In fact, for Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki, what can be said in negotiations with the Italians, whether it can talk about reducing interest rates, or whether it can allow Italians to borrow without collateral.

If none of this is possible, then what can be talked about, is it possible for Italy to limit its loans to its own goods?

This is certainly impossible, and it can be said that Italy would rather lower interest rates than abandon this demand.

In this case, what is that Aoki Shuzo talking about, of course, talking about the scale of the loan, can 200 million lira be the same as 300 million lira?

Since it's different, doesn't it need to be discussed?

So Aoki Shuzo instructed Tetsuhei Osawa, the ambassador to Italy, to discuss the question of how much to borrow with Italian Foreign Minister Bacona.

For Tetsuhei Osawa, the Japanese ambassador to Italy, it is of course a matter of course to go all out to negotiate this issue with Italy.

So every day, Tetsuhei Osawa can be seen, rushing to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with high morale, as if he is going to make a decisive assault.

It's just that for the next negotiations, Tetsuhei Osawa felt a little inexplicable, nothing, it was just that the negotiations were very smooth, and the smooth ones made the high-spirited Tetsuhei Osawa feel a little unreal.

But if you want to say something untrue, then if you want to change the interest rate or no longer limit yourself to buying only Italian goods, you will be slapped in the face by reality. Italian Foreign Minister Bacona, who negotiated with him, told him directly that the two were not negotiable. If it doesn't feel right, it's okay to terminate the negotiations.

In the face of such a tough attitude of the Italians, Tetsuhei Osawa dared to continue to probe and could only negotiate within the framework stipulated by the Italians.

In the end, this is more beneficial to Japan, so how can we not talk about it?

The "extremely difficult" negotiations were basically negotiated in half a month, with Italy providing Japan with a loan of 300 million lire, and Japan using the salt tax as collateral. The interest rate on the loan is one cent, which is repaid in ten years, and Japan needs to repay at least 50 million lira of principal and interest every year, which is quite high.

But Japan was more than willing to borrow this loan, because it would ensure that the Italians would not interfere in the Far East.

Wrong, to be precise, in the words of Italian Foreign Minister Bacona. "We will not intervene in the dispute between your country and Russia, no matter what method you use to resolve it. But if the dispute arises within the Shanhaiguan Pass, then it is in the interests of Italy, and Italy will inevitably intervene. ”

That's right, Italy directly singled out that the battle between Japan and Russia could only be guaranteed in the northeast region, and if it was exceeded, it would intervene.

In fact, this is not only Italy, but also the British Empire, which is the boss behind it. Of course, the British Empire dared to give assurances because of its own strength, but it was a bit opportunistic for Italy to give assurances, because Italy knew that the Russians would not enter the Shanhai Pass.

Well, in any case, the borrowing agreement between the two countries was unanimously supported by both countries.

Of course, the Italians are also very neat, and the money is already in place, and it is placed in an Italian bank designated by the Japanese government, and it can be used and withdrawn at any time, which is quite a part.

It is necessary to say here that the Italian government has already made money on this loan to Japan.

First of all, this loan of up to one cent has attracted the coveted of Italian domestic banks. 10% interest rate, where to find such a high interest rate. Of course, it is impossible for the government to let the banks make money. Directly give the interest rate of 5%, and the bank is also a crazy rush. You must know that this kind of country-to-country loan, the repayment ability is quite high, it is an absolute high-quality loan, and there is basically no possibility of defaulting on the debt (Spain, come out and take two steps). It's a sure-fire business, and it's a favorite business for banks. After some competition, four banks, including the Bank of Florence and the Bank of Savoy, were qualified to lend to Japan.

Is it possible to take out a loan at this time? Don't be busy yet, because there is another step, and that is the issue of material procurement. Since the Japanese loan can only be used to purchase goods in Italy, this money is also a small supplement for Italian industry.

In particular, in the case of the military and shipbuilding industries, Japan will definitely have to spend 70% of the loan line in their industries.

The reason is very simple, since it is preparing for war, how can there be a reason not to buy guns, artillery, and ammunition, and this time Japan is here to buy ships, and it is reasonable to have money to add a few other warships at this time.

Therefore, after the money was transferred to the designated trading account, the purchasing army from Japan also arrived in Italy. For this loan of up to 120 million yen, the Japanese government is also vigorously promoting procurement plans for various industries.

Japan has spent a lot of money on equipment and technology in various industries such as mining, metallurgy, transportation, electric power, and textiles. Of course, these civilian facilities and equipment have played a very obvious role in promoting the growth of Japan's national strength.

It is not expensiveCompared with civilian procurement, Japan's large-scale procurement in Italy with loans this time is more reflected in the military.

For example, in artillery, Japan has a deep understanding of the power of the god of war, so it purchased more than 400 cannons of various types in Italy, and of course, also introduced a lot of technical drawings of artillery.

In addition, a lot of guns were also purchased, especially the Italian Carcano rifle was favored by the Japanese, who thought that this Italian rifle was better than their latest Thirty Years rifle, so they hoped to obtain the technology of the Carcano rifle and improve their rifle.

In the face of Japan's request, the Italian side, of course, would not refuse, and offered to give away all the drawings of this rifle if Japan bought 50,000 rifles.

That's right, although the Carcano rifle has been finalized for more than ten years, the army's requirements for the improvement of this rifle have not been reduced over the years, so this year, the army is ready to put forward a plan to improve the gun. Therefore, the drawings of the Carcano rifle are not afraid to Japan, and the latest model is being designed.

In addition to rifles, Japan has also purchased some of the currently hot Makqin heavy machine guns, but in view of the Makqin's ultra-high rate of fire, it is not particularly popular for the Japanese Army, which likes to save ammunition with one shot.

Of course, the army equipment or something, it's all floating clouds. For the Navy, Italian battleships were famous and were the most advantageous addition to the Japanese Navy (where loans were available).

In view of this, the Japanese Navy, of course, will not be polite, and the warship procurement plan of two Garibaldi-class cruisers, one Genoa-class battleship, and eight other warships of various types has not been approved by the Japanese government at all. The battleships were cut down directly, because of the problem of purchasing battleships, the British ambassador had already informed them. There are some things that don't need to offend your big boss.

So in the end, the navy only got two cruisers, ten other warships, and some warship equipment and technical purchases.

Of course, all these things are loaded together, and it can easily cost a quota of 100 million lira.

This money is not spent, especially when Japan needs to rearm for war.

The 300 million lira loan provided by Italy this time was spent in the hands of the Japanese government within three months, and the remaining 6 or 7 million lira was retained by Japan for emergencies.

Of course, the Italian industry is also developing well, stimulated by this order from the Japanese government.

This chapter is for full attendance, thank you for your full support, thank you!

(End of chapter)