Mussolini and Hitler were almost opposite personalities, and it is strange that they could get along together and further form an iron alliance.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that Hitler once regarded Mussolini as the idol of his predecessors, but when he saw the essence of that predecessor's foreign power and middle strength, the defeat of the Axis powers on the battlefield had already appeared, and the unfavorable situation was irreversible.

The Italian National Fascist Party miraculously seized power, and in its development context, Hitler gained a lot of inspiration, and it can be seen that many of the German Nazi Party's initial systems, uniforms and even flags were borrowed from their Italian counterparts, such as the famous Nazi stormtroopers, which have obvious traces of the Italian Blackshirts.

Mussolini was indeed a good friend to Hitler, and Italy generously provided Germany with a number of important military and technical assistance on the road to the Nazis' rebuilding of the Wehrmacht.

Of course, Hitler reciprocated, and even though Germany faced tremendous pressure on the Eastern Front in the later period, Germany still did not stop providing weapons and various resources to Italy to help Italy maintain its front in Africa and maintain the normal operation of the fascist government.

It was not until Mussolini was ousted from power that this richly decorated balloon was finally punctured, Hitler despised all losers, and Mussolini finally lost the respect and favor of the Führer. The leader was thus reduced to a vassal of the Germans, a year and a half before the collapse of the entire Axis powers.

However, in this time and space, Mussolini, like Hitler, became a hero of his own nation and country because of his untimely death.

Despite Italy's successive defeats on the battlefield, Mussolini still had a large number of supporters, especially the ordinary people at the bottom, who even regarded the leader as a saint who saved the country.

Mussolini, of course, was not a saint, he loved good food and beautiful women, loved all extravagant lifestyles, and in order to be worthy of his illustrious status, he even quietly revised his file and sent his first wife to a mental hospital. Even after marrying his second wife, he maintained underground lover relationships with several women one after another, almost seeing one and loving the other, it was simply a humanoid seeder-like existence.

From the perspective of his love life, Mussolini is a complete scumbag, and his descendants are still whitewashing this guy.

Xu Jun has always had a disdainful attitude towards the big chin, he knows the Italian leader's hole cards better than Hitler, otherwise he would not have scrupled the previous friendship between the two sides and repeatedly slapped the leader in the face.

Of course, now that man is dead, let the past festivals dissipate in the morning breeze, at least that's what the Führer thinks.

When receiving Mussolini's family, the German Führer behaved very cordially, without putting on the slightest appearance of a strong leader. At the same time, the Führer did not hide his emotions, and it could be seen that because of the loss of a close friend, his heart was full of grief at this time, and when he talked about emotion, the Führer's eyes even contained clear teardrops, which moved the families of the deceased who were full of sadness.

After condolences to the family, the Führer ordered his personal lieutenant to send away the grieving widow and five children, leaving Ziano alone. The excuse used was to prepare to invite the former Italian foreign minister to a welcome luncheon half an hour later.

Ciano sold his father-in-law, and only a few high-level officials know about it so far, and the Germans are relatively tight-lipped, so they haven't leaked any news.

Ziano's behavior was not exposed, so it did not destroy the relationship between him and his wife, but because of Mussolini's sudden death, the conflict between the young couple was eased. To outsiders, this is still the son-in-law of the late prime minister and half of Mussolini's career.

Ziano knew very well in his heart that Mussolini's children would not have the opportunity to enter politics, because all the forces in Italy would not agree, and more importantly, the German Führer in front of him would not allow it. The former Italian foreign minister, believing in this "apostle of God", would never want to see another Mussolini born in Italy.

In Italy, the children of the heirs of the bloodline are born with a strong appeal, and with enough power behind the scenes, Mussolini's children could easily take over the political legacy of the leader, and even reunite the disintegrated forces within the national fascist party into a single whole.

Ziano knew very well that the Germans would not allow this to happen, and with the usual style of the German Nazis, they would act decisively at the slightest sign and strangle all possibilities in infancy. The fact that they still have the lives of Mussolini's children only proves that the Germans are fully prepared to deal with it, and Ziano loves his wife very much and does not want to see her die miserably.

"Ziano, the last time we met, I remember it was in Paris." Xu Jun reclined on the chair and reached out to pick up a cigar from the humidor on the table.

"You remember correctly, my Führer." The former Italian foreign minister did not hesitate to call Xu Jun "my Führer" at this time, and it seemed that there was no psychological pressure at all.

"How's this time going?" Xu Jun handed the cigar to the other party.

"Thank you very much, my Führer." Flattered, Ziano took the cigar from the Führer.

"Ada is now back with me, and I'm going to take her around the world after the funeral, maybe so that she can forget the pain of losing her father." Ziano replied.

"It's a great idea, and your wife should be happy because she has a husband who dotes on her so much. When you say this, I suddenly have the urge to leave these tedious tasks, get rid of this group of guards, and run around the world alone. Xu Jun handed the cigar cutter to Ziano, and then picked up a special match from the table.

"My Führer." Tysenhofen accosted loudly on the side.

"Okay, okay, I understand, Eric, it's just a joke." The Führer smiled and comforted the startled adjutant.

"Badoglio told me that he was going to give you a position in the cabinet." Lighting the cigar, the Führer shook out the match.

"I don't want to come out to work for the time being, and I'm really tired after the past few years." Ziano struck a match.

"What if it's working for me?" Xu Jun looked at the other party's eyes, and his tone was unusually sincere.

"I don't understand, Führer, what can someone like me do for you?" Ziano had considered a similar issue, but never imagined that the German Führer would raise it so bluntly.

"There's a lot you can do, Monsieur Earl, more than you think." Xu Jun was very satisfied with Ziano's reaction at this time, and he turned his face to Weierle and made a smug expression.

"Thank you very much for the compliment, my Führer." I don't know if it's because of the conversation just now, Ziano said this title more fluently.

"Badoglio will continue to appoint you as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy." Xu Jun placed the cigar on the ashtray, then reached out and pulled out a document in the folder next to the table.

"Italy will also set up a European Cooperation Council, of which you will be the first chairman." Xu Jun handed the document to Ziano.

"Cooperation Council for Europe?" Ziano took the paper, he had never heard before that the cabinet was preparing to form this unit.

"The main task of this committee is to coordinate with friendly European countries, to deal with the problems that Italy is facing in the new European order, and to monitor the industrial and financial system in Italy so that they can better integrate into our new order." Xu Jun explained.

"You will be the bond of friendship between Germany and Italy, Count Ziano." Wierle chimed in.

"This position is so important that I'm worried about whether I'm up to the task." Ciano wanted the job from the bottom of his heart, but he feared the pressure he would face, after all, there was no Mussolini to protect him.

The foreign minister is his profession, and there is no pressure at all on this, but the Council for European Cooperation, although it sounds like an ordinary administrative body, is actually quite extensive, and if it has real power, in some areas, it can even compete with the cabinet.

Although Badoglio had only been in politics for a short time, he had no shortage of experienced aides around him, and it was impossible not to see this danger, but he still agreed to the establishment of this committee, apparently because of the pressure exerted by the current head of state to force the prime minister to agree to this plan.

"Ziano, have you lost your self-confidence? This is not like the Count of Ziano I know. Weirle smiled and encouraged.

"Don't worry about running into problems that can't be solved, you just have to accept this appointment, we have prepared a group of consultants with a lot of experience for you, everything is already arranged, Ziano." Xu Jun picked up the cigar again and took a deep breath.

"I see, my Führer." Ziano had understood what the German Führer meant, and he had to accept the appointment, whether he wanted it or not.

"Very good, I'm glad you agreed to take on this difficult task, unfortunately your promise to your wife may be delayed. I promise you that I will ask Prime Minister Badoglio to give you a half-year vacation as soon as the matter is on track, and I will personally arrange your belated trip. The Führer's fingers tapped on his knees, and he could see that he was in a very happy mood at this time.

"Thank you very much, my Führer." Ziano nodded respectfully in acknowledgement.

"The time is almost up, my Führer." At this time, Tysenhowen reminded.

"The luncheon is all ready, Your Excellency, and now the guests have begun to take their seats." An Italian guard reports.

"Well, a puzzle has been solved, and I have whetted my appetite, and I hope that the chef has prepared enough food today, and I feel like I can eat a whole cow now." The Führer, telling a joke, got up from the lounger.

"Obviously, I drank a pot of tea just now and ate two plates of small biscuits in a row." Tysenhofen had a sincere admiration for the Führer's good appetite, and since the day he followed the Führer in France, he had not discovered the bottom line of this foodie.

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