My Italy

"What are you doing? Why are you provoking Abyssinians again?"

Holding Major General Bart's report on the loss of Adi Kwara in Eritrea, Carlo made some inner thoughts.

Of course, the report that Carlo read must be that Abyssinia provoked Italy in every possible way, and the Italian army must have performed its duties faithfully, but it suffered a hundredfold siege from the Abyssinians, which led to its failure.

Carlo took a cursory look at this report, and it was pretty much what he thought.

Of course, the actual situation may be the other way around, unless the Abyssinians are crazy and will deliberately provoke Italy.

However, Carlo would not say these thoughts out loud, because the Minister of Navy and Army was right in front of him, and the Prime Minister was also there. How could he demolish the Army at this time? As a qualified political figure, Carlo would not do such an unwise act.

"What is your military's opinion on this?"

Putting down the telegram in his hand, Carlo looked at the two military bosses, mainly at the Secretary of War, General Saraguet.

Facing Carlo's inquiry, Admiral Saraget, who looked indignant, immediately spoke in his angry voice. "This is a provocation by the Abyssinians against the Kingdom of Italy. This is an act of war and must be dealt with severely."

Regarding Admiral Saragate's words, Carlo then turned his attention to the other two.

"A blow must be given."

These are the words of Admiral Golek, Minister of the Navy.

"The Abyssinians should be taught a lesson."

This is what Prime Minister Despretis said.

Seeing the surprising unity between the military and the political parties, Carlo felt entangled in his heart. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for him to oppose the unanimous opinion of the military and the government.

Contrary to the opinions of the military administration, he was actually not willing to take action against the Abyssinians. This was not because he was afraid of these black uncles in East Africa. Although he had won a victory over the Italian army in history, it was only in Italy that he defeated the Italian army. Completed without paying enough attention.

Two hundred thousand to seventeen thousand, and it was still in an ambush. Such a failure was not that embarrassing. I didn't see that even the British could lose their wings in the hands of the Afghans, and twice.

The main reason for Carlo's reluctance is that the Ethiopian plateau is too barren, with neither enough arable land nor any minerals. It is not worthwhile to use force against such a place.

If it were as rich as Sudan and had so many resources, Carlo would definitely push Italy to take action against it, let alone military and political opinions.

However, taking into account the opinions of both the military and the political parties, and the fact that this was the behavior of the army of Emperor Johannes IV of Abyssinia, it meant that it at least had the acquiescence of the black emperor.

In this case, if Italy does not come back with revenge, the people alone will not be able to give an explanation. Moreover, Carlo started his career by opposing France. If he did not show a tough attitude, he would easily lose his prestige. So he had to make a statement. This could be considered a kidnapping.

When it came to selecting his opponents, Carlo was very cautious, because if Italy wanted to accumulate prestige and show strength, it also needed the support of its opponents.

As for right or wrong and the reason, it no longer matters. In this era, the big fist is the truth.

In this respect, Carlo has perfectly integrated into this era.

"So what are your military plans?"

Carlo's words made the two military bosses feel secretly happy. You must know that the previous order not to cross the border of the Abyssinian Empire was what Carlo strongly requested.

Although they don't know why, both admirals can feel that His Majesty does not want to conflict with them.

And now that His Majesty has personally said that he allows the military to take action against him, how can he not make the two generals happy? Of course, the main reason is that General Saraguet is more happy, after all, this will be led by the army.

"Your Majesty, our military's plan is to deploy one brigade each from the Ninth Division and the Twelfth Division, totaling 10,000 people, to reinforce Eritrea. In this way, we will have 14,000 troops in Eritrea, which is enough to fight against Abyssini. The Asian Empire starts a war. At the same time, we also need to choose a successor within it. After we defeat the army of Johannes IV, we need a new emperor who will fall to us and control Abyssinia for us."

Carlo felt speechless when he heard General Saraguet speak about the military's plan. This was comparing the Abyssinians to the scattered primitive African tribes. Although such an army is large enough for other parts of Africa, it is not enough to deal with Abyssinia, a brave and fighting East African feudal empire.

So after listening to the Minister of War's plan, Carlo shook his head and said. "This plan does not have enough troops."

"???"

Carlo's words made the two admirals look like questions.

This is data they obtained by referring to the results of previous battles, as well as the military forces used by Britain and France during their colonization, and also taking into account the strength of Johannes IV, the Abyssinian emperor. Although the Abyssinian Empire has more than 200,000 troops, the army under the command of the emperor is only about 120,000. The force of 1:9 is enough to deal with the emperor of the East African Empire.

Carlo gave reasons why he thought it was not enough. "Because we can't just consider the army of Johannes IV. We must know that we are launching a war against Abyssinia. This emperor has enough righteousness, so he is very likely to get support from other forces. So I think Such a force is too small, at least 40,000 are needed. In addition, Abyssinia has a conflict with the Mahdi forces in Sudan, and we should also take advantage of it."

Yes, what Carlo wanted was to use a huge force and foreign aid to defeat the Abyssinians with all their might.

He very much recognized the words of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, either don’t do it, or do it absolutely.

"I think it's too labor intensive."

However, as soon as Carlo finished speaking, there was immediate opposition, and everyone saw that it was the Prime Minister who was making a statement.

Faced with everyone's gaze, Prime Minister Despretis stated the reasons for his opposition. "This is too expensive and the government simply doesn't have that much money."

After working on it for a long time, we still had trouble due to lack of money.

Facing the Prime Minister's words, Carlo asked. "How much money can the government currently spend on military spending?"

"At present, in addition to the 80 million lire reserve fund, the government can allocate up to 30 million lire."

After hearing the Prime Minister's words, General Saraguet, who is the Minister of War, continued. "If it is based on His Majesty's request to send troops, then the cost of sending troops to Abyssinia this time should be around 80 million to 110 million lire. This is calculated based on limiting the war time to three months. If it is extended by one month, The cost will also increase by about 20 million.”

It is true that the sound of a cannon is worth ten thousand taels of gold. Once there is a war, this money will be spent like water.

Of course, Admiral Saraget said this to dispel Carlo's idea of ​​mobilizing troops in such a way.

But he didn't know that Carlo was determined to promote this plan.

"Then issue war bonds. The government will immediately issue a special war bond of 200 million liras."

Carlo's words immediately silenced the two military bosses. Since fees are the issue, then of course they have nothing to say now that Carlo is preparing to issue bonds as a reason.

But for the Prime Minister, these words made him feel crazy. The fiscal revenue that had finally improved slightly was going to be dragged down by this bond again. But seeing Carlo staring at him, he couldn't say anything to object. This was considered acquiescence.

Now that the military expenditure problem has been solved, the next step will be easier.

Carlo took into account the actual situation of the army and the terrain of Abyssinia, and he gave special instructions to the Minister of War for this purpose. "The troops deployed are mainly mountain troops. In addition, the Guards will also send two regiments to participate in this punitive war against Abyssinia."

Yes, Carlo also needs to let the Guards go to the battlefield to practice.

Now that they have decided to send troops, the two military bosses need to rush back to prepare, make plans, mobilize the troops, and supply transportation, etc. need to be redone. They are busy.

As for the Prime Minister, he is also busy. In addition to issuing war bonds, he also needs to negotiate with other countries to understand Italy's disciplinary war against Abyssinia. Otherwise, those countries would make small moves in private, which would make it more difficult for Italian soldiers to fight.

After Carlo sent away the three military and political leaders, he was just about to continue working when he received a report from the guard.

"Your Majesty, His Excellency Fulham, the British Ambassador, asks for an audience."

Chapter 4, I’m exhausted. I’ve drank five cans of Red Bull. Could you please give me a recommendation vote?