Chapter 116: Hongmen Banquet
The meeting between Franz and Aleksándr was productive, leading to an improvement in Russo-Austrian relations, and any minor conflicts stemming from the Prussian-Danish War were quickly resolved.
Kingdom of Sardinia.
The Austrian army was in the process of preparing for departure as the ceasefire treaty had already been enacted. Half of the war reparations had been settled, and the remainder was secured by the British government. The time had come for the troops to be withdrawn.
Franz held no intention of causing any unnecessary delays and expressed his willingness to promptly return the army home when possible. Sustaining a substantial overseas military presence incurred significant expenses.
However, considering Austria’s occupation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was only natural that they wouldn’t return empty-handed. It was inconceivable to leave without acquiring anything. Virtually all the soldiers were coming back laden with the spoils of war.
With a substantial amount of spoils of war, transporting them became a logistical challenge. Selling them locally in the recently war-torn Kingdom of Sardinia was out of the question, as they would hardly fetch a fair price, and in some cases, there were no buyers to be found.
Marshal Radetzky was a wise commander and, in order to safeguard the interests of all involved, promptly decided that the army should collectively transport the spoils back to their homeland for sale. The proceeds would then be fairly distributed among the soldiers.
……
In the Turin industrial district, a young army major was directing the operations, saying, “Tom, be careful with these machines; they're like precious gems, worth tens of thousands of florins. You can’t turn them into scrap metal, or we won’t even cover our transportation costs!”
“Don’t worry, Major. I won’t let anything happen to these gems,” replied Tom.
Like combing through the hair, like sorting through cotton, ever since the Austrian government decided to abandon the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Austrian army had taken full initiative and embarked on a journey to amass wealth.
Of course, they weren’t interested in plundering the common folk; it wasn’t profitable, and it wasted time.
The loot from robbing a noble or a capitalist was much greater than ransacking a village, making this choice quite straightforward.
Marshal Radetzky ruled the army with strict discipline, and everyone organized themselves for the wealth accumulation mission. Each unit had its designated area to operate in.
This also required professional knowledge. European armies had a tradition of looting, and during the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Sardinia had been visited by French forces several times.
In the process of looting and being looted, everyone learned how to hide their wealth.
Real estate and land weren’t a concern; these immovable assets were safe. What everyone needed to be careful of was how to conceal easily carried items like cash, antiques, and artwork.
Nobles and capitalists weren’t fools; they began hiding their wealth before the enemy arrived. After all, as long as they didn’t resist, armies typically only plundered without causing harm.
How much one could hide became a measure of their skill. Experienced individuals knew they had to hide the most valuable items and leave some cash outside for the soldiers to loot.
If everything was hidden away, most likely there would be nothing left, and there’s no way the soldiers would simply give up without any gains. If things got serious, what if they resorted to torture for information?
Torture wasn’t exclusive to Li Zicheng; many people had done such things before, but perhaps not as ruthlessly as he did.
Franz, being a man of integrity, would never allow the Austrian army to engage in such barbaric actions.
Before the operation, he had already sent people to train the soldiers. For example, they were taught to handle antique artwork and mechanical equipment with care.
Basements, hidden attics, concealed walls, freshly disturbed earth... These were all the focus of intensive searches, as they were potential hiding places for wealth.
Fear of specialization was justified; highly trained bandits were quite formidable, their proficiency was paying off with abundant spoils of war.
During this era, there were no railways connecting Sardinia to Austria. Transportation primarily relied on manpower and beasts of burden, which was naturally slow.
Since August, the Austrian army had been working on transporting these riches back home, and they were still diligently doing so.
A soldier reported, “Major, we’ve found a warehouse with a large quantity of black wheat. It’s said to have been stored here by a grain merchant.”
The major officer furrowed his brow, hesitated for a moment, and said, “We’ve already seized a large amount of food in advance. We’re about to withdraw, and there’s no way we can consume all of it. Seal it and don’t touch it for now. I’ll report this up the chain of command.”
Austria wasn’t lacking in food supplies, and transporting it back from the Kingdom of Sardinia at a high cost wouldn’t yield much profit. This was considered spoils of war with little value.
……
At the headquarters of the expeditionary force, Marshal Radetzky had already received numerous reports about the capture of basic supplies such as food, coal, ore, and raw industrial materials.
For Austria, these items were essentially worthless, as the cost of transporting them back would outweigh any potential profit.
However, he was reluctant to leave them for the Sardinian government. After this campaign, it would be unlikely for relations between the two countries to normalize for decades, and weakening the power of the Kingdom of Sardinia further aligned with Austria’s interests.
The question was whether to destroy them or not, and Radetzky found himself in a moment of hesitation.
“Marshal, why not sell these supplies at a low price to merchants?” Lieutenant General Edmund Leopold Friedrich suggested.
Pillaging and plundering also had its limits and targets, and foreign businessmen like the English and French were naturally exempt from being plundered. Of course, this exemption only applied to influential big merchants; small-scale merchants were fair game.
After the Austrian army occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia, there were merchants interested in buying their spoils. However, the offered prices were extremely low, and Marshal Radetzky was unwilling to take such a loss, which is why they opted to transport the goods back to Austria for sale.
“Then let’s sell them!” Marshal Radetzky said after a moment of hesitation.
No matter who they had issues with, they couldn’t afford to have problems with money. With so many basic supplies, no matter how cheaply they sold them, the total would still be a significant sum.
As for the consequences of these supplies falling into the hands of foreign merchants, Marshal Radetzky couldn’t be bothered to think about it. After all, for the Kingdom of Sardinia, it wouldn’t be a favorable outcome.
……
Inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, a religious banquet was in progress, and Pope Pius IX personally “attended” this meeting.
Yes, he attended the meeting, despite being the leader of the religious world. However, he was in a vulnerable position, and though he hadn’t reached the point of being completely powerless, he had lost some of his authority.
Faced with the conditions set by the Austrians, he couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
The fall of the headquarters of the Roman Curia had led to the need to raise funds for military expenses, even if it meant selling some church property. It was a logical step in order to reclaim the headquarters.
Anyone who dared to oppose it would be seen as lacking sufficient faith in God. According to Pope Pius IX, clergy members who lacked devout religious faith were not qualified to continue serving God.
This was Pius IX’s perspective, but many Austrian bishops found it highly unreasonable. With the vast wealth of the Holy See, why should they have to sell off all their properties?
“Don’t argue. This is an order. If anyone opposes the recovery of the Holy Land, I will immediately remove him from his bishopric!” threatened Pope Pius IX.
Removal from office was likely just the first step, and there might be excommunication as well. That would be truly disastrous.
They were neither Protestant believers who could disregard the Pope’s orders nor feudal lords who could lead armies directly to Rome to threaten the Pope to revoke his commands.
People blinded by their interests were never in short supply in this world, and Archbishop Montreux was one of them.
Unlike the long-established archbishops who had already made their fortunes, Montreux had only recently taken up his position. He had staked his entire fortune on this position and hadn’t even had the chance to break even yet.
At this moment, the prospect of large-scale sale of Church properties seemed like a direct threat to his financial interests. As he glanced around the room and saw all the bishops looking furious, his courage swelled.
It was not the Middle Ages anymore, what gives the Pope so much power?
“Your Holiness, even clergy need to eat. If we sell off Church properties, what will we eat?” Montreux questioned.
“As servants of God, we are not meant to seek luxury. The Church’s income is sufficient to sustain the clergy,” Pope Pius IX replied nonchalantly.
The Church also has its own sources of income, and in a devout country like Austria, there’s no shortage of donations from the faithful.
Montreux continued to argue, “But, Your Holiness, the Church also needs to function. If we don’t have enough funds, we won’t be able to maintain the faith of the people.”
Pope Pius IX, with a devout expression, replied, “As a devout believer, one must overcome these difficulties. Child, if you are not capable of bearing this responsibility, let someone who is capable handle it!”
Those who had initially prepared to speak up quickly chose to remain silent. It was evident that the Austrian government had set its sights on the Church’s wealth, and Pope Pius IX had already sold them out in exchange for the recovery of the Papal States.
Not to mention the dismissal of a bishop; even if they were all dismissed, it would be a minor issue. Without their sacred halo, they were no match for the government.
Seeing the initially indignant bishops now quieted down, Montreux knew he was in deep trouble.
He had inadvertently become the sacrificial lamb to serve as a warning to others. At this point, he didn’t even have the courage to defend himself.
Admitting guilt and cooperating might lead to a more lenient punishment, whereas continuing to resist could result in a harsher fate – death might be the lighter outcome, and his entire family might suffer.
It shouldn’t be presumed that Europe doesn’t engage in collective punishment. Even if it doesn’t reach the extent of punishing nine generations, his family would likely still face repercussions.
Observing Montreux’s submission, Pope Pius IX felt satisfied with his display of authority.
With no objections forthcoming, Prime Minister Felix was summoned forth.
In the presence of God, Pope Pius IX, representing the Holy See, and Felix, representing the Austrian government, signed the ecclesiastical property transfer agreement.
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Footnote: Hongmen Banquet (Feast at Swan Goose Gate) is used figuratively to refer to a trap or a situation ostensibly joyous but in fact treacherous.
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