My Italian: Chapter 283 The turmoil of the budget meeting

The weather in Rome at the end of December was pleasant, but for the War Secretary, Admiral Saragate, the weather was terrible today.

Because he and the rest of the military had to come to a **** meeting.

Italy's new annual fiscal meeting, it's very clear what this meeting has to say.

However, Admiral Saragat knew that today's meeting could be described as a dragon's den, because he got news that due to the government's aggressive construction, today's meeting is likely to attack the military.

No one wants to see the interests of their own department hurt, especially Admiral Saragate, who is the Secretary of State for War. For this reason, Admiral Saragate felt that he and the Admiralty were weak, so he recruited several other admirals.

"Today's meeting is very serious for us in the Army and we cannot let the government's attempts come to fruition."

Taking advantage of the brief moment before the meeting, Admiral Saragate called the big guys together to cheer.

"Don't worry, it's fine."

"The army has only shed blood in the Balkans. People from these governments want to cross the river and demolish the bridge. Our army of 400,000 people will never agree."

The answers of the others made Admiral Saragate very satisfied. As long as the army is united, it is not difficult to reduce the army's funds.

Admiral Saragate saw sharply that the chief of staff was not in a good mood, so he asked with concern. "Cadorna, what's the matter with you?"

Facing the question of the Minister of War, Admiral Ekadolna, the chief of staff, shook his head and replied. "It's nothing, I didn't sleep well last night, and I feel a little lack of energy today."

Admiral Cadorna's answer made Admiral Saragat come forward and ask a question with concern. "Then you should pay more attention to rest, don't be too tired."

"I'll pay attention."

Just as several army generals were chatting, a staff member came. "Generals, the meeting is about to begin."

"Then let's go in."

Led by General Saragate, several generals entered the venue with high spirits. When they entered the venue, they saw that Admiral Gorek, who was the Minister of the Navy, had arrived, and the Prime Minister, who represented the government, was sitting on the other side of the long table and chatting about something.

The digital admiral also naturally sat at the table, waiting for the meeting to be held.

Without making them wait any longer, King Carlo, who presided over the meeting, entered the venue less than two minutes behind them.

As soon as Carlo took his seat, he spoke immediately. "Okay, now the new year's budget meeting is now open. Let's listen to the Chancellor first with the Treasury report."

As Carlo's voice fell, Finance Minister Tejella immediately stood up. "Your Majesty, my colleagues, before I announce the new year's budget, as usual, I will talk about the fiscal revenue and expenditure in 1991."

“In this year, according to the statistics of our Ministry of Finance, the government’s total revenue was 178.9 billion lire, expenditure was 269.5 billion lire, and the deficit was as high as 90.6 billion lire. On the one hand, the cause of such a high deficit is the war with the Ottomans, and another On the one hand, investment in new territories, especially the development of minerals and railway construction in Kosovo, accounts for a high proportion...”

The fiscal revenue in 1891 looked 14.7 billion liras higher than the historical 164.2 billion liras. But the Italian lira is much stronger now than it has been in history. The current exchange rate between the Italian lira and the British pound is about 25=1.

To know 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 remained at 27-31 due to the sluggish Italian economy. Wandering between, until after 1900, it slowly rose a little, but in the end, with the beginning of World War I, the collapse of the Italian economy made the lira less and less valuable.

Everyone present knew what Teyera said, so no one spoke, and at most whispered, I did not expect such a large expenditure this year.

After briefly talking about the fiscal revenue and expenditure in 1891, he started the general fiscal budget for next year, which is exactly what everyone is concerned about.

"Next, let me talk about the total budget of the Ministry of Finance for 1892. According to the new year's budget provided by the government and the military, the government's expenditure in the new year is 201.8 billion lire, of which the navy and army are 52.8 billion lire. The budget for China is 14.9 billion liras. Our Ministry of Finance estimates that the total fiscal revenue for the new year is expected to be around 183.1-18.4 billion liras. If calculated according to the new year's total fiscal budget, then my country's national debt will further expand and the country will There is also the danger of bankruptcy.”

As the words of the Chancellor of the Exchequer fell, it seemed like a battle horn sounded.

Sabot, the home secretary, took the lead. "His Excellency Teyera is right, the total budget for next year is indeed too high, and I think there are some unnecessary expenditures that need to be cut. At present, the war has ended, and the army remains at a scale of more than 400,000 yuan. It is not necessary to retain such a large scale and drag down government spending."

The Home Secretary targeted the Army as soon as he opened his mouth, which made Admiral Saragate unbearable, and he directly retorted.

"It is impossible for our army to accept the decision to reduce the scale, and the kingdom is still in danger. As far as our country is currently the main threat to France, the French army currently has 460,000 people. Although our country is in a defensive posture, it cannot be low. At 180,000. In addition, the Austro-Hungarian border and domestic garrison forces must not be less than 70,000, plus the current 100,000 troops in the Balkans and North Africa that need to perform tasks, as well as the necessary garrison forces in East Africa and Southeast Asia. 50,000, this scale is just enough Basic defense needs have not been reduced at all.”

After Admiral Saragate's defense, it is clear that the size of the army is just right in his mouth.

However, this time the government came prepared, and I saw Foreign Secretary Barcona immediately pointed out the loopholes in the other party.

"I think Your Excellency is wrong. Although the French army has 460,000 people, its main target is Germany, and there are less than 100,000 people on our border. Considering the harsh terrain of the border between the two countries, I think the defense is the same as France. The border force should not exceed 80,000."

The 80,000 troops Bakona said were actually more than enough for defense. According to the Italian Army's own estimates, if a positional defensive posture is adopted, 80,000 Italian troops are enough to take advantage of the terrain and permanent positional fortifications to block twice as many enemy offensives. In the same way, if Italy attacks, France can also block twice the Italian army.

"In addition, the domestic garrison force only needs 30,000. According to the friendly agreement between our country and the Austria-Hungary border, the two countries will deploy no more than 10,000 troops on the border."

When Admiral Saragat heard the agreement with Austria-Hungary, he immediately shouted. "Why didn't our army receive the news?"

Teyera smiled slightly, "This is only achieved, I haven't had time to report it."

In the face of the Foreign Minister's answer, all the people in the Ministry of the Army could only stare at each other.

But Teyera wouldn't give them a chance, continued.

"In addition, the Balkan troops can also be gradually reduced. Most of the local resistance forces have been eliminated, and those that have not been eliminated are still lingering. There is no need to leave too many troops to gradually reduce the troops to 40,000. The sparsely populated North Africa requires cavalry as the main force. At present, Governor Georgie also believes that the existing force is enough~www.mtlnovel.com~ Finally, East Africa and Borneo, the current total force of the two places is only 280,000 people. , you don't need 50,000 troops at all."

As Tejera opened the calculation sentence by sentence, he only needed a force in the early 200,000s to meet the current Italian defense.

Admiral Saragate heard the blackness in front of him, and immediately counterattacked. "What you're talking about is the mercy of completely giving national defense to other countries, which is simply not desirable. If a country threatens us, what can 200,000 troops do?"

For the rebuttal of the Minister of War, Teyera also pointed out rudely. "But the current situation is that the government can't afford to support so many troops. At present, the cost of more than 500 million yuan for the navy and the army has accounted for more than a quarter of the government's total budget, which is a drag on the 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 would not be confused at this time, and immediately joined in. One party accused the military budget of being too high, while the other refuted the government as being unreasonable.

The atmosphere at the scene stirred up for a while.

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