In the pouring rain, a German Imperial Air Force painted Ju-. Compared with the special plane used by the Hohenzollern royal family, the transport plane in front of him did not incorporate new aviation technology or spray the domineering Black Hawk logo, but it still made the turbulent Italian government take great pains to carry out a welcoming ceremony, and the newly taken over as the Italian prime minister, Count Capri, and a group of officials lined up to wait.

The moment he stepped out of the cabin, the German Ernst von Weizsäcker smiled meaningfully. This middle-aged man, who came from a diplomatic family and has been sent abroad to serve as diplomatic ambassadors for more than a dozen times, is now the first chairman of the Security Council of the League of Nations, and it seems that he chose to fly to Italy on a Luftwaffe plane not only for security reasons.

Walking down the gangway, von Weizsäcker shook hands with Count Capri with a look of relief: "Long time no see, my friend!" My family often asks, when will you come to visit? ”

In the face of this old acquaintance, the Earl of Capri, who was nearly sixty years old, barely squeezed out a smile: "Ah, I've been so busy in recent years, I'm really sorry!" Apologies! If you have time, be sure to pay a visit! ”

Von Weizsäcker pretended to be very happy: "Then it's a deal." ”

Next, Count Capri introduced him to the military and political officials who came to pick him up one by one. These high-spirited big people on weekdays are now like frosted eggplants, one by one, and occasionally with normal expressions, they are just beating their spirits.

Von Weizsäcker is of course well aware that Italy is now in turmoil with internal and external troubles, not only have people everywhere rebelled, the army is also on the verge of getting out of control, and the royal regime is already in danger. At this time, the help from the League of Nations, even if it is just a righteous solidarity, is as valuable as a rain after a long drought.

After the brief welcome ceremony, the Germans did not rush to meet His Majesty King Emanuele III of Italy and His Royal Highness Umberto, but held an informal meeting with the military and political officials headed by Count Capri in the lounge of the airport. Von Weizsäcker told the Italians that the armistice agreement signed between the three countries was legal and valid, and that although the League of Nations Security Council recommended that the new United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary be partially exempted from the Kingdom of Italy's war reparations on the grounds of political turmoil in Italy, the proposal was only a suggestion that if the New United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary did not accept the proposal, it would be impossible for the League of Nations Council to impose any form of restraint or punishment on them.

Having said the bad news that disappointed the Italians, von Weizsäcker turned around and said that no European country wants to see a civil war in Italy over the so-called revolution, just as the people in a room don't want to see a stove in a house overheated and explode. In recent days, he has visited the Emperor of Germany, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, the King of the New United Kingdom, the President of France, and other heads of state, actively seeking their understanding and support, and has made breakthroughs.

As soon as they heard this, all the Italians present, even the attendant officials who served tea and poured water, were like people who had grasped the straw and fell into the water, and their eyes were focused on von Weizsäcker.

Von Weizsäcker then said in a gentle tone: "Austria-Hungary and the new United Kingdom...... They agreed to withdraw their troops from Italian territory and in escrow on the condition that they would be able to obtain some form of guarantee to ensure that the Italian Government would pay war reparations in accordance with the armistice. ”

Italian officials looked at each other, and if they could provide guarantees, would they need to get the coalition forces back into Italy?

Von Weizsäcker continued, unhurriedly: "I have consulted the German emperor, I have consulted the French president, but they have both said that they cannot vouch for Italy. As I left Paris, I was deeply depressed, feeling that the great ideal of preserving world peace had been dealt an unprecedented blow, and at the very moment when the plane took off, it occurred to me that since there was no single country that could vouch for Italy, what about in the name of the League of Nations? ”

Von Weizsäcker paused: "Why can't we vouch for Italy in the name of the League of Nations?" As long as we can calm the people's grievances and resolve this crisis of turmoil, why not? ”

The crowd hesitated for a moment, then gave a standing ovation to the presidency of the League of Nations Security Council and to applaud Italy's turnaround.

Von Weizsäcker waved his hand and motioned for everyone to listen to his own speech.

"I have arranged an urgent meeting of the Security Council, but before it can be convened, I must get a clear opinion from the Italian government: whether you accept or disagree with the guarantee of the League of Nations."

Count Capri thought for a moment: "What reason do we have to refuse?" ”

"For a reason, of course." Von Weizsäcker replied, "The League of Nations is not a country after all, all funds come from the contributions and donations of the member countries, and they are all for a specific purpose, and if the Italian government is unable to fulfill the treaty for any reason, it is impossible for the League of Nations to advance the reparations on its behalf." If we vouch for the Italian government in the name of the League of Nations or the League of Nations Security Council, then we also need to obtain some form of pledge from the Italian government, such as territories and escrows. ”

Count Capri's eyes widened suddenly: "Your Excellency means ...... Replace the Austrian and Patriotic forces with the League of Nations peacekeepers, and continue to take over and occupy the five cities of northern Italy and Malta? ”

Von Weizsäcker looked at the Italian Prime Minister impassively, neither affirming nor denying.

All of you here are bigwigs who have been in the military and political circles for many years, and you can understand the essence of this deal when you think about it.

There is no pie in the sky out of thin air.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

In modern times, to be precise, since it re-emerged as an independent sovereign state, Italy has often given the impression of fighting in the east and west, opening up territories, and thriving from left to right. In 1885, they sent troops to East Africa and occupied Massawa, thus beginning a decades-long history of colonial wars in East Africa, plundering nearly a million square kilometers of vast land (although they were beaten by African indigenous forces several times during this period); In 1911, the war against Ottoman Turkey was launched, and a North African colony covering an area of more than one million square kilometers was established (although the battlefield losses were terrible); In 1915, after the decisive victory of the Allies over the Entente, he joined the war group with the rudder, and after the war, he won French North Africa and French Somaliland by virtue of his status as a war country, and expanded his sphere of influence to Egypt and the Middle East (although he was severely attacked by the remnants of the French army on the Italian-French border at the end of the war); In 1933, the Allies rejoined the Campaign in the imminent victory of the Azores, a bet that gave Italy two strategically important strongholds, Malta and Cyprus (although the Italian navy lost almost unnecessarily a number of ships in the latter stages of the Azores......

In addition to directly initiating or joining the war, the Italians were also good at reselling arms during wartime. In 1914, they peddled arms to Britain and Tsarist Russia, and the profits they earned in half a year were equivalent to three years of government revenue; In 1932, they produced guns and ammunition for the Germans, and the net profit obtained in one year made the government worry for ten years; In 1938, they sold a small half of their air force to Japan, and used the funds and materials to build a number of cutting-edge ships, consolidating their maritime strategic superiority over Austria-Hungary, Spain, and France in the Mediterranean. In the 40s, they competed with Austria-Hungary to provide military technology to Japan, and many new weapons were handed over to the Japanese in exchange for large amounts of foreign exchange and hard currency......

The sudden enrichment of profiteers has long attracted the covetousness of powerful neighbors, but the various warnings of people of insight in the country, the kind reminders of high-level foreign celebrities, and the various warnings obtained by intelligence channels have never made the Italian government vigilant and restrained, but continues to carry out all kinds of high-risk, high-reward transactions in a self-righteous manner, and finally get into trouble......

As Italian officials digested the shocking proposal, von Weizsäcker pretended to be lenient: "The presence of peacekeepers will, on the one hand, relieve the Italian government of public criticism, and on the other hand, reduce the pressure to maintain local social order." Moreover, the peacekeeping forces have never collected garrison fees in any name. ”

After thinking for a while, Earl Capri asked with a frustrated face: "To maintain order in a city, at least thousands of troops are needed, and if you take over the five northern cities and the island of Malta, you will inevitably need to use a large number of peacekeeping troops. In your previous meetings with the heads of state, have you finalized the source of troops for the formation of this group of peacekeeping troops? If the Austrian and Patriotic troops were included in the troops, the occupying forces did not even need to be withdrawn, just change their names? ”

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister's concerns are also areas that I have been very concerned about. Fortunately, the German Emperor promised that all the troops needed for this group of peacekeepers could be provided by Germany, and that most of the officers and non-commissioned officers had participated in the League of Nations violations, and that their discipline and sense of justice were trustworthy. In addition......" von Weizsäcker said: "The five northern cities should be regarded as one of the richest regions in Italy, and if the garrison of the peacekeeping force will more or less affect the local economic recovery, if the islands of Malta, Sicily and Sardinia are temporarily entrusted to the peacekeeping force, the negative impact on the Italian economy should be controlled to a relatively ideal extent." ”

The Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Count Capri, a middle-aged man with a polite manner, said coldly: "With the level of taxes before the war in Italy, it will take 24 years to pay off the war reparations, but in the current situation in Italy, the settlement of war reparations may drag on for 50 or 100 years, can it be said that the League of Nations peacekeeping force intends to be stationed in Malta, Sicily, and Sardinia for 50 or 100 years?" That's long enough time to create a de facto division of Italy! ”

Von Weizsäcker was not at all angry, but replied in a straight voice: "The purpose of the existence of the League of Nations is to maintain the international order within the framework of international law and to ensure that the legitimate sovereignty of every country is respected. ”

Malta, which was not originally an inherent territory of Italy, had never been incorporated into Italy's national territory, and its jurisdiction had fallen into the hands of other countries, neither in law nor substance, had undermined the integrity and unity of Italy, and as for the populous islands of Sicily and Sardinia, the Germans had no interest in long-term occupation and no need to use them to gain and maintain military control over the Mediterranean region.

The Italians present, there is no lack of experts in playing with power, and at this point, they certainly understand who this chairman of the League of Nations Security Council is talking for, there is a way that the tiger fell into Pingyang and was bullied by dogs, if they still want to keep their prominent position in the army and government, it is better to be a fool at this time.