"I'm a little tired, and I'll leave the rest to you, Your Excellency, Prime Minister." The king stood up from the sofa and said indifferently.

It seemed that the scene that had just happened was just a trivial matter in the eyes of this monarch, and Badoglio hurriedly made a flattered look and respectfully bowed to accept the order.

They all knew that this was a deal, and they just needed to play their part at this time, and the plan had just taken the first step, and it was not yet time for them to divide the benefits.

Mussolini's authoritarian ambitions gave these putschists the opportunity, and he alone took most of the cabinet, so that if he was detained, the entire government cabinet would fall into the hands of the putschists, and the few remaining inconsequential ministerial positions would either pose no threat to the political situation or have been bought by the putschists.

Badoglio believed that he would only need to issue orders in the name of the king, and that the new cabinet would soon be able to take over all the power in the dictator's hands. Badoglio has a group of partners, such as Luigi. Fidelzoni and Giovanni. Giulliati, the two former founders of the fascist regime, have now fallen out of favor because of some ideological conflicts with Mussolini, such as the ambitious Dino Brown. Grandi and the cunning Ivano. Bonomi, who had long been dissatisfied with Italy's entry into the war, had been plotting to overthrow the leader.

His Excellency the Field Marshal had recruited so many allies that he was confident that he would take over the Italian regime, because he would only need to arrange the corresponding positions for these people in the cabinet according to the terms originally agreed, and the new cabinet would be formed in no time.

The putschists had even prepared a government announcement, waiting for the coup d'état to be completed, and immediately announced to the entire Italian people on the radio, that the leader of the fascist national party had resigned, that the government would form a new cabinet and negotiate with Germany to end the bloody war. I believe that this is what the Italian people are most looking forward to, and I believe that public opinion will definitely stand on the side of the new cabinet at that time.

Of course, it cannot be denied that at this time there were still a large number of people loyal to Mussolini in the country, but by that time it was already a boat, and coupled with the overwhelming external forces of the Germans, those people could not make any waves anyway.

To be honest, Badoglio's coup plan was not very exciting, but he fully took into account the interests and ideas of the military and political parties at that time, and he even did not hesitate to cooperate with the German invaders, and even the possible reaction of the German Führer was calculated into the plan by him, I have to say that the political skill of this field marshal is much stronger than his military ability.

But a plan is always a plan, the reality is not as simple as imagined, the first step of the coup d'état went smoothly, the arrogant Mussolini was restrained, but at this time the proud Badoglio would never have imagined that the development of events was rapidly deviating from the predetermined track.

The Quirinal Palace, once the residence of the Pope, was very well equipped inside, and in that era of treachery and intrigue rule, of course, the palace was indispensable for the rooms used to hold prisoners. Mussolini was dragged by several guards down an ancient stone spiral staircase to the basement of the palace.

Usually European-style palaces have similar basements for storing food, drink, and weapons, but it is clear that previous owners have given this basement a different mission, as can be seen from the neat cells and heavy iron doors on both sides.

The Italian royal family has always kept up with the times, and the dungeon is lit up, but there are still iron lantern racks and torch sockets on the walls, which silently tell visitors about that dark and dirty history, and I don't know how many former prominent people were secretly imprisoned here and spent the rest of their lives in these fortified cells.

When Mussolini was thrown into his cell, he had no strength to struggle, and the two strong men who held him hostage along the way gave him several beats, believing that his ribs had cracked.

The Italian leader, with his hands cuffed behind his back and his feet bound with thick ropes by the guards, could only wriggle slowly like a large green worm on the cold, rough brick floor.

Mussolini still had the sock in his mouth, I don't know where he got it, it was completely soaked with saliva at this time, Mussolini felt like vomiting, and it became more and more difficult to breathe, and then he was horrified to find that if he didn't take out the sock again, he might be suffocated to death in this cell.

The leader is bitter, but the leader is not... No, no, it's a life-threatening thing.

Mussolini tossed and turned for a long time, but could not get himself up, so he could only move to the iron door like a big worm, and hit the iron door with his head, hoping that this would attract the attention of the guards outside the door.

Perhaps God really heard Mussolini's pleading, and before the leader's head hit the bag, the lock of the iron door finally rang, and after a tooth-sore metal grinding, the steel prison door opened outward, and a pair of polished court leather shoes appeared before Mussolini's eyes.

"Ahh Mussolini recognized the voice as the Baron Pietro who had just shown him the way above.

"Move the chair in and lift him up, who told you to tie his feet? Untie the rope quickly. Pitlow gave the order to the guard, and Mussolini felt two large strong hands lift him from the ground. One of the guards cut the ropes on Mussolini's feet with a knife, and the other two dragged him to the middle of the cell and placed him on a rough wooden chair.

"Give me the key to the handcuffs." Pietrop spoke to one of the guards, who respectfully handed the baron a bunch of keys.

"You guys go outside and watch, close the door." The baron commanded.

The guards glanced at each other, then turned and left the room, closing the iron door with their hands.

"Well, now it's just you and me, Mr. Mussolini." Pitlow motioned for Mussolini to stand up, and the dictator complied.

"Turn around and I'll help you uncuff the handcuffs." The baron stretched out his finger and drew a circle.

"I don't know which one, we can try with the smallest one.... Alas? Looks like you're in luck. ”

Pietro uncuffed Mussolini's handcuffs, and the first thing the leader did was pull the sock out of his mouth, then bent down and began to cough violently and retch. Baron Pitlow looked breezy and looked at the former prime minister with his hands behind his back, coughing up tears in front of him. When Mussolini recovered a little, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over.

"Thank you." Mussolini took the handkerchief and wiped his face.

The guards searched him thoroughly, taking the two pistols he had with him, as well as his watch and wallet, as well as the handkerchief that Bertassi had given him.

"Sit down, Mr. Mussolini, I have something I want to talk to you about." Pietro elegantly spread his hand and motioned for Mussolini to sit down.

"What else is there to talk about? What more does Emanuele III want from me? He's got everything he wants, hasn't he? Sooner or later, the faint prince will regret what happened today, and he went so far as to conspire with the conspirators to murder his most loyal courtier, the Prime Minister of Italy and the leader of the Fascist National Party.

There will always be a day when the truth of your conspiracy will come out, and then all the Italian people will spurn you, and history will prove that only I, Mussolini, can save Italy, and you have ruined the last chance of this country, Italy is finished, and you are also..."

Mussolini was in the underground cells of the Quirinal Palace, complaining loudly with anger on his face.

PS: I wish you all a happy National Day holiday, please don't forget to vote for the guaranteed monthly pass at the beginning of the month.

Let's go to dinner first, and there's a second chapter later. (To be continued.) )