Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 66: Easy to Get on the Ship, Hard to Get Off

The lack of financial resources presented an awkward dilemma. Situated in the northwestern part of Italy, the Kingdom of Sardinia boasted a reputation as one of the most prosperous realms in the country.

However, this reality failed to alter the inherent nature of Sardinia as an impoverished kingdom. With a territory spanning a mere 70,000 square kilometers and a population of only five to six million, the region lacked substantial resources, while its fledgling industrial sector was just beginning to take shape.

Nevertheless, their spirits remained undeterred despite their financial hardships. They had been persistently striving for the unification of Italy, and it was precisely due to their ambitious aspirations that the Kingdom of Sardinia found itself even poorer.

To achieve the goal of Italian unification, they relied heavily on their military might. Consequently, the Kingdom of Sardinia bore the burden of significantly higher military expenditures, leading to a perpetual state of fiscal deficit.

It was not until 1852 that the legendary Prime Minister, Gavardo, made his appearance. He initiated reforms in the fiscal and taxation systems, leading to an increase in national revenue. Additionally, he focused on bolstering infrastructure by investing in railways, ports, and promoting industrial and commercial development. These series of measures enabled the Kingdom of Sardinia to overcome its financial crisis.

Prime Minister Azelio, with a worried expression, concurred, "Your Majesty speaks the truth. We are indeed in dire financial straits. This war has caught us off guard, and our preparations were insufficient.

“The occupation of Lombardy has indeed depleted a substantial amount of our financial and material resources, far surpassing our initial budget. Up to this point, we have already spent over 28 million lire.

(1 lire = 4.5 grams of silver)

“Due to the war, we cannot rely on tax revenues from Lombardy this year, and we will continue to experience net expenditures in the second half of the year.

“Furthermore, the French have abruptly terminated their previously promised weapon assistance. Now we are forced to allocate funds from our limited war budget to purchase weapons and equipment, which will require an additional expenditure of at least 17 million lire.

“When we combine these two factors, our war funds have already accounted for nearly 45% of our budget. We are also maintaining an army of nearly 200,000 soldiers, which costs us at least 1 million lire per day. If we continue like this, at most, we will be bankrupt in two months."

(TN: To those who are confused with the quotation marks, it has to do with the rule of ‘Multiple paragraphs of dialogue’ which is the case here. In previous chapters I didn’t know this so I just combined them into one big paragraph but when I searched about it, this rule actually existed so there you go. https://style.mla.org/speech-paragraphs-quotation-marks)

Upon hearing the Prime Minister's explanation, Minister of the Army Li Qi's initial reaction was disbelief. He immediately questioned, "Your Excellency, how could we have spent so much money? According to our plans, these one hundred million lire should have been enough to sustain our operations for half a year!"

"Li Qi, are you accusing me of embezzlement?" Prime Minister Azelio responded angrily.

Embezzlement? How many officials in this era are not involved in corruption? But it's better not to expose this well-known secret, or else everyone's reputation will be tarnished.

Li Qi quickly explained, "No, Your Excellency, I didn't mean to question your intentions. I'm just curious about these expenses!"

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Upon hearing Li Qi's response, Azelio's expression eased slightly, and he calmly explained, "Let me give you a rough estimate to show you where all this money has been spent.

“In Lombardy, bribing the members of the Liberal Party cost us 8.65 million lire, resolving the food shortage issue cost 10.5365 million lire, providing relief for war refugees cost 3.657 million lire, establishing administrative institutions cost 3.8623 million lire...

“Due to the constant revolutions in Europe, the prices of weapons and equipment in the international market have increased by 37%. Your army department also had representatives participating in the process, so there's no need to ask me, right?

“According to our initial plans, we didn't anticipate recruiting an additional 70,000 troops in Lombardy, but with the increased numbers, naturally, the expenses have gone up!"

Upon hearing the Prime Minister's explanation, Li Qi had nothing more to say. There was no choice. After all, their army lacked confidence in fighting against the Austrians. In order to increase their chances of success, they resorted to the simplest solution - expanding the army.

Before the Industrial Revolution, agrarian societies had limited mobilization capabilities and were unable to achieve widespread participation in warfare.

Indeed, the Kingdom of Sardinia mobilized over a hundred thousand people internally, reaching the limits of their mobilization capacity. At this point, the people of Lombardy showed great enthusiasm for joining the military, and it wouldn't make sense to turn away capable soldiers.

However, at this stage, Li Qi couldn't afford to consider such factors. As the Minister of the Army, he had to prioritize the interests of the military and minimize the risk of failure as much as possible.

"Your Excellency, the British are supportive of this war. Can't we request a loan from the British?"

Prime Minister Azelio frowned and said with a bitter smile, "Obtaining a loan from the British is not easy. We paid a significant price for a loan of 3 million pounds. Now that the war has already begun, if we were to request another loan from them, the conditions would likely be more complicated than before."

(1 pound ≈ 25 lire)

There's no way around it. This is almost a foolproof tactic used by the British. They entice people by offering a loan upfront, getting them on board. But as the saying goes, "Easy to get on the ship, hard to get off." Once you're in the midst of it, you have no choice but to let them take the lead.

"Well, what about the French? Weren't they the ones who wanted us to drive the Austrians out of Italy? Don't they have any intentions to help us now?" Li Qi persisted, unwilling to give up.

Charles-Albert sneered and said, "Hmph! The French are a bunch of untrustworthy bastards. They've even reneged on their promise of providing us with weapons and equipment. Do you really think we can still rely on them?"

The others didn't pursue the topic further. Initially, there was indeed assistance from the French, but once they learned of Sardinia's annexation of Lombardy, the whole matter fell through.

According to the French demands, the independence of Lombardy was a prerequisite, which was something they couldn't accept.

Independence may be easy, but reunification is difficult. If the current opportunity is missed, will the Kingdom of Sardinia still have a chance to annex Lombardy?

After calculating for a moment, Li Qi said, "Your Majesty, based on the current situation, Venice is being guarded by the Austrian renowned general, Radetzky, who is a cunning old fox. After suffering a defeat, he will not fall for the same trick again. If the Austrian army simply stays within the city walls and avoids a decisive battle with us, it will be impossible for us to end the war within two months. Even if we capture Venice, the war will continue if the Austrians are unwilling to negotiate a peace. Therefore, we still need to find a solution for the war funds."

He is laying out the cards and indicating that in order to end the war, it is not solely their decision. Unless the forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia can march all the way to Vienna and force the Austrian government to surrender, it is simply impossible.

This is clearly an unattainable goal. Everyone involved is a rational politician, and even if they have confidence in the military of the Kingdom of Sardinia, nobody believes that reaching such an extent is feasible.

Given this situation, if they want to win the war, the government must find a way to raise military funds. Otherwise, if they lose the war due to lack of funds, it will not be the responsibility of the Ministry of War.

Prime Minister Azelio sighed and said, "Well, Minister Li Qi, we will find a way to solve the military funding issue, but you must ensure victory. We cannot afford to lose this war."

"Prime Minister, rest assured. Marshal Badoer is leading this war, and he has already defeated the Austrians once. Dealing with a group of defeated enemies is not a problem!" Li Qi quickly reassured.

After a moment of silence, Charles-Albert suddenly asked, "Prime Minister, how do you plan to address the funding gap?"