My Italy

General Reveley's worries are actually justified. No, the Prime Minister and others are discussing contact with Italy.

"Prime Minister, the negotiations with the Italians are not going well. The Italians require us to buy their warships. If we buy a few, they will support us with their people and ships. And Italy currently does not accept mortgages, as long as cash, precious metals and A marketable bond or other property that can be cashed in quickly.”

In the Prime Minister's Office, Foreign Secretary Gibbs reported to Prime Minister Castillo the results of recent negotiations with Italy.

After listening to the Foreign Secretary's report, Prime Minister Castillo frowned. "Didn't you tell them that we are willing to use Philippine colonial territory as payment?"

"I said, but there is a big gap between Italy's and our valuation of the territory. The main reason is the rebel problem in the Philippines. The Italian side said that some people in the Philippines have announced the establishment of the Philippine Republic. my country has priced Mindanao in the Philippines at 80 million. Lira also had objections. They said that although Mindanao is large in area, it is sparsely populated and not developed enough. They will need to invest a lot of money to capture the island, and they will also need to pay for counterinsurgency. They are only willing to pay 40 million Lira."

After hearing the answer from the Foreign Secretary, Prime Minister Castillo put his hand on his forehead and said, "I made a mistake. Italy already has Borneo in Southeast Asia, so its interest in Mindanao will not be that great. There is also the drought in Italy last year." The loss is not small, and I probably won’t be able to spend any money.”

Regarding the Prime Minister's words, Gibbs said immediately.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, your analysis is almost the same as mine. When I talked with the Italians before, I felt that they value assets that can be cashed in quickly, and Italy's asking price for the three Turin-class ships is very high, 80 million lire each. The points cannot be less. Moreover, when it comes to hiring their officers and soldiers, they have to meet the requirements of five times the salary and corresponding compensation. This cost is indeed a bit high for our country."

As soon as the Foreign Secretary said that the cost was too high, Admiral Cerveira on the side quickly took over. "The number of warships is already at its lowest. We cannot reduce it, otherwise I will not have the confidence to defend the Cuban colony."

Although I know that what General Cervela said is true, what should I do if I don’t have money? “Admiral Cervela, the problem is that we can’t afford that much money at the moment.”

"How about issuing a batch of national bonds now?"

As expected, the Lord of the Admiralty did not understand finance, and he borrowed money when he was in trouble. Although he was not a financial professional, Gibbs felt he had an obligation to teach the admiral a lesson.

"General Cervera, you can't just borrow this debt if you want. It takes time to prepare and at least find an underwriter. There are also many ways to sell bonds, and they all require time to prepare. In addition, our country's national debt is not easy to sell now. The interest rate is double digits..."

Sure enough, as the Foreign Minister explained, Admiral Cerveira blushed, knowing that he had made a mistake, and now he did not dare to speak nonsense. "I, a person who is used to drifting at sea, really don't understand this matter of money, so I will make it difficult for you."

Okay, Admiral Cervera stopped talking and let the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister say what they say next.

"I think we still need to find a way to deal with the money issue. We can't just watch the Americans press forward step by step. Let's give up Cuba."

"Actually, this is..."

Just as Foreign Secretary Gibbs was about to speak, there was a knock on the door.

"what happened?"

Prime Minister Castillo asked loudly and somewhat unhappy. If you don't give him a sufficient reason for disturbing yourself at this time, then the secretary on duty today must be severely punished.

"Prime Minister, it was Lord Gibbs's secretary who came to him and said that he had urgent news and that he must see him immediately."

These words made the three of them feel a sudden thump in their hearts. Not to mention that the United States suddenly declared war on the kingdom, many of these things were not prepared.

"Let him in."

Following the Prime Minister's words, the door opened and Gibbs' secretary walked in.

"Gabrin, what is it that makes you so anxious to come to me? You can tell me now in front of the Prime Minister."

The Foreign Secretary was also a little dissatisfied with the secretary who made a reckless move and asked him to speak up quickly.

"Prime Minister, Your Excellency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just received a telegram from Berlin from Ambassador Paredes. It said that the Germans told him that they were interested in purchasing our Philippines for 200 million marks. colony."

The secretary's words made the three of them overjoyed. This is really a perfect path.

Why did the Germans suddenly offer to buy the Philippines?

Let us turn the time back to two days ago. In the palace in Berlin, Wilhelm II, Prime Minister Schillingsfest, and Foreign Minister Bernhard von Bülow were discussing an important matter.

This matter is Spain's plan to sell the Philippines. As an advocate of world empire, Foreign Secretary Biro immediately contacted the Kaiser as soon as he got the news and strongly recommended the Philippines to him. According to what he said, the Philippines is expected to become Germany's own Borneo.

Yes, Germany has been envious of Italy's gains in Borneo for many years.

In addition, Germany's colonial activities are currently suffering huge losses. The colonies captured in Africa over the years have been receiving subsidies from the German Ministry of Finance. This was a bit embarrassing for the Kaiser, who wanted to expand in the world. Of course, another thought, that all the good places in the world were taken over by other countries, also took root in his heart.

So after hearing Bülow's recommendation, the Kaiser was moved, so a brief secret meeting was necessary.

"Your Majesty, although most of the Philippines is currently occupied by rebels, Philippine land, minerals, and other tropical resources are urgently needed by our country. In addition, we also need to consider the location of the Philippines. This can completely serve us as an important player in the region. Use it as a fulcrum. We only need to occupy the Philippines to expand our influence in the region. In addition, we can also radiate to the southern part of the Qing Dynasty in the Far East, which is really beneficial to us."

Bülow talked about the advantages of the Philippines over Germany, and was recognized by the Prime Minister and the Kaiser. Of course I agree, but there are some things that I have to ask clearly.

"But the current size of the Philippine rebels has reached more than 100,000. Although our country is not afraid of them, destroying the rebels requires enough energy and expense, and the money is not low at all. In addition, the relationship between the United States and Spain is very tense at present. Worse, it is very likely that a war will break out between the two countries, and if we buy the Philippines now, is it possible that we will become enemies with the United States?”

Faced with the two questions raised by the Prime Minister, Biro immediately explained. "Prime Minister, I admit that the problem you mentioned does exist and cannot be concealed. However, we must also consider whether the Philippines is worth our efforts. I think it is worth it. For the rebel problem, we can use the army to quell the rebellion. By the way, Just win over a group of local obedient tribes and it only takes a few repetitions to make the local tribes in the Philippines recognize the facts.

As for buying the Philippines and possibly antagonizing the United States, I think this is not a problem at all. As a world power, does our country need other people’s approval to buy a colony? How can such a performance make people recognize that we are a global empire, so we don’t want to buy a colony at this time. This should and cannot be a priority. "

Bülow's eloquent speech made Kaiser Wilhelm II very angry, so an offer of 200 million marks to purchase the Philippines appeared in the hands of the Spanish ambassador.