The funeral of William I was a grand event, with hundreds of thousands of people witnessing the funeral. The white rose surrounded the coffin, implying good wishes for the deceased William I.

The long send-off procession was nowhere to be seen, but Carlo, King of Italy, was placed at the head of the procession, only one place below the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph I, and behind him was King Carol I of Romania, and finally King William III of the Netherlands.

Of the four kings, Carlo was the most out of place and had little communication with the other three kings.

In fact, you don't have to think about it to know that the three youngest are fifty or sixty years old, and it is strange that they can talk to Carlo, a young man in his early twenties.

Of course, it's not that we haven't talked about it, but it's usually limited to simple greetings and other exchanges. Among them, Emperor Joseph, who was the Austro-Hungarian emperor, talked to Kalodo about it, after all, it was an ally.

In addition, the present is the best time for relations between Italy and Austria-Hungary, and in terms of rank, it is a great step forward from hostility to coldness.

If you can't talk to the three elderly monarchs, Carlo will naturally choose someone of the same age to talk to, Wilhelm II because of a lot of things, except for a trip when Carlo arrived in Berlin, he didn't come again, but he sent a naval colonel named Tirpitz to communicate with Carlo.

Carlo did not look down on each other because of his position and rank, but was friendly enough to exchange naval experience with him.

That's right, the father of the High Seas Fleet, the eternal Tirpitz.

Otherwise, Carlo would have bothered with such a small admiral, knowing that he was very short on time.

At this time, Tirpitz had not yet constructed a theory of his existence of a fleet, but was studying the tactics of breaking the friendship with cruisers. Of course, this also has a lot to do with the fact that he is currently commanding a cruiser formation.

For Tirpitz, who doesn't have his own theory, Carlo also instills some of his own opinions from time to time in the conversation, of course, it is unknown how much the other party can listen to, this is just Carlo's desire to try.

Of course, he doesn't want to accuse the other party of wrong theories, any theory needs to be used in a corresponding position. Having a fleet is the safest way to do this when you are at a disadvantage and don't want to use risky tactics too much.

Of course, this method allowed the High Seas Fleet to hold back the British Home Fleet, which was far superior to its own, and showed that the theory could be used. But Germany was in such a position that its use of the existential fleet doctrine would not help it get rid of its disadvantage at sea.

And Carlo, in addition to communicating with Colonel Tirpitz, also talked to other people. Among them, the one who talked the most was the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who was younger than himself.

The fact that the two men are of similar age and that there is currently no conflict of interest between the two countries has made the Russians willing to let their crown prince communicate with the young Italian king.

However, in the process of communicating with the tsar, Carlo found that the Crown Prince Nikolai was really rumored, introverted and shy, and when Carlo sometimes asked questions and opinions during the conversation with him, the twenty-year-old crown prince looked at his personal tutor Donoszhev who was standing aside.

is twenty years old, and he needs to ask his private teacher for small problems, no wonder he was later interfered with by his wife. Then the pot of the collapse of Russia, this tsar needs to bear at least a third.

In addition to communicating more with Colonel Tirpitz and Crown Prince Nicholas, Carlo also had contact with other people. Among them are Friedrich Alfred Krupp (commonly known as Little Krupp), the second-generation head of the Krupp company, and Werner Siemens, the head of the German company Siemens, this time the famous scientist and businessman, who has not yet been awarded the title of nobility, so it is not possible to add "von" as an intermediate word.

Of course, in addition to these two, Carlo has also met with many other famous company owners. The reason why Carlo was so eager to see these people was more than everyone could guess.

That's right, it's trying to acquire some technology, of course, for the core technology that it resolutely does not sell, Carlo has no other thoughts (mainly because the cost is too great and he does not dare to be presumptuous). And in the technology that can be sold or not, Carlo wants to fight for it. How to say that he is also the monarch of an ally, he still needs to give some face.

Although Germany's science and technology are not as good as Britain's at present, with its good development momentum, it has been on a par with France, so this time Carlo is ready to strengthen Italy's weak industry, so that it can get a good opportunity for development as soon as possible.

With these things in mind, Carlo showed some invigoration at the funeral. After barely listening to the speech read by Chancellor Bismarck, he was ready to leave.

Anyway, the attitude of others has been exhausted, which is already very good, and I didn't see the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph I next to me, and he was a little shaky.

But sometimes, people are like this, and the more they want to go, the more they can't go.

I saw a German officer in the clothes of an attendant, trotting all the way to Carlo. "King Carlo, Crown Prince William and the Prime Minister have asked His Majesty the King to move, and there are some things I would like to discuss with you."

Although Carlo was very puzzled, what was it that made the two of them so anxious, but since Wilhelm II and Bismarck were looking for him, what else was there to say, go ahead.

So in the chapel next to the cemetery, Carlo met Chancellor Bismarck and Wilhelm II.

"King Carlo, I have taken the liberty of inviting you here because I want your help in some matter."

Facing the apologetic Prime Minister, Wilhelm II, who was already next to him with a gloomy expression, Carlo felt as if he was caught in a whirlpool.

"If there is anything, please make it clear to Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Since he felt the abnormality of the atmosphere, of course, Carlo would not easily agree.

"Actually, it's nothing, can you tell me the cost of the model you gave to the crown prince, as well as the subsequent maintenance costs?"

Bismarck's words, coupled with Wilhelm II's expression, Carlo already knew seven, seven, eight, eight. "This model is the latest warship in our country, and there are currently three in our country. The shipyard's offer to our navy is 26.2 million lira, and according to the navy's own estimates, the annual cost of the warship needs to reach about 3 million lira. ”

And after Carlo finished speaking, Bismarck turned to Wilhelm II. "Your Highness William, you have also heard that the cost of building such a battleship is enough for us to form another division and a half. If other supporting ships are added, then the cost of two divisions is used to build such a battleship. This is a bit premature for our country at present. ”

While Bismarck was speaking, Carlo had quietly left, it was really not that he was cheating Crown Prince William, but he didn't expect this person to be so anxious.

At that time, the two chatted happily, Wilhelm II did not ask the price, and Carlo also forgot, he did not expect that this would let him see such a scene.

Of course, from this scene, Carlo can expect that the two will not get along for long. It is a pipe dream for the two people with strong personalities to be able to get along peacefully, not to mention that the political ideas of the two are completely different.

Of course, Carlo was silent about what he saw.

But he didn't expect that he could be remembered if he didn't make a noise.

I'm in a good mood