When the telegram that Beiyang wanted to find an Italian naval officer to teach was handed to Carlo's desk, Carlo himself did not expect that Li Zhongtang actually wanted to teach Italy.
I don’t know whether it was because of too much help that Li Zhongtang had a favorable impression of Italy, or whether it was the ability of the Italian navy that convinced Li Zhongtang that he actually asked Italy to teach him. But Carlo himself estimated that it might be both.
Faced with Li Zhongtang's request, Carlo still needed to ask the Navy Department before he could give an answer. After all, the Navy still needed manpower.
"Your Majesty, of course I have to agree to such a good opportunity."
They called Admiral Gorek, but unexpectedly, as soon as Carlo said it, the Navy Minister couldn't wait to agree. This made Carlo very embarrassed. The admiral was not reserved at all.
This can’t be blamed on Admiral Gorek’s lack of reserve. Every naval power is very happy to serve as an advisor to other navies. That is to say, the Italian navy is not very powerful, so it got the first opportunity to become an advisor.
, if you don’t agree quickly, what are you waiting for?
I didn’t see that the British Navy has naval advisers in many countries. It’s simply a shame. And there is no worry about teaching apprentices to starve the master, because the navy of the British Empire is the best in the world. This is also recognized by the world.
Even the German High Seas Fleet, which would compete with Britain in the future, had no intention of overturning Britain's position. It was just for self-protection.
Therefore, for the Italian Navy, it is simply a dream to participate in the construction of the Qing Navy. The benefits are very considerable. Among other things, warships need bases for repairs, docks, docks, cranes for lifting heavy objects, etc.
There are rail cars and so on, all of which are needed.
Many of these things are not available in the Qing Dynasty, so do you need to consider purchasing them abroad? At this time, if the consultant asks which one is better, isn't that a business?
Of course, this is just a small profit, there are more to it.
But for Carlo, the idea of the navy is all that matters. But he also wants to ask the Lord of the Navy if there is a suitable candidate.
"Your navy needs to consider the candidates sent to the Qing Dynasty."
"Okay, Your Majesty, after the Admiralty has researched the candidate, I will definitely show it to Your Majesty."
It was obvious that Admiral Gorek understood what Carlo said.
After sending the Minister of the Navy away, Carlo picked up another telegram. This telegram was sent from Berlin. The Berlin Conference is currently being held. A total of 15 countries are participating. The conference is nominally to resolve the ownership of the Congo River Basin.
question, but in fact the discussion was more about the division of power in Africa.
Italy also sent a delegation headed by Foreign Minister Bacona, and this telegram was sent back to the country by the Foreign Minister.
In fact, when it comes to the division of Africa this time, the Italian government is very interested, but Carlo, as the king, does not have much interest.
This is not because Carlo does not know the importance of Africa, but that the places with oil and water are basically divided up by various countries. Although the Congo River Basin has huge opportunities, there is no chance for Italy at all.
Although the Belgians got a big deal, Carlo didn't want to do it at all. Because for Italy at present, the market is the key, and developing the domestic economy is much more important than seizing colonies.
In addition, Germany, France, Britain and other countries can accept a weak Belgium, but they will never accept Italy's intervention in the Congo River Basin. Although Italy is the weakest, it is still a major power.
Otherwise, why would Britain, France, and Germany withdraw from part of their territory and give it to Belgium? King Leopold of Belgium also took advantage of this and proposed that companies from various countries could develop in the Congo River Basin, which would be temporarily governed by Belgium. It is precisely because of this that Belgian talents took advantage of it.
Get a very big piece of cake.
In addition, developing colonies requires huge costs and must endure years of losses, which Italy's current finances do not have.
In this era, Africa can only serve as a raw material base, and its market is extremely small. How many industrial products can you expect Uncle Black to buy? It took until the end of the twentieth century for the African market to be gradually developed, and its scale is still not comparable to that of Asia.
The United States and Europe are comparable.
Not to mention anything else, Africa's harsh climate and various diseases caused huge losses to the colonizing countries.
For Italy, North Africa is the focus of its attention, because it is close to the country, which is very conducive to colonization and alleviating the pressure on the domestic population. However, North Africa has already been robbed by Britain and France.
Only the Ottoman Empire still has a territory in Libya, but it is basically a desert, with only some Arab herdsmen grazing here. Since it is too barren and the Ottoman Empire is behind it, Italy did not attack it.
As for other places, Carlo believes that Italy currently has no energy to take care of it. Prioritizing the development of industry is the last word. If you don’t have a strong fist and don’t dare to speak loudly, how can you rob profits?
However, I didn’t expect that Mr. Bacona had a good talk at the Berlin Conference, and Italy also took over Somalia in East Africa. I don’t know if it was affected by the butterfly effect, but Britain did not insist on its colonial stronghold in Berbera, Somalia.
It used this stronghold to reach an agreement with Italy. Italy gave up its colonial stronghold in Hodeidah, Yemen, in exchange for the British stronghold of Berbera in Somalia.
Of course, in addition to this, Italy has also signed with the United Kingdom their respective spheres of influence in the Red Sea. It can be said that Italy currently has only one achievement in Africa, Somalia.
And Carlo felt a toothache when he saw the telegram sent back by the Foreign Minister as if he were offering a treasure. Italy really went to pick up some remote areas. It would be great if Sudan was an Italian colony. He would no longer have to worry about Italy's small land and large population.
And felt worried.
However, this can only be Carlo's wish. The British would be crazy to exchange Sudan to Italy. No amount of money would be possible. This is related to their core interests in Africa.
The Berlin Conference to carve up Africa is still going on this time, but from the news analysis, the results are similar to those in the previous life. It would be great if a conference to carve up Asia could be held. Compared to Africa, Asia has everything.
