My Italy

Of course, the Corriere della Sera in Rome published a front-page photo of Li Zhongtang shaking hands cordially with Foreign Minister Bacona. The next day, major Italian newspapers also published this photo in a prominent position.

However, the newspapers' attention to Li Zhongtang and his party goes beyond this. All major newspapers sent people to follow Li Zhongtang and his party to report at any time.

For example, His Excellency Li Zhongtang, a statesman from the Qing Dynasty, laughed with Prime Minister Antonio at the welcome dinner and discussed the development of the Far East market. The two parties exchanged views and reached some consensus. (In essence, Li Zhongtang and Antonio were just talking about the weather, and Antonio was concerned about Li Zhongtang’s health.)

Newspapers rushed to report on Li Zhongtang because the public liked to see this political elder from the Far East. This may be due to distance. The Far East is too far from Italy, so a lot of news about the two can only be known through newspapers and other media. The media was full of praise for it, and even the Qing army's poverty and weakness were interpreted as peace-loving.

As for Borneo, the local Chinese are relatively wealthy. Although their living habits are different, most of them are upright and highly praised for their character.

Therefore, this also led to people's curiosity about the Qing Dynasty, especially if someone guided them. Moreover, Li Zhongtang was also a politician and prime minister-level figure in the Qing Dynasty and had a huge influence on the Qing Dynasty, which further aroused the public's interest in Li Zhongtang. Even what Li Zhongtang ate, what he said, who he reviewed, etc.

Do you feel that Li Zhongtang has the potential of a superstar? Every move he makes can attract the attention of thousands of people. Well, Li Zhongtang wouldn't care about this even if he knew it, because he has many things to pay attention to.

At the testing ground of the Beretta Arms Company in Brescia, Li Zhongtang and his party looked at a newly built Maxim machine. Hiram Stevens Maxim, the company's chief designer, introduced the latest Maxim machine to Li Zhongtang. Qin machine gun.

"Prime Minister Li, this is our company's latest machine gun model 1895. The total weight of the gun is 69KG, of which the gun body weighs 26.9kg, the cooling water 4kg, and the tripod weighs 38.1KG. The ammunition supply system of this gun still uses canvas. It is made of a non-dispersible bullet chain. Considering that stray bullets and shrapnel may damage the cooling water sleeve, an additional small round shield is also installed.”

Maxim pointed at the small buckler behind the muzzle of the gun and introduced it. Then he briefly introduced some other changes. Of course, these were basically told to Li Zhongtang, and his intention was obvious.

Of course, just an introduction is not enough. Actual combat is the best test standard. Mr. Maxim personally operated this heavy machine gun and demonstrated it.

"Now we just need to aim at the target in front and pull the trigger on both sides."

Following Maxim's words, a roar of heavy machine guns sounded. "Da da da da da..."

Twenty or thirty targets standing in front were torn apart by machine guns at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Zhongtang, who was watching from the sidelines, was not surprised, but some of the attendants who had never seen Maxim shoot were different. They looked at everything in front of them in stunned silence.

After the demonstration, Li Zhongtang asked.

"Mr. Maxim, how much does one of your new electric guns cost?"

"One machine gun costs 20,000 lire. If you purchase more than 50, our company can reduce the price to 19,000 lire. In addition, each machine gun comes with 3,000 rounds of ammunition."

Facing Li Zhongtang's inquiry, Maxim immediately gave the price and even offered discounts.

Since Maxim was so enthusiastic and this stun gun was really good, Li Zhongtang also placed an order for 50 of them. Anyway, it was not expensive at more than 200,000 taels and it was still affordable.

Li Zhongtang then continued to visit Italian industries, including the textile and chemical industries in Milan, where he saw the shocking sight of thousands of people working together.

Turin's steel and military industries made him feel the charm of heavy industry and the speed of mass production of artillery. As for the shipbuilding industry in Genoa, the launch of a cruiser also left a deep impression on Li Zhongtang.

Of course, during this period, Li Zhongtang activated his currency capabilities. Rifles, artillery, and even warships were all within Li Zhongtang's purchase range. Of course, Li Zhongtang also purchased in appropriate quantities. For example, the warship purchased a two-thousand-ton fast cruiser, equipped with five thousand artillery and rifles.

When Li Zhongtang was observing Italy's strength, he was waiting in his heart for the Italian government's reply. That's right, when the welcome dinner was held, Li Zhongtang took the opportunity to propose to Prime Minister Antonio that he would like to borrow the help of Italy to provide temporary help to the Huai Army.

However, this matter was postponed by Antonio on the grounds that it was of great importance and was very likely to change Italy's foreign policy towards the Qing Dynasty and needed to be carefully considered.

Of course, Li Zhongtang can also dance with long sleeves. He then said that he understood the concerns of the Kingdom of Italy, so he could walk around first to see Italy's industrialization, and then give him an answer when he comes back.

Okay, now I’ve spent a week wandering around, and I’m almost there. It was now time for Li Zhongtang to prepare to return to Rome. When he thought about the possible reply from Italy, he suddenly felt uncertain.

"How will this person respond?"

Li Zhongtang was sitting on a float specially prepared for him, looking at the exotic scenery outside the window, and talking a little worried about gains and losses.

It stands to reason that he is already 74 years old, which is considered to be a rare age in ancient times. Why is he still so worried about gains and losses?

Isn’t there a saying that the older you get, the less courageous you become. Li Zhongtang, a rare man, has held great power for most of his life. This man cannot be without power for a day. He is talking about people like Li Zhongtang who worry about gains and losses when it comes to power. Purely normal.

"Father, I think Yiren will accept it."

The eldest son Li Jingfang gave his reasons when facing Li Zhongtang's questioning eyes. "I think this person only pays attention to practical benefits. As long as we give enough practical benefits, can this person shirk away?"

"Having said that, how should we give actual benefits now. My father has resigned from the post of Governor of Zhili and Minister of Commerce of Beiyang. It is not easy to give actual benefits now."

The second son Li Jingshu asked about his inner thoughts.

Yes, it is well known that Italians value practical benefits. The question is what Li Zhongtang should do to get involved in the court that Italians can't refuse. This is a problem.

Facing Li Jingshu's inquiry, the eldest son Li Jingfang was speechless.

Well, Li Zhongtang saw the performance of his two sons. I'm really not used to having no one with ideas around me. The imperial court is really mean and ungrateful. Apart from his two sons, there is only one Yu Shimei. Although he is also his staff, he is not good at strategy.

Of course, no matter what Li Zhongtang thought about, the train took him back to Rome.