The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 209: A Talented Person Falls into My Trap

Just like in the last World War, when Italy became a victorious nation by taking sides, this time Italy once again completed a stunning reversal before the end of the war.

As the Allied forces took control of the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula, the King of Italy was the first to surrender, jumping off the leaking ship of the Axis powers.

Yidai immediately declared war on Hans, boarded the Allied ship, and stood in the same trench with the Allies.

Hans's leader was of course not polite to the traitors. He immediately disarmed the remaining 80 Italian troops and sent troops to actually control the northern part of the Apennine Peninsula.

The Ansaldo shipyard in the northern coastal city of Genoa naturally fell into the hands of the Hans.

After a few glasses of whiskey, Bruce quickly became friends with some frustrated Italians.

"Hey, Bruce, you're a really nice guy..." Mattia, a middle-aged, bespectacled naval engineer, raised his glass, his tone slightly tipsy, his eyes flickering with uneasiness. "But I have to say, we lied to you. The warships in the shipyard are all in the hands of the Germans. I was just bragging when I said I was going to sell them."

The two aircraft carriers, Aquila and Sparrowhawk, which were being modified before Yidai surrendered, were parked on the slipway of the Ansaldo Shipyard.

According to the drawings, the former has a full displacement of tons and can carry about 50 aircraft, while the latter has a full displacement of tons and can carry about 60 aircraft.

The Allies, Hans, and the Russians naturally all kept their eyes on these two aircraft carriers that could be completed at any time. Among them, the Aquila, which had the faster progress, had been under strict control of the Hans.

Several Italian ship engineers, led by Mattia, deliberately pretended to be familiar with the Aquila in the tavern and drank with the intelligence personnel who were interested in aircraft carriers.

Bruce smiled faintly, not caring at all.

In reality, Zhang Chi currently lacked the ability to maintain large ships, so he wasn't particularly interested in the two half-finished aircraft carriers. Furthermore, Zhang Chi was well aware of the fate of these two ships—they remained in a semi-finished state until they were dismantled by the Allies after the war.

In this case, Zhang Chi felt that without considering the butterfly effect, he could wait for Hans to surrender and then buy the two aircraft carriers at the price of scrap metal.

On the contrary, compared with the ships, these frustrated ship engineers and the skilled technicians and equipment in the shipyard were the targets that Zhang Chi assigned to Bruce.

"Don't worry, my friend, there's plenty of wine tonight." Bruce pretended to be drunk, hugged Mattia and asked, "So Ansaldo can't pay the wages anymore?"

Mattia blushed, perhaps because he had drunk too much or because he was embarrassed about eating and drinking for free. He murmured:

"We actually have a salary, and as long as you still call the lira money, it's almost as good as paper."

With the defeat and surrender, the country was taken over by Hans, and the people of northern Italy lived a life on the verge of collapse, and the lira depreciated sharply.

Although it was still not enough to buy a loaf of bread for 50 marks, with martial law, there were very few goods available for trading on the market, and the meager salary in lira was obviously not enough to make ends meet.

In addition, there was no work to do in the shipyard, and the construction of the few valuable ships was controlled by the Hans. Several Ansaldo engineers had no choice but to go to Casablanca to seek a living.

However, it was obvious that the Allies were only interested in the two aircraft carriers in the factory, and did not value the abilities of mid-level engineers like them.

So Mattia and his group spent a lot of time fooling around, but apart from a few drinks, they didn't even get a ticket to the New World.

"If I say..." Bruce pulled out his wallet and flashed the green bills inside, immediately catching Mattia's eye, "There's a place that needs your skills and talents, and can provide corresponding treatment..."

Knife music!

Mattia stared at the green papers, as if they were the most beautiful things in the world.

"Are you willing to work in a foreign country? Of course, it's a bit far away." Bruce put away his wallet and looked at Mattia seriously.

"Very far away? Not in the New World?" Mattia watched Dao Le disappear from his sight, swallowed, and asked disappointedly.

"I can't tell you the exact location, but I promise you will be safe." There were many people in the tavern, and Bruce didn't intend to reveal too much.

"Steak, pizza, noodles, red wine, think about how long it's been since you last enjoyed these?" Bruce coaxed. "We can provide a villa, a car for transportation, and a generous salary. As long as you agree, think about your family, right?"

"But..." Mattia was obviously tempted when he thought of his wife and children who stayed in Genoa and lived on one potato a day.

He looked around guiltily and asked quietly, "What about the Gestapo? They won't let my family leave."

Mattia is not a fool. It’s okay if a few of their engineers run away.

But from what he saw from Bruce in front of him, it was obvious that he wanted to recruit Ansaldo employees on a large scale. With so many people, the Gestapo would definitely not fail to react.

"Don't worry, everyone has his own price, and the Gestapo is no exception. And I happen to be good at bidding." Bruce said confidently.

Carrying the Citibank check given by Zhang Chi, Bruce brought a whole ship full of "hard currency" such as cigarettes, alcohol, and sugar, just waiting for an opportunity to connect with Hans and others, so as to use these supplies to open a channel.

In addition to the talents of Yidai, many talents of Hans also realized that the ship of the Third Reich was about to sink. Zhang Chi felt that instead of letting them escape to the three countries of ABC in South America and be hunted by David agents for the rest of their lives, it would be better to bring them to Southeast Asia to engage in construction.

Bruce took out a piece of paper with his address in Casablanca and handed it to Mattia: "If you want to live a better life, you are welcome to come find me here."

Seeing that the other party was still hesitating, Bruce whispered in a threatening voice: "Rumor has it that the Hans are planning to capture a group of Italians and send them to concentration camps for forced labor. You know what that means, right?"

After saying this, Bruce stood up, straightened his windbreaker, and left the tavern without looking back.

Mattia was shocked. His wife's brother was serving in the Italian Army and had been disarmed and taken into custody by the Hans.

If there was anyone most likely to be captured by the Hans and forced to work in concentration camps, it would undoubtedly be these poor Italian officers and soldiers.

The next morning, Mattia knocked on the door of Bruce's hotel room.

"Mr. Bruce, I've made up my mind." Mattia made up his mind. "As long as you can guarantee the safety of my family and provide a dignified life, I will work for you."

Bruce whistled. "It's a wise choice. You won't regret it."