"We have reason to believe that the British suffered heavy losses in the fleet at Alexandria!" Tirpitz opened his voice and shouted: "Well done boys of the Mediterranean fleet!" ”

"As long as the British's Mediterranean fleet is blown up and sunk 3 ships, no! As long as 3 battleships are heavily damaged, then we will have no more opponents in the Eastern Mediterranean! Montecuccory, the former commander of the Mediterranean Fleet and now promoted to marshal, also chimed in loudly, and the loud voices of the two old men even drowned out the surrounding music. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

In the splendid Berlin Platz Hotel, young officers in crisp military uniforms and their fancy dance partners are in Franz? Ran's waltz to the accompaniment of the dance floor. Dignitaries, aristocrats, and big capitalists from all walks of life shuttled through the crowd, connecting with each other, expanding their contacts, and gathering in twos and threes to talk and express their views on the war in a rhetorical manner. The senior officers of the Army gathered to discuss the situation on two fronts, and the senior officers of the Navy, led by Tirpitz, were talking about how much their colleagues in the Mediterranean Fleet had inflicted on the British in Alexandria.

"As long as the British can't repair their battleships in half a year, then they won't have to come out in half a year! The Eastern Mediterranean will become our sea once and for all. Tirpitz smiled and raised his glass slightly: "To the boys of the Mediterranean fleet!" ”

"To the lads of the Mediterranean Fleet!" The naval officers gathered in a circle raised their glasses.

"To the lads of the Mediterranean Fleet!" An abrupt voice interjected, causing a circle of naval officers who were already about to withdraw their hands to a very stiff halt. And after seeing the person clearly, he put away the smile on his face, and stretched his face to pose with an attitude of not entering the living.

But apparently untouched by the stiff-faced German naval officers who almost told you "you're not welcome here," squeezed into the circle with a smile on their faces, and raised their glasses.

Reluctantly, but in such a social situation, the dignity of a senior officer could not allow for a loss of manners, and Tirpitz took the lead, and a group of naval officers had to raise their glasses again.

However, it was clear that the presence of the visitor had made everyone lose interest in talking, and they were expecting him to disappear quickly, but it obviously didn't help. The group of senior German naval officers was palpably enthusiastic, from praising the great success of the German Mediterranean Fleet to optimism about German control of the Eastern Mediterranean, and then expressing a rosy vision of the future war situation for the entire Allies.

After talking for five minutes without anyone talking, Tirpitz finally spoke: "Mr. Sangino, if Italy can show the same energy as you are on the battlefield, our victory will come sooner." ”

"Your Excellency Tirpitz, Italy has been trying to fulfill its obligations as a member of the Central Powers, and it would be rude for Italy as an ally to say this." After putting away his self-cooked chatter, Sonino straightened his chest and tried to make himself more imposing, although his high bulging beer belly made the action useless, but in his shrewd eyes it was still evident that the foreign minister of the Kingdom of Italy was not just a ridiculously fat man.

"Monsieur Sannino, then why is it as if the navy of the Kingdom of Italy has disappeared from the world, and there is no Alps in the Mediterranean." Tirpitz sarcastically.

Italy's actions after declaring war on France were indeed as expected by the Germans, and after putting on a show on the Italian-French border, there was no follow-up. And once the Germans asked Italy to carry out military operations on the southern front to contain France, the Italians would use the Alps as a shield. Tirpitz couldn't control how annoyed the Army General Staff was, but the Italian Navy's complete soy sauce made the Navy General Staff equally angry with the Italians.

"Your Excellency Tirpitz, although the current strength of our navy is not enough to fight a decisive battle with the French in the western Mediterranean, the navy of the Kingdom of Italy has done its best to cooperate with the allies in the blockade of the eastern Mediterranean, and our navy has intercepted a considerable number of French ships. Sannino retorted with a stern face, and the sincerity of his expression almost made one believe that the Italian Navy was really working hard for the victory of the Central Powers in the Mediterranean.

However, the German naval officers present all scoffed at this, the current strength of the Italian navy was indeed unsightly to the Germans, and the few former dreadnoughts they had were either poorly armored or weak in firepower, and pulling them out to engage the British and French navies could only play a role in sharing the damage. In the eyes of the German Navy, the Dante, which played a role in the decisive battle of the British and French Mediterranean Fleets, was the only dreadnought ship in the Italian Navy, and it was difficult to get them out.

But the Italian Navy has not fired a single shot since the start of the war, which is obviously a passive avoidance of war, and does not require you to fight a decisive battle with the French Navy, but you can't even meet a French warship patrolling in the waters near Sardinia? The French Navy did not enter the Eastern Mediterranean, and it is not the credit of your Italian Navy, but the French who are fighting a tacit battle! Although the Allied fleet with ports in the depths of the Adriatic Sea was strong, it could not really control the Eastern Mediterranean due to geographical factors, on the contrary, the British fleet stationed in Alexandria was weaker, but its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean was stronger than that of the Germans, so there was no need for Britain and France to provoke the nerves of the Italians.

As for trying to intercept French ships, it is also foolish, the ships with the largest number of ships on the Mediterranean shipping line are British, and you Italy is not at war with the British, so you turn a blind eye to British ships, right? If it weren't for the fact that this was a public place, and Sonino himself had so far been on the side of the Allies, Tirpitz would really have to use his loud voice to deceive the fat man in front of him.

However, Tirpitz also understood that Sanino's "firm" support for the Allies was due to the current strength of Germany, and once the empire showed fatigue, then the fat man in front of him would not hesitate to change his position to "firmly" support the Entente, and Tirpitz had no doubt about this.

"Unchaste bitch, whoever has money will follow." Tirpitz was impressed with the emperor's assessment.

Unwilling to continue to entangle with Sanino on this issue, Tirpitz continued to ask: "Why is the Italian side pushing back on the demand for the formation of an allied combined fleet in the Mediterranean?" Moreover, the German and Croatian naval ports are located deep in the Adriatic Sea, and the task of blockading the entire eastern Mediterranean has been affected by geographical location, and your government has been repeatedly prevaricating the opening of military ports to its allies. The attitude of the Italian government has seriously affected the strategy of the entire alliance in the Mediterranean region! ”

"We are also stepping up discussions on the issue of the combined fleet, but this will affect the next strategy of the entire kingdom's navy, so we can't make this decision hastily, of course, we will draw a conclusion as soon as possible, and continue to support the alliance's strategy in the Mediterranean." The Foreign Secretary's reply was very diplomatic: "We are of course welcome the ships of the German Mediterranean Fleet to go to Taranto for rest on their way home, but we hope that our military port is not capable of supporting the entire German Mediterranean Fleet for a long time, and I hope you will understand this." ”

"Hmph, when you come to a conclusion, we won't need your port, and Crete can be a better point of support." Monte Cucori interjected angrily.

"Crete? Are the Greeks ready to join the League? Despite his shock at what he heard, Sunino suppressed his emotions and put on a smiling face and said, "That's great news." ”

"Originally, the Greeks were still swinging because they still had to take into account the British presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, but we had dealt heavy damage to the British Mediterranean Fleet in Alexandria, so the Greeks now had to make a choice." "His Majesty King Constantine was inclined to us, and the Greek army was loyal to the crown. Although the Greek Navy has always been under the influence of the British, the seizure of warships by the British broke this relationship, and now we are only helping them to make up their minds, if the Greek Navy does not want to face the guns of the Allied Combined Fleet. And it's good for both parties to join us, isn't it? ”

"So it seems that the situation in the Balkans will soon become clear." Sonino said with a smile that everyone knew that the Ottomans had long been on the ships of the Germans, and it was only a matter of time before they joined the war. And once Greece joined the alliance, then the Ottomans could launch an attack on Serbia and Negoro without any worries.

Faced with a three-sided attack, Serbia and Negro will not be able to hold out for long, so that the war in the Balkans will soon end. The Hungarians, Croats-Slovenes, and Ottomans would then be able to devote themselves to fighting the Russians. If the situation had reached that point, Bulgaria and Romania, who were now ambiguous, would have to be forced to take a stand, and the chances of them choosing to side with the Entente were slim.

However, this is not good news for Italy, as Greece's entry will give the alliance complete control of the Eastern Mediterranean, and Germany can use it to completely block the Mediterranean route, so that Italy's geographical advantage will be diluted, and Germany's dependence on Italy in the Mediterranean will be greatly reduced.

This made Sannino a little anxious, if it developed to this point, in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Greeks would probably have more say than the Kingdom of Italy, and if the alliance won in the end, Italy's share of the benefits would be greatly reduced, which was unacceptable to Italy.

"Your Excellency Tirpitz, the Eastern Mediterranean will soon fall under the control of the Alliance, so how do you see the situation in the Mediterranean going forward? I mean, the whole Mediterranean. Sonino finally couldn't help but take the topic to a deeper level.

"The British suffered only a small loss in Helgoland Bay, but they also had to face up to the pressure brought to them by the Imperial Navy. The Royal Navy's proud battle cruiser fleet did not dare to engage Hipper's First Reconnaissance Fleet head-on. Tirpitz proudly boasted: "Therefore the British did not dare to draw their main forces into the Mediterranean." And the British Mediterranean fleet in Alexandria was heavily damaged, and now it is simply not able to respond to the support of the British and French fleets in the western Mediterranean. All the Allies had to do was the French Navy and the Royal Navy's Channel Fleet in Gibraltar. ”

"If the Italian Navy is able to join our combined fleet, then the power of Britain and France in the Mediterranean will not be worth mentioning! If we can completely defeat the power of the Entente in the Mediterranean, then the huge Mediterranean will be controlled by the Alliance, and then Italy will need to take on more responsibilities and obligations! It's just that the attitude of the Kingdom of Italy is ......" Tirpitz stopped talking and shook his head helplessly.

"Of course!" Sunino's voice raised a little as he spoke excitedly: "The kingdom's navy has a Dante? The dreadnought Alig Ichery, as well as 3 Duke Cavour-class, 2 Andrea? The Doria-class is under construction, and the Kingdom Navy with 6 dreadnoughts can fully fulfill its responsibilities for the Mediterranean strategy of the Allies! Rest assured, I will do my utmost to bring about an early agreement between the Kingdom and the German Empire on the preceding questions. ”

"If that's the case, the entire alliance will remember your efforts." Tirpitz finally smiled at Sannino and handed out his glass: "The sooner we reach an agreement, the sooner the alliance will win, and the sooner we will taste the fruits of victory." ”

"Of course, the Kingdom of Italy certainly hopes that the victory of the League will come one day sooner. The victory of the League is the victory of Italy. Sonino's face regained the same cute smile as before: "For the sake of victory, respect for our navy." ”

The two goblets touch lightly and make a crisp sound.

"For the first time, I started to worry about the Italians' tight mouths." Watching Sonino walk away with his round body swaying in triumph, Montecucori said with a smile on his face.

"Don't worry, the Italians have their mouths leaking like a sieve, and the English will know what we want them to know." Tirpitz also smiled: "And then they will definitely do what we want them to do, because they can't accept the result that we have mastered the Eastern Mediterranean. ”