The news of the death of Governor Cairoli was nothing short of bad news for Carlo and the Italian government.

Don't look at the former prime minister, it seems that because he is far away from home, he has been serving in Borneo, and there is no news. In fact, the colony of Borneo is very important to the current Italy, and it is only necessary to inform you of one fact that I believe it is clear to everyone that Rome has basically never refused a request from Borneo.

Another statistic can also show this, in the last year Borneo handed over 72.1 million lire of revenue to Rome for the whole year, and if you add the trade with the Qing Dynasty and the income of other governments in Borneo, this colony brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the Italian government.

Borneo has such a rapid increase in revenue, with high yields from tropical economic plants such as pepper and rubber being the key to the increase in income.

Industrious Chinese and Italian immigrants, under the impetus of the government, cultivated a large number of fields and planted economic plants. And in the world, the rubber from the Italian Borneo colony is of the best quality. At present, the area of rubber planting has reached nearly 80,000 mu, and most of them have produced rubber, with an annual output of more than 5,000 tons of rubber. At the current price of 1.62 shillings per pound of London rubber, rubber alone would bring it 40 million lire.

Led by the Italian colonies, a large number of rubber plantations began to appear in other parts of Southeast Asia, but their scale and production were still too low, not even a fraction of the Italian colonies.

With more than 70 million yuan in the treasury, Borneo has become the most important place for taxation in Italy. For Borneo to behave like this, the role of the former prime minister is crucial.

You must know that among the colonies of Southeast Asian countries, the colonial government that is recognized as the most honest and efficient is the Borneo government of Italy. That's right, in the corrupt Southeast Asian colonies, the Borneo officials in Italy had a reputation for taking little money and doing things well

As for the virtues of these officials, who else can Carlo and the top government officials not know that the local government officials can have such a performance, which is naturally inseparable from the training of Cairoli, a clever governor.

Now his sudden death is a serious problem for Italy.

"Check to see if what the telegram says is true. In addition, I need to consult with the Prime Minister when I bring in the Prime Minister. ”

Although Carlo was very surprised when he heard the news, he had been king for many years, and he quickly said a few orders.

The first is of course the need to find out whether what the telegram says is true, and if it is true, it will only be an unexpected loss for Italy. But if there was any inaccuracy in the telegram, it would be a disaster for Borneo officials.

As for consulting with the prime minister, this is also very understandable, after all, the successor of such an important fiscal and tax area must be very cautious.

The chief of the guard, Ferimich, also knew the importance of the matter, and immediately walked out of the office and hurried to carry out the order.

But within two minutes, he was back. "Your Majesty, Your Excellency the Prime Minister has arrived."

It seems that Depretius also knew the importance of this matter, and hurried to consult with Carlo.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply saddened by the death of Governor Kairoli and all my colleagues in the Government. However, since the governor of Kairoli has left, it is not known whether His Majesty has a suitable candidate for his successor. ”

It is clear that the Prime Minister is very worried about the question of his successor, and he has just received the news and has come to the palace to inquire.

Faced with the Prime Minister's inquiry, Carlo asked rhetorically. "Do you have any good candidates for the government?"

Carlo's rhetorical question was also that the governor of Borneo was too important, and the matter came too suddenly, and he didn't have a very suitable candidate for a while.

In response to Carlo's inquiry, De Pretis, as prime minister, immediately replied. "The government has just urgently consulted and listed three candidates."

When he heard the government's three choices, Carlo was a little surprised, this speed was too fast. In fact, if you really come up with a candidate from the moment you get the news, it's really too fast, but it's a pity that it's not. The three candidates proposed by the prime minister are all pre-plans made by the government.

After all, anything is possible, and the colony of Borneo is currently a beloved thing in Italy, and there are still some preventive measures. This is not a big deal, the government has also made plans for conflicts with Spain, the Netherlands, Britain and France, etc., because of the colony. Compared to these plans, Governor Cairoli's plan is pediatric.

As for Prime Minister De Pretis, he also picked up this plan as soon as he got the news.

"Then let's talk about the people selected by your government."

After receiving Carlo's response, Prime Minister De Pretis immediately spoke. "The first of our picks is His Excellency Cranz Rivera, Secretary of Commerce and Trade. Due to the nature of the colony of Borneo, we believe that expanding the colony's economy and trade to obtain more benefits is the first priority. His Excellency Rivera, who has served as Secretary of State for Commerce and Trade in the Cabinet for many years, has sufficient experience in business and trade, so he should be able to do the job. ”

Although the Prime Minister praised the Minister of Commerce and Trade, Carlo was no stranger to this man, although he did have these advantages, but he had a fatal flaw, that is, this Rivera, who had always been in Rome, had never done it in a local place. Rashly teaching this wealth to him, Carlo was not at ease at all.

So he didn't give the prime minister any response at all, but continued to ask. "What about the other two?"

As soon as he heard that the king did not ask the Minister of Commerce and Trade, De Pretis, who had dealt with Carlo for many years, knew that this one was no longer useful. Without even asking, it seems that the idea of jumping to a higher stage through Borneo can be extinguished.

That's right, at present, in the Italian political arena, many people regard the Governor of Borneo as the fourth position in the Italian government, after the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Because of its distance, the governor oversaw Italy's foreign affairs, military and politics in the Far East, giving him the feeling of a trumpet prime minister.

"The second is His Excellency Cabrera, the Viceroy of Sicily, under whose rule Sicily has developed well economically and is also a good hand in dealing with local affairs."

Seeing that Carlo was still listening, De Pretis simply said the last candidate. "In addition, His Excellency Antonio, Governor of East Africa, is also one of the candidates. He is a good hand in dealing with national issues, and he can also strengthen our rule in Borneo. However, it does not perform very well in terms of economic means, which is why it is placed in third place. ”

Yes, from the government's point of view, the second-ranked governor of East Africa does not have an advantage in the selection of the governor of Borneo. Because Borneo is more of a financially capable candidate, Antonio did not show that merit.

Fortunately, it was not the government that decided who would be the governor of Borneo, but Kalo, who was the king.

After listening to the Prime Minister's introduction, Carlo thought for a moment and replied. "As for the question of the candidate, let me think about it first, and then give you an answer in three days."

Prime Minister De Pretis, who knew that the matter was not decided so quickly, after hearing Carlo's words, knew that the next thing was up to the king's choice. Of course, he was not looking for the king this time just for the sake of the governor, but also for many other things.

"Your Majesty, there are still some things that need to be reported to you."

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