"Sir Antonio, our country is very sincere and is willing to offer 330 million lire for the warships sold by your country. This price is enough to prove our country's sincerity."
The person who spoke was the Japanese Ambassador to Italy Teppei Osawa, and the place where he spoke was at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In front of him, in addition to Foreign Minister Bacona, there was Prime Minister Antonio as he called him, and there was another person who was the protagonist of this ship sale, Admiral Yagier, Minister of the Navy.
As for Ambassador Teppei Osawa, this time he was authorized by Tokyo to appoint him as the plenipotentiary representative for this ship purchase. If necessary, he can even ask for help from the United Kingdom.
Of course, if the power is great, then the consequences will be severe if things are not handled well. Osawa Teppei certainly knows how important his responsibility is. His decision here is likely to directly affect the outcome of the war with Russia. Therefore, after receiving authorization
After that, he first approached the British Ambassador Coulson, and after discussing with him to get an accurate answer from the British, he approached the Italians and prepared to offer a price to win the stolen ship.
Faced with Ambassador Teppei Osawa's quotation, Prime Minister Antonio did not answer. Instead, he looked at Admiral Yagir. The meaning was obvious, let him, the protagonist, answer.
Speaking of which, Prime Minister Antonio has some regrets, because in the previous shipbuilding plan, he promised the Navy to pay for the sale of warships. As a result, the Navy was so bold that it actually sold out all its main warships. Isn’t it possible that the kingdom’s coastal defense is no longer needed? Overseas interests
Doesn't it need maintenance? It's just nonsense.
He even talked to the king about this, but the wise King didn't know why, but he didn't stop the navy's nonsense.
Since the king doesn't care, how can he, the prime minister, be a bad person? It would be too bad if he was thought to want to influence the military power. Don't forget that there is a National Socialist Party behind him, although its leader Cruz is in charge of domestic affairs.
A minister behaves well in his duties, but whoever dares to look down on him will be in trouble.
Admiral Yagier didn't know about the dirty things in the Prime Minister's belly, but he knew that he was not satisfied with the current price. These days, the Navy's attention to the Russo-Japanese War can be said to be the highest among all Italian departments, even the Army.
Not comparable. After all, the army has no interest in this war, but their navy has huge interests.
Therefore, Admiral Yagier, who was familiar with the battle situation, shook his head and said, "Ambassador Teppei Osawa, thank you for your country's bid for the warships that our country is about to retire. However, this price cannot meet the needs of our navy, because these warships have very good performance.
But it cannot meet our country’s coastal defense needs, so it was sold.”
What a joke, the two sides had just fought a naval battle in the Yellow Sea at this time, and the two sides lost a total of five battleships. How could they agree to it at this time? At least the prices of Japan and Russia must be forced to the highest price they can bear.
Otherwise, this great opportunity will be wasted.
Ambassador Teppei Osawa did not pay attention to Admiral Agil's words, because he also knew that it was not that easy to negotiate the sale of warships with Italy, but there was one thing that he had to ask clearly first.
"Then your navy must have a price for selling warships. You can't keep us guessing."
Facing Ambassador Teppei Osawa, Admiral Yagier thought about it. It would be inappropriate not to come up with a price. So he stretched out four fingers and said, "The psychological price of our navy is 400 million.
lira."
Admiral Yagir did not say this price casually. If it was too high, it would appear that the Navy was not sincere in selling the ship. If it was too low, it might be sold at a high price. The price of 400 million is neither high nor low, it is just right.
"400 million lire?"
Ambassador Teppei Osawa was shocked by the price given by Italy. This price accounted for two-thirds of Japan's 66th fleet's purchase expenses.
Of course, he also knew that the sale of ships in Italy at this time was definitely not ordinary, and it was normal to charge a high price.
However, now that he had received the answer he wanted, Ambassador Teppei Osawa did not stay long. After bidding farewell to the three senior Italian officials, he left.
"To the British Embassy."
After getting in the car, Ambassador Teppei Osawa ordered the driver to go to the British Embassy. At this moment, he wanted to discuss with the British Ambassador.
But when he arrived at the British Embassy, he was stunned by a piece of news from Ambassador Colson.
"You said France provided Russia with a loan of 420 million francs?"
Facing the surprised Japanese ambassador, Colson immediately replied with confirmation. "Yes, our country has just learned from Paris that the French government has transferred this loan to the Russians."
This time France's loan to Russia was not concealed, and the British could easily detect it. Of course, the British could also guess what the French were thinking. Didn't they just not want to see Russia focusing on the Far East?
This is also easy to understand. After all, Russia's expansion in the Far East has not brought half a dime of benefits to France, but has a lot of disadvantages. If France had not considered the alliance with Russia, France would benefit too much, and Paris would be so easy to talk to.
"That would be bad."
After confirming the news of France's loan to Russia, Teppei Osawa looked shocked.
"Ambassador Osawa Teppei, what's wrong?"
Facing Colson's inquiry, Osawa Teppei immediately informed the other party of Italy's answer to him.
"It does seem to be a problem."
After listening to Osawa Teppei's story, Coulson also felt a little difficult.
"Don't worry, if the Italians finally sell their warships to the Russians, you have to believe that our country will help your country. At worst, our country will also sell its warships to you."
Coulson's words made Osawa Teppei feel nervous. He originally thought that the ambassador would say that the British Empire would continue to borrow money, but unexpectedly he actually said that he would sell ships to them.
The British Empire violates the principle of neutrality and publicly sells ships. Just listen to this and don't take it seriously. There are things that others do, but Britain cannot do because it is the world's hegemon and takes the lead, so there must be rules.
Think about it, what would be the consequences if the British Empire openly violated the principle of neutrality?
The next day, newspapers all over the world will report the incident, and London will be criticized by thousands of people. The Prime Minister may even step down because he has done something that damages the prestige of the empire.
Maybe some people say how can Italy do it?
It's very simple. They are scoundrels, poor people, people who are greedy for money, people who will sell their souls to the devil as long as they give money. Is it surprising that such a country violates the law of neutrality?
So there is a saying that goes well, if bad people do bad things, everyone is used to it, but if good people do bad things, they should be widely publicized, and if the requirements are different, the results will be different.
