Rome at the end of December had a pleasant day, but for the Minister of War, Admiral Saragate, the weather was terrible.

Because he and the rest of his military colleagues had to come to a damn meeting.

Italy's new annual fiscal meeting, what this meeting is going to say is very clear.

However, Admiral Saragait knew that today's meeting could be described as a tiger's den, because he had received information that due to the government's large-scale construction, today's meeting was very likely to use a knife against the military.

No one wants to see their department's interests suffered, especially Admiral Saragate, who is the Minister of War. For this reason, Admiral Saragate felt that he and the Admiral were weak, so he recruited several other admirals.

"Today's meeting is very serious for us as a whole in the Army, and we cannot allow the government's attempt to come to fruition."

Taking advantage of the brief moments before the meeting began, Admiral Saragate gathered the big guys to cheer them up.

"Don't worry, no problem."

"The army has just shed blood in the Balkans, and these government people want to cross the river and tear down the bridge, and our 400,000 army will never agree."

The answers of others satisfied Admiral Saragate, as long as the army is united, then it is not ordinary to reduce the army's funding.

Admiral Saragate saw that the chief of the general staff was not in good spirits, so he asked with concern. "Cadore, what's wrong with you?"

Faced with the Minister of War's inquiry, Admiral Ekadorna, who is the Chief of the General Staff, shook his head and replied. "It's nothing, I didn't sleep well last night, and my energy is a little lacking today."

Admiral Kadolna's answer made Admiral Saragate come forward and ask with concern. "Then you pay more attention to rest, don't be too tired."

"I'll take notice."

While several army generals were chatting, a staff member arrived. "Generals, the meeting is about to begin."

"Then let's go inside."

Led by Admiral Saragate, several generals walked into the venue with high morale. When they entered the venue, they saw that Admiral Golek, who was the Minister of the Navy, had arrived, and the Prime Minister and other people representing the government were sitting on the other side of the long table and chatting about something.

Naturally, the generals sat at the table and waited for the meeting to begin.

Without making them wait, King Carlo, who was presiding over the meeting, entered the venue less than two minutes behind them.

As soon as Carlo sat down, he spoke. "Okay, now the budget meeting for the new year begins. Let's hear the Chancellor of the Exchequer start with the Treasury report. ”

As Carlo's words fell, Chancellor of the Exchequer Tejera stood up. "Your Majesty, colleagues, before I report the budget for the new year, according to the usual practice, I will talk about the fiscal revenue and expenditure in '91."

"This year, according to our Ministry of Finance, the government has a total revenue of 100 million lire, expenditure of 100 million lire, and a deficit of up to 100 million lire. The reason for such a high deficit is partly the cause of the war with the Ottomans, and on the other hand, the investment in the new territories, especially the mineral development and railway construction in the Kosovo region, which occupies a high proportion of ......"

The fiscal revenue of 1891 seems to be 100 million lire higher than the historical 100 million lire. But the Italian lira is much stronger today than it was in history. The current exchange rate between the Italian lira and the pound sterling is around 25=1.

You must know that the exchange rate between the lira and the pound at this time in history, due to the domestic inflation caused by the trade war between Italy and France, the exchange rate between the lira and the pound reached 28 = 1, and then the exchange rate of the lira has been hovering between 27 and 31 due to the recession of the Italian economy, and it has been waiting until after 1900 to slowly rise a little, but in the end, with the beginning of World War I, the collapse of the Italian economy made the lira more and more worthless.

Everyone present knew what Tejera said, so no one spoke, at most muttered quietly, I didn't expect such a big expense this year.

After a brief account of the fiscal revenues and expenditures of 1891, he began to make a general budget for the next year, which was a matter of concern to all.

"Now I will say that the Ministry of Finance has a general budget for 1892, according to the summary of the budget provided by the government and the military for the new year, the government expenditure for the new year is 100 million lire, of which the navy and the army are 100 million lire, and the government budget is 14.9 billion lire. Our Ministry of Finance estimates that the total fiscal revenue for the new year is expected to be around 18.4 billion lira. If it is calculated according to the general budget for the new year, then the state debt of our country will further expand, and the country will also be in danger of going bankrupt. ”

As the Chancellor's words fell, it was as if a battle horn sounded.

As Home Secretary, Sabot was the first to attack. "Your Excellency Tejera is right, the overall budget for next year is indeed too high, and I think there are some unnecessary expenses that need to be reduced. Now that the war has ended, and the army is still maintained at more than 400,000 troops, is it necessary to retain such a large scale and drag down government spending? ”

As soon as the Home Secretary opened his mouth, he aimed at the Army, which Admiral Saragate could not bear, and he directly retorted.

"It is simply not possible for our Army to accept the decision to reduce the scale, and the kingdom is still in danger. As far as France, the main threat to our country at present, is concerned, the French army currently has 460,000 troops, and although our country is in a defensive posture, it cannot be less than 180,000. In addition, the Austro-Tropic border and domestic garrison force should not be less than 70,000, plus the current 100,000 in the Balkans and North Africa, and the necessary garrison force in East Africa and Southeast Asia of 50,000. ”

After Admiral Saragate's defense, it was clear to him that the size of the army was just right.

However, this time the government came prepared, only to see Foreign Minister Bakona immediately open his mouth to point out the loopholes of the other side.

"I think Your Excellency has miscalculated, although the French Army has 460,000 troops, its main target is Germany, which is less than 100,000 on our border. Considering the harsh terrain on the border between the two countries, I don't think the number of troops defending the border with France should exceed 80,000. ”

The 80,000 troops mentioned by Bacona are actually more than enough for defense. According to the Italian Army's own projections, if a positional defensive posture was adopted, 80,000 Italian troops would be able to take advantage of the terrain and permanent positional fortifications to hold off twice as much enemy offensive. In the same way, if Italy attacked, France could also hold off twice as many Italian troops.

"In addition, the domestic garrison only needs 30,000 troops, and the Austro-Hungarian border deploys no more than 10,000 troops on the border according to the friendly agreement reached between our country and it."

Admiral Saraguet shouted as soon as he heard of the agreement with Austria-Hungary. "Why hasn't our army received the news?"

Tejera smiled slightly, "This is just done, I haven't had time to report it yet." ”

In the face of the Foreign Secretary's answer, the War Department cadres could only stare at each other with wide eyes.

But Tejera won't give them a chance, continued.

"In addition, the Balkan forces can also be gradually reduced, most of the local resistance forces have been wiped out, and those who have not been eliminated are still surviving, and there is no need to leave too many troops to gradually reduce the troops to 40,000 is enough. Although North Africa is still in the process of being cleared, the troops needed by North Africa are mostly cavalry. At present, Governor Giorgi also believes that the existing forces are sufficient. Finally, East Africa and Borneo, the total number of troops in the two places is only 280,000, and 50,000 troops are not needed at all. ”

With Tejera pulling out the calculations, only a little more than 200,000 troops are enough to meet the current Italian defense.

Admiral Saragate's eyes darkened when he heard this, and he immediately counterattacked. "What you say is a complete benevolence to other countries in the defense of the country, which is not desirable at all. If a country threatens us, what can 200,000 troops do? ”

Regarding the Minister of War's rebuttal, Tejera also pointed out unceremoniously. "But the current situation is that the government can't afford to raise that many troops. At present, the more than 500 million yuan spent on the navy and army already accounts for more than a quarter of the government's total budget, and this is a drag on finances at all. ”

As the voices of the two gradually increased, there was already a hint of gunpowder in the air. Naturally, the other participants were not confused at this time and immediately joined in, one side accusing the army of having too high a budget and the other retorting that the government was making a fuss.

The atmosphere at the scene was stirred for a while.

At this time, only the sound of slapping the table was heard, which attracted everyone's attention, and it turned out that the king who was presiding over the meeting was looking at them coldly.

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