Chapter 453

The lack of money was an awkward problem. The Kingdom of Sardinia was located in the northwest of Italy, and it was considered the best developed country in Italy.

Unfortunately, this couldn't change the fact that the Kingdom of Sardinia was poor. Its territory was only 70,000 square kilometers, and its population was only five to six million. It didn't have many resources, and its industry was just starting.

However, they were poor, but they were ambitious. They had been fighting to unify Italy, and because of their ambition, the Kingdom of Sardinia became even poorer.

To unify Italy, they naturally had to rely on their fists. The Kingdom of Sardinia's military expenditure was just a little higher, so their finances had always been in a deficit.

It wasn't until 1852, when the legendary Prime Minister Cavour appeared and reformed the fiscal system to increase the country's revenue. He increased the construction of railways and ports, and developed industry and commerce, that they finally got out of the financial crisis.

Prime Minister Azelio frowned and agreed, "Your Majesty is right. We are indeed out of money. This war came too suddenly, and we weren't prepared enough.

We spent a lot of money and resources to occupy Lombardy, which far exceeded our budget. So far, we have spent more than 28 million lire.

(1 lire = 4.5 grams of silver)

Because of the war, we can't count on Lombardy's tax revenue this year, and we will still be in a state of net expenditure for the rest of the year.

The French suddenly stopped the promised weapons, and now we have to squeeze out a sum of money from the limited war budget to purchase weapons and equipment. This alone will cost at least 17 million lire.

Adding these two items together, we have spent nearly 45% of the war budget. We still have to support nearly 200,000 troops, and we have to spend at least 1 million lire every day. If this continues, we will go bankrupt in two months at most. "

After hearing the prime minister's explanation, Minister of War Li Qi's first reaction was that it was impossible. He immediately questioned, "Prime Minister, why are you spending so much money? According to our plan, 100 million lire is enough to support us for half a year!"

"Mr. Li Qi, are you suspecting me of corruption?" Prime Minister Azelio said angrily.

Corruption? How many officials in this era weren't corrupt? However, this was a secret that everyone knew, and it was better not to reveal it. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for everyone.

Li Qi quickly explained, "No, Prime Minister, I'm not questioning you. I'm just a little curious about the expenses!"

After hearing Li Qi's answer, Azelio's expression softened a little. He explained unhurriedly, "I'll give you a rough calculation and let you see where the money was spent.

In Lombardy, 8.65 million lire was spent to bribe the Liberals, 10.565 million lire was spent to solve the food problem, 3.657 million lire was spent to help the war refugees, 3.8623 million lire was spent to establish the administration.

Due to the continuous revolutions in Europe, the price of weapons and equipment on the international market has increased by 37%. The Ministry of War has also sent people to participate in the details, so you don't need to ask me, right?

According to our original plan, we did not plan to recruit another 70,000 soldiers from the Lombardy region. With so many more people, our expenses will naturally increase! "

After Prime minister, Li Li had nothing to say. of. After of the war, he, he, he, Li, he, World, he, he had to say. In order to increase their chances of winning, they used the simplest method — expanding their army.

Of, he, he., he., he., he, he., he,., he, he.

., Sar., Kingdom Sar, Empire, Kingdom, and all.,.,..,,., The people of Lombardy were enthusiastic about joining the army. There was no reason to reject good soldiers, right?

Li Qi couldn't care less. As the Minister of War, he had to stand on the side of the army and reduce the risk of failure as much as possible.

"Prime Minister, the British support this war. Can't we ask for another loan from them?"

Prime Minister Azelio frowned and smiled bitterly. "It's not easy to get a loan from the British. We paid a big price for the three million pounds.

Now that the war has broken out, I'm afraid the conditions won't be so simple if we ask them for another loan! "

(1 Pound ≈ 25 lire)

It couldn't be helped. This was the British trick. First, they would give a loan to lure the people on board. But it was easy to get on, but difficult to get off. Once they reached the center of the river, they would have to let them sail.

"What about the French? Didn't they want us to expel the Austrians from Italy? Aren't they going to do anything about it? "Li Qi asked, unwilling to give up.

Charlie Albert sneered and said, "Hmph! The French are a bunch of untrustworthy b * stards. They don't even have the weapons and equipment that they promised. Do you think they can still count on us? "

No one continued the topic. Originally, the French had offered help, but when they learned that the Kingdom of Sardinia had annexed Lombardy, the matter fell through.

According to the demands of the French, Lombardy must be an independent state, which was undoubtedly unacceptable to them.

Independence was easy, but unification was difficult. If they missed this opportunity, would the Kingdom of Sardinia still have a chance to annex Lombardy?

Li Qi calculated and said, "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the one guarding Venice is the Austrian general, Radquis. That old fox. He's been tricked once, and he won't fall for it again.

If the Austrian army just guards the city and doesn't fight with us, we won't be able to end the war in two months.

If the Austrians aren't willing to end the war, even if we conquer Venice, the war will still continue. So we still have to think of ways to fund the war. "

He was laying his cards on the table. If they wanted to end the war, it wasn't just their decision. Unless the Kingdom of Sardinia could fight all the way to Vienna and force the Government of Austria to surrender.

That was obviously impossible. They were all rational politicians. No matter how much confidence they had in the Kingdom of Sardinia, no one thought that they could do that.

Since that was the case, the government had to think of ways to raise military funds for them to win the war. Otherwise, if they lost the war because of a lack of money, it wouldn't be the Ministry of War's responsibility.

Prime Minister Azelio smiled bitterly and said, "Alright, Sir Li Qi, we'll think of a way to solve the problem of military funds, but you have to guarantee victory. We can't afford to lose this war! "

"Don't worry, Prime Minister. The commander of this war is Marshal Bartolio. He's already defeated the Austrians once. It's not a problem for him to deal with a bunch of defeated enemies! "Li Qi hurriedly promised.

Charlie Albert, who hadn't spoken for a while, suddenly asked, "Prime Minister, how are you going to solve the funding gap?"