Mediterranean hegemon

After dinner, Contini and Douhet became acquainted. In fact, they couldn't help but be acquainted. There were only three of them in the first-class carriage, which seemed empty. They couldn't do anything else except chatting.

"Uncle Douhet, why don't you bring a secretary or an attendant with you when you go out?" Contini asked curiously, "Are you going to Germany for fun this time?"

"Fun?" Douhet smiled and shook his head, "There's nothing fun in Germany now. I'm going there mainly to investigate civil aviation."

After the end of World War I, aircraft were strictly restricted in military use in Germany, but began to develop in the field of civil aviation, partly because of the considerable prospects for civil aviation applications, and partly because Germany wanted to retain its technical capabilities in aviation research and development and manufacturing.

On June 25, 1919, the German Junkers Company specially designed and manufactured the F-13, an all-metal lower-wing civil airliner with a 185-horsepower engine. Although it could only carry 4 passengers and 2 flight crew members, it was a landmark precedent in the field of civil aviation. By the end of 1920, Germany's domestic civil aviation routes were basically formed. Although postal transportation was the main business most of the time, passenger transportation business was not completely absent. By 1921 and 1922, civil aviation in Britain and France also began to flourish, but most of them were converted from bombers retired in World War I into civil aircraft. This situation put pressure on Italy, which claimed to be an aviation power, and it also hoped to catch up.

"Since it's official business, you should bring an attendant..." Contini asked in confusion, "You can't do everything yourself, right?"

"What's wrong with doing it yourself? I'm not old enough to be unable to walk and need to be served by others, right? Sending fewer attendants can save money. Now the budgets of various departments are generally not abundant. But you..." Du Hei glanced at Antonio who was sitting a little further away and said sarcastically, "You are so young and need to be served by others. It's quite a show."

"You misunderstood. Uncle Antonio went to Germany to inspect some companies. I happened to have time to go with him to broaden my horizons... You see, you didn't bring an attendant to save money, but my father saved money and even used all the people around him to do things for the country, and this was not paid at public expense." Contini complained.

Antonio beside him couldn't help laughing: The young master was so perfect at talking nonsense. The two of them were obviously going to Germany to speculate and visit related companies, but in his mouth, it became that they paid for free services to the Ministry of Transport. This person will definitely be a good politician in the future, and he may even be a higher official than the old master.

"Since you and I are both serving the country, and you dislike me for not bringing an attendant, how about this, you temporarily serve as my attendant."

"Is that okay? Uncle Douhet, I'm clumsy and have never served anyone since I was a child."

Douhet was drinking coffee, and he almost spit out half a mouthful of coffee in his mouth when he heard this, and said unhappily: "Who asked you to serve me? I don't need anyone to serve me! You just need to follow me to inspect the company, record the relevant situation and then write a report for me to review! Speaking of which, this errand is also related to the Ministry of Transport. I was also assigned an errand by your father, and it is natural for me to assign you to do the errand now!"

Contini was sweating in his heart. He finally had a deeper understanding of Douhet: his temper and style are very similar to those professors at the University of Rome. He is completely incompatible with human relationships and officialdom. No wonder he resigned as the Minister of Aviation after only working for more than half a year in history.

"Okay, okay, it's my honor to follow the Minister on the inspection. I wonder which companies you plan to inspect?"

"Junkers, Bayerische Aircraft Manufacturing, Dornier, Deutsche Lloyd (the predecessor of Lufthansa)..." Douhet mentioned 6-7 companies in one breath.

Contini quickly agreed. These are all key companies related to the aviation industry. They are also very important in his mind and are also part of his future plans. As a designer of "Hearts of Iron", he has a unique understanding of development and upgrade plans. If Douhet takes him to inspect, he will surely learn more.

Hearing that Contini would no longer shirk his responsibilities, Duhei's face became better. In fact, he liked this young man very much. He was very smart and would definitely be a good official in the future. But before he could praise him, Contini spoke again: "This... Your Excellency... Since I am now a clerk in both the Ministry of Aviation and the Ministry of Transportation, can I ask you a personal question about work?"

This logic confused Duhei, who said unhappily: "Didn't you just say that you wanted to ask me questions? Of course you can ask, whether it is about work or personal matters, but I have the right to refuse to answer!"

"This..." Contini rubbed his hands, a little embarrassed He said, "The question is a bit harsh, you won't mind, right? Or even if you mind, you are in a high position now, you won't take it to heart, let alone a young man under 20 years old like me?"

"Just say what you want to say, your father didn't have so many tricks as you!" Du Hei put the coffee cup heavily on the table, "I have served the army for decades, and was demoted to the bottom at the most important time, and now I have been restored to major general; I have written articles, made military suggestions and was imprisoned for this, and then I was acquitted and now serve as a minister. What ups and downs have I not seen?"

"Uncle Du Hei, then I really said it..."

"Say it!" Du Hei shouted angrily.

Antonio smiled slightly at the side. He had a premonition that what Contini said would not be good. However, the young master was very good at speaking with passion. Now he has successfully attracted Douhet's attention. It is obvious that he is a politician. His level has improved again - he doesn't believe that the young master is afraid of Douhet's scolding and speaks like this. To be honest, he now has a deeper understanding of Contini's character, and he is very brave!

"This..." Contini pretended to be trembling, "After reading your work, I have two thoughts: First, in future wars, aviation power is crucial, and it should be Separate from the Army and form a separate service, such as the Air Force; secondly, your level and ability should be used in the field of national defense. The Aviation Department should become the base camp of the future Air Force, responsible for carrying out military strategic innovations and new technologies according to your ideas. Equipment research and development, the construction of new tactical ideas, and you should not care about things like civil aviation - my father is just enough to do this, and you are completely wasting it... In fact, let a theoretical authority who should be responsible for the forging of strategy and tactics do it The person responsible for the civil aviation industry can’t do this well either.”

The first half of the sentence was fine, but the last half of the sentence was the real key. Antonio next to him wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh - the young master was holding back his bad words and scolding others for their incompetence.

Duhei's face changed again and again, and his expression was very complicated, because these words touched his mind and the current embarrassing situation: he was indeed planning an independent air force, and he also got Mussolini's verbal approval. Of course, the army I don't agree with it. The reason why Mussolini agreed to form an air force was not because he truly understood the status of the air force in a strategic or military sense. He just hoped to form an army solely controlled by the Fascists in order to compete with the traditional conservative navy and the navy. How can the tamed Army fight against each other, and the Aviation Department is in a dilemma.

Mussolini appointed Douhet as Minister of Aviation. On the one hand, he valued Douhet's authority in this field. On the other hand, he also relied on Douhet's ideas and his unremitting efforts for an independent air force in an attempt to achieve success. In other words, He is using Douhet as a knife in political struggle. Although Duhei is not good at officialdom, he still sees this clearly, otherwise he would not leave the title soon. Now, as Contini said: Although civil aviation is also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Aviation, Douhet is actually not interested in it. His real interest lies in the military field.

"Is this your father's opinion?"

"No, no, no, this is my private opinion," Contini explained, "so I just said a personal matter about work."

Douhet replied angrily: "I understand your question, but I refuse to answer it now. Whether I am qualified to develop civil aviation depends on whether your report is well written!"

Yes, it went around in a circle and came back again, but Contini was not in a hurry. He had already found the answer he wanted from Douhet's expression and tone just now. To be honest, he felt that Douhet was not like a politician or a pure soldier, but more like a somewhat naive scholar - which was much easier to deal with. Contini had dealt with many scholars. No matter how eccentric and out-of-the-way his character is, he can definitely turn them around if he wants to...