Chapter 502 Expanding the army! Expanding the army
Although the state of war between Germany and France caused by Morocco has been calmed down by the mediation of various countries, the impact has been very far-reaching. For various countries, the crisis in Morocco has accelerated the behavior of each country to take sides. Smart
Everyone can feel the trace of gunpowder smoke currently floating over Europe, so all countries have begun to make some necessary preparations.
Not to mention other countries, Italy, as one of the main participating countries, can certainly feel this atmosphere even more. Therefore, after the relations between Germany and France have just eased, a parliament related to national defense and security is being held.
"Your Majesty, colleagues, our army currently has 18 division-level establishments, 6 brigade-level establishments, and several regiment-level establishments, with a total strength of only 193,000. Its troops, weapons and equipment are the weakest among all countries. This
It has also caused great pressure on our country's land. As the situation in Europe becomes increasingly uncertain, to the east of us is Austria-Hungary, which has a strong army of 410,000 troops. Although our country and Austria-Hungary are allies, we cannot pin our hopes on it.
Regarding allies. Besides, our country and Austria-Hungary have conflicts of interest in the Balkans. We cannot rule out that this will cause conflicts in the future.
To the west of us, France is currently the main threat to our land. France has 530,000 troops, which is more than 300,000 more than our country. Fortunately, the French focus their main attention on the German-French border, so we can withstand its pressure.
However, given the current complicated diplomatic situation, our country cannot rule out the fact that the French will focus on our country.
In addition, our country currently has military needs in the Balkans, North Africa, East Africa and the Far East, so the army in these places is also indispensable. Therefore, our army believes that the strength of our army must be no less than 60% of France or 80% of Austria-Hungary. This can satisfy
Basic defensive tasks.”
In the conference room, an army officer was speaking impassionedly about the pressure on the Italian Army, but he kept saying one word: lack of funds.
In recent years, the Army has been celebrating the Chinese New Year, and every year has been worse than the previous year. Although the Army's funding has not decreased in these years and has even increased, the proportion of funding has been decreasing year by year.
The proportion of army funds in military expenditures has dropped from a maximum of 79% (Tunisia Crisis) to the current 39%. So far, the Italian Army still has some early breech-loading guns that have not been decommissioned.
Looking at the booming activities of the Navy next door, who in the Army could not look envious. There is even a rumor spread in a small area in the Army that the King is dissatisfied with the Army, so he has ignored the Army's silent efforts over the years.
These rumors can also be seen as the Army's complaints about not being taken seriously over the years. But things are getting better now. His Majesty the King finally thinks of the Army, and this meeting is proof.
Because this meeting was discussing Army issues.
In fact, over the years, the government and Carlo both know that the army has been having a hard time. However, unlike the navy, the army cannot protect the Italian economy. Therefore, for the army, which is purely money-consuming, it is difficult for the Italian government, which focuses on economic development, to spare money.
To the Army.
After all, Italy is not financially wealthy, and in order to develop its economy, it can only reduce its military investment. As the army cannot protect the Italian economy, it naturally prioritizes compression.
However, in the face of the Army's complaints, the government has been well prepared. Although the Army is having a hard time, and His Majesty also plans to increase military expenditures for the Army, but how much is a big question. You must know that the total military expenditures of the navy and army are nearly four
billion lire, which already accounts for more than 20% of the fiscal revenue, which is not a small sum.
So Antonin Ardini, the finance minister, stood up and said, "Everyone, I just listened to the Army's speech, and I felt a lot from the bottom of my heart. We all see the Army's contribution, so we increased the
The issue of army expenses is also urgent. I propose to increase the army’s expenses by 50 million lire every year to help the development of the army.”
Aldini's words surprised many people. Especially General Simeone, the Chief of General Staff as the representative of the Army, showed a shocked expression. He also knew that when the Navy wanted to build a ship two years ago, the former Finance Minister specially
How difficult is Jela? And this new Aldini actually doesn’t tighten the government’s purse strings?
It is completely normal for Simone and others to think this way. People in charge of finance have always been difficult to deal with, because being lenient in entering and being strict in exiting is a common thought of every person in charge of financial power.
In fact, for Aldini, who has been in office for more than a year, he must have his own ideas if he can offer 50 million lire per year.
First of all, as a newcomer, Aldini has worked in the bank and the Ministry of Finance for more than 20 years, but he has only been at the top of the Ministry of Finance for four or five years. Compared with his predecessor Tejela, he lacks prestige. In addition, as Prime Minister,
Recommended, the candidate appointed by His Majesty, how could Aldini go against His Majesty's temper after receiving an almost explicit hint.
Valley
In addition, perhaps due to his experience in the bank, Aldini is not as crazy about money as Tejela. As long as he is sure it is urgently needed, he will be willing to allocate money.
Of course, there is actually another core issue, which is that Italy's fiscal revenue has increased significantly. To put it simply, the Italian government has money. Yes, this is the key to the new finance minister being so generous.
As for why the Italian government is rich, it is very simple because the rapid development of the Italian internal combustion engine industry has led to the great development of the Italian petrochemical industry and related industries.
Many of these industries are run by the government, such as the Italian Petroleum Company and the Naples Machinery Factory, which monopolizes diesel engines and related manufacturing. Take the Italian Petroleum Company as an example. Last year, the company mined 4.73 million tons of oil. Currently,
Most of the oil in Europe is provided by Italy. The profits and taxes paid by Italian oil companies have exceeded the 100 million lira mark in one fell swoop.
Not to mention the Naples Machinery Factory, which has a monopoly on the production of diesel engines in the world. The factory also uses the characteristics of diesel engines to produce various special vehicles, and its life is prosperous. Although the profits and taxes paid are not as high as those of oil companies, they are still
It exceeds 30 million lire. This is under the premise that in order to ensure the development of the enterprise, the government only takes away half of the profits.
As for Fiat, the largest private enterprise in the country, it pays a lot of taxes. Its tax revenue of 15 million lire is the highest among private enterprises.
It is precisely the large-scale development of these enterprises that has allowed Italy's finance to grow very rapidly in recent years. So much so that Aldini, the new finance minister, was jokingly said by many people to have picked up a political dividend.
However, in the face of Aldini's 50 million lire increase in military expenditures, although Simeone was excited for a moment, he did not agree immediately. Instead, he continued to speak. "Fifty million lire is still not enough for the current army. Among them, 50 million lire is still not enough for the current army. The army needs to be expanded to more than 390,000, and the expenditures on purchasing equipment and personnel are not small at all, so our army believes that an annual increase of 100 million lire is a very realistic figure."
Simeone's words shocked everyone present. This man must have a great appetite. He asked for 100 million lire as soon as he opened his mouth, and he was not afraid of the wind blowing his tongue.
Simeone's words also frightened Aldini. Although the revenue of the Ministry of Finance has increased a lot, the army's appetite is too big. How can it be accepted?
"No, the Ministry of Finance can't come up with 100 million lire. The maximum is 60 million lire. Any more will be gone."
"Our army has owed too much debt before, and it can't cope with less funding."
"There are only 60 million lire. It is impossible to increase it for you."
"Sixty million is simply not enough, we..."
"Only sixty million liras..."
"Our army..."
"Sixty million..."
After a heated exchange of words, Simeone, on behalf of the army, had to accept the condition when the finance minister offered him 60 million lire.
Well, the Italian Army has finally come to an end!
