In Mussolini's words, the war Germany is currently waging in Britain seems to be a war that cannot be brought to the table, but it doesn't matter, this is Italy, and Rome, the capital of Italy, as long as Italians like to hear such words, Mussolini What does it matter if Rini says it a few times? Mussolini is in a good mood now. He has been waiting for Italy's victory for too long. If news of failure keeps coming from Italy, Mussolini doesn't know how long he can withstand it. Compared with Germany, Italy's foundation is too weak. Germany is getting stronger and stronger now, while Italy's preparations for war have made the already sluggish economy even weaker. This is simply a slap in the face to Mussolini.
The news of consecutive defeats had almost made Mussolini despair. The news of the victory of the 132nd Ariete Armored Division was finally the only thing that made Mussolini happy during this period. At this moment, Mussolini finally put this period behind him. The depression of time is behind me, and I can enjoy Italy's glorious victory.
Mussolini's speech achieved good results. No one will refuse good news. Undoubtedly, defeating the British army is excellent news to the Italians, although Mussolini has been claiming to turn the Mediterranean into Italy since he came to power. Neihu, but the Europeans who have lived under the power of the British Empire for hundreds of years can't really find a challenger except Germany. Even if Mussolini tried his best to encourage them, the Italians still have no idea how difficult it is to challenge the British. The task was frightening from the bottom of my heart. The moment Mussolini announced the outcome of the battle, the 100,000 Romans listening attentively in the square suddenly realized that challenging the British Empire was not an impossible task.
After a brief silence, the Italians finally showed their little enthusiasm in the game of war. Slogans of "Long live Mussolini and long live Italy" were heard endlessly, while Mussolini stood on a high place, enjoying himself. With his hands around his shoulders, he looked down at the restless crowd below, and the unruly expression on his face was completely revealed. Before 1936, Mussolini often visited Hitt? Le had such an expression in front of him, but after 1936, as Germany became stronger and stronger and won more and more victories, Mussolini and Hit? Mussolini's role began to change. When the two men discussed strategy and cooperation, Mussolini became the audience for more and more time. The exchange of roles between the two clearly reflected the relationship between Germany and Italy. Strength waxes and wanes.
Mussolini didn't like this feeling. He was the first person in the world to successfully seize power. Hit? Le is just an imitator, at least that's what Mussolini thought. It's undeniable that Mussolini really wants Italy to be strong. From this point of view, no one can deny Mussolini's Hit? Le's love for his country, although Hitt? Le is Austrian. The two chose to wage war to seize what they wanted. And the differences between the two people began at this time, as the dictator Hit? Mussolini was far more competent than Mussolini, and the national foundation and auxiliary forces they received were even more different. Germany was the second most powerful country in the world before World War I, while Italy was only a quasi-powerful country. Although Germany was forced to retain only One hundred thousand troops, but the quality has been greatly improved. It is far from comparable to Italy's aging army. There are too many differences between the two countries, so they have achieved completely different results. Germany has won successively, while Italy has lost consecutive battles. The only two countries The first victory in the Battle of Gibraltar and the landing in Britain were only the Italian navy's role. As for the Army, its only successful experience was based on Albanian non-resistance.
Hit? Le's victory was too dazzling, and now that he was dead, Mussolini, who had always been dissatisfied, could not find a chance to surpass him. As for Bichte? Despite the success of Germany, Mussolini was still trying his best to find opportunities to regain some face for himself. Fundamentally speaking, Mussolini was still unwilling to be a collaborator of Germany, but a true ally and an equal. To be an ally on an equal footing, Italy must show its own strength and achieve a big enough victory to make Germany respect Italy. This is what Mussolini had in mind.
The cheers kept Mussolini in an excited state. While Mussolini kept posing, the Italian Propaganda Department kept painting cakes for the people in the square, from the Italian Expeditionary Force in the UK to the Italians in Albania. Garrison, the highlights of Italy's small number of people were soon finished, but the Roman people in the square seemed to still have some unfinished thoughts: "Forever Corporal, Mussolini...".
The people's cheers made Mussolini very happy, and he seemed to feel that he should do something to make the Italians' excitement last longer, so he shouted, "Italy's vision cannot be limited to the small Mediterranean, the vast The African continent should become Italy's sphere of influence, but the British have never recognized this fact and are unwilling to wake up from their past glory in a dignified manner! In this case, then it is up to me to end the fate of the British. Decided to let the troops stationed in Albania join the ranks of the war, not only Egypt will be Italian, but the 8.8 million square kilometers of British colonies will be Italian!"
"Long live!!! Long live..., long live the leader..., long live Italy!" Mussolini's words seemed to make everyone take stimulants, shouting Mussolini's name loudly, they never loved their leader , the degree of sincerity can be compared with when Mussolini had just marched into Rome and was regarded as the savior by the Italians.
Lin Wei in Paris, France, received the news when he got off the train. It seemed that not only Germany, but also the French were incredible about Italy's victory. There were many people at the train station talking about the conflict between Italy and Britain. war.
"Look, the British are so weak now that they can't even defeat the Italians." A French young man said with disdain and regret, "Fortunately, the British betrayed us early and allowed us to see clearly the true face of the British. If we don’t keep walking with them, it will be like hell!”
As soon as the topic was raised, it immediately aroused a discussion. A man wearing glasses and looking very polite said, "We have been deceived by the British for a long time. They are useless except the navy. When the German Wehrmacht landed, the British defenders It was much larger than the landing force, but it was defeated by the German Wehrmacht. If it were our French army, we would definitely win!"
The words of the young man wearing glasses aroused a chorus of approval, which made the young man wearing glasses feel extremely vain. The mentality of these people is nothing more than wanting to see their allies inferior to themselves, so as to prove that France's choice is right. There is indeed no such thing in France now. What is missing, if I have to say what is missing, is nothing more than Alsace and Lorraine, which Germany and France have been fighting for. However, that area is indeed a German-speaking area, and people can't say anything. Now that I see the British losing so miserably, I am naturally willing to join the sarcasm.
The young man wearing glasses seemed to be very proud of people's appreciation, and said eloquently, "The German blitzkrieg was not used, and the British were not able to do it. We did not look at the situation of our French army at that time, but we were actually fighting for the home position." Being defeated by Germany, my God, being allies with them is a nightmare! And did you hear the morning broadcast? An Italian division in Africa actually repelled three British divisions! The British combat effectiveness is really terrible When we were fighting the Germans, the six divisions on the border of Italy defended several times the Italian army's attack!" These French people showed great concern for the war with a mood that Lin Wei could not understand. Lin Wei Wei secretly said, "What have you done before? If you care so much, we can't stand here!"
In fact, Lin Wei and his party have been standing here for several minutes, but these people seem to regard Lin Wei and his party as transparent people, completely ignoring their existence. Lin Wei has grown so big, and for the first time he feels that he is an indispensable person. Dispensable role.
This cannot be blamed on the French. As a country with a rich history, the French have quite strong self-esteem. Although they have been defeated by Germany again, they cannot reduce their self-esteem. Since the German army has become the world's First, then we will naturally be second in the world. It is normal for the French to think so.
"Leader, Marshal Pétain's people are here, and they seem to invite us to do something!" Crawford pointed at a group of people walking here and said. Lin Wei took a quick look and saw a dozen people wearing gray military uniforms. People, in terms of foreign trade alone, are on par with the people he brings with him. "It seems that people like to judge people by their appearance, but that's right. Who wants to face dinosaurs every day? We are all vulgar people!" Lin Wei Secret passage.
"General Krupp?" the visitor asked cautiously.
"That's right, you were sent by Marshal Petain, right!" Lin Wei said with a smile, "How is Marshal Petain's health?"
"Marshal is in good health. Now send us to cooperate with the general to go to Renault Company!" the leader said in a neither humble nor condescending manner.
Lin Wei nodded, "If you are here, things will be much easier! Please lead the way!"
After Lin Wei was going to visit Renault Automobile Company, he visited Marshal Pétain. In interpersonal communication, although you can't be bored with people every day, you should at least appear in front of people often and let people know your existence. Although Lin Wei and Marshal Pétain I don’t have a close relationship, but if you want the French to be honest, you must win over Marshal Pétain. Marshal Pétain is over eighty years old. Generally speaking, old people of this age will not do anything impulsive. , if Marshal Pétain is not good and a young man comes to power, maybe something will happen. This is definitely something Germany does not want to see, so while respecting Marshal Pétain, it is also respecting Germany itself.
Billancourt is a city southwest of Paris, France. It is located south of the Bois de Boulogne on the meander of the Seine River. The population is not large. Home to Renault, there are also aircraft, chemical and other industries. In fact, in Lin Wei's view, this is not a city at all. After coming to Europe for so many years, Lin Wei still has one thing that he has not changed, that is, when he sees a small city, he always thinks it is a small town, because there are many in China. Counties and large towns have a population of tens of thousands. When Lin Wei saw small towns in Europe, he always felt that it was more appropriate to call these places called cities towns.
Billancourt is such a small town. Although Lin Wei estimates that Renault Company may employ more people than the population of this small town, it is obviously not suitable to think about these things at this important moment. When they learned that Lin Wei was coming, Louis Renault, the current head of Renault, had already been waiting here with the top management of Renault.
"You are Lampard. Your father and I are old friends. We used to communicate frequently before World War I!" After seeing Lin Wei and his party, Louis Renault quickly took two steps and said, "You look a lot like your father when he was young." Was it when your father and I last met, or when your father was restored to power by His Majesty Wilhelm II?"
No way, you and my father are from different systems and from opposite countries, so how can we be friends? Lin Wei stared at Louis & Renault with wide eyes. He couldn't believe whether what Louis & Renault said was true. But since Louis & Renault dared to say such things, Lin Wei believed it for once and went to Louis & Renault. He said with a courtesy, "It turns out that he is an old friend of my father. The old man came out in person. It's really rude of me! This time I came just to see the situation of Renault Company. I have already prepared to see some production lines of the military industry. Mr. You don’t need to accompany me in person, just let the person in charge of your subordinates introduce the situation!”
This largest industrial enterprise in France is still very important in Lin Wei's heart. If Louis & Renault's words are true, it will undoubtedly allow Renault to cooperate more with the Krupp family's military industry enterprise to increase the horsepower of Germany's war machines. At the Skoda Arsenal in the Upper Sudetenland, three of Europe's most powerful military industrial companies joined forces. Lin Wei didn't care about the industrial power of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's industry was already on par with Germany. If the industrial power of other countries could fully cooperate with Germany, In the event of a war, even if Germany's heavy weapons production took far longer than the Soviet Union, Germany would still be in an invincible position.
Using steel to reduce the loss of the German population is a sure win from any perspective. The quality of German soldiers is already better than that of the Soviet Union. If they can gain the upper hand in weapons production, Lin Wei optimistically estimates that even if The blitzkrieg did not kill the Soviet Union instantly, and the war would end in the first half of 1943 at the latest.
"Uncle Louis, since you know my father very well, I think my father should tell you that we, the German Junkers, are ready to take the lead in integrating Europe's economy and industry!" Lin Wei asked. This matter has spread with the announcement of William II in Berlin. At least among the upper-class families and industrial leaders in Europe, it is no longer a secret.
"Gustave told me that this is a good thing, but what I want to know is that you Juncker landlords will not take the opportunity to annex companies from other countries. After all, your Juncker style is not very good? This I understand very well!" When it comes to the life and death of the company, Louis & Renault dare not be careless, so they gave their answers cautiously.
"Where did your uncle go?" Lin Wei defended without confidence. The German Junkers landowners are famous for not leaving any room for error. Denying it in front of Louis and Renault made Lin Wei feel a little less confident after all. There is nothing better than being against you all the time. People know yourself better. Before this war, Louis & Renault had played the role of opposing the German Junker landowners for a long time. However, under the leadership of Lin Wei, the Jewish business groups in France were severely dealt with by Lin Wei, just like in other European countries. Poland, Germany, France and the UK used to have the largest number of Jewish merchants, but now only the UK has peaches that have not been picked by Lin Wei.
However, lack of confidence is a lack of confidence. Lin Wei must deny what Louis & Renault said. No one will admit his scandal, not even Lin Wei, so he made a haha and said, "Europe is a whole, and we Juncker landlords also hope to be with Europe." Families from other countries will develop together, and our goal is Americans!" Once the words were spoken, it was his own business whether Louis & Renault believed them or not.
Louis & Renault were obviously not willing to compete with Lin Wei on this matter, and quickly led Lin Wei to the production line. Louis & Renault first led Lin Wei to the production line of the B1 heavy tank. For the B1 heavy tank, Lin Wei During the Battle of France, Wei fully understood its advantages and disadvantages. Although it lacked mobility, it was one of the few tanks in the French army that could pose a threat to the No. 4 tank. It is a pity that the overall performance of the B1 heavy tank is not as outstanding as the Panzer IV tank. Moreover, France failed too quickly, otherwise, the outcome of the war would be difficult to say.
In general, the development potential of the B1 heavy tank is not great, and there is no need to continue, so Lin Wei said, "The B1 heavy tank has insufficient mobility, and the design of the two guns is a bit wasteful, so there is no development If France is willing, I am willing to hand over the drawings of the Panzer IV tank to France. Uncle Louis, I wonder if Renault is willing to be the manufacturer of the Panzer IV tank?"
"Of course there is no problem. With the strength of our Renault company, there is no need to find a second company in France!" Louis & Renault said proudly.
Louis & Renault does have a reason to talk big, and Lin Wei has also seen the scale of Renault, and it does have the strength.
Although Germany lost the drawings of the Panzer IV tank, it doesn't matter. The Panzer IV tank is not a cutting-edge weapon. If others want to imitate it, Lin Wei can't stop it. Since you can buy it at a good price now, why not? Moreover, Renault's strength must have been of great help to Germany during the war. No matter how you say it, this is a sure-profit deal.