Holy Roman Empire

There is no money. This is an embarrassing problem. The Kingdom of Sardinia is located in the northwest of Italy, which is regarded as the best state in Italy.

Unfortunately, this cannot change the essence of the Sardinian kingdom as a poor ghost. The territory is only 70,000 square kilometers, the population is only five or six million, and there are no resources. Industry has just started.

However, they are poor and ambitious. They have been fighting for the reunification of Italy. Because of their ambitions, the Kingdom of Sardinia is even poorer.

To reunify Italy, of course, it depends on the fist. The military expenditure of the Sardinian kingdom is a little bit larger, so their finances have always been in a deficit state.

It wasn't until 1852 that the legendary Prime Minister Gaffour appeared, reformed the fiscal and taxation system, and increased national income; and increased the construction of railways, ports, and the development of industry and commerce.

Prime Minister Azelio echoed with a frown: "Your Majesty is right, we really have no money. This war came too suddenly, and we were not prepared enough.

Occupying the Lombardy region, we consumed a lot of financial and material resources, which greatly exceeded our budget. So far, we have spent more than 28 million lire.

(1 lira = 4.5 grams of silver)

Because of the war, taxation in the Lombardy region is not expected this year, and it will still be in a state of net expenditure in the second half of the year.

The French suddenly terminated the weapons aid promised in advance, and now we have to squeeze out a sum of money from the limited war funds to buy weapons and equipment. This item alone will cost at least 17 million lire.

Adding these two together, we spent nearly 45 percent of our war expenses. We still maintain nearly 200,000 troops and spend at least 1 million lire a day. If we continue to drag on, we will go bankrupt in up to two months Too."

After listening to the Prime Minister ’s explanation, the first reaction of Army Secretary Li Qi was impossible, and he immediately asked: "How can you spend so much money, Your Excellency, according to our plan, this 100 million lire is enough to support us for six months!"

"Sir Li Qi, do you suspect that I am corrupt?" Prime Minister Azelio said angrily

corruption?How many officials are not corrupt in this era?But this secret, which everyone knows, should not be broken, otherwise everyone's face will not look good.

Li Qi quickly explained: "No, Your Excellency, I have not questioned your meaning, just curious about these expenses!"

After listening to Li Qi ’s answer, Azelio looked slightly slower and explained, “I ’ll give you a rough calculation. Let you see where the money was spent.

In the Lombard region, it took Li 8.65 million to buy Liberals, 10.5365 million to solve food problems, 3.675 million to relief war refugees, and 3.862 million to set up administrative agencies ...

Because the European revolution is endless, the price of weapons and equipment in the international market has increased by 37%. The Ministry of the Army has also sent people to participate in the specific situation. Do n’t ask me?

According to our prior plan, there is no plan to recruit another 70,000 troops in the Lombardy region. With so many more people added, the expenses will naturally go up!"

After listening to the Prime Minister's explanation, Li Qi had nothing to say.There is no way, who will let their army have no confidence in fighting against the Austrians?In order to increase the odds, they adopted the simplest method-military expansion.

Before the Industrial Revolution, the mobilization capacity of the agricultural society was not high, and it was impossible for the whole people to participate in the war.

Over 100,000 people were mobilized within the Kingdom of Sardinia, basically reaching the limit of mobilization.At this time, the Lombard people's enthusiasm for joining the army is rising, and the good soldiers have no reason to refuse them?

At this time, Li Qi could not care so much. As an army minister, he had to stand on the ground of the army and reduce the risk of failure as much as possible.

"Your Excellency, the British support this war, can we not ask the British for a loan?"

Prime Minister Azelio frowned, and said with a bitter smile: "British loans are not easy to get. For this 3 million pounds loan, we paid a great price.

Now that the war has broken out, if I ask them for a loan, I am afraid the conditions are not so simple!"

(£ 1 ≈25 lire)

There is no way, this is almost the British tried all kinds of tricks, first give a loan to lure people on board.However, "it's easy to get off the boat and get off the boat", and when they get to the center of the river, they can only let them drive.

"So what about the French? Didn't they want us to expel the Austrians from Italy? Isn't there anything to say now?" Li Qi asked stubbornly.

Charlie Albert said with a sneer: "Humph! The French are a group of credulous bastards. Even the weapons and equipment assistance promised in advance are now gone. Do you think they can still count on it?"

Everyone didn't take over the topic. The French had originally provided some assistance, but when they learned that the Kingdom of Sardinia had annexed Lombardy, things fell through.

According to the requirements of the French, the Lombardy region must establish an independent state, which is undoubtedly unacceptable.

It is easy to be independent, but it is difficult to reunite. If you miss the present opportunity, will the Kingdom of Sardinia have the opportunity to annex Lombardy?

Li Qi calculated and said: "Your Majesty, from the current situation, it is the old fox of the Austrian star Radkis who is guarding the Venice area. Once he has suffered a loss, he cannot be a second time.

If the Austrian army is only defending the city and not decisively fighting us, then it is impossible for us to end the war within two months.

If the Austrians are unwilling to end the war, even if we conquer the Venetian War, the war will continue, so the war funding still has to find another way."

He was in a showdown, and he wanted to end the war, not just their decision, unless the army of the Sardinian kingdom could hit Vienna all the way, forcing the Austrian government to surrender.

This is obviously impossible. Everyone is a rational politician. Even if they have confidence in the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, no one thinks that this step can be achieved.

In this case, if you want to win the war, the government must find a way to raise military expenses for them. Otherwise, if you lose the war because you have no money, it is not the responsibility of the War Department.

Prime Minister Azelio said with a bitter smile: "Well, we will find a solution to the military expenditure of His Excellency Li Qi, but you must also guarantee victory. We cannot afford to lose this war!"

"My Excellency, please rest assured. It was Marshal Bardolio who commanded the war. He had defeated the Austrians once, and it would not be a problem to deal with a group of defeats!" Li Qi quickly assured.

Charlie Albert, who didn't say anything at all, suddenly asked: "Prime Minister, how can you solve the shortage of funds?"