Italian Navy Minister Francesco is a balding middle-aged man. He is not from the navy. The reason why he can sit in this position is entirely because he has a good personal relationship with König Vittorio Emanuele III.
With a layman leading the navy, it's no wonder Italian Navy's capabilities are terrible.
Francesco stayed in the Telegram room of the Naval Ministry, waiting for the outcome of the naval battle. He knew that König and Prime Minister were waiting for the outcome of the naval battle. For Kingdom of Italy, this naval battle is really crucial, as it is directly related to the fate of the kingdom!
"Why is there no news yet? Have we lost the battle? What should we do?" Francesco was worried.
Regarding this naval battle, Francesco is actually very pessimistic. Although he is not from the navy, he is very clear about the power of German Navy. It is precisely because of this that he does not have high hopes for Combined Fleet. Although Combined Fleet is not weak, German Navy is even more powerful! It is almost impossible for Combined Fleet to defeat German Navy.
Now, many senior officials of Kingdom of Italy are very dissatisfied with betraying Allied Powers and joining Allied Powers in the war. I think this is totally asking for death. If Kingdom of Italy remains with Allied Powers, then they will be able to win the war and share the war dividends. It will not be like this now, it will be destroyed soon.
"Your Excellency, this is Telegram from Paul." The secretary reported to Francesco.
Francesco almost snatched Telegram away from the secretary's hand, and then started reading immediately. However, after he finished reading Telegram, his face was already pale.
"Damn it, I actually lost. What happened now?" Francesco murmured.
Combined Fleet lost the decisive battle as expected, and the damage caused to German Navy was very slight. It can be said that German Navy once again won a complete victory in this decisive battle at sea. However, this is undoubtedly a disaster for the member states of Allied Powers.
Francesco immediately rushed to the palace to report the results of the naval battle to König Vittorio Emanuele III and Prime Minister Antonio Salandra. Now that the naval battle has failed, they have to make preparations early. Otherwise, once German military launches a massive attack on Kingdom of Italy, how can they withstand it?
When Francesco rushed to the palace and reported the news of the navy's complete defeat to Vittorio Emanuele III König and Antonio Salandra Prime Minister, both of them were stunned.
"It really failed, it really failed! I knew a long time ago that we couldn't defeat the Germany people, and we would definitely fail!" Vittorio Emanuele III König looked regretful.
Antonio Salandra Prime Minister also looked very ugly. Since the Navy failed in this battle, their fate as Kingdom of Italy is almost certain.
"Your Majesty, now is not the time to regret. Since the navy has lost. Then, we will never have a chance. Now we must find a way to preserve Kingdom of Italy as much as possible." Antonio Salandra Prime Minister said.
"Yes, yes, we want to preserve Kingdom of Italy." Vittorio Emanuele III nodded repeatedly. Although the battle is lost, Kingdom of Italy must be saved. It has only been more than forty years since Kingdom of Italy completed the unification. No matter what they say, they are unwilling to let Kingdom of Italy once again go to ruin and split.
"Find Foreign Minister. If you want to have peaceful negotiations with the Germany people, Foreign Minister is the best candidate." Antonio Salandra Prime Minister said.
Vittorio Emanuele III certainly had no objections to this.
Soon, Foreign Minister Paul? Borselli arrived at the palace. When he learned that Combined Fleet was completely defeated, his face was also very ugly.
"Your Majesty, now that the war situation is like this, the war cannot continue no matter what. If we want to keep Kingdom of Italy, we must have peace talks with the Germany people and end this war." Paul? Borselli said.
"Yes, I think so too. Therefore, I have decided to appoint you to be solely responsible for peace talks with Germany." Vittorio Emanuele III König said.
Paul? Borselli nodded. "Your Majesty, it is my duty to contribute my strength to the kingdom. However, this time we have been defeated. If we want to seek peace from the Germany people, we will probably pay a high price. Otherwise, the Germany people will never let us go."
Vittorio Emanuele III König flashed a hint of physical pain on his face. He also knew that he might be bleeding heavily this time. Although, he was a little reluctant. But he knew that if he could not satisfy the appetite of Germany people, Kingdom of Italy might really be destroyed by Germany people. Without enough strength to protect Kingdom of Italy, we can only beg for mercy from Germany people. Who caused the innocent ghost to betray Allied Powers and join Allied Powers? This is simply asking for death!
"Try to talk to the Germany people as much as possible, and try to make the kingdom pay as little as possible. In this war, the kingdom has already paid a heavy price. If it is blackmailed by the Germany people again, the kingdom may not be able to persist." Antonio Salandra Prime Minister said.
Kingdom of Italy In this war, the losses were indeed not small. The army was severely damaged by German-Austrian Allied Forces in the north, and even lost a lot of territory. The navy's Capital Ships team is now completely wiped out. Such losses were completely unimaginable to Kingdom of Italy, who originally wanted to take advantage of the war.
"Yes, Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I will try my best. However, I think we still have to be prepared to be blackmailed by Germany people. Germany people are in this war The advantage is too great. If they are willing, they can even destroy us directly. Therefore, it is almost impossible to expect them to be kind and let us go." Paul? Borselli reminded.
Vittorio Emanuele III and Antonio Salandra both nodded. They also know how unfavorable the current situation is for Kingdom of Italy. Being able to ask Germany people to be noble and let them go is already God's blessing. As for the rest, I'm afraid I can only satisfy Germany people as much as possible.