When Zhu Zhaoxin left the Chinese Legation in Britain, relieved himself as chargé d'affaires for several years, and was promoted to the Legation in Italy as Minister to Italy, he was actually very complacent in his heart.

After being a migrant worker for so many years, he finally has the opportunity to go further and become the highest speaker of the people in a country, Zhu Zhaoxin feels that it is not worth his hard work for so many years.

Although Italy is not as powerful as Britain, it is still one of the great powers.

But Zhu Zhaoxin never thought that since he left the UK and went to Italy, his good life would come to an end, and his quality of life would deteriorate.

The reason for this phenomenon is not that Italians look down on the people, but because Zhu Zhaoxin's immediate boss, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Beiyang Government, has not sent funds to various embassies and consulates abroad for a long time.

Since the start of the new Northern Expedition, the southern army has been overwhelmed, and the northern army has been having a better and worse time day by day.

The Beiyang government doesn't have much money of its own, so how can it take care of the life and death of those adrift envoys?

Zhu Zhaoxin's legation in Italy was already in a state of de facto suspension, and even he, the minister, was busy working with the ministers in other European countries to put pressure on the Beiyang government to ask for money, and threatened that if they did not give money again, they would immediately go to the side of the southern government.

Thinking of when he asked a craftsman to engrave the trophy in London's Chinatown last winter, the other party asked if he needed help to engrave the symbol, Chen Muwu felt that these ministers might not just talk, and it was estimated that they had already been connected with those people in the south behind their backs.

When he was in the UK, as long as Chen Muwu went to London, he would definitely go to the legation to fight his teeth to comfort his homesickness.

And Zhu Zhaoxin will not offend the God of Wealth who can help him get promoted and make a fortune, and he eats and drinks well every time.

Unexpectedly, after coming to Italy this time, because of Chen Muwu's face, he was able to meet the de facto supreme ruler of Italy, and he could also get a dinner in the Prime Minister's official residence.

Things are really constantly changing, Zhu Zhaoxin never thought that he would have the day when he would eat Chen Muwu's rice.

His Excellency the Prime Minister finally finished his day's work, and the person who pushed open the door of the reception room again was the staff of the official residence who had been sent to inform Chen Muwu and Zhu Zhaoxin that they had invited Chen Muwu and Zhu Zhaoxin to the dinner.

Chen Muwu subconsciously felt that today's dinner should be similar to the one at Trinity College, Cambridge University, and the last day in Como: a large hall with several tables, a large group of people gathered to toast and drink.

But the reality was completely different from the scene he imagined, and the staff leading the way in front of him did not lead the two to a place similar to a banquet hall, but only went to a small restaurant.

After entering, there were only four chairs placed around a small strip-shaped dining table.

Prime Minister Mo, Minister Zhu, and himself...... Who will be the rest?

After thinking about it for a while, Chen Muwu got a plausible answer: It should be translated, right?

After all, neither he nor Zhu Zhaoxin can speak Italian, and His Excellency the Prime Minister does not speak English.

In such a private place, if there is no interpreter, do you have to eat without saying a word and with your head down?

It should be unlikely, and if this is the case, then what would be the motive and purpose of the Prime Minister of Mexico to stay for dinner?

After waiting for a while, and Zhu Zhaoxin and you exchanged a few words of compliments, the host of today's dinner was late.

Because he had already had the opportunity to deal with each other alone in the afternoon, Chen Muwu felt that His Excellency the Prime Minister was not too difficult to get along with.

So in the face of the upcoming dinner, Chen Muwu was calm.

On the contrary, Zhu Zhaoxin, who has a higher status in name, was a little nervous, and this was the first time he had met with the most powerful person in the country in a small and individual range.

When he took office last year, although he also presented his credentials to the Italian head of state in accordance with diplomatic etiquette as soon as possible, the apparent head of state was the puppet of the current Prime Minister, King Emmanuel III of Italy, not His Excellency the Prime Minister himself.

Prime Minister Mo was followed by a young man who looked about the same age as Chen Muwu, if nothing else, he should be the translator, the mysterious fourth person at today's dinner.

Seeing the Italian prime minister, whom he often saw from afar at various events, Zhu Zhaoxin hurriedly stood up and waited to shake hands with the other party, and by the way, said a few polite words in English.

The young man next to the Prime Minister stood by and accompanied him, translating between the two men word by word.

After saying hello to Zhu Zhaoxin, he came to Chen Muwu again.

Because the two had just met in the afternoon, they simply shook hands and didn't say much of a greeting.

After greetings, the four of them came to the table and sat down.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you today with Gallazo Ziano, who serves in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Italy, Dr. Chen, Your Excellency the Minister."

As soon as they sat down, the young man began to introduce himself.

Hearing his work unit, Chen Muwu was sure that this person was a translator.

You can hear his name......

Damn, isn't this the one who took over from Prime Minister Mexico, who everyone always thought would take over his shift in the future, but was shot dead by him in the style of "righteous annihilation"?

There used to be a very popular saying, called the theory of six degrees of separation, that is, "between a person and any stranger in the world, there will be no more than six people", and the popular saying is that you only need to know any stranger in the world through no more than six people.

If you don't count the line of "Chen Muwu - Prime Minister of Mexico - Ziano", Chen Muwu can have two other different ways to get in touch with his peers in front of him.

The first line is that Chen Muwu knew the Duke of York, the second prince of the United Kingdom, and the Duke of York met his brother the Prince of Wales.

The Prince of Wales later had a mistress whom he eventually married and abdicated because of him, named Mrs. Simpson.

Mrs. Simpson once followed her first husband to China, where she met Ziano, who was a diplomat in China, and the two had an affair, the latter impregnated the former and miscarried, which eventually led to Mrs. Simpson's lifelong infertility.

Chen Muwu - Duke of York - Prince of Wales - Lady Simpson - Ziano, there are only three intermediaries in this line.

The second line is that when Chen Muwu returned to China in the summer and autumn of last year, he met Xiao Zhang Gongzi, the son of the king of the Northeast, in the Northeast.

Xiao Zhang Gongzi is a talented person at a young age, and he often mixes in the social circles of the upper class.

During a certain party, he got acquainted with Ziano, who served as consul at the Italian Consulate General in Qihai, and his wife Edda, and the handsome little Zhang Gongzi easily captured Ada's heart.

Ziano, who likes to cheat, turned a blind eye to this matter, and Eda got together with Xiao Zhang Gongzi in a daze.

This second line is even shorter than the first one just now, and the only intermediaries between the two people are Xiao Zhang Gongzi and Edda.

I don't know whether to say that the world is so small, or whether to say that your circle is really messy.

If Ziano can appear at the dinner today, he will definitely not be just a translator.

At present, Ziano is the son of the Mexican Prime Minister's family and should be regarded as the person he likes.

In the afternoon in the reception room, in front of so many reporters and staff, the things and words that could not be announced, if nothing else, should be made clear at the current dinner.

The Prime Minister proudly introduced the young people around him, and then Ciano was embarrassed to translate the elders' praise from Italian into English.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister and my father are world friends, and because there is such a relationship between the two families, His Excellency the Prime Minister also values me."

I'm embarrassed, I'm embarrassed, but Ziano's words are still full of a deep sense of superiority.

It's normal for young people to be crazy, and not everyone is a kind, humble and courteous Dr. Chan.

"Mr. Ziano, it's a pleasure to meet you." Chen Muwu and Zhu Zhaoxin greeted him successively.

Today's protagonist is, of course, Chen Muwu, but Ziano first talked to Zhu Zhaoxin: "Your Excellency, in a while, I will go to the embassy or consulate in China to take up my post, I hope to get a letter from you, so that my actions in China can be more convenient." ”

Since Ziano is going to China, it means that he is not far from hooking up with Mrs. Simpson.

It is estimated that even if Ziano goes to work, most of the people who go to the Beiyang government in Shaojing will be there, because even if the Beiyang government is defeated by the southern army, they are still legally orthodox.

If it were someone else, Chen Muwu would have persuaded him to wait for a while before going, first, China, which is now in the midst of a civil war, is very turbulent, and second, if he waits for a while, he can go directly to Beijing to take up his post.

But the other party was Ziano, Chen Muwu thought about it and decided not to say this.

What if he didn't go to China this time and didn't know Mrs. Simpson, what if the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson had a child in the future?

He did not know whether illegitimate children had legal effect, but it was likely to add obstacles to the Duke of York's path to succession as king.

Chen Muwu pointed to the second prince to ascend the throne, what more benefits to China in World War II, and must not let anything go wrong in this process.

The exchange between Ziano and Zhu Zhaoxin said a few more words, and then made the big man sitting on the side a little unhappy.

This young man is still undertrained, he didn't put himself in the right position, who is the protagonist in today's dinner, can't you figure it out?

Prime Minister Mo picked up a fork and knocked on the wall of the wine glass, making a crisp sound.

Ziano noticed that he was talking a little too much, and quickly closed his mouth and sat up straight.

The next words didn't need him to translate, and when he saw the cup he was up, Chen Muwu knew that it was a toast.

Ziano's translation confirmed his suspicions, but the words after the toast were the point: "Dr. Chen, Your Excellency would like to ask you if you can really find oil deposits that no one in the world has yet to exploit?" ”

It seems that if nothing else, Mussolini's real purpose in inviting guests to dinner was this.

There are so many people in the reception room that only this kind of private setting can be reassured.

Oil has always been the lifeblood of a country's development, and as a leader of a country, how can you not be impressed?

Chen Muwu nodded and gave an affirmative reply.

Zhu Zhaoxin is actually very interested in the topic of oil, a new type of energy.

China, like Italy, is an oil-poor country that relies heavily on imports, and if it can find oil resources to exploit independently, won't it be necessary to be stuck by the great powers?

But the excitement in Zhu Zhaoxin's heart didn't last long, because Italy was a great power anyway, but China was not.

Even if oil resources are found, how can we guarantee that oil wells will not be snatched by foreigners like the two mining bureaus in Kaiping and Luanzhou?

The country's strength is weak, and it has no say in the international community at all.

Fortunately, God will not die in China, and I sent a Dr. Chen.

But one Dr. Chen, is it enough?

Zhu Zhaoxin was thinking nonsense here, and the ink bald head on the other side opened his mouth again.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister asked, can Dr. Chan tell us where the oil resources are located? Not far from Italy? In which country's sphere of influence is it currently in? ”

It can be seen that Prime Minister Mo is very anxious.

But whether he wanted to prostitute for nothing, Chen Muwu was not sure, so he pretended to be very embarrassed, saying that it was definitely not enough for him to have theoretical judgments, and he had to set up an investigation and exploration team to participate in the investigation on the spot. However, the establishment of an expedition would certainly require a lot of money, but I did not have the money.

Chen Muwu is not without money, he just wants to throw the problem back.

Chen Muwu can afford the money to set up an oil exploration team at his own expense.

But his thoughts coincide with Zhu Zhaoxin, even if he finds oil, his strength is not enough to drill wells and mine on it, and ensure that his interests are not coveted by other countries and big oil companies.

He is now asking for money, which can be regarded as a kind of stone-throwing to ask for directions, in fact, he really wants to pull Italy with him to find oil mines.

If such a second-class power participates in the shares, other countries or large companies will have to do more or less if they want to do it.

The cost of financing an expedition is insignificant compared to the huge profits from oil extraction.

Therefore, the Prime Minister of Mexico readily agreed to Chen Muwu's request and promised to fully bear the entire cost of the oil exploration team.

At the same time, he pointed out that there must be several Italian experts in the team, everyone is smart, and there is no need to find out what these experts are going to do.

His Excellency the Prime Minister is anxious to know exactly where the oil reserves that Chen Muwu said are.

But the other party obviously grasped his mind, not only was he not in a hurry, but he was also ready to bargain for himself on this basis.

Chen Muwu slowly stretched out two fingers and made a gesture similar to that of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer.

"Mr. Ziano, please tell Your Excellency the Prime Minister that if we really cooperate in the extraction of oil, I will take 20% of the net profits of this oil-producing area."

Ziano's eyes widened as he translated from English to Italian, and the expression on Prime Minister Mo's face was cloudy.

Zhu Zhaoxin sighed in his heart that the future was terrifying, and he actually dared to bargain with the Italian prime minister, but on the other hand, he was very worried, if the other party turned his face and didn't recognize people and lost his temper, would he, the minister stationed in Italy, also eat Chen Muwu's melon?

(End of chapter)