The battle at Mara City has long since ended, and the armies of both sides have disengaged. But beside the nameless stream outside the city of Mara, a large tent was erected.

There are only two chairs and a wooden table in the big account, which is very simple.

That's right, this is where Simeone is preparing to negotiate. Considering the relationship between the two, placing it in this place is also an expression of sincerity.

As for the peace talks with the Abyssinians, in fact, when he was still in Rome, His Majesty had already explained that if the Abyssinians were willing to submit, then it was acceptable to retain the power of the Abyssinians.

At that time, attitudes towards the Abyssinians in Rome varied greatly, with the military wanting to rule them directly as colonies, and the government, considering the barrenness of the Abyssinian plateau, preferring to rule by commission.

As for the king, who started the war, the attitude was the most relaxed, as long as the Abyssinians were willing to become a vassal of Italy, then the war could be ended.

The three attitudes of the king, the government, and the military made Simeone feel a little unsure of who to listen to, but in the end, it was the king who coerced all parties and relied on his opinion.

So in the end, the Italian solution was to stop fighting the Abyssinians as long as they wished to become Italian vassals. In fact, there were other payments, but due to the death of Johannes IV, they were no longer needed.

Therefore, when Menelik proposed peace on behalf of the Abyssinians, Simone would agree so happily.

And in order to show Italy's victorious posture, the venue of the negotiations was placed in Marat.

"General, the Abyssinians are here."

Simeone, who was next to the big tent, heard the report of his subordinates and looked up at several figures on horseback in the distance.

"Then let's wait for them to come."

Simeone, who stood up, casually commanded the people around him.

Standing beside him were all people who had made meritorious contributions in this battle, such as Major General Wagman of the advance team, Major General Pascal, Colonel Zelos and others who had made great achievements in this war.

Such a star-studded scene greeted the Abyssinian emperor Menelik, but it gave the other party enough face.

When the group of people from the peace talks arrived in front of them, Menelik, who had dismounted, immediately stepped forward to Simone with a smile as if he had seen an old friend.

"Hello, General Simeone."

Completely ignoring the previous fight between the two sides, Menelik is a qualified politician in this respect. Compared with Menelik, Major General Wagman, who fought against him in Mara City, was not at home in his cultivation, and his face was not good at all when he looked at the Abyssinian emperor who had caused many casualties in the battle against him.

Fortunately, it was General Simeone who negotiated with the Abyssinian emperor, and he smiled victoriously and stepped forward to shake his hand. "Hello, Emperor Menelik."

After a brief handshake between the two, Simeone and Menelik left the others behind and entered the big account.

Because the next negotiation needs to be between two people.

After the two of them were seated, Simeone spoke. "Sir Menelik, we will not mention the cause of this war. However, in order to ensure that such tragedies are avoided in the future, we need to have troops stationed in Adua. In addition, in order to reduce unnecessary trouble, Abyssinian diplomacy needs to be entrusted to our country, and your country needs to open its market to our country, and you must not charge anything other than the fixed customs tariff of 5%. In addition......"

Simeone said that Italy's various requirements for Abyssinia, basically tariffs, diplomacy, and advisers, etc., can be said to extend its tentacles to all aspects of Abyssinia.

And in the face of Simeone's proposed conditions, Menelik did not say a word, and he did not put forward any rebuttal at all. Because the reason is very simple, Abyssinia could not fight anymore, and the elite troops concentrated throughout the country suffered heavy losses, and could only accept the conditions of Italy.

Fortunately, despite Italy's many conditions, the most important right to rule was still left to them. Italy did not intend to rule Abyssinia directly, nor did it want other rights.

It was only after Simeone had finished speaking from the Italian side that Menelik spoke. "My country agrees in principle to your country's conditions. But I want to ask, on the side of the Sudanese, are you going to intervene? ”

Menelik had no choice, or the courage to refuse, Italy's demands, but he had his own thoughts about the Sudanese who were invading his country.

In the face of Menelik's temptation, Simeone shook his head and replied. "We don't know much about the situation of the Sudanese, and if your country wants to fight back against the invading Sudan, our country will not stop it."

That's right, Italy is going to cross the river and tear down the bridge. The promises they had made to the Sultan were no longer ready to be recognized.

Don't say that the Italians are despicable, there are not too many countries that do this in this era, in the final analysis, it is still the factor of strength, and the strength of the Sudanese is simply not qualified for Italy to pay attention.

Of course, more importantly, Italy does not need the Sudanese now, so it is better to give up when it is time to give up. Wouldn't that give the newly submitted Abyssinians a little bit of luck?

Simeone's words made Menelik know the attitude of Italy, which was a great blessing in misfortune for Abyssinia.

"Thank you for the importance that your country attaches to Abyssinia, and I personally have a small gift, I hope that Your Excellency the Lieutenant General will not dislike it."

As he spoke, Menelik took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Simone. "Simeone, please don't refuse my personal kindness."

Seeing Menelik's actions, Simone raised an eyebrow and took it. "Then I thank Your Excellency for your kindness."

He didn't refuse, because if he rejected the Menelik's kindness on the spot, although it would not displease the other party, it would not be a good thing, and it would be a big deal to hand it over when the time came.

The curious Simeone opened it casually and saw that a check was lying quietly inside, starting with 1, five zeros, or a check from the Bank of England, it seemed that the emperor had made a lot of money.

When Simeone received the gift quietly, Menelik immediately smiled.

"Can we be friends now?"

"Of course, we're best friends."

With the negotiation between the two, although there are still some details to be discussed, there is no need for the two to continue to talk, they are mainly responsible for the general direction.

So it didn't take long for the people waiting on both sides to find that the two negotiators actually walked out shoulder to shoulder.

But politics is like this, one second the two are still enemies of life and death, and the next second they are like the best brothers, this is all damn politics,

Although the contract still needed to be signed by Rome, it was largely unscathed. Under the terms of the treaty, Italy was granted diplomatic rights to Abyssinia, and at the same time it was granted the right to garrison troops in Adua, which could deploy an army of up to 5,000 men. Then there is the opening of the market of Abyssinia to Italy, which can only charge a tariff of 5%, as for other countries, it must collect a tariff of no less than 25%.

There was another rule, which Menelik added on his own initiative after Simeone had abandoned the Sultans, that Italy could recruit warriors in Abyssinia, but not more than 20,000.

Of course, there was also a little caution on the part of the emperor, and although Simone saw through it at a glance, it was also very beneficial to Italy and he was happy to accept it.

When the treaty was handed over to Rome for signing, the war between the two countries was over.

Of course, Simeone, who had just received the benefits, decided to give the other party a little return, and of course helping the other party block the invasion of the Sultan was also one of the reasons.

"Emperor Menelik, I have a batch of old ordnance in my army, I don't know if you need it."

I'm in a good mood