Mediterranean hegemon

After the New Year, Contini handed Mussolini's official instructions and 5 million preferred shares to Army Secretary Diaz, and the rest became much simpler. The smiling man not only handed over the prepared personnel and equipment, The list was readily handed over to the Ministry of Aviation, and he also "kindly reminded" Contini: "The Ministry of War has a suburban warehouse full of garbage left over from the war. If it is convenient, please help me deal with it. It would be better if it can be emptied. Hello, Ministry of the Army." Store other things.”

When he arrived at the scene, he thrust Diaz's warrant into the hands of the major in charge of the warehouse. The other party's eyes lit up and he immediately handed over the agreed guns and ammunition. Then he immediately remembered the special instructions above and immediately pulled Continilla. Go to the "junk" warehouse: On the surface, it is a pile of scrap metal rifle parts, but after cleaning up the outside, more than ten boxes of weapons were exposed in the corner. When you open it, you will see that they are all neatly packed. The G98 rifle--wrapped in oil paper and shiny with blue paint, was basically brand new and unused. Contini took a rough inventory and found that there were at least 200 rifles and matching ammunition.

There was also a box full of pistols. Although the rifles were not as well sealed as the rifles, they were still in good condition. Contini saw Mauser M1912 pistols, Barabello pistols, and even an extended Barabalu pistol. Laberu pistol - an improvement on the standard model with a long barrel and an adjustable rear sight. It is generally issued to the artillery and cavalry of the supporting troops. The German Navy also has equipment. It was obviously collected after the armistice.

He asked: "Your Excellency, Minister, do you want me to clear away all the garbage?"

"Yes, you can clear them all." The other party emphasized the word "all" specially.

Contini was very satisfied, and while signaling the workers to clear out all the things and move them onto the truck, he casually took out a cigarette from his briefcase and handed it over: "I'm in a hurry, and I don't have any New Year's gifts prepared. Please smoke some French cigarettes..." "

When the other party saw that the seal had been opened, he immediately understood. Sure enough, after taking out the first package, there was a neat stack of 50,000 lire in the second package - equivalent to a year's salary of a major general. He distributed the cigarettes to everyone and quickly put the lira into the drawer. Then he put another cigarette between his hands with a smile on his face and pretended to say: "French cigarettes, they seem pretty good. Let's all have a try..."

Before leaving, the major, who had received the benefits, quietly pulled Contini: "Well, there is also some garbage in the warehouse. I wonder if you will accept it?"

"Collect it! Why don't you collect it!" Contini's eyes naturally lit up when he heard "trash".

"It's almost time to get off work now. Could you please come over in the evening?"

"Okay, please, since you like it so much, I will bring another pack of cigarettes tonight."

As soon as he heard about cigarettes, the other party understood and nodded knowingly.

Except for the guards, there was no one around at night. Contini took out a bunch of green bills from his briefcase and handed them over - 10,000 US dollars, without even bothering to disguise the cigarettes. The other party accepted it with a smile, and then took the people to a hidden warehouse and asked them to collect several piles of "garbage". Due to the rush of time and the constant saying of "hurry up", Contini didn't care for a while. After seeing it, I just asked the workers to take them all away. When I returned to the station and took inventory, I took a breath of air: there were more than 140 German MP-18 submachine guns piled in two boxes. Although there were signs of use, the overall condition was very good. , and more importantly, the Army Department originally only allocated less than 30,000 rounds of ammunition of various types, but this guy released 200,000 rounds of ammunition at night.

Based on the purchase price alone, this batch of arms would only be worth US$20,000, but having money may not necessarily allow you to acquire things openly, and Contini will still settle the account.

On the third day, he called me specifically to express his gratitude and said: "Notify me when the garbage is cleared in the future. United Airlines guarantees to be on call..." He was about to ramble a few more words, but the other party interrupted him directly. : "Sir, I'm sorry, there was a fire in the archives room yesterday. We are organizing safety education and raising awareness of prevention. I have a meeting soon..."

Contini's facial muscles stiffened, and he immediately realized: There was a fire in the archives room. It was clearly this boy who burned the records and files. This kind of seized materials were not strictly guarded in the first place, and they were stored for several years. , there is no need to investigate without files, naturally there is no evidence - this is much smarter than some grain warehouse managers burning down the warehouse. The other party said this to remind himself that he didn't know anything, it was all given according to Diaz's orders.

"Okay, next time I will donate some of the latest fire extinguishers to you, in case there is another fire."

The other party was stunned after hearing this, and then he understood: The young man is not satisfied with the relationship. Although he was a little worried, when he thought of the green money, he suddenly became bolder, more angry, and became more motivated.

Mussolini approved the establishment of 240 people, Diaz gave a full battalion of weapons and equipment, and Contini got an additional half-battalion of weapons and ammunition by cleaning up garbage, but he strictly abided by one point. Yes, no heavy weapons were provided. Not a single machine gun was given, and grenades or hand grenades were not included in the distribution list. This is consistent with the appearance of a guard, and it is easy to prevaricate if something happens in the future. Contini is very satisfied with this. Now that he has established a relationship with the warehouse manager, it will be much more convenient to move some "junk". He does not have to beg Diaz all the time to bribe Diaz and bribe him. There are two prices for warehouse management.

After the New Year, other equipment purchased by United Airlines also gradually arrived at the Rome Military Airport - now changed to United Airlines Rome Airport. In addition to the original architectural pattern, Contini also had people start construction on many new ancillary facilities: Including office buildings, dormitories, sports halls, shooting ranges, swimming pools, libraries, catering centers, and commercial areas are all ready for major construction. In Contini’s words, the biggest difference between civil aviation and military aviation is that the former’s airport is a community and consumer The center is full of life and vitality, while the latter is a cold internal institution.

United Airlines ate up all the idle bombers of the Army in one go, and then brought back a batch of fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft. They were basically aircraft from other countries except Italy, such as the British Camel, the French Newport, and the German Fokker. There are all of them - either given to Italy by Britain and France, or Italy plundered them from the post-armistice victory products of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Only a few Maji 5 seaplanes are made in Italy - it seems that the War Department does not want them very much. seaplane.

Along with this batch of planes came some scattered spare parts, which were neither systematic nor classified and centralized. The person responsible for escorting them spread their hands and said: This is it, you can figure it out. As for retiring from the army and retiring from the army, The pilots, mechanics, ground staff and other personnel allocated to United Airlines will gradually be in place starting next week, and the procedures are currently being processed.

Because Contini was generous, the other party took the ticket and told him in a low voice: "These people are not easy to manage. You must be mentally prepared. Your Excellency, the Minister, I am sorry for this..."

As for why it is difficult to manage, he can guess it with just a few guesses: the pilots and other supporting personnel who were dismissed from the army this time are equivalent to withdrawing from the army. At best, it is to give them a new way to make a living. At worst, it is to say that it is ugly. Just to kick them out of the army - any soldier would be very angry when encountering this kind of situation, let alone an arrogant aviation soldier?

Of course, Contini believes in one thing. The people who come here are unlikely to be idle, idle and panic aristocrats or rich second generations. They must have found a way out long ago. There are only two types of people who come to United Airlines: first , it is true that those who are older, unable to do what they want and want to withdraw from the army, it is estimated that there will not be too many of these people; secondly, those who have some ability and skills but do not know how to be a good person, this time they are being used as thorns in the army - since If the army is to be dismantled, the army commander must be able to lay off people he doesn't like. As for whether he has the ability or not, and there is no war now, he doesn't need to rely on these big men. No one can afford to raise subordinates who make him unhappy all day long to make himself suffer.

He nodded, handed over the "cigarette" calmly, and then said: "Please find a way to send me a copy of their files first, and then delay the reporting time as long as possible, don't do it all at once... …”

The other party immediately realized: after reporting, United Airlines will start paying salaries to these people. Now the company has not even written a word, which is equivalent to a complete net loss. Of course, it can delay some or some. Although this young man seems to be ignorant at his young age, in fact he still has a very bright business acumen - this capitation fee is not a small expense.

Contini knew that the other party was planning something wrong, so he didn't say anything and just passed by laughing and joking.

On January 7, 1924, United Airlines began its trial operation...