"Matthew, please contact Count Grandi and tell him our plan. At this time, it doesn't matter even if you confess everything, the plan will be successfully implemented soon." Ciano instructed Matthew with some arrogance.
In his view, Mussolini's motorcade had already set off from the Palazzo Venezia and was on its way to inspect a Blackshirt Army base on the outskirts of Rome.
As for the Air Force, Ciano also secretly secured the participation of an entire bomber squadron in the name of the King.
Use a squadron of bombers to deal with an unsuspecting convoy. The success rate is almost 100%!
Therefore, Ciano's self-confidence is actually very secure.
Count Grandi was also a prominent figure in Italian politics. Before the assassination of Mussolini was about to succeed, it was obviously appropriate to inform Count Grandi.
Originally, a large number of military police and Fascist National Army soldiers had been deployed in the square outside the Palazzo Venezia, patrolling back and forth non-stop.
Just yesterday, Mussolini, who had just been discharged from the hospital, wore the light green military uniform of the supreme commander of the Fascist National Army, and with an unhappy face, re-released a speech he thought could boost morale outside the Venice Palace.
Unlike Churchill's and Reinhardt's speeches, after Mussolini was discharged from the hospital, he refused anyone to edit his speech for him. He only relied on his own insights and delivered a messy two-hour speech.
He mentioned the military's incompetence in combat operations, criticized command errors, and put all the blame on his subordinates. He also mentioned personnel and government position issues, saying that public opinion was openly or secretly blaming him under the severe internal and external situation.
In short, as soon as Mussolini was discharged from the hospital, he offended a group of subordinates with various accusations in front of the Italian people.
In addition, in order to avoid being criticized, Mussolini also concealed his previous failed decisions from the people. In fact, in the final analysis, they were all issued by his mouth. Many of the targets he accused were just loyal executioners.
That’s all.
However, Mussolini's shirk of responsibility naturally quickly offended many people. Among them, Count Grandi was particularly excited.
"Oliver, after Count Grandi expresses his support for the overthrow of Mussolini's party, you will go to the Savoy Palace to see the king and invite His Majesty the King to come forward with the greatest possible influence." I am sure that Count Grandi will be on his side.
Ciano has even set his sights further afield.
Yes, the King of Italy may seem to want a vase, but in fact, the King still nominally has the power to lead and depose Mussolini, the Prime Minister.
Because of Ciano's previous methods and efforts, Mussolini did not depose the king of Italy, but became a powerful prime minister with real power.
And this foreshadowing laid by Ciano has become extremely critical and important today.
Although 10 years ago, most of the power in the Kingdom of Italy was already in the hands of the Prime Minister, Mussolini held huge power.
At that time, it seemed that Mussolini's attempt to depose the king was completely futile, and might even lead to opposition from all walks of life, which would outweigh the gains and losses.
But now, when someone wants to overthrow Mussolini's rule, the role of the Italian royal family is very huge.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Rossi has also been helping Mussolini weaken the Italian royal family's voice and found evidence and locations of the royal family's secret war oil reserves.
However, as long as the king is still alive, the nominal supreme leader of Italy will still be King Emmanuel III.
Once Mussolini died, his followers would immediately become leaderless.
In addition, Ciano was able to divide some of Mussolini's original members. After that, it would be logical for the king to give an order to control the domestic situation.
"Count Ciano, please rest assured. It is absolutely impossible for Mussolini to escape the bombing of our squadron." An Italian Air Force colonel who participated in this operation also flattered while the iron was hot: "Wait until our Italian leader...
...Once the Prime Minister dies, it will be up to you to lead Italy's political situation."
Ciano was very satisfied with the colonel's flattery and said with a smile: "This assassination is for Italy to have a bright future. I just accepted the mission given to me by history."
"Yes, yes, of course." The colonel continued to flatter him cheerfully.
This situation is very similar to when Ciano flattered Mussolini. However, the person who flattered him at the beginning has now become the target of flattery.
The colonel's guess was right. Once Ciano's plan goes smoothly, the king will undoubtedly give the foreign minister further rewards when the final reward is given.
The power of the previous prime minister is obvious to all walks of life in Italy. Ciano, the next prime minister in the future, even if his power is reduced, at least he will still exist.
If you please please Ciano in advance, the life of the colonel will naturally be much better in the future. If you don't expect it, there is no chance of being designated as a general.
"Let's wait for the results."
Although Ciano said this, he was actually very confident and had no worries about the outcome going wrong.
If a bomber squadron cannot successfully attack a convoy without any anti-aircraft firepower, the chance is simply lower than a golden pie falling from the sky.
Sure enough, Ciano immediately went on to say to the air force colonel: "You performed very well and are a talent that has been buried. After this is over, I will promote you."
They had made promises in advance about what would happen when things were done. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Ciano was not as calm and low-key as he said.
Waiting for the results? Are you kidding!
Although Ciano said anything about waiting for the results, he was just pretending to be modest.
While he was talking to the colonel, Mussolini's motorcade was already on its way back to the Palazzo Venezia. And it wouldn't be long before the squadron of bombers that had just taken off would appear above the head of my dear leader.
Ciano really wanted to see what his father-in-law, who was always conceited to the point of stupidity and put on an awesome face all day long, would show when he saw bombs raining down from the sky.
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PS: Some people have raised questions about the formation of the SS. Here is a little forced explanation. Because the German SS initially used the ancient oriental organization to pretend to be a militia system, their organization was slightly different from that of the German Wehrmacht.
For example, an infantry squad in the National Defense Force likes to be organized into 12 people, with a platoon consisting of four squads with more than 50 people.
However, since the SS had previously used a 10-man formation as its basis, they only had 10 people in a squad.