On the morning of November 5, Umberto summoned Lieutenant General Giovanni Marelli, Commander of the Carabinieri, to Palazzo Chigi (the Prime Minister’s Office) to discuss the plan.
In the small meeting room, besides Umberto and Marelli, there were also Sulmona and the secretary.
“General Marelli, the Carabinieri played an important role in suppressing the rebellion.
We will record this contribution for now and reward you once the country stabilizes.” Umberto was always clear when it came to rewards and punishments.
It was an indisputable fact that the contributions of the Carabinieri had surpassed those of both the Army and the police.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Having served within the Carabinieri system for many years and being loyal to the royal family, Marelli was extremely sensitive to changes within the monarchy.
His Majesty had personally instructed him to fully assist the Crown Prince, which clearly indicated that the future of Italy rested on the Crown Prince.
He therefore obeyed the Crown Prince without hesitation.
“You’re welcome.
I invited you here today to give you advance notice that I intend to reform the Carabinieri.” “How does Your Highness plan to reform them?” “We will proceed in two stages.
“First, we will establish special forces within the Carabinieri.
“The country will be divided into seven defense zones—Northwest, Northeast, North-Central, South-Central, South, Sicily, and Sardinia—and each zone will have one special regiment.
Since Rome is the capital, an additional special regiment will be stationed there, bringing the total to eight.
Each regiment will have a standard strength of two thousand men, excluding logistics personnel.
“These eight units will serve as rapid-response regiments.
They will be fully motorized and equipped with heavy weapons to ensure strong combat capability.
Under normal circumstances, they will not participate in local administration and will only be deployed during major crises.
“Second, as the country develops, we will gradually standardize the duties and functional departments of the Carabinierito improve efficiency.
This stage will take much longer, so there is no need to plan it in detail for the time being.” “Your Highness, is what you said really true?” Marelli had listened quietly throughout the explanation, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
By the time Umbertofinished, he could no longer contain his excitement.
Umberto smiled.
“Of course it is.” Marelli clenched his fist excitedly.
“That’s fantastic.” The Carabinieri were both soldiers and police officers, yet their status was relatively low and their weapons were poor.
The Crown Prince had granted them eight regiments in a single stroke, and they were even to be fully motorized units with heavy firepower.
This would greatly strengthen the combat capabilities of the Carabinieri.
“However, there is one difficult issue, and that is achieving full motorization.
What exactly should the standard be?” “Go back and carefully calculate how many military trucks and motorcycles a force of two thousand men would require,” Umberto replied.
“I understand.
I will study the matter carefully.
But can the weapons and vehicles be delivered on time?” Marelli still wanted to make sure this was not merely an empty promise.
Otherwise, the units might be formed only to discover that the necessary equipment could not be supplied.
“Rest assured.
My experimental zone has both an automobile factory and a weapons factory.
They will guarantee your supply.” Umberto continued, “I am about to launch a major reform program, and there will be considerable uncertainty.
I need you to first dispatch personnel to establish the framework of these special regiments, then gradually expand them while ensuring that their combat effectiveness is maintained.” With nearly seventy thousand Carabinieri nationwide, there should be no shortage of experienced personnel to form the core of the new units.
Marelli stood up, gave a solemn military salute, and said, “Please rest assured, Your Highness.
I am loyal to the country and the King, and I will faithfully fulfill my duties and suppress all reactionary forces.” “Good.
Go ahead with your work.” Umberto asked Sulmona to see Marelli out and, while he was at it, call in Basso, the head of intelligence waiting outside.
Through this incident, Umberto had realized that both the government and the military were far too easy to infiltrate.
Others seemed to know the government inside and out, while the government itself remained almost completely ignorant of them.
Intelligence and surveillance were the eyes of the state.
Without eyes, wouldn’t the government be like a blind man swinging wildly in a fight?
Reforming the intelligence system was therefore extremely urgent.
The national intelligence apparatus was far too fragmented, with several departments under the Cabinet and several more within the military, making information integration difficult.
The military intelligence structure did not need to be altered for the time being, since it was relatively centralized.
Umberto wanted to separate the other intelligence organizations from their existing departments, integrate them with his own intelligence group, and establish an independent Intelligence Agency responsible for all intelligence and counterintelligence affairs.
It would report directly to him and, once constitutional government was restored, would report to both the King and the Prime Minister.
The previous intelligence office had relatively limited responsibilities, mainly focusing on commercial and political intelligence, without handling areas such as counterintelligence.
After taking his seat, Basso immediately took out his proposal.
As the head of intelligence, he was extremely familiar with the organizational structure required for intelligence work.
“Your Highness, before coming here, I prepared a plan.
The Intelligence Agency will be divided into six divisions: the Foreign Affairs Division, Internal Affairs Division, Counterintelligence Division, Security Division, General Affairs Division, and Supervision Division.
Together, they will be responsible for domestic and foreign intelligence gathering, surveillance, counterintelligence, security, training, personnel selection, and internal supervision.” Umberto nodded.
“The plan is very good, but one thing is still missing—technical personnel.
“Intelligence personnel must not only be trained in concealment and intelligence gathering, but must also understand science and technology.
The intelligence headquarters will establish a Science and Technology Division responsible for researching intelligence technology and countering the technologies used by our opponents, ensuring that the Intelligence Agency maintains a technical advantage.” Not only the Intelligence Agency, but every department that relied on communications in the future would need to place greater importance on technological development.
This was especially true for the military, whose demands for technology were extremely high.
“Understood, Your Highness.” Basso felt some pressure, but he believed he could handle it.
“Will the headquarters of the Intelligence Agency remain within the Ministry of the Interior?” “No.
You will no longer belong to the Ministry of the Interior.
The Intelligence Agency will become an independent department.
“A new headquarters building will be constructed for it.
Until that building is completed, you will temporarily operate from New Rome City.” Umberto continued, “An independent Intelligence Agency cannot exist without internal supervision.
Therefore, in addition to the Director of the Intelligence Agency, there will be three Deputy Directors, each responsible for overseeing different divisions.” If a single person completely dominated the intelligence organization, the institution could grow too powerful to control.
But placing it under the Ministry of the Interior was also inappropriate, because the Ministry of the Interior was primarily responsible for domestic security, supervision of local governments, civil administration, and other internal affairs.
“Your subordinate understands Your Highness’s intention.” Basso had no selfish motives.
He had once been a man on the verge of starvation, and it was the young Highness who had saved him and given him a new life.
His own loyalty to the Highness did not mean that future directors would possess the same loyalty.
Therefore, decentralization and checks and balances were necessary.
“Good.
Go ahead with your work.
A new department will have many things to handle.” Umberto dismissed Basso, then asked the secretary to leave as well.
Afterward, he turned toward Sulmona with a smile.
“I am also going to establish a Public Sentiment Division responsible for collecting information on public opinion.
You will be in charge of it and report only to me.
“The expenses of the Public Sentiment Division will be included in the royal family’s expenditures so that no one will notice.” Hearing the appointment, Sulmona immediately became nervous.
“Your Highness, I want to remain by your side.” “What are you thinking?” Sulmona had been responsible for Umberto’s daily affairs for more than a decade, and both of them had long since grown accustomed to the arrangement.
How could Umberto possibly send him away?
“The Public Sentiment Division is different from the Intelligence Agency.
The workload will not be nearly as heavy, and you won’t need to leave my side.” “Is that so?” Sulmona scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.
“Your Highness, can I really do it?” For more than a decade, he had worked continuously for Umberto and had long since become one of Umberto’s core followers, personally witnessing how Umberto had grown stronger step by step.
“Why wouldn’t you be able to?” Umberto treated Sulmona almost like an older brother, their relationship combining both work and friendship.
After more than a decade of companionship, how could Umberto possibly doubt Sulmona’s loyalty?
Umberto continued, “As for how many personnel should be assigned to each province, we can test it gradually and expand the system over time.
“However, the personnel assigned must be randomly selected.
They should not know one another, and they should be rotated every three to five years.
“The information they collect will not only include public opinion, but also living conditions, abuse of power, corruption, homicide, and other matters.” “In short, the Public Sentiment Division will act as a monitor hidden in the shadows.
Whenever necessary, the information it gathers will be handed over to the relevant departments.” “Understood, Your Highness.
I will do my best.” Sulmona had followed Umberto longer than anyone else and understood very clearly what Umberto wanted to accomplish.