"A lie can only be a lie, there will always be a day when the truth will be revealed, you can't cover up all the facts, and the people will definitely agree with our philosophy. Everything we do is to protect this country, even if it is misunderstood, but I personally have a clear conscience. Badoglio replied with a pretended nonchalant look that the field marshal was trying to restrain his emotional fluctuations, and the old soldier did not want Mussolini to see through his weakness.

"You're just deceiving yourself, Badoglio. You should know that I'm not bluffing, and I can make as much evidence as I want. The Italian people love me and support me, and they will believe everything I say unconditionally. Mussolini scoffed at the marshal's rebuttal.

"We are saving this kingdom, you have completely lost your mind, you only know that you are arrogant and provocative, you are pushing Italy into hell." Badoglio rebuked.

"The kingdom doesn't need anyone to save it at all, in fact I am leading her to prosperity!" Mussolini said loudly.

"Your arrogance and recklessness almost ruined this country, Betoni. Mussolini! ”

"I don't, on the contrary, it is you, you vile traitors, who have made deals with your enemies for your own despicable purposes. What that Mussolini Line is, you know better than anyone else. Why the garrison of the capital, why the reserve army of Rome was withdrawn, you think that with such ridiculous reasons you can blind the Italian people. ”

"The people don't know the truth, and I admit that the methods we use are shady, but our purpose is just." Badoglio finally couldn't help but raise his voice.

"The people don't need to know anything, they just need to know that you are traitors." Mussolini laughed, and he finally saw Badoglio's angry appearance.

"Your men have confessed completely, and they don't want to be buried for you. The Germans, if I need to, have agreed to provide you with telegrams to and from each other, and they have never trusted you fools from the beginning, and have easily toyed with your applause. You're done with it, Badoglio, and you're going to die as a traitor. Mussolini reminded the other side of the fact that the members of the coup gang should stop dreaming of dying as heroes, losing not only their lives, but also the honor they have accumulated for most of their lives.

"You can't do it, His Majesty will stand up and testify for us." Badoglio had finally lost his bearings, he had valued honor more than his own in his life, and Mussolini was now ready to take both of them away, which he could never tolerate.

"His Majesty the King is in a hurry to find someone to reconcile with the Germans, and he has long been too busy to take care of himself. If the reign of the House of Savoy can be maintained, I believe he will be happy to come forward and accuse you people. But in the end, it depends on what the Germans mean, and I'm powerless about that right now. Speaking of which, Mussolini changed his sitting position somewhat unnaturally.

"It seems that you have seen the faces of the Germans, and they will not trust you either, you are just a puppet they have raised." Badogglio knew that Mussolini was telling the truth, and he retorted.

"None of this was going to happen, I was ready to negotiate with the Germans, and at that time we had half of Italy in our hands, with half a million army troops, and a complete Mediterranean fleet, and Stadler would not fail to notice this, and in the end he would have agreed to my proposal, so that we would have to pay much less than we do now.

But it was you who ruined all my efforts, and now that the Germans have occupied three-quarters of Italian territory, we have lost all the chips in our hands. Your coup d'état has upset the political balance I have worked so hard to maintain, and now I can only rely on the strength of the Germans to regain power in the country, and to resist the pressure exerted by Britain and France, to maintain the integrity of the territory, and to restore order in society. Mussolini stood up and paced back and forth in front of the door.

"I'll admit I'm a puppet or something like that now, but that's the only path I can take. It's all thanks to you idiots, you ruined my plans, took my power, and I had to choose to defend myself.

If you succeed, I believe that I will not be allowed to live, and the best ending for me may be rotting in the underground cells of the palace. I'm Betoni. Mussolini, the leader of the Italian fascist party, could not die like a rat in a filthy corner.

Now that the German Führer is willing to ease relations with me, agreeing that I will continue to be the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, and allow Italy to join his new European order, all I have to do is show deference and obedience to the Reich Führer, and follow in Germany's footsteps on strategic issues, so that Italy will become a vassal of the Third Reich. Mussolini crossed his waist and tilted his chin up.

"But I agreed to all their terms, and I could not refuse the Germans' demands, for your army had been transferred into the German encirclement, and most of my cabinet members had been bribed by you, and my king had abandoned me, and the nobles were always on the verge of cutting off my head.

I love this country so much, but I am rewarded with a despicable and shameless conspiracy. Rome is no longer the Rome I think I am, and the king is no longer worthy of my loyalty. Mussolini's face showed a hint of sadness, and he was frustrated by his failure.

"I can understand your thoughts, Mussolini. But I will definitely not forgive you for colluding with Germany and betraying your country. ”

"Aren't you the same? After a successful coup d'état, will you not bow to the Germans, submit to the strong force of the other side, and rely on betraying the interests of the country in exchange for an armistice agreement? Mussolini sneered at the corner of his mouth.

"We will not betray the interests of the kingdom, and we can enter into an alliance agreement with Germany on the same terms as France and England. Stadler has stated that he has no territorial claims to the Italian mainland. Badoglio said aloud.

"You underestimate Reinhardt. Feng. Stadler too. He wants a lot more than you think, but now it dawns on me that I don't need to tell you this, I just want to say that you can do what I can do, and I can tell you now that I'm going to Berlin next week, mainly to talk to von . Stadler signed the alliance agreement. Mussolini sat back in his chair.

"But that's not something for you to think about, Badoglio, you naïve idiot." The Prime Minister shook his index finger rudely at the Field Marshal.

"You and your companions will be stripped of their military rank and all the honors they have received, your family will be exiled to the African colonies, your son will be arrested, your grandson will be only a year old, and they will spend the rest of their lives in misery in the scorching deserts of Africa." Mussolini smiled and said terrible things.

"You can't do that, my family is completely unaware of it, they are innocent." Badoglio finally screamed uncontrollably, and he stood up and tried to pounce on Mussolini, but forgot that he had a strong chain attached to his foot, and the field marshal tripped and fell to the ground, prostrate at the feet of the Italian dictator.

"I don't think so, Badoglio...... Badoglio, after all, you all have the last name Badoglio. My former Chief of Staff, I have been quite merciful to tell the truth, and I have been advised to send your family to a concentration camp in Germany and then let them rot in the Black Forest over there. Mussolini's smile was particularly hideous.

"Be merciful, I know your heart is as hard as steel, but for the sake of the merits of the king and the kingdom in the first half of my life, I beg you here to spare my family." Badogglio did not stand up, he was finally crushed, the highly decorated marshal, who at the moment resembled an ordinary old Italian man, curled up on the floor, his eyes full of pleading and fear.

"I admire all that you have done for the Kingdom, really, from the bottom of my heart." Mussolini crouched down and said with his hands on his chest.

"But I will never forgive you for what you have done to me, you want to take away my power, my life, everything I have, so I will take yours too." The dictator patted the old man's shaved head like a pet dog.

"What do you want from me, Mussolini, you devil." Badoglio reached out and grabbed the hem of Mussolini's robe.

"What else can you tempt me, Your Excellency Marshal, ah yes, you are no longer a marshal, you are just an ordinary criminal." Mussolini knocked Badogglio's hand off, and then grabbed the opponent's epaulette.

"Be merciful, Virgin Mary." Badoglio closed his eyes, tears running down his thin cheeks.

"Looking at your wretched appearance, I am now extremely glad that the German Führer chose me over you, otherwise I would have ended up worse than you." Mussolini stood up.

"But one thing you're wrong about, I'm not the hard-hearted monster you say you call me, so I'm going to give you another chance, Badoglio, a chance to atone for your sins."

Looking down at the former chief of staff who had lost his soul like a lost dog, the Italian dictator said with a smug expression. (To be continued.) )