My Italian: Chapter 270 desperate chancellor

On a new day, the Prime Minister's Office is very busy again.

People come and go in the Prime Minister's Office, and there are people everywhere.

"This is the Ministry of Transport's new plan for the port of Durres, which needs to be given priority to the Prime Minister's review."

"The construction plan of the Kosovo coal mine is waiting for the Prime Minister's signature and the Ministry of Finance will allocate funds."

Documents of purpose that need to be signed by the Prime Minister slowly piled up on his desk, making Prime Minister DePretis unable to lift his head at all.

"Prime Minister, His Excellency Tejera is here."

The secretary's words made Depretis finally raise his head.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, 61, is not much younger than the Prime Minister, and with his same silver hair, he looks old.

But even so, compared to the first, it is still a bit worse.

Wrinkled and exhausted, this is the image of Prime Minister De Pretis today.

Everyone, especially those close to the Prime Minister, knows that after entering this year, His Excellency the Prime Minister has aged very quickly.

However, Depretis didn't want to discuss this with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I saw the prime minister who raised his head, first let the Chancellor of the Exchequer sit down, and then opened his mouth. "I'm looking for you this time, it's like this, the newly appointed Governor Antonio, reported a plan to me..."

In the Prime Minister's remarks, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Teyera knew why the Prime Minister invited himself. Sure enough, there is nothing to do without going to the Three Treasures Hall, this is for money.

The newly appointed Governor of Borneo, Antonio, had his own ideas after he took office and had a preliminary understanding of the Borneo colony.

Knowing that he can't compare to the old prime minister economically, in order to leave his mark, he thought of another way out. Expand the Borneo colony.

That's right, Antonio wants to do something!

And his goal is to still hold the Netherlands, which is half the size of Borneo.

And he also has good reasons. Compared with the prosperous Italian Borneo, Dutch Borneo is simply a backwater. The total investment of the Dutch in Dutch Borneo over the years is less than 10 million lire, and the largest investment is the construction of the road from Machen to Nahabuan. The main reason for building this road is to prevent the infiltration of the Italian forces next door.

In addition, Antonio made this plan, and it is not a decision made with a slap of his head, but also has practical needs.

Although the construction of Italian Borneo is in full swing, there is a key factor that has loomed over the minds of the locals, that is, the places suitable for development in Italian Borneo have almost been developed. Especially with cash crops such as rubber pepper, the land suitable for these cash crops has been developed. If you want to continue to develop, then you need to pay extra costs, especially those pristine areas in the interior, the cost is even higher.

At this time, Dutch Borneo, which has almost stagnated next door, is so delicious and attractive.

In the face of Antonio taking office, the first request, DePretis, as the Prime Minister, should support it according to reason. However, because the funds required for its plan are not small, in order to avoid the opposition of the Ministry of Finance, Teyera, who is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was hired first.

After listening to the Prime Minister's introduction, as expected, Teyera immediately issued an objection.

"Prime Minister, I personally still support Governor Antonio's plan in principle, but it's just too much. Is it inappropriate to spend nearly 10 million lire every year?"

Facing the words of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Prime Minister Depretis smiled and explained to Governor Antonio. "The money is not too much at all. I have already calculated it. Whether it is the composition of personnel or the expenditure, it is very reasonable. After comparing the income, it is already very good."

There is also a reason for the Prime Minister to excuse Antonio. In Antonio's plan, it only takes four or five years of preparation to seize the territory of Dutch Borneo for Italy. Although these lands are basically undeveloped and the soil is not as good as the west, they can still expand Borneo's benefits for Italy. According to his estimates, it only takes four or five years of development to allow the colony of Borneo to provide Italy with an annual income of over 100 million liras.

Such a return on investment is one of the main reasons why the Prime Minister is willing to support Governor Antonio. Of course, diplomacy and other aspects need to be calculated separately.

But for Teyera, although this investment return is very attractive, it is difficult to meet the requirement of reducing the revenue of the Ministry of Finance by nearly 10 million lire every year within four or five years.

"Prime Minister, you are also aware of the current situation of the Ministry of Finance. Last year, we spent 2.471 billion lire because of the war, and this year, due to the development of new territories, another expenditure of up to 514 million lire. And according to the plan, the Next year, 429 million liras need to be invested. Prime Minister, you should know the financial gap in recent years. At present, the annual yield of our Italian ten-year government bond has increased to 3.18%, which is already very high. Every year, we need to pay 1.92% in interest alone. 100 million liras, if you continue to spend without restraint like this, then financial bankruptcy is not impossible. In addition..."

Depretis didn't expect that the chancellor of the exchequer would suddenly blow up, pouring out all the messes of the finance ministry.

It's not his fault, he has changed anyone to be the chancellor of the exchequer, and faced with Italy's high debt situation, it is similar to this one.

Fortunately, Italy's development has been good in recent years, otherwise it would be the same as in history, on the verge of financial bankruptcy, leading to many domestic problems, and the past ten years have been wasted like this.

In the face of the exploding Chancellor of the Exchequer, of course Depretis couldn't push hard, he could only touch the hair.

"In that case, let's see if you can reduce some expenses from other places and collect this money?"

For the amiable Prime Minister, Teyera recovered after venting. I saw him speak bitterly.

"My Prime Minister, where can the current government cut spending? At present, the expenditure of each department has been carefully calculated, and it is impossible to reduce it. And I am not saying that the only reduction that can be made at present. There is only one place to spend, and that is the royal family's expenses. Other places, I really don't think there is any way to reduce expenses."

Depretis was stunned by Teyera's suggestion. Reducing the royal family's spending may seem feasible, but it is not easy to achieve. And this is not just for the king to nod himself. If he proposes it, the Savoy family still doesn't hate himself.

In the face of this situation, Depretis's old problem of hesitation has relapsed.

"Is there any other way?"

He was greeted by a shaking head of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

In the end, Antonio's plan to expand Italian Borneo was sent to Carlo's desk, along with suggestions from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reduce royal expenses. </div>