Simeone's telegram soon reached Rome, and the request for Menelic II caused a stir in the upper echelons of the government.

Most of the high-ranking officials considered Menelic II's request to be untamable and not conducive to Italian control of the land. It was even said that if the Abyssinians were given so many weapons, Italy would be shooting itself in the foot, and it would inevitably betray Italy.

In the face of overwhelming opposition, there were those who thought it was entirely possible to gamble on the grounds that Italy was too strong to suppress the Abyssinians.

However, given the overwhelming opposition, these voices of support were completely ignored.

Of course, the disagreements within the government are nothing to Prime Minister De Pretis, who needs to know what His Majesty means first.

"Your Majesty, this is the current situation of the government."

After listening to the Prime Minister's report on the government's attitude, Carlo spoke immediately. "The attitude of the military is very different from yours, and they are more than willing to facilitate this deal."

That's right, the military, as a hawk, is very happy to see the Abyssinians buy arms. Because the Abyssinians were mainly there to deal with the Sudanese, although Italy could not end up in person, if the Abyssinian fought the Sultan's land and paid reparations, it would also expand Italy's sphere of influence in East Africa in disguise.

As for whether the Abyssinians rebelled after their strength increased greatly. To paraphrase the Minister of War, Field Marshal Kadolna, if we can hit him once, we can hit him a second time.

In the face of Carlo's attitude towards the military, Prime Minister De Pretis was a little unimpressed. "Your Majesty, although the attitude of the military can be used as a reference, I don't think it is at all credible. You must know that the last war between our country and the Abyssinians cost more than 200 million lira, although the Abyssinians are quite obedient at present, but the situation is not the same. If there is a next time, how much should it cost? ”

The Prime Minister's remark was also clear to Carlo that although the Abyssinians were currently respectful of Italy, there was still the possibility of rebellion. Perhaps, at the instigation of those who have a heart, perhaps the Abyssinians will raise the banner of rebellion.

Moreover, the sale of such large quantities of arms to the Abyssinians was clearly more advantageous to them.

However, Prime Minister De Pretis has said so much, but the final decision is still up to Carlo. Although he also knew that the prime minister's concerns were not impossible, Carlo always thought that was not good.

As for why it's not good, he can't say, maybe it's a problem of cognition. Carlo thinks that a subject state like Abyssinia is like a younger brother, and that Italy should also let the younger brother drink soup when he eats meat. What kind of practice that only knows how to squeeze and does not know how to give benefits will not last long.

Of course, if the subject country is called India, that's a different story. If you don't knock India out of the bones, it can be regarded as mercy. After all, Indians are looking for the afterlife, and suffering in this life is all prepared for the happiness of the next. The more suffering you suffer in this life, the happier you will be in the next life, and maybe you will be promoted directly from the Shudra in this life to the brahmin in the next life, and everything will be worth it.

"In accordance with the opinion of the military, accede to the request of the Abyssinians."

"Your Majesty!"

Carlo's words shocked the prime minister, and he looked at the prime minister who stopped him. "Prime Minister, this matter has been decided. The more important thing for the government at the moment is to find out the attitude of the countries, and Governor Antonio is in a hurry. ”

That's right, what Carlo said was the most important thing for the Italian government right now. In contrast, Abyssinia's arms purchases were trivial. After years of development, Italian Borneo has always fallen into saturation, and now Italian Borneo has its sights on Dutch Borneo. In fact, it is not necessary to say that the development of Italian Borneo has been completed, and there are still a large number of primeval jungles in Italian Borneo, but the development cost of these places is too high.

As an investor, the top priority is on returns, so there's no better place to do that than in Dutch Borneo, where you don't poop on the sidelines. It's more about bullying the Dutch, Italy doesn't have any pressure at all, as long as the British are dealt with, it's easy to say.

The rebellion planned by Governor Antonio before still did not let the Dutch relent, and since the soft ones didn't work, let's come to the hard ones.

So when Doge Antonio sent back a secret letter half a year ago, Rome agreed without much thought.

After all, for the Italian government, the colony of Borneo was a major source of revenue. Although it is not good to grow grain in this place, it is very good to grow tropical cash crops, whether it is rubber, pepper, or other cash crops.

As for why only the opinion of the British is asked, the reason is also very simple. At present, in Southeast Asia, Italy attaches the most importance to the opinion of the British, because the British are the most powerful.

Of course, Italy does not ignore the opinions of other countries, but given the current situation, it is not possible to pay attention to it. Because Italy was encroaching on the interests of the Dutch this time, other countries must have been opposed.

Although the French are not weak in Southeast Asia, they pay more attention to Indochina and South China. As for the Spaniards, it would be nice to be able to keep their Philippines. The only ancestral heritage that the declining Spaniards have is a lot of people's ideas. It's not a good idea to provoke Italy. And the Dutch, as the doomed victim, Italy did not care about their attitude.

So spare it, this time it is still the British attitude that is the most important.

In response to the king's inquiry, Prime Minister De Pretis immediately spoke. "Your Majesty, we have spoken with the British. However, the British demanded that the British open the colony of Borneo to British merchants and not to put obstacles in the way of their investment. ”

Hearing the Prime Minister's words, Carlo couldn't help but frown. "Didn't the British budge at all?"

The reason why Carlo asked this was also to know the posture of the British.

"This was the condition from the beginning, and the British did not budge at all."

Hearing the Prime Minister's words, Carlo quickly got to the point. "So, there has been a change in the attitude of the British, shouldn't it?"

Don't blame Carlo for saying this, when he negotiated with the Dutch, there was a loophole in the treaty that did not include his remaining colony of Borneo. Although the Dutch were unwilling, but at that time all countries acquiesced, is this a variable?

Carlo was right, there were indeed variables, and it was no wonder that former Prime Minister Kajroli had succeeded in building Italian Borneo. The former prime minister left behind a colony that earned nearly 100 million a year, which made the British red-eyed. For this, London was accused on more than one occasion of being too inappropriate to leave the colony to Italy.

Of course, these accusations are a bit excessive, before Italy took it, no other country thought of investing money here, and when Italy invested a lot of money in development, it began to blush again. Don't look at the prosperity of Italy in Borneo, the British are not bad, and their Malayan colony also has a lot of income, which is much higher than that of Italy.

However, although Carlo didn't understand where the variables were, anyway, he was now ready to shoot and had to send them.

"Since the British will not let go, then continue to talk, and our conditions do not need to be raised, and the British will naturally relax when the time comes."

Carlo's words, of course, Prime Minister de Pretis understood. "What does Your Majesty mean?"

Carlo directly singled out. "Yes, sometimes you don't have to worry too much about other people's attitudes."

That's right, Carlo intends to be stronger. He did not believe that the British would declare war on Italy for the Dutch. Sometimes it's a tough attitude that will make people respect you. Carlo doesn't think there's anything wrong with showing Italy now.

Of course, he also has his own confidence in saying this, because the navy, which he relies on the most, has a secret weapon.