My Italy

"Your Excellency Abdullah, our country deeply regrets the war between your country and Bulgaria and Greece."

In the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, facing the Ottoman ambassador in front of him, Bacona announced to him with regret that Italy was not prepared to intervene in the current Balkan war.

For Abdullah, who finally met the Italian Foreign Minister, he certainly did not want to hear only these desperate words. The current situation of the Ottomans on the battlefield is not good, and they urgently need help from other countries. Of course, he was not unprepared. Istanbul had already sent him a message and offered good conditions, and now he was waiting for him to come up with it.

"Your Excellency Bacona, please give me some time. Our country also knows your country's difficulties, but please believe us, as long as we can help our friends, our country will not let them suffer. As long as your country is willing to help our country, we are willing to We will give your country certain conveniences in wool, cotton, wheat, iron ore, etc., and even allow your country to invest in our country’s Divriy iron ore.”

To be fair, the conditions offered by the Ottomans were very good. Wool and cotton are Italy's bulk imported commodities, which is good news for the Italian textile industry. Wheat is Italy's staple food, and having an additional source of Ottoman imports is also very useful in ensuring Italy's food security. Of course, the most important thing is to allow Italy to invest in the Divrii iron ore.

The Divrii Iron Mine is currently the largest iron mine in the Ottoman Empire and is located in the central Anatolian Plateau. The iron ore contains 60-65% iron, but the iron ore contains high sulfur and needs desulfurization treatment. However, although it requires an additional desulphurization process, the Divrii iron ore is still a good investment, which is very conducive to the diversity and supplementation of Italian iron ore sources.

The Ottomans offered such generous terms because they considered Italy's reputation and wanted to seek help from Italy at a huge profit.

Bacona looked at such favorable conditions and let out a cold snort in his heart. Although the Ottomans seemed to have good conditions, it was not feasible for Italy to intervene.

Because this is the Balkans and nowhere else. In the previous wars involving Italy, the interest relationships were not actually complicated.

In the Far East, it was initially aimed at the enemy France. Next, for Japan, it was because the Qing Dynasty gave a lot, plus Italy had huge interests here and only had to face Japan. Although there is a shadow of the British behind Japan, Italy is very measured and does not teach Japan a terrible lesson. Leaving the Korean Peninsula to the other side is a manifestation of the greatest goodwill.

As for the Spanish-American War, it was even simpler. It only had to deal with one United States, and the other major powers were happy to see the Americans defeated.

Although only Bulgaria, Greece and the Ottomans are involved in the current Balkan War, the region is complex and involves too many forces.

And it is very close to Italy. If you are not careful, it may trigger a fight between the major powers. For Italy, blending into this is typically thankless.

As for the benefits provided by Osman, although they seem considerable, they are not worth Italy's action.

So Bakona spoke. "Your Excellency Abdullah, I have just said it, and now I emphasize it again. Our country deeply regrets the war between your country and Bulgaria and Greece."

After saying this, Bacona turned and left. The Ottoman ambassador was left standing here alone.

This is the reality. In this era, supporting the strong and bullying the weak is the norm. The Ottoman Empire is a weak country in the eyes of Italians. No matter whether the other party is the only empire in the world that is on the stage now, or whether Sultan Hamid II is the co-leader of the Communist Party, a weak country is a weak country, no matter how many titles or glorious history it has. It will not win the respect of other countries, it will only lead to greater oppression.

Of course, if Abdullah is the ambassador of the world's most powerful country, then the situation will be different. Ambassador Colson fully demonstrated the status that an ambassador of the world's most powerful country should have.

"Your Majesty Carlo, our country believes that the current endless shipbuilding is a destruction of world peace. With a responsible attitude, our country believes that the current crazy shipbuilding behavior of various countries should be stopped and curtailed. Let all countries put their finances first In terms of people’s livelihood and economy, it is better to invest in the military. At least it can avoid the current tense atmosphere in various countries. I wonder what King Carlo thinks of our country’s proposal?”

In the palace, a gentleman wearing a dress and a top hat was talking in front of Carlo. The person who could see Carlo directly was the British Ambassador Coulson.

Compared with Ambassador Abdullah, who had to wait patiently to see the Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Colson fully demonstrated his importance as the ambassador of the world's most powerful country. Even the Italian monarch must treat him, the British envoy, with caution. .

"Ambassador Colson, our country has received your country's invitation. However, reducing the current warship construction is of great importance. This is not only a matter for the military, but also a major matter for tens of thousands of workers in the shipyard, so we also invite science and technology. Ambassador Erson will wait patiently and let our country discuss it."

Carlo's words are also true. It is very reasonable to give an answer to such a big matter of reducing the scale of shipbuilding now. It must be discussed.

Of course Ambassador Colson knew this and immediately replied. "Then I'm waiting for good news from your country."

Watching the British ambassador leave, Carlo called the guards. "Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the military understand that the UK suddenly proposed to reduce shipbuilding."

Yes, he felt that the reduction of shipbuilding proposed by the British at this time did not seem right.

He didn't have to wait long, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs soon received the exact news. This time the British suddenly called for reducing the scale of shipbuilding, which was promoted by the new British Prime Minister Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd George and Secretary of Commerce Winston Churchill.

The reason is that the British Navy requires a shipbuilding plan for six dreadnoughts and a battlecruiser this year, and these three government economists believe that the Admiralty's request for seven new large battleships is unreasonable.

Yes, these three British hunks are now known as government economists. Since they have the title of economist, they first need to pay attention to the government's economic issues. The current situation of the British Empire is not good. The U.S. banking crisis in 2007 affected the United Kingdom, its largest overseas investor.

Although Britain did not cause an economic crisis with its vast colonial market, the market was much depressed. Since the market is in a slump, economists within the government certainly want to save the sluggish economy. The navy, currently the government's top spending target, has become their chosen target.

After all, the Navy's annual expenditure of 40 million pounds is a big burden for the government, not to mention that the Liberal Party has promoted the social security system after coming to power in recent years, which is another huge expense.

Prime Minister Asquith came up with a shipbuilding plan for four ships. In order to get the Navy to agree to their request, they told the Navy that the government would immediately provide the budget for four new ships, and then provide three more when the need was proven.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Asquith proposed to Germany, Italy and the United States that each country reduce the scale of dreadnought ship construction.

Speaking of which, the main culprit that caused Britain to halt naval competition earlier than history was Italy.

It was under the leadership of Italy that the construction of dreadnoughts by the United States and the United States was not only ahead of schedule, but also became more vigorous. Currently, the United States has 6 dreadnoughts under construction and in service, while Germany has 12 dreadnoughts under construction and in service, Italy has 10, and the world's hegemon, the British Empire, has 19.

This seems to be the only success of the British Empire, but in fact it is very dangerous, because Germany and Italy are allies, and the battleships of Britain's allies France and Russia have just laid down their keels in the shipyard.

Moreover, the two countries need to bear the pressure on land, so don't have too high expectations in naval construction. France, which is under great pressure from both land and sea, once told the United Kingdom that France's investment in the navy is extremely limited, with a maximum of 6 dreadnoughts, and it can only protect the Mediterranean.

Yes, France, which is under pressure on the German-Italian land border, is also facing the threat of Italy on the sea. What should people do? They can only leave some problems to their allies.

After being unable to count on allies for a short period of time, it is logical that the British Empire needs everyone to pause and slow down. Of course, it is appropriate to package it.

But whether countries are willing to accept it or not is another matter.