My Italy

Although this was just a guess, in view of the serious consequences of this guess, Delcasse sent a secret telegram to Paris that day. The French government was shocked when it received the telegram, and immediately asked the military to deduce what France's chances of winning would be if Germany started a war at this time.

"Everyone, according to our military deduction, if only Germany goes to war with our country, on land, our country will have a balance of power with Germany by virtue of the advantage of its 75mm rapid-fire gun. If Italy is added, then our country's chance of winning is only three levels, and if If you add Austria-Hungary into the mix, our country’s chances of winning are even lower.”

At the Prime Minister's Office, a French general was telling Prime Minister Rouvier and other cabinet ministers the results of the military's war deduction.

For Rouvier, the former finance minister who had just become prime minister, he was faced with such a big problem when he took office, which gave him a very headache. (The predecessor Combu resigned on January 17, 1905 due to the betrayal of the Radical Party and the Socialist Party)

However, in the face of this crisis in France, as the prime minister of the cabinet, he certainly cannot sit idly by and ignore it. I saw him speaking. "Everyone, France is currently in a dangerous state. As the top leaders of the government, we have the responsibility to prevent France from this situation."

After setting this tone, Rouvier immediately said to the military representatives attending the meeting. "Beto, Kamil, your navy and army need to prepare for possible war in advance."

Facing the Prime Minister's words, Beto, as the Minister of War, immediately spoke. "Prime Minister, our army has already made plans to stop the vacation of officers and soldiers, and the early recruitment of reserves and militia is proceeding in an orderly manner."

"The same goes for our navy, which is recruiting reserve officers and soldiers and overhauling warships."

The military's preparations in advance are not enough for Rouvier. More importantly, at the diplomatic level, France needs the strength of other countries to at least help France tide over this difficulty.

He then said to Trullo, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on the side. "Your Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to contact the United Kingdom and get them to side with us. In addition, Russia should at least keep an eye on Austria-Hungary, send a message to Delcasse and ask it to talk to the Italians, and at least ensure that Italy does not interfere with Regarding matters between our country and Germany.”

It is obvious that Rouvier, as prime minister, has a well-organized response and must have thought about it for a long time. First of all, the British Empire is definitely ranked first on France's demand list. Because only the deterrence from the British Empire can make the Germans clear their heads.

Of course, if all hopes are pinned on the British, this is certainly impossible. On the one hand, it is whether the British are willing to form a military alliance with Paris at this time. Secondly, if the British Empire is only willing to give verbal support, then the following steps will be needed.

The first is ally Russia. Although it has just lost the war and is full of domestic conflicts, it is still useful. Although it is not expected that it can complete the important task of flanking Germany, it should not be a problem to keep an eye on Austria-Hungary. As for the rest, forget about it, unless Nicholas II suddenly feels that he is French, in which case he may have to pray to God for help.

After Russia looks after Austria-Hungary, it needs to deal with the thorn in the side of Italy.

France has a good card against Italy: Tunisia. Speaking of being at odds with Italy, the main reason is Tunisia, which has caused Italy to make trouble with France everywhere in recent years. Of course, the most uncomfortable thing was the war with the Qing Dynasty. With the help of Italy, France lost the face of the great powers.

Of course, it is rude to come back without reciprocating. France has also made trouble for Italy, but the effect is not as good as Italy's.

Now for the security of France, the Italians must be stabilized, at least not allowed to get involved in disputes with Germany.

As Rouvier made countermeasures, the French became busy. In London, the French envoy had a conversation with the British and gained support from the British. Its Prime Minister Bannerman promised that if a war broke out between France and Germany, the British Empire would side with France.

Although the leader of the Liberal Party claimed to support France, regarding France's most urgent military alliance, the British Empire refused to negotiate a military alliance now on the grounds that the conditions were not mature. Although it did not reach the ideal state, Britain guaranteed to stand on France's side, which was a pretty good result.

As for Russia, Tsar Nicholas II agreed to France's request to keep Austria-Hungary in check. Of course, they also promised that Russia would support France if a war broke out between Germany and France, but military operations were impossible due to domestic turmoil.

After both Britain and Russia achieved good results, the next step was to stabilize the Italians.

It's still the same cafe, still two diplomatic professionals.

"Your Excellency Bacona, our country sincerely wants to discuss the issue of Tunisia with your country. Because our country believes that this slightly hostile policy between your two countries is actually not wise at all."

Even though the two have met many times, Delcasse, as the French Foreign Minister, still finds the Italian Foreign Minister a bit difficult to deal with. The reason is...here he goes again.

"Okay, then your country will hand over the protection of Tunisia to our country, then your country will be our country's true friend, as true a friend as Germany."

This is the reason why Mr. Bacona is so difficult to deal with. He only puts forward one condition, which is to give Tunisia to Italy for protection. There is no such thing as accepting death in diplomatic negotiations. He had obtained information about Bacona before. This man could be the foreign minister and be in charge of Italian diplomacy. He can be said to be a very capable person. He cannot have this kind of character.

So now the conclusion has been reached, that is, the Italians are confident and have their own reasons for agreeing.

"Your Excellency Bacona, our country agrees that your country enjoys equal rights with our country in Tunisia. This is already the biggest concession. We also hope that your country will not be overconfident."

Bacona showed a hint of embarrassment at Delcasse's words. "I'm sorry, our country is not interested in this right, so thank you for your kindness."

As for Mr. Bacona, who was incompetent, Delcasse felt that the other party would not listen to what he said unless he came up with a trump card. Of course, since it is called a trump card, it must not be taken out easily. But now it seems that it can’t be hidden anymore.

So he thought for a while and then spoke. "Actually, our country can understand your country's desire for Tunisia. So if your country is really interested, then we might as well talk about it."

Delcasse's words made Bacona's eyes flash with a glint. "Is this true?"