"Antonio, my good friend, long time no see, I see you have become thinner and darker."
The lights were brightly lit in Speaker Crispi's home, and the house filled with guests was warmly greeting his long-time friend, His Excellency Antonio, the governor of the Southeast Asian colonies in a hurry back to Rome.
Looking at the bustling hall, Antonio said with emotion. "It's been a long time since I felt the charming night view of Rome."
"Hahahaha, I remember it was almost five years ago. At that time, I was also hosting a dinner to see you off."
Crispi laughed and told the time when his friend left.
"Crispi, you are right. It has been almost five years since I came back. I couldn't believe it when I came back before. Rome has changed so much."
"It's okay, I'll take you around when I have time."
After the two briefly reminisced about old times and connected with each other, Crispi took Antonio to get to know the people at the party.
"Hello Noel, this is my long-time friend Antonio."
"Governor Antonio, it is a pleasure to meet you."
A fat man with slight baldness looked at Antonio with surprise on his face and spoke to him in a flattering manner.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Noel."
Antonio also smiled and shook his hand.
"The boss of Italy's largest shipping company is also an excellent sponsor."
Crispi whispered something in his ear.
Antonio said nothing and continued to chat with the bald man named Noel.
"This is Olsson, a big entrepreneur from Milan..."
"This is Cannavaro..."
"..."
During the subsequent banquet, Crispi introduced more than ten people to him at every opportunity. Some of them were politicians, some were capitalists, and some were very famous. Anyway, these people were either rich or noble, and Crispi was enthusiastic about them.
Introduce it to him.
Antonio also responded appropriately, but Crispi, who has been a friend for many years, discovered that this man was not interested in this and was perfunctory.
This is not possible, Crispi pulled him to a corner. "Antonio, my old friend, you are the protagonist of the banquet this time. These people I introduced have a lot of energy in Rome, and they will be very important to your future progress."
Don’t neglect them for their help.”
Faced with the kind words of his old friend, Antonio said helplessly. “Perhaps it’s because of my habit of serving as a local governor these years. It’s hard for me to deal with these people. Especially these years in Southeast Asia, I almost forgot how to deal with these people.”
people."
"You, you..."
Seeing the indifferent attitude of his old friend, Crispi said with a look of hatred. "Then just show some politeness and don't be too blunt. I invited this specially for you. I originally thought you
It comes in handy."
In response to his friend's words, Antonio shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said, "Let it go, you don't know what I am like."
"well……"
Seeing that his friend was so unwilling to make progress, Crispi could only sigh helplessly.
Since the main character invited to the banquet was not enthusiastic, the banquet would not last long, so after more than two hours, the guests left in twos and threes.
Crispi sent away the guests one by one with a smile on his face. When he returned, he saw his old friend holding a glass of red wine and savoring it.
A feeling of resentment welled up in Crispi's heart.
"Antonio, this time you should know why His Majesty recruited you back. At this critical moment, if someone helps push you, it is very likely that you can move forward. Although there is no guarantee which old man will leave the position.
But at least it can make you an important minister in the cabinet. Isn’t this better than staying in the East?"
Crispi scolded him so hard that his mouth was dry, but the target was still drinking red wine slowly, which shocked him.
"Come on, don't be angry and drink some wine. Your wine is really good."
If you are careless, let Crispi grab the red wine glass and drink it in one gulp.
"I said, can you please stop being so impatient, or you might choke yourself."
"Cough cough cough..."
It was okay if I didn't say it, but I was really choked when I said it. Seeing Antonio's innocent expression, Crispi even felt bad.
"Okay, I'm afraid of you. Thank you very much for your hospitality, but considering practical factors, I have to leave."
While he was talking, Antonio took a bottle of red wine and slipped away carelessly.
Crispi was dumbfounded by his old friend's gesture, which was so shameless.
After Antonio left, a confidant caught up with him.
"Sir, your relationship with Governor Antonio is so good and enviable!"
Crispi turned back and gave him a cold look.
"Okay, the relationship has broken down."
As for why it collapsed, Crispi didn't bother to explain.
After all, the prime minister's throne is too tempting. Who doesn't want to sit there? Crispi has been the speaker for these years, so he naturally wants to change his position.
In Crispi's view, his friend is the most threatening enemy to the Prime Minister's throne this time.
Crispi had stayed in Rome for so many years and thought he had seen things very clearly. Otherwise, he would not have informed the king of the prime minister's plot immediately after hearing that the prime minister was ill.
This is the instinct of a qualified politician. When something is absolutely necessary, he will quickly change the situation to the one that is most beneficial to him or the one with the least loss.
To put it bluntly, among the people summoned by King Carlo these days, Crispi has never felt any pressure. These party figures, whether in terms of qualifications, means or reputation, are not his opponents. Those who should really be wary
Instead, he was a friend who was recalled to Rome because he felt that there was something unusual about King Carlo this time.
Because the timing of the summons was too wrong, or maybe he smelled something unusual.
The prime minister fell ill and the two governors were recalled in a hurry, which was unusual at this time.
But compared to others, Crispi thought a little deeper. So he saw something quite wrong in Carlo's movements.
To put it simply, it was the king's attempt to use officials to govern the country.
Maybe people are asking, aren't you talking nonsense? If you don't need officials, who can you use them?
Saying this means you don't understand politics, especially European politics.
It is impossible for European countries to simply use officials to govern the country, because this directly ignores political parties and politicians involved in politics.
Speaking of which, Carlo was also influenced by the memory of his past life. The politics of the East and the West are fundamentally different. In the West, politicians influence the political arena, while in the East, officials influence the political arena. (I won’t go into details here, lest I say I’m short on word count. For those who are interested,
Friends, check it out yourself.)
To put it simply, Carlo is depriving their party of the right to participate in politics.
Some people may say, why not resist at this time?
It's okay to resist, as long as it works.
It's a pity that as the old prime minister fell ill, there are no more people who can compete with Carlo. So what do you ask them to do?
Relying on the army, but unfortunately its allegiance is to the king. Relying on the people, Italy's economic development is now very good, and the people are very satisfied with the king. Relying on a few sober people cannot shake the foundation of the king at all. As for risking, the king rarely makes public appearances.
Who should I let go?
Everyone is smart and wants to enjoy the results and is not willing to make wedding clothes for others. So the only way is to make the most threatening friends one of them. Now let’s see who your king can choose.
This is also the main reason why Crispi brought Antonio to the party. As long as he lets go, it is guaranteed that various funders and political parties will be willing to become one of them.
At that time, it depends on how you choose the king, and your chances of winning will be greatly increased. At that time, you can also give the second position of foreign minister in the cabinet of your friend, and it can still appear generous and take care of the friendship between the two.
As for the Governor of East Africa, Ambik, he was not a threat at all. He was unconvincing in terms of qualifications and abilities, which is why Crispi was angry because he failed to bring his friend in.
As for Antonio, after boarding the carriage, he glanced at his old friend's mansion with complicated eyes, and there was a sense of indifference in it. The relationship between the two for many years
In the following days, Antonio significantly reduced his outings and basically stayed at his hotel to wait for the king's summons.
Three days later, King Carlo formally summoned Antonio. No one knows what the two talked about. But it can be seen from the fact that he stayed for dinner that the king was very satisfied.
Sure enough, half a month later, the king officially issued an edict. Since Prime Minister Despretis was unable to govern due to illness, Antonio, the former governor of Southeast Asia, reorganized the cabinet.
