Expedition to Europe

Faced with the expectant eyes of Xie Rundong and Mario, Qin Zhiyuan made a decision in just three seconds.

"They asked us to avoid it, so we'll avoid it." Qin Zhiyuan didn't want to fight. Lan Fang's expansion had already aroused the vigilance of the international community. If Qin Zhiyuan went to war with Italy as soon as he arrived in Europe, it would really confirm the British accusation against Lan Fang.

After the establishment of the Western Province, the British began to exaggerate the "Lan Fang Threat Theory", claiming that Lan Fang brought only the disaster of war to the world.

Although Qin Zhiyuan didn't care about the accusations of the British, he always had to consider some influence. Lan Fang wanted to be the leader of the new order of the international community, and "war" was definitely not the core of the new order.

Xie Rundong and Mario were not disappointed with Qin Zhiyuan's attitude. Based on their understanding of Qin Zhiyuan, Qin Zhiyuan would never admit defeat even if he didn't use "war" to punish the Italians.

"What is giving Italians the most headaches now? It's not us, but Sardinia. Mussolini just came to power, and now Italy has suffered such a big defeat. Mussolini wants to divert domestic conflicts. If we go to war with Italians at this time, let's not talk about whether other countries will interfere. First of all, it can strengthen the centripetal force of Italians. Besides, the British are looking for trouble with us, and even if we go to war, it may not be possible. Bypass the Sardinian Sea and wait until we reach Corsica. Don't Italians want to take back Sardinia? If we make a fuss on Sardinia, it will cause more pain to Italians than going to war." Qin Zhiyuan is also hitting the snake at its weakest point. What is poison to you is honey to me.

Then bypass it. In fact, the Sardinian Sea is not large. There was no United Nations in those days. The people in the League of Nations did not do their work all day long and argued. There was no "Convention on the Law of the Sea". The territorial waters of various countries are not unified. Generally speaking, the scope of territorial waters is determined by the range of coastal defense artillery.

At first, due to the limited performance of artillery, the territorial sea was about three nautical miles, that is, about 5.6 kilometers from the coast. Later, as the range of artillery continued to increase, the area of ​​territorial sea also expanded. Now it is generally about 22 kilometers from the coast.

The Italians certainly want the highest standards, so the sea within 22 kilometers around Sardinia is the Sardinian Sea.

The Mediterranean is huge. In fact, even if the Italians did not issue this statement, it is estimated that the task force would not enter the Sardinian Sea. However, the Italians are so annoying. The Italians’ statement does not really want to go to war with Lan Fang. The combat effectiveness of the Lan Fang army is there. The gap between the Italians and the Lan Fangs is at least three or four times the size of France. Mussolini should be very clear that the Italians will humiliate themselves when they go to war with Lan Fang.

So the Italians issued this warning to save Qin Zhiyuan’s face. Whether the task force enters the Sardinian waters or not, the Italians will not suffer any loss.

If the task force enters the waters of Sardinia, it will be an infringement of Italy's sovereignty, and Mussolini can immediately use this incident to divert domestic conflicts; if it does not enter, it is also easy to say, you see, our old Mexico is still very prestigious, King Lanfang is awesome, he dare not come if he is not allowed to come-

Disgusting, right? Disgusting, right?

This is also normal, Italians like to stir up trouble the most, but they are never a decisive force.

There are always many unexpected things these days. Just when Qin Zhiyuan finished speaking, a staff officer came hurriedly with a telegram: "Report, the Republic of Sardinia sent a telegram inviting Your Majesty to visit the Republic of Sardinia."

Hearing the content of the telegram, Qin Zhiyuan, Xie Rundong, and Mario were all confused.

This-this is too hasty.

Other people's visits are put on the agenda several months or even one or two years in advance, giving sufficient time to determine the itinerary and discuss relevant matters. The Republic of Sardinia is good, and it is too improvisational at the last minute.

"Go, go now." Qin Zhiyuan did not hesitate and immediately decided to accept the invitation of the Republic of Sardinia.

This invitation came at the right time. With this invitation, Mussolini's wishful thinking would definitely fail.

Qin Zhiyuan now let alone passing through the waters of Sardinia, even if Qin Zhiyuan landed on Sardinia, Mussolini would not be able to use Qin Zhiyuan to make a fuss. With this invitation, at least no matter what Qin Zhiyuan does, it is no longer illegal. At most, Qin Zhiyuan's visit is controversial.

With Qin Zhiyuan's order, Xie Rundong no longer hesitated, and the task force turned around and rushed towards Sardinia.

In fact, there were Italian destroyers monitoring the task force, but it was just monitoring. The Italian destroyers did not even dare to approach the task force.

It would be easy to say if they got close. At that time, Mario would fire a volley of naval guns to send the Italian destroyer to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish. Only one reason was enough. His Majesty the King of Lanfang was in the task force. Lanfang believed that the Italian warships posed a threat to the safety of His Majesty the King of Lanfang. Even the British could not refute this reason, because even if the British were replaced by Lanfang, the British would deal with it in the same way.

In fact, from the perspective of the Sardinians, the Sardinians absolutely had reason to resist the rule of the Italians. Around the middle of the last century, there were still many countries on the land of Italy, and most of the areas were controlled by other countries.

Around 1859, the Kingdom of Sardinia began the process of unifying Italy with the help of the French. In just two years, the Kingdom of Sardinia unified northern Italy. In the third year, the Kingdom of Sardinia conquered the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the south, and then Italy was declared established, and the King of the Kingdom of Sardinia became the King of Italy.

The King of Sardinia, who was promoted to the King of Italy, seemed to have forgotten the land of Sardinia. In the following half a century, Sicily developed rapidly, and Italy became one of the great powers, while Sardinia was like a poor cat forgotten in the corner, and there was basically no development for decades.

It's like two poor buddies, who were good buddies who used to play with lice in the corner every day. One buddy suddenly won the lottery one day and then spent all kinds of money on wine and women, and didn't take the other buddy to play. The other buddy was naturally full of complaints.

While the Sardinians were full of complaints, Corsica, separated by a sea, also developed quietly.

In fact, Corsica is poorer than Sardinia. Sardinia is at least the birthplace of the Kingdom of Italy, and it has some foundation. The Sardinians can still live a decent life. Corsica used to be a bitter and cold place where the French government exiled prisoners. Its status in France is similar to Ningguta of the Qing government. It is a real poor and remote place.

But after the foreign legion entered Corsica, Corsica has undergone earth-shaking changes in the past few years. Not only has the island developed modern industry and tourism, but education and technology are also the best in Europe. The lives of Corsicans are also thriving with the development of Corsica, which makes the Sardinians feel all kinds of envy and jealousy.

Comparison hurts. Seeing that the former friends are getting richer and richer, only their own lives are still miserable and they have no food to eat. It is normal for Sardinians to think about change when they are poor.

The speed of the task force is still relatively fast. After about half an hour, the task force arrived at La Maddalena in Sardinia, and Qin Zhiyuan began his visit to Sardinia.

Interestingly, when the task force entered the waters of Sardinia, the Italian destroyer responsible for monitoring the task force turned around and did not enter the waters of Sardinia at all.

This is really a rare story. The Italian Navy dared not enter the waters of Italy. I am afraid that it would be laughed at if it was spread out.

Joshua Jordi, the president of the Republic of Sardinia, greeted Qin Zhiyuan at La Maddalena.

The original text can be found in the Six # 9 @Books/Bar!

As you can tell from the name, this is a Jew.

Mussolini was a resolute "nationalist" with a strong "anti-Semitic tendency", so Mussolini's coming to power was also an important reason for Joshua Jordi to resist Italian rule.

It sounds like Joshua Jordi and Qin Zhiyuan are on the same level. After all, one is the president and the other is the king. In terms of social status, the two are evenly matched.

But in fact, when Joshua Jordi met Qin Zhiyuan, he was very humble, just like a subordinate meeting a superior.

This is also normal. If it were not for the support of Corsica, Joshua Jordi would not have become the king of the Republic of Sardinia. Moreover, in Jerusalem, the Lanfang mercenaries objectively protected the interests of the Jews. Therefore, whether out of national sentiment or practical interests, Joshua Jordi had to keep a low profile towards Qin Zhiyuan.

Among the welcoming crowd, Qin Zhiyuan unexpectedly found a familiar face, Leo Henry, the head of the European branch of the Lanfang National Security Bureau.

Leo Henry is a German. After the World War, Leo Henry came to Lanfang with the wave of German immigrants, then joined the Lanfang nationality, and joined the Lanfang National Security Bureau to become an agent.

Since Leo Henry appeared in Sardinia, the relationship between the Republic of Sardinia and Lanfang is self-evident.

Sure enough, when entering the temporary presidential palace of the Republic of Sardinia, when the irrelevant people withdrew and only Qin Zhiyuan and Joshua Jordi were left, Joshua Jordi had a serious expression: "Joshua Jordi, director of the Sardinia branch of the Lanfang National Security Bureau, greets you."

This is really shocking. If Mussolini was present, it would probably shock Mussolini.

Qin Zhiyuan was not surprised. The funds Qin Zhiyuan gave to Gao Hongshi every year were astronomical. If there was no effect, Gao Hongshi deserved to be robbed of his position by Girardin.

"You should be behind the scenes, so why are you jumping to the front so high?" Qin Zhiyuan was still a little curious.

Agents cannot attract attention. The more indistinguishable they are, the better. Politicians live in the spotlight. These two professions are really unrelated.

"This is an accident. When Sardinia just raised the flag of rebellion, the leaders at that time still fantasized about winning independence through negotiations. As a result, when negotiating with the Italians, they were wiped out by the Italians. It was really hard to find a suitable candidate, so I took on this part-time job-" Joshua's expression was also helpless.

Part-time job, tsk tsk, it's so easy to say, just like going to the talent market to find a job.