"Young master, the French side sent a telegram asking if you fancy Germany in tatters, and if so, they will do it for you one last time before retreating." When Antonio said this, the corners of his mouth were full of smiles, as if he was commenting on something interesting.

Contini couldn't help but laugh: the $6 million paid by the United Group before and after not only caused the Ruhr area to lose more equipment and production lines, but also made a major change in the entire historical process.

For example, the beer hall riots are longer than the ongoing events in history, the impact and scope are greater, and Hitler has also been treated more harshly than in history, if it were not for Contini to protect it, his life would have been over, even so, Hitler, who was released after 8 months in prison in history, has now been in prison for 1 year, although he has successfully reduced his sentence to 12 years through various operations, but there is no prospect of getting out of prison for the time being, and Hitler and Hess continue to write hard in prison.

Another example is the German business community, although they lost more because of the prolonged occupation of the Ruhr by French and Allied forces, but they also got the opportunity to update their equipment, and at the same time, the four-year $42 million order signed by Contini also played a role in facilitating them;

Another example is the Dawes plan, which was launched later than in history due to the interference of various factors.

But now that Contini heard that France was going to withdraw its troops, he knew that Dawes's plan was almost over.

The whole plan consisted of two special committees, one to study the method of balancing the German budget and stabilizing German finance, and the other to investigate the situation of capital outflow from Germany and devise a method to bring it back.

1. The Entente oversaw the reorganization of the Deutsche Bank, the implementation of currency reform, and the Allies loaned 1 billion gold marks (equivalent to nearly 250 million US dollars) to stabilize its currency system, and most importantly, to replace the German mark, which had become de facto waste paper, with a new land rent mark.

2. In the absence of a final determination of the total amount of reparations, the annual limit of German reparations shall be set, i.e., starting from 1.2 billion gold marks in the first year (1925) and increasing year by year to 2.5 billion gold marks in the fifth year (1930); Germany's reparations were financed by customs duties, monopoly taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugar, railway revenues, and taxes on industrial and commercial enterprises.

3. Issuance of 11 billion gold marks of railway bonds and 5 billion gold marks of industrial bonds;

4. Germany's financial foreign exchange, railway operation and tax collection affairs are subject to international supervision;

5. If any dispute arises in the future on the issue of compensation, it shall be referred to the arbitration commission for settlement, and no country can impose sanctions on Germany alone.

Judging from the actual terms, it is equivalent to Germany's finances being subject to the supervision of the Entente powers, which is a kind of damage to German sovereignty, but from an economic point of view, because the US banking circles, especially the Morgan system, have agreed to provide the loans needed for the Dawes plan, they can stabilize the German economy as soon as possible.

"The German side is ready to accept the conditions on which France and Belgium withdraw their troops from the Ruhr area......"

Contini tapped on the table and asked, "Uncle Antonio, do you think I can do something about this plan?" ”

"You want to?"

"I want to convert the reparations that Germany owes to Italy into industrial products and equipment, which will be handed over to the United Group, and then we will pay the Italian government the relevant reparations......"

"What's the benefit?" Antonio asked suspiciously, "Then it is better for us to pay directly for the Germans to buy it, at least there is room for negotiation." ”

"Of course there are benefits." Contini smiled, "I want to deliver all the reparations that Germany will pay to Italy in the next 10 years with equipment and products within three years, and we will continue to pay the Italian government at the same pace." There's a logic here...... I am not optimistic that the German government will be able to fulfill the contract normally, so we will take advantage of the fact that someone has borrowed money from Germany, and we will take the 10-year compensation in advance. ”

"But the Coalition will not benefit either......," Antonio wondered, "whether or not the German reparations can be paid in full, we will still have to pay the Italian government ......"

"There's a time lag here!" Contini smiled, "After 10 years of compensation, I got all the equipment in 3 years, saving 7 years of interest!" And these devices can be added to the United Group in advance, which can expand our productivity faster and better...... As for the Italian government, I have to serve the country, anyway, the government still owes us $9 million and can't pay it back, and the army is going to dispose of a batch of scrap steel, but I still have to find a way to fill this gap. ”

"You'd better talk to your leader about this." Antonio pondered for a moment and said, "Although the Germans lost a little bit by paying the reparations for 10 years in advance, they actually made a cheap profit by not paying the funds instead of delivering equipment and products, and I believe that it is not so difficult for the German side to accept." ”

"By the way, Adolf will reduce his sentence a little, for a politician, 12 years is too long, and a two-year prison sentence is enough for him to finish writing."

Antonio shook his head, not understanding why Contini was so obsessed with Hitler, but anyway, by the way, he would not object.

After hearing Contini's intentions, Mussolini's eyes lit up: not only did this exchange not hurt the Italian government - the main body of reparations was transferred from Germany to the United Group, but it was more advantageous - the Germans may still cry and pretend to be stupid and refuse to pay, and the United Group, as an Italian company, especially as a fascisti-controlled enterprise, will naturally not do this.

More advantageously, in this way, the money is in the hands of Contini, and it is much more convenient for the government to call it at a critical moment, and he immediately agrees: "Calais, I will let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do the work, I am personally optimistic about this, does the government still owe you a large sum?" Use this deduction for the first year's compensation! ”

Now, the United Group is not only a national policy group, but also can play the role of the second finance: if the money is not enough, the United Group will take the top first, and then let the United Group go on after passing the customs. This practice of always being ready to solve problems for the party and the government means that the collusion between officials and businessmen is light, and at the very least, there is no separation between government and enterprises......

As Mussolini expected, after the Italian amendment was reported, the German side and the Dawes Commission were very interested and immediately approved it, and the committee even encouraged Britain, France, and Belgium to introduce such large groups to follow this method to achieve the decomposition of the responsibility for reparations. Who wants industrial products and equipment from Germany?

On March 2, Dawes plans to pass the Italian amendment, which will then be enacted. As a reward for the Coalition, the Weimar government instructed the Bavarian District Court to commute Hitler's sentence from 12 to 7 years on the basis of "positive repentance, self-confidence, good looks, and ability to motivate fellow prisoners to follow prison rules in an exemplary manner" during the year of Hitler's imprisonment.

The reason why he is so easy to talk now is because Albert, who is not very good with Contini, swallowed his breath a few days ago, and now it is Hans Luther (the German National People's Party) who is the transitional president until a new president is elected, and Luther himself was sympathetic to the Munich Revolution, on the one hand, some people sold well, and on the other hand, he also agreed, so Hitler's sentence was commuted quickly.

On 3 March, Contini and Sickert met secretly in Frankfurt, and a number of cooperation packages were reached, including the development of semi-automatic rifles, the development of light machine guns, and the development of new fighters and tanks, all of which were to be placed at the bases of the three joint blocs of Milan, Rome and Genoa.

Contini told Sickert that the light machine gun was already in sight, and that he preferred to use the new product developed by the Brno State Arsenal in Czechoslovakia, which still uses 7.92mm rounds, but unlike the current design of the factory, he asked for improvements in the magazine:

First, the magazine should be changed from the current upper structure to the lower drum structure to improve the shooter's line of sight and facilitate aiming;

Second, the magazine capacity should be increased from the current 20 rounds, at least 48-50 rounds - a light machine gun with only 20 rounds of ammunition and a magazine change is not conducive to the continuation of the battle.

Sickert expressed his doubts about this, but did not simply refuse, saying that he would send a special person to investigate, and if he could pass the acceptance of the expert group, he would not have any opinion.