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 time. This is not an easy task for the government, so including the Prime Minister
All 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 not forgotten, and were assigned various tasks. As king, Carlo was responsible for receiving the visiting Grand Duke Nicholas of Montenegro and King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. These two
The king and the grand duke 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 imminent 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 inquiry, Filimic thought for a while and replied. "This news should be correct. The garrison in Kosovo has sent geological exploration personnel to conduct an investigation first. They said that coal seams were discovered and they are in line with the mining value."
of."
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.
When the Italian army liberated Kosovo, the local Ottoman army surrendered to it. Due to the war, these prisoners of war were held together. The local garrison tried to get some useful things from these prisoners of war. For this reason, they issued cigarettes, coffee, etc.
Items that are very popular among prisoners of war, trying to lure them into revealing some hidden information.
Among them was an Ottoman officer named Damia. After learning about the Ottoman peace proposal, he revealed the news to the garrison in exchange for a very generous reward.
He once protected a team of geologists conducting geological surveys in Kosovo, and during this process these geologists discovered that there were many coal seams in Trepcha, and they concluded that there were coal mines here. Although it is unknown why there was no news later, Damia
Remembering their conversation, he then 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 they were talking about. The results were very gratifying. After a period of exploration, they found that
There are many coal mines suitable for mining, and in addition to coal mines, they also discovered lead and zinc deposits in the area, which are initially estimated to be in billions of tons.
Among the coal mines that have been explored, 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 mines, which are raw materials urgently needed by industry and minerals that Italy urgently needs. For Italy, except for population, everything is
The discovery of these minerals in newly occupied territories is very good news for Italian industry.
After the garrison's investigation, the news traveled across the sea and was presented to Carlo's desk. Faced with this good news, Carlo was of course willing to see it, and it also gave Italy more reasons to leave Kosovo to Italy.
Own.
"Call the Prime Minister over."
After putting down the telegram, Carlo decided to find the Prime Minister and inform him of the news. This was not because Carlo wanted to spread the news, but because he wanted to exploit these minerals and could not do without the government.
First of all, the government needs to organize manpower to conduct a survey of the area. Only after obtaining specific data on the minerals can it be reasonably mined. Whether the mined minerals will be smelted locally or shipped out will only be determined after on-site inspections.
in conclusion.
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 to do with me?"
Facing the Prime Minister's inquiry, Carlo handed him the telegram from Kosovo.
"Prime Minister, take a look, this is excellent news for our country."
After hearing Carlo's words, Prime Minister Despretis read the telegram at a glance. As the contents of the telegram changed, his expression changed dramatically, 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. Yes, Italy originally planned to punish the Ottomans for rekindling the war by gaining an additional territory from them.
But before, he was a little hesitant about whether to choose Kosovo or parts of Macedonia. But this telegram made him make up his mind. As for Kosovo, Macedonia should be left to several other countries to compete.
Don't think that Italy doesn't know what the Balkan countries are thinking. 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."
As Prime Minister, Despretis didn't understand what Carlo said. 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 what follows
, 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 Albanians 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 was not a difficult task for him first.
A week later, a team composed of geology departments from various Italian universities set off from Venice. Their purpose this time was to take students to Kosovo to conduct geological research on the Balkan Peninsula. However, considering the dangers that Kosovo may encounter, everyone
The university was organized together, and there were soldiers protecting us along the way.
This news is just in the corner of the newspaper, who would pay attention to it. At present, the major newspapers are of course the most concerned about the upcoming Rome peace talks, and they are all printed with news about big names.
