My Italy

Negotiating with the Lord of the Navy was not all Carlo's work today, because he had other work to do.

This time in Italy's Far East, it was not just the navy's two-piece patrol that played a role, but the army also performed well. Although it mainly provided weapons and equipment, the Guards can also be regarded as an army unit, so of course the army also deserves credit.

However, in this Sino-French war, the Army did not send any combatants, so the credit was not great. Although the Guards were also part of the Army, given their particularity, they could not be fully included in the Army.

Of course, this cannot be said to say that the Army is not interested in the Sino-French War, but not many are interested. However, there is one weapon that has completely attracted the attention of the Army, and that is the Maxim machine gun.

This machine gun that shined at Zhennanguan is very popular with the Italian Army.

This was not the case for General Saraguet, the Minister of War, so he found Carlo for this purpose.

"Good day, Your Majesty."

"Hello, Your Excellency, General, do you have anything to do with your visit this time?"

Facing Carlo's inquiry, Admiral Saraget looked embarrassed, but finally made up his mind.

"Your Majesty, the main reason for coming here this time is to understand that Beretta Arms Company is an industry of the royal family."

Facing the question from the Minister of War, Carlo smiled and looked at the general in front of him.

"Not really. As far as I know, the company is still run by the Pietro family. The royal family only has a stake in it, which does not affect its ability to make decisions."

"oh."

After listening to Carlo's explanation, Admiral Saraget showed a look of disappointment on his face, which was then hidden by him.

Although the admiral concealed it very well, who Carlo was was immediately obvious to him.

"What's wrong, General, has Beretta Company done anything bad to the Army?"

Facing Carlo's inquiry, Admiral Saragate thought about it and felt that it was not something shameful, so he spoke out his purpose.

It turned out that the Army liked the Maxim machine guns that had made a big splash at Zhennanguan, so they wanted to buy a batch of them. However, after sending an inquiry to Beretta Company, I was shocked by its quotation. Its quotation was as high as 70,000 lire per gun, which made the army think that Beretta Company had issued an extra zero. You must know that it is a 57 mm infantry gun. The price is about the same.

This price was beyond the expectations of the Ministry of War. You must know that according to their understanding, the Maxim machine gun is a big consumer of bullets. It is enough ammunition for a company to fight a battle, but not enough for it to shoot for ten minutes.

Although Beretta's quotation surprised the Army Department, this weapon is so suitable for the current needs of the Army, so the Army can only bite the bullet and prepare to spend money to purchase a batch.

According to unknown information, Admiral Saraguet learned that the royal family had shares in Beretta Company, so with a try attitude, the admiral saw if he could let the royal family influence the company to lower the price.

But the words from Carlo's mouth made him know that it was all in vain.

This is not to blame for Beretta having set the price so high, because the production of Maxim machine guns is currently very difficult due to basic materials. In addition, in order to develop this machine gun, Beretta Arms Company has invested a lot of money. Coupled with the reward that should be given to Mr. Maxim, all factors have piled up. How can the cost of the Maxim machine gun not be high?

"By the way, how many Maxim machine guns does the Army plan to purchase?"

After listening to the admiral's story, Carlo couldn't help but ask.

"Originally, the Army planned to purchase 150 for border defense. However, due to its price, the Army could only purchase 80."

This is a big deal!

Carlo also had to praise General Saraget's words as far-sighted.

This is a purchase of nearly ten million lire. No wonder the Minister of War came to ask him.

Don't think that the more funds the Army has, the more funds it will spend on purchasing weapons. Compared with the Navy, the Army does not spend much money on procurement.

The current funding for the Italian Army is 221 million lire, and the navy is 117 million lire.

Although the Army's funding seems to be substantial, after deducting the salary allowances and training expenses of officers and soldiers, which account for the majority, less than half is left. After deducting support for the research and development of new weapons and construction costs in various places, the funds that can be used for weapons procurement are only 50 million. Just purchasing 80 Maxims and their ammunition will cost nearly 10 million Lira, this will naturally make General Saraguet, who is the Minister of War, embarrassed. But it's a pity that it loses face, and it still can't happen, which is a bit embarrassing.

Since the desired results were not obtained in Carlo, General Saraget left after chatting about the army for a while.

After Carlo sent the Minister of War away, he rubbed his slightly swollen temples and began to close his eyes to rest.

During this time, he clearly felt that the attitudes of the ministers towards him were different. Although he did not say anything, his intervention in the Sino-French war made them look at him with a hint of fear.

This is a good start. I believe that as long as I don't make serious mistakes, the Prime Minister will know how to choose when he becomes an adult.

Just as Carlo closed his eyes and thought, he suddenly smelled a hint of fragrance, and then felt a soft touch on the back of his head. A pair of slender hands covered his eyes, and a familiar voice sounded.

"Guess who I am?"

There is no need to guess, who else could it be besides Nia, who is growing brighter and more attractive. But judging from the size of the softness behind the head, it should be much larger.

"Nia, your question is really not difficult at all."

Carlo said, holding him in his lap with his backhand.

"Ah, Your Majesty, you are really becoming less and less humorous."

"Stop touching it all the time."

"I'm just trying out my results. It seems I still need to work hard."

Well, some distance has been broken between Carlo and the little maid. On a dark and windy night for a month, when he couldn't even see the mythical beast, Carlo transformed into a hungry wolf and swallowed Nia, a little white rabbit, skin and bones.

After eating this tender cabbage, Carlo felt refreshed. The little maid became more and more unique. The mixture of the innocence of a girl and the charm of a young woman made Carlo fascinated by it, and he almost couldn't pull it out.

Fortunately, Carlo was busy with work during this period, which allowed him to gradually leave the land of gentleness. But now that Wenrouxiang has come over, Carlo can no longer control himself. Fortunately, he knew that this was an office, and attendants might knock on the door at any time, but he couldn't work in this state.

Carlo took the little maid and walked towards his dormitory. His footsteps were so eager that anyone just wanted something to happen.

I'm thinking about when to write a side story, but I definitely can't do it now. Okay, I don’t have enough time today, so I can’t do two updates. Tomorrow, Steamed Buns will guarantee two updates. Please support me with some recommendation votes in advance, maybe there will be surprises.