"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 were fixed on Carlo quite 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. Instead, he said slowly. "Ambassador Mandison, is this the intention of your government and prime minister?"
"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 without the technical support of the British Empire, it will take many detours."
It sounds so nice, but to put it bluntly, it is not about seeking benefits. Of course Carlo also knew that Italy was quite unkind in monopolizing the interests of the Qing railway. This caused dissatisfaction from various countries, especially the British who had made the most profits.
, and was quite angry about this.
Let's put it this way, the British in the Far East are only more wary of Italy than Russia, which currently needs London to contain the world. Because Italy's interests in the Qing Dynasty are almost approaching those of Britain, which has 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. Forget it, they actually dared to interfere with the British Empire in the Far East.
Although your plan was based on the excuse that the Qing people gave you too much, who didn't know that you were trying to expand your influence in the Qing Dynasty in disguise. All these manifestations have put Britain on the verge of an explosion.
Next, you tried to seize the railway benefits that are coveted by all countries, and you still scooped them all into your own bowl, leaving no bite for others. If this matter can be tolerated, No. 10 Downing Street should change its name, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be more
Suitable for some.
Therefore, this time Ambassador Mandison was so confident that he was so tough.
"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 desire of diplomats to maximize interests, which has led to the current result."
Facing the tough British ambassador, Carlo couldn't be tough.
Carlo was not afraid of the British ambassador, but was frightened of the British Empire behind him.
Yes, Carlo was scared. Because he knew that although Italy has developed well in recent years, let alone Britain, even France next door cannot compare. Whether it is economy, military, or influence, Italy is better than
Not France, let alone Britain, which has 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 match the UK in more than ten years. Not to mention the UK, being able to match France in twenty or thirty years is the result of the hard work of the Italians.
There is no way that the foundation is too poor and the country lacks coal and iron mines. No matter how hard Carlo tries, it will be useless. To describe Italy's industrial development with twice the result and half the effort is not an exaggeration at all. So even Italy, which was pretty good in the Renaissance era, entered
It cannot keep up after 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 this, then your diplomats must have realized their mistakes. I hope that I can get a satisfactory result after meeting with your diplomats next time."
Well, Ambassador Mandyson, who just gave up, 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 Dynasty Railway Company, this is 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 didn't see the dangers."
Faced with Carlo's rare admission of error, Antonio and Bacona looked at each other and said in unison, "Your Majesty, you are not the only one responsible for this. 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 did not take into account the reactions of various countries. This was my mistake."
These are the words of Foreign Minister Bacona.
"Moreover, the ambassadors of Germany and Austria have come to me many times these days 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.).
Converted to lire, this would require at least 800 million lire.
This is not a small amount at all, even for Italy. Calculated based on a 10-15 year construction period, at least 80 million lire is needed every year. Therefore, under the pressure of various countries, Carlo, the Prime Minister and others feel that
It is necessary to share some of it.
Okay, this is all rhetoric. Only if you can really monopolize the benefits of the railway, will you let it go. This doesn't mean you have to let it 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 the Qing Dynasty will be combined together after we sell some of them to other countries. We must ensure the best interests of our country in the Qing Dynasty Railway Company."
"I obey your Majesty."
The two important ministers are not fools. Of course they know how to keep Italy's share. After giving up part of the shares, Italy does not need to hide the shares it purchased from the Qing Dynasty. There are too many players entering the market, and there is no need to hide their strength, especially here.
Italy is not a strong side.
Bacona then said, "Although we must let go of more than half of our interests in the Far East Railway, we may be able to regain some in the Balkans."
After Carlo and the Prime Minister made the decision, the dispute over the Qing Railway Company finally subsided. Italy gave up 29% of the shares of the Qing Railway Company for 50 million taels of silver, and Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States gave away 13% and 8% respectively.
,3%,2.5%,2%
, the 0.5% share was divided up. Of course, in addition to taking shares from Italy, various countries also searched for railway company stocks in the Qing Dynasty. However, no country received as much as Italy, with a share of up to 2.4%, which ranked first among the others.
.
This adds up to a share of 22.4%. It can be said that apart from the Ministry of Accounts, it is the largest shareholder, and most of the interests are still retained.
