My Italy

Since the negotiations are scheduled to take place in Rome, Italy, as the host, needs to prepare in all aspects.

From the arrangement of the venue to the accommodation of all parties, as well as security and reception, everything needs to be prepared in advance, and all needs to be prepared in a short period of time. This is not an easy task for the government, so cabinet members including the Prime Minister are busy, but among these cabinet members, Foreign Minister Bacona is the busiest.

In addition to the government, the military and Carlo were also not forgotten, and were assigned various tasks. Among them, as King Carlo, he was responsible for receiving the visiting Grand Duke Nicholas of Montenegro and King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. These two kings and grand dukes helped Italy a lot in this war. Although Italy could not provide too many benefits to the two countries, the necessary courtesy was still necessary.

Of course, this visit from Montenegro and Bulgaria also has its own purpose, not just that it is not easy to talk about it now.

Just as Carlo was preparing for the upcoming arrival of the two monarchs, a telegram disrupted his arrangements.

"Is this news true?"

Carlo looked at the telegram in front of him and asked the captain of the guard who brought the news in disbelief.

Faced with Carlo's question, Felici thought for a while and answered. "This news should be correct. The military garrison in Kosovo has sent geological exploration personnel to conduct an investigation first. They said that coal seams have been discovered and are worthy of mining."

Yes, what surprised Carlo was the news of coal mines brought from Kosovo, but the news was obtained in a somewhat unexpected way. It came from a prisoner of war camp.

During the liberation of Kosovo by Italian forces, local Ottoman forces surrendered to them. Due to the war, these prisoners of war were held together. The local garrison tried to get some useful information from these prisoners of war. To this end, they prescribed cigarettes and coffee and other items that were popular among the prisoners of war, trying to induce them to reveal some hidden information.

Among them was an Ottoman officer named Damia. After learning about Ottoman's peace proposal, he revealed the news to the garrison in exchange for a quite generous reward.

He once protected a team of geologists conducting geological surveys in Kosovo, during which these geologists discovered that there were many coal seams in Trepcha, and they concluded that there were coal mines here. Although he didn't know why there was no news later, Damia remembered their conversation, and then he informed the Italian garrison of the news with the attitude of giving it a try.

After receiving this unknown news, the head of the local garrison hired several people who had studied geology to conduct an exploration of the area he was talking about. The results were very gratifying. After a period of exploration, they found many coal mines suitable for mining. In addition to coal mines, they also discovered lead-zinc ores in the area, which was initially estimated to be in billions of tons.

Among the coal mines discovered, they are mainly lignite, with a lot of anthracite. As for the reserves, domestic professionals need to be dispatched to estimate them, but they are not expected to be less than 500 million tons.

Coal mines with this reserve are really good news for Italy, not to mention the discovery of lead and zinc ores, which are raw materials urgently needed by industry and minerals that Italy urgently needs. Italy lacks everything except population. The discovery of these minerals in newly occupied territories was very good news for Italian industry.

After the garrison's investigation, the news traveled across the ocean and was presented to Carlo's desk. Faced with this good news, Carlo is of course willing to see it, and this also gives Italy more reasons to leave Kosovo to itself.

"Call the Prime Minister over."

After putting down the telegram, Carlo decided to find the Prime Minister and inform him of the news. This is not because Carlo wants to spread the news, but because he wants to exploit these minerals and cannot do without the government.

First, the government needs to organize manpower to conduct a survey of the area. Only after obtaining specific data on the mineral resources can it be reasonably exploited. Whether the mined minerals will be smelted locally or shipped out requires on-site inspection before a conclusion can be drawn.

Of course, this can only be determined after ascertaining the actual reserves of each mine, but this does not dissuade Carlo from being in a good mood.

Before he could wait long, Prime Minister Despretis, who had been busy in the Prime Minister's Office, appeared in front of him.

"Your Majesty, what do you want from me?"

Faced with the Prime Minister's inquiry, Carlo handed him the telegram from Kosovo.

"Look at it Prime Minister, this is fantastic news for our country."

After hearing Carlo's words, Prime Minister Despretis read the telegram at a glance. And his expression changed dramatically with the contents of the telegram, from dull to surprised in just a few seconds.

"Your Majesty, is this news true?"

It was exactly the same as Carlo's previous inquiry, except that the honorific "Your Majesty" was added.

"This is from the garrison, and its credibility is very high."

Although Carlo did not confirm directly, Depretis still looked excited. "This is really good news for our country."

"So the Kosovo region must be in our hands."

Looking at the Prime Minister in front of him, Carlo once again confirmed the requirements for this negotiation. That's right, Italy's original plan to punish the Ottomans for rekindling the war was to gain an additional territory from them.

But before, I was a little hesitant whether to choose Kosovo or parts of Macedonia. And this telegram made him make up his mind. As for Kosovo, Macedonia should let several other countries fight for it.

Don't think that Italy doesn't know the thoughts of the Balkan countries. They have been coveting Macedonia for more than a day or two. If Italy wants to take some of it, I'm afraid it won't have endless troubles.

This is inconsistent with Italy's goal of not wanting to penetrate too far into the Balkans.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I know what to do."

Faced with Carlo's words, Despretis, as Prime Minister, still didn't understand. However, considering the upcoming peace talks between various countries, the news of the discovery of minerals in Kosovo is obviously not suitable for people to know at this time. So next, the government will secretly send geological professionals into Kosovo under other names.

As for the local blockade news, this is very simple. A military exercise can evacuate the surrounding residents. Not to mention that the local Albanian people in Kosovo still believe in Green Christianity, which is incompatible with the strong Catholicism in Italy. There are ways to deal with these people.

Afterwards, the Prime Minister discussed with Carlo for a while and left with satisfaction. The next matter of secretly arranging people to explore is not a difficult task for First of all.

A week later, a team composed of geology departments from various Italian universities set off from Venice. Their purpose this time is to take students to Kosovo to conduct geological research on the Balkan Peninsula. However, considering the dangers that Kosovo may encounter, major colleges have organized together, and there are soldiers protecting them along the way.

This news is just in the corner of the newspaper, who will pay attention to it. The major newspapers are currently paying the most attention to the upcoming Rome peace talks, which are full of news about big names.