Chapter 692 can't wait any longer

It is not only Turkey that has drawn the arc, but also Spain.

Spain's geographical location is also impressive, with its connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Although the British still controlled the Strait of Gibraltar, the Spaniards could still control the choke point.

The prelude to World War II erupted from the Spanish Civil War.

Although Franco took control of power with the help of Germany and Italy, Spain was not stable. Spain's national strength was greatly damaged in the civil war, which also determined that after it was involved in the war, it was at most a supporting role in eating cold soup.

Moreover, Franco was not sure whether the German-Italian alliance would win the battle for European hegemony, so he cautiously chose neutrality. Even if Spain attacked Morocco and announced the resumption of the British-controlled Strait of Gibraltar, it was under the slogan of a non-"belligerent" country. Of course, in order to thank Germany and Italy for its support and to prevent the invasion of the Germans, its neutrality was still biased towards the German-Italian alliance, so it became a circulation channel for the Germans' strategic materials.

In World War II, the Germans opened up their strategic material routes from the five neutral countries of Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Turkey, and Portugal. Among them, Spain provided the most important tungsten ore support to Germany.

Speaking of tungsten ore, during World War II, it was still the first in China's output. However, the Germans had already chosen the Japanese and were estranged from China, although there were still some trade ties, but in the middle and late periods, they were directly cut off by Britain and the United States. However, in this time and space, China's neutral status and good relationship with the Germans made the Germans' tungsten ore dependent on China.

The German navy's blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar also reduced Spain's score in the hearts of the Germans. At this time, Spain's neutral status was a bit "chicken" among the Germans.

Even after the news of the victory in the Battle of Kiev came, Goering sent a letter to Franco with only one sentence: "This is the proof of the victory of the German-Italian alliance!" ”。

Although there was only one sentence, it was not a message, but a letter sent by Goering to send a warplane to deliver directly to Franco's desk as quickly as possible.

This was mainly in response to a long letter sent by Franco to the German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop at the beginning of the war. Because after a series of defeats of the Italians in Greece and North Africa, Franco questioned the ultimate fate of the German-Italian alliance in that long letter, and proposed that if the Germans came up with a proof of German-Italian victory, then Spain would immediately join the German-Italian alliance.

So Goering now sent a one-sentence reply to avenge the humiliation that Franco had given him at the military parade in Madrid.

"I'm afraid this time, we need to make a decision." Franco sighed, the humiliating meaning of the letter that he didn't care about at all, but the heavy threat in it had to be carefully considered.

"The German-Italian alliance may really be able to win the final victory in this battle for European hegemony!" General Casado, the colonel who had opened the door to the rebellion in Madrid, followed in Franco's footsteps and proposed.

"Until now the British have not fallen, and the Americans have begun to intervene. Now it is still impossible to peek into the full picture of the victorious "woman" god! General Aranda objected, provoking a large number of people to respond.

Franco glanced at Aranda, unhappy.

He knew in his heart that Britain and the United States were not only smashing gold dollars at foreign "diplomacy" to benefit Spain, but also wooing those officers in the Spanish army. The British came up with 10 million dollars to pay bribes to the officers of the Spanish army. Among them, Aranda, the president of the Spanish Military Academy, who is regarded as one of Franco's heirs, received a huge sum of 2 million US dollars.

Franco also turned a blind eye to a lot of benefits, but now when it comes to the fate of the whole country, this old "treacherous" and cunning old fox does not dare to be careless.

If the choice is not careful, it annoys the Germans, and the German tank, which has now imprinted invincibility in the minds of Europeans, may drive directly to Madrid. In the past, he was afraid of the German-Italian "manipulation" of his little brother's regime, but now the rapid penetration of Britain and the United States into the Spanish army made him wary. Besides, the Italians have become the little brothers of the Germans, and there is no shame in following the Germans' ass.

"Together with the German allies, we are dealing with Soviet Russia, the stronghold of Russoism, the nest of those fleas!" Casado, who had also received money, finally remembered how he got his credit, and couldn't help but retort, "Our alliance is a limited alliance, and we can only deal with Soviet Russia!" ”

"The defeat of Soviet Russia is decided, and it is indeed worth sharing the victory there!" Aranda also saw Franco's hesitation, and hurriedly turned to support this middle way. Some are also turning to support.

Franco was silent, just watching the discussion below. He knew very well in his heart that as long as he stepped on the chariot of Germany and Italy, it would be impossible to target only Soviet Russia, and he was afraid that Britain and the United States would be offended, and he would even have the consciousness of his younger brother and directly become enemies of Britain and the United States.

He can already suppress the many contradictions in the country, and even foreign wars are the best weapon to divert domestic contradictions, which can be used.

Spain's long coastline, because of the rise of the German navy, at least the Atlantic side does not need to "worry" too much, only the Mediterranean line, the Italians are soft-footed, let the British warships cruise everywhere, which is not conducive to coastal defense. But the Balkans fell under German control, and the German army in North Africa was victorious step by step, and the British, who had been squeezed by the German-Italian alliance in the Mediterranean, had no time to care. In this way, the Mediterranean direction may suffer some losses, but not too fatal, and the dividends from foreign wars can also recover some of these losses, and even subsidize the sluggish domestic economy.

Franco's eyes were a little hot at the thought of the British colonies all over the world, but he waited cautiously for his men to argue for a conclusion.

But soon the news of the Turks' fall prompted Franco to make a final decision.

On 2 September, the news that Spain had joined the German-Italian alliance shocked the world.

Although the Spaniards kept shouting that they were only against Soviet Russia, and after increasing the number of blue divisions sent by the Soviets and Germany to 50,000 during the war, they did not mention dealing with the British, but the dumping of its neutral position had already posed a great threat to the British.

The British, who did not believe the Spanish explanation at all, had already increased their troops in the Strait of Gibraltar in advance, and increased the vigilance of the nearby Spanish garrison.

However, on the 4th, Portugal also followed the news of expanding the 500 soldiers against Soviet Russia to 10,000, so that the world was aware of the tilt of Portugal's position. Although it had not yet joined the German-Italian alliance, Portugal had one foot on the German chariot.

"Another changed one!" Meng Xiang sighed. The change in the historical trajectory of the two teeth made him feel a little uneasy, but then the news brought by the black gold and the copycat company made him feel a lot better.

Spain and Portugal invested in the German-Italian alliance, which removed many obstacles to the tungsten ore resources controlled by Shanzhai and black gold companies in the two places, and controlled the pricing power of tungsten ore through the method of equal distribution of interests. The tungsten mines of China, Spain and Portugal have controlled the vast majority of the world's tungsten mines, which is enough to control the price and command the "stick".

Since September, the price of tungsten ore, which has been nearly 100 US dollars per ton, has been rising. The German-Italian alliance already has an internal preferential price, so it is natural to stand on the sidelines. Britain and the United States invested a lot of money in sweeping goods, but there was no market. The price of tungsten ore is soaring like a rocket, rolling upward. In the end, with the joint intervention of the world's arms giants, it was stranded around $15,000 per ton.

Huaxia's 10,000-ton tungsten "concentrate" ore was easily sold at a high price in the next two years. Meng Xiang also made a lot of money with the help of tungsten ore resources controlled by Spain, Portugal and other places, enriching his money bag. And what the nominal controller, Shanzhai Company, actually paid to the two teeth was some cheap weapons made in the base.

The changes in the world pattern triggered by the great victory in the Battle of Kiev in Germany made the Americans unable to hold their breath.

"Spain has fallen to Germany, and Britain's access to the Mediterranean has been completely sealed. The routes to Madeira are no longer safe and reliable, and the British can only rely on us! But the German submarines in the Atlantic cost our cargo ships enormous. Moreover, the Russians are not as tenacious as we imagined, and there are already six or seven countries attacking Soviet Russia together, and it is difficult for them to hold on. We can't afford to wait any longer. Sam Reben, the most legendary Speaker of the House of Representatives in modern American history, the leader of the majority in the House of Representatives at this time, went directly to Roosevelt Road.

The actions of the Germans in Europe have already caused the loss of American interests to be more and more significant, and it is time to weigh on the gamble, otherwise both the British and the Soviet Russians will quickly collapse. The Americans were left to go into battle shirtless in person, and such losses were unacceptable to the Americans.

"But even with the Atlantic Charter, the die-hard British still haven't given up their colonial glory!" Harry Hopkins, who was next to Roosevelt, shrugged his eyebrows and said, "We may be able to wait until the British take the initiative to find the 'door'!" ”

In the "Atlantic Charter" signed by Britain and the United States in June, the Americans took advantage of the situation to shoehorn in the principles of equal opportunity and freedom of the sea, intending to compete for "fat" and "meat" from the British colonies, so that the British people always maintained their vigilance. The Americans, too, held their breath and waited for the final compromise of the British.

"The red 'colored' holy land of the Soviet Russians doesn't seem to have fallen yet! The trumpets in Red Square are still singing praises! He teased again.

"Well, we can't wait any longer!" Roosevelt did not accept the assistant's cold joke, and said in a deep voice, "The balance of the world needs to be maintained by us!" ”

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