Chapter 296: Chapter 45: Kicking Someone When They’re Down

Vienna Palace

Franz, looking at the telegram from Napoleon III, said with a chuckle, “The French want to make a move on the Kingdom of Sardinia. Now they want us to fulfill our promise. What do you think we should do?”

Minister of Internal Affairs Archduke Louis proposed, “Your Majesty, the French are ambitious towards the Italian area. I fear that the Kingdom of Sardinia won’t be enough to satisfy their appetite.

Once the French influence penetrates deeper into the Italian area, our national defense pressure will increase. For the security of the Lombardy region, we should stop this kind of behavior.”

Metternich disagreed, “It’s not that serious. The Vienna System has just been established, and the French will not violate the treaty at this time. At most they might take some advantage, but they can’t swallow the Kingdom of Sardinia in one bite.

If the French really want to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, then just let them have it. Once the French take that step, a new Anti-French Alliance can be established.”

Prime Minister Felix sneered, “That’s right. Nowadays, France is no longer the France of the Napoleonic Era. Since Napoleon III has such ambitions, let’s just fulfill their wishes.

Just as the European countries were beginning to lower their guard against the French, the French have jumped out again. We’ll push them further and let them stand even taller.”

Strength determines stance. If Austria’s strength were insufficient, it would naturally have to prevent French expansion and take precautions.

The situation is different now. Even if the French were to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, it would still be within Austria’s tolerance.

A strong Russia plus a strong France, in such a situation, the emergence of a strong Austria on the European Continent would not be striking.

If they weren’t there to draw attention, then the increasingly strong Austria would soon become the target of everyone’s arrows.

In this case, pushing the French a bit, letting them get a bit fattened up, actually aligns more with Austria’s interests.

Franz made a decision, “Tell the French that we will keep our promise and support their annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

However, they must find a reason that everyone can accept. The Vienna System cannot be disrupted.”

The Vienna System is Austria’s national policy, and it will not change for at least another ten years. Under such circumstances, France’s annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia would be too conspicuous and affect the stability of the Vienna System.

However, to make France attract more fire, Franz didn’t mind weakening the Vienna System a bit. After all, it’s only used to maintain the balance on the European Continent and has limited binding force on the major powers.

As long as the problem of slow population growth isn’t solved, France will not be a major concern for Austria. Even if they were to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia and cause a short-term surge in population, it wouldn’t have any effect.

The Sardinian Kingdom, where nationalism is already fanatical, isn’t easy to govern. To digest this area, it would be difficult to accomplish without decades of effort.

The Habsburg dynasty managed the Italian area for hundreds of years; it was not until after Franz took power that he conducted a major purge in the region and truly stabilized it by liberating the serfs and buying off the loyalty of the lower classes through land redemption.

Because of the Ausa war, Franz made Sardinia the scapegoat, bearing the blame for the deaths of tens of thousands.

Just look at the current relations between the people of the Kingdom of Lombardy and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Despite bordering each other, the people there still do not interact even to the point of death, which shows the power of hatred.

Without finding a scapegoat, do the French dare to carry out a purge? If they don’t carry out a purge, how can they suppress nationalism?

Metternich answered, “Yes, Your Majesty!”

Finance Minister Carl reminded, “Your Majesty, since Italian radicalists plotted to assassinate Napoleon III, it’s very likely that they might also harm you.

We need to carry out a strict security crackdown to eliminate any potential hidden dangers.”

Franz was very afraid of death and was always uncompromising towards any existence that could potentially threaten his life.

Let alone pardon an assassin, even if someone merely entertained the motivation to assassinate and hadn’t yet acted, they would be sent to the gallows. In this respect, Austria’s laws are much stricter.

After contemplating for a moment, Franz said with murderous intent, “Hmm, there indeed needs to be strict investigations. This matter will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior; let’s catch all these rats hiding in the corners.

For any individual or organization associated with these rats, investigate thoroughly. I want to see just how many rats are hiding in Vienna.”

Without a doubt, someone was about to be unlucky. No matter their status or background, once tainted with the crime of regicide, their fate was sealed. Even if they hadn’t taken action yet, the outcome would be the same.

Before that, the first to be affected would certainly be the gang members and street thugs. Every time Franz cracked down on security after assuming the throne, the government would take them as the first target.

“Once they’re caught, it’s a minimum of ten years, and up to now, there’s been plenty of people going in but nobody coming out.”

In Vienna now, there are no decent gangs that can show their faces. The ones that managed to dodge the bullet are all the old hands who are as timid as mice, so low-key they could not be any more discreet.

Earning a quiet fortune in the grey area is one thing, but those who dare to come out and act like kings are short-lived ghosts.”

London

Ever since the Indian mutiny erupted, the days of the British Government have been difficult, with several great powers starting to play their little games.

The Russians can be set aside as they have always been enemies; the two sides had long torn off the mask of civility, with the Tsarist government openly supporting Indian rebels. It’s just short of a declaration of war.

Austria’s expansion of influence in the Mediterranean and African Continent is still within their limits of tolerance, as there’s been no loss to their own interests.

The British had thought the French government, being pro-British, would behave itself, and taking a little advantage in the colonies would be fine, but Granville, helpless, discovered that the French ambition for the Italian Area remained undiminished.

To make matters worse, the excuse was that the Italians brought it on themselves; even if the London Government was willing to support the Kingdom of Sardinia, they still lacked strong footing.”

There are right and wrong ways to a fight, and France isn’t some pushover, it’s someone you need to reason with.

To make things even worse, the French now had the moral high ground. Members of the Carbonari plotted to assassinate Napoleon III, and the assassin was caught on the spot.”

The more Granville thought, the more he got a headache, and he cursed angrily, “Damned radicals, do they all have shit for brains?

To assassinate Napoleon III, how did they even come up with such a rotten idea? I hope no one is planning to assassinate Franz!”

What Granville didn’t know was that he had hit the nail on the head; the Carbonari did indeed have a plan to assassinate Franz and had even taken action.

Unfortunately, they encountered the hermit-like Franz, who holed up in the palace all day long with no chance for the assassins to strike.

It wasn’t until the crackdowns happened that, due to suspicious behavior, someone reported them, and the police found bombs during a search of a residence, exposing the plot.

Of course, Granville would rather he hadn’t guessed correctly; one France was trouble enough, adding Austria would be completely unmanageable.

Foreign Minister Thomas analyzed, “Prime Minister, it’s too late to talk about this now. If the French demand accountability from Sardinia and don’t get a satisfactory explanation for Napoleon III, they probably won’t let it go.

On this issue, the nations of Europe will not support Sardinia. Now it’s up to the Sardinian Government to hand over the radicals, to not give the French an excuse to act.”

Handing over the perpetrator sounds easy, but is difficult to do. The Carbonari have significant clout within the Kingdom of Sardinia and have huge influence among the public. They are not so easily dealt with.

With nationalism at a high, the Sardinian people are far from calm, unwilling to consider who’s right and who’s wrong, preferring just to resist outright.

Under the pressure of public opinion, does the Sardinian Government dare to make a move against the Carbonari? Or, rather, do they have the power to do so?

Finance Minister John Russell shook his head and said, “At this point, it’s not just a matter of serving up a few scapegoats to solve the problem.

The French demand the perpetrator from Sardinia mainly for their own interests, or else they wouldn’t accuse the Sardinian Government of being part of this conspiracy.

If the benefits offered by the Sardinian Government aren’t satisfying to them, the suspicion could turn into a certainty. Once the French define the perpetrator as the Sardinian Government, war will become inevitable.”

The criminal must certainly be handed over, not venting steam for the French will leave the matter unsettled. The interests are likewise indispensable; without paying a price that satisfies the French, Napoleon III will not rest.

After all, it’s the emperor of a country we’re talking about. Just the compensation for the scare he suffered is enough to require territorial concessions or indemnity. The specifics of whether it will be ceding territory or money will depend on how things play out.”

Granville thought and said, “The Foreign Office should mediate this conflict first, let’s see what the French want.

Best to pull in the Austrians to put pressure on France together; surely the Vienna Government does not want to see the French continue to expand their influence.”

The London Government has never relaxed its vigilance against the French. Blocking French expansion has always been a consistent policy of the British Government.

The centuries-old rivalry between Britain and France is no joke, and let no one think that just because the French government is pro-British now, the disputes between them are any fewer. In fact, overseas colonial activities see Britain and France still very much as each other’s biggest competitor without peer.