When Howard was prospering in the Far East, Carlo, as the man behind the scenes, was not very satisfied with his life.
Because he found that it was too difficult to push Italy to make small moves against France, and the mature officials were simply unwilling to do so. Even the young officials on his side, many were worried about this and were deeply afraid that it would happen.
This led to French retaliation. The Army did not take a position for some unknown reason, which made Carlo extremely helpless.
Have all the blood of Italians been exhausted by the Roman Empire?
But there is good news, that is, among lower-level officials, there are many people who support taking measures against France. However, these people cannot affect the political situation at all. If the two sides are evenly matched, they can still play a role. But in the current situation,
It's hard for them to work.
"These people are really difficult to deal with."
Carlo, who had just talked with Speaker Leslie, sat down on the sofa and complained about the government's problems.
"Your Majesty, I think this matter cannot be rushed and requires patience."
Baron Felicius, who had just seen off the Speaker, saw the somewhat depressed king and immediately stepped forward to comfort him.
Facing the persuasion of the captain of the guard, Carlo raised his head and explained. "Patience is not suitable for the current situation. This is a decisive battle for me. I can't lose. Do you understand?"
It is obvious that Carlo is a little impatient now, but it is not his fault. Although he is only in his teens on the outside, he is a thirty-year-old soul on the inside. He has tasted the taste of power and of course he is not willing to lose it like this. In addition, for those who are familiar with history
For Carlo, the power in Italy should be controlled by himself. After all, such a weird thing happened to him, so he has a certain degree of arrogance. Even though he is inexperienced and his methods are not as good as those old foxes, he knows the history.
Direction, can they know this?
"No matter what this time, I will push Italy to participate in the Far East."
Seeing Carlo gritting his teeth to express his attitude, Filimic made a suggestion at this time. "Your Majesty, maybe you can ask Mr. Alejard about this matter."
Ask the palace steward?
Carlo looked at his captain of the guard in confusion.
"Your Majesty, His Excellency Alejandr has served the royal family for more than 40 years and is also acquainted with Prime Minister Cavour."
The captain of the guard stopped talking at this point, but Carlo understood.
It seems that this old man, who is usually quiet, has so much experience before.
Since the captain of the guard made it clear, Carlo would certainly listen.
Carlo appeared in front of him in the afternoon when the palace steward was resting.
"I didn't expect your residence to be so frugal."
Carlo was amazed by the palace steward's residence in the palace. A wicker chair, a small table, a standing wardrobe, and a single bed were the layout of the palace steward's residence.
Regarding Carlo's visit, Alejard stood up and showed slight respect, then said the reason. "It's nothing. It's just a habit I've had for many years. When you get older, you don't want to change it."
Looking at the frail old man in front of him, Carlo didn't know what to say, so he had to talk about the information he had learned. "I only heard about the manager's past experience from others, which is really surprising."
"Your Majesty, the captain of the guard must have told you this."
Faced with Carlo's words, Alejard did not deny it, but directly told the source of his information.
"Yes, if the captain of the guard hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that the steward had such a great reputation."
Carlo also did not deny it.
"This Felicity Mickey is really causing trouble for me."
After muttering something, the old man raised his head and looked at Carlo. "I don't know, Your Majesty, what do you want from me?"
Facing the old man's inquiry, Carlo immediately told all the problems he encountered.
"Hmm...that's it."
After listening to Carlo's story, Alejard raised his own question. "Why would His Majesty be so serious about intervening in France's plans in the Far East? There is a high chance of failure in doing so."
Facing the old man's question, Carlo replied seriously, "It's for the market."
"market?"
"Yes, Italy is currently facing a very unfavorable situation. Domestic industrial products are becoming more and more sluggish due to competition from Germany. If we don't find a solution, it will get worse and worse. By then, Italy's industrialization will most likely regress. So we are looking for a market for it.
It is urgent, and currently the only market that can accept and accommodate Italian industrial products is the Far East market. However, this market is greatly affected by its government, and we must gain its favor..."
"So your solution is to help France when it's fighting?"
Before Alejard could finish speaking, the old man said it directly.
"That's right."
Carlo didn't deny it at all.
Director Alejard asked another question. "Then have you ever thought about France's reaction after discovering our behavior?"
"I have thought about it and I have a solution." Faced with the inquiry, Carlo was quite confident. "If France threatens war, then we will just reveal the Three Kingdoms Military Alliance."
Faced with Carlo's answer, Alejard did not give a reply, but continued to ask. "What if they use tariffs and trade as a means?"
"If this is the case, then we do not have no means of counterattack, but I believe that the French are not necessarily willing to accept such a lose-lose result. Of course, if the French are stubborn, then opening up other markets can also help us overcome the difficulties. The key is the Italian industry.
There must be a way out for products, otherwise industrialization will be impossible.”
Carlo certainly knows that Italy's current exports to France are mainly various agricultural products and wine, which can allow Italian farmers to make huge profits, but for the sake of industrialization, there must be trade-offs. Of course, this is the worst case scenario, and Carlo
Lowe doesn't think this will happen.
Obviously Alejard thought it would not be the case, so he then said with satisfaction. "Now that His Majesty has gained confidence, then I, an old man like me, will give my last effort for Your Majesty."
Carlo, who got a happy result from the old man, chatted for a few more words and left.
After Carlo left, Alejard picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, is this Balke?"
"it's me."
"Yes, I would like to buy you a cup of coffee."
"Let's meet at the same place then. It's been a long time since I tasted Rooney's craftsmanship. I don't know if it's gone backwards."
After putting down the phone, Alejard changed into dark clothes and put on a hat and went out.
There is a coffee shop called Rooney's at the corner of Bonnier Street in Rome. This coffee shop has been around for some years. The neighbors who live here know this, and the old Rooney is a very good person, so everyone likes to drink coffee here.
.
Today, an old carriage stopped in front of the coffee shop, and a gray-haired old man stepped out of the carriage.
Seeing the customer coming, Rooney, the shop owner, immediately came up to him. However, looking at the visitor, the old shop owner was a little curious. "Who are you?"
"Rooney, you can't even recognize me?"
"You are Mr. Alejard. I really didn't recognize you. We haven't seen each other for almost twenty years. Are you okay?"
"Not bad, working as a housekeeper in a wealthy family."
The old shopkeeper wiped his hands and quickly gave guidance. "Quick, please come inside, please come inside."
"Give me a quiet place, I'll talk to someone later."
"no problem."
Alejard was led to a corner seat by the window. It was not only quiet and unobtrusive, but also could see the outside. It was indeed a good location.
"Rooney, how have you been these past few years?"
"Thanks to your Excellency, life is not bad. I even have grandchildren now."
"That's good, that's good."
Speaking of which, Rooney would also like to thank Alejard. At that time, his coffee shop was spotted by someone and he used various methods to force him to resell it. Fortunately, Alejard, who was a customer at the time, stood up and stopped all this. So Rooney Sr.
I have always regarded him as a lifesaver.
Now that the benefactor whom he has not seen for more than 20 years has appeared, Old Rooney must use all his skills to satisfy him.
So after chatting for a while, Old Rooney resigned. He needed to go to the kitchen to prepare it himself.
Alejard didn't have to wait long before an old man with the same white hair appeared in front of him.
"Alejard, if you are not retiring in the palace, why do you have time to invite me to drink coffee?"
As soon as the old man sat down, his mouth broke.
"Balk, if it weren't for your mouth, you would be sitting in the position of Minister of War."
Alejard didn't say anything, but he immediately raised his voice when he mentioned the old man. "You think I'm willing to say that they are all a bunch of incompetent guys. If I don't scold them, they have no idea what they are doing.
"
This grumpy old man's full name is Boras Balck, and he has a very high prestige in the military. If he hadn't been foul-mouthed, he would have been able to take over as Army Chief of General Staff or Army Minister. But unfortunately, this man is a troll.
Although everything he said was well-founded, he still offended a lot of people, so he couldn't take these two seats.
"Okay, I won't talk about your business anymore. I want to ask you this time, isn't your Army a hawk? Why don't you support His Majesty's plan?"
As soon as Alejard mentioned it, Balk immediately patted his thigh and said, "I know this."
Later, Balk explained the reason in detail to Alejard. It turned out that the reason why the military did not express its position was mainly due to the issue of high-level military officials. They had concerns about Carlo taking over the red shirts, so they were not very willing to take part in this matter.
Give support.
After hearing Balk's story, Alejard said with some laughter and tears. "Isn't Garibaldi dead? Are you still worried about the Red Shirts?"
Alejard knew very well about the grudge between Garibaldi and the army that a book could be written about it. But it is a bit incredible that the army is still in disgrace when all the people are gone.
Faced with Alejard's incredible expression, Balk's expression did not change. "Of course we know that Garibaldi is dead, but some of the changes in the king have worried many people. They hope to limit the red shirts."
Within a range.”
After hearing Balk's words, Alejard's expression became serious. After taking a sip of coffee, he said, "So how big is the scope of the restriction?"
"It's best to limit it to the Third Guards Regiment."
After hearing the conditions proposed by Balk, Alejard stood up immediately, and then stared at Balk. "This cannot be accepted. The conditions are a bit too much. They should not interfere with the Guards' affairs. This is
You should know."
Balk, who suffered the unreasonable disaster, said with a wry smile. "I also know that this request is a bit excessive, but I am just a messenger."
"You should stand up and express your opinions."
Having said this, Alejard glanced at Balk meaningfully and said, "You must know that you are the army of the Kingdom, and your Majesty will eventually grow up."
Balk, who was a little embarrassed by Alejard's look, his expression stagnated, nodded and said. "I think it is enough to limit the scope to the Guards. Of course, the size of the Guards cannot exceed 10,000 people, otherwise many people will
uneasy."
"I will report this condition to His Majesty, but based on my understanding of His Majesty, he will seriously consider it."
After saying that, Alejard didn't even drink the coffee, immediately got on the carriage and left.
Rooney, who came out with two cups of carefully brewed coffee, looked at the empty table with a surprised expression.
That evening, Carlo agreed to the Army's request and limited the Red Shirt Army to the Guards only, and limited its size to no more than 10,000.
After Carlo nodded in agreement, the Army also joined the camp supporting Carlo's proposal, and a pattern of military support and government opposition was formed.
This forced Prime Minister Despretis to face up to this trend. You must know that the government is not monolithic, and some people agree with Carlo's proposal.
