Mediterranean hegemon

"Long live Italy!"

"Long live the leader!"

On the afternoon of November 4, Mussolini finally arrived at the outskirts of Rome with 100,000 black-shirted troops, and ran into the members of the Young Italian League who came to greet them, some Roman citizens watching the excitement, and the police maintaining order.

Under the organization of Contini, the Young Italian League made the welcome ceremony very grand, very atmospheric and pompous, especially in line with the appetite of the vain Mussolini, and Contini’s speech at the welcome ceremony was even more In line with Mussolini’s ideas:

"Today, tens of thousands of members of the Young Italian League and citizens of Rome came to welcome the arrival of the leader and the Black Shirts. This is not an ordinary welcome ceremony. This is a major event in Italian national life and an important milestone in Italian history. This means that in The Italian people who are staggering forward in the darkness have a guiding light, which means that the great and proud Roman spirit has a new inheritance. We are welcoming the standard bearers who have transformed the country and brought hope and new life to the nation. We are welcoming the 4,000 The great savior of the Italian people...

With him, the country will see hope, all darkness and sin will be cleansed, and the order, stability, wealth, and prosperity we long for will come soon... I swear that the Young Italy League will always be loyal to this great And the sacred mission is to always follow the leader and use our united strength to strive for a more glorious future for Italy! "

After the king invited Mussolini to form a cabinet in Rome, not only did Grandini completely side with the Young Italian League, but even this alliance became very popular.

A few days ago, the group was facing the crisis of disbanding just because Contini was called for "discipline" by the police. However, as time went by, it suddenly grew to tens of thousands in just a few days, even though some senior directors and officers were unwilling to do so. They did not want to attract those speculators who acted according to the prevailing situation, and did not want Mr. Poti, who had no merit but had a police chief father, to overwhelm them and serve as the deputy chairman, but Contini easily convinced them.

"Although Poti made little contribution to the organization before, his presence will enable the police to help us in the future. This is his contribution."

"Although it is a bit utilitarian for others to join the organization now, the more members the organization has, the greater the momentum, and the stronger the appeal, the more status we have in the minds of the leaders. Everyone will soon be faced with graduation and job hunting. If you want to work in To gain a seat in the executive or legislative bodies, the alliance is the best foundation - we are the young guards of the party! If the leader wants to transform the country, who else can we trust? Who else can we rely on? Students in Rome should connect and organize, and we should also organize all the secondary and higher education institutions in all big cities such as Milan, Turin, Naples, Palermo, Bologna, Venice, Florence and other big cities... Are you willing to be a director among the 200 people? To be a director among 200,000 people?”

"If you think that the leader will step down like the previous prime ministers who only served for 1-2 years, then my words are in vain. If you believe that the leader can last for 20 years and even promote us, then you must Follow the party unswervingly... This welcome ceremony is an opportunity to show our capabilities."

Although college students are still very young, most of those who can make a name for themselves among the students have their own understanding of politics and power. Although they may not necessarily understand Contini's behavior of taking advantage of the situation, it does not hinder him. They think about their future prospects in life. They knew very well what kind of members the Black Shirts were made up of. Most of them were veterans, the unemployed, and frustrated elements. There were only a handful of people with higher social status like the old Ciano. Mussolini was not even a serious person. They don't even have a high school diploma. If these people were placed among the ordinary people, this group of talented people would look down upon them. But what kind of people are they doing now? A cabinet will be formed soon! This group of college students believe that they can get a share of the pie by virtue of their own means and relatively high cultural quality.

Under this persuasion, the directors accepted Contini's idea and put in 120,000 efforts to organize the welcome ceremony. Contini naturally also knows that the rapidly expanding Youth League is a brand-name group with no real core. But as a 19-year-old, this is the only biggest platform he can get. If he wants to join Mussolini early, If you climb up early, you must show unique abilities. Moreover, his father Ciano Sr. made it very clear in the telegram that Mussolini had verbally agreed that Contini would serve as the leader of the Italian youth. Although the leader often made random promises and later regretted them, at least for now he still No, if he can jump up to this step and gain a firm foothold, Contini's future will be bright.

Sure enough, after listening to Contini's flattering and somewhat disgusting speech, Mussolini not only did not feel disgusted at all, but thought that the speech was very good. He was worthy of being a top student at the University of Rome. He praised others for their academic level. Since little Calais is so interesting, he also wants to praise him:

"Thank you for welcoming me and supporting the cause of the Black Shirts! In you, I see strength, I see light, and I see Italy's bright future! I will do my best to lead you to create a new history of Italy !" After that, he waved his hand vigorously, "Go forward!"

"Long live!"

The crowd roared loudly and surged towards downtown Rome, surrounding Mussolini and his close comrades. Mussolini originally wanted to invite Contini to his side, but Contini politely refused - this It was Mussolini's moment to steal the limelight, and he would not foolishly steal the limelight. Old Ciano in the crowd saw his son, nodded slightly, and was very satisfied with his performance of knowing how to advance and retreat, thinking that After not seeing each other for a few months, my son has matured a lot.

The other generals under Mussolini, especially the confidants who had a good relationship with old Ciano, all "tsk-tsk" and praised: "This young man in Calais is good, I like it very much..."

After arriving in downtown Rome, Mussolini expressed his gratitude to Grandini for maintaining order, thus confirming Contini's matchmaking relationship, and accompanied by the latter, he went to the palace to meet with the king. In fact, even if Contini had not intervened in this way, Mussolini would not have messed with Grandini, who controlled the Roman police. But now with this relationship, and the fact that Poti is now Contini Grandini's main assistant, who reciprocated the favor, said a lot of good things about the Youth Italy League - if this organization is promoted, his son can also follow suit, right?

In order to show his strength, the satisfied Mussolini invited Emmanuel III to review the troops the next day. 100,000 black-shirted troops lined up, passed the review stand one by one in a shocking formation, and conducted drills. , to show their majesty and invincible power, the last square of the team is the Youth Italy League, which has recently joined the Black Shirt Army. It is led by the famous Contini and also appeared in front of the king. Faced with such huge power, coupled with Mussolini's relatively respectful attitude, the king became increasingly convinced that it was right to hand over power to Fascist.

It wasn't until the evening of the third day that Ciano and his son took the time to sit down and talk after they had settled down.

"Calais, the leader is very satisfied with your performance and organizational skills. He thinks you are a good candidate for politics. He wants to ask you if you are willing to work with him after graduation. He plans to make you the Italian Youth Leader..." The old man Ciano said.

"What do you think?"

The old Ciano mused: "I think it's an opportunity, but you still have to keep a low profile. You are still young and there is still a long way to go."

"I think so too, so I want to run a newspaper while continuing my studies at university, focusing on publicity to young people, intellectuals, and the middle class. Of course, I need some financial support from the party."

"Run a newspaper?" Old Ciano asked doubtfully, "We have our own newspaper..."

Contini took out a pile of manuscripts: "This is an article I wrote. I plan to publish it as an editorial for the new paper. Do you think I am good enough to be the editor-in-chief?"

Old Ciano took it and took a look, and was immediately attracted. The title was very impactful: One Doctrine, One Party, One Leader...