"But Italy is also an ally of the Germans, and they might risk offending the boss to seize Libya?" Chamberlain said with a slight frown. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"Allies? Italy has only one ally, and that is interests! The Triple Alliance was not strong, and no matter how Italy behaved, the closest situation between Germany and Austria could not be changed, and Italy was just a small partner in the eyes of Germany and Austria. ”

"And this little friend is restless, they want to fight for territory under the sun, and the little colony in East Africa can't satisfy their appetite at all. They have their sights on Ethiopia! And suffered a crushing defeat. And guess what the then German Chancellor Bismarck said about the Italians? Salisbury said with interest.

"What do you say?" Chamberlain asked.

Bismarck described Italy as a gluttonous eater with a tooth decay but a great appetite, who came to Africa and was eager to find a goal, without thinking about whether he could eat it or not! After the failure of this incident, Bismarck repeatedly persuaded Italy not to expand abroad, in order to save its already modest military power. The British Prime Minister laughed.

"It's very mean, but I have to say, it's very apt!" Chamberlain smiled and nodded.

"But the Italians don't think so! They have ambitious expansion plans! Want to restore the glory of the mule and horse era! Their naval requirements can reach 80% of the French, and the fleet must form a 4 to 3 advantage over Austria-Hungary! I can't forget about the colony! And this time, we're going to help Italy get the colony! ”

"On the one hand, Turkey is a potential ally of the Germans, and Italy is a formal ally of the Germans, and if someone else acts, Germany may take tough measures, and if it is Italy, the Germans will have to consider the impact of the suppression on the Triple Alliance! Is it Turkey or Italy? If nothing else, Germany is likely to acquiesce to Italy's actions, which will be a big hidden danger for the upcoming German-Turkish alliance! ”

"And if you interfere with Italy, not to mention how Germany and Austria take action in the Mediterranean, where the Italian navy has a advantage, if the two sides really face each other, then Italy is likely to choose to withdraw from the Triple Alliance, which is equivalent to weakening the strength of Germany and Austria, no matter how Germany chooses, we will make a profit and not lose money!" Chamberlain immediately figured out the twists and turns, and admired the Prime Minister's strategy!

"But Italy is still too weak, if they are afraid of defeat, or if the battle drags on for a long time, they may not take action, and more importantly, the time of the coup d'état in Turkey is a little too close now, and Italy may not have enough time to prepare their army!" Chamberlain supported the loopholes that existed in the plan.

"Turkey is only a fourth-rate country, and they are so far apart from the European countries that even Italy, which is called poor imperialism, has no problem dealing with them. The only problem is money! And we and the French can help in this regard! "What Chamberlain could think of, Salisbury could think of.

In the Boer War, Germany attracted the envy of the British, and in the German-Portuguese conflict, the French first accidentally hit the mines deployed by the Portuguese with two transport ships, and were defeated in the battle with the German fleet. Although they swallowed their anger on the surface, the French who were arrogant to the bone did not want to take revenge all the time!

And now the opportunity has come, and the British have found the French and said, let's sinister the Germans together, and by the way, see if we can pry Italy off the fortress of the Triple Alliance...... You don't need to send troops, you just have to give money, lend it to the Italians, so that they can fight this war!

For the French, everything that can be done to sin on the Germans is what the French are willing to do, and now that the British have stood up and taken the lead, and are standing in the foreground, the French are just offering some loans, and the French are naturally willing to mix in. Thus, the end result would be that the British government would lend Italy £4 million and the French would provide £3 million if Italy agreed to act.

The full payment was made in three instalments, with the first £2 million being before the outbreak of war. As the start-up capital for the Kingdom of Italy's war, a month after the war began, the two countries were to hand over £3.5 million to support the Italian war. At the same time, in view of Italy's weak arms industry, Britain and France said that they could provide Italy with weapons at a discount if necessary. The last £1.5 million came after the war ended. The repayment period of the entire loan is three years and the interest rate is 2%. This is already 1 percentage point lower than the normal lending rate.

In addition to a large number of loans, Britain and France also said that as long as Italy can land on the territory of Libya, and can occupy important cities along the coast, and stabilize control, then Britain and France will recognize the ownership of the Italian team Libya, and the British also guaranteed that Egypt, a British vassal country, will never open its ports and territory to Turkey, and once the war starts, "Turkey will not even have a rifle and a bullet than it wants to ship!" ”

Preliminary contacts between the British and Italian governments had already begun, and the dispatch of Chamberlain to Italy was a sign that the whole process had entered a substantive stage, and there was no doubt about the sincerity of having a minister go to Italy to discuss the matter in person.

"So how should we answer the Italians when they ask about the attitude of Germany and Austria-Hungary on this matter?" Before leaving, Chamberlain asked.

"The question is simple, Germany is not a country bordering the Mediterranean, they should not meddle in the affairs of the Mediterranean countries, since Austria-Hungary can expand in the Balkans and even take land from the Turks, then why can't Italy, which is also an ally of Germany?"

"As for Austria? I don't think the Italians will pay attention to the attitude of Austria-Hungary at all, on the one hand, there are many contradictions between the two sides themselves, and on the other hand, the Italians look down on Austria-Hungary, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy! Even if Austria-Hungary had acted, I think the Italians would have had a way to keep the Austro-Hungarian fleet from sailing out of the Adriatic. Salisbury said meaningfully. In his opinion, the matter has been successful, and as long as Italy does it, the British will be the beneficiary, regardless of the outcome!

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