Cosenz has a bigger stage to live up to his ambitions.

And for all of Europe, the clouds of war can be seen even by ordinary people.

Although the Moroccan crisis has been resolved, the preparations of various countries have reached a new level.

The British Empire, which provoked France to harden Germany on the Moroccan issue, announced at the beginning of the year that it would start construction of seven large warships this year, five of which would be new battleships equipped with 380 mm guns. In addition, the British Empire was not satisfied with its small army, and announced that it would expand its army to 238,000 this year.

The preparations for war of the British Empire also affected one of its allies, Russia. The Russians announced that they would build three super-dreadnought warships equipped with 13.5 inches (343 mm) to cope with the current complex form.

Unlike the 305 mm guns of the Queen Maria class in history, the British decided to share their 343 mm guns with their allies due to the pressure of Britain and France on the construction of German and Italian ships in this time and space. As for Britain's move, France and Russia are of course very happy. It was precisely with the support of the British 343-mm guns that Russia decided to use the main guns for its next battleship.

In addition to this naval expansion, Russia also expanded its large land force. The Russians announced that they would expand the total strength of the Russian army from 940,000 to 1,024,000 this year.

The actions of Britain and Russia made the Allied camp unable to sit still. Needless to say, Italy. Germany decided to expand its army from 571,000 to 653,000. Austria-Hungary expanded from 254,000 to 314,000.

The major European powers are gearing up and glaring at each other in different camps.

Here we seem to forget that there is another country, and that is France.

Speaking of which, in this time and space, the pressure on the defense of France is no less than that of Germany. The pressure on the Germans on the border alone was enough for the French, and with Italy also eyeing it to the south, the pressure on France's defense was not at all small.

In addition to the pressure on land, at sea, the French are also very stressed.

Although the alliance with Britain allowed France to rely on the navy of the British Empire at sea. But this was limited to the German Navy in the North Sea. In the Mediterranean, the British Empire's Mediterranean Fleet was based in Alexandria, Egypt.

If you look at the map of the Mediterranean, you will find that Egypt and France are separated by more than 2,000 kilometers, not to mention that the two are separated by Italy.

On the plus side, the French Navy could be flanked by the British Mediterranean Fleet against the Italian Navy. But at worst, they were very easy to be defeated by the Italian navy. The changes in this completely depend on the comparison of the strength of the two sides. And at present, the strength of France and Britain in the Mediterranean is likely to be the latter.

In fact, for Britain and France, the current situation in the Mediterranean is well understood, but it is not easy to solve this problem at all.

In fact, it cannot be said that it is not easy, and there is a way to do it, that is, the two countries will raise their naval strength in the Mediterranean to the point where they can compete with the Italian navy. If it can't solve any party in a short period of time, if it can't do it, then it can barely hurt its vitality.

Because as long as Italy does not have the protection of the navy, the advantage of a long coastline will immediately turn into a disadvantage. When the time comes, the navy alone will be able to put the Italians on pins and needles and put an end to their hot-headed actions.

However, it is too difficult to do this, and France is currently struggling to build four Lone Class ships. However, under the constant urging of its ally Britain, it is no longer a matter of suffering to come up with funds to build three more Brittany-class ships, and it is no longer a matter of suffering to continue to follow in the footsteps of the Italians.

The French Navy could not follow up, so what about the side of the British Empire?

I'm sorry, although the dockyard of the British Empire is full of all kinds of warships, but it is also impossible to have a navy to suppress Germany and Italy.

And the British Empire also needed to ensure the security of the homeland, as well as the task of keeping the German fleet in the North Sea. Then the strength of the fleet remaining on the mainland must be higher than that of the German High Seas Fleet.

So the warships left for the Mediterranean Fleet cannot be too many.

As for the idea of uniting Britain and France in the Mediterranean Fleet, it was only discussed once by the two countries and then shelved.

While this would give the British and French fleets a rivalry to the Italian navy, there was a key problem that neither country could solve.

Where should this fleet put its station?

Is it the port of Toulon in mainland France or Alexandria in Egypt?

In other words, to abandon the coastal cities of southern France, or to abandon the Suez Canal?

No one dares to make this decision, and no one can make this decision.

In this regard, the two countries can only continue to expand their naval capabilities in the Mediterranean while negotiating how to cooperate.

And the problem of how to suppress the Italian navy made the British and French navies somewhat helpless.

However, it soon occurred to some smart people that since it was difficult to solve at the naval level, it would be much easier to do it in a different way. And this solution is not complicated, that is, since it is difficult to solve, then pull it over and become an ally. Wouldn't this solve the problem between the two countries in the Mediterranean, and it would also relieve the pressure on French land.

Of course, it is not a simple matter for the two countries to pull them together, or to break up the alliance between Germany and Italy.

You know, the French side has been aware of this problem since several years ago and has been trying to improve tensions with Italy. This was followed by a series of acts of goodwill, the most important of which was the transfer of half of the Tunisian colony to Italy during the first Moroccan crisis.

Although southern Tunisia is basically a desert, the Gobi is very inhospitable, its population is less than 100,000, and it has little economic value. But it is also a half-colony, and it is not known when valuable minerals will be discovered, just like the Libyan province in Italy.

But alas, the Italians are not indifferent to the goodwill that the French constantly release, and eat up the benefits they give, and do not give you a chance to reconcile at all.

Although he was angry at such a shameless act by the Italians, the proud Frenchman, given the situation he was facing, could only continue to show his goodwill with the intention of impressing Italy.

Of course, it is unlikely that it will be just lip service, but given the current tense situation in Europe, the French decided to come up with a gift that the other side could not refuse. And the requirements are not too high, as long as the other side can be neutral in the event of a war with Germany.

So what would make the French think that Italy could not refuse, and that was the remaining colony of northern Tunisia.

Needless to say, if Italy occupies Tunisia, the entire Tunisian Strait will be in its hands, and every ship that crosses the Mediterranean Sea needs to look at the face of the Italians. The reason why France seized Tunisia first was because of this concern, and of course it was also tacitly accepted by other countries.

In addition, northern Tunisia is also the essence of it. This large amount of arable land and grasslands are distributed here, and Tunisia's olive oil exported in large quantities is in northern Tunisia.

And according to French calculations, Tunisia has 9 million hectares of arable land, enough to feed a large population. For Italy, where there are many people and few places, it is definitely a temptation that cannot be refused.

Since such a generous gift was presented, of course, it could not be taken by a few diplomats to talk to the Italians. This time the French side sent the number three, and the head of the parliament, Ribes, was responsible for talking to the Italians.

------Off topic------

In the second chapter today, everyone voted enthusiastically to let the steamed buns continue to break out