Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 155: The Hanged Man (Part 1)
Subtitle of this chapter: Milan's city derby
"Gudmund, Mr. Weizmann."
"Gudmund, Mr. Einstein..."
"Mr. Yuan, please just call me Albert."
"Hahaha, Albert, then please call me Neo. By the way, let me introduce you, this is my friend Mr. Meng. He has a Master of Education from George Washington University."
"High spirits, full of energy, and a bit nervous... No, that's not right," said Master Yuan, who was full of energy, while "listless, yawning, and looking like he's overindulged... No, that's not right, that's not right, that's not right," said Teacher Meng, who was overworked and introduced him.
It was noon on Monday, April 18, 1921. They were having lunch in the Rosewood Restaurant.
The reason why Mr. Meng was so hardworking was because he had finally finished the planning . He was so sleepy that he had to take a nap for a few hours in the morning. Now, his old classmates had brought him to have lunch.
Meng Xiancheng was invigorated upon seeing this great scientist and said respectfully, "Mr. Einstein, it's an honor to meet you."
The Grand Magister also politely greeted him. "Hello, Mr. Meng. I'm also pleased to meet an education expert like you. Speaking of George Washington University..."
He turned to Yuan Yan and said, "Neo, I have a speech there today. Would you like to be my warm-up guest?"
The so-called warm-up guests are the people who come on stage to introduce the main speaker before his speech. Of course, this is a very proud thing for Master Yuan.
Yuan Yan, overjoyed, maintained a calm expression. Just as she was about to agree, she felt a pain on the back of her left hand...
He secretly took a look at the painful area and found that a scar appeared there inexplicably. It seemed that "Lord Justice" was calling him.
Master Yuan had no choice but to reveal a regretful expression and said, "Albert, I'm sorry. I have something to do today. It seems I can only be your guest speaker after returning to New York..."
The Kingdom of Italy in 1921 was in a turbulent period, or more precisely, it was the eve of the Red Revolution.
To be honest, the Kingdom of Italy contributed significantly during the war, compared to the victorious Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. Before World War I, Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary were all members of the Central Powers. However, after the war, Italy maintained a period of "neutrality," essentially negotiating a compromise with both sides.
Later, under the strong enticement of Britain and France, Italy finally turned to the Allied Powers. After declaring war on the Central Powers in 1915, it immediately stabbed the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the back.
But the Noodle Country is still the Noodle Country. They launched 11 battles of the Isonzo River, during which the Italian army suffered more than 1 million casualties. Although they tied up more than 40 divisions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they never achieved their goal.
On the contrary, in September 1917, more than one million Italian troops were pushed back 100 kilometers into northern Italy by a German-Austrian coalition force of only 250,000 in the Battle of Caporetto, losing nearly 14,000 square kilometers of land.
This was certainly not the first time the Italians had been humiliated on the battlefield; they had been defeated by the Ethiopian Blacks in 1895. Bismarck once quipped, "They arrived in Africa with a mouth full of rotten teeth and a gluttonous appetite."
It's understandable that they couldn't defeat the Teutonic Knights and the remnants of the Habsburgs, but it's truly shameful that they couldn't even defeat the Black uncle. This isn't just a disgrace to the Italians, it's a disgrace to all white people.
So much so that some extreme racists at the time believed that Latin people were third-class people in Europe. I wonder if the ancient Romans would be so angry that they would roll in their graves after knowing this statement...
Probably not. Because the ancient Romans should be “thankful” that the Italians living on the Apennine Peninsula today are not their direct descendants in terms of race.
Since the late Roman Empire, this "big boot" extending into the Mediterranean has been passed through by many ethnic groups in turn, including not only a group of barbarians moving westward, but even Arabs.
The name "bastard" is well deserved for Italians.
In the years after the end of World War I, Italy, like many old European countries, fell into a very serious financial and economic crisis.
This country, with an annual gross national income of only 20 billion lire, spent 145.936 billion lire on military spending during the war. Before World War I, one US dollar was roughly equivalent to 20 lire.
Such a huge debt not only caused serious inflation and financial chaos in Italy, but also brought the government finances to the brink of collapse.
As the economy deteriorated, politics naturally became chaotic, especially when, inspired by the October Revolution, leftists unfurled the red flag of the hammer and sickle.
Starting in April 1920, nearly one million farmers and veterans in rural Italy spontaneously resisted taxes and rents, which eventually developed into a land occupation movement.
In August of the same year, a movement to seize factories broke out in major cities, with 600,000 people participating. Especially in the north, all large factories were controlled by workers for two or three months.
So, our Lord of Justice saw a chaotic scene in Milan, the former capital of the Western Roman Empire and later the world's fashion capital.
Mr. Chandler Jr. arrived in Milan, Italy alone; the others went to Paris, France.
Just as he was standing in front of the hotel window, looking at the hustle and bustle on the street, a familiar voice came to his ears.
"Yuri... Um, I should call you Hermann Augustus von Heinrich now. You're looking for me?"
"Yeah, Neo. Did you see that?"
"Hmm... Hermann, I saw it. Wow, Milan is really lively. Fighting in the street so early in the morning, even using knives! Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, who are they fighting with? Could it be that AC Milan and Inter Milan fans are fighting?"
What's more, the two major football clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan, had indeed been established at this time.
"Neo, I didn't expect you were a football fan... Just look at the flags and the clothes. On one side are striking workers, on the other side are the police... and the Aldite Volunteers who came to pick me up."
The Aldite Volunteers, founded during World War I, were a collective term for volunteer corps from various regions. They fought bravely, even disregarding death. On the battlefield, armed with bombs and daggers, they chanted war songs, striking fear into the enemy's hearts. Actually, the Germans weren't particularly afraid of such a mob.
Seriously, if these men had been thrown into the trenches, machine guns, and artillery of the Western Front, they would have been cannon fodder. Fortunately, the Italians and the Allies were fighting in the mountains, so many of them survived.
The Aldite Volunteers are now the ace troops . In fact, they are the predecessor and backbone of the Black Shirts.
