My Italy

The midday sun shone in the room, and Leifer was immersed in writing. Apart from the rustling sound of writing, there was no other sound in the room. Outside the window, the mighty and domineering battleships stood in the Port of Taranto, and the whistle sounded from time to time, adding some other sounds to the silent room.

"Leifer, are you there?"

Suddenly a voice came from outside the door, which immediately pulled Leifer back from his thoughts.

The voice sounded so familiar to Leifer that he immediately answered. "Gomez, I'm here."

After saying that, he opened the door, and sure enough, it was Gomez standing outside the door.

"Long time no see, old friend."

Gomes stepped into the room, patted his old friend Leifer on the shoulder, and expressed his joy.

"Gomez, why do you come to my place when you have time?"

Gomes shook his head when he heard Leifer's question. "I have no choice. I'm not like you. I can only stay on land without warships. I was originally scheduled to lead the first armored patrol squadron composed of three Garibaldi-class ships, but you also know that the wealthy Yankee company The two ships that have just begun to be installed have been purchased. If I want to continue to lead the first installation patrol squadron, I can only wait for the completion of the installation patrol of the three ships that the shipyard is continuing to build. I hope the admiral will not buy all the battleships this time. Sell ​​it, at least let us get acquainted with it first."

In addition to joking about his own experience, Gomes suddenly changed the subject. "But thinking about your First Battleship Squadron, I suddenly feel much more comfortable inside."

Well, Leifer's First Battleship Squadron was actually three Turin-class battleships. The idea of ​​​​the Navy's top brass at the time was to serve as the commander of the new First Battleship Squadron after the Genoa class entered service. However, its fate was different from that of the first battleship squadron. Gomes is the same. The Americans bought three Genoa-class ships that were about to enter service at a high price, causing the First Battleship Squadron to disappear immediately, so the two of them can be considered to be in the same boat.

After hearing what Gomes said, Leifer joked. "Tell me, what are you doing here?"

Faced with Leifer's inquiry, Gomes looked at him and said casually. "Can't I come and see you? I haven't seen you for so long and I miss you a little."

"Come on, I still don't know you, just tell me what you have to say."

It was obvious that Leifer did not believe that this old friend was just looking at him. They were all monkeys who had become sperms, and no one should be fooled.

"Actually, in addition to coming to see you, I also want to get some first-hand information from you about the Battle of San Diego. I know that you are the commander of the battleship formation, so I want some information about the U.S. Navy."

Seeing that he couldn't hide it, Gomes told his true purpose.

Leifer asked with some confusion. "Why do you want information about the U.S. Navy? We have compiled detailed naval battle details into a book. The ministry should have sent it to you."

What Leifer was talking about was a routine regulation of the Navy Ministry, which required commanders of Italian warships who participated in naval battles to write a battle summary. The Navy Department will compile a summary of these battles into a book and send it to other captains and formation commanders who have not experienced it.

As for the Battle of Santiago, the officers who participated in the battle completed the summary of the battle in half a month, and when they came back, the basic officers all had a copy, and Gomes definitely had a copy.

"Actually, there is no... Oh, formation coordination command and combat experience."

Just when Gomes was about to say something, he was immediately attracted by the topic Leifer put on the table.

"I just wrote it blindly."

Leifer, who didn't have time to deal with it, immediately defended himself. However, faced with this defense, Gomes showed an expression of obvious disbelief.

"Someone said before that at least half of the Spanish fleet's victory was due to you. At that time, I also felt that the Spanish fleet's combat style was somewhat similar to yours. Now that I see your topic, I believe it. In that naval battle, you were at least Half a commander. Tell me, Commander Leifer."

Gomez's words made Leifer a little dumbfounded. This is all rumored. If this is not clarified, it will not be his credit for defeating the US Navy. This is not okay, it will make people mistakenly think that he is a person who likes to take credit, which will be troublesome. No one will like this kind of person.

"Gomez, the fleet is commanded by Vice Admiral Cedela, and I only made a few suggestions, but they happened to be adopted by Vice Admiral Cedela."

Leifer's explanation only made Gomes more curious. "Then tell me what the suggestions are. Don't worry, you don't know who I am, so you won't talk nonsense. Just tell me."

Seeing his friend who was looking for knowledge, Leifer told him after thinking about it. "Say it first, I'll tell you, but don't spread it out."

"Okay, I can guarantee that."

"First, it was my suggestion to stop in Cape Verde, then it was my suggestion to attack the east coast of the United States, and it was my suggestion to return to San Diego."

Leifer's words stunned Gomez, because anyone who knew the process of the Spanish-American War in detail would know that the stop in Cape Verde was a stroke of genius. The disappearance of the incident at the right time made the Americans suspicious and made mistakes on their own. The subsequent attack on the east coast was even more spectacular, leading the US Navy by the nose.

Unexpectedly, these were actually suggestions given by his friends. Gomes was really moved and didn't know what to say. Cedela, who is known as the famous Spanish general, actually deserves more than half of the credit for his achievements.

After satisfying his friend's curiosity, Leifer asked him. "You asked me for more detailed information. Do you want to write a report?"

"Yes, I wanted to write a report on the maritime power of the Americas, so I wanted to find out the information from you. I didn't expect that you were also writing." At this point, Gomes had a flash of inspiration and immediately spoke. "Are you also going to become an instructor at the Naval Academy in Livorno?"

It's nothing more than Gomes asking this, because there is an unwritten rule in the Navy. If a colonel wants to be promoted, he must teach for two years before he can be promoted.

This provision is actually intended to allow experienced naval captains to learn more theoretical knowledge and understand the latest naval developments and technologies of various countries. After all, there is still a big difference between a school-level officer and a general, and they need to be studied carefully.

Faced with the question from his friend, Leifer replied. "Yes, I was told to go to Leghorn as a teacher."

"It's better now. I won't be alone in Leghorn anymore."

Seeing that his friends, like himself, needed to go to Livorno to teach, Gomes felt happy.

"In that case, I would like to suggest that in order to celebrate our becoming teachers, how about a drink?"

"not so good."