General O. Baratieri[Note], a former in Giuseppe. A veteran of the Red Lining Army led by Garibaldi, the commander-in-chief of the Italian army in Africa and the governor of Eritrea. He commanded www.biquge.info Italian war with Abyssinia between 1894 and 1896.

He's a big shot; At the same time, he is also one of the potential customers that Qin Lang needs to visit.

In fact, Qin Lang knew little about Baratieri before deciding to visit him, except for the defeats of the Italian army he led in the war: at the Araji Flats, at Meklay, and, most decisively, at Adwa, the Abyssinian army under the command of Menelik II completely defeated the nearly 18,000 Italian soldiers commanded by Balatieri in the fiercest battle of the entire war.

Although the actual losses of the Italian army are uncertain - the figures recorded in the middle school history textbooks seem to be 12,000 casualties and 4,000 captured, a classmate of Qin Lang's Italian-American at Florida State University claims that the Italian army had less than 300 officers and about 2,900 soldiers killed - but in any case, at Adwa, the Italian army did collapse completely.

In the ensuing retreat, the Italian soldiers abandoned all their artillery, about 11,000 rifles, and most of their mounts, and were therefore completely incapacitated.

Their performance had three consequences: General Baratieri was court-martialed and eventually acquitted but forced to resign; Then, a frustrated Italian government signed a new Treaty of Addis Ababa with Abyssinia, recognizing its independent status.

Finally, as a result of the crushing defeat in Abyssinia, Francisco advocated colonial expansion in Africa and the annexation of Abyssinian by force. Mr. Crispi and his cabinet also collapsed.

This is the story that took place in Abyssinia and Italy in 1896. And now, albeit in 1894, the prelude to the story has begun: in July, before the start of the war between China and Japan, the Italian army had attacked and occupied the province of Tigray.

The opportunity to make money has been shown in front of Qin Lang as he wished...... It seems so.

Baratieri was not as happy about his visit to Duncan as he thought he was: an American and a Chinese with an American passport, either of which he didn't want to see now. He was the Governor of Eritrea sent by Italy, but he was now discussing with two American businessmen...... God knows what the important thing is, and if the news gets out, his compatriots who are engaged in business will not be happy.

After all, if there was any business in the Doge's Palace, he should have considered Italian merchants first. If not, there will be some trouble: only God knows what the merchants would say about it, and only God knows what will become of those discussions when they get back to Rome.

Baratieri knew very well that there were many more generals in Italy who were concerned about the throne of the Eritrean governorship......

What made him even more dissatisfied was that it had been a minute, and the two businessmen had not even started to say a word, which was simply a waste of his precious time.

But before he could get them away, he decided to get things straight. "Mr. Sandy, what is the 'important matter' that you brought this Chinese to me?"

Baratieri behaved arrogantly. First of all, he was a general and a governor, a big man; Second, neither China nor the United States is a country that needs to be taken seriously.

However, he didn't realize that the only feeling that his arrogant performance brought Qin Lang was ridiculous - apart from ancient Rome, football and macaroni, what else could Italy be proud of? Of course, the customer is God, so he is not ready to ridicule his self-righteous Lord Governor now.

"Your Excellency the Governor, we are here to do business with you—"

"Please be quiet for a moment." Baratieri's adjutant interrupted him, "Your Excellency the Governor is talking to Mr. Sandy, and there doesn't seem to be room for you to interject here, Chinese." ”

"I have to explain, Your Excellency," Duncan explained, after listening to the translator's paraphrase, "Qin is the real boss, and I am only a shareholder of the company. ”

"Even so, he doesn't have the right to interject without me asking him." Baratieri showed his arrogance to the fullest, "Remember, now I'm asking you, Mr. Sandy. And," he said aggravatedly, "since you're also a shareholder in the company, I think you should be able to decide something for yourself." ”

Duncan's face instantly became ugly - he was worried that Qin Lang would not be able to bear the rudeness of this Italian. However, when he turned his gaze to Qin Lang, he found that he blinked at him casually. "You talk to him, Duncan. But be careful, adopt the right strategy. ”

So he nodded and turned back to Baratieri. "Your Excellency the Governor, we have come to make a deal of business with you. According to the information we have received, you have ordered the troops under your command to launch an attack on Abyssinia—"

"Mr. Sandy, I think there's a mistake in the message you're getting." Baratieri angrily interrupted Duncan, "Although it is true that the untrustworthy Abyssinian natives unilaterally abrogated the Treaty of Uchal, so far I have not received an order to punish this country. ”

Yes, this kind of game you will and I will too. Duncan thought. Even though this method has been used countless times in the past and has become well known, the colonizers still liked to shift the responsibility for the conflict to the indigenous people who had been invaded. "Frankly, Your Excellency, we all know what the Treaty of Uchali is all about, and it is also true that your army is invading Abyssinia......"

As soon as his words came out, Qin Lang realized that the negotiations would break down immediately. Even if it were true that the Italian government had made a move when the Treaty of Uchali was officially promulgated, and even if the Italian army had invaded Abyssinia again, Baratieri would not have accepted such an undisguised statement of these issues.

But the translator had fully translated Duncan's words to the Eritrean governor-general.

"Mr. Sandy, I don't think we have anything left to talk about," Baratieri began to issue the eviction order, "and I warn you that, as an American businessman, you have no right to dictate the affairs of Italy. ”

Duncan was stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously set his eyes on Qin Lang - but Qin Lang had already stood up with a smile on his face. "We'll come back next time."

It was also he who had to stand up. "In that case, Your Excellency the Governor, we take our leave."

He and Qin Lang bowed slightly, and Baratieri returned a perfunctory salute. Then they turned and strode out of the governor's office, leaving the interpreter and the governor's lieutenant staring at each other.

Once he left the Governor's Palace, Qin Lang's gaze at Duncan became stern. "I've warned you, Duncan, to be cautious. As a result, you still remove the fig leaf of the Italians. ”

"I'm sorry, Qin, but I'm really by him," Duncan spread his hands apologetically, and then cursed, "Stupid and rude Italian! Now I was expecting them to be beaten by the Abyssinians. ”

"Don't worry, that's a given." Qin Lang shrugged, as if what had just happened had not happened at all. In reality, however, he was considering providing Menelik II with a greater variety of military and technical assistance...... By the way, he was also ready to cause some trouble for General Baratieri.

He also remembered the contempt that this Italian had for him. Of course, if he became his client, then Qin Lang would never bother with him about such a small problem, but now, he wanted to take revenge.

However, he didn't plan to get rid of Baratieri directly - assassinating him or letting him die on the battlefield would make him an Italian hero, and Qin Lang wanted him to die in an Italian prison. Historically, this guy has narrowly escaped court-martial, but this time, he didn't want to be so lucky.

Qin Lang was very happy. He has many ways to do this.

Duncan, however, was confused. Generally speaking, a person would feel irritated after being humiliated, and Qin Lang ...... However, he is not an ordinary person, so it seems that there is no surprise in any unusual behavior...... He thought about it for a moment. "What about our business?" Either way, it might be safer to switch the subject. "Now to the Abyssinians?"

"Don't panic," Qin Lang patted him on the shoulder, "Duncan, we haven't done business with the Italians yet." ”

"But Balatieri ......"

"Canned luncheon meat may not stand a chance, but methamphetamine," he smiled more visibly and sinisterly, "it would be easy to sell it to the Italians, even without the support of the Governor." ”

His expression made Duncan hesitate and be scared for a moment, but finally he asked, "What are you going to do, Qin?" ”

"First of all, we have to find a tavern, and secondly, find a frustrated Italian officer in the tavern, and then," Qin Lang paused for a moment and asked, "Did you bring methamphetamine and syringes?" ”

"All the time." This was originally a sample used to demonstrate the effects of doping to Baratieri, and Duncan thought it was no longer needed, but now ......

"Very well, Duncan, now we can get started." Qin Lang raised his head and began to search around for the tavern he needed.

Soon, he found his purpose.

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Note: Oreste.Baratieri, 1841-1901 (to be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log in to the WWW.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )