When the news of France's invasion of Tunisia reached Rome, it immediately caused an uproar. I won't mention the importance of Tunisia to Italy. In recent years, its investment in Tunisia alone has reached 578 million lire. This money must not be lost.
of.
As Prime Minister, Cairoli naturally knew this, so as soon as he got the news, he immediately convened a meeting of cabinet ministers to discuss this matter urgently, which was of vital interest to Italy.
After all the ministers arrived, Cairoli first introduced the purpose of convening this meeting.
"Everyone, the situation is urgent and I will keep my story short. The French army is now invading Tunisia, and His Highness Bey has extended an invitation to us to mediate the fight between Tunisia and France."
Cairoli's words left many people scratching their heads. They were not fine yesterday, so why did this happen suddenly without any sound?
Seeing that many people don't know the whole story, His Excellency the Prime Minister, who just found out the cause, once again told the reason.
After hearing that this happened because of the war between two tribes in Tunisia and Algeria due to love killings, many people smelled something strange.
He did not wait for other remarks and directly stated his response. "Your Excellency Sforza, now we need to know the attitude of Britain and Germany, and we hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can obtain its support as soon as possible. In addition, we must summon the French ambassador as soon as possible to express our dissatisfaction."
manner."
Prime Minister Cairoli sees the problem very accurately. He knows that the only countries that have the ability to stop France are Britain and Germany, so he now needs the support of Britain and Germany. I believe that Britain and Germany will not let France seize Tunisia.
It must be said that France did an excellent job of keeping this operation secret. Until now, the Italian side still does not know that France has obtained the support of Britain and Germany.
Of course, he did not place all his hopes on the support of the two countries.
After instructing the Foreign Secretary, he immediately ordered the military representative, Army Minister General Saraguet. "Your Excellency, General, now I need to express Italy's attitude, so your military must also respond."
"Prime Minister, please give the order."
Admiral Saraguet, who has commanded several unification wars and fought all the battles, is certainly not a fool. The French invasion of Tunisia has done too much harm to Italy. As the sword of Italy, the military will certainly not back down. At this time, there is
If there is any hesitation, otherwise if there is any problem in the future, it is very likely that the military will be hit with the consequences.
"Okay, I'll tell you directly. I hope your military can gather troops towards the French border to exert pressure and influence. In addition, the navy will mobilize warships and transport ships to make a gesture of supporting Tunisia. Of course, before there is an order,
The military must not take the initiative to attack. Even if it is attacked, it must report to Rome as soon as possible."
Although Cairoli's words sounded very discouraging, they received the inner support of everyone present. The people present were all high-level Italians. They were not young and knew the huge gap between Italy and France. Although Italy was
He is known as the new great power, but he knows exactly what he is like.
To put it bluntly, with Italy's current strength, as long as a full-scale war breaks out with France, it will only be beaten. Whether it is population, industry, or national influence, Italy is no match for France, even if it is more agricultural than Italy
The difference is also not small.
Therefore, as Prime Minister, Cairoli has a very clear idea, which is to flex his muscles and let France know that it is not easy to mess with, and then rely on the support of other countries to make France give up its invasion of Tunisia.
Of course, in order for France to retreat from the difficulties, these alone are not enough.
I saw him continue. "Your Excellency Medici, I hope you can mobilize newspapers and other public opinion to report France's invasion of Tunisia, hoping to arouse the resonance of the people."
This time he named Interior Minister Medici. Since France is strong, it must show off its biggest muscles, otherwise the prime minister himself will step down by then. Although there will be a change after gathering public support.
There is a risk that it will be difficult to step down, but this matter cannot be hidden from the people. Instead of the government being criticized later, it is better to spread the news first.
Of course, if he doesn't handle it well then, he will definitely bear a lot of infamy. But that's what he said. No matter what, he is forced into a corner by France's move. He cannot let France withdraw from Tunisia, and he must
I can no longer care about stepping down, getting called names, etc.
In fact, Cairoli didn't say a word. If France really occupied Tunisia, the loss of 578 million lire would be enough to make the creditors who invested in Tunisia tear themselves apart. Being able to retreat safely by then would be considered the best outcome. Of course, if
He wants to do something that no one wants to see, but it is also impossible. Don't forget, he is just the prime minister, not the king. It is much easier to change the prime minister than the king.
Of course, he still felt that these alone were not enough. The people, the army, and the help from other countries were always not enough. Thinking that this was a person who suddenly thought of him, it seemed that he must be invited to come out to let France see Italy's determination.
Without further ado, he continued to name names. "In addition, this is not enough for us. We need a hero to stand up and lead everyone to oppose the French invasion of Tunisia."
Everyone present is not an idiot. Since he is a hero, he must be convincing. No one present currently has this ability, or in other words, none of them can convince the people across the country.
Of course, there are smart people who have already thought of the candidate. At this time, Finance Minister Jagali said, "Prime Minister, are you talking about the one on Caprera Island?"
"That's right."
Facing the words of the Finance Minister, Cairoli did not deny it at all. He continued, "I plan to invite Garibaldi to come out.
Let him lead the people and let the French know our unwillingness to surrender."
As soon as they heard that Garibaldi was going to come out, the scene immediately fell silent. No one present was willing to go to Caprera Island. Although they praised Garibaldi too much, considering his attitude towards the republic, they
No one wants to go.
Seeing everyone who was silent, Cairoli felt a flash of displeasure in his heart. Since no one wanted to see Garibaldi, he could only name them.
"Your Excellency Gulitus, this time it is up to you to invite Garibaldi on behalf of the government."
"As you command, Prime Minister."
The Minister of Commerce and Trade who was assigned this task could only admit it, but in his heart he believed that this was revenge on himself. Absolutely, this was revenge on his previous excuse for not wanting to integrate into his circle.
Subsequently, the Prime Minister discussed some other detailed issues and then adjourned the meeting.
Regarding the news of France's invasion of Tunisia, the government was not the only one who received the news. As the king of Italy, Carlo also received the news.
"how so?"
Carlo was equally surprised by the news, and he couldn't help but complain to the captain of the guard who sent the news.
In fact, he knew that Tunisia would be occupied by France, but he had no way to do it before taking power. Italy itself did not have the strength to compete with France, and he had not done much research on this period of history, so he naturally did not know about Tunisia.
When was it occupied by France?
But to say that this matter has no impact on him is just joking. But how to maximize his own interests still requires him to think hard.
