My Italy

"This is very good and will be of great help to the army."

Putting down the plan in his hand, Carlo praised General Simeone in front of him.

Carlo's words made the Chief of General Staff finally let go.

After all, this is his first move after taking office as Chief of General Staff. If it ends before it even begins, wouldn't it be a huge loss of face? Although this possibility is very low, it is not 100% certain, and it is inevitable to be worried.

"Then His Majesty also agrees with this plan?"

Facing Simone's question, Carlo nodded and answered. "This plan is already very good, so why should I oppose it."

To say that Carlo did not care about the Army would be an injustice to him. Even when the Army was dominated by several military leaders, Carlo never stopped paying attention to the Army. Although the Italian Army performed well before, as long as you take a closer look at its opponents, you will know that the Italian Army is not as strong as it appears. The relatively primitive Ethiopian army attacked with heavy troops. As for fighting the sick man of the Near East, it would be too much if we don't involve little Prussia in the Balkans.

It can be said that it is the victories that cover up the various problems of the Army. It also causes outsiders to have a certain bias in their estimation of Italy's strength.

Now seeing the new number one and two figures in the military launching reforms to address the Army's problems, how could Carlo refuse?

Besides, although Simeone's non-commissioned officer reform seems a bit crude and cannot be compared with the later German Army of 100,000, it is still ahead of its time in this era. Of course, as the king, Carlo still wanted to know the chief of general staff's plan for the non-commissioned officers.

"Simone, what do you think of the development of non-commissioned officers?"

Faced with Carlo's inquiry, Simone pondered for a while and then spoke. "With the development of the non-commissioned officer class, I think that with the advancement of science and technology, the requirements for military technical personnel are getting higher and higher, and the non-commissioned officer class will definitely become popular. As for now, non-commissioned officers play more of a helper role for officers, but other The role cannot be underestimated either.”

Having said this, Simeone decided to talk about the stubborn problems in the army. "Your Majesty must also know that the current sources of officers in the army mainly come from military academies, and graduates of military academies are generally awarded the rank of lieutenant. After three to six months of internship in the army, they will become the chief and deputy chief officers of a company. "

Carlo also knew what Simeone said, and he didn't feel anything was wrong with it. "I know this is the case. The armies of all countries are basically like this. Is there any problem?"

"That's not a problem, but the number of graduating military cadets is a problem."

Carlo frowned when he heard this. "what happened?"

"It's like this. Although there are more than 400 military academy graduates every year, only about 300 enter the military..."

In Simone's narration, Carlo finally knew some secrets that were unknown to outsiders. Every year, 15% to 25% of military academy graduates will not enter the military at all. These graduates who do not enter the military will be awarded the rank of reserve lieutenant and then placed in the reserves.

This doesn't seem like much on the surface. It exists in every country, but Italy is higher. But the situation in Italy is different.

These reserve officers are basically nobles. After retaining their status as reserve officers, they continue to be busy with the affairs of their respective families. The ranks of their reserve officers will continue to be promoted as time goes by. More importantly, these reserve officers are promoted very quickly, basically reaching one level at a rate of three or four years.

Moreover, after being promoted to school-level officers, many noble officers will be recruited by the army and rejoin the army to become division-level officers.

You see, while other officers who graduated from school were struggling in the army, the aristocratic officer who found a new way completed his promotion at a very fast speed while drinking coffee and chatting at home.

Hearing this, Carlo's face didn't look good. No wonder the Army's combat effectiveness has always been poor. He always thought this was due to the army's chaotic material management, serious corruption, and obvious equipment gaps. It turns out that there is still such a situation of taking the fast track.

This will also dampen the enthusiasm of those officers who work hard to fight as civilians in the military. After all, this kind of thing is very damaging to confidence.

But even though he already knew it, the solution couldn't be solved in just one sentence. After all, the nobles have their own basic base. Although this basic base has begun to deteriorate, it cannot be abandoned because of this.

Thinking of this, Carlo said. "I know about this, please don't say anything about it for now. I'll solve this problem when I'm ready."

Carlo's words made Simeone sigh inwardly. In fact, he regretted it as soon as he said it. He knew that there must be a large group of nobles with vested interests behind this kind of thing. If he raised this issue himself, wouldn't this embarrass the king?

Carlo's answer showed that he was an enlightened monarch and would not let go of such harm to the army.

"So are there any problems in the army?"

After hearing about such shortcuts in the Army, Carlo wanted to get more information from Simeone.

"That's all I know, other situations can be handled."

To be able to ask one question like this is already considered very courageous for Simeone. If he asked a few more questions, where would Simeone's courage come from?

After seeing that Simeone stopped talking, Carlo did not force him.

"In this case, you should implement the sergeant's plan first. I am very optimistic about your plan. It will definitely become the key to the army's combat effectiveness."

After sending Simone away, Carlo sat in the office and pondered.

As a result of this situation, Carlo also knew that this was the reason why the binding force of the nobles was somewhat low. As for the root cause, the unification of Italy was too smooth and the kingdoms were not properly cleaned up at all. The remaining poison has been affecting the development of Italy.

However, knowing the cause does not mean that a solution will be immediately available. Dealing with aristocratic issues was a great test of Carlo's political skills.

To use a common saying, this is like tofu falling into the ashes, unable to be beaten or blown.

But even so, Carlo wanted to give it a try. After all, these nobles had a huge impact on the development of the country.

Thinking of this, Carlo picked up the phone.

"Call the captain of the guard, I have something to talk to him about."

After putting down the phone, Carlo naturally thought that since the Army had this situation, would the Navy also have it?

But after some thinking, Carlo put this worry behind him.

The navy is a technical service. In this era of rapid technological advancement, if we don't work hard, we will fall behind. There will be no loopholes for such reserve officers to exploit. The navy does not have a big problem in this regard.