My Italy - Chapter 689 The Second Munich Conference (Part 1)

The rumbling train was traveling rapidly along the track and had passed through the Alps and entered Bavaria. The hills along the route are undulating, and only women, the elderly, and children are seen working on the farmland dotted there. It is clear that the war has had a huge impact on agriculture. .

“Your Majesty, we are only twenty kilometers away from Munich.”

At this time, the captain of the guard, McClun, whispered to Carlo, who was lying down and resting.

“We’re almost there!”

Carlo, who was woken up at this time, replied and got up and walked out of the bedroom.

“Where are the Prime Minister and General Simeone?”

Faced with the king’s question, the captain of the guard immediately answered. “They are still resting in their rooms.”

“Invite them over.”

After a while, Prime Minister Cruz and Army Minister Simeone arrived.

“Two important ministers, please take a seat.”

Before the two of them could speak, Carlo took the lead and asked them to sit down.

“What else do you think about this meeting in Germany?”

Regarding this Munich Conference, senior Italian military and political officials have discussed it before.

Government officials generally believe that this is Germany’s attempt to take the opportunity to establish its status as the leader of the alliance. Of course, there must be coordination of resource exchanges between countries, otherwise it would be inconsistent with the theme.

The military believes that the German army has just experienced a defeat and will definitely not ignore it. Then there is a very high possibility that Italy will use more troops to contain France. In addition, there may be naval assistance to allow the combined fleet to increase its control over the Western Mediterranean to block France’s connection with North Africa.

Carlo basically agreed with the predictions of senior military and political officials. However, the closer he got to Munich, the more uneasy he felt, so he summoned the Prime Minister and the Minister of War for questioning.

Faced with the king’s sudden inquiry, both of them were a little surprised.

At this time, the prime minister who reacted quickly had already spoken. “Your Majesty, I still have some opinions at the moment.”

Carlo became interested when the Prime Minister said he had an opinion. “Tell me, what do you think?”

“I think that when Germany convenes a meeting, the main goal is still to focus on our country. The first is food. Our country’s current reserve of 1.5 million tons of food is much stronger than that of our allies. As far as I know, Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary have already There is a food shortage problem. According to the information we have received, rural residents do not have enough food. As for urban food, there are already ration restrictions.

The Ottomans were better than Germany, but not by much. Their grain production has been significantly reduced this year. Germany has purchased more than 50,000 agricultural machinery from the Naples Machinery Factory this year, accounting for 40% of Naples’ output…”

As the Prime Minister’s words came out, Carlo immediately imagined that the output of various countries would be reduced next year.

Italy is better. This year’s grain output has stabilized at 90%. There are two main reasons for the small decline in grain. First, Italy’s promotion of small agricultural machinery is very strong. After men join the army, women can also use agricultural machinery for farming. Second, Italy’s military expansion is not fast. So far, Italy’s total military strength has only reached more than 2.4 million people.

Compared with other countries, this is already the group with the slowest military expansion.

As the three of them talked, the train arrived at the Munich train station.

As the train pulled into the platform and the music sounded, Carlo suddenly saw a familiar figure, that was Kaiser Wilhelm II, and beside him was Ludwig III of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

At this time, the Italian delegation was very surprised that the Kaiser actually greeted them personally, which made everyone feel how important they were.

Only Carlo felt a little trembling in his heart, because he was familiar with this person, and if he lowered his posture this time, he must have a need that was difficult to express.

But at this time, he suppressed this idea in his heart and walked towards the Kaiser enthusiastically with a smile on his face.

“William, I was so happy to see you on the platform. I didn’t expect that we haven’t seen each other for more than a year, and you have lost some weight.”

After getting out of the car, Carlo stepped forward and hugged the Kaiser, saying something about reunited friends.

“Carlo, it’s been a long time since we last met, so I couldn’t wait to come to the station to wait for you.”

Both of them are not economical. They play haphazardly and will encounter good talents when they meet their opponents.

After a brief conversation, the group got into the welcoming car. As the host, the Kaiser took Carlo with him in the same car.

The speeding car carried the group towards Nufenburg, and in the car, the Kaiser took an early breather in Carlo.

“Carlo, the defeat in the Battle of Paris hit me hard. I originally thought I could achieve the same achievements as my grandfather, but the battle between Britain and France in Paris shattered my illusions, leaving me helpless and furious. I went to the military, They said that if they wanted to defeat the British and French forces and force France to withdraw from the war, the power of Germany alone was no longer enough.

Although my army is strong, fighting on the east and west fronts has exhausted us, and we cannot solve the problem in one direction alone. So they approached me and tried to get me to ask you for help. Can Italy focus on France and let the two of us defeat France? “

Facing the information revealed by William, Carlo was shocked. He and the military and political officials thought about it for a long time, but they never thought that the Germans were actually talking with this idea.

“Is it more advantageous to attack the Russians on the Eastern Front?”

Carlo’s mind was still a little confused at this time. He didn’t wake up from the Kaiser’s words, so he casually brought up the Eastern Front.

Faced with Carlo’s words, William II was surprised. There is no way not to be surprised that a country that is also facing threats from British and French troops actually calls for giving priority to solving the Eastern Front facing Germany and Austria. This made him confused, and he even forgot to control his expression.

Facing the Kaiser’s surprised expression, Carlo spoke. “I think Russia is weaker on the eastern front. If you and the Austrians concentrate their forces on the attack, I think it will be easier to defeat Russia.”

“Ha~~”

At this time the Kaiser laughed loudly, and then he shook his head and said. “Carlo, you have a good idea, but Russia is not that easy to fight. Napoleon has taught us enough lessons. If we concentrate our forces to attack Russia, what if Russia never surrenders? Even if we fight to St. Petersburg and Moscow, we will not surrender. We need too many troops just to maintain local security.”

The Kaiser’s words reflected Germany’s view of Russia, which was that it was afraid of falling into the Russian mud and making it impossible to advance or retreat.

If you look at World War I in history, you will know that Germany reluctantly attacked the Eastern Front only after suffering a bloody blow on the Western Front. This shows that Napoleon failed to attack Russia, which made European countries always fearful of attacking the Russian hinterland. (Don’t talk about the Crimean War. It was about Britain and France preventing Russia from seizing the Black Sea Strait and entering the Mediterranean)

Facing the Kaiser’s words, Carlo didn’t know what to say. Could it be that the Russian army this time was quite invincible, and a heavy attack would definitely lead to civil strife?

What are you thinking about? Carlo can’t make Germany change the direction of attack with just one word. He’s not that capable yet. Besides, if we really want Russia to withdraw from the war, we should let the great Russian man return home, and then we can settle the Eastern Front.

At this time Carlo didn’t know how to answer, so he could only say. “This situation is too serious. I can’t give you an answer now. How many days can I wait?”

“I’m waiting for your good news.”

William II certainly knew that it was impossible to get a reply from Carlo at this time. He was quite patient and believed that it was impossible for Italy to refuse.