General Revley's fears were actually justified, no, the prime minister and others were discussing contacts with Italy.

"Prime Minister, the negotiations with the Italians have not been very smooth, the Italians have asked us to buy their warships, and we will buy a few of them to support us with men and ships. And Italy does not currently accept mortgages, as long as cash, precious metals and negotiable bonds or other property that can be cashed out quickly. ”

In the Prime Minister's Office, Foreign Secretary Gibbs reported to Prime Minister Castillo on the results of recent talks with the Italian side.

After listening to the foreign secretary's report, Prime Minister Castillo frowned. "Didn't you tell them that we were willing to pay for the territory of the Philippine colonies?"

"I said that, but there is a big gap between the Italian side and our territorial valuation, and the main reason is the rebel problem in the Philippines, and the Italian side said that some people in the Philippines have announced the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines, and there are also objections to our country's price of Mindanao in the Philippines as 80 million lira. They said that although Mindanao was large, it was sparsely populated and underdeveloped, and that they needed to invest a lot of money to take the island, and they also needed to spend money to counter the rebellion, and they were only willing to pay 40 million lira. ”

After listening to the foreign secretary's answer, Prime Minister Castillo put his hand on his forehead and said, "I made a mistake, Italy already has Borneo in Southeast Asia, and the interest in Mindanao will not be so great, and they lost a lot of money from Italy's drought last year, so they should not be able to pay any money." ”

Gibbs immediately said the Prime Minister's words.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, your analysis is not much different from mine, when I talked with the Italians before, I felt that they value assets that can be cashed out quickly, and Italy is very desperate for the asking price of three Turin-class ships, and 80 million lira cannot be missing. Moreover, in terms of the cost of hiring their officers and soldiers, it is also necessary to meet the requirements of five times the salary and the corresponding compensation. This cost is indeed a bit high for my country. ”

As soon as he heard the foreign secretary say that the cost was too high, Admiral Helvela on the side hurriedly took over. "The number of warships is already the lowest, we can't reduce it, otherwise I won't have the confidence to hold the Cuban colony."

Although I know that Admiral Shelvera is telling the truth, what should I do if I don't have money, "Admiral Shelvera, the problem is that we can't come up with that much money at the moment. ”

"Why don't you issue a batch of treasury bonds now?"

The Minister of the Navy really did not understand finances, and when he was in trouble, he opened his mouth to borrow money. Although not a professional financial officer himself, Gibbs felt obligated to teach the admiral a lesson.

"Admiral Shelveira, this debt is not something that can be borrowed if you want to, it takes time to prepare, at least find an underwriter. Moreover, there are many ways to sell bonds, and it takes time to prepare. In addition, China's treasury bonds are not easy to sell now, and the interest has been given to double digits............"

Sure enough, with the Foreign Secretary's explanation, Admiral Snowwilla's old face turned red, knowing that he had made up his mind, and he didn't dare to talk nonsense now. "I, a person who is used to drifting on the sea, really don't understand this matter on the money, so it's hard for you."

Well, Admiral Shelvera stopped talking and asked the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister what to say next.

"I think we still need to find a way to deal with this money, we can't watch the Yankees pressing forward step by step, let's give up Cuba."

"Actually, it'............"

Just as Foreign Secretary Gibbs was about to speak, there was a knock on the door.

"What's going on?"

Prime Minister Castillo asked in a loud voice, a little displeased. If you don't give him a good reason to disturb yourself at this time, then the secretary on duty today must be severely punished.

"Prime Minister, it was His Excellency Gibbs's secretary who came to him and said that he had urgent news and that he must be seen immediately."

These words made the three of them suddenly chuckle in their hearts, don't let the United States suddenly declare war on the kingdom, these many things are not ready.

"Let him in."

With the Prime Minister's words, the door was opened, and Gibbs's secretary walked in.

"Gablin, what is there that makes you look for me in such a hurry, now in front of the Prime Minister, you can say it."

The Foreign Secretary was also a little dissatisfied with the secretary who had made a reckless move, and asked him to hurry up.

"Prime Minister, Your Excellency, it is so, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just received a telegram from Berlin from Ambassador to Germany Paredes. It said that the Germans told him that they were interested in buying our Philippine colonies for 200 million marks. ”

The secretary's words made the three of them overjoyed, this is really an endless road.

Why did the Germans suddenly offer to buy the Philippines?

Let's rewind the clock to two days ago, in the Imperial Palace in Berlin, Wilhelm II was discussing an important matter with Prime Minister Chillings Pfister and Foreign Minister Bernhard von Bülllow.

As an advocate of the world empire, Foreign Minister Bilo immediately contacted the Kaiser and strongly recommended the Philippines to him. According to him, the Philippines is expected to become Germany's own Borneo.

That's right, Germany has been envious of Italy's harvest in Borneo for many years.

In addition, at present, Germany's colonial activities have suffered a huge loss, and the colonies in Africa that have been seized over the years have been receiving subsidies from the German Ministry of Finance. This is a little embarrassing for the Kaiser, who is bent on expanding in the world, and of course, another thought, the good places in the world have been occupied by other countries and have taken root in their hearts.

So after hearing Bülo's recommendation, the Kaiser was tempted, so a brief secret meeting was necessary.

"Your Majesty, although the Philippines is currently occupied by rebels, the land, minerals, and other tropical resources of the Philippines are urgently needed by our country, and we also need to consider the location of the Philippines, which can be used as a fulcrum in the region for us. It would be very advantageous for us to occupy the Philippines to expand our influence in the region, and to radiate to the southern part of the Qing Kingdom in the Far East. ”

Bilow spoke about the merits of the Philippines towards Germany, which was also recognized by the chancellor and the Kaiser. Of course, identity is identification, but there are some things that must be asked.

"But at present, the scale of the Philippine rebels has reached more than 100,000, although our country will not be afraid of them, but the extermination of the rebels requires enough energy and expenses, and this money is not low at all. In addition, relations between the United States and Spain are currently very poor, and there is a high probability that war will break out between the two countries. And if we buy the Philippines now, is it possible to have a bad relationship with the United States? ”

Faced with the two questions raised by the Prime Minister, Bilow immediately explained. "Prime Minister, I admit that the problem you said does exist, and it cannot be hidden, but we also have to consider whether the Philippines is worth our action for this, and I think it is worth it. On the issue of the rebels, we can use the army to quell the rebellion, and by the way, we can win over a group of local obedient tribes. It only takes a few repetitions to make the local tribes of the Philippines recognize the facts.

As for the possibility that the purchase of the Philippines may be at odds with the United States, I don't think this is a problem at all, as a world power, does my country need to be recognized by others to buy a colony, and how can such a performance make people recognize that we are a world empire, so at this time we should not and cannot take this as a priority goal. ”

Billo's eloquent speech made Kaiser Wilhelm II excited, so an offer of 200 million marks for the purchase of the Philippines appeared in the hands of the Spanish ambassador.