Korchev's words also made Rovca feel solemn. In fact, any country will be wary of neighboring countries, especially those small and weak countries with powerful neighbors.
Just like the many small countries around the Far East Empire, the reverse is also true. With the decline of the Far East Empire in modern times, Far East Empire has also developed a stronger fear of those small countries in the past.
Take the current Japan for example. In ancient times, Far East Empire obviously looked down on this island country most of the time, but now it has directly become Far East Empire's biggest foreign trouble.
Yugoslavia is a neighbor of Germany, and the gap in national power between the two countries is so huge. They are not of the same culture and race, which will deepen Yugoslavia's fear of Germany.
Yugoslavs themselves also lack a sense of security. From a historical perspective, they were ruled and oppressed by the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire because they were weak.
Therefore, even if Germany brings Yugoslavia under its own rule and treats Yugoslavs equally, I am afraid that Yugoslavs will not trust Germany in a short time.
Not to mention that it is simply impossible for Germany to treat Yugoslavs equally.
Rovca said to Korchev, "We Yugoslavs will keep Mr.'s warning in mind. Yugoslavia's independence and self-reliance, we will never rely on the charity of the strong."
Korchev said with a smile, "If you have this understanding, I believe that the future of the Yugoslavia nation is bright."
"Just like the development of the Soviet Union today, we also used our own hands to build the greatest country in human history."
Time enters April of 1938.
At this time, Far East Empire's war has entered a new stage. With the Far East Empire's efforts in all-out resistance, it is temporarily difficult for Japan to find a new breakthrough in its war against the Far East Empire.
On the Iberian Peninsula in the West, Franco also ushered in its own highlight moment.
Madrid.
The capital of Spain welcomed its new owner today. Franco stood on the car in high spirits to review the army.
Behind the army, most of the Madrid city was filled with ruins that had not yet been cleared, collapsed buildings, and war-torn people, which formed a sharp contrast with the energetic Nationalist Army soldiers.
However, now Franco has no time to pay attention to the destruction of Madrid. The most important thing now is to let Spain people know that this country has ushered in their new manager--Franco.
In front of the troops being reviewed, Franco delivered a speech. "Today is a day worth remembering in history for Madrid. It has returned to the embrace of the free world... Peace has arrived!"
Wow--
There was warm applause around him, and some people shouted the name Franco and long live peace!
Although the people of Madrid are still relatively unfamiliar with the Franco government, this day is indeed worth celebrating for them.
As the saying goes, it is better to be a peace dog than a person in troubled times. The citizens of Madrid, who have suffered from war, have an extremely strong desire for peace.
Franco felt very satisfied with everyone's reaction, and then he drove away after saying a few more words.
After officially taking control of the country and becoming the head of state, Franco still has very important things to deal with, which is to meet with diplomatic representatives from various countries, especially Germany, Italy and other countries.
After all, the Franco government is now "listed" under the skin of an ultra-nationalist government, so Germany and Italy are apparently Spain's most important diplomatic allies.
This is basically how the outside world views the current Spain government.
Madrid Palace, this is the new office location of Franco. Franco's car has arrived here.
The Madrid palace is the traditional residence of the Spain royal family. The throne is currently vacant. As the head of state, Franco uses the palace as its new office location in order to emphasize the legitimacy of its power and the continuation of the Spain empire's tradition.
In the future, he will hold the most important state activities here, such as receiving foreign heads of state, hosting major ceremonies and cabinet meetings, etc.
His office and many state affairs will also be conducted in the palace.
The driver opened the door and welcomed Franco out of the back seat. Franco straightened the collar of his military uniform with a very solemn expression.
Looking at this former Spain symbol of royal power, Franco couldn't help but murmured.
"From today on, the mission of Spain falls on our shoulders..."
At this time, Spain's senior officials had already stepped forward, and Foreign Ministry Chief Count Jordana said, "Your Excellency, Head of State, foreign envoys have been waiting in the palace for a long time."
From the identity of the Earl of the Foreign Ministry, we can easily know that Hall Dana was a conservative royalist. During the civil war, Hall Dana was responsible for the diplomatic work of the Franco government.
During the reign of King Alfonso XIII, he held a number of diplomatic posts, including embassy work in Berlin and London, and eventually became the King's aide-de-camp.
Later, with the establishment of Second Spanish Republic and the exile of Alfonso XIII, he also lost his position. Therefore, after the outbreak of the civil war, he joined the camp of Franco without hesitation.
This Spain "former" official has won the trust of Franco. As for his identity as a royalist, it is obviously insignificant to Franco. After all, Franco himself is considered half a royalist.
Of course, if Count Jordana can become the leader of Spain Foreign Ministry, what Franco values more is his stance towards other countries. For example, this Foreign Ministry leader's cautious attitude towards Germany and Italy coincides with Franco.
Franco asked, "What countries are here today?"
Count Jordana said, "It is worth noting that the three big countries are Germany, Italy and East Africa, and then there are these countries Portugal, Vatican, Argentina. Other countries either did not send people, or they sent some low-priced officials."
It can be seen that when high-level officials were sent to the country of Spain this time, basically no normal ones could be found.
Germany, Italy and East Africa can be regarded as the "financiers" of the previous Franco, and Portugal itself is Spain's most important neighbor. At the same time, the current Portuguese Government can be said to have the same odor as the Franco government, and are highly similar in ideology. Argentina is also the same.
Portugal, Spain and Argentina are essentially dictatorships, and in terms of external affairs, they are far less ambitious than Germany and Italy.
The reason why Vatican sent people here is because the Franco government itself has a strong religious overtone.
The Franco regime calls itself "Catholic Crusaders" and describes its victory as a "victory against atheism."
Therefore, he attached great importance to his relationship with Vatican and quickly gained recognition from the Holy See, which provided important legitimacy to his regime.
Franco said, "It seems that many countries in the world still have concerns about us, especially the United Kingdom, France and United States."
Count Jordana said, "It should be like this. These countries are in a wait-and-see mode towards us now, but I believe they will find the difference in us Spain in the future."
In this regard, Franco could only say with a hint of regret, "That's all we can do now. This time we will entertain Germany and Italy, the three distinguished guests from East Africa, and our exchanges with other world powers can only be postponed for a while."
Of course, there is an exception in Franco's list of major world powers, and that is the Soviet Union. Basically, during Franco's administration, the relationship between Spain and the Soviet Union will not change much.
Then Franco led Spain officials into the reception room of Madrid's palace and began to deal with the country that came this time.
"Ambassador Stohrer, this time we finally met at Madrid. In the future, the exchanges between the two countries will continue to require your support."
The first diplomat Franco met was the German ambassador. Storrell was also an old acquaintance of Franco. He had previously worked at Salamanca like Franco.
Ambassador Stohrer said, "I also congratulate Mr. Franco for officially settling in the political center of Spain. From now on, the relationship between Germany and Spain will also enter a new chapter."
After Franco said a few polite words, he began to meet with diplomats from other countries. After all, Germany was not the only one present this time. Needless to say, Italy and East Africa, several other countries also deserve attention.
The current meeting is just an "appetizer" for everyone, and the real issues should be placed in a more private setting.
night.
It's still Madrid's palace. At this time, in a room of the palace, there are only Franco, Storell and Count Ciano. Count Ciano is the representative of Italy this time and the son-in-law of Benito.
Ambassador Stohrer said at this time, "Your Excellency Franco, the situation in Spain has been completely stabilized. Now that representatives from our three countries have gathered here, I think strategic matters regarding trilateral cooperation should also be put on the agenda."
There is no doubt that among the three countries, Germany occupies an absolutely dominant position. After all, Germany has the largest fist and the strongest economic and industrial strength.
Of course, Italy is not inferior, especially Count Ciano, who is the son-in-law of Benito. Just his relationship with Benito gives him a lot of confidence, not to mention the support of Franco in Spanish Civil War. Italy is not inferior to Germany at all.
During the Spanish Civil War period alone, Italy sent tens of thousands of troops to Spain. Italy also provided a large amount of weapons and assistance to Spain.
Count Ciano said to Franco, "Your Excellency Franco, now you have become the only legal government of Spain, which also means that the nationalist country camp on European continent has been further strengthened."
"As Ambassador Stohrer said, our three most important countries in Europe should take this opportunity to consolidate the friendship and cooperation between the three countries."
"As long as the three of us unite, it is no exaggeration to say that European politics will be completely dominated by the three of us!"
Franco did not fully agree with this, but also echoed, "Now the nationalist camp is indeed the most powerful political force in Europe. It ranks first in Europe in terms of population, economy, industry, and military fields."
In terms of population, Germany plus Italy and Spain as well as Poland, West Ukraine and other countries have steadily exceeded 200 million. At this time, the total population of Europe is about more than 500 million.
But the remaining countries in Europe can be divided into three factions. The Soviet Union is its own entity, Britain and France is considered a camp, and there are also some small countries that are more neutral.
If they do not unite, they will indeed have no demographic advantage against the ultra-nationalist camp.
At the economic and industrial level, Germany is at the top level in Europe, and countries such as Italy and Spain are lagging behind. However, Italy is still considered a great power, and Spain is also a big country in Europe.
Therefore, by bringing these two countries together, Germany can theoretically suppress other political groups at the economic and industrial levels. Germany alone has an absolute advantage over any country in Europe. That is, the United Kingdom and France together may put some pressure on Germany.
In the military field, overall, ultra-nationalist countries have more advantages, mainly in the army and air force. As for the navy, Britain and France are indeed stronger than ultra-nationalist countries.
Germany and Italian Navy are both very powerful, but Spain's naval power is extremely poor. If Spanish Navy can reach the level of Italy, only now can the ultra-nationalist camp be on par with Britain and France in terms of navy.
In fact, the Spain army and air force are far inferior to those of Germany and Italy. However, during the civil war, the Franco government received a large number of German and Italy weapons and equipment, so the current equipment of the Spain army and air force can be considered the world's advanced level.
Of course, in the absence of a strong defense industry, if the Spain army really goes to war with other top powers, its true colors will be revealed as long as it takes a little longer.
However, Germany and Italy obviously don't care too much about this. Their view of Spain is the icing on the cake for this camp, not the absolute main force.
In fact, from Germany's perspective, if it can win over countries such as Italy, Germany will be able to compete with other European countries. After all, Germany is now more powerful than during World War I.
At that time, Germany was able to break out of the siege with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Now Germany itself is a combination of Germany and Austro-Hungarian Empire, with Italy as a powerful ally, and Eastern Europe's younger brothers, so there is no possibility of losing the war!
This is a judgment based on Germany's performance in World War I. Of course, Germans's judgment is still the same as during World War I, deliberately ignoring East Africa and extraterritorial countries like United States.
The general idea of Germans is similar to that in the early days of World War I, that is, to win the war quickly and defeat all enemies in Europe before United States outside Europe and East Africa can react.
It's just that this time their confidence is stronger than at the beginning of World War I.
Faced with the beautiful blueprint described by Count Ciano and Ambassador Stohrer, Franco said calmly, "Spain is a staunch ally of Germany and Italy. We always put the two countries in the most important position in our relations."
"So we at Spain will do our best to cooperate with Germany and Italy."
Franco, Count Ciano and Ambassador Stohrer are naturally satisfied with this statement. In their view, this basically means that the European Axis powers system has been completely established.
This is also the international community's view of the current European situation. Few people think that Spain will not fall into the arms of Germany and Italy.