Chapter 71

While Wilhelm was discussing the improvement of steel casings with several officials, Annie hurriedly approached. "Your Highness, Mr. Ribbentrop's advisor has returned from Italy."

"Alright, everyone, let's call it a day. I hope you will all start working on the issues we discussed today when you go back." With these words, Wilhelm hurriedly returned to the palace, only to find a unfamiliar little girl standing beside Ribbentrop. The girl seemed to be around twelve or thirteen years old, with a beautiful and charming face, dressed in luxurious attire, clearly indicating her extraordinary identity.

"???" Wilhelm remembered that Ribbentrop only had two sons. Where did this little girl come from?

Seeing Wilhelm's confusion, Ribbentrop introduced somewhat awkwardly, "Uh, Your Highness, this is Princess Silvia, the granddaughter of King Emmanuel III."

Emmanuel III? Wilhelm raised an eyebrow slightly. Wasn't he the current king of Italy?

This king was quite interesting.

During World War II, on the surface, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy appeared to be Mussolini's puppet.

After World War I, Fascism emerged in the Kingdom of Italy, led by Benito Mussolini. Victor Emmanuel III surprisingly took a tolerant attitude toward the widespread Fascism and even appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister after he launched a coup in 1922. From then on, the Kingdom of Italy was ruled by the Fascist Party.

However, reality was quite different.

Though the Kingdom of Italy followed a constitutional monarchy, the king's prestige and power were still significant. The reason being that the Kingdom of Italy was the second unified nation in Italian history, with the first being the Roman Empire over a thousand years ago. Therefore, the Italian people were extremely loyal and supportive of their king. Hence, despite Mussolini holding the real power, all of his orders and actions had to be reported to and approved by the king. All of Mussolini's authority stemmed from the support of Victor Emmanuel III.

During World War II, Italy's military performance was always weak and considered a "burden" to Germany, a typical "deadweight ally." But there was a reason for this. It was not that the Italian military was poorly equipped or unqualified; it was because Victor Emmanuel III never supported Italy's participation in the war, nor did he support Italy forming the so-called "Axis" with Nazi Germany and Japan. The Italian people supported the king's attitude, but Mussolini went against the king's wishes and convinced Victor Emmanuel III to join the war. However, influenced by the king, the Italian military never reached its full potential.

As the war progressed, even the German military started experiencing defeats on the battlefield, not to mention the underperforming Italian forces. As a result, anti-war sentiments surged within Italy, and the Italian people demanded Italy's withdrawal from the war and Mussolini's removal. To ease internal conflicts, Victor Emmanuel III even demanded Mussolini to promptly withdraw from the war. Some members of the Fascist Party, who were loyal to the king, also began to distrust Mussolini, demanding his quick withdrawal from the war during meetings. But Mussolini ignored their advice and continued to collaborate with Nazi Germany.

In 1943, Victor Emmanuel III had one final meeting with Mussolini, asking him to leave the war. However, Mussolini firmly refused, and when he tried to leave the king's palace, he was arrested by the king's court guards and thrown into prison.

Upon hearing this news, not a single member of the Italian Fascist Party raised a coup or protested. They even made no objections when Victor Emmanuel III announced the dismissal of Mussolini as Prime Minister, the dissolution of the Fascist Party, and Italy's withdrawal from the war.

Could such a person be a puppet?!

Now, what does it mean that His Majesty King Emanuel III sends his granddaughter over?

A charm offensive? Or is there another motive?

Just as Wilhelm is pondering what schemes Emanuel III might have, Princess Silvia bows to him and says politely, "Hello, esteemed Prince Wilhelm. I am Silvia. I have come here without prior notice; please forgive me."

Wilhelm smiles and replies, "No problem. I'm just wondering if the visit of Princess Silvia is purely for sightseeing or if there's some official business."

However, what Princess Sylvia says next leaves him momentarily stunned. "I've heard that Prince Wilhelm has made significant achievements in literature and painting. I've come specifically to ask you to be my mentor."

"..." Wilhelm doesn't know what to say. She wants him to be her mentor? He's busy preparing for the upcoming war; he doesn't have time to accompany this little girl who knows what she's up to.

Just as he's about to refuse, he suddenly reconsiders and nods, "Of course, no problem, Princess. You must be tired from your journey. Rest for now, and we can discuss other matters tomorrow." He then calls for Annie and asks her to take Princess Sylvia to rest.

"Thank you, Prince Wilhelm," Princess Silvia expresses her gratitude and follows Annie to leave.

After she leaves, Wilhelm can't wait and asks, "How did it go with the matter?!"

Ribbentrop respectfully reports, "Following your orders, I've already leased the Silesian Basin. The lease term is 75 years, with an annual rent of one dollar. Here's the contract; please review it." He hands over a document.

"That's fantastic!" Wilhelm is so excited he almost jumps up. He immediately calls for Annie, "Miss Annie, prepare an engineering team right away to head to the Silesian Basin and start construction." He doesn't directly dispatch an oil exploration team because the place is still remote and desolate, just a bare desert without even basic infrastructure. Thanks to the oil shipped from China, Germany isn't currently short on oil supply, so he has time to prepare gradually.

After Annie leaves, Ribbentrop continues reporting, "Your Highness, there's one more thing. The whole process cost a total of 1.05 million dollars. When I went to see Mussolini, he claimed to be busy with official duties and didn't see me for three consecutive days. I had to bribe his secretary with 50,000 dollars and then secretly sent 1 million dollars worth of gold bars to him. Only then did he readily lease the land to me."

Wilhelm waves his hand indifferently, "That's nothing. Even if it cost 10 million, it would be worth it. What about Princess Silvia? Was she sent here by Emanuele III?"

Ribbentrop shakes his head, "I'm not entirely sure. Princess Silvia came to my residence on her own and insisted on coming here with me, saying her grandfather also agreed. I couldn't refuse, so I brought her along. Please pardon me, Your Highness."

"I see." Wilhelm nods. "You can go and rest now."