Chapter 298: Chapter 47, Incident

Following the conventions of the European Continent, it was time for negotiations once again. The French, too, had to abide by this rule, especially as the Vienna System was re-established.

No sooner had the French diplomatic note been delivered than Cavour hurried to Paris, lavishing gifts and courtesies everywhere.

But it was all in vain—the French bureaucrats weren’t fools; they knew which money to take and which not to. It was better to stay away from an Emperor assassination case.

Foreign Minister Clero said with a worried frown, “Prime Minister, all the gifts were returned, and these people won’t even let us through the door.”

That was still relatively restrained. Others would take the bribe and then send cannons back your way.

In other words, they took the gifts, stuffed something trivial into the gift boxes, and then ostentatiously threw them out.

Hoping for their help was a daydream—these things, at most, could cool them off and supply them with less ammunition when they were clamoring for war.

There was no alternative, to show the Emperor everyone’s loyalty, they certainly had to chant slogans. Even the anti-war faction was now clamoring to teach the Kingdom of Sardinia a lesson.

This was because the investigation revealed that someone had helped the assassin by leaking the Emperor’s whereabouts, and this person had not yet been caught.

To avoid suspicion, no one dared make this political mistake.

Cavour said helplessly, “I haven’t had any results either. Napoleon III is using his convalescence as an excuse not to see guests. This matter seems difficult to handle.

But we have no choice. Since the French dare not accept gifts, we’ll have to lavish gifts on the representatives of the other nations, and this is not the time to be thrifty.

Fed well, if they can speak a word for us at the conference, it will be worth it.”

This was the most despicable tactic, but also the most effective one. Now the Kingdom of Sardinia was incapable of exchanging benefits with other nations, and influencing their diplomacy was even less likely.

Under these circumstances, the only option was to bribe the representatives of various nations. The European governments were very angry about the assassination, and they also did not want to see France continue to expand.

Cavour himself was extremely angry about the assassination, and he had no good feelings for these so-called patriots.

If possible, he wouldn’t mind dealing with those individuals directly, once and for all. As for the French demand to punish the murderer, Cavour did not even intend to argue, as long as things did not escalate.

Only the French government’s demand for territorial concessions was more than he could bear. The unification of the Italian Area was already a distant goal—now, if he had to cede territory as well, there truly would be no hope.

In a low voice, Clero said, “Prime Minister, the French are also working on their public relations; we may find it difficult to compete with them.

The Austrian representative this time, Martic, is from Lombardy, and represents the anti-Sardinian faction in the Vienna Government. The Vienna Government appointed him representative, probably in connection with the France-Austrian Secret Treaty.

In these negotiations, we can probably count out the Austrians. We even have to worry that France and Austria will reach an agreement to partition us.”

Lombardy is in the Italian Area, but the People of Lombardy do not equal Italians. Specifically, they are an independent nation, a branch of the Germanic people, originating from the southern part of Sweden.

During the independence movement of 1848, the People of Lombardy became divided; some supported the Vienna Government, while others sided with the Revolutionary Party.

Without a doubt, as Martic held a high position, he certainly supported the Habsburg dynasty. Being one of the beneficiaries, he naturally opposed the unification of the Italian Area.

During the last Austro-Sardinian war, the invasion by the Sardinian Army brought disaster to his homeland, which inevitably made him resentful of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Faced with such an opponent, even Cavour had a headache. Trying to cheat them seemed impossible from any angle.

Discuss the unification of the Italian Area? They did not even consider themselves part of the Italian people, even though the culture and traditions of Lombardy were influenced by Italian culture.

This too proved useless; the entire Kingdom of Lombardy was now pursuing de-Italianization, seeking to return to the Teuton cultural family.

After pondering for a while, Cavour said with caution, “This information is very important; we must notify the British immediately. Tonight, I will personally visit the British Embassy to discuss countermeasures.”

One Frenchman could be deadly enought, but with an Austrian added to the mix, it would be truly hopeless. Other than seeking help from the British, Cavour felt powerless.

It was not that he was incompetent; rather, the enemy was too powerful and the Kingdom of Sardinia much too weak to even have the right to an equal dialogue.

Now, the British were determined to protect the Kingdom of Sardinia, not only for strategic needs but also because they were tied down by debts.

After the Austro-Sardinian War, the Kingdom of Sardinia’s economy collapsed, kept alive only by British capital. The Sardinian Government naturally kept borrowing, and now the Kingdom of Sardinia could pretty much be called a semi-colony of the United Kingdom.

Tariffs, salt tax, tobacco and alcohol taxes, railways, and ports were all mortgaged to the British, and once the Kingdom of Sardinia fell, those tens of millions of British pounds they borrowed would all go down the drain.

Unless the London Government was confident it could make France and Austria pay back the money, the UK consortium would not tolerate the collapse of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

It was without doubt that neither Napoleon III nor Franz would be the sap to foot the bill.

It was an invasion, not a succession. There have always been heirs to inherit debts, but no one has ever heard of invaders taking on debt.

When it came to the tens of millions of British pounds at stake, British pride was of no use. To be precise, British pride was of no use whenever interests were involved.

On the other hand, Martic and the French Foreign Minister of Auvergne were getting along famously. With the support of the Vienna Government for the French government’s annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was hard for them not to agree on terms.

In return, the French government promised to open several overseas colonial ports to provide supplies for the Austrian Navy.

The Vienna Government had already reached agreements with Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, and with this agreement with the French, the Austrian Navy would have the capability to enter any ocean in the world.

Strategically speaking, this meant the Austrian Navy had taken another step forward in its strategy of globalization.

Of course, the French stood to gain even more. Now, as long as Napoleon III could withstand the pressure from other European countries, he could swallow up the Kingdom of Sardinia.

After that, it would just be a matter of slowly suppressing the rebellion. The French, with their rich experience in rebellion, would converse with the Italians, and perhaps new sparks could be ignited.

Even if they couldn’t withstand the pressure, it didn’t matter—at least the road to a British and French Alliance was cut off. The proud French would not remain subordinates to the British forever.

Especially after harming their core interests, even if it was Napoleon III’s pro-British stance, the two nations would still end up in political and diplomatic opposition.

In the British Embassy in France, the atmosphere was very peculiar at the moment.

To support the Kingdom of Sardinia, British Foreign Minister Thomas himself had come to participate in this Paris conference, and he had even arrived early.

Thomas asked seriously, “Prime Minister Cavour, are you sure what you just said is true?”

He had to be cautious— if France and Austria reached an agreement to partition the Kingdom of Sardinia, they would be in a passive position. Apart from bellowing a few times, the London Government would be powerless.

The only option was to act in advance, to sabotage this France-Austria collaboration, or to unite with the other European countries to put pressure on them, forcing both to make concessions.

Either outcome was not what the London Government wanted to see. As for the Kingdom of Sardinia, their fate was quite clear; it was only a matter of how much they would lose.

If diplomacy failed, they would lose all their possessions; if they succeeded diplomatically, it would be a costly outcome. Assassinating the Emperor could not be done without a price, and the French face still had to be acknowledged.

Cavour said with a mournful face, “Mr. Thomas, how could I possibly make a joke about such a matter?”

This was the worst-case scenario, one he also didn’t want to see, so how could he fabricate it out of thin air? They didn’t even know about the news of the arrest of the Charcoal party assassin by the Vienna Government, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been puzzled by the actions of the Vienna Government.

If there wasn’t that excuse, even if Franz wanted to plot against the French, he couldn’t have done it so smoothly.

In the Vienna Government, the voices opposing the indulgence to France were not small, even Franz could not ignore the calls of the crowd.

After the arrest of the assassin, the situation was different. For the sake of political correctness, everyone stood against the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Thomas paced a few steps, then said, “There must have been a change in the Austrian Government; not long ago our ambassador in Vienna sent a message, saying that the voices in the Austrian Government advocating to limit French expansion were still dominant.

With that old fox Metternich around, he would not be ignorant of the threat posed by unchecked French expansion.

In the last Austro-Sardinian War, Austria had the opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, but they gave it up. This proves that the Austrian Government has no ambition towards you.

The Austrian Government has not had a turnover at all, not a single Cabinet member has changed, and such a rapid political stance shift is impossible.”

Thomas’s analysis was very thorough; political stances could not change at whim, and this included governing philosophies. Under such a stable structural system as the Austrian Government, there was even less likelihood of radical and abrupt changes.