"Your Majesty, the General Staff has just received an urgent telegram from General Moltke from Paris. "www.biquge.info Wadsey said, handing the telegram to the guard, who stepped forward and presented it to William I.

"General Moltke said he had met with members of the Chinese mission and had talks." Wadsey sensed the tension in the room as if it was about to explode, and without waiting for Wilhelm I to read the telegram, he preemptively said the main content of the telegram, "The Chinese are very friendly, and they think that this assassination has nothing to do with our country. It was the Italian thugs who did it. ”

Wadsey's words obviously had the effect he wanted to see, and hearing his words, Bismarck and Longn, who had blushed and thick-necked from arguing just now, couldn't help but glance at each other, and each saw a hint of joy in each other's eyes.

William I quickly finished reading the telegram, and his gloomy face gradually eased. He raised the telegram in his hand and motioned for the guard to hand it over to Bismarck.

Bismarck took the telegram and read it with Long.

“…… The two Chinese envoys were very friendly and agreed that the atrocities committed against them were committed by the Italian Mazzini party and had nothing to do with our country. The two Chinese envoys share my belief that this incident should not affect the friendly relations between China and our country......"

"Your Excellency, what measures are you going to take now?" Wilhelm I, after reading Bismarck and Long, asked after reading the very short but very important telegram.

"Let the Italians take full responsibility for this incident. If necessary, it can act in lockstep with France. Bismarck replied without hesitation, "Inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing Empire that General Moltke had already visited the Qing Empire's mission, and send an invitation to the Qing Empire, requesting that the mission be allowed to visit our country and discuss economic and trade cooperation." ”

"Good, that's all."

Bismarck found that King Wilhelm's face had returned to peace, and he felt a little settled in his heart, but he could not help but let out a helpless sigh in his heart when he noticed the king's sharp gaze at him.

He knew that from this day forward, the king would never be able to trust himself unconditionally as much as before.

And, of course, Longne.

In fact, after the leak of the General Staff, one of the "troikas", Moltke, was forced to resign, and the other two troikas, Bismarck and Long, had already aroused the king's dissatisfaction, and this "assassination of the Chinese mission" incident brought this dissatisfaction to a climax.

And now, no matter how hard I try, everything is a thing of the past and irretrievable.

When Bismarck came to his senses, the king had already left his seat and walked to the door.

Italy, Rome, New Royal Palace.

In a secret room in the royal palace, like Bismarck, the prime minister of the Kingdom of Italy, Giovanni Lanza, was in a state of extreme anxiety.

"Your Excellency, do you know the truth of this matter?"

Faced with the inquiry of King Vittorio Emmanuel II of Italy, Giovanni Lanza did not know how to answer.

"Your Majesty, what I can be sure of is that although this matter was done by Italians, it has nothing to do with the Royal Government." Lanza chewed the words and said, "This is a stupid act done by the Mazzini followers to harm the interests of the kingdom. ”

"Mazzini is dead, but his legacy still haunts us." The King of Italy sighed, and his two beards trembled and trembled, "What he wants is a young Italy, but we gave him a mummy, so he took revenge on us like this." ”

Giuseppe Mazzini died on March 10, 1872, and although he was called one of the "Three Founding Fathers of Italy" along with Gaviour, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and Garibaldi, "Hero of the Two Worlds", "no one can deny that the Italian Revolution of the past 30 years has been linked to his name, and that during this same period Europe has recognized him as an excellent expression of the national aspirations of his countrymen." "But in the later stages of the Italian national liberation movement, the Mazzini movement split and Mazzini lost his leadership. The Second War against Austria in 1859, the Second War against Austria in 1859, the Sicilian Expedition to Overthrow the Bourbons in 1860, and the Third War against Austria in 1866 in Venice did not have a directly beneficial political impact on Italy. However, during the enthronement ceremony of the new French emperor Napoleon IV, the assassination of the Chinese delegation by the Mazzini party gave Italy a big blindfold.

"But I don't understand why they would take such a stupid revenge." The king's humour did not ease the worries of the Italian prime minister, and Lanza sighed, "I can't even think of anyone who would benefit from this." ”

"This matter has caused great harm to the Kingdom," King Emmanuel said in a sincere tone, looking at his Prime Minister, "although I know that the Royal Government has nothing to do with this matter, it is impossible for the Royal Government not to take responsibility because the murderer is Italian." ”

"The murderer is Italian!" Lanza understood what the king meant, and he repeated bitterly what his king had just said.

He knew that he was going to face another bleak end.

Lanza is a key member of the Alpine Agricultural Association of Turin and serves as its secretary. The main political objectives of the association were the political and economic, as well as the reform in the field of agriculture, and the revival of liberal nationalism that it had brought about. In September 1847, Lanza shouted at the Casale Parliament: "Long live Italian freedom and independence!" The slogan has won the support of many people. In 1848 Lanza was elected to the Piedmontese parliament and joined Cavour's partisan to pay attention to economic and financial issues for Cavour. In 1855 he was Minister of Public Education in Cavour's Cabinet, and in 1858 Minister of Finance. In July 1859 he took "temporary retirement" with Cavour. After the signing of the Peace of Villafranca, Lanza served as President of the Chamber of Deputies for a year, and between 1864 and 1865 Lanza served as Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of the Marquis Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, during which time he arranged for the relocation of the capital to Florence. In 1869 Lanza was elected Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies for the second time, but soon resigned due to opposition to the financial policies of the government of the Count of Menabrea. In December 1869, Lanza was appointed Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, forming a new cabinet, with himself Minister of the Interior. His ambitious attempt to restructure Italy's finances and promote political and economic reform in Italy has only just begun to bear fruit, but this time the Mazzini party has brought his efforts to naught.

After finding out that the murderer was an Italian Mazzini, the French government made solemn representations to Italy, but the Italian government was very tough at first, resolutely refusing to admit that the incident had anything to do with the Italian government (and it really had nothing to do with it), and the French were very annoyed, and in order to save face, they even began military intimidation. The French Army has made frequent moves on the Franco-Italian border, and the French Navy, which is in full swing preparing for the French Emperor's Ship Parade ceremony, has also sent two ironclad ships to Italian ports for "visits."

In the face of the French threat, the Italian government fell into an atmosphere of panic, the Kingdom of Italy had just completed the unification, the military and financial strength was quite weak, the Italian army was already weak, and the navy was defeated by Austria in the Battle of Lisa, and it was impossible to compete with France. What is even more infuriating is that in order to clear up its involvement, France's old enemy Prussia actually helped France this time, demanding that "the Italian government must take responsibility for the crimes committed by its people, make reparations, and guarantee that similar incidents will not happen again." In the face of the blackmail of France and Prussia, Italy, which lacked strength, could only choose to give in.

"Making such a decision, my heart is no less painful than yours." The King of Italy looked at the Prime Minister in pain, sighed and said, "I, and the Italian people, will always remember your exploits and sacrifices for our country." ”

"I understand, Your Majesty." Lanza slowly got up and bowed deeply to the king.

This "secret room meeting" has gone down in history as one of the most important events in Italian history. Because it was from this day that the history of Italy also embarked on a different trajectory.

Beijing, Forbidden City, Qinzheng Palace.

"Sixth Master, how did the negotiations go about the assassination of the envoy?" The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at Prince Gong and a military minister, and asked unashamedly.

"Prime Minister Yamen has sent a note of protest to Prussia, France, and Italy, and the French minister was the first to respond, saying that the murderer had been identified as a member of the Italian Mazzini party, and that the legal person had originally identified the official as the instigator of the country, but the French insisted that they had nothing to do with it, and sent important ministers to comfort our envoys. At present, France and Prussia are putting pressure on the righteous country to arrest the culprits and compensate for the losses. Prince Gong said.

"I listened to the meaning of the sixth master's words, and it has nothing to do with our Qing Dynasty?" The Empress Dowager Cixi sat there and snorted, "Our envoy of the Qing Dynasty was assassinated, and he was a bitter master, how did he end up paying compensation to other countries?" ”

Hearing the Empress Dowager Cixi's question, a cold sweat broke out on Prince Gong's forehead.

"Back to the Queen Mother, France claimed compensation because my envoy stayed at the official residence of his important minister, and the murderer destroyed many places in his house when he assassinated. Prussia helped France to put pressure on the righteous country, with the intention of distancing itself from the relationship. Prince Gong replied, "My envoy was blessed by the emperor this time and survived. ”

———— Dividing Line————

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