The tense situation in Europe gradually revealed the dawn of peace after the call for peace from the British Empire.
First of all, France, which had been stubbornly insistent, began to relent, saying that the suggestion of German Prime Minister Holweg was not unacceptable.
In the face of the goodwill expressed by France, Germany said that Germany did not necessarily want Morocco's interests and could also exchange them with other aspects.
Well, if the two countries involved in the dispute are willing to take a step back, it will be a good thing for Europe as a whole. Then things will be simple. Both parties announced that they will stop military mobilization and will resolve the dispute in a peaceful way. Since
Even the two countries involved were at peace, and the other countries had no reason to continue mobilizing. So everyone acted as if nothing had happened and announced the order to cancel mobilization.
For a time, there was smoke over Europe, and the world entered a stage of peace again.
However, not everyone is willing to see this peace, and some people are very dissatisfied with it.
"Is William not clear-headed? Why did it end like this? Isn't this reminding the other party to be wary of our strength? What are those senior military and political officials in Germany doing? Isn't this the best time?"
In the palace of Rome, Carlo, as a monarch, watched the telegram of the peace talks between Germany and France and could only vent his helpless rage.
Yes, Italy has its own little thoughts regarding this Moroccan crisis.
It is said that at the beginning of this crisis, Carlo actually did not pay attention to it because he did not know enough about it. He thought it was just a small dispute and nothing.
However, as the two sides competed with each other and refused to give in, Carlo was surprised to find that compared with the three countries of the Alliance camp, Germany, Austria and Italy, the three countries of the Entente camp were insufficiently prepared for war.
That's right, it's just a lack of preparation.
Take Russia as an example. According to regulations, its army should prepare one thousand rounds of ammunition for each artillery, but in fact it only has a reserve of more than 600 rounds. In addition, according to the regulations of the army, the new rifles in the army should have been replaced long ago, but the reality is that
The Russian Army still has a lot of Berdan 2 rifles.
The reason for this is on the one hand funding issues and on the other hand corruption in the military.
Moreover, this year, Russia has only emerged from the financial quagmire of the Russo-Japanese War. The Russians are unwilling to prepare for another war immediately.
As for the British Empire, to be honest, many people and countries are intimidated by its name. From a fair point of view, the British Empire's war preparations are not as good as Russia's. Of course, this refers to the army.
Let’s not talk about the navy. Although the two-power standard is no longer implemented, in fact it now implements the German and Italian standards. That is, the strength of the British Empire’s navy must be stronger than the combined navies of Germany and Italy. Well, this goal is now
It seems to be executed quite effectively.
But relying on the navy alone cannot do it. You must know that the battleships cannot reach the shore. France alone is unable to resist the joint efforts of Germany and Italy.
Therefore, in order to make up for the lack of French army strength, the British army must also step up.
According to estimates by the Italian General Staff, if a war breaks out now, Germany, Italy and Austria will mobilize about 2.6 million troops within three months, while Britain, France and Russia will only be able to mobilize about 2.2 million troops. In addition,
On the most important western front, Germany and Italy will face the British and French troops of about 1.2 million, while Germany and Italy will have an army of more than 1.7 million, giving them an absolute strategic advantage.
Since we have such a huge advantage, why not just take advantage of this opportunity to go to war directly, but instead pursue interests far away in Africa? Isn't this the end of the world?
But Carlo had no way to decide William's attitude, and although Italy's strength had increased a lot compared with history, Germany was currently the core of the Triple Alliance, and this could not be changed.
"Your Majesty, a secret message from London."
The appearance of the captain of the guard broke Carlo's scolding behavior.
But when he received the secret message, his expression suddenly brightened.
"Very good. As expected of a gentleman of the British Empire, you responded so quickly. Call all the important ministers for a meeting. We are in trouble."
Carlo looked at the telegram with a hint of sarcasm on his lips.
According to this telegram, the British Parliament has just approved an appropriation for the construction of six new large warships and 12 small and medium-sized warships. The amount of the appropriation has reached 16 million pounds.
It is obvious that Britain feels that its naval strength is insufficient and needs to supplement its strength. These six large warships and twelve small and medium-sized warships are just the first step.
As a world-widely wealthy British Empire, its wealth was not comparable to that of Germany and Italy. However, since the British took action, Carlo had to respond.
…
Carlo's summons made all the important ministers rush over. Within an hour, all the ministers had arrived.
No one had a clue about the king's sudden summons of big guys. Only Foreign Minister Bacona had a little guess, but how could such a guess be explained, so even after many probing conversations, nothing was left.
tone of voice.
"Everyone, His Majesty the Kingdom has arrived."
Following the announcement from the captain of the guard, the ministers present immediately prepared to welcome the king's arrival.
"Good day, everyone."
"Good day, Your Majesty."
After Carlo sat down, he immediately started talking. "I have called you all here this time because there is a problem that needs to be solved together."
With that said, the captain of the guard present took the telegram, which had been copied many times, and sent it to everyone present.
Looking at the telegram in front of them, many of the ministers present looked unhappy because they already knew why His Majesty had summoned everyone.
"Your Majesty, since the British are planning to build six large warships at once, we in Italy must also follow suit. Otherwise, our country's interests in the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Southeast Asia will not be protected."
The first person to speak was Admiral Yagier, the Minister of the Navy. Why he spoke first is a matter of opinion. And the reason is very good, to protect Italy's maritime interests.
However, his plan to set the tone of the meeting was doomed to fail. Finance Minister Aldini said, "The additional warships built by the UK may not necessarily be used in the Mediterranean. I think we should give priority to informing our allies of this news. Then we will decide
Should we also add additional battleship construction tasks?"
Aldini's words gave other ministers present an idea. They also made suggestions and made a lot of suggestions, but none of them agreed with the Admiralty. It was obvious that they were planning to use a procrastination trick.
Regarding the situation at hand, how could Carlo, who has been in power for so many years, not know about it? If it were any other time, it would not matter if it was delayed. After all, the attitude of the government needs to be considered.
But now, there is not much time left for him to prepare, so he is no longer in the mood to delay.
"The suggestions put forward by Admiral Yagir are very good and I think they are worth considering."
Carlo's words caused the scene to fall into silence, and a trace of surprise flashed in the eyes of many ministers present.
Carlo ignored the surprise of the ministers present and saw him directly naming them. "Aldini, I remember that the Ministry of Finance still has a sum of 80 million that has not been used, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, this is a reserve fund prepared for emergencies."
Faced with Carlo's call, Aldini felt a little uncomfortable.
Sure enough, what he said next confirmed his thoughts.
"These 80 million lire are allocated to the Navy as the first payment for the construction of four new large warships. Then Borneo will also allocate a sum of 30 million lire to the navy."
Carlo's words surprised all the ministers present. It was really rare for the king to intervene directly, and now they saw it. Many people had some bad suspicions, but no one dared to say it.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Now that the king's words have reached this point, Aldini, as the finance minister, can say nothing more and can only agree.
Of course, the most surprised person among them was Admiral Yagir. In his opinion, being able to get the money for two large warships from the government was considered a huge victory. Now that the king directly went out and took the money for four warships, why?
It looks like I'm making money. But why do I feel like I'm not making a solid profit? I always feel a little guilty and rush.
The next meeting was much more normal. In addition to the shipbuilding appropriation, the meeting also discussed issues such as taxation, water conservancy, and transportation facilities.
However, everyone present knows that the most important matter of this meeting has been decided by His Majesty. So many people are a little uneasy.
The meeting ended after more than two hours. All the ministers present packed their things and prepared to leave. At this time, Admiral Yagir did the same.
"Admiral Yagir, wait a moment."
Admiral Yagir, who was stopped by the king, could only wait.
