My Italy

"King Carlo, your country's behavior in the Far East has made London very confused. Our government specially asked me to ask whether your country's behavior means that it is unwilling to abide by the agreements of the Far East countries. Or in other words, your country wants to seek Unique to some special interests of the Qing Dynasty!"

When the British Ambassador Holly Mandison said this, his eyes stared at Carlo rather unreasonably, as if he wanted to detect some small changes in this face.

But it's a pity that the Italian's expression did not change at all, but instead spoke slowly. "Ambassador Mandison, is this what your government and Prime Minister mean?"

"Yes, Your Majesty Carlo, our government and Prime Minister are very disappointed with your country's promotion of railway construction in the Far East. They believe that the lack of technical support from the British Empire will make it take many detours."

It sounds so nice, but to put it bluntly, it's not just about seeking benefits. Of course Carlo also knew that Italy was quite unkind in monopolizing the Qing railway interests. This has aroused dissatisfaction from various countries, especially the British, who have benefited the most. They are very angry about this.

Let's put it this way, the British in the Far East are wary of Italy second only to Russia, which currently needs global containment from London. Because the benefits Italy gained from the Qing Dynasty were almost approaching those of Britain, which had been deeply cultivated for a long time.

What do you want the UK to think?

I developed this place first, and everyone else followed the agreement. The unruly Italians took advantage of the shortcomings of the agreement to embezzle and expand their interests in the Qing Dynasty. Even if that's the case, you actually dare to interfere with the British Empire's plans in the Far East. Although you use the excuse of being given more by the Qing people, who doesn't know that you are expanding your influence in the Qing country in disguise. All these manifestations have put the UK on the verge of an outbreak.

Next, you tried to seize the railway benefits that were coveted by all countries, and you scooped them all into your own bowl without leaving a bite for anyone else. If this thing can still be tolerated, No. 10 Downing Street should be renamed, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be more suitable.

Therefore, this time Ambassador Mandison was so confident that he was so strong-willed.

"Ambassador Mandison, your country has actually misunderstood our country. Our country does not have the idea of ​​monopolizing the interests of the Qing Railway. This is just the idea of ​​​​maximizing interests among diplomats, which has caused the current result."

Facing the tough British ambassador, Carlo couldn't stand up.

Carlo was not afraid of the British ambassador, but was afraid of the British Empire behind him.

Yes, Carlo is scared. Because he knows that although Italy has developed well in recent years, let alone the United Kingdom, even France next door cannot compare. No matter in terms of economy, military, or influence, Italy cannot compare with France, let alone Britain, which holds world hegemony.

So there is no shame in being cowardly. Even if Carlo had memories of his past life, he would not be able to make Italy rival Britain in more than ten years. Not to mention Britain, being able to rival France within twenty or thirty years is the result of the efforts of the Italians.

There is no way that the foundation is too poor and the local area lacks coal and iron mines. No matter how hard Carlo tries, it will be useless. It is not an exaggeration to describe Italy's industrial development with half the effort. So even Italy, which was pretty good during the Renaissance, couldn't keep up after entering the industrialization era.

The guarantee from Carlo also made Mandison excited. After all, after so many years in Italy, it was not easy to see the Italian king give in.

"Since His Majesty said so, then your diplomats must have realized their mistake. I hope that the next meeting with your diplomats will lead to a satisfactory result."

Well, Ambassador Mandison, who just gave up when he was ready, still understood people's hearts very well. After getting the desired result, he was ready to leave immediately. As for how much share Britain should have in the Qing Railway Company, this was a matter between him and the Roman government. No one dares to steal their share of the British Empire, and he is very confident about this.

After Ambassador Mandison left, Carlo picked up the phone on his desk and thought about it before putting it down.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Prime Minister Antonio and Foreign Minister Bacona to come together.

"Your Majesty, have you agreed to the British request?"

The two important ministers expressed their intentions simply and directly.

"Yes, I promised the British to share the benefits of the Qing Railway. Before that, I was blinded by the benefits, but in the end I did not see the dangers."

Faced with Carlo's rare admission of error, Antonio and Bacona looked at each other and said in unison. "Your Majesty, this matter is not limited to you. In fact, we also have a reason."

"I don't have a thorough understanding of Italy's complicated situation in the Qing Dynasty."

These are the words of Prime Minister Antonio.

"I didn't take into account the reaction of various countries in this. This was my mistake."

These are the words of Foreign Minister Bacona.

"And these days, the ambassadors of Germany and Austria have come to me many times to discuss the Qing Dynasty's railway interests."

"It's the same here. Ambassadors from various countries have almost crossed the threshold of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, just because of the Qing Dynasty's railway interests."

"I have asked some experts before. Based on the conditions along the announced railway lines, population distribution and other factors, they believe that if the currently established Qingguo Railway Company can complete the construction of the announced railways, it will be able to earn at least 50 million lire in profits every year. . Of course, some additional benefits cannot be calculated, such as the discovery of mineral resources along the route. However, the investment is also high, and it is indeed difficult for our country to bear it alone."

According to the currently announced railway line, at least 150 million taels of silver are needed to complete its construction (the total investment of the Luhan Line is 43.49 million taels of silver, and the construction cost per kilometer is 35,000 taels of silver.).

This, converted into lira, requires at least 800 million lira.

This is not a small amount at all, even for Italy. Based on a construction period of 10-15 years, at least 80 million lire will be invested every year. Therefore, under the pressure of various countries, Carlo, the Prime Minister and others felt the need to share some of the burden.

Well, this is all rhetoric. Only if we can monopolize the benefits of the railway will the devil let us go. This doesn't mean you have to let go. It's better to find one or two reasons first.

"Since we cannot monopolize railway interests, some things need to be done in advance. The shares we purchased in Qing will be combined after we sell some to other countries. We must ensure our country's best interests in the Qing Railway Company."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

The two important ministers are not fools, and of course they know how to keep Italy's share. After giving up some of its shares, Italy no longer had to hide the shares it purchased from the Qing Dynasty. There are too many players entering, so there is no need to hide their strength, especially since Italy is not a strong side here.

And Bacona then said. "At present, although we must let go of more than half of our interests in the Far Eastern Railway, we may be able to regain some in the Balkans."

Following the decision by Carlo, the Prime Minister and others, the dispute over the Qing Railway Company finally subsided. Italy paid 50 million taels of silver to give up 29% of its shares in the Qing Railway Company, and Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and Austria shared 13%, 8%, 3%, 2.5%, 2%, and 0.5% respectively. Of course, in addition to taking shares from Italy, various countries also searched for railway company stocks in the Qing Dynasty. However, no country collects as much as Italy, with a share of 2.4%, which is the highest among the others.

This adds up to a share of 22.4%. It can be said that apart from the Ministry of Accounts, he is the largest shareholder, and most of the interests are still retained.

The dispute over the Qing Railway Company came to an end with Italy's concessions. Although some people may feel dissatisfied, the situation of groups attacking was alleviated.

And in addition to the Far East, other places also attract the attention of the great powers. This is especially true in the Balkans.