Less than a day ago, in the early hours of local time in New Rome, the capital of Italy, a coup d'état was quietly taking place in Mussolini's prime minister's palace.

A group of top anti-German governments, led by Foreign Minister Chiano, decided to put Mussolini under house arrest and then restructure the government after receiving secret support from the King of Italy, so that the country could get out of the Axis camp and out of the world war, which was physically and mentally exhausting for Italy.

So on a dark and windy night, Ziano personally led a team of men and horses to join forces with the captain of the Prime Minister's Guard, who secretly took refuge in him, and occupied the Prime Minister's residence without firing a single shot.

After they had seized Mussolini, Ziano issued an urgent national proclamation impeaching Mussolini in the name of the king and declaring himself the "interim prime minister" of Italy.

The coup d'état was perfect at first glance, and thanks to the excellent secrecy work, there was not a single leak of the news before the operation. Mussolini didn't believe that Zinoa dared to attack him until the day before he was caught, and the captain of the guard, who was trusted by him, was a traitor with thick eyebrows and big eyes!

But it was precisely because Zinoa did a good job of secrecy that when he issued a national announcement, not only the people were at a loss, but even the army and foreign spies were stunned.

"You didn't even notify me in advance!" xN

In Ziano's vision, as long as he controlled Mussolini and then forced him to step down and make way for himself, the Italian people, who were already tired of the war, would rejoice, the army would also stand on his side, and the whole of Italy would quickly rally under his crotch.

As for the foreign forces, Ziano's plan is to unite Britain against Germany. They just need to lift the encirclement of Mercury. At that time, the British army, which is like a mad dog out of the cage, will definitely go straight to Germany's homeland on the moon, and the German army, which is too busy to take care of itself, will not be able to launch a counterattack on Venus.

However, although the idea was good, the overly cautious Ziano did not realize that his unilateral surprise attack had caught all forces off guard.

They easily controlled Mussolini though. But there were not many responders at all inside and outside Italy. The people were at a loss, most of the military was still cautiously watching, and the United Kingdom, which had high hopes for Ziano, did not communicate at all beforehand.

The result was obvious, Ziano and his followers were in a difficult position!

So far, the first to learn of this was the German intelligence agency in Rome, followed by the French Resistance operating in Italy, which relayed it to the Castle side. And Zhao Jian feels very hesitant now, should he get involved in this matter?

Let's be honest. Zhao Jian is not optimistic about Ziano as a person. On the surface, the other side seems to be anti-German and anti-war, advocating that Italy withdraw from the war. But its real intention was to throw off the overly strong Germany and conclude a new alliance of interests with Britain.

Ziano wanted to make a condition for Mercury to be relieved of the siege by allowing Britain to recognize all of Italy's current interests in Venus, so that Italy could naturally replace France. Just by rushing this point, it is impossible for Zhao Jian to identify with the other party.

However, as things stand, it will be difficult for Britain to respond to Ziano.

After a siege that lasted for more than a year, the fighting spirit of the British military and civilians was no longer what it used to be. After all, shouting slogans can't stop starvation, people still have to eat to survive.

Britain in another time and space. The reason why we were able to survive the most difficult days was because of the American relief food brought from across the Atlantic.

But here, the Royal Navy has no advantage over the new High Seas Fleet in terms of combat power, and Mercury's position is a "dead end" in the known star field. Outside help cannot come in. In this oppressive and desperate atmosphere, even if Churchill tried his best, it was difficult to maintain high morale.

So when Zhao Jian on the Star Castle side was still hesitating, Churchill, who got the news almost at the same time, only took less than five minutes to think before making a decision...... While you can still move. Seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and use all your strength to take a gamble!

Churchill was well aware of the current state of affairs in Britain. If the blockade is not broken, the operation of the whole country will be able to last for another three months at most. The resources they had hoarded had already been consumed in the past year, and food was beginning to run short.

In terms of the army, Churchill relied on smashing pots and selling iron, and finally rebuilt the army and air forces that had suffered heavy losses before. Among them, the army has 75 divisions, including 50 infantry divisions, 18 motorized infantry divisions and 7 armored divisions. The Air Force has expanded to 102 flying wings, but unfortunately there are a mix of old and new aircraft, and only about one-third of them can be called reliable combat capability.

The only thing that made Churchill and the rest of the military brass feel at ease was the navy!

After more than a year of fierce space warfare, although the fleet was damaged, its combat strength remained intact. All five George V-class battleships have been put into service, except for the second ship, the Prince of Wales, who has gone to the Broken Star Zone, and the remaining four have stayed behind to defend Mercury and become the backbone of the defense of the homeland.

In order to break the blockade, Churchill decided to launch the "Recapture of Venus", sending seventy percent of the navy, sixty percent of the air force, and ninety percent of the army to Venus. Even Churchill was ready to lobby the king and the House of Lords to agree to let him mobilize some of the Titan soldiers to fight.

Rather than let the millions of troops surrender with weapons and give away the giant soldiers, it is better to use all your strength to fight the enemy at this time of life and death, this is Churchill's idea.

With little to spare, Churchill's decision was unanimously endorsed by the top brass of the military, and many generals understood that this was the last chance for the British Empire. The House of Lords did not disagree with him, and King George VI readily agreed to Churchill's request to hand over the three A-class giants of Galahad, Lancelot and Gawain to the military.

Churchill even lowered his face and used the chrono communicator provided by Starcastle to ask for help from the "Allied Triumvirate" of Zhao Jian, Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle, hoping that they could all send fleets to contain the main German fleet living on Mars.

Roosevelt readily agreed, but made many demands, and Zhao Jian and de Gaulle also agreed to send troops to help after hesitating for a moment, but neither was unconditional assistance. Even if Churchill knew that these guys were taking advantage of the fire, he gritted his teeth and agreed.

In less than a day, Churchill had all the strength he needed, and the General Staff Headquarters, which had already prepared several counteroffensive plans, voted for the most suitable one, and the huge army began to prepare for the operation quickly and methodically.

Churchill, who had been on the road all day, went alone to a hidden estate on the outskirts of the city in the evening, and he still needed to confirm one last thing...... (To be continued......)

PS: I went to the Naval Museum in Qingdao today, the new exhibition hall has not yet been built, and the whole museum is the same as the construction site, but I am on the side of the three ships on the pier, and I played for more than two hours, and I am satisfied!

PS: I spent a lot of money this time, and when I got home, I had to collect my heart and code the words.