Mediterranean hegemon

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On the way, Contini said to his attachés and naval officers: "Did you see it? This is India, which Great Britain is proud of. Relying on the continuous blood transfusion of this colony, Britain has maintained its current status. We must build Libya Well, we can be as strong as Great Britain in the future.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Starting from India, other countries such as Burma, Malaya, and Borneo were British territories. Even the small Netherlands occupied the huge Dutch East Indies. This really made these people resentful of the rise of Italy. It's too late, otherwise, Italy would also be eligible to compete. Finally, God opened his eyes and sent us the United Group. Not only did it find oil in Libya, but it also took food from the French. We have obtained crude oil, otherwise Italy's status and international image will be too bad. Italy is also a great power after all.

Singapore itself is not a big territory, but it can get sufficient supplies. Taking advantage of the opportunity to stay in Singapore, Contini asked the officers to look at Singapore's garrison in detail. When they saw the thick coastal defenses, the officers all sighed at the power of the defense. , it is worthy of being the "Fortress of Gibraltar" in the Far East. Contini chuckled in his heart: These artillery are aimed at the sea, and there is no way to deal with the enemies behind them. When Malaya is knocked back, Singapore will be finished. Yes, selling scrap steel to them is just a fool's errand.

Now it is very profitable for the president to sell scrap steel. There are a large number of Italian warships on several warships. No one has the courage to search. If you dare to search, it is equivalent to starting a war. With the strength of the Count of Cavour, He was still capable of fighting against the British, French and Dutch fleets in the Far East. Contini was not afraid. He was born to walk on the edge of war. He had done many things to pull chestnuts out of the fire, so he was not afraid of this one.

During his stay in the Dutch East Indies, Contini also took people to Bali. Compared with the tourist paradise of later generations, Bali was still an undeveloped primitive style. Everyone felt strange that Contini insisted on coming here, but he said with a smile: "Don't you think this island has good air, lush vegetation and flowers covering the ground? I think there is an opportunity to develop it into a tourist attraction! "

"This..." Everyone was stunned for a moment. Their minds were filled with battles and fortresses, but they didn't expect the president to jump to travel in one breath.

"Although Libya is not far from Italy, to be honest, it is not really suitable for tourism. The islands in Greece are quite good, but I think the Far East has a different style..." He told Zakaria, "Go and ask, land is expensive It’s not expensive. If it’s not too expensive, buy it for tourism development.”

However, contrary to Contini's expectation, the Dutch colonial authorities who controlled Bali were suspicious of Contini's so-called tourism development and believed that his motives were impure. Instead of agreeing to sell the land, they offered a very high price. Contini shook his head and gave up. In fact, developing tourism was just a whim of his.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter if the Dutch don't sell it. I'll ask the natives to buy it in the future!"

Everyone didn't understand what it meant to ask the natives to buy it, but since the president stopped mentioning it, they quickly dismissed it.

In late November, the fleet arrived in the Philippines. There were not many scenic spots to see in the Philippines, but this was a territory controlled by the Americans. Compared with the British and Dutch colonies, it had a different interest, at least the indigenous people who were crawling on the ground for people to trample on. Fortunately, the fruits and seafood in the Philippines are good. Everyone tasted mangoes, bananas, and durians, and a unique barbecue party was held on the warship for seafood. When it comes to food, Italy is second only to France in Europe. It is countless streets ahead of the British. When it comes to delicious food, the resistance from top to bottom is very weak. Even Angenie who is afraid of getting fat. Si and Ada also ate a lot.

Coupled with all kinds of fine wines, everyone felt that it was quite a good idea to travel with the CEO on a public trip. At least they had a great time this Thanksgiving. Europeans usually don't have Thanksgiving, but the Philippines is controlled by the United States. Contini suggested that you should do as the Romans do in your country. Let's all be happy together.

In early December, the fleet headed for Saigon. No matter what the relationship between European countries was in Europe, at least everyone in the Far East was very respectful to each other. Facing the visiting Italian fleet, the French Far East Fleet also expressed a warm welcome. Both sides Small-scale joint exercises were also conducted.

Saigon city is full of French-style buildings, which are closer to Italian tastes. Of course, Contini did not come to Saigon just to see the scenery. He hoped to buy a port area in Cam Ranh Bay to develop shipping and civil aviation. If In the future, the Italian fleet will need to make ocean visits and it is hoped to take advantage of this.

The location of Cam Ranh Bay is very obvious. The harbor is 17 kilometers deep inland, 6 kilometers wide, and has a water area of ​​more than 100 square kilometers. The average water depth in the bay is 16 to 25 meters, with the deepest point reaching 32 meters. Due to the deep water and wide bay, hundreds of large ships of 10,000 tons can be berthed in the harbor, making it a rare and good harbor.

Contini tentatively proposed the purchase of a commercial wharf, and the colonial authorities agreed readily. The price was not too expensive, so Contini quickly ordered his men to sign the contract. Later, I realized that after occupying Indochina, the French had developed Cam Ranh Bay into a large commercial port, where warships could also refuel and resupply as a berth (only for resupply, not a regular military port), but because it was not developed for a long time, it was not busy for the time being, and the colonial authorities also hoped to drive it. As an influential consortium, if the United Group could settle in, it would be good for the development of the port.

As for the warship problem that Contini was worried about, it did not exist at that time. The main berthing point of the French Far East Fleet was not Cam Ranh Bay but Tonkin Bay (Beibu Gulf) and Shanghai. The main resting place in Indochina was Haiphong Port. In other words, they did not use Cam Ranh Bay at all, which was very convenient.

So on December 14, the two sides formally signed the contract. The United Group obtained a dock and a piece of open space in Cam Ranh Bay for the development of civil aviation. Although it was stated that it could not be used for military purposes, it was still possible to occasionally berth warships. For Contini, this was enough!

On December 17, the replenished Contini fleet weighed anchor and set sail, ready to cross the South China Sea to Guangzhou City. Marshal Chang's wedding was scheduled for Christmas Eve on December 24. It is said that before this, Marshal Chang had announced his conversion to Christianity. Contini told him that his fleet would appear on the sea near Guangzhou on time on the afternoon of December 21, and also said that he could fire a salute for Marshal Chang's wedding at the highest standards together with the National Government Navy that had just obtained the Revolution!

This one really flattered Marshal Chang...