The weather in Rome was pleasant at the end of December, but for General Saraguet, Minister of War, today's weather was terrible.
Because he and other military colleagues had to come to a damn meeting.
Italy's new annual fiscal meeting, what this meeting has to say is very clear.
However, General Saraguet knew that today's meeting could be described as a dragon in a tiger's den, because he received news that due to the government's massive construction, today's meeting is likely to take action against the military.
No one wants to see the interests of their own department damaged, especially General Saraguet, who is the Minister of War. For this reason, General Saraguet felt that he and the Minister of Navy were weak, so he sent several other
All the generals have been recruited.
"Today's meeting is very serious for us in the Army. We cannot let the government's intentions be achieved."
Taking advantage of the brief moment before the meeting began, Admiral Saraget called everyone together to cheer them up.
"Don't worry, it's no problem."
"The army has only shed blood in the Balkans. People from these governments want to burn down bridges. Our 400,000-strong army will never allow it."
General Saraguet was very satisfied with the answers given by others. As long as the army is united, it will not be difficult to reduce the army's funding.
General Saraguet saw with keen eyes that the Chief of General Staff was not in good spirits, so he asked with concern. "Cadorna, what's wrong with you?"
Faced with the question from the Minister of War, General Ekadorna, the Chief of General Staff, shook his head and replied, "It's nothing, I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm a little lacking in energy today."
Admiral Cardorna's answer made Admiral Saraget step forward and ask with concern. "Then you should pay more attention to rest and don't be too tired."
"I'll pay attention."
While several army generals were chatting, a staff member came over. "Generals, the meeting is about to begin."
"Then let's go in."
Led by Admiral Saragat, several admirals walked into the venue with high spirits. After entering the venue, they saw that Admiral Golek, the Minister of the Navy, had arrived, and the Prime Minister and other people representing the government,
He was sitting on the other side of the long table chatting about something.
Several generals also naturally sat at the table, waiting for the meeting to be held.
Without keeping them waiting, King Carlo, who was presiding over the meeting, entered the venue less than two minutes behind them.
As soon as Carlo sat down, he immediately spoke. "Okay, now the new year's fiscal budget meeting has begun. Let us listen to the Finance Minister's report first."
As Carlo's words fell, Finance Minister Tejela immediately stood up. "Your Majesty, colleagues, before I brief you on the new year's fiscal budget, as usual, I would like to talk about the fiscal revenue and expenditure in 1991."
"This year, according to statistics from our Ministry of Finance, the government's total revenue was 1.789 billion lire, expenditure was 2.695 billion lire, and the deficit was as high as 906 million lire. The reason for such a high deficit is on the one hand the war with the Ottomans, and on the other hand
On the one hand, investment in new territories, especially mineral development and railway construction in Kosovo, accounts for a high proportion..."
The fiscal revenue in 1891 seems to be 147 million lire higher than the historical 1.642 billion lire. But the current Italian lira is much stronger than in history. The current exchange rate between the Italian lira and the pound is about 25=1.
You must know the exchange rate between the lira and the pound at this time in history. Due to domestic inflation caused by the trade war between Italy and France, the exchange rate between the lira and the pound reached 28=1. Subsequently, due to the sluggish Italian economy, the exchange rate of the lira has been between 27 and 31.
It lingered around until after 1900, and then slowly rose a little. However, eventually with the beginning of World War I, the collapse of the Italian economy made the lira become less and less valuable.
Everyone present knew what Tejela said, so no one said anything. At most, they muttered in a low voice. They didn't expect the expenses to be so high this year.
After briefly talking about the fiscal revenue and expenditure in 1891, he started the general fiscal budget for next year, which is an issue that everyone is concerned about.
"Next, let me talk about the Ministry of Finance's general budget for 1892. According to the budget summary for the new year provided by the government and the military, the government's expenditure for the new year is 2.018 billion lire, of which 528 million lire is for the navy and army. The government
The budget for this aspect is 14
.9 billion lire. Our Ministry of Finance estimates that the total fiscal revenue in the new year is expected to be about 1.831-1.84 billion lire. If calculated according to the new year's total fiscal budget, then our country's national debt will further expand, and the country also has problems
Danger of bankruptcy.”
As the Finance Minister's words fell, it seemed like a battle horn sounded.
As the Minister of the Interior, Sabot took the lead in attacking. "His Excellency Tejela is right. The general budget for next year is indeed too high. I think there are some unnecessary expenditures that need to be reduced. The war is now over, and the Army still remains at the highest level.
With a scale of more than 400,000 yuan, is it necessary to retain such a huge scale and drag down government expenditures?"
The Minister of the Interior targeted the Army as soon as he opened his mouth. General Saraguet couldn't bear it and he retorted directly.
"It is impossible for our army to accept the decision to reduce its size. At present, the kingdom is still facing danger. As far as our country's main threat is France, the French army currently has 460,000 people. Although our country is in a defensive posture, it cannot be lowered.
At 180,000. In addition, the Austro-Hungarian border and domestic garrison strength cannot be less than 70,000. In addition to the 100,000 currently required to perform tasks in the Balkans and North Africa, there are also the necessary garrison strength of 50,000 in East Africa and Southeast Asia. This scale is just enough.
Basic national defense needs cannot be reduced at all."
After General Saraguet's explanation, it was obvious that in his opinion the size of the army was just right.
However, this time the government was well prepared, and Foreign Minister Bacona immediately pointed out the other party's loopholes.
"I think your calculations are wrong. Although the French Army has 460,000 soldiers, its main target is Germany. There are less than 100,000 soldiers on our border. Considering the harsh terrain on the border between the two countries, I think the defense is more important than France's.
The border troop strength should not exceed 80,000."
The 80,000 troops Bacona mentioned are actually more than enough for defense. According to the Italian Army's own estimates, if a positional defense posture is adopted, the 80,000 Italian troops are enough to take advantage of the terrain and permanent position fortifications to block twice the enemy's offensive. The same principle applies.
, if Italy attacks, France can also block twice the Italian army.
"In addition, the domestic garrison strength is only 30,000. On the Austria-Hungary border, according to the friendly agreement reached by our country, the two countries will deploy no more than 10,000 troops on the border."
As soon as General Saraget heard about the agreement with Austria-Hungary, he immediately shouted, "Why didn't our army receive the news?"
Tejela smiled slightly, "This was just achieved, I haven't had time to report it yet."
Faced with the Foreign Secretary's answer, everyone in the War Department could only stare at each other in confusion.
But Tejela would not give them a chance and continued.
"In addition, the military strength in the Balkans can also be gradually reduced. Most of the local resistance forces have been eliminated, and those that have not yet been eliminated are still lingering. There is no need to leave too many troops. Gradually reducing the troops to 40,000 is enough. Although North Africa is still in the process of clearing up
Among them, the vast territory and sparse population of North Africa require mainly cavalry troops. At present, Governor George also believes that the existing troops are sufficient. Finally, the total troops in East Africa and Borneo are only 28,000, so they are not needed at all.
50,000 troops.”
As Tejela started to calculate, it turned out that only a little over 200,000 troops were needed to meet the current Italian defense.
General Saragat's eyes darkened when he heard this, and he immediately counterattacked. "What you said is completely giving national defense to other countries as a benevolence. This is not advisable at all. If a country threatens us, what can 200,000 troops do?
?”
Regarding the rebuttal of the Minister of War, Tejela also pointed out unceremoniously. "But the current situation is that the government cannot afford so many troops. The current cost of more than 500 million for the navy and army has accounted for a quarter of the total government budget.
If there are more than one, it will be a drag on the finances."
As the voices of the two people gradually rose, there was already a smell of gunpowder in the air. Naturally, other participants were not confused at this time and immediately joined in. One party accused the military budget of being too high, and the other refuted that the government was making trouble unreasonably.
The atmosphere at the scene became excited for a moment.
At this time, there was only a sound of slamming on the table, which attracted everyone's attention. It turned out that the king who was presiding over the meeting was looking at them coldly.
