"What are you doing, how are you provoking the Abyssinians."

With Major General Barth's report on the loss of Adiquara in Eritrea, Carlo said something in his heart.

Of course, the report that Carlo read must have been Abyssinian's provocation to Italy, and the Italian army must have been loyal, but it was besieged by the Abyssinians a hundredfold, so it led to defeat.

Carlo took a cursory look at the report, and it was about the same as he thought.

Of course, what the actual situation is, it may have to be reversed, unless the Abyssinians are crazy and will deliberately provoke Italy.

However, Carlo will not say these thoughts, because the Minister of the Navy and Army is in front of him, and the other Prime Minister is also there, how can he dismantle the army at this time. As a qualified political figure, Carlo would not have acted so unwisely.

"What is your military's opinion on this?"

Putting down the telegram in his hand, Carlo looked at the two military bigwigs, mainly at the Secretary of State for War, Admiral Saragatet.

In the face of Carlo's inquiry, Admiral Saragate, who looked indignant, immediately said in his neutral voice. "This is the Abyssinians' provocation against the Kingdom of Italy, it is an act of war, and it must be dealt with severely."

In response to Admiral Saragate's words, Carlo then turned his gaze to the other two.

"A blow must be given."

These are the words of Admiral Golek, the Minister of the Admiralty.

"The Abyssinians should be taught a lesson."

This was the statement of Prime Minister De Pretis.

Seeing the surprisingly consistent military and political sides, Carlo felt entangled in his heart. In such a situation, it is impossible for him to oppose the unanimous opinion of the military and the government.

Contrary to the opinion of the military government, he was not willing to do anything to the Abyssinians, not because he was afraid of these East African black uncles, although he had won a victory over the Italian army in history, but it was done when Italy did not pay enough attention to it.

Two hundred thousand against ten thousand, and still in an ambush, such a defeat is not so humiliating, I don't see that even the British can break their wings in the hands of the Afghans, and twice.

The main reason for Carlo's reluctance was that the Ethiopian plateau was too barren, with neither enough arable land nor minerals, and it was not worth using force against such a place.

If it had been as rich as the Sultan and had so many resources, not to mention the military and political opinions, Carlo would have pushed Italy to do something against him.

However, considering the opinions of both the military and the government, and the fact that this was the behavior of the army of the Abyssinian Emperor Johannes IV, it means that it at least acquiesced in the black emperor.

In this case, if Italy does not retaliate and come back, if nothing else, the people alone will not be able to give an account. Moreover, Carlo started by opposing France, and if he did not show a tough attitude, it was easy to lose his prestige. So he had to make a statement, which can be regarded as a human kidnapping.

Carlo was very careful when it came to choosing opponents, because Italy also needed to be praised if they wanted to accumulate prestige and show their strength.

As for right and wrong and why, it doesn't matter anymore, in this day and age, big fists make sense.

In this respect, Carlo has fitted perfectly into this era.

"So what are your military's plans?"

Carlo's words made the two military bigwigs feel a burst of joy in their hearts. You must know that the previous order not to cross the border of the Abyssinian Empire was strongly requested by Carlo.

Although they don't know why, the two generals can feel that His Majesty does not want to conflict with him.

And now that His Majesty has personally said that the military is allowed to do something against him, how can he not make the two generals happy. Of course, the main thing is that Admiral Saragate is more happy, after all, it will be dominated by the army.

"Your Majesty, the plan of our military is to send one brigade each of the Ninth and Twelfth Divisions, a total of 10,000 men, to reinforce Eritrea, so that we will have 14,000 troops in Eritrea, which will be sufficient to wage a war against the Abyssinian Empire. At the same time, we must also choose a successor from within, and after we defeat the army of Johannes IV, we need a new emperor who will fall to us and take control of Abyssinia for us. ”

Hearing Admiral Saragate say the military's plan, Carlo was speechless, comparing the Abyssinians to a scattered primitive tribe of Africa. Although such an army is large enough for the rest of Africa, it is not a little worse to deal with Abyssinia, a brave and warlike feudal empire in East Africa.

So after listening to the War Secretary's plan, Carlo shook his head and spoke. "There are not enough troops for this plan."

“？？？”

Carlo's words made the two admirals look a question mark.

This was based on the results of previous battles, the number of troops used by the British and French during the colonization, and the strength of Johannes IV, the Emperor of Abyssinia. Although the Abyssinian Empire had more than 200,000 troops, the army under the command of this emperor was only about 120,000, and the strength of one to nine was enough to deal with the emperor of the East African Empire.

Carlo explains why he doesn't think it's enough. "Because we can't just think about the army of this Johannes IV, we know that we are waging war against Abyssinia, and this emperor has enough righteousness that it is very likely that he will be supported by other powers. So I think such a force is too small, at least more than 40,000 people are needed. In addition, Abyssinia has a conflict with the Mahdi forces in Sudan, and we should also take advantage of it. ”

That's right, what Carlo wants is to use a huge force and foreign aid to defeat the Abyssinians with all their might.

He very much agrees with the words of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, either don't do it, or do it.

"I think it's too much of a drain."

However, as soon as Carlo's words were finished, they immediately attracted opposition, and everyone saw that it was the prime minister who was making a statement.

In the face of everyone's attention, Prime Minister De Pretis stated the reason for his opposition. "It's too expensive, and the government doesn't have that much money."

After doing it for a long time, I still lack money and make trouble.

Faced with the Prime Minister's words, Carlo asked. "How much money can the government currently allocate for military spending?"

"At present, in addition to the 80 million lire reserve funds in the government, a maximum of 30 million lira can be provided."

After hearing the Prime Minister's words, Admiral Saragatet, who is the Minister of War, continued. "If according to His Majesty's request to send troops, then the cost of sending troops to Abyssinia this time should be around 80 million to 110 million lira, which is calculated according to the time limit of the war to three months. If it is extended for each month, the cost will also increase by about 20 million. ”

It is really worthy of the cannon sounding ten thousand taels of gold, and once there is a war, this money is simply spent like flowing water.

Of course, Admiral Saragate meant this, and he also used it to dispel the idea that Carlo was so excited.

It's just that he didn't know that Carlo was determined to promote this plan.

"Then issue a war bond, and the government immediately comes up with a special war bond of 200 million lire."

Carlo's words made the two military bigwigs immediately silent. Since they talk about fees, now that Carlo is ready to issue bonds, of course they have nothing to say.

However, this made the prime minister feel mad at this remark, and the fiscal revenue, which had finally improved a little, was again dragged down by this bond. However, seeing Carlo's expression staring at him, he couldn't say anything he wanted to object, which could be regarded as a tacit acquiescence.

Now that the problem of military spending has been solved, then it will be easier to deal with next.

Not expensive, Carlo took into account the actual situation of the army and the terrain of Abyssinia, and he gave special instructions to the Minister of War for this. "The troops will be mainly mountain troops, and the Guards will also send two regiments to participate in this punitive war against Abyssinia."

That's right, Carlo also needs to get the Guards on the battlefield.

Since it has been decided to send troops, the two military bigwigs need to rush back to prepare, make plans, transfer that force, and supply and transportation all need to be redone, and they are busy.

As for the Prime Minister, he also had to be busy, and in addition to issuing war bonds, he had to negotiate with other countries to understand Italy's punishment war against Abyssinia. Otherwise, those countries would have made small moves in private, wouldn't it have made it more difficult for the Italian soldiers to fight.

And Carlo, after sending off the three military and political bigwigs, was just about to continue his work when he got a report from the guards.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellency Flam, the British Ambassador, requests to see you."