My Italy

"Thank you very much, Ambassador Dagerty."

In his office, Carlo looked at the U.S. ship purchase contract and said thank you to the Foreign Secretary and Navy Minister Admiral Yagier in front of him.

Carlo said this from the bottom of his heart, because although the United States is very eager to buy warships this time, according to Carlo's idea, it would be good to have 48 million US dollars. Unexpectedly, Ambassador Dagety actually talked about US$52 million. This price was really unexpected.

Because selling warships is also very important to Italy, it is all money. Otherwise, the Garibaldi, which had just entered service, would not have been returned to the shipyard by the Navy on the grounds that its performance was not up to standard. Moreover, the first ship of the Genoa class, the Genoa, which was about to enter service, has also been postponed, which makes the navy officers and soldiers who are already familiar with the warship very depressed.

Ambassador Dagety, who was far away in New York, had no idea that the results of his negotiations would be praised by the king. Of course, in addition to his unremitting efforts, the eagerness of the Americans is the most important thing for this negotiation to achieve such outstanding results. But it doesn’t matter, you can’t take away this credit no matter what.

"This is all in the service of the kingdom, and I believe Ambassador Dagety also follows this principle."

As his superior, Bakona was polite to Ambassador Dageti. This time Ambassador Dageti's performance has given him a lot of face. When there is a suitable opportunity, this ambassador can be given more opportunities to perform.

"We cannot treat such heroes who have worked hard for the country badly, and must reward Ambassador Dagety well."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Seeing His Majesty chatting and laughing with the Foreign Minister made Admiral Yagir on the side a little anxious, because he heard a bad rumor, so in order to cut off the mess quickly, he decided to take a risk.

"Your Majesty, our navy has a lot to deal with this warship sale. We don't ask for anything else. We only hope that your majesty can incorporate the money from the sale of the warship into the five-year shipbuilding plan."

Yes, this price for selling warships is too tempting. It is higher than the total amount of the five-year shipbuilding plan. The entire navy has been eagerly awaiting it for a long time. Admiral Yagir heard the news that the government was also interested in the money, so he planned to determine the ownership of the money while there were few people.

However, Admiral Agil's idea of ​​​​cutting the knot quickly was shattered. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Bakona retorting.

"Admiral Yagier, although this money is used by the United States to purchase warships, it does not mean that it must be used for the Navy. The government's finances are currently very tight, so we believe that this money is allocated to the Navy to continue building three Genoa-class ships and After three Garibaldi-class ships, the remaining money should be used for other important things.”

Well, the foreign minister wanted to deprive him of the profit from the sale of the warship as soon as he opened his mouth. So how much money is there that makes government departments jealous of this money?

We know that the cost of three Genoa-class ships is 76.2 million lire, while the cost of three Garibaldi-class ships is as high as 103 million lire. The United States' purchase of the ship was 267 million lire (1 US dollar ≈ 5.13 lire), and the profit was 87.8 million lire. This money is not jealous of the government.

As for the Navy, this money accounts for 80% of its total annual budget. This money cannot be taken away by the government under any circumstances.

Seeing that the Foreign Minister proposed that the government should take over the profits, which was okay, General Yagir immediately refuted the opponent. "Our navy has been working very hard to protect the economic development of the people over the years. It is not easy for us to get some extra funds, but your government still comes to grab it."

"Your Excellency, General, this is not a question of whether to grab it or not, but the government is really short of money. As you saw last year's drought, the government was saddled with 800 million in debt. This money is very important to alleviate the government's financial pressure. important."

Bacona also said there are difficulties on the government's side.

"If the government is short of money, it can find a way to issue national debt to relieve the pressure, instead of trying to find a way from the navy. It is much easier to issue national debt than to steal our money."

It was rare for Admiral Yagir to be tough on government officials and directly compared the money to the difficulty of issuing national debt.

"Okay, you two, arguing won't solve the problem."

Seeing that the two ministers were red-necked for the money, Carlo quickly dissuaded them. "As for the use of this money, I think the two of you should not have such a dispute. Since this money is the proceeds from the sale of warships by the Navy, then this money should be used for the Navy. Moreover, the Navy has added fewer warships in recent years, which is not conducive to our territory. It’s safe, so the money should be given to the Navy.”

Although Bacona was still unwilling to give up, this money was really helpful to Italy's finances, but the king had already intervened, so he could only go back and tell his colleagues not to think about this money anymore.

After settling the ownership of the money, there was nothing left to talk about. The two ministers were also busy people, so they said goodbye.

"Admiral Yagir, wait a moment."

Admiral Yagir, who was stopped by Carlo alone, waited until the foreign minister left before speaking. "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"It's like this. I asked you before, how is the research and development of steam turbines going? You told me that you are researching it. And it has been almost five years, haven't you guys produced results yet?"

It is not a good thing for Carlo to keep Admiral Yagir, because there is no good news about the steam turbine that he has been thinking about so far, which makes Carlo a little anxious. Of the three major elements of a dreadnought, it lacks the speed represented by a steam turbine.

Yes, Carlo already wanted the Italian Navy to promote the construction of dreadnoughts. Large-caliber naval guns can rely on neighboring Germany and Austria, because the other party's research on heavy artillery is indeed good, and the three countries will not fall behind. As for other aspects, it has already been reflected on the Garibaldi level.

Otherwise, is the strongest armored patrol just a name? This is demonstrated by real results. Not to mention that its cost is more expensive than that of a battleship. It would be unjustifiable not to take one as the strongest.

"Your Majesty, if you don't tell me, I want to tell you that the steam turbine is almost successfully developed. According to the report of the Power Research Institute, most of the problems with the steam turbine have been solved, and it is expected that a usable steam turbine will be available next year."

Well, what Admiral Yagir said made Carlo don't know what to say. But since a specific time has been given, he can't say anything more.

“Hopefully we’ll see the steam turbines in regular use next year.”

"Definitely, definitely."

After Admiral Yagir walked out of the palace, his back was wet. Why did he forget this steam turbine? He hurriedly rushed down to the Power Research Institute, saying that there must be a real thing next year, otherwise the fun would be too much.