"Xu, decades have passed, the days when we designed warships together in Italy and made money together seem to be as clear as yesterday, I have always missed the more than a year when we got along, it was the fastest time in my life......" Vittorio Cuniberti looked at Xu Jie opposite and said calmly, after the war, the Italian Duke Vittorio Cuniberti came to China in a private capacity, and as a friend and current partner, Xu Jie has to find time to meet this old friend even if he is busy, Xu Jie is still very nostalgic, for friends, especially those who have helped him achieve himself in his most difficult time, Xu Jie is quite grateful, one sunny afternoon, Xu Jie and Vittorio sat together in a pavilion in Beihai to reminisce about their past, and discuss some things of mutual interest.

"The happiest time? Aren't you happy right now? The honored and honored duke of the Italian royal family, and the teacher of the commander of the Royal Italian Navy, do not these glories and positions please you? Xu Jie said jokingly.

"Honestly...... I'm in a bit of pain right now, I've had enough glory, I'm a bit of a burden now, and I've had a lot of invitations, maybe I'll be in Rome this morning, and I'll be on the plane to Taranto in the afternoon. And you know, how cold it is to fly right now. I also have to socialize directly with dignitaries, I am a designer, a technician, and I don't like these things. As for the money? I made enough money a few years ago to squander a lifetime, and now the bank balance is just a number for me. And as I got older, I realized that I had more things on my shoulders now, some of which I shouldn't have done in the first place. And for the sake of my country, I have to do it. I don't think I came to China this time to catch up with my friends, right? Vittorio said, looking at the lake in the distance..........

"Isn't Italy still not satisfied? You've got the colony you've always dreamed of. And has a place in the Balkans. The Italian occupation of Ethiopia was also recognized by various countries. Xu Jie thought for a while and said. Xu Jie can feel some of Italy's current worries, but how specifically. Xu Jie still wanted to hear what the Italian nobleman had to say.

"On the surface. We did get a lot of benefits, and our efforts, especially the Navy's efforts, paid off. But our strategic environment has not changed much, and there is even a tendency to deteriorate, and before the war, we can still play a right and left within the Allies and within the Entente, of course. In the end, we were on the side of the Allies. But now, Europe has no forces capable of confronting the Allies, the Russians are finished, Britain and France are battered, and the powerful United States is far away in the Atlantic. Don't confuse Italy with other Allied allies, we actually have a difference, Germany and Austria are the axis of the Allied powers. Turkey and Spain were vassals. And what does Italy say? They are the objects that Germany thinks can be used, they use our power to fight for them, but they are wary of us and even calculated. This armistice negotiation is already very illustrative, and we are not allies. It's more like a group of thieves, temporarily standing together for the common good, and now, when one of them wants to quit, he is being coerced by the stronger side to think of a certain goal, and the other side is asking us for something very important under various pretexts. Vittorio sighed, his eyes full of helplessness and worry.........

"Germany's new goal? Now that the war has just ended, they have a new goal? It's really worry-free. Will it dig into the corners of the Americans in South America or continue to operate in Africa? Or are you looking for trouble with Persia? Xu Jie is not interested in what the Germans are asking for from the Italians, this is a matter between the two of them, but he is very concerned about the next strategic direction of the Germans, if it is aimed at South America or Africa, it is nothing. But if to the east. …。

"India, the whole of British India, even Burma could be included in their target, you know, India has a lot of labor and a lot of arable land, it's a very good source of raw materials and a dumping ground for goods, and they intend to take the whole of the subcontinent under their control, maybe even push into the Strait of Malacca!" Vittorio said with a sigh.

"Are the Germans crazy? If one Persia alone is not enough to satisfy them, will they have to eat the entire South Asian subcontinent? That's more than 40,000 square kilometers of land, nearly half of which is arable land! They want to replace Britain in Asia? Xu Jie said with some shock.

"I don't know if I'm crazy or not, but I know that the Germans are definitely preparing for this, you know? The Germans began to build naval bases in the Balkans and Crete, of which I have been to the base on the Cretan Peninsula, and judging from the docks and canals built, in the future, this base can be used to moor and repair warships of more than 40,000 tons! That is, almost all German capital ships could be repaired and moored here. And from the berths...... This base can also accommodate at least one capital ship of more than 30,000 kilotons. I know better than I do what this means, after all, you are from the Navy. Vittorio did not refute Xu Jie, but said some ......... he had seen.

"Not only in the Mediterranean, but also in the Middle East, the German Navy began to build bases, and the original base of the German-Turkish fleet in the Persian Gulf will be further expanded, and the scale will be smaller than the base in Crete. It's a natural harbor. Moreover, it was the terminus of the Eastern Railway, through which Germans could continue to reach the Middle East with supplies and troops. Vittorio thought for a moment and added.

"The main force of the German navy is about to enter the Mediterranean, and it seems that they really have a lot of ideas about Asia." Xu Jie shook his head helplessly. When what he was worried about was confirmed by Vittorio, Xu Jie was still taken aback, because the Germans were too ambitious, even to the extent that they threatened the interests of China. Britain, which also has India and Burma and a large number of colonies in South and Southeast Asia, can be tolerated by China, because Britain's national strength is no longer good, and no matter how much they jump, they will definitely not pose any threat to China. But the same place falling into the hands of the Germans is intolerable to the Chinese! The reason is very simple, Germany is too strong, so strong that Britain and France together cannot fight against Germany!

Sooner or later, Huaxia will rush out of the Strait of Malacca and enter the Indian Ocean, and now the Strait of Malacca is a breakthrough in the hands of the British, and Huaxia will kick it away if it wants to. Moreover, Huaxia actually did not want to directly control India, because Xu Jie knew how many people there were in India on the South Asian subcontinent in the future, not to mention that just raising these people was a huge challenge! And the internal caste system and ethno-religious conflicts are even more troublesome. What's more, Huaxia's existing territory is already large enough, even with Huaxia's rich human resources, it is a little stretched, so Huaxia can do business with India under the control of the British, but there is really no ......... to take over India.

But if the Germans take over. That's different, first of all, the Strait of Malacca has become an iron gate! If the Germans had taken control of the entire subcontinent and then entered the Malay Peninsula. That is equivalent to directly locking the road of China's westward expansion, and can Huaxia give up westward expansion? Apparently impossible! In the future, the oil fields in the Middle East are the world's oil depots, how can China give up? At present, China is intervening by economic means, but in the eyes of the great powers, if there is no strong military strength to back it up, all interests are just pavilions on the beach.

"If Germany is willing to limit its sphere of influence in the Middle East to the two rivers and to Persia, then we can tolerate it, we can start with the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, but if Germany wants to bring the whole of the Middle East under its control, we will not allow it." At an internal high-level meeting, Yang Yonglin once asked about the bottom line of Huaxia's Middle East issue, and Xu Jie replied like this. The future oil fields of the Middle East are divided into half by everyone. But from the current point of view, Germany wants not only to get rid of Persia, but also to bring the whole of South Asia under its control, which is a bit too much! …。

Relations between two large countries bordering each other can never be called harmonious. This is true both in history and in reality. For example, France and Germany in Europe, as well as Germany and Russia. In World War I, in order to avoid this problem, Xu Jie specially left Russia, which was supported by Germany, as a buffer between the two great powers. But who would have thought that the problem in the north was solved, and in the south something happened, Germany actually wanted to eat the whole of India, and even take over all the British colonies in Asia...... This is so decisive that I can't bear it! Not to mention controlling the Strait of Malacca, even controlling the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is not acceptable to China, their hand is stretched too long! Sooner or later, there will be all sorts of friction between the two great powers! …。

"Germany and Austria are ambitious, they want more territory from the East, but we don't want to, Italy can't support such a vast expedition. And to be predicted, even if we win, it would be nice to get a share of what little leftovers De'Austria left behind. This is in conflict with our interests, and we were not going to participate, but what does our situation say now? To use an ancient Chinese saying, it is difficult to ride a tiger! Yes, that's the word, and there aren't many options available to us. Vittorio smiled wryly. In fact. There was still one thing he didn't say, that is, if he went further east, it would be a head-on conflict with Huaxia, and he didn't think the Allies would have a high chance of winning in this conflict. Because this is the enemy of the world!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976, hukaikaka, Dahan grass people for their tips~~~, and book friends jack1yjz, dsbghost, big Han grass people, fatchi1979 monthly pass support ~~~, recommended on the first day, the side is here to subscribe for support~~~. (To be continued.) (。 ))。