Anti-Japanese War: The whole world is a base vehicle

revenge?

Of course, there is a hundred years of hatred between Britain and France, which cannot be dissipated overnight.

Back then, the two countries had conflicts of interest in many aspects. They fought each other countless times and created numerous grudges.

Although in recent decades, due to common interests, both sides have temporarily put aside some of their hatred and appear to be living in peace and have even worked together to do some things, but in fact, the grudge in their hearts is always there.

This time, the British attack on the port of Oran was like pouring more fuel on the already raging anger of the French army, which suddenly increased the French army's desire for revenge. The French army was full of energy and wanted to take revenge on the British army.

Hearing what the other party said, Admiral Darlang's face suddenly turned red, as if someone had hit a sore spot. He was so angry that he opened his mouth and wanted to refute a few words, but at the same time he felt that what the other party said seemed to make some sense, so the words of rebuttal were stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them out.

"Revenge is definitely for revenge, but it's not blindly committing suicide." At this time, Lieutenant General Sur, who had been silent, said calmly. His tone was very steady, and his eyes showed a trace of calmness and rationality. In his opinion, revenge requires strategy and timing, and one cannot act impulsively based on passion, otherwise it would be a waste of life and would not achieve the purpose of revenge at all.

"You're right, that's why you should buy more warships. What can two battleships do?" Li Si didn't care about the other party's attitude at all and continued to talk to himself. He was only thinking about his own task, which was to get the other party to order more warships. After all, this was related to his own interests. As for whether his tone of voice sounded a bit sarcastic, he didn't need any reason at all, as long as he could achieve his goal.

Hearing this, Jean. Sur and Darlan looked at each other, and both of them showed a trace of helplessness on their faces. They understood this truth, and of course they wanted to order more warships. Who doesn't want to expand the strength of the fleet so that they can compete with the British army and vent their anger?

But the reality is that there is no money. After the defeat of France, it was burdened with huge war reparations. The only tax revenue had to be used to pay the reparations. The government was almost unable to make ends meet, so where would there be extra money to buy new warships? This was really powerless, and the French could only sigh helplessly, caught in a dilemma.

Perhaps noticing the other party's embarrassment, Li Si chuckled, and that chuckle seemed to carry a hint of asking a question even though he already knew the answer.

"I forgot. Because you lost the war, all the taxes were used to pay war reparations. You have no funds to buy warships. I can understand that." Li Si said this, but his expression seemed a little nonchalant, as if he was just mentioning this fact casually.

"Of course, for high-quality customers, we will also provide some advanced services." Li Si changed the subject and showed a slightly seductive smile on his face, whetting the other party's appetite. Lieutenant General Sur and Admiral Darlang could not help but prick up their ears, wanting to hear what this so-called "advanced service" was.

"Loan?" Lieutenant General Sur frowned slightly, and immediately guessed the general idea, but then he became worried again. They are now extremely poor, what else can they use as collateral? In the past, they had mortgaged everything they should mortgage for various compensations and expenses, and their domestic assets had been tossed around to the point where there was nothing valuable left.

Take the battleships for example. The Germans coveted their battleships before and tried every means to get them. But now, even the Germans feel that they can't get any benefit from the French army and have given up. As for whether the other party would be interested in their battleships? That's a joke. After all, there are not many French battleships left now, and most of them are in poor condition. They are not attractive at all. So let. Lieutenant General Sur was very curious about what the other party wanted as collateral. They couldn't just give them a loan for no reason. There is no such good thing in the world.

"Yes, you can definitely use the colonies as collateral." Li Si said with a smile, his eyes showing a glimmer of determination. Although France was defeated, they still have a lot of colonies all over the world. Although some colonies are now beginning to stir and want to break away from France's control, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. If these colonies can be used as collateral, it will be a very cost-effective deal for Li Si and his team. They can not only make a business of selling warships, but also take advantage of the opportunity to control some valuable territories. It is simply killing two birds with one stone. He looked at the other party expectantly, waiting for them to nod and agree.

"Colonies?" Darlan's face suddenly turned ugly when he heard this, as if covered by a dark cloud. He widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief. He never thought that the other party would actually set his sights on his colony. In his opinion, this was simply unacceptable.

After thinking about it, Darlan rejected his proposal without hesitation. For him, those colonies were important assets of France, carrying many of France's overseas rights and interests. They were developed and managed by the ancestors after countless hardships. How could they be mortgaged so easily? This was related to France's dignity and future. Even if the fleet urgently needed to expand its strength, it could not be at the expense of the colonies.

Li Si was not surprised by this, or rather, he had already guessed that this would be the result. After all, colonies were of great significance to France, and it was reasonable that the other party would not easily give in. However, he was not panicked, and he was very sure that when the German and Italian naval forces were greatly improved, the French would change their minds and agree to this proposal in the face of strong maritime pressure. Seeing Li Si's calm and confident appearance, Darlan's face looked even worse, and the feeling of dissatisfaction in his heart became stronger and stronger, as if his mind was controlled by the other party, but he could not do anything about the other party, so he could only be angry, secretly gritting his teeth, and his disgust towards Li Si increased a little more.

On the other side of the Italian fleet, Arturo Ricardi frowned slightly, with a hint of curiosity and expectation in his eyes. He looked at the person in front of him and asked, "Can you provide warships? Including battleships? Are the German battleships provided by you?" There was a bit of urgency in his voice, and it was obvious that he was very concerned about this matter.

Compared to Darlan's attitude, Arturo Ricardi in front of him was quite nice, especially when he heard that warships could be provided, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his excitement was about to overflow. As mentioned earlier, the Italian fleet has long coveted the dominance of the Mediterranean, and has always longed to have a powerful fleet to walk sideways in this sea area, but its own strength is limited, and the number and quality of warships are not enough. So when it heard that there was an opportunity to purchase warships, and even battleships could be provided, it was naturally very excited, as if it saw the dawn of realizing the dream of dominating the Mediterranean, and was looking forward to the other party's response.

"That's right. For example, the Vittorio Veneto-class battleship you are building can also be provided." Li Liu said slowly with a confident smile on his face and a calm but unquestionable tone. It was as if he had endless resources in his hands, and as long as the other party nodded, he could immediately offer this impressive battleship.

Hearing this, Arturo Ricardi couldn't help but take a breath, his face full of shock. The Vittorio Veneto-class battleship was being secretly built by the Italian Navy, and it was a highly confidential project. Those who knew about it were strictly controlled, but the man in front of him knew so much about it and said it so carelessly, how could he not be shocked.

Moreover, from their tone, it seemed that they already had the blueprints of this battleship, and it seemed that they knew all its details and parameters. Arturo Ricardi suddenly had countless questions in his mind. Who was the other party? Was it some mysterious military giant who had all-powerful abilities and could even grasp the situation of such a confidential battleship? Or was he just bragging and deliberately using this matter to bluff people so that he would take the bait.

But looking at the other party's confident and calm expression, it didn't seem fake. Thinking about the German army's majestic warships that suddenly appeared, weren't they all made by the other party? With such a real example in front of him, it seemed that he couldn't help but believe it.

Thinking of this, Arturo Ricardi began to fall into deep thought, wondering whether to place an order. After all, according to the original plan, it would take too long to build the Vittorio Veneto-class battleship. If other countries' naval strength continued to increase during this period, the Italian Navy's dream of dominating the Mediterranean would become increasingly slim. But if he placed an order now, he could expand the fleet's strength faster and gain an advantage in the maritime competition. However, this matter was serious after all, and he had to consider it carefully. He frowned and weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

"How long will it take to get in the water?" Arturo Ricciardi was silent for a long time, frowning slightly, with a look of confusion and expectation in his eyes, and finally asked slowly. He knew very well that the answer to this question was crucial to his next decision. If the time was right, he would really consider placing an order.

Hearing this, Li Liu couldn't help but reveal a smile on his face, with a hint of pride in that smile. He knew in his heart that the other party was tempted. As long as they were satisfied with the launching time, the deal would most likely be done. After all, who would dislike having too many warships? The more warships they had, the greater their say on the sea.

"Three months at the earliest." Li Liu estimated the construction time and gave this answer. In fact, according to the actual construction progress, the warship can be launched in more than two months. After all, they have an efficient construction process and sufficient resource reserves. However, considering that Li Si may also receive a lot of orders, the resource allocation will have to be weighed comprehensively at that time, so he slightly extended the time by one month, thinking that this way, it can ensure the smooth progress of the orders here, and it will surely make the other party feel that this time is reasonable and should be enough.

"Hiss." Arturo Ricardi gasped, his face full of disbelief, thinking to himself, this is too fast, right? According to the normal construction cycle, a battleship would take a lot of time, from laying the keel to assembling various parts, and then to the final debugging. It is a long and complicated process, but the other party actually said that it could be launched in three months at the fastest. Could it be that it has already been built and is waiting for his order and delivery?
But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was unlikely. He usually paid close attention to the news about battleship construction, but he had never heard of any other place building battleships. After all, this thing is not an ordinary ship. It has extremely high requirements for construction technology and equipment. In particular, it requires a 10,000-ton hydraulic press to forge some key large components. Without such equipment and supporting technology, it cannot be built at all. So he became more and more curious and confused. How did the other party do it? He stared at Li Liu, wanting to get a reasonable explanation from him.

"Don't you want to dominate the entire Mediterranean?" Li Liu looked at Arturo Ricardi's hesitant expression and couldn't help but continue to tempt him. His eyes flashed with a persuasive light, like a businessman who knows people's hearts well, accurately grasping what the other person desires most in his heart.

"The British army is now in decline, and the German army obviously has no interest in the Mediterranean. After dealing with the British fleet in Alexandria, they will definitely return to the North Sea to fight a decisive battle with the Royal Home Fleet. The Mediterranean will enter a vacuum zone." Li Liu said, while gesturing in the air to indicate the Mediterranean area, as if he had seen the future changes in the situation in this sea area. He was well aware of Italy's ambition for hegemony in the Mediterranean, and the analysis of this situation at this moment undoubtedly added fuel to the other party's anger.

Hearing this, Arturo Ricardi just glanced at him and didn't say anything, but his eyes became deep, and it was obvious that Li Liu's words touched his inner thoughts. In fact, this was exactly why he wanted to buy a warship.

In his heart, he always had a grand blueprint, which was to make the Italian Navy dominate the entire Mediterranean. He knew very well that in this world where the strong prey on the weak, only by becoming strong could he truly dominate this sea area. Otherwise, even if he now relied on some tricks or luck to gain an advantage in the Mediterranean, he would sooner or later have to give it up because of his lack of strength.

Just like before, although the Italian Navy has certain strength, it is always restricted by various factors. The presence of the British Army, the influence of the German Army, and the lack of quantity and performance of their own warships make it difficult for them to truly control the Mediterranean. Now, the opportunity described by Li Liu is like a ray of light in the darkness, allowing him to see the possibility of realizing his dream, but the interests and risks involved are not small. He still needs to weigh them carefully and cannot make a decision easily. (End of this chapter)