Mediterranean hegemon

In the evening of the next day, Goering boarded the train back to Germany with nearly 5,000 US dollars in cash and some gold bars. He felt that he had come to Italy at the right time and that his trip was indeed worthwhile. Not only did he rush to this mission, but when there was an internal discussion about dispatching a liaison officer, he also repeatedly recommended himself. The reason was that he was a pilot and had a good relationship with Contini. Now it seems that he has blown it away again.

Of course, Göring was greedy for money, and he still helped Contini do a lot of business. He didn't kick all the dollars he gave him last time into his arms, but spent a lot of them on socializing and wooing. Often after a drink, the other party would be coaxed into confusion, and then he came to work for United Airlines according to Goering's suggestion. As for recruiting other engineers, technicians and skilled workers, Goering spared no effort - no such local snake came forward. Some things may not be easy to handle, so Contini did not hesitate to give him some financial assistance. You know, when Fatty Ge was so majestic during the Third Reich, he might not be willing to help you so wholeheartedly even with $100,000, let alone $10,000.

"Master, do you really want to fund the German National Socialist Party's uprising?"

"Yes, I've decided."

"Do you think they'll succeed?"

Contini thought for a moment: "No!"

Antonio was surprised: "What about you?"

"Uncle Antonio, aren't I just a Roman young master who specializes in loss-making business? Aren't there newspapers commenting on me like this?"

Antonio looked embarrassed and didn't know how to answer this sentence.

"Okay, just kidding." Contini laughed, "The National Socialist Party will not be able to achieve anything this time because their foundation is too poor, their numbers are small, and most importantly, they do not have the support of the National Defense Forces. This is different from Italy. The situation is different. But can I not support them because they are going to fail? Then all my previous investment will be wasted! When I stand up for my friends, I am talking about loyalty, not about success or failure. ! And believe it or not, the National Socialist Party and Mr. Adolf Hitler will one day make a comeback! As an investment, do you think it is better to help others when they are in trouble?"

Antonio nodded: "You are very confident in your judgment. By the way, the second US$10 million stock purchase in the United States has basically been completed. Do you really want to start the third US$10 million purchase plan?"

"Continue! I've always been very confident in myself. Besides, it's only a few hundred thousand dollars. What's so big about it? How many months do we not lose hundreds of thousands now?" Contini waved his hand boldly, "It's okay. , I can afford the loss!"

Antonio was speechless. The young master had already begun to burn out money, but the effect was really good: after spending more than 10 million lire in legal fees, Matteotti finally gave in and paid 600 lire. Tens of thousands of liras of compensation made the United Group Scholarship a success; even the then-arrogant Socialist Party bowed their heads in front of the Constitutional Court to admit their mistakes, and Donadoni, who had been in charge of the Supreme Court for many years, was also ousted. Without such courage and means, how could such achievements be possible. Then, when Mussolini was overjoyed by sweeping the Socialist Party, he proposed to expand the security force to 320 people on the pretext of preventing the Socialist Party from attacking him. The leader agreed with a wave of his hand. Without these things to pave the way, he did not have a lot of lira. How can it be achieved if we burn it down to build the foundation?

Anyway, old Ciano no longer understands what his son is tinkering with. Finally, United Motorcycles is still selling well as always, and United Home stores are opening one after another. The crowds of people make him feel more at ease. With these as a foundation, he thinks things will improve in the future. of.

"This time I gave him money and also gave him some tasks to recruit a group of civil engineering, construction, bridge, and municipal engineers from Germany."

"What do you need these for?" Antonio hesitated. "Civil and construction engineers can barely be used in joint real estate. What do bridge and municipal engineers do?"

"I have been thinking about it recently. The group needs to add a unit called United Construction..." Contini said thoughtfully, "I plan to contract projects from the Ministry of Transport and other government departments to build buildings, roads, bridges, and railways. All of them will come in handy! Uncle Antonio, isn’t my father going to make a big move in the construction of domestic transportation facilities this year? I think we can take all these orders.”

"Isn't this not good?" Antonio smiled bitterly, "This kind of public opinion is not very favorable to the master's reputation."

"What's wrong with it? Open bidding, the lowest bid will win." Contini smiled, "Besides, we don't have to be the ones to win the bid, as long as the final project construction is undertaken by United Construction."

Antonio didn't understand what the other person was thinking, and his face was full of suspicion.

"As long as we contract the project, I can guarantee the lowest price, even if we don't make any money or even lose money in the end." Contini smiled, "I don't do good things for the government in vain. I have two considerations: first, After we get a large number of engineering construction projects, the construction materials, especially steel and cement, will be under our control. This will be a good entry point for United Steel, especially railway construction requires a large number of steel products. This The problem must be grasped; secondly, if I come forward to take over the contract, the government will lend money faster, and no one will dare to take the credit card. Of course, I will not make it too difficult for my father, and I will let the people below share the profit appropriately. Leave some, but the amount and scope are controllable.”

Antonio squinted his eyes and thought about it, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.

"If you think it's too arrogant at the beginning, we can take it slow and complete the group-wide projects first. The four bases in Rome, Milan, Genoa and Venice are enough to deal with, as well as the aviation town. There is also a long way to go in the construction of workers' new villages and various factory areas. Therefore, the scale of the United Group is not too big but too small. Our talents are not too many but too few. In the future, I will have at least 500,000 employees. I feel more at ease!”

"5...500,000!" Antonio's eyes widened, he couldn't believe his ears, and finally said in a stammering tone, "Master, I have never heard of any worker controlled by a consortium having this number. Super large companies such as Lupp, Siemens and Fiat only have 40,000 to 50,000 workers.”

"That's because they don't have enough vision. When I become prime minister, 500,000 workers will not be enough." Contini smiled slightly, "If I have 500,000 workers, plus their families, friends, and relatives, if I vote Do you think I can become Prime Minister? In fact, Uncle Antonio, I am not greedy for money. In the future, when I control this country, I can make the decision to give the industry to the country - why do I need such a big consortium to make money? If you don’t bring it to death, it will be enough. Apart from the numerical difference between US$10 billion and US$20 billion, how much difference is there in enjoyment?”

Antonio complimented: "Master, your thoughts are so great and far-reaching!"

"Just think about the problem from the perspective of Italy. Some things may be temporarily unfavorable to our consortium, but as long as it is beneficial to the country, I will not hesitate to do it, because from the day it was established, I have regarded the United Group as a national policy. Those who can understand the layout of the group will naturally understand it. Those who can't understand it will never understand it!" Contini smiled slightly, "Think and analyze the context of the United Group, and don't look at the problem from the perspective of economics and accounting. , but from the perspective of political economy and even geopolitics, this is the difference between the United Group and other consortiums, and the difference between me and other consortium leaders! For a patriotic person like me, Italy is not the same now. That’s a lot!”

Antonio couldn't help but laugh: The young master still has a childish temper after all. This kind of boastful temper is not seen in other consortium leaders. This temperament is a bit close to the leader. What a good successor!