Dulles was not interested in bothering the pilots with this bit of annoyance, and his mind was entirely on the meeting with Ribbentrop, and the Portuguese had arranged an interesting accommodation for him - the same suite that the Black Cats had previously lived in.

At nightfall, Dulles met Ribbentrop who had arrived in the "dust" - in fact, he had already returned to Germany for three days, but it seemed that he had just returned from Iceland and Denmark, and as soon as they met, he shook hands warmly, which did not feel like a diplomatic negotiation between two hostile countries, but a meeting of old friends who had been reunited for a long time.

"I heard you're secretary of state? The Führer believed that it was the wisest decision made by President Dewey. ”

"Thank you for the compliment." Dulles smiled, "I heard that the Führer's visit abroad was very successful? ”

"Yes, it was very popular and was warmly welcomed by the crowd everywhere I went...... Of course, there are also some bullets. ”

"I'm sorry about this, but we didn't really do it...... I personally apologize. ”

"But you should stand up and make a statement!"

"Old friend, you know it's impossible...... Prime Minister Churchill was an unwavering ally of the United States, and we will not do such a thing. Dulles shrugged, "Actually, you also know that the reason why I deliberately said this is to gain sympathy from European countries on the one hand, and to gain more weight on the other hand, isn't it?" ”

Dulles punned: "You have made enough political capital, what are you waiting for?" ”

The so-called rich enough, of course, does not refer to this matter, but to the situation of Germany on the battlefield, Ribbentrop pretended not to understand, and made a joke: "I haven't heard of people who make too much money in business, hahaha......"

Although the philistine face of the champagne dealer made Dulles very uncomfortable, but the situation is stronger than people, and now the situation in the United States is unfavorable in all aspects, he must endure this, as for friendship or something, it may be useful during greetings, how can formal negotiations be useful?

He asked tentatively: "In his speech, the Führer has repeatedly declared that he wants to conclude a contract with the United States on non-cession of land and no reparations, and then you want to take Puerto Rico and Panama, I wonder how this non-cession and non-reparations is manifested?" ”

"Cedibly, of course, refers to the United States of America, but is Puerto Rico the fifty-first state of the United States?"

"In 1917 we gave the people of Puerto Rico American citizenship!"

"But this is not American ......territory after all," Ribbentrop smiled, "did you give citizenship to Puerto Rico, did you give Cuban citizenship to Cuba and the Philippines?" ”

"If they want, we can give it."

"They want to be independent."

"Maybe?" Dulles sighed, "We also agree to their independence, but we will not agree to them becoming subjects of Germany - is it not a contradiction that you demand independence from them on the one hand, and submit to Germany on the other?" ”

After the first round of testing, the two sides were completely clear about each other's positions: the United States could give these countries "independence," but would not allow Germany to reach in, and Germany obviously wanted not only independence, but also the stationing of troops – something that the United States resolutely could not accept.

"Why, then, do you object to the territories claimed by Great Britain and their inherent territories?"

"You mean Newfoundland?"

"That's right."

"If Newfoundland goes for a fully legal referendum, which is of course within our acceptance, I will inform Prime Minister Churchill tomorrow to go through the legal process."

Ribbentrop laughed: "How dare you claim to represent Great Britain with a few thousand rebels?" ”

"Thousands?" Dulles smiled slightly, "The British Army alone has tens of thousands of troops serving in North America, how can it be thousands?" What's more, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and George VI are recognized as national leaders by the Dominions, and Attlee became Prime Minister without a general election – I don't need to say more about whether it was legal or not, right? As for Edward VIII, where did he get his throne? Did George VI abdicate? Did he declare that he had given the throne to Edward VIII? ”

"Don't forget, George VI's throne was taken from Edward VIII."

"Then why didn't the London government publicly announce the deposition of George VI from the throne?"

This sentence hit Ribbentrop's soft underbelly: although London supported Edward VIII as emperor, it never publicly announced the deposition of George VI on the throne, so the black cat always used a sense of precarious crisis to ridicule itself every time, Germany can certainly understand the intentions of Attlee and others - the deposition of George VI is too shocking, not conducive to unity, and now Dulles has seized this point to fight back, and Ribbentrop does not seem to have a good way.

After several exchanges of rhetoric, any unbiased person can see that Ribbentrop was not Dulles's opponent at all in the negotiations, and it is not surprising to think about it: Ribbentrop was born into a civilian businessman, while Dulles was born into a political family and served as a legal adviser to the US delegation. What can support Ribbentrop is nothing more than the current situation of the German army on the battlefield - which is stronger than any international law and political practice.

Seeing that the other party's face was red, and then turned from red to black, Dulles stopped at the right time: he couldn't tease anymore, and if he tossed any longer, the other party would go berserk, and he came to Lisbon to solve the problem, not to argue with the Germans, let alone quarrel.

"I have come this time with sincerity for the cause of genuine peace between Germany and the United States." Dulles changed his tone and talked about his bottom line:

First, the territories of European countries in Central America and the Caribbean should be restored, but the garrison should not exceed the pre-war period;

Second, Germany and Italy cannot intervene in China, the United States and the Caribbean, but the United States promised to give a certain compensation, and the specific compensation Dulles did not say, but hinted that it would not be less than $30 billion in interest-free loans with a term of 99 years (basically it means that it does not have to be repaid);

third, to agree to the internationalization of the Panama Canal, but not to garrison troops, and not to the United States;

Fourth, it was agreed that Great Britain would merge with Newfoundland, but would not allow troops to be stationed, and in exchange the United States would not garrison troops in Prince Edward Island;

Fifth, the South American sphere of influence is stable in the current scope, doesn't Germany like to play two? The United States cooperated with Germany to cut Brazil in two;

Sixth, the United States will fully recognize territorial and colonial changes in Europe and Africa, if Germany is willing to give the United States fair commercial and trade opportunities, and in exchange, the North American market will also allow European power to enter;

Seventh, the Japanese issue is to be resolved by the United States alone, at least the Japanese occupation of the Hawaiian Islands and the Aleutian Islands is unacceptable, and the rest of the Far East and India are "understandable......

eighth, the cooperation of virtue and Germany, the co-governance of the world, against the Bolsheviks;

……

The most important feature is that the United States emphasizes the use of "economy and capital" instead of stationing troops to solve problems, and the subtext behind it is the hope that the United States will use its strong post-war economic power to squeeze out European forces or achieve de facto reciprocal treatment.

In order to make up for Germany's "concessions and losses", Dulles also believed that Germany could be compensated financially - he believed that the German economy was also very difficult and urgently needed to be lubricated by American capital.

As for the Japanese issue, as long as Germany does not openly intervene -- the United States must find a way to deal with Japan, otherwise it will not speak loudly among the big powers in the future, and of course it is impossible to destroy or subdue Japan, and forcing Japan to bow its head is the preferable way out for the United States.

Of course, Dulles also has a lot of skills in talking about people and talking nonsense, and he has just reached a secret agreement with Stalin's father on the front foot for "strategic cooperation and comprehensive mutual benefit", and on the back foot he is ready to reach a secret agreement with Hoffman on the "joint opposition to the Bolsheviks" - anyway, how beneficial is it.

Ribbentrop had a rough idea of what Dulles was thinking, and then said: "I basically understand what you have said, but I have to report it to the Führer, who has been busy worrying about the referendums in Northern Ireland, Iceland, and Denmark for the past two days, and may delay a few days before giving a reply." ”

Dullespie replied with a smile: "Of course, in order to show our sincerity, the US government will not cause trouble to the German government in this matter, but if the peace talks do not go well in the future, we can only seek all the forces that can be united." ”

Ribbentrop shrugged: "I don't care, the Führer is confident that it will settle all this." ”

"Of course he's confident, but wouldn't it be better to put in less effort? Cooperation with the United States would be more conducive to German domination of Europe, and he was a smart man, of course, who knew what to choose. ”

"Dulles said that at the end?"

"Yes." Ribbentrop said flatteringly, "He is arrogant! ”

Hoffman shook his head slightly, Dulles's words were not a pure threat, but a kind of "reminder": If Germany oppresses the United States too much, the United States will definitely mistreat the EU, and will definitely do everything possible to win over the wall-roots and opportunistic elements in the EU, and Germany needs to weigh the price itself.

"I see, let me think about it."

After Ribbentrop retreated, Hoffmann's face darkened, and he paced around the office for half an hour, when Dalges summoned Otto Skorzny.

"Are you familiar with the intelligence, geography, and other information?"

"Everything that can be used has been used, and the action plan has basically been perfected."

Hoffman nodded: "If you're almost ready to start, are you confident?" ”

The hunky Skorzny stood straight, his eyes filled with infinite fervality: "My Führer, I am honored to serve you. ”

"Not for me, but for the 100 million German people, and for ......," Hoffmann said slowly, "the blood of countless German martyrs like Ranke is not shed in vain!" ”

"We will do everything we can! Even if we all die in battle, Germany will always exist! ”