Carlo also breathed a sigh of relief as the Prime Minister agreed. He did not want to have a dispute with the Prime Minister at this time, which would delay Italy's war preparation plan.
Then we need to move on to the next agenda. Thinking of this, Carlo continued. "Your Excellency Tejela, your Ministry of Finance, find a way to raise 1.5 billion lire within two years to fund the war."
Carlo's words made Tejela, the finance minister, almost jump.
"Your Majesty, this task is too difficult for our Ministry of Finance. If we want to raise an additional 1.5 billion lire, we must issue bonds, and it is completely impossible to keep a secret of such a large scale of bonds."
As finance minister, Tejela was very knowledgeable about bond issuances and believed that the figures given by Carlo were too high to be kept secret.
Those old foxes in the capital market can smell the slightest sign of trouble.
When facing Tejela, Carlo was of course unwilling to lower his demands, because he had prepared the funds based on the situation that everything was pretty good. This was already the minimum requirement in Carlo's heart, so he would not bargain with Tejela at all.
Chance.
"In this case, we should create a clever name and issue debt in multiple batches."
It was very rare to hear these words from Carlo, a king, and everyone in the venue was stunned.
As for Tejela, this is even more true. Although he has done this before, he did it quietly in private. This is the first time he has seen the king do it so blatantly.
"Your Majesty, doing this will affect our country's reputation in the securities market."
Tejela held it in for a long time before saying this.
"As long as we win, it won't affect our reputation."
Carlo's statement is more straightforward, but he is right. As long as Italy can defeat the Ottomans, Italian bonds will remain strong. But if it fails, Spain will learn from its mistakes.
But is it possible for Italy to fail?
In Carlo's view, there is no such possibility.
It was just a matter of a big victory or a small victory. What gave him confidence was Italy's national strength. Although Italy was at the bottom among the great powers, it was not something that the declining Ottoman could deal with.
The Italian-Austrian war in the previous life was more about Italy's chicken-stealing mentality and wanted to obtain the maximum results at the minimum cost.
This kind of thinking also caused Italy to go into battle without adequate preparation. Moreover, the location it chose was wrong. Libya was a vast and sparsely populated place, which was a good place for guerrilla warfare. After a year and a half of delay,
It was the Italian fleet that threatened the Black Sea Strait that made the Ottomans surrender.
Of course, Carlo would not make such a mistake, he had his own ideas.
Faced with such blatant words, Tejela didn't know what to say. After thinking for a long time, she could only respond silently.
If you don't speak, it means you acquiesce.
With this in mind, Carlo turned the topic to the Prime Minister.
Although the Prime Minister just issued his own protest, after the protest was ineffective, Carlo still had many problems that he needed to deal with. However, compared with threatening the Minister of Finance, Carlo's tone this time was much better. After all, the Prime Minister wanted preferential treatment.
"Prime Minister Depretis, next I want public opinion to arouse hatred towards the Ottomans. In this regard, we can start with history and then gradually move to the present."
This move, Carlo still comes from the memory of later generations. Although China has a department to fight against the five scum, whenever the relationship with the world police is not good, various dramas about resisting the United States and aiding Korea will swarm.
And Carlo is now applying his knowledge. The Ottomans have harassed southern Italy quite a bit in history, not to mention fighting with Venice for a century. With a little manipulation, the Italians, who are full of nationalist sentiments, can direct their anger towards the Near East.
sick man.
"Your Majesty, I will let the government provide guidance in this regard."
The unflattering words from the Prime Minister declared his attitude.
Faced with the somewhat agitated Prime Minister, Carlo ignored him and set his sights on Foreign Minister Bacona.
"Your Excellency Bacona, your next task is very important. You need to try your best to win the support of the British. Even if you cannot win it, you need to ensure that they are neutral."
Yes, Carlo believed that the British attitude was crucial in this war with the Ottomans.
Although Italy has a good relationship with the United Kingdom, the Ottomans are the most important link in its containment of Russia. If the British think that the war between Italy and the Ottomans will affect the goal of imprisoning the Russians in the Black Sea, they may cause trouble.
"Okay, Your Majesty."
As Foreign Minister, Bacona immediately agreed to Carlo's request.
"In addition, we can also make contact with Russia and the Balkan countries first, which is also good for us."
After the Foreign Secretary finished speaking, Carlo did not forget to give some instructions, which shows that he attaches great importance to diplomacy.
Of course, some people may ask, is there a country that has forgotten it?
What about France?
Of course, Carlo has not forgotten France, which has huge influence in the Mediterranean. But unfortunately, Carlo believes that no matter what Italy does, France will intervene in it just like Italy did in the Sino-French War.
In addition to Italy's attack on France in the Sino-French War, there is also the relationship between France and the Ottoman Empire. The relationship between the two countries can be traced back to the era of Louis XIV. Moreover, France has also had good interests in the Ottoman Empire in recent years.
Consider the relationship between France and Italy. Even if Carlo was the leader of France, he would put a stumbling block in the struggle between Italy and the Ottomans.
Therefore, instead of focusing your limited energy on France, it is better to pay attention to the countries in the Balkan Peninsula. Among them, there must be countries that can be helpful to Italy.
After the explanations with the government were completed, it was the turn of the military to directly participate in the war.
Carlo immediately spoke to Admiral Golek. "When can the three Turin-class battleships launched into the water join the navy, and how long will it take for them to exert their due combat effectiveness?"
The Turin class mentioned by Carlo is the battleship that was previously invited for bidding and has epoch-making significance, officially entering the pre-dreadnought era.
At present, the three warships have been launched and are in the process of installing weapons and debugging equipment. After sea trials, they can enter the navy. Of course, if they want to form combat effectiveness, they also need hard training of the entire ship's officers and soldiers.
Therefore, in the face of Carlo's question, Admiral Golek answered carefully. "If the three warships want to be commissioned, they will have to wait until next year. If they want to form sufficient combat effectiveness, they will have to wait until the year after that."
The time given by Admiral Golek is considered fast. He has not yet taken into account the various problems that may arise in the warship. The biggest problem with a new warship, in addition to equipment, is the design problem.
.without
Any designer who can design a flawless battleship will have some problems. However, good designers basically only leave small problems that do not require major changes. As for mediocre designers, let
Navy officers and soldiers, cry.
Admiral Gorek's answer was quite satisfactory. Carlo thought for a while and then said, "Let's try to speed up the progress."
After talking about the navy, next is the army, which will inevitably become the protagonist of this war.
However, when facing General Saraguet, Carlo didn't know what to say. In the final analysis, he did not control the army and his influence on it was limited.
But it's not good not to say anything. Why don't you speak up here? So Carlo can only start with equipment.
"General Saraguet, I hope the army can complete the army's replacement in two years. The m88 Carcano rifle must be mastered by every soldier and put into battle."
If there is anyone in this room besides Carlo who is most enthusiastic about this war, then it must be General Saraguet. Because this is a war in which the army plays the leading role, and it is against the weakened Ottoman. Although
The Italian Army is not very strong in Europe, and it is a bit difficult to deal with France and Austria-Hungary, but it is still no problem to defeat the Sick Man of the Near East.
Moreover, this war comes at the right time, which can completely improve the status of the army in the eyes of the people. For these military leaders, there is nothing more popular than war. If so, it is a war that people can win easily.
.
So in the face of Carlo's request, General Saraguet stood up and patted his chest and said. "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the Army will definitely complete the change. We will intensify training next and strive to let the Italian people see the Army's style."
.”
Now that General Saraget has said this, what else can Carlo say? He can only give enough support.
"Since General Saraguet has said this, I will ask the government to provide the army with sufficient funding in the next fiscal budget."
Well, now that the government provides sufficient funding and there are no checks and balances, the Army's performance is worth looking forward to.
