Mussolini, who had concluded negotiations with Reinhardt, finally returned home happily.

In fact, the relationship between Reinhardt and Mussolini, between Germany and Italy, has never been as happy as it seems.

In the eyes of the outside world, as early as 1938, just half a year after Mussolini's visit to Berlin, Reinhardt led a large delegation of 500 people to Rome.

In order to pay tribute to Mussolini's "leader", Reinhardt also specially wore the armband of "Honorary Captain of the Italian Militia" awarded to him by Mussolini.

Reinhardt and Ribbentrop took three special trains to Italy.

Many of the leaders of the National Socialist Party took part in the "March of Friendship to Italy".

When Reinhardt arrived in Italy, Mussolini received him with great pomp and warmth.

In camera footage by journalists from all over the world, the King of Italy, leader Benito Mussolini, and other senior officials in the class almost rushed to the station to meet Reinhardt.

At that time, the streets of Rome were also lit up with colorful flags and lights, and the shouts were deafening.

But what the public didn't know was that Mussolini suddenly disappeared from the welcoming procession after leaving the station.

It turned out that Reinhardt was visiting as the head of state, and nominally, there was a king above the Italian Prime Minister Mussolini.

According to the etiquette specifications, it should be the place where the king accompanied the German "Führer" to the residence by car, and Mussolini had nothing to do.

At that time, although Mussolini was unhappy that he was subservient to the king, he restrained his feelings and did not do anything out of the ordinary.

On the contrary, Mussolini, the leader of Italy, also had a full schedule, so that Reinhardt was both feasting his eyes and mouths at that time.

But behind this lively scene, Mussolini was somewhat melancholy.

Although no one showed it, Reinhardt understood at that time that Mussolini's heart disease was an Austrian problem.

In order to keep the ally from apprehensive about the German-Austrian merger, Reinhardt made a special toast at the time: "The Alps are caused by nature and history. The Alps will be the border between Germany and Italy, forever inviolable. ”

The implication behind this statement is that South Tyrol, a Germanic region in Italy, is still an Italian consul, and Germany will not annex it under the pretext of ethnic issues, as it did with the Sudetenland.

After Reinhardt's slight hint, Mussolini, although still unhappy with the German-Austrian merger, was also showing signs of seizures.

However, few people know that Mussolini has lost the "ass shakes" aura that he used to talk to Reinhardt from that time.

As Reinhardt and Germany grew stronger, Mussolini could only make fun of the German Führer behind his back in some subtleties.

He told his son-in-law Ziano: "Reinhardt is just an upstart, an ordinary person who has risen to a high position by luck. People like this can only stay at home and eat waste waiting for death."

And the King of Italy simply called his German guests "some kind of degenerate in the psychological sense."

After all, Reinhardt's reputation at that time was not very good, and he had to infringe on the interests of Italy, so it was not too pleasant in Italy.

Ribbentrop had tried to dissuade Mussolini from asking him not to be too arrogant towards the German "Führer".

But then Mussolini replied coldly: "Tell you the Führer that he should be a little more patient." ”

Throughout their visits, Reinhardt and Ribbentrop were looking for opportunities to engage in a serious political dialogue with Mussolini and Ziano.

But in fact, the Germans still had something to talk to the Italians, but Mussolini lacked enthusiasm.

Mussolini and Reinhardt were not like-minded from the beginning because of their ideological similarities.

On the contrary, Mussolini, who regarded himself as a guru of corporatism and authoritarianism, always thought highly of himself and did not take Reinhardt seriously at first.

In the deep areas that most people do not see, the relationship between Germany and Italy can be described as a process from confrontation to cooperation, and then from cooperation to alliance.

This proves once again that international politics is just an arena of national interests.

Today's German-Italian alliance is a Machiavellian political union.

It's simpler than many people think, and it's more complicated than many people think.

In general, German-Italian relations have gone through the following time points:

Germany and Italy were at odds over the Austrian question.

Italy's accession to the Frente Stresa led to an escalation of confrontation between the two countries.

The Ethiopian war and the march into the Rhine improved relations between the two countries.

Berlin – The League of Rome is formed.

The joint intervention of Germany and Italy in the Spanish Civil War further warmed relations between the two countries.

The signing of the "International Pact Against the Soviet Union" caused Italy to make concessions to Germany on the Austrian question and to turn the spearhead against the Soviet Union. (Interestingly, Reinhardt and the Soviets worked together in private.) ）

The Steel Treaty formalized the two countries.

In fact, Italy had already defected from the German-led Allies to the Entente in World War I in order to seize the former Austro-Hungarian Empire's Trantino, South Tyrol, Dalmatia, and Trieste, as well as the port of Fum and the German colonies in Africa.

But the Treaty of Versailles did not meet all of Italy's needs, and this time Italy once again considered changing its face and joining forces with Germany.

Italy has a large population, poor resources, and a small territory, and is in urgent need of colonies for development, but because of the late start of development, there is no opportunity, so it also has a strong incentive to wage war in Europe to fight for its own development space.

This forced Italy, and later to dissociate itself from the two camps in Europe at this time, between the one side that demanded a change in the Versailles system, led by Germany, and the other side, led by France, which included the small countries of Eastern Europe, who wanted to maintain the Versailles system.

While Reinhardt continued to annex countries, Mussolini also felt that he was irretrievably tied to the German "Führer".

It is a pity that the "alliance" between Rome and Berlin was born around Reinhardt, and Mussolini seemed to be just a little friend.

Later, in southeastern Europe, Reinhardt was gradually taking over the market in this area.

After the annexation of Austria, Germany almost indirectly cut off the crude oil trade line of the Italian port of Trieste, making the port almost a dead port.

Immediately, Mussolini did something sorry for Germany.

He built a new line of fortifications along the border between Germany and Italy.

This should not be done by an ally at all, but Mussolini at that time still wanted to step on two boats.

On the one hand, he hinted to the Germans about the possibility of an alliance, and on the other hand, he threatened an alliance with the Germans to force the Western democracies to make concessions.

Sometimes, Mussolini still harbored a child's playful idea: he just wanted to use the language of war to scare other countries and cheer up the Italians.

After that, it was much simpler.

Reinhardt and Mussolini became brothers, and the two were clearly happy, but in private they always calculated each other's profits and losses.

Even this seemingly friendly negotiation between the two men on the division of spoils with France is just another confrontation for interests.