"Dale, since we are all old friends, let's make it clear, we don't have any ideas about Tunisia, we just hope to withdraw our investment, I just became the prime minister, as a friend, you can't make it difficult for me."

In a secret room in the Prime Minister's Office, DePretis, as Prime Minister, is talking to the middle-aged man in front of him, and by his name, we can know that this is the French ambassador Danny Dyer, who is also the representative currently in charge of negotiations with Italy.

"Depretis, my old friend, you make it difficult for me to say that."

Danny Dyer continued with a look of embarrassment. "You also know that we are a republic, and we cannot force companies to buy your property in Tunisia. Besides, we are all civilized countries, and following the rules of business is also a principle that we have always adhered to. Of course, for the Italian companies and railways in Tunisia, I look for banks or companies to help buy them, but there may be some discrepancies in terms of price, maybe around eighty or ninety, and hopefully this will not affect our friendship. ”

"Of course, it doesn't affect our friendship, but I think there are a lot of our companies in Tunisia that are worth buying, and not just the ones you mentioned."

Then DePretis said pointedly. "In addition, I think Your Excellency, as a matchmaker, deserves a gain, and five thousandths is a very reasonable number."

That's right, Depretis wants to solve the follow-up problems in Tunisia as soon as possible, because the drought is still ongoing, the Italian government is running out of money, and there is an urgent need to find another way. Of course, the government can also issue a government bond, and Italian government bonds are quite popular in the stock market at the moment, but Depretis needs to think more about building them. Borrowing money as prime minister would make it seem that he is financially helpless, and he needs to negotiate with France about the closure of Tunisia, so the Italian investment in Tunisia in recent years needs to be recovered as soon as possible.

And in order to recoup the investment as soon as possible, giving a partial rebate becomes the proper means.

"Seven thousandths."

Danny Dyer said that I wouldn't be sleepy if you wanted to talk about this, and asked for a higher price.

"Dale, you have a big appetite, it's going to make it hard for me to do it."

Faced with the figures put forward by Danny Dyer, DePretis did not refuse in one bite.

"My request is not too much, you must know that I can't do this alone, I need to work up and down, and it can fall into my hands at most two layers."

Faced with De Pretis's hesitant expression, Danny Dyer spoke out about his difficulties.

"I know this, but you also have to know that my country's investment in Tunisia is very large, and if it is too high, then it will be difficult for me to satisfy the people, especially since I have just come to power, and I cannot ignore public opinion. Just 5 out of 1,000, what do you think? ”

It was clear that Depreetis felt that seven out of a thousand was not suitable.

"De Pretis, this money is too small to displease the people above me, and you know that Tunisia is currently under our protection, so I think seven thousandths is very reasonable. This can also increase the amount of the transaction, which is very beneficial for both of us. ”

Seeing that De Preetis was unwilling to accept this figure, the French ambassador had already begun to use coercion and inducement.

However, in the face of coercion and temptation, Depretis is not easy to talk at all.

"Well, Dell, the gap is between two points at the moment, and if you want to reach a consensus, you have to make concessions to each other, and you must recognize that."

De Pretis said unhurriedly and slowly, his expression completely unchanged.

"That's hard for me to accept."

With that, Danny Dyer got up and prepared to leave. In the face of the French ambassador's behavior, De Pretis did not make any further moves, but this was to stand up and watch him leave.

After waiting for a while, a figure opened the door and entered, and Sabot, the former mayor of Rome and now the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, walked up.

"Prime Minister, how are the talks with the French?"

The reason why Sabot is here is very simple, that is, this is a close confidant of De Pretis, and of course there are very few people who know that they have this relationship. In addition, because Sabot is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, this negotiation is very important for the Ministry of Finance, whether it is to relieve the drought in the south or to prepare to reassure the people, there is no money to do.

As for the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, His Excellency Jagalli, with the resignation of Kairoli, he can still reserve his position, and according to convention, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is basically the Prime Minister's person.

"It's not bad, the talks went well."

This is not De Pretis's remark, don't look at the French ambassador's departure, in De Pretis's view, this is just a ploy of his old friend. The two countries can negotiate the issue of hundreds of millions of lira in funds, and if they can negotiate within a week, it can be considered that the progress is already smooth, and as soon as they put forward their own conditions, others will immediately agree to them.

With such a large amount of money, it always takes two parties to test it.

However, although Depretis was not in a hurry, Sabot was different, and he said with some eagerness. "Prime Minister, there is not much money in the Ministry of Finance at present, and I am afraid that the Ministry of Finance will not be able to take out a single lira in half a month."

Faced with the anxious words of his henchman, De Pretis thought about it and said. "Then use the spare funds first, and when I finish talking to Danny Dyer, I will have the money."

Faced with the Prime Minister's advice, Sabot thought for a moment and then attached his ear canal. "I'm already using the money. Even with this money, the government can support it for a month at most. ”

"You ......"

Hearing his confidant Sabot's words, DePretis widened his eyes and wanted to speak, but eventually waved his hand in frustration. "Forget it, then do as you say, and let the fewer people know the better."

"Yes, Your Excellency, Prime Minister."

With the Prime Minister's approval, Sabot's hanging heart finally relaxed. Know how to use the reserve money privately. If it was known, he, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, would not be able to eat and walk around. Of course, he is also quite cautious about this, and now there are no more than a few people in the Ministry of Finance who know about it, and they are all henchmen who have followed him for many years.

Sabot, who was secretly supported by the prime minister, left with peace of mind.

He didn't notice it, though, as Depretis stared at his back in deep thought. "It seems that it was a mistake to put Sabot in the position of chancellor of the exchequer."

That's right, De Preetis already has the idea of replacing him. The reason is that he saw from this incident that Sabot's personality was not suitable for the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, of course, he would not directly remove him, but replace him with a minister. However, it is not easy to do this, because it is really difficult to find someone who is suitable for the position of chancellor of the exchequer and is trusted by oneself. He didn't have such a person in his entrainment, otherwise he wouldn't have pushed Sabot into this position.

Although De Pretis wants to make a substitution, this matter is urgent, and now the priority is to negotiate the Tunisian industry.

His Excellency the Prime Minister was right, and his old friend, the French ambassador, Danny Dyer, did not really end the talks. After secretly sending a few telegrams with Paris, the old friend came again uninvited and continued to have afternoon tea with the prime minister.

Of course, although afternoon tea is delicious, there is also a time for it to end. After drinking tea for almost ten days, both parties got acceptable results.

The Italian property in Tunisia was sold by a company called Gabenli, led by His Excellency Danny Dyer. In order to obtain Italy's consent to sell its property in Tunisia, the company offered a guaranteed value of not less than 85% of the market price, and the company would also take a cut of 6/1000 of the transaction amount.

The structure of this little-known Gabenli company is very complex, and if you peel back the cocoon, the names of several French dignitaries and family members are faintly revealed among its shareholders, and the spearhead is pointed at people such as Jouferry, Gambetta, etc.

In any case, this is good news for Italy, at least the ongoing drought can finally be bailed out on a large scale by the government. And the good news, to the satisfaction of the whole government, is that there is finally a rain in southern Italy, although it is not heavy and it is limited to a few areas of Sicily and Naples, but it is also a good sign, and it is always good to see that there is always hope.