Chapter 296: Kicking Them While They Are Down (Bonus Chapter)
Vienna Palace
Franz looked at the telegram sent to him by Napoleon III and said with a smile, The French want to take action against the Kingdom of Sardinia. Now they want us to fulfill our promise. What do you think we should do?
The Minister of the Interior, Archduke Louis, suggested, Your Majesty, the French have ambitious plans for Italy. Perhaps the Kingdom of Sardinia alone cannot satisfy their appetite.
Once the French influence penetrates Italy, the pressure on our national defense will increase. For the security of Lombardy, we should restrain such behavior.
Metternich objected, It is not that serious. The Vienna System has just been established, and the French will not violate the treaty now. At most, they may take some advantages, but they cannot swallow the Kingdom of Sardinia whole.
If the French really want to annex Sardinia, let them. Once the French take this step, a new anti-French coalition will be formed.
Prime Minister Felix scoffed and said, Indeed, France is no longer the France of the Napoleonic era. Since Napoleon III had such ambitions, we might as well let him fulfill them. The European countries have just relaxed their vigilance against the French, and now the French are coming out again. Lets give them a push and make them stand even higher.
Strength determines position. If Austria is not strong enough, it must of course prevent French expansion and take preventative measures.
The present situation is different. Even if the French were to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, it would still be within Austrias tolerance.
With a strong Russia and a strong France, another strong Austria on the European continent would be insignificant in this situation.
Without them attracting attention, the increasingly powerful Austria will soon become a target.
In this situation, it actually serves Austrias interests to give the French a push and let them get a little fatter.
Franz made a decision: Tell the French that we will honor the agreement and support their annexation of Sardinia. But they must find a reason that everyone can accept; the Vienna System must not be undermined.
The Vienna System is Austrias national policy, and it will not change for at least ten years. In this situation, the French annexation of Sardinia would attract too much attention and could destabilize the Vienna System.
However, to divert attention to the French, Franz doesnt mind weakening the Vienna System. After all, it only serves to maintain balance on the European continent and has limited restraining power over the great powers.
Until the slow population growth problem is solved, France will not be a significant threat to Austria. Even if they annex Sardinia and cause a short-term population surge, it wont have any real effect.
The nationalistic Kingdom of Sardinia, where nationalism has become fanatical, is not easy to govern. It will be difficult to digest this region without decades of effort.
The Habsburg dynasty had been active in the Italian region for hundreds of years, and it was only after Franz came to power that a major purge was carried out in the region. In addition, the lower classes were won over through the emancipation of serfs and the redemption and purchase of land. Thus, the region was truly stabilized.
Because of the Austro-Sardinian War, Franz made the Kingdom of Sardinia the scapegoat, blaming them for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
Just look at the civil relations between the Kingdom of Lombardy and Sardinia today; even though they are neighboring territories, the people on both sides still harbor deep-seated animosity. This shows the power of hatred.
Without finding a scapegoat, would the French dare to conduct a major purge? And without conducting such a purge, how could they effectively suppress nationalism?
Metternich replied, Yes, Your Majesty!
Minister of Finance Karl reminded, Your Majesty, since the Italian radicals conspired to assassinate Napoleon III, its very likely that they might also try to harm you. We must conduct a public security crackdown and eliminate any potential threats.
Franz was very fearful of death and never hesitated to eliminate any potential threats to his life.
Not to mention pardoning the assassins, even if someone only had the motive to assassinate him and hadnt acted yet, they would be swiftly sent to the gallows. Austrian law was much stricter in this regard.
After thinking for a while, Franz said murderously, Hmm, indeed, we must conduct a thorough investigation. This matter will be handled by the Ministry of the Interior. Root out every rat hiding in the corners. Investigate thoroughly every person and organization associated with these rats. I want to see how many rats are hidden in Vienna.
Undoubtedly, someone would suffer misfortune. No matter what their status or background, once they were found guilty of the crime of regicide, they would be doomed. Even though they had not yet acted, the result would be the same.
The first to suffer will undoubtedly be the gangsters and street thugs. After Franz ascended the throne, they became the governments scapegoats in any crackdown on public security.
Once caught, they faced a minimum of ten years, and up to now, people have only been going in, with no one coming out.
Vienna is now free of prominent underworld organizations. Those who manage to evade capture are timid old-timers who keep a very low profile.
Making money quietly in the gray area is one thing, but those who dare to come out and declare themselves lords are doomed to die young.
London
Since the outbreak of the Indian rebellion, the British government has had a hard time with the great powers causing trouble one after the other.
As for the Russians, its to be expected; theyre already enemies, and the two sides have long since torn off any semblance of civility. The Russian government is openly supporting the Indian insurgents, and its almost as if the two nations are on the brink of war.
Austrias expansion of its influence in the Mediterranean and Africa is within their tolerance range; after all, it doesnt harm their own interests.
At first, it was thought that the pro-British French government would behave, perhaps content to gain a few colonial advantages. But Grenville reluctantly discovered that French ambitions in Italy remained undiminished.
Whats even more infuriating was that the pretext was provided by the Italians themselves. Even if the British government was willing to support the Kingdom of Sardinia, it lacked the confidence to do so.
Being a bully also depends on the target, and France is no pushover; theyre the type you have to reason with.
Unfortunately, the French still hold the moral high ground at the moment. Members of the Italian Carbonari conspired to assassinate Napoleon III and the perpetrators were caught on the spot.
The more Grenville thought about it, the bigger his headache became. He cursed angrily, Damn these radical extremists, do they have shit for brains? Trying to assassinate Napoleon III, they can even come up with such a stupid idea. I wonder if someone will try to assassinate Franz too!
Grenville was unaware that he was right. The Carbonari did indeed have plans to assassinate Franz, and theyve already taken action.
Unfortunately, they encountered the reclusive Franz, who rarely leaves the palace, so there was no chance to make a move at all.
It wasnt until the crackdown, when someone reported them for suspicious behavior, that police found bombs during a search of their residence, exposing their plans.
Of course, Grenville would rather have been wrong; dealing with just one France is difficult enough, adding Austria to the mix would be truly overwhelming.
Foreign Secretary Thomas analyzed: Prime Minister, its too late to say these things now. The French are holding the Kingdom of Sardinia accountable. If they cannot give Napoleon III an explanation, they may not let the matter rest.
The European countries will not support Sardinia on this issue. For now, its up to the Sardinian government to hand over the radicals and not to give the French a reason to act.
Handing over the perpetrators sounds easy in theory, but in practice, it is a challenge. The Carbonari wield considerable influence in Sardinia, with a strong presence and deep roots in society, making it far from easy to take action against them.
Amid nationalist fervor, the Sardinian people evidently remained fervent and are unlikely to carefully consider right and wrong; they will simply choose to resist.
Under public pressure, would the Sardinian government dare to take action against the Carbonari? Or do they even have the ability to take action against them?
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Russell shook his head and said, At this point, simply handing over a few scapegoats is not going to solve the problem. The main objective of the French demanding that Sardinia hand over the perpetrators is still driven by interests, otherwise they wouldnt accuse the Sardinian government of being involved in this conspiracy.
If the benefits offered by the Sardinian government do not satisfy them, this suspicion can easily become a reality. Once the French define the perpetrators as agents of the Sardinian government, war becomes inevitable.
The perpetrators must certainly be handed over; if the French are not appeased, the matter will not be resolved. Interests are also indispensable. Without paying a price that satisfies the French, Napoleon III will not let it rest either.
After all, he is the emperor of a nation, and even for the psychological trauma caused by the terror attack, territorial concessions, and reparations are necessary to make amends. The details of territorial concessions or reparations will depend on the actual situation.
Grenville thought for a moment and said, The Foreign Office should intervene to mediate this conflict, but we must first see what the French want. It would be best to involve the Austrians as well to pressure the French together, as Austria would also not want to see French expansion continue.
The British government has never relaxed its vigilance against the French. Containing French expansion has long been the national policy of the British government.
The centuries-old enmity between Britain and France is not to be taken lightly. Just because the current French government is pro-British doesnt mean that the conflicts between the two sides have diminished. In fact, Britain and France remain each others biggest competitors in overseas colonial activities.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m