The new day in the city of Rome is no different from usual, as the residents of Rome, in addition to the beginning of the discussion of the new prime minister, all that remains is the replacement of the minister.

After all, there are talented people in the country, and they have led the way for hundreds of years.

It's just that for the British envoy Edward Gray, the person in front of him is the one in charge who laughs at the situation.

That's right, he can become a diplomatic envoy at the age of 33, and he is also a young and promising Gray in the UK, and this one is not enough in front of him.

After all, the Carlo I in front of him inherited the throne at the age of fourteen.

Of course, as a special envoy this time, he did not come to discuss with Carlo who is younger and promising.

"Your Majesty Carlo, I have come this time mainly for the humanitarian disaster in the Far East."

Well, there was no humanitarian catastrophe in the Far East when the Japanese had the upper hand, and this humanitarian catastrophe appeared when they were facing defeat, and it was too timely to appear.

Carlo also has no intention of accusing Envoy Gray of the double standard, after all, everyone is playing this thing very slippery, and it is not wise to blame each other.

"Since there is a humanitarian catastrophe in the Far East, then Your Excellency the Special Envoy should go to the Far East, is it the right place to come to Rome?"

It's hard to blame, but it's not wrong to laugh at yourself.

In the face of the taunts from Carlo I, Envoy Gray did not mind, after all, working in the diplomatic system, this was not even a small scene.

"Your Majesty is right, I was supposed to go to the Far East, but given that there are many veterans of your country who are involved in this war, I think it is necessary to listen to your country's attitude."

"Is my country's attitude so serious?"

"Your Majesty Carlo, London and I both believe that the attitude of your country is the key to solving the humanitarian catastrophe in the Far East, so my country will definitely listen to your country."

Every free lunch was secretly marked with a price, and Italy's involvement in the Sino-Japanese War was certainly not for the sake of doing good. The Qing themselves were too weak, and the Japanese could not defeat Italy.

So unconsciously, the dominance of this war has been transferred from the two countries to Italy, and they can fight whenever they want, and stop when they want (I feel that Italy is standing up for doing good deeds).

The British saw it very clearly, so they went directly to Rome and wanted to distribute their respective interests for the war in the Far East, which was still going on.

Of course, more importantly, its strategy of containing Russia in the Far East cannot be broken. Then Japan, which was selected as a target for training, cannot be weakened.

This is also the reason why the British Empire is willing to sit down and talk, as long as it can contain Russian expansion, then everything else is a minor issue.

"It's better to let the two sides return to the state before the war."

"No, this war broke out because of North Korea, so in order to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future, it is necessary to confirm the ownership of the Korean Peninsula."

It was clear that Special Envoy Gray was expressing the attitude of the British Empire that Korea must be left to Japan, otherwise it would not achieve its goal of containing Russia at all.

"The question of North Korea's ownership, are we a little too worried about this?"

In the face of Gray's intentions, Carlo used procrastination, obviously not wanting to recognize Japan's belonging to Korea. Because it is Italy's business to curb Russia's development in the Far East, and it is not Russia's desire to break through Constantinople and enter the Mediterranean.

Carlo's statement sent a flash of anger in Gray's eyes, and he spoke.

"Your Majesty Carlo, on the question of the belonging of North Korea, our country does not necessarily need your country's consent. You must know that many people in our country are quite dissatisfied with your country's involvement in the war in the Far East, especially in our diplomatic department. There are already many calls for the British Empire to sell warships directly to Japan, and there are still those who plan to start with the Suez Canal. However, in view of the good relations between your two countries, this call has been suppressed by His Excellency the Prime Minister. ”

The British Empire deserves to be a world power, and Gray's slightly threatening words made Carlo dare not test its edge.

He also knew that his involvement in the Sino-Japanese War had already caused the displeasure of the British Empire, and naturally he did not want to implicate him.

"It is indeed a big question that North Korea should be returned, and we will respect your choice."

Although this is only a short sentence, it represents Carlo's resignation and acquiescence to the choice of the British Empire.

At this time, Carlo felt so aggrieved, because the gap between Italy and the British Empire was too great for him to be angry.

It can be said that Italy under his rule lacked nothing but people, and the Apennine Peninsula was not suitable for industrial development at all, because all resources needed to be transported, except for marble. Give Italy a hundred years of development time, and it can't catch up with the footsteps of the British Empire (Italy is in urgent need of coal and iron ore, and recently it is the Ruhr area, so if you can't think of it, you will go to the German and French pots to grab food).

And Carlo's words made Gray breathe a sigh of relief, and he didn't want to get into trouble with Italy over this. After all, in the Mediterranean, the British Empire also had a demand for Italy.

But there is a price to be paid for making Carlo soft, and he is not the only one who continues to talk about it.

"But since we are willing to make concessions to you here, we need your country's next support for one of our proposals."

"What proposal?"

Gray didn't dare to underestimate the Italian king in front of him, and vigilantly inquired about the other party's intentions.

"It's nothing, isn't my country participating in the war in the Far East, the main thing is to seek some benefits from the Qing State after the war, and you need your country not to oppose it."

Although Carlo said lightly, Gray was not a rookie, and still asked after him. "What benefits does your country intend to pursue?"

"Interests on the railroad."

As soon as Carlo spoke of the railroad, Gray let his guard down.

If it were to change countries, Carlo's proposal would immediately attract Gray's wariness, but if you want to build a railway in the Qing country, it will be extremely difficult, and it will be more difficult than asking them to open concessions.

Take the first Tangxu Railway in the Qing Dynasty as an example, when Li Zhongtang stood behind it, it was also opposed by the conservative forces, but it failed. The following year, in 1881, the Bureau of Mines re-applied for permission to build. It was built that year as a monorail light railway, about 7.5 kilometers. At first, donkeys and horses were used to pull sports cars, and in the second year, locomotives were used for traction. In 1886, it began to extend from Xugezhuang to Yanzhuang near Lutaizhuang, and was completed the following year, with a length of more than 30 kilometers, called the Tanglu Railway. In the following year, it was extended to Tianjin, with an increase of more than 80 kilometers, and it was called the Tianjin-Gu Railway.

As for the earlier Songhu Railway, it was directly bought and demolished by the Qing court.

This shows how difficult it is for the development of railways in the Qing Dynasty, and it is not an easy job to obtain the consent of the Qing State to build a railway. If Italy is willing to be this precedent-breaking warrior, how can the gentlemen of the British Empire not applaud it.

"No problem, the British Empire will certainly support your country's idea of promoting the construction of railways."

Looking at the British envoy who didn't know what he was thinking, how could Carlo say his inner thoughts to him.

"By the way, have you ever thought about getting a good port in the Qing Kingdom, my country thinks that Weihaiwei in Shandong or Lushun in Liaodong are good choices."

Faced with the question suddenly raised by the British envoy, Carlo sneered inwardly.

Italy is different from other countries precisely because it has no concessions and spheres of influence, so how can he let Italy repeat the mistakes of the past. And look at the choice given by the British, Liaodong or Shandong, doesn't this mean that Italy wants to be ahead of Russia, because they came up with it.

"No need, my country has no idea of acquiring a port or sphere of influence in the Qing State for the time being."

"That's a shame."

"It's okay, there will be a chance in the future."

In distant Rome, two states decided the outcome of the war in the Far East.

This is too cruel for the soldiers of the two countries who are preparing to fight bloodily. What they pay for it is meaningless.

But this is the reality, and the lack of diplomacy in a weak country is not just a sentence, but an unchanging axiom.