December 1.
The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the Treasury, and Starlight Bank publicly signed a loan agreement for a syndicated loan of 500 million pounds from several Swiss banks, carrying an annual interest rate of 4% and divided into three installments.
The first installment would be paid in mid-December as startup capital for the reforms, while the remaining two installments would be released in stages according to Italy’s reform progress.
The signing ceremony itself was relatively simple, but quite a few reporters attended.
The news came so suddenly that it immediately ignited Italy’s media and financial markets, sparking widespread discussion.
The Ministry of Finance also announced the establishment of the Central Bank of Italy, which would officially begin operations on January 1 of the following year, causing the exchange rate of the lira to recover slightly that very day.
The Ministry of Agriculture released the second draft of the land reform proposal and announced that implementation would officially begin on January 1.
The Ministry of Public Works announced that it was preparing Italy’s national infrastructure plan, which was expected to be released in mid-January of the following year.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry released an industrial incentive program that would reduce taxes on domestic enterprise investment and provide certain subsidies.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security announced that it was formulating measures to improve worker welfare and promote national economic development.
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice jointly announced the implementation of the “New Public Security Law” to maintain social order and crack down on organized crime and other criminal forces.
Finally, Umberto released a simple announcement through the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Everything is ready.” A succession of favorable announcements released on the same day caused stocks on the major exchanges, which had suffered heavily during the previous market crash, to surge sharply.
The general public went from discussion to excitement, and enthusiasm spread throughout the country.
Countless people gathered outside the Rome Royal Palace and the Prime Minister’s Office.
They repeatedly shouted slogans without showing the slightest sign of exhaustion.
Everyone knew that spring had finally arrived in Italy.
This day would later become known among Italians as “Miracle Day.” The Ministry of Agriculture was the first department to begin taking concrete action.
To ensure the rapid and efficient distribution of 18 million hectares of land and the reclamation of another 5 million hectares of wasteland, the Ministry of Agriculture, after consulting Umberto, issued an announcement recruiting volunteers willing to participate in the reforms, with graduating university students being the primary recruitment targets.
Italy had 69 provinces and more than 8,000 cities and towns of various sizes, so every province required a considerable number of personnel.
Before being assigned to their respective regions, the volunteers would undergo relevant professional training in the experimental zone.
At the same time, these university students would assist personnel from the Ministry of the Interior with household registration work.
Through this arrangement, the number of personnel that the Ministry of the Interior needed to dispatch could be significantly reduced.
By combining the two tasks, everything could be handled at once.
After the announcement was released, large numbers of patriotic students enthusiastically signed up, with particularly strong participation from the north.
At this point, Umberto shifted his attention toward infrastructure.
Infrastructure construction was an important engine of national development, and it was particularly suitable for Italyunder the present circumstances.
Italy’s territory was not particularly large, but its railway and highway networks remained relatively underdeveloped.
At present, Italy had approximately 20,000 kilometers of railway, with the network dense in the north and sparse in the south, while state-owned railways accounted for approximately 16,000 kilometers.
Many railway lines were aging and had suffered from years of inadequate maintenance, while most remained single-track and railway electrification had only recently begun.
The country’s road network totaled approximately 150,000 kilometers, of which national highways accounted for around 15,000 kilometers and were generally surfaced with gravel or stone, while provincial roads were mostly dirt roads with some gravel sections, and rural roads were almost entirely unpaved.
Since important urban areas had already begun using asphalt and concrete roads, all newly constructed highways would have to meet the same standard, even though cement remained expensive.
Fortunately, cement production was not limited to the northern industrial regions, as the experimental zone possessed cement factories specializing in cement and concrete research that had originally been established for military purposes but could now be expanded for civilian construction.
Umberto revised the railway and highway construction targets proposed by the Ministry of Public Works, demanding that the total national railway and highway mileage be doubled within the ten-year construction period.
The plan included strategic projects such as the Around-Italy Railway, East-West Connecting Railway, and North-South Central Trunk Railway running across Italy, along with the Around-Italy Expressway, North-South Central Strategic Expressway, East-West Connecting Expressway, provincial and municipal connecting highways, and roads connecting individual villages.
All newly constructed railways were required to be electrified, standardized, and double-tracked, while existing railway lines would gradually be renovated according to the same standards.
In addition, to support economic development, 2,000 hydroelectric power stations and 300 thermal power stations would be constructed within ten years, while relevant enterprises would be encouraged to research wind power generation, with an initial goal of establishing 100 wind-power generation areas.
When selecting locations for hydroelectric power stations, agricultural requirements also had to be considered so that the projects could simultaneously support industrial and agricultural development.
Water conservancy construction was closely connected with agricultural development, so reservoirs and dams would also be constructed wherever suitable rivers existed, allowing stored water to be transferred or supplied to areas suffering from shortages.
Minister Daniele Costa stared at the revised targets until his head began to ache.
“Your Highness, after these revisions, the total investment will probably exceed 200 billion lire.
The financial pressure will be enormous.” Umberto smiled.
“It sounds like a lot, but once the expenditure is distributed over ten years, it remains manageable.” “Once these projects are completed, the economic benefits they generate will be immeasurable.” “Your department does not need to concern itself with financing.
You only need to concern yourself with execution and construction quality.” “If quality problems appear anywhere, everyone responsible, from the minister down to the grassroots personnel, will face legal investigation and trial, with absolutely no leniency.” “Understood, Your Highness.” Seeing that the Crown Prince was filled with confidence, Daniele Costa said nothing more.
They had absolute faith in His Highness’s ability to maintain control over the situation.
The following day, the Ministry of Public Works issued the “Ten-Year Infrastructure” recruitment decree, inviting design companies, engineering companies, and construction teams specializing in railways, highways, water conservancy, and electricity to register and undergo preliminary review.
Once the plan was officially released, construction could begin immediately.
Now it was the turn of private enterprises to become excited.
With such an enormous long-term construction program, how much labor and how many materials would be required?
Some even speculated that the government would ultimately invest hundreds of billions of lire.
Countless enterprises responded immediately and poured into Rome to register for participation.
Workers in the north cheered and flooded into the streets to celebrate the arrival of what they believed would be a great new era.
Political parties rooted in the northern working class, including the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, watched the slowly passing demonstrations and fell into deep thought.
They had always wanted to achieve their reform objectives through parliamentary meetings and political negotiations, yet they had never managed to accomplish them.
Now the Crown Prince had pushed those reforms forward through autocratic power.
Socialist Party leader Arturo Labriola sighed.
“This Crown Prince is truly extraordinary.” Filippo Turati smiled helplessly at himself.
“Yes, he used the methods of the Fascists, yet he stands on the side of the people.” “With such a Crown Prince, such a future king, who would not support him?” Even if Umberto had submitted these measures to parliament for a vote, Filippo Turati would still have supported them, because the Socialist Party held the largest number of parliamentary seats, making it difficult for such proposals to fail.
Of course, that depended on whether the Socialist Party could actually implement the policies once they were passed.
Arturo Labriola nodded.
“Let us remain quiet for a while and see what results these policies produce.” “I agree.” Filippo Turati naturally approved.
During the previous political storm surrounding the suspension of parliament, their attempts at mass mobilization had achieved very little, demonstrating that the people still held considerable expectations toward the Crown Prince’s cabinet.
If they forcibly created unrest before any genuine problems appeared, they would only lose popular support.
Meanwhile, Umberto received news from Naples that the trials of those involved in the massacre had been completed.
The principal offenders, major accomplices, and accomplices with previous criminal records had all been sentenced, while the principal offenders and those accomplices directly responsible for killing people had been sentenced to death.
Umberto immediately approved the verdicts and ordered their swift execution.
For people like these, anything less than death would neither satisfy public anger nor deter other criminals.
Thinking about the innocent people who had been slaughtered, Umberto still felt deeply uncomfortable, so he summoned Minister of Agriculture Ettore Rossi and asked about the progress of the memorial square.
“Your Highness, I have already coordinated with the Minister of the Interior, and he is personally supervising the construction.” “Construction is currently underway and will be completed before January 1.” “That’s good.” “In addition, you and the Deputy Minister of the Interior should notify the governors of every province and require them to attend the land reform mobilization rally on January 1.” Umberto intended to make the ceremony as grand as possible, allowing all of Europe to witness the determination of the Italian Government and overturn its old impression of Italy.
Italy might be considered a second-rate power, but in the eyes of Britain, France, and the United States, it was little more than a weak country unworthy of serious attention.
“Alright, Your Highness, I will go immediately.” Rossi had countless matters demanding his attention, but whenever Umberto personally entrusted him with something, he still preferred to handle it himself.