My Italy

Chapter 172 The gift of friendship

Berlin Railway Station This was Carlo's second visit. As important guests attending the funeral of William I and the coronation of Frederick III, Carlo and his party also received a warm reception.

As an important ally, Carlo was also the second most important of the four monarchs attending the funeral. Of course, he was greeted personally by the German Foreign Minister Frederick.

One more thing, among the monarchs attending the funeral of William I this time, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph I was the most important.

The Russian Tsar Alexander III did not come, and his crown prince Nicholas II attended instead. This can also show the current hesitation of Russia. Although they are squeezed out by Germany and Austria in the Three Emperors Alliance, they have not completely fallen to France's money offensive. Of course, this is also the reason why France’s money offensive has not yet begun.

However, since the current Crown Prince Nicholas is not a monarch, he cannot be counted among the four monarchs.

"Welcome King Carlo to Berlin."

Carlo was warmly greeted by Frederick as soon as he got out of the car. Of course, the white flowers he wore also showed that Germany was currently enduring the grief of the death of the monarch.

"Thank you for coming to greet me. Our country is also very sad about the passing of Emperor William."

Having said this, Carole showed a sad expression, and tears could not help but flow out from the circles of her eyes that she had just wiped.

"Thank you for your sympathy for the passing of our emperor. Please ask King Carlo to get in the car first."

Frederic, who also had excellent acting skills, did not let Carlo be more beautiful than before. His eyes were red with tears and he did not show his performance, letting Carlo know what excellence is.

The acting performance at the train station ended here. Carlo's young acting skills completely fell behind in front of Lao Jianghu.

Then don't say anything and get in the car.

After boarding the welcoming carriage, Carlo and his party were sent to their accommodation. This time, because there were too many monarchs, they were not arranged to live in the Charlottenburg Palace like last time, but in the Sensi Palace.

After sending Carlo and his party here, Foreign Secretary Frederick said. "King Carlo, if you need anything, please inform Chief Sjöström. I won't disturb you because I have something else to do."

Facing the German Foreign Minister who was eager to leave, Carlo also understood very well, because he needed to receive too many people, and being able to send them here in person was for the sake of Germany's allies.

After Frederick left, Carlo and his party prepared to take a rest. After all, they were a little tired after taking the train for such a long time.

Of course, Carlo is young and in good health and does not need much rest, but that is something that needs to be considered for ministers in their fifties and sixties.

Of course, Carlo would not be fine if he did not rest. He knew very clearly the purpose of coming to Berlin this time, so he prepared a special gift for his friend William II.

So where is Carlo's friend?

William II, who is about to become the crown prince, is discussing a very important matter with the prime minister and other important ministers in the palace. That was the question of how his father, Frederick III, should succeed to the throne after his grandfather's funeral.

Since Frederick III's trachea was cut open, he was unable to speak, so he usually communicated with others by writing. And the new emperor ascended the throne and communicated by handwriting in the presence of everyone?

This will make the new German emperor an object of entertainment.

This situation is certainly something that no one here wants to see, and they are gathered here just to solve this problem. Of course, the government came up with a compromise, which was to let William II, as the heir, speak the oath for the emperor.

William did not resist the measures proposed by the government, but he needed to discuss the details to avoid embarrassing mistakes.

The discussion lasted for a while until the sun went down, and then William II and the ministers came out of the room.

William II, who walked out of the room, asked the attendant who appeared next to him. "What else needs to be done next?"

"Your Highness, the King of Italy has led a team to Berlin and needs you to pay a visit."

What the attendant said was completely nonsense. Carlo had sent a telegram to William II before he came. For this reason, William II put down other things and specially spared time in the evening to join Friendship Student to promote relationships with his friends. The attendant's words were not meant for William to hear, but for the Prime Minister and others on the side.

"Go ahead, Your Majesty. Italy is our country's ally no matter what. Promoting the relationship between the two countries is good for the empire."

Following Prime Minister Bismarck's words, William II spoke to the attendants beside him.

"Prepare the carriage, I need to meet the King of Italy."

An hour later, the West Palace of Sansi was brightly lit, and the good friends finally met.

"Carlo, long time no see."

"William, I haven't seen you in the past few years and you are a father of four."

Having said this, I have to admit that his wife, Princess Augusta Victoria, is really fertile.

Of course, when it comes to politeness, the two of them quickly stopped talking.

Carlo signaled to an attendant and said. "William, in addition to attending the funeral and the coronation ceremony of your father Frederick, the main reason for coming here this time is that I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you as a friend very much. As a friend, I have a small gift for you."

Carlo's words made William curious. He didn't know what Carlo wanted to give him.

"What are you planning to give me? Make it so mysterious."

"Don't worry, you'll see it soon."

As Carlo finished speaking, two attendants came in carrying something covered with a cloth.

Facing Carlo's mysterious gift, William's curiosity was aroused. As a well-educated royal heir, he stopped asking and quietly waited for the results to be released.

"Snapped"

The thing is very heavy, you can tell from the sound of putting it down.

After the attendant put down the things, Carlo revealed the mystery himself. A model of a warship that he had never seen before appeared in front of William II.

William has seen many warship models. In his private collection, he has more than a dozen such models, ranging from sailing battleships to the latest German ironclads. But this one is special because it is completely different from current warships.

"Which country's warship is this? Why haven't I seen it before?"

Facing William II's inquiry, Carlo immediately spoke. "This is our country's latest warship. It is still being built in the shipyard and has not yet been launched. The model is built in accordance with the construction drawings and is scaled down to 100:1."

Carlo's words made William II immediately interested. He looked around the model and asked about the ship's data.

Although this should be kept secret, for his own purposes, Carlo did not hesitate to inform William II of the data of the new H-type warship still under construction in the shipyard.

The data reported by Carlo made William II's eyes shine. The full load displacement of up to 16,000 tons, powerful firepower, thick armor, and speed comparable to that of a fast cruiser all show the power of this battleship. What a shame, the German Navy doesn't even have a 10,000-ton warship. Doesn't this put him in shame?

As a loyal executor of Mahan's theory of sea power, everyone knows that William II longed for the sea. Carlo's gift was simply seducing a starving man with food.

"Thank you, I like your gift so much."

Facing the excited William II, Carlo smiled like a fox stealing a chicken. "We are good friends, and good friends should share happiness."

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