end of the term." Hoffman thought for a moment, "This kind of bond is labeled as a special mark, or petroleum mark, and is guaranteed by oil, so there are no worries about inflation. ”

"So, what about the oil?"

"Yes, don't worry! Are you still afraid of running out of oil in the Middle East? "Libya, Iraq, Persia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Aden, and the Arab Emirates, all of which are oil hubs and controlled by us, will be the greatest victory dividend for the empire after the war, and the capitalists will reap the benefits—you can imagine that in the future, every household will have a car, and the annual cost of oil will be astronomical." ”

Speer quickly calculated: Germany now has the right to exploit Libyan oil, according to the agreement with the Italians, Germany has half of the profits, there are at least 2 million tons here (he doesn't know that there are billions of tons buried in Libya's deep oil fields), Iraq and Bosga together are currently extracting nearly 10 million tons a year, and this is still the result of destruction, if you let Germany exploit, 25 million tons a year is absolutely no problem, plus the mining rights in the rest of the Middle East - seven or eight calculations, After deducting the cost of extraction, he feels that the debt of 350 million tons of crude oil (250,000 barrels is equivalent to this amount) can be paid off in 20-25 years, which is not a particularly heavy burden - it is in vain anyway.

"Can it be sold to capitalists in other countries? Of course, I am referring mainly to the countries of Western Europe, not to the enemy countries. ”

"Absolutely. After the war, they either bought our oil or American oil, and now selling them Treasury bonds is tantamount to locking in customers in advance. Hoffman laughed, "Another advantage is that then these capitalists will have to support us, and if Germany fails, it's all waste paper, and they don't think about oil, let's destroy it together." (To be continued.) )