Chapter 110: Accelerating the Colonization of East Africa
Carlo felt much better after solving the problem of Governor Lanfang. After all, it was related to trade with the Qing Dynasty, and besides, this might be Italy's only profitable colony in the past ten years.
In addition to the Lanfang colony, Carlo was also concerned about Italian colonial activities in Somalia.
I don’t know. I was shocked when I learned about it. Currently, Italy has few major strongholds in East Africa. They are mainly in coastal port cities. The inland has not been developed much. For example, Italy currently controls Massawa, Beijing in Eritrea.
In a few areas such as Darfur and Zauan, the vast inland has not yet been occupied, while in other places, such as Djibouti, which was taken over from France, and Berbera, Mogadishu and other places in Somalia. At present, there are still deep inland areas.
All are in coastal areas.
"This won't work. We need to speed up."
After learning about Italy's colonial activities in East Africa, Carlo was not very satisfied. Of course, he also knew that business in East Africa had not received much attention before, because Italy's main focus was on Tunisia at that time. It was only after the setback in Tunisia that it
It began to increase investment, but due to Italy's national strength, the increase in investment was limited.
"Chief Guard, please invite the Prime Minister over and tell me that I have something to discuss."
Carlo asked the captain of the bodyguard to invite the prime minister. Of course, colonization cannot lack the support of the military, so the minister of army and navy was also invited.
The military was the most active in colonizing the country. Not only did the two generals arrive before the Prime Minister arrived.
So when the Prime Minister arrived, he found that two military bosses were already waiting for him.
"Sorry, I'm late."
When facing the Prime Minister, the two generals who had already arrived said that they had just arrived.
Seeing that all the military and political leaders had arrived, Carlo began to tell the purpose of convening everyone. "As we all know, our country's colonial activities are basically in East Africa. And many of them are funding private expeditions. This is too slow. Our country needs
To speed up the process, I think it should be led by the government."
"I think it's feasible."
"I think it's okay too."
Carlo's words immediately attracted the support of the two military bosses. Although private funding for colonial activities cost less, the efficiency was too slow. If the government stepped in, the efficiency would be much higher than that of the private sector. More importantly, the government
To play, the military needs to be used, which is of course a good thing for the military.
Facing the words of support from the two military bosses, Depretis, as Prime Minister, gave them a cold look. "I have no objection, but the government does not have extra money to pay for colonization."
The Prime Minister's words made the two military bosses stuck. How could they send troops without money? How could they develop colonies without money?
"I remember that the government prepared 80 million lire to compete with the Dutch for Lanfang, but only spent less than 50 million lire. Why is it gone?"
The counterattack from Army Secretary General Golek revealed without hesitation that the Army knew all about government funds.
Faced with what the Secretary of War pointed out, Prime Minister Despretis smiled slightly. "It seems that the military is very concerned about the government."
"This is just the military's inherent sensitivity to funding."
When facing the Prime Minister, Admiral Lake still gave an explanation, but his momentum was obviously much lower than before.
"Then do you know that these remaining expenses have been included in the Lanfang development expenses?"
"Ah~"
The Prime Minister's words made the two military generals look surprised. The government must have acted too quickly.
Seeing that the military was no match for the prime minister, Carlo had no choice but to take action personally. "If the government lacks funds, the royal family can advance part of it. Of course, this requires the government to return the money to the royal family in next year's budget."
Carlo's words made the Prime Minister's excuse of using funds immediately untenable. Everyone knows how rich the royal family is. Although it cannot be said that they just take hundreds of millions of liras casually (this requires selling off royal properties in various places), but several
The royal family can still spend tens of millions of lire. Especially the prime minister knows that his majesty has taken a lot of benefits from the temples in India.
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty. However, although the government has no money, the expansion of the East African colonies is also very important to Italy, so let me consider where to transfer some funds after I return."
This is the Prime Minister's submission. Compared with before, with the addition of a big royal benefactor, the military can completely dominate colonial activities. This is something he does not allow. Colonization can only be under the leadership of the government. This is why the government failed just now.
Money reasons.
But he didn't expect that His Majesty could be so determined.
Now that the Prime Minister has surrendered, Carlo will certainly not embarrass the Prime Minister. "Since the government is considering embezzling funds from other places, this is not a good idea. If not issuing bonds, the royal family can set an example and purchase a batch."
"Then I would like to thank the royal family for their generous help."
Facing the steps given by the king, the prime minister immediately took them.
Next, the topic of colonization can be continued.
"According to our intelligence, the current situation in East Africa is the most favorable moment for us. Among them, our main competitor, the United Kingdom, has just been driven out of Sudan by the Mahdi. According to their habits, they will not give up their occupation of Sudan, so our country is in East Africa.
Just face the natives. Another thing you need to pay attention to is that Johannes IV, the black emperor in Abyssinia, has unified the chaotic Abyssinia. Our country’s colonization in Eritrea
It’s best to be more cautious in your activities.”
After the captain of the guard told the current intelligence about East Africa, the minister of army and navy had already made his own judgment. Of course, they already knew this information, but there was no harm in hearing it again.
"Our army can send 5,000 people for colonial activities in Somalia."
"Our navy can be responsible for protecting the sea area and providing necessary help."
Yes, both the army and navy believe that the Somali region can be given priority in colonial activities in East Africa.
Carlo also agreed with the idea of the navy and army. Although Eritrea is closer, it is really not suitable to have a conflict with Abyssinia, a powerful country in East Africa, and its domestic plateau terrain is very unfavorable to Italy. Besides, here
In addition to being poor, there are few resources that make Italy covetous.
As for the Prime Minister, he also understands the situation in East Africa and also believes that it is more appropriate to give priority to soft persimmons, so he also agrees with the military's suggestion.
However, for the purpose of saving funds, he still prioritized drawing a line for the military. "This time the government can only provide 30 million lire in funding. Two generals, you need to consider the scale."
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we will not exceed the funding limit."
When facing the Prime Minister, the two generals patted their chests in assurance.
