My Italy

The weather in Rome at the end of December was pleasant, but for General Saraguet, the 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 his own department damaged, especially General Saraguet, who is the Minister of War. For this reason, Admiral Saraget felt that he and the Minister of the Navy were weak, so he recruited several other admirals.

"Today's meeting is very serious for us in the Army and we cannot allow the government's intentions to be achieved."

Taking advantage of the brief moment before the meeting began, Admiral Saraget called everyone together to cheer up.

"Don't worry, it's no problem."

"The army has only shed blood in the Balkans. People in these governments want to burn down bridges. Our 400,000-strong army will never agree."

The answers from others satisfied General Saragat. As long as the army is united, it will not be difficult to reduce the army's funding.

Admiral Saraget saw with sharp eyes that the Chief of General Staff was not in good spirits, so he asked with concern. "Cardolna, 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 a concerned question. "Then you should pay more attention to rest and don't get too tired."

"I'll pay attention."

While several army generals were chatting, a staff member arrived. "Generals, the meeting is about to begin."

"Then let's go in."

Led by General Saraget, several generals walked into the venue with high spirits. Entering the venue, they saw that Admiral Golek, the Minister of the Navy, had already arrived, and the Prime Minister, representing the government, and a group of people were sitting on the other side of the long table chatting about something.

Several generals naturally sat at the table, waiting for the meeting to begin.

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 stood up immediately. "Your Majesty, colleagues, before I announce the fiscal budget for the new year, as usual, I would like to talk about the fiscal revenue and expenditure for 2091."

"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 seemed to be 147 million lire higher than the historical figure of 1.642 billion lire. But the Italian lira is much stronger now than it has been historically. The current exchange rate between the Italian lira and the pound is approximately 25=1.

You need to 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 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. This 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 budget is 1.49 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, our country's national debt will further expand. There is also a risk of bankruptcy.”

As the Finance Minister's words fell, it seemed like a battle horn sounded.

As Home Secretary, Sabot took the lead. "Your Excellency Tejela is right. The total financial budget for next year is indeed too high. I think there are some unnecessary expenses that need to be reduced. The war is now over, and the army still maintains a size of more than 400,000. This is It is not necessary to retain such a huge scale and drag down government expenditure."

The Home Secretary targeted the Army as soon as he opened his mouth. General Saraguet couldn't bear it and he retorted directly.

"It is simply impossible for our army to accept the decision to reduce its size. 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. 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 50,000 necessary garrison forces in East Africa and Southeast Asia. This scale is just enough. Basic defense needs cannot be reduced at all."

After General Saraguet's explanation, it was obvious that he thought 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 people, its main target is Germany. There are less than 100,000 people on our border. Considering the harsh terrain on the border between the two countries, I think the defense is more important than France. The border troop strength should not exceed 80,000."

The 80,000 troops Bacona mentioned were actually more than enough for defense. According to the Italian Army's own estimates, if a positional defense posture is adopted, 80,000 Italian troops are enough to take advantage of the terrain and permanent position fortifications to block twice the enemy's offensive. In the same way, if Italy attacks, France can also block twice the Italian army.

"In addition, the domestic garrison strength is only 30,000. According to the friendly agreement reached by our country on the Austria-Hungary border, the two countries will deploy no more than 10,000 troops on the border."

Admiral Saraguet cried out as soon as he heard about the agreement with Austria-Hungary. "Why didn't our Army receive the message?"

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 been eliminated are still lingering. There is no need to leave too many troops to gradually reduce the troops to 40,000. Although North Africa is still in the process of suppression, but North Africa's vast territory and sparse population require mainly cavalry. 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, and there is no need for 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.

Admiral Saraget's eyes darkened when he heard this, and he immediately counterattacked. "You are talking about 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 pointed out unceremoniously. "But the current situation is that the government cannot afford to support so many troops. The current cost of more than 500 million for the navy and army has accounted for more than a quarter of the government's total budget, which is a drag on the finances."

As the voices of the two gradually rose, there was already a hint of gunpowder in the air. Naturally, other participants would not be confused at this time and immediately joined in. One side accused the military budget of being too high, and the other side refuted that the government was making unreasonable troubles.

The atmosphere at the scene became agitated 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.

Oops, the chapter name is wrong, this is chapter 282