Mediterranean hegemon

"Uncle Douhet, I can agree to your conditions and am willing to serve the Ministry of Aviation now, but can you consider my humble request?"

"Speak directly if you have anything to say. Don't imitate those politicians who are too young to beat around the bush. I don't like it! Remember, don't flatter me in the future. It's useless with me! I want someone with ideas, drive, and ability. , Minister assistants who can do things, don’t be flatterers!”

"After the inspection in Germany is over, I want to learn to fly an airplane. I hope you can help arrange it... In addition, if there are civil aviation and airplane clubs in the future, I hope that the Youth League will have priority to cooperate."

"You can learn to fly at any time. I have no objection, but you must pay attention to safety. As for priorities..." Duhei muttered, "I don't know what you want to do specifically. You have to give me a plan to review, as long as it doesn't disrupt the department. It works normally and does not require the aviation ministry to bear additional expenses. I don’t mind providing some small conveniences. I even hope that the Youth League can better promote the aviation industry in Italy. I don’t like an aviation ministry that is in despair.”

Antonio could tell that although the young master seemed to have a general interest in becoming the assistant to the Minister of Aviation, in reality he was just playing hard to get. During a private communication, he asked Contini about his future ambitions, and the other party said that he would start with the air force and gradually get involved in politics and economy, and also considered joining Douhet.

He was a little surprised at first, but after careful analysis, he found it logical: the Air Force is a brand-new service. Although there will be other senior figures in charge, it is still a brand-new organization as a whole, which will help the young master to stand out as soon as possible; secondly, the newly established Air Force will inevitably If it is weak, not many people will pay attention to it, and the intricate personnel relationships will be greatly reduced; thirdly, Contini also proposed to set up an aviation company after making money - the old Ciano promised to make money this time in addition to The family contributes 10%, and the rest is at Contini's discretion; in the end, because of the old Ciano's relationship, it is actually impossible for Contini to work in the Ministry of Transport. He must avoid suspicion no matter what, but civil aviation has With its tangled ties with the Ministry of Transport, the old Ciano's connections and influence could be cleverly exploited again.

Antonio's considerations are all correct, but Contini's idea is obviously longer-term and more profound than his: early intervention in the air force will not only gain a higher political starting point, but also have long-term influence on the military - the naval aviation related to the navy, Paratroopers and anti-aircraft guns related to the Army, as well as radars and rockets related to science and technology are all included in the scope; the Air Force has historically been the favorite of Fascisti and Mussolini, and early intervention is tantamount to laying out the initiative to control the overall situation; newly established aviation companies , which can not only free up civil aviation in peacetime, but also reserve strength for war. Why not?

As for the true potential and future stage of aircraft, Contini, as a time traveler, has a deeper and better understanding than Douhet - nearly an extra century of experience is no small matter.

By the time the train arrived in Germany, Contini and Douhet had become thoroughly familiar with each other. The latter not only became Contini's teacher, but also became the honorary consultant of "Youth" and the Youth League. However, Douhet was completely unaware of this. He felt that he had gained an advantage and had gained a capable and thoughtful disciple. He was very relieved that the idea of ​​"Suppression of the Air" had finally been succeeded by someone. This made Antonio want to laugh but couldn't, so he could only give a thumbs up quietly behind his back. Praising the young master: "High! Really high!"

"Teacher, Uncle Antonio and I are going to Frankfurt first to deal with some industrial affairs, communicate with partners of the Ministry of Transportation, and also visit some transportation companies. Do you want to go with us?"

"I'm not going, you can go. I want to go to Berlin first. On the one hand, I will go to the library to check some information, and on the other hand, I will sort out the insights that have come to my mind in the past two days..." Du Hei didn't even raise his head, just immersed in In my head full of air supremacy thoughts, "I'll give you a week's leave. Just remember to come to Berlin to find me. I will take you to inspect the aviation company then!"

On December 1, Friday, the bustling Frankfurt trading market started a new trading day.

“What’s the current exchange rate between marks and dollars?”

"4175:1, oh, it's 4150 now!" William, the trader arranged by Antonio in advance, quickly replied.

Contini raised his eyebrows: "Is it higher than the previous two days?"

"Yes, it has risen a bit, and the market thinks it will rise again."

"Why? Not France and Belgium?"

"France and Belgium are indeed repeating the same old tune, but Italy has made it clear that it does not agree with France's sending troops to occupy..." William knew that this was a major patron and carefully explained, "The Italian ambassador not only said that he would not send troops, but also signed A trade contract worth $2 million."

"Is it a vehicle trade case from the Italian Ministry of Transport?"

"Yes! This is this trade. Although the amount is not large, it is a powerful signal. The German government has made great efforts and stated that the compensation owed to Italy will be deducted from the trade. The proportion is 20%, which is equivalent to what German companies have to pay The market believes that the reason why this deal was reached and announced so quickly and impatiently is obviously a positive signal - the debts of Belgium and France can also be resolved through similar methods..."

Contini and Antonio smiled at each other: the trade case they promoted actually caused so many thoughts in the market, which was really unexpected. The term "butterfly effect" immediately came to Contini's mind. Frankfurt Bank's loan is calculated at a price of 4500:1. If it is sold at the current price, it will directly earn 8% (excluding interest). Even if the interest is deducted, it can earn more than 5%.

"Get ready to place an order, sell 3 at 4100..."

"Okay, buy 3 at 4100."

"No! I said sell, aren't my gestures and pronunciation correct?" Contini was shocked.

William was also shocked. He thought the other party was wrong at first. Considering that the other party was Italian and was not familiar with German and might not be familiar with the German transaction process, he didn't think about it. But for the sake of caution, he repeated it again. Unexpectedly, there was a problem.

"Sir... the market is generally predicting that the exchange rate will rise... you?"

"Do as I say, that's right!"

William hesitated for a moment and immediately ran to place an order: the exchange in this era did not have an electronic system, and all transactions were manually matched, so Contini needed a reliable broker.

"William, how many do you want?"

"3, but not buying, but selling..." William, with a sad face facing the red vest of the exchange, submitted his requirements on the blackboard, "My client is not optimistic about the rise of the mark exchange rate and wants to fight against the trend. I don't know where this young man came from, but he doesn't use money as money..."

"Then I wish him good luck..."

"Sir, 3 contracts are sold at a price of 4085, and the contract value is 30,000 US dollars. According to the exchange regulations, the leverage can be up to 50 times for amounts below 100,000 US dollars. This transaction takes up 600 US dollars in margin... If the mark rises to 4,000 now, you will lose the 600 US dollars."

Contini smiled slightly: "I won't lose..."

William's mouth moved, but no sound came out in the end. The first supreme principle of brokers, especially exclusive brokers, when practicing is not to quarrel with customers!

The $30,000 order was too small. After it was put into the market, there was no sound. The exchange rate of the Mark continued to rise: 4070, 4060, 4050... In just 20 minutes, the number on the blackboard climbed to 4015, and the demand for purchases was still coming in.

"Sir, do you want to stop loss? Otherwise, we will face margin calls." William was anxious. If it rose a little bit more, the order would be lost. Although the loss of the customer's money would not affect his earning commission, after all, he would only be valuable if the customer made money, not to mention that it would be very jealous if the customer made a lot of money to reward him. He didn't want this young man to waste his money here for both public and private reasons.

"Stop loss?" Contini smiled coldly, "Why stop loss? Keep going. Sell 17 lots at 4,000 and make up 200,000."

"The maximum leverage between 100,000 and 500,000 is 40 times. You need to pay a 5,000 USD margin. If the exchange rate continues to rise by another 2.5%, for example, to 3,900, your 5,000 USD will be gone..."

"I know. Go ahead." Contini waved his hand impatiently.