Borneo knew the news too late, and it was Rome, the capital, of course, that it was earlier.

After nearly a month of painstaking negotiations, Italy spent £1.15 million to buy all of Dutch Borneo from the Netherlands.

That's right, no matter how much pressure Italy exerted, the Netherlands simply took almost the cost of the Turin. It seems that the Dutch merchant attribute is full, and he wants money to die!

Of course, for the faceless and skinless Netherlands, Italy can only send two. In the end, it is still not a loss, most of Borneo is in hand, and it is believed that it is enough to make the financial revenue of the Borneo colony to a higher level.

It is precisely because of this that Italy tolerates a little more.

The Dutch treaty needed to be brought back and signed by the young queen, while the Italian side had already been signed by Carlo.

Then there is the question of colonial relations, and there is no need to worry about this, with the presence of the task force and the 1st Guards Division, the Dutch will be more anxious than the Italians.

Speaking of the task force, Admiral Yagill, as Lord of the Navy, has already approached Carlo a few times.

No, Carlo didn't stay in the office long today, and he heard the report from the guards that the Admiralty had visited.

"Your Majesty, the task force is the essence of the Italian Navy, and continuing to stay in Borneo will put too much pressure on the coastal defense of the homeland. Moreover, the cost of overseas garrison is also high, and the navy no longer has much money for the task force to consume. ”

As soon as they met, Admiral Yagill talked about the return of the task force.

Facing the admiralty who came to him again, how could Carlo not know the other party's thoughts. "Admiral Yagill, for the cost of the task force, I will let the Borneo colonies contribute a part to share the pressure on the navy."

Carlo's words did not satisfy the Admiralty, and he spoke. "However, there is a lot of pressure on coastal defense on the local side, and at present, we only have five Durio and its improved class available, which cannot guarantee the needs of coastal defense at all."

It is clear that Admiral Yagill insisted in response to the grim form of Italy itself. It doesn't matter what others think of him, but in the eyes of the Navy, the current form of Italian coastal defense is very serious.

The French Navy, which is superstitious about the role of torpedoes, has recently sneaked up three "Marceau" class warships that have been delayed for almost seven years; although this battleship has long been old and cannot keep up with the times, the signal from the French Navy has made Admiral Yagill, who regards it as an imaginary enemy, very vigilant.

In addition, the transfer of the home port of the British Mediterranean Fleet is also incomprehensible. At least one thing is certain, the British Mediterranean Fleet has gradually turned from a possible help of the Italian Navy into a competitor.

In Admiral Yagir's view, the current essence of the Italian Navy is three Turin class and two Venetian reclass, except for the five Durio that can be called usable, the other warships have long been behind the times. And the Navy has not placed orders for shipyards for three or four years, which is simply unthinkable in this era of rapid technological change.

Of course, there is no problem with the large capital warships that Admiral Yagill is referring to, such as small ones, and many of them are ordered every year.

But what can a small battleship do, should he be allowed to vigorously develop torpedo boats like his French colleagues next door?

Don't you see that France is already preparing to build large warships?

Therefore, the purpose of Admiral Yagill's visit this time is very simple, to make money, build ships, and build big ships.

Of course, Carlo also knew the purpose of the person in front of him, and the previous few times, Admiral Yagill had turned around and led the topic to build ships. What is the Italian Navy's warships that are already lagging behind other countries, the current technological development can allow the Navy to have newer warships, and there are new achievements in the armor bars researched by Krupp, which may greatly reduce the cost of building ships, etc.

The reason is very good, but the Italian government is not rich, and it is difficult to do things without money.

"Admiral Yagill, the government's financial expenditures are all arranged, and it is difficult to increase expenditures temporarily, why don't you wait until next year?"

In the face of Carlo's words, how could Yagill be willing.

Next year?

After next year, will you have to wait again?

Of course, Yagill didn't want to wait, so he took out the killer idea, and put a picture of the battleship that had been drawn in front of Carlo.

"Your Majesty, here are the blueprints of the new battleship of the Navy, designed by Sir Vittorio Cuniberti, with a total length of 112.4 meters, a width of 22.7 meters, an average draft of 8.2 meters, and a standard displacement of 14,500 tons. In terms of power, it is equipped with a vertical three-expansion engine with 19,000 horsepower, 2 shafts and 2 propellers, and a maximum speed of 19.1 knots. The design coal reserve is 910 tons, compared with 1,120 tons normally. The range is 2780 nautical miles at 14 knots, 3086 nautical miles at 13 knots, and 4720 nautical miles at 10 knots. It is equipped with four new 305-mm main guns, 12 152-mm rapid-fire secondary guns, 16 57-mm rapid-fire guns, and five torpedo tubes. The armor is made of oil-based armor steel newly developed by Krupp, and the main armor belt is 92 meters long, 3.1 meters wide, and can reach 309 mm at its thickest point. The armor of the battery is 310 mm, and the maximum thickness of the command station is 280 mm. The cost of the ship will not exceed 2,600 lira of the Turin class, and our navy can raise 6 million lire by itself, and the government only needs to allocate 20 million lira. ”

That's right, Yagill's killer feature is to raise part of his military spending. Since the government doesn't have much money, then the navy will be able to raise its own funds. 20 million lira can have a state-of-the-art battleship, what else can there be to dislike.

As for the Navy self-financing, Yagil is confident. When the time comes, we will hold a few more fundraising parties, and I believe that the Chinese people will enthusiastically donate, especially the shipping companies, which will be generous.

The most important asset of a shipping company is the ship, and the ship will always encounter various situations at sea, and the navy can play a big role.

It's also a mutually beneficial help, and those shipping companies won't be ignorant of this truth.

As for fundraising among the people, with the good image of the Navy in the name of the country, it should be able to solve the part.

These two things add up, it is not a problem to raise three or four million lira, as for the remaining one or two million lira, it is simple, the new ship needs manpower, and when the time comes, one or two more old ships will be decommissioned and sold, and the maintenance costs can be saved, isn't this there?

The Navy has even said that it is self-funded, and it seems that it really needs to replenish new ships.

Carlo thought for a moment and spoke.

"60 million lira, I need the Navy to build three new warships."

"No problem...... What? ”

Faced with Carlo's sudden request for 60 million miles to build three new warships, Yagill dropped his jaw in shock. Didn't you say that you don't have any money, why did you take out 60 million at once?

Carlo didn't give him time to be surprised, and continued to ask. "Sixty million three new warships, can the navy do it?"

In the face of Carlo's questioning, Yagill swallowed, and his brain thought quickly before gritting his teeth. "Your Majesty, please rest assured, the navy will be able to do it."

"Hahaha, then I'll wait for the news of the launch of the three battleships."

Looking at His Majesty, who was smiling happily, Yagill suddenly had a feeling of being deceived. But even if he was fooled, he could only swallow it first. The 60 million ship-building money cannot be pushed back by anything, and the navy's first-class new ships are already eager to wear it.

The funding gap of 18 million can still be raised. It's a big deal to hold a few more fundraising parties, and all handsome and tall officers will be selected to accompany them. If it weren't for the fact that there were no women in the navy, he would have wanted to find some beautiful women to play.

As for the remaining gap, it is time to consider the issue of more retired warships. Maybe you can go around the world and see which one of the wrongdoers needs a warship. The best Italian spot warships have only been used for less than 30 years, and there are still fifty percent of them new, as long as they are given money, they will be sold.

Sending off the Lord of the Navy with a heavy face, Carlo also knew that he had squeezed the Navy too much. But it can't be helped, Italy is poor and lacks money. If you have money, isn't it just a battleship, you need to build three, and I'll build five.

Carlo expects that he will not be able to speak such an atmospheric word for twenty or thirty years.

Diligent and thrifty, deduction and search is the status quo. However, there is also a downside, as Italy is currently saddled with a huge debt that is decreasing.

It has already decreased from 7.63 billion lira to 7.19 billion. This is a huge step forward, and with the efforts of the past two years, Italy's debt has been reduced by more than 400 million, and it is believed that with the development of the economy, Italy's debt will become less and less.

While Carlo was imagining the future, the chief of the guard, Felimich, walked in with a telegram.

"Your Majesty, this is a telegram from the Far East that there is an uprising of the Donghak Party in Korea."