African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1413 Winning over
In terms of population alone, Italy after its initial unification was no less powerful than France. In terms of industry and other aspects, Italy also automatically surpassed countries such as Spain, becoming the sixth country in comprehensive strength in Europe today.

Since Spain became the goalkeeper of the great powers at the end of the last century, it has remained the slowest-growing among the great powers in recent years. To put it bluntly, it has been living off its past achievements.

Therefore, Italy, which had only initially completed its unification, automatically surpassed Spain to become the sixth most powerful country in Europe. After Benito officially integrated Italy's resources, the gap between Spain and Italy would probably widen.

Today, the seven European powers are ranked as follows: Britain, Germany, Russia, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Spain. However, compared with the first five traditional European powers, Italy and Spain are somewhat controversial.

However, compared to Italy and Spain, the countries below them are in even worse shape.

For example, the annual steel production of the initially unified Italy and Spain was at the level of hundreds of thousands of tons, while the annual steel production of the Far Eastern Empire at the same time fluctuated at the level of tens of thousands of tons, and in special years it might even be less than 10,000 tons.

The Ottoman Empire's annual steel production was only a few thousand tons. However, the Ottoman Empire had a population of only more than 20 million, and its per capita steel production actually exceeded that of the Far Eastern Empire.

However, even so, their steel production is only a fraction of that of the great powers, but even this fraction exceeds most parts of the world. After all, among non-great powers, the Far Eastern Empire and the Ottoman Empire are already the most powerful.

As for data on railways, textile industry, military strength, etc., they are even more dismal compared to Italy and Spain.

All in all, the lower limit for European countries in this era was very high, so even Italy, which had just begun to take shape, was no exception in becoming one of the great powers.

At this point, the world pattern officially entered the "Ten Suns in the Sky" state. In addition to the seven European powers, there was one powerful country each in America, Asia, and Africa, namely the United States, Japan, and East Africa. These ten major powers could be called the "blessing" of the world's people in the 20th century.

Of course, these "blessings" also include an alternative Russia. It is undeniable that Russia is hostile to imperialist countries, but its own size and strength fully meet the standards of a great power.

……

1924 6 Month 18 Day.

London.

Britain's first Labour Prime Minister MacDonald quickly received intelligence from Italy. MacDonald also served as Britain's Foreign Secretary, so he was able to quickly receive news of changes occurring at the international level.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Italy was one of the allies that Britain had always valued, and the two countries had stable long-term cooperation. Therefore, just the day after Benito unified Italy, the detailed process of the "June Incident" was placed on his desk.

"I didn't expect that Italian Prime Minister Benito would be so bold and reckless. He actually dared to take such a big risk and go deep into the danger to achieve the unification of Italy. He is indeed a hero!"

MacDonald was amazed by the news of Italian unification, and at the same time, he realized the outstanding ability of Italian Prime Minister Benito.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip also agreed with this point. He said: "Benito's action can be said to be very risky, even a bit frivolous, but it was precisely this frivolous approach that unexpectedly contributed to the unification of Italy."

"This just shows that Benito has the ability to grasp the overall situation, especially his organizational ability. Through the tight organization of the Black Shirts, he fanned the flames on the Apennine Peninsula while avoiding the attention of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, catching everyone off guard."

"It's not something that most people can do to settle everything in such a short time. It's a pity that Benito's black shirt gang is obviously not the same as us."

The British Labour Party considers itself a member of the "Labour Party". Although they oppose the violent tactics of the Russian Labour Party, they are even more disgusted with the Blackshirts.

MacDonald was also well aware of this. He said: "This Benito was once a member of the Italian Labour Party, so he also learned some of the Labour Party's organizational methods, but his ultimate goal is to strengthen his own power and become a dictator."

"He is also extremely hostile to the Labour Party. He has already launched a strict crackdown on Labour Party members in the Kingdom of Italy. This countercurrent will probably be brought to the former Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples as Italy is unified."

The British Labour Party obviously has no good feelings towards the Blackshirts. Although the Labour Party also has factions, the Blackshirts, an extreme nationalist party that regards the "Labour Party" as an enemy, obviously will not identify the differences between them.

To a certain extent, Italy has even become a quagmire for the Labour Party, because some of the policies and methods of the Black Shirts are completely copied from the Labour Party. This situation is also the most terrifying. For some ordinary people who do not know the truth, it is difficult to distinguish the difference between the two.

Therefore, for labor organizations around the world, the Blackshirts are more terrifying than some purely capitalist parties.

Finance Minister Philip asked: "In this case, what should be our attitude towards the current Italian government? I am worried that Benito will affect our relationship with Italy because of his personal emotions."

"After all, Benito is a dictator. His thoughts and emotions can basically determine the attitude and way of the Italian government's foreign exchanges. And he is extremely hostile to the Labor Party, which may have some negative effects on our government and Italy."

Minister Philip's concerns are not unreasonable. After all, Benito regards the Labour Party as his enemy. The embarrassing thing for Britain is that the current government happens to be formed by the Labour Party. So will Benito's relations with Britain deteriorate because the British Labour Party leads the government?

MacDonald was optimistic about this. He said to Philip: "Perhaps we should not be prejudiced against Benito. Maybe he is just an extreme patriot."

"Perhaps his hostility to the Labour Party is due to ideological differences, just like the differences between us and the Russian Labour Party. After all, he was once a member of the Italian Labour Party."

"Moreover, judging from the situation of the June Incident, he might be a pacifist. After all, he did not directly use force to violently annex the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples."

Prime Minister MacDonald did not make malicious assumptions about Benito's character, but instead said a few good words for him. Perhaps it was for this reason that he was able to become the leader of the British Labour Party.

The British Labour Party is obviously not as extreme as the Russian Labour Party. A big difference between the two lies in their different attitudes towards the current world.

For the British Labour Party, Britain can still be saved. After all, society has been making continuous progress, even if the progress is small. Therefore, they are against violence, which may make the situation worse. Therefore, in the eyes of the British Labour Party, they should be more active in promoting social reform. The Russian Labour Party is completely different. They believe that the old Russia is hopeless, so it is better to smash the old society to pieces and then rebuild it.

In fact, under this disagreement, according to the Russian Labour Party, the so-called British Labour Party and the Labour Party are completely two different things.

Ernst also agrees with the latter. After all, to be honest, what the British Labour Party is doing now can also be done by some active capitalist political parties. Apart from its ideology, the so-called British Labour Party is not very different from other capitalist political parties in the UK.

For example, when the United States implemented Roosevelt's New Deal, these new deals adopted many Soviet economic methods, but Roosevelt was obviously not a member of the Labor Party.

But no matter what, McDonald's attitude is very clear, that is, he can first contact Italian Prime Minister Benito.

Prime Minister MacDonald said: "The unification of Italy is a good thing for us. It is conducive to promoting peace in Europe. A unified Italy can contain the Austro-Hungarian Empire to a certain extent, thus avoiding the outbreak of a large-scale war in Europe."

This is not a lie. Prime Minister MacDonald was indeed a prime minister who actively promoted peace in Europe. Since he came to power, he has further promoted disarmament among European countries. At the same time, he called on Germany and Russia to cease fire, brokered peace between the two countries, called on countries to oppose war and strengthen international cooperation.

As an early leader of the British Labour Party, MacDonald was still full of idealism. However, some of MacDonald's policies were still restricted by the British Parliament and could not take effect, such as improving and fighting for the rights of civilians in the country, promoting fairer and more expanded elections, etc.

"Right now, the situation in Europe is still full of conflicts, and what I am most worried about is the imbalance of power in Europe, which will lead to a new war."

"And if Italy is unified, there will be one more regional power in southern Europe, which will help us balance the political power in Europe."

MacDonald's subtext was also very simple, that is, he believed that before the unification of Italy, there was a risk of imbalance of power in Europe. After all, the decline of Britain and France and the rise of Germany were irrefutable facts.

What he was most worried about was that Germany would not be reconciled to the outcome of the last war and would start another war. At this time, the emergence of Italy would undoubtedly be beneficial to the balance of power in Europe, especially in Western Europe.

The unification of Italy can at least make the Austro-Hungarian Empire stop some of its small thoughts. Before, Italy was divided into three countries, so the Austro-Hungarian Empire posed a great threat to the Apennine Peninsula. Facing a unified Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire could no longer intervene in the situation on the Apennine Peninsula as it did in the past.

As for France, it may have had some small thoughts about Italy in the past, but after experiencing World War I, France was basically sluggish.

Italy's current population, without Venice and part of Lombardy, is close to 40 million, almost the same as France. It is even less likely that France will invade Italy as it did in the Napoleonic era.

Philip asked: "Then according to the Prime Minister, should we give Benito some support?"

McDonald said: "Of course, we must not only support, but even celebrate Italy's unification with great fanfare, and send a congratulatory message to Mr. Benito, so as to ensure that there will be no subsequent changes in Italy's unification."

“At the same time, we should invite a unified Italy to rejoin the League of Nations, rather than the past situation where the Kingdom of Italy had one vote and the Kingdom of Naples had one vote.”

As for the Papal States, it is naturally impossible for it to join the so-called League of Nations. After all, the situation of the Pope and the Papal States is special. The Vatican was not a formal member of the United Nations in the past, but only an observer state. This is also the reason.

Therefore, before this, only the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Naples joined the League of Nations. Now that Italy is unified, the Kingdom of Naples no longer exists. However, a unified Italy will obviously gain greater voice in the League of Nations.

McDonald said: "After unification, Italy can first be called a non-permanent member of the League of Nations, which is the same position as Austria-Hungary and Brazil."

Before this, neither the Kingdom of Italy nor the Kingdom of Naples were considered great powers, so both countries were ordinary members of the League of Nations. After unification, Italy naturally became a non-permanent member and could play a huge role in the decision-making of the League of Nations. Later, if Italy can grow further, it is not impossible for it to become a permanent member of the League of Nations.

In general, the MacDonald government intends to win over the initially unified Italy. In fact, given the current situation in the UK, no matter which party is in power, it will try to win over Italy.

The difference is that MacDonald is more concerned about the overall peace in Europe, while other ruling parties may be more inclined to balance Germany and Austria-Hungary.

After all, Germany and Austria-Hungary are indeed too strong now, which can easily cause the British to worry. A unified Italy can greatly alleviate Britain's diplomatic difficulties.

In this way, the UK will have one more available chess piece to balance Europe. After all, countries that are not large enough cannot become chess pieces, but are instead likely to become experience packages for the UK's balancing targets.

So, at the end of June 1924.

Just as Benito consolidated his victory, a letter of congratulations from the British Prime Minister was sent to Italy, and at the British government level, Benito publicly praised his peaceful unification of Italy.

At this time, no country could find fault with Benito on a moral level. After all, Benito's way of unification was peaceful, and this also further enhanced Benito's personal prestige throughout Italy.

Soon after, France also expressed a positive view on Benito's unification of Italy. After all, at this time, France was more eager to see Italy block the Austro-Hungarian Empire's westward advance.

Once upon a time, both France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to swallow up Italy, a strategic location, but now France has declined, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire, at least on the surface, looks prosperous and still strong.

Therefore, in Europe today, no country is more eager to see the unification of Italy than France. France is destined not to have its cake and eat it, and it does not want the Austro-Hungarian Empire to have it even more.

Germany's attitude towards Italy's unification was rather ambiguous. Only the Austro-Hungarian Empire was very distressed and disgusted with Italy's unification. However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire lost the best opportunity to intervene and could only watch Italy's rise.

(End of this chapter)