In his office, Carlo looked at the U.S. ship purchase contract and said thank you to the Foreign Secretary and Navy Minister Admiral Yagier in front of him.
Carlo said this from the bottom of his heart, because although the United States is very eager to buy warships this time, according to Carlo's idea, it would be good to have 48 million U.S. dollars. Unexpectedly, Ambassador Dagetty actually talked about 52 million U.S. dollars.
The price is a real surprise.
Because the sale of warships is also very important to Italy, it is all money. Otherwise, the Garibaldi, which has just entered service, would not have been returned to the shipyard by the Navy on the grounds that its performance was not up to standard. And it was about to enter the Genoa class.
The first ship, the Genoa, also had its service date postponed, which frustrated the navy officers and soldiers who were already familiar with the battleship.
Ambassador Dagety, who was far away in New York, had no idea that the results of his negotiations would be praised by the king. Of course, in addition to his unremitting efforts, the eagerness of the Americans was the most important factor in achieving such outstanding results.
.But it doesn’t matter, you can’t take away this credit no matter what.
"This is all in the service of the kingdom, and I believe Ambassador Dageti also follows this principle."
As his superior, Bakona was polite to Ambassador Dageti. This time Ambassador Dageti behaved in a way that made him embarrassed. When there is a suitable opportunity, he can give the ambassador more opportunities to perform.
"We cannot treat such heroes who have worked hard for the country badly, and we must reward Ambassador Dageti well."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Seeing His Majesty chatting and laughing with the Foreign Minister made Admiral Yagir on the side a little anxious, because he heard a bad rumor, so in order to cut off the mess quickly, he decided to take a risk.
"Your Majesty, our navy has a lot to deal with this warship sale. We don't ask for anything else. We only hope that your majesty can incorporate the money from the sale of the warship into the five-year shipbuilding plan."
Yes, this price for selling warships is too tempting. It is higher than the total amount of the five-year shipbuilding plan. The navy has been eagerly awaiting it for a long time. Admiral Yagir just heard the news that the government is also planning to sell the warships.
This money is my idea, so while there are few people, I plan to determine the ownership of the money first.
However, Admiral Agil's idea of cutting the knot quickly was shattered. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Bakona retorting.
"Admiral Yagier, although this money is used by the United States to purchase warships, it does not mean that it must be used for the Navy. The government's finances are currently very tight, so we believe that this money is allocated to the Navy to continue to build three Genoa-class ships and
After three Garibaldi-class ships, the remaining money will be used for other important things."
Well, the foreign minister wanted to deprive him of the profit from the sale of the warship as soon as he opened his mouth. So how much money is there that makes the government departments jealous of this money?
We know that the cost of three Genoa-class ships is 76.2 million lire, while the cost of three Garibaldi-class ships is as high as 103 million lire. The US ship purchase price is 267 million lire (1 US dollar ≈ 5.13 lire). This profit is
87.8 million lire, how come the government is not jealous of this money.
As for the Navy, this money accounts for 80% of its total annual budget. This money cannot be taken away by the government under any circumstances.
Seeing that the Foreign Minister proposed that the government should take over the profits, which was okay, Admiral Yagir immediately refuted the opponent. "Our navy has been escorting the national economic development over the years. It has been very hard these years. It is not easy to be able to do this."
Your government is still here to grab any extra funds."
"Your Excellency, General, this is not a question of whether to grab it or not, but the government is really short of money. As you saw last year's drought, the government was saddled with 800 million in debt. This money is very important to alleviate the government's financial pressure.
important."
Bacona also said that the government also has difficulties.
"If the government is short of money, it can find ways to issue national bonds to relieve the pressure, instead of looking for ways from the navy. It is much easier to issue national bonds than to steal our money."
It was rare for Admiral Yagir to be tough on government officials, directly comparing the money to issuing national debt.
"Okay, you two, arguing won't solve the problem."
Seeing that the two ministers were red-necked because of the money, Carlo quickly dissuaded him. "As for the use of this money, I don't think the two of you should have such a dispute. Since this money is the proceeds from the sale of warships by the Navy, then this money
It should be used for the navy. Moreover, the navy has added fewer warships in recent years, which is not conducive to our country’s territorial security, so this money should be given to the navy.”
Although Bacona was still unwilling to give up, this money was really helpful to Italy's finances, but the king had already intervened, so he could only go back and tell his colleagues not to think about this money anymore.
After settling the ownership of the money, there was nothing left to discuss. The two ministers were also busy people, so they said goodbye.
"Admiral Yagir, wait a moment."
Admiral Yagier, who was stopped by Carlo alone, waited until the foreign minister left before speaking. "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"It's like this. I asked you before, how is the research and development of steam turbines going? You told me that you are researching it. And it has been almost five years now, haven't you produced results yet?"
It is not a good thing for Carlo to keep Admiral Yagier, because there is no good news about the steam turbine that he has been thinking about so far, which makes Carlo a little anxious. Among the three major elements of a dreadnought, the speed represented by the steam turbine is missing.
.
That's right, Carlo already wants the Italian Navy to promote the construction of dreadnoughts. Large-caliber naval guns can rely on neighboring Germany and Austria, because their research on heavy artillery is indeed good, and the alliance of these three countries will not fall behind. As for other aspects
, which has already been reflected on the Garibaldi level.
Otherwise, is the strongest armored cruiser just a name? This is demonstrated by its real achievements. Not to mention that its cost is more expensive than a battleship. It cannot be justified if it is not the strongest.
"Your Majesty, if you don't tell me, I want to tell you that the steam turbine is almost successfully developed. According to the report of the Power Research Institute, most of the problems with the steam turbine have been solved, and it is expected that a usable steam turbine will be available next year."
Well, what Admiral Yagir said made Carlo don't know what to say. But since a specific time has been given, he couldn't say anything more.
“Hopefully we’ll see the steam turbines in regular use next year.”
"Definitely, definitely."
After Admiral Yagir walked out of the palace, his back was wet. Why did he forget about this steam turbine? He hurriedly rushed down to the Power Research Institute, saying that there must be a real thing next year, otherwise the fun would be too much.
