My Italy

Carlo returned to Rome with joy, but when he returned to the palace, his mood immediately changed.

"You said the two ministers are waiting for me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, they have been waiting outside for a while."

Waiting for Carlo was none other than the two ministers of the Navy and the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Anthony Gorek, and the Minister of the Army, Admiral Saraguet.

"I didn't expect them to respond so quickly."

Carlo didn't need to think about it to know what these two people were here for. Wasn't it just to accept the red shirts? There were such a big reaction from just over a thousand people, which made Carlo know the thorny nature of this matter.

Sure enough, when the two ministers arrived, they were talking about the problem of the red shirts.

"Your Majesty, I heard that you are recruiting thousands of people in Palermo to form the Third Guards Regiment?"

Faced with the inquiry from General Saraguet, Secretary of War, Carlo did not deny it at all. "That's what happened."

"Your Majesty, the establishment of a new Guards regiment-level establishment will put pressure on military expenditures. I hope Your Majesty will consider this matter carefully."

Since Carlo did not deny it, General Saraget, as the spokesman of the army, naturally did not want to see the sudden appearance of the Third Guards Regiment and directly used military expenses to argue. As expected of the military, he speaks directly.

"Is there still a shortage of military expenses for one regiment?"

Facing Admiral Saragate's attack, Carlo asked rhetorically.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I asked, the Minister of War immediately complained.

"Your Majesty, the army is really short of money at the moment. Every penny of military expenditure has been allocated for its use. Suddenly a regiment-level establishment will cost at least millions of lire. It is impossible for the government to solve this cost for the military at present. "Our military alone is simply not capable of solving this problem."

Listening to what General Saraget said so eloquently, Carlo didn't believe at all that the military couldn't even squeeze out more than one million lire.

"If this is the case, then I will ask the government to solve the funding problem."

Faced with the rhetoric given by General Saraguet, Carlo planned to ask the government to solve this problem, believing that Prime Minister Depretis would spend more than one million for himself.

Seeing that the funding trick didn't work, Admiral Saraget was already mentally prepared, so he continued. "Your Majesty, now that the cost issue has been solved, there is no big problem. However, the newly established Third Guards Regiment lacks a chief officer with sufficient military capabilities. I think personnel can be sent from the military to help it form an army as soon as possible."

That's right, seeing that the funds could not support the establishment of the Third Guards Regiment, the military planned to use a trick of adding sand.

As long as the main officers of the Third Guards Regiment are replaced by military personnel, there will be enough means to transform it into a force of the military.

How could Carlo, who was well versed in history, not understand General Saraguet's intentions? He was not willing to see the military's attempt to mix sand with it. If he agreed, why would he go through all the trouble? The reason why he got this army from Garibaldi was because he saw that it was not affected by the habits of the army, so that he could take a fancy to him.

So Admiral Saragate's idea was immediately politely rejected by Carlo.

"No need for that. I believe in the ability of the future military commander of the third regiment."

Seeing that one after another of his plans were rejected by His Majesty, Admiral Saragat winked at Admiral Gorek at the side, trying to get him to speak for him.

General Gorek, who was harassed by the Minister of War's eyes, felt helpless. Originally, he didn't want to come at all. What did the red shirts have to do with the navy? These people didn't know how to get on the ship to operate the cannon. It's just that General Saraget dragged him alive and forcefully pulled him here.

But after all, he was a bit sorry for the situation, so Admiral Anthony Gorek still gave an idea.

"Your Majesty, I don't know much about the Third Guards Regiment, but I know that the navy has very high requirements for personnel. Many soldiers need to be carefully selected, otherwise training will be more effective with half the effort."

Although General Gorek did not say it clearly, General Saraget, who was the Minister of War, could not understand its intention and immediately took over the words. "Your Majesty, Admiral Gorek is right. The Guards are responsible for protecting Your Majesty and Rome, and their officers and soldiers must be carefully selected. Therefore, please allow the military to send people to strictly inspect them, and not let them be ignored. They have ruined the reputation of the Guards."

Facing Admiral Saragate's continuous search for opportunities, Carlo was a little bit dumbfounded, but he also needed to think carefully when facing the two admirals. After all, it is not a wise move for Carlo to refute the opinions of the military one after another. He wants to improve the combat effectiveness of the army, but does not want to have a stalemate with the military. Although he can still refuse, looking at General Saraguet's posture, he will definitely continue to propose, which is not good.

So Carlo thought for a while and then spoke. "Then let's follow your advice."

Before Admiral Saragate showed a satisfied expression, he gave up the thought he shouldn't have.

"However, this time the Third Guards Regiment is formed, the number of people should not be too small. A maximum of two hundred people will be eliminated. I will have someone accompany your people to check."

It was obvious that Carlo would not give General Saraguet a chance to make excuses.

And seeing Carlo criticize his idea, General Saraget was not angry. This matter cannot be rushed. After His Majesty loses interest in the Red Shirt Army, he will have many ways to deal with the remnants of these Red Shirt Army.

Seeing that the matter was barely settled, Admiral Gorek breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave with Admiral Saragat, when he heard His Majesty's words to persuade him to stay.

"Admiral Gorek, please stay for a while."

Despite Admiral Saragate's curious eyes, Admiral Gorek stayed.

"Admiral Gorek, I asked you to stay because I have some matters regarding warships that I need to consult."

Facing Admiral Gorek's somewhat confused expression, Carlo spoke up and told him why he wanted to keep him.

Upon hearing that Carlo wanted to ask about warships, Admiral Gorek, who had been dealing with warships for most of his life, immediately became confident. "Your Majesty, may I ask."

"I wonder what your Excellency, the Admiral, thinks of warships like armored cruisers?"

Faced with Carlo's question about the armored cruiser, Admiral Golek could immediately tell him that he was ugly. "Your Majesty, although our country is not equipped with armored cruisers, we still know a little bit about them. Generally speaking, armored cruisers are a last resort choice for countries with weak naval strength. Because cruisers are not naturally suitable for battle lines. So enhance its armor as an emergency measure.”

Carlo was greatly disappointed by Admiral Golek's words. It was obvious that Admiral Gorek had mentioned the shortcomings of the armored cruiser, but not its advantages. Of course, only a few naval admirals in the world now understand the main point, that is, those who cannot defeat me are not as fast as me, and those who are faster than me cannot defeat me. It is obvious that the characteristics of the armored cruiser are very suitable for breaking up engagements and blocking the enemy's maritime transportation lines. At the same time, it can also contain the enemy's large maritime forces.

Since the old admiral didn't understand, Carlo didn't mind explaining it to him. "I think armored cruisers do more than that..."

So a later generation keyboard warrior gave the old general some knowledge about the role of armored cruisers, which made the old general's eyes light up. I didn't expect that His Majesty knew so much about the Navy. It looks like the future of the Navy will be in good hands. What a surprise.

But the surprises didn't stop there. While Admiral Golek was still thinking about it, when he asked the navy to build one next year, Carlo, as the king, gave him a surprise.

"As the King of Italy, I feel very sad about France's rudeness in the Tunisian crisis. I plan to help the navy build two armored cruisers at the royal family's expense."

"Really, Your Majesty?"

Faced with such an unexpected surprise, the old admiral couldn't sit still. Although Italy ranked fourth in the world's navy, who would think that it had too many ships? Besides, Italy needs to face the pressure of France and Austria, not to mention Austria. Well, the French navy occupies the second largest position in the world, which puts a lot of pressure on the navy.

Admiral Gorek wished to have this kind of unexpected surprise every year. His heart could bear it, so in order to prevent himself from hearing wrongly, he asked one more time to confirm.

"That's right, two armored cruisers."

As he spoke, Carlo stretched out two fingers and made a gesture in front of Admiral Gorek's eyes.

Everyone knows what these two patrol ships are doing.