The reporters took many pictures of the meeting and handshake of the leaders of the three countries, and the spotlight was continuous, especially Eva was photographed again and again by many reporters who reacted - this is explosive news.

"Honorable Führer, His Majesty the Emperor has a gift for you."

"Do you know what it is?"

"An ivory sculpture of a battleship of the Navy of the Empire, I hope you like it." Horikichi handed over a white battleship sculpture wrapped in a crystal cover.

Hoffman took it and took a closer look, and asked with a smile, "Is it the super battleship Yamato?" ”

"Yes."

"I like it very much, thank you for your deep affection."

Mussolini also received a similar gift the other day, and he couldn't put it down and liked it very much. Seeing that Hoffmann handed the gift to his entourage and put it away, and personally told Eva to put it in the study of the Berghof villa, it was clear to everyone that this woman had no low status in the Führer's mind.

After the end of the greetings, it was the official meeting of the heads of state of the three countries, only a very few people were eligible to participate, Mussolini as the host introduced everyone to the venue that had been prepared a long time ago, and he even specially told his henchmen to arrange everything for Eva, so as not to snub her.

Japanese Prime Minister Kazunari Ugaki did not attend due to the long distance, but Horiki had already obtained the certificate of plenipotentiary, and Hoffman knew through the line of Cole that the Japanese Prime Minister had long been set aside, in a sense, Horiyoshi had more weight than him in speaking, so he did not feel a sense of loss. On the contrary, it is more effective and meaningful to talk directly with a military ruler like Hori Tsukichi to talk about things with Japan at the moment than with the head of government.

After closing the door, the head of the Axis could finally talk about a little confidential matter, the German side had Kohl as the interpreter, because he could not only speak Italian, but also Japanese, Mussolini's son-in-law, Count Ziano also carefully selected translators, and then some of the German and Japanese admirals could speak a little simple English, but each other's accents were very strong, and they could only communicate in words, in fact, Hoffmann's English level was the best, after all, he was a high-level intellectual with a doctorate education, But he knew that Hitler's English skills were not good, so he never revealed it, and only occasionally used a few words to suit the situation.

"The battleships Ise and Hyuga have completed the delivery with your country, and now some warships are being installed with radars and new anti-aircraft guns at various shipyards, and some warships are being repaired.

"We have received the metal, rubber and other special products delivered by your country." Speer replied to the question that the Japanese side was most concerned about, "The materials promised to your country are being loaded one after another, and in consideration of the speed and time of the transport ship, the planes, tanks, and some other equipment will be shipped one after another in five days, and they will first be concentrated on Socotra Island and be on standby, and the remaining materials will be ready one after another." ”

"Your country's idea of establishing a direct trade channel and a currency of account between the two sides is completely feasible after research, and the country can give you a quota of 1 billion marks for your country's procurement of materials of interest, which can be delivered this time and can be shipped directly this time, requiring equipment for a certain production cycle, you can place an order first and wait for the next shipment."

This was exactly the same as the barter between the Soviet Union and Germany, except that it was transported by sea and by Japan, and Italy also provided 200 million marks for Japan to purchase.

Horiyoshi breathed a sigh of relief: There is a great demand for relevant materials and equipment in the country, and a bunch of lists have been sent, and in addition, Ambassador to Germany Oshima Hiroshi has put forward reference opinions, and he has a feeling of being overwhelmed in the past two days, and the greater difficulty is that Japan now has no ability to pay, let alone foreign exchange, so he vaguely mentioned the idea of bartering, but fortunately, the German side agreed after all, and it was not in vain that the combined fleet worked hard to come to Europe to fight.

"Thank you very much, and please mention any needs that Germany and Italy can meet in Japan, and we will bring them together when we go to Europe next time."

"I would like to remind you that after the opening of the route, it is necessary to strengthen the anti-submarine forces, and in the past few days we have sunk two submarines of unknown origin around the islands in the Indian Ocean." "Now that we basically have control of the Indian Ocean, and the enemy is sabotaging by all means, we have to pay great attention to the comparison, so we will continue to strengthen the anti-submarine forces in the next stage," Raeder suggested. ”

Speaking of anti-submarine warfare, it has always touched Hori's worries: the Japanese Navy has always focused only on fleet engagement and not on anti-submarine, especially after the main force of the combined fleet goes out. In the past three months, the tonnage of ships sunk by Allied submarines on the South Sea route has exceeded 200,000 tons, and a large part of the crude oil that Borneo has painstakingly extracted has stopped before it reaches the mainland. If nothing can be done, and the transport ship that has worked so hard to bring from Europe and filled with arms or equipment is sunk, Horikichi doesn't know how to go back and explain.

"In fact, the British and American ideas of designing escort aircraft carriers for anti-submarine use are very good, so there are several aircraft carriers in the composition of the joint fleet, and I resolutely refuse to add them to the combat queue, because they are more valuable in anti-submarine operations, and unfortunately we lack good anti-submarine aircraft." Tsukahara two-four-three added.

Hoffman knew that Japan was talking about several aircraft carriers that had been rebuilt from merchant ships, such as the Okika, the Sea Eagle, and the Cloud Eagle, and that after different personnel arrangements, the Japanese Navy's thinking and ideas were also changing, but it was obvious that Horikichi alone was far from enough.

"Judging from our practice, armed trawlers have a certain effect in anti-submarine warfare, and if they are combined with suitable aircraft, the effectiveness of joint operations will be maximized. In fact, your country's seaplanes are very good, and a little modification is a suitable anti-submarine patrol aircraft. "In addition, the Italian SM79 sea-to-sea attack aircraft can also undertake sea patrol missions, which is a common German and Italian equipment." ”

Horikichi exchanged glances with Tsukahara and the others, and immediately said, "Then we will go to see this kind of aircraft tomorrow, and if it is suitable, we look forward to introducing some." ”

"I just received a front-line battle report before leaving today, the German Navy has achieved a major victory in Norwegian waters, sinking a Sovereign-class battleship, 3-4 cruisers and 10 destroyers, and at the same time destroying more than 15 merchant ships, which are currently being replenished in Norwegian ports, and the next step will be to enter the North Atlantic Ocean for a large-scale operation to break diplomatic relations."

"Is it the Tirpitts?"

"Yes." Hoffman smiled and said to Horikichi, "After the Battle of Malta is over, we will consider launching the Battle of Gibraltar as soon as possible, and we hope that your country can send troops to participate." ”

Mussolini interjected: "Franco has agreed? ”

"Nope! He hasn't said yes yet, Ribbentrop is still doing the work of the Spaniards, I'm sure they'll agree, and it's not impossible if I don't. At this point, Hoffman suddenly paused.

"Forced border crossing from Spain?" Mussolini immediately pressed - this was explosive news.

"No, let's go and land in Spanish Morocco, Spain's colony in North Africa." "We have an armored division in Algeria, and as long as I give the order, we can cross the border and control that area within 24 hours, and then the fleet can land directly in the port of Ceuta." I had no intention of offending Spain, but he could not afford to watch the Fortress of Gibraltar do damage to the cause of the Axis. There is a limit to my patience and tolerance with Spain's Supreme Leader, and if Franco continues to maintain an attitude of detachment from the Axis of the Three Kingdoms, I do not mind helping the active forces within Spain to find a leader who better represents the fundamental interests of the Spanish people - as we have done. ”

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere suddenly became tense, and Ziano looked at Hoffman at a loss, and opened his mouth in astonishment - he did not expect to hear such a strong answer, although the nature of the Trilateral Axis talks was very secret, but such a matter as changing the political situation in Spain was actually discussed publicly, which shows how angry the Führer was. After secretly looking around at the expressions of the German high-level leaders, whether it was Kesselring, Keitel, Speer or Raeder, they all looked unfazed, indicating that a consensus had been reached within Germany - Franco would toast and drink if he didn't know how to raise it.

After listening to Ziano's translation, Mussolini could not sit still, he knew that he was speaking to himself, and the Führer knew very well that there was a very close relationship between Rome and Madrid, and that there were some things that Franco would not say to Berlin, but he could be confident about Rome. The clever and sensitive Mussolini, who fully understood Hoffmann's voice-over and understood the unshakable determination of Germany, immediately said: "I fully agree with you, for we have made great efforts to assist him, and if he refuses to take a stand in the face of our great superiority, it can only be said that his position has gradually slipped to the side of our enemies." ”

Horikichi didn't say a word about European affairs, but he couldn't help but be unconcerned when it came to the fact that the attack on Gibraltar would require the participation of the Combined Fleet. Suddenly, he remembered the inexplicable collapse of the Tojo cabinet, which now seemed to have a lot of connections with the Germans. He couldn't help but look at Hoffman with a confused gaze, and the latter smiled at him: only the time-traveler understood that Horikichi was simply a character after the time and space disturbance, and it was supposed to be Yamamoto Isoroku sitting in this position.

Horikichi euphemistically stated: "Gibraltar is important, but the combined fleet cannot stay in Europe for too long." ”

Hoffman nodded: "I fully understand this, I will not occupy your country's fleet for too long, let alone delay your trip." ”

"I'm curious as to how you are going to attack Gibraltar, which, as far as I know, is said to be the most impregnable fortress, and that it is useless to bomb it by planes, and that the fire from the shore artillery is said to be so fierce that the battleships cannot fire at it."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, Hoffman explained with a smile: "To ensure victory in the battle, I am ready to call on the world's most famous mass killer ......" (to be continued. )