Italy is very useless for the current ally system. The Italian government itself is not friendly to Germany and Austria, and Italy can provide very little military help, at least now. So the biggest use of Italy for Germany and Austria may be the market composed of nearly 40 million people and relatively sufficient labor. To be honest, Italy's economy is very depressed, and the labor force is really oversupply. For example, after the end of World War 1, a huge number of capitalist countries experienced a golden period of development, but Italy's economy has not been very good after World War 1. This is why Mussolini was able to come to power so early in history.

However, to enter the Italian market, the biggest problem that Germany and Austria face is not the competition from domestic Italian companies. Although the Italian industry can also produce some things comparable to fine products, how to say it? Compared with the production scale of German industrial products, Italy's production capacity is small workshop level, with too high cost and too low efficiency. Therefore, for the German business community, the Italian government's obstruction is the most troublesome!

Therefore, for the interests of Germany and Austria and to punish Italy's behavior that had actually been against the alliance in the first battle, Ruprecht supported pressure on Italy to let Italy open up their market! This time point is the best for Germany and Austria. Other old European powers are either defeated by Germany and Austria or are trying to get close to Germany and Austria. The United States is busy with war with Japan and will not care about such nostalgic business. So, why should Italy resist the pressure from Germany and Austria?

"Of course, simple market plundering is definitely not possible. Facts have proved that only win-win can benefit both parties, and simple plundering will not last long. In this process, we can gradually integrate Italy's industrial system and then use it for us, becoming some product suppliers or upstream and downstream enterprises. Gradually tie Italy's industry to us." Bühler continued.

"But for us now, Italy's sufficient human resources are what we need most. We can open up the labor market, and the Italian government can also make profits from intermediaries and labor exports. This resistance should be very small. When the relationship between the two sides in terms of personnel flow and economic tensions, we can spread our influence to the Italian government and then gradually tie it to the chariot of the German Empire." Bühler said.

"Do you have any opinions?" asked the crown prince.

"The Italians are not our reliable friends, nor are they as strong as the French. For such unfriendly and unfamiliar and not strong, we can still hit them. Otherwise, if this matter passes like this, it will damage the majesty of the empire. We must let the countries on both ends know our attitude, and those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish." said Duke Albrecht.

Although Italy provided some supplies for Germany and Austria when it was neutral, at the same time, the Italian merchant fleet was also transporting supplies for Britain and France. Italian aircraft and artillery factories also earned a large amount of francs and pounds. In fact, the supplies that entered the Allies through Italy's re-export were even more than those secretly given to Britain and France by some Americans! Therefore, as the former commander of the Western Front Army, Duke Albrecht had no good impression of Italy. (How to say, although Italy's industry is poor, the aviation industry is stronger than the historical Austro-Hungarian Empire.)

"Italy should be beaten, but I think that compared to what Mr. Buhler said, I think the most important thing for us at the moment is to control Italy's raw materials and energy! If we can obtain the Italian energy market through an agreement, then Italy's surrender is a matter of time!" Prince Albert said.

"Think about it, if we can become the main supplier of coal mines, iron ore and oil in Italy, then why should Italy oppose us? Why should their government reject our cooperation request?" Obviously, although Prince Albert emphasized Italy's role in previous discussions, he is now also advocated control of this important country in the Mediterranean!

"It's easy to say about oil. We have controlled the world's second largest oil field. The supply of Baku's oil fields in the entire Europe is not a problem, and the cost is very low if it is transported by sea. We have an advantage over the Americans in terms of price, but coal mines and iron ores are probably a bit difficult. It is a bit expensive to transport coal and iron from Lorraine and Ruhr areas by railways. Moreover, in order to continuously exploit, it is already very good to use our mining volume to meet the consumption within Germany. For the rest, I prefer to export to France, after all, it is closer to France." Prince Baden thought for a while and said.

Although Germany has abundant coal and iron resources, it must first supply Germany and France, the two most powerful industrial countries on the European continent. Therefore, the margin for transporting south to Italy will be very small. You read that right. Although the relationship between France and Germany is very bad, a considerable number of iron ore and coal mines from the French before the war were supplied by Germany... This was even more so after the war! Because Britain and France broke up, the British were unlikely to provide coal mines to the French at a parity price, so the supply of coal and iron ore in Germany is actually relatively tight. After all, Germany still needs to build a new territory. It requires a large amount of coal and iron.

"It seems that this problem should be left to the Crown Prince. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire now controls the Krivorog iron mine and the Donbas coal mine." Duke Albrecht said after looking at the Crown Prince. According to the final truce, the Austro-Hungarian Empire completely controlled the area west of the Dnieper River. Therefore, the Krivorog iron mine, the largest iron mine in Europe, is naturally under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although the Donbas coal mine is distributed to the newly established Ukraine, this coal mine is actually under the capital control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Duke said this not only to answer the questions raised by Prince Albert, but also to buy a good deal for Crown Prince Ruprecht!

After all, Duke Albrecht was the crown prince of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Although this was not a formal meeting, it was obvious that the Duke represented his own kingdom to support the Italian coal and iron market obtained by Bavaria and Austro-Hungarian Empire! Considering that Transcaucasian oil was mainly controlled by Bavaria, in fact, if the German government promoted this plan, the biggest benefit would be Bavaria, followed by Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Chapter completed!