My Italy

Chapter 191 Revealing Ambition (Part 2)

As the announcement came, everyone present immediately lined up in a neat queue to welcome Carlo's arrival.

After greeting the important ministers present one by one, Carlo took his seat, which also meant that the meeting officially began.

"I think everyone should have some guesses about today's meeting, but before that, I need to announce a discipline. Today's meeting is top secret. No notes can be taken or any paper can be taken away. In addition, the meeting minutes will also be recorded by the captain of the guard. Come and do it.”

As Carlo announced the first order, everyone present became serious. Because the king's words have already stated the importance of the following meeting.

After seeing that everyone present was listening carefully, Carlo continued. "First of all, I want to say that the alliance treaty between our country and Germany and Austria has been renewed. Next, I will let the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Bacona, talk about the specific situation."

Faced with Carlo's roll call, Bacona, as Foreign Minister, stood up and spoke. "Everyone, after friendly negotiations between our country and Germany and Austria, the renewal of the alliance treaty has been completed. After being signed by the monarchs of the three countries, the treaty has officially entered into force. Next, let me tell you what the differences are in the treaty..."

During Bacona's explanation, those present learned that Article 4 of the alliance terms had been modified to allow the contracting countries to have greater initiative.

In addition, Bacona also talked about the mutual commitment between Italy and Austria-Hungary. However, when talking about this, everyone now had different expressions. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance frowned, while the Minister of Navy and Army showed his face. smile.

Because they all saw Italy's opportunity.

After Bacona finished speaking, Carlo continued. "Thank you very much, Mr. Bacona, for your explanation. Now everyone knows what we need to do next?"

Facing Carlo's question, Despretis, as Prime Minister, raised his hand to indicate that he had a question.

Carlo asked after seeing the Prime Minister's actions. "Prime Minister, what do you want to say?"

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask, are you preparing for war with the Ottoman Empire?"

"Yes."

Faced with the Prime Minister's inquiry, Carlo answered without hesitation.

As a result, the Prime Minister heard Carlo's answer and immediately spoke seriously.

"Your Majesty, please make a careful decision. You must know that our country's economic development is pretty good. If there is a war with the Ottomans, it is easy to win. If we lose or there is a stalemate, our previous efforts will be in vain. Especially our country When there is still so much debt, it needs to be carefully considered.”

After listening to the Prime Minister's words, Carlo asked. "Prime Minister, do you think I haven't thought about it carefully?"

"I don't mean this, but I think that for such a major decision related to Italy's future, it is best to listen to other opinions."

Faced with the Prime Minister's explanation, Carlo stood up.

"Prime Minister, you see that the economy is developing well, and you don't want a war to break this situation. But have you ever thought about it? In fact, I don't want to either. However, Italy's crowded land has too many people, and economic development alone cannot satisfy them. Demand. In addition, I think you have also seen that the mineral resources currently needed for the development of industry in our country basically come from imports. Can this situation allow the economy to continue to develop?"

Carlo stared at the Prime Minister and saw that he seemed to have something to say, so he continued talking. "Although the development of our country's use of electricity has made the economy look good, we must remember that our country lacks various minerals, which is restricting our development. And the current colonies in East Africa and Southeast Asia are also due to cost And the restrictions of the Suez Canal prevent the country from using these two colonies. Therefore, the only one that can help our country recover from this situation is the Ottoman Empire."

Faced with Carlo's words one after another, the Prime Minister wanted to resist. This was not because he thought what King Carlo said was wrong. How could he, as Prime Minister, not know about the problems that Camp Ali had. But he was very dissatisfied that he, the prime minister, was not informed of Osman's intention to launch a war in advance.

"Your Majesty, even if what you said is very accurate, for such a big event, it is best to inform our government in advance."

Anyone could hear the Prime Minister's dissatisfaction, so the scene immediately fell into a strange and quiet atmosphere.

"I'm sorry for not notifying the government in advance. The main reason is that the time was not ripe. After renewing the Three Kingdoms Alliance, didn't I call everyone together?"

The words from Carlo's mouth were a bit surprising. I didn't expect that the king could actually give in to the prime minister. You must know that Carlo has always had a very tough image, and he feels the same no matter who he is towards.

But they soon realized that this was just an illusion, and Carlo continued. "The next step is to prepare for war against the Ottomans. I don't think anyone has any objections to this, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Carlo stared at the people in the venue, especially the Prime Minister. The prime minister and the king looked at each other, and their performances made the atmosphere tense again.

"I favor preparations for war with the Ottoman Empire."

Suddenly a voice broke the situation. The person who spoke was somewhat surprising, because it was Foreign Minister Jiminy Bacona.

As Bacona opened his mouth, the Minister of Navy and Army, who had long been interested, was not willing to lag behind.

"Our navy is in favor of preparing for war against the Ottomans. As long as the king orders it, the navy is more than capable of leaving the Ottomans without sea routes at any time."

Admiral Gorek, who had already received many benefits, was the first to speak.

And his words made several people say in their hearts, "Flattery!"

But he was right. Italy's biggest advantage over the Ottoman Empire was its navy. As long as the Italian Navy sent half of its warships, all the old warships of the Ottoman Navy would hide in the Black Sea Strait. Because it’s a free delivery when it comes out, it’s a complete package.

"We in the Army also favor preparations for war against the Ottoman Empire."

Compared with the Navy, the Minister of War is not so confident.

In the final analysis, it was due to strength. The Ottoman army was not native to Africa. They wanted to say it would be an easy victory but they dared not. If they said it was a difficult victory, it would not be to embolden other people's ambitions and destroy their own prestige. Simply, don’t say anything.

The speeches of the two ministers in succession made Finance Minister Tejela feel that if he didn't say anything, he would be classified as the prime minister, so he could only speak. "I also support preparations for war against the Ottoman Empire, but the Treasury needs to raise funds, so it is best if the war comes later."

Well, Tejela's words almost made everyone present laugh. He actually said this, but others didn't understand it. Only Tejela knew that it was his sincere words. At present, raising enough funds is a big project for the Ministry of Finance. Without two or three years, it is simply impossible.

To fight the Ottoman Empire, no matter how much, one billion lire is necessary. This is a rough estimate he gave based on the previous two military operations.

Now the Prime Minister was the only one who did not express his position. At this time, the shortcomings of his character were exposed. He was indecisive and panicked when he saw that others agreed.

It happened that Carlo walked up the steps at this time. "Prime Minister, do you also agree?"

Facing Carlo's question and the looks of others, Prime Minister Despretis nodded with difficulty and uttered one word.

"Yes."

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