"General Cadorna, how sure do you think the Germans will be to capture Paris this time?" Joliti was silent for a moment, then asked the army commander beside him.

"Your Excellency, the Germans have amassed an unprecedented force in Paris this time, and their striking might has been justified in the offensive of the past few days. I could not imagine that the French army, having lost much of its industrial base in the north-east and having suffered heavy losses in previous battles, would be able to hold off the Germans with all their might under the city of Paris. ”

With a solemn face, Cadore replied in an affirmative tone: "Take a step back, even if the French have God's favor and hold the capital's defense line under the onslaught of the German army; This is also an unprecedented opportunity for us, the Kingdom of Italy. In order to withstand the German offensive, the French had concentrated all their main forces on the frontal battlefield near Paris. At present, the French army has only four and a half divisions deployed on the border with us, and all of them are second-line troops composed of fortress garrisons and reservists; In the colonies of Tunisia, Algeria and French West Africa, the French were left with only a few militia police and local indigenous forces, and their military strength was unprecedentedly weakened! The active army of the Kingdom of Great Italy has 20 regular divisions, and after mobilization, it can be increased to more than 35 divisions. Once the kingdom declares war on France, our army will easily sweep through the southeastern hinterland of France, and in a short time take all of French West Africa; Even if it is to occupy Egypt and control the Suez Canal, it is entirely possible for our army to do it with the cooperation of the Turks! At that time, the entire Mediterranean Sea will become the inner lake of the kingdom, the unfinished business of Julius Caesar. It will be done in the hands of our generation! "At the end of the day. Cadore's face also showed a look of excitement and anticipation.

"If we use troops against Austria-Hungary. The same effect should be achieved, right? Jollietti asked.

Kadorna nodded: "Austria-Hungary has 2 regular divisions and 3 reserve divisions deployed in the foothills of the Alps, and a total of about one brigade of tribal archer troops (PS: Historically, these villages and towns were the main force of Austria-Hungary to resist the Italian invasion...... Although the overall strength was slightly stronger than that of the French army on the Italian-French border, it was also powerless to resist the kingdom's army. However, if we make this choice, we will not only fail to seize our precious overseas colonies, but we will also invite an army of revenge from the Germans by declaring war on Austria-Hungary. At present, the Germans are fighting on two fronts. However, they had the advantage on all fronts, but they were able to easily draw a force of 6 to 8 divisions to open up a third southern front. Combined with the arrival of Austria-Hungary troops, our prospects for war on land would be far less favourable than the declaration of war on France. ”

Hearing these words, Giolitti's sharp gaze, which had been repeatedly circulating on the map, finally slowly retracted, and his eyes became calm and clear again. He took a sip of the bright red iced drink in his hand, and said to the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Paul? Vice Admiral Leffel said: "What about the fleet, can the Royal Italian Navy defeat the British and French Mediterranean fleets?" ”

"It's a pity, Mr. Giovanni. It was difficult for the Italian Navy to accomplish this task alone. Seeing the look of consternation on the Prime Minister's face, Leifer felt embarrassed. I can only continue to explain, "Due to the construction period, none of the three Da Vinci-class super-dreadnoughts we started between 1910 and 1911 were completed; Even the Da Vinci, which has the fastest construction period, is conservatively estimated to have to wait until the second half of next year before it can barely join the Navy's combat sequence. At present, the Royal Italian Navy has only one Dante-class and two Count Cavour-class battleships, of which two Cavour-class battleships have just been completed for just over a month, and it will take 5 to 6 months to debug and train both personnel and equipment. ”

Lefeel paused, then continued: "In other words, the only first-class capital ship that we can really use at the moment is the Dante; The Austrians had 4 fully combat-ready dreadnoughts, and the French had as many as 6. Now we can defeat only the British Mediterranean Fleet stationed in Alexandria. Even with the help of the Austrians and Turks, it will be difficult for us to fully grasp the sea dominance in the Mediterranean. And if we can't control the seas, we won't be able to send troops to the African colonies. ”

"Four months to wait? This is absolutely not a no-go. By that time, Paris would have long been broken by the Germans, and there was a good chance that the French would surrender on their knees; Where can Italy, which is still a neutral country, claim territory and wealth to France? We must get on the last chariot of the Germans and restore the Roman Empire to its former glory! "Even if the navy can't control the Mediterranean, the army's sword will be enough to pierce the weak French defenses on the border, and then ramp up the hinterland of their homeland!" By the time the French surrendered, their colonies would naturally be incorporated into the territory of the Kingdom of Italy. ”

Neither did Lyfe speak, but looked at the head of Jolliti; For a while, the eyes of the three of them were focused on the Italian emperor.

"Although the kingdom is the lowest among the European powers, and the objective material and national consciousness are far from being ready for a war, the time has come for my kingdom of Italy to join in this war, as General Cadorna said." Giolitti said in a calm tone, but what was revealed in his words was rare rigor and resoluteness, "France is about to be defeated, and the Russian steamrollers are also bleeding in front of the German army; Even the dying Ottoman Empire dared to pull out the dagger in the hands of the Entente, and Serbia, Greece, and Japan, the quasi-allies of the Entente bloc, did not dare to join the war so far. In this case, we really have nothing to hesitate about. ”

Kadolna was overjoyed when he heard this. Although the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Leyfer, had some regret in his heart, he still chose to accept the Prime Minister's decision. For France and Italy, two countries directly bordering on land, the importance of victory or defeat on land is obviously much higher than the success or failure of naval warfare; As long as the army can take advantage of the weakness and cooperate with the German army in front of the army to fight France to surrender on its knees, then the overall situation can be settled. Even in the subsequent armistice negotiations, the navy was able to obtain some cutting-edge French warships because of the victory in the overall war.

Although the current French Navy has long since lost the domineering spirit that it was able to fearless and straightforward in the face of the British Navy, its fourth strength in the world can still throw off several streets in Italy. The French Danton-class and Guba-class battleships were coveted by the Italian Navy. Compared to spending a lot of effort to fight to the death with these warships, and to receive them unscathed with the attitude of a victor, it is obviously the perfect result that every navy person dreams of!

"Your Excellency, are you ready to present a declaration of war to the King and the Parliament?" Seeing that the two direct controllers of the army and navy had no objections, Foreign Minister Song Niluo's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but ask.

Joliti shook her head slowly, "It's too hasty to declare war immediately. Although the Kingdom of Italy did not have as much territory as the other continental powers, it would take a long time for the army to be mobilized. Now that we are determined to go to war, we should prepare as much as we can for war in advance so that we can get as many results as possible after the war is declared! Tomorrow in the National Parliament, I will lead the Cabinet in a speech to proclaim the benefits of joining the European War to the idiot MPs of all factions, and gradually unify the views of the various factions of the National Assembly on the question of joining the European War. During this time, the army and navy worked hard to replenish their combat readiness, just waiting for His Majesty the King to issue the final declaration of war on the balcony of the palace! "Cadore and Lefell should claim to be.

"In the past month, Berlin and Vienna must have sent us countless diplomatic orders urging us to enter the war, right?" Giolitti turned his gaze back to the Foreign Secretary and asked.

Song Nilo nodded: "Not only the Allies, but also London and Paris have frequently sent us letters, hoping that we can join their side in the battle against Germany and Austria. Because of the left-right swing strategy that we have been pursuing, we have been promised quite generously by both warring camps. The French promised to give us access to Trieste, Pola, Rijeka, and Dalmatia on the Adriatic coast after the war, and to fully recover the territories occupied by Austria-Hungary, and the British even expressed their willingness to support our colonization of Ethiopia. Germany and Austria, on the other hand, promised that after the victory of the war, Italy would make territorial claims to the Côte d'Azur and Provence departments in southeastern France, and promised that Morocco would become a protectorate of Italy. ”

Joliti gently stroked her white goatee and smiled, "Very good." Then you will call Berlin and say that the Kingdom of Italy is about to declare war on France in the coming days, but that it is desperately short of supplies and finances, and that this will seriously delay our declaration of war. Ask them, therefore, to provide us with an immediate free loan of £5,000,000 within five days to support our allies' war causes. At the same time, you sent another telegram to Vienna, asking them to grant me a loan of £3,000,000 from the Kingdom of Italy for the same reason. The funds will be used entirely to fill the budget funding gap for the four newest Caracciolo-class superdreadnoughts. The blue of the Mediterranean should always belong only to the descendants of the great Romans! ”

A gleam flashed in Song Niluo's eyes, and then he bowed to Giolitti with convincing convincingness, and said respectfully, "Your Excellency is brilliant. At this point in time, neither Germany nor Austria-Hungary would have spared such wealth. (To be continued......)

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