Chapter 2667: A Knife Inserted Horizontally

"Assam black tea?" Lieutenant General Duff did not answer the Duke's words, but asked while staring at the black tea.

"No, it's Ceylon black tea. Although your country's Assam black tea is a good choice, it's still a lot worse than Ceylon black tea. In comparison, we will naturally choose a good one." Abulu Duke Qi said with a smile.

"Then thank you for your kindness. But I'm sorry, when Ceylon is no longer a colony of the British Empire, I no longer drink Ceylon black tea." Duff said with an unhappy face.

"Okay, there's coffee over there. The one on the left is from South Africa, and the one on the right is from Brazil. It's up to you." The Duke said with a smile. After hesitating for a while, Duff went to the coffee shelf next to him, and brewed Brazilian coffee for himself. He could feel a certain degree of malice from the Duke's behavior, but that was normal. Because the actions of the British have already caused some inconvenience to Italy.

"Through the recent events, I thought that your country and Germany had abandoned the past. It turns out that your Excellency is still hostile to Germany, so can you explain to me the recent situation of coal supply? Coal exports to Italy, and the United Kingdom has also reduced. This is somewhat beyond our expectations. The Germans did not give us an answer. I hope your Excellency can give us." The Duke said with a bad face.

"With your country's political sense, can't you think of the reason? You are very slippery and always want to please both sides, or gain excess benefits in the competition between the two sides. However, neither Germany, the British Empire nor the Americans I like people who fall on both sides." Duff said calmly.

"To make the problem simple, neither we nor the Germans want the Caraggiono-class fast battleships being built in your country to flow into the hands of the Americans, because this will reduce our and the Germans' profits. Germany Humans also have to deal with battleships, and they don't want the war to end prematurely. So do we." Duff finished speaking, took a sip of coffee, and then quietly watched the other party's reaction.

"This approach is really overbearing." Duke Albruzzi said angrily. More than 70% of coal in Italy needs to be imported from abroad. Before the war, Italy mainly imported coal from Wales, England. Therefore, based on this alone, it is unlikely that Italy will fight side by side with Germany and Austria during the war. After the war, as the Austro-Hungarian Empire acquired the Donetsk coal mines, Italy's coal imports also began to diversify. Part of the coal is produced in Donetsk, while the other part is still imported from the UK.

And not so long ago, the Allies reduced the supply of coal and oil to Italy with excuses, without detailing the reasons. Subsequently, the British also reduced coal exports to Italy, so now Italy has only two options. The first option is to find ways to restore oil supply to Germany and restore coal supply to the British. And the second option is to buy high-priced coal from the Americans! The Italians wanted to understand some of the reasons, and today, the meeting between Duke Abruzzi and Duff was to solve this problem.

"And it's really hard for me to understand,

Britain and Germany, which were supposed to be feuds, took the same action tacitly! Or take this action against an Italy that is not willing to be involved in disputes between major powers! I feel the malice and insult in it! " said the Duke angrily.

"Since you can clearly see the interests involved, you shouldn't raise such doubts. As for the positioning of the Kingdom of Italy? You didn't choose neutrality, but prepared to reap benefits in the name of neutrality. As members of the Allied Powers, you didn't Declared war on the Allied Powers. Negotiated and traded with us but chose to escape at the last moment. We know how smart your country is, and so do the Germans. Italy’s approach makes you have no real friends, and Italy’s national strength Not enough, the real powerful country can naturally manipulate you at will." Duff made no secret of his contempt for Italy.

"We can choose the United States. Perhaps because of the war, the Americans' coal and fuel exports are a bit tight, and the prices are a bit high. But it is not unacceptable to us, and the warships we export to the Americans can also make up for the difference. We don't accept your blackmail!" the Duke said angrily.

"Hehe, if you and Italy had the determination and ability, then I wouldn't have come here! You dare not offend the Germans. And you don't have the ability to complete the battleship within the stipulated time. Whether it is politically or in Technically, you don’t really have any more choices!” Duff said.

"Are you kidding? The military technology of the Italian Navy has always been at the world's first-class level. The Caraggiono-class battleship is no worse than the German Bavaria, your country's fury, and the Japanese Fuso-class! It is much better than the American ship. How could we not finish it?" Duke Albruzzi sneered.

"It seems that you also admit that the Germans are irresistible to your pressure." Duff said with a smile: "Well, let's not talk about political issues, let's talk about economic and technical issues. I used to be Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy, I am very proficient in the professional field!"

"Let's just talk about the simplest question. Can Andorsha provide enough 15-inch guns at present? I remember that your country ordered about 20 15-inch guns in the intended order for Armstrong before the war. The four Caraggiono-class battleships have only 32 15-inch guns in total. Your country has launched two Caraggiono-class battleships, but the artillery and turrets have not arrived, so it can only explain one problem, Andorsha Company Something went wrong!" Duff said.

(Note that in history, the Italian Caraggiono-class battleship did purchase a considerable part of its heavy guns from the United Kingdom. According to the plan, the Italian government planned to order 30 15-inch guns in 1913, ten of which were from Andorsha and ten from Armstrong. The other ten are from Wicks. And Andorsha's artillery weighs less than 70 tons, and Armstrong's 15-inch L40 artillery weighs about 90 tons. The difference in gun weight also leads to different artillery power. The Italian government has a clear tendency Made in the UK. Then because of the outbreak of the war, the battleship was cancelled, and the 15-inch L40 artillery produced by Andorsha was changed to a train gun.)

"The other problem is the armor steel. Let's not talk about how much hardened armor the four Caraggiono-class battleships need. For the two launched, they need more than 20,000 tons of armor steel and defensive materials. I think it's expensive. It is difficult for China's armor production to meet the needs of two battleships!" Duff said.

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