Chapter 300: Peacekeeping Force
On November 26, 1858, the Franco-Sardinian conflict triggered by the assassination attempt officially began negotiations.
As host and victim, the French representative, Auvergne, said angrily, I believe everyone is aware of the situation. His Majesty, the great Emperor Napoleon III, was almost assassinated by an evil organization.
The perpetrators remain at large, but the peace-loving France sent a diplomatic note to the Kingdom of Sardinia immediately after the incident.
The results revealed a much deeper relationship between the Sardinian government and the evil organization than we had anticipated. Instead of apprehending the perpetrators, they sheltered them, disregarding Frances well-meaning advice.
We hereby declare that if the Sardinian government is unable to apprehend the perpetrators, we do not rule out the possibility of taking strong measures.
Auvergne was clearly not a simple man. He refused to discuss compensation and insisted on apprehending the criminals to gain public sympathy and support.
The use of force was merely to demonstrate their determination. There was no mention of demanding territorial concessions or reparations from the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was completely different from their previous private communications.
Prime Minister Cavour was worried. Their opponent was obviously a professional, and on the issue of punishing the perpetrators, the positions of various governments were generally in agreement.
Cavour reluctantly replied, Mr. Auvergne, the perpetrators have been apprehended and their identities have been verified. This incident has nothing to do with the Kingdom of Sardinia.
This was agreed in advance with the British. The government of Sardinia could not admit any connection with this assassination attempt. Only a firm denial would give them a chance to get through this.
Auvergne scoffed, Enough. At this point, you still want to argue. Do you really think that France is easy to bully? These four perpetrators are all members of your countrys radical organization. This organization aims to annex the entire Italian region, and its activities are funded by your government. You tell me if theres no connection!
Seeing Auvergnes murderous look, Cavour knew that this time the French were truly angry. At this moment, he could not admit any connection with this incident.
Cavour explained, Mr. Auvergne, please calm down. These four perpetrators were only former members of the Carbonari, but they were expelled long ago for inappropriate behavior and have even emigrated.
It cannot be assumed that the organization is evil just because they were once members of it. As far as I know, Emperor Napoleon III himself was once a member of this organization. Do you consider His Majesty to be an evil person as well?
Auvergne scoffed: Nonsense. When did His Majesty ever join such an evil organization? He only heard that this organization was involved in the slave trade and the drug trade.
Unfortunately, when His Majesty infiltrated the organization to investigate, the evidence he had painstakingly gathered was taken away by the government of your country.
When it comes to playing dirty, whos afraid of whom? Auvergnes accusations of them engaging in the slave trade and drug trafficking were not entirely baseless.
In a large group, youll find all kinds of people. It wouldnt be surprising at all if there were a few slave traders and drug dealers among the Carbonari.
While others might hesitate, Auvergne wasnt afraid to offend them. No matter how powerful the capitalists of the Kingdom of Sardinia are, they dont have the ability to cause trouble in France.
At that moment, the Austrian representative, Marti, also chimed in, mockingly, Mr. Cavour, you seem to be beating around the bush. It seems that your government is really willing to do anything to provoke a war between France and Austria!
Cavour hastily explained: Mr. Marti, this is a misunderstanding. We had absolutely no intention of sowing discord between the two countries.
Although he did want to provoke a war between France and Austria, there was no way he could say so openly. Doing things in the shadows was fine as long as one did not get caught. But once exposed, there would be hell to pay.
Seeing things going badly, Thomas knew he had to step in. He had already cursed Cavours entire family in his heart. Even if they wanted to sow discord, they should not have been so blatant.
The assassination attempt was too obvious; no matter how hard they tried to shift the blame, it couldnt be pinned on the Austrians. Even if they wanted to change the subject, they shouldnt provoke the Austrians!
None of the great powers are easy to bully, and once they retaliate, it will definitely be a headache for the Sardinian government.
All right, the incident has already happened, theres no need to dwell on these irrelevant matters. Lets just discuss the compensation directly!
Auvergne sneered, Mr. Thomas, we should first clarify the issues before rushing to discuss reparations. Punishing the criminals should be the priority, not compensation.
Marti chimed in, For an evil organization dedicated to disrupting the balance in Europe and provoking war, we absolutely cannot show any leniency.
Thomas was taken aback, then countered, Mr. Marti, what do you mean by provoking war?
Marti solemnly stated, Just a few days ago, our Vienna police arrested several assassins who were planning to assassinate His Imperial Majesty the Great Franz. These assassins happened to be members of this organization.
They had also acquired French citizenship. The goal was clearly to provoke a conflict between France and Austria, destroy the Vienna System, and realize the ambitions of the Kingdom of Sardinia to annex the Italian territories.
Of course, perhaps their ambition is not limited to annexing the Italian region; their slogan is to rebuild the Roman Empire.
Hearing this explanation, everyones expressions changed as they looked at Cavour differently. They had seen reckless behavior before, but never someone so inclined to create trouble like this.
Thomas asked in disbelief: Mr. Marti, is this all true?
Marti took out a document and said: Of course, this is information sent from our homeland. Everyone can take a look. It contains detailed investigation results. Everyone can verify the identities of these people. This assassination attempt and the one in Paris were planned by the same group.
According to investigations, these people had been lurking in Vienna for more than half a year. The one who financed them was the Sardinian government.
When Prime Minister Cavour heard this news, he almost fainted. Bringing it out into the open like this clearly indicated irrefutable evidence. Even if it was not entirely true, it would be at least a convincing fabrication.
In particular, the accusation that the Sardinian government had financed the assassinations was downright incriminating. With this charge substantiated, there was nothing more to say Sardinia was doomed.
At that moment, Cavour felt a deep regret. If he had known that there were people of such caliber among the Carbonari, he would not have allowed the government to fund and support them.
Although the organization was contributing to the unification of the Italian region, its ability to cause trouble was truly frightening.
To assassinate the emperors of France and Austria, to instigate war between the two nations, and then to unite the Italian region. Such a brilliant idea could not have been conceived by an ordinary man.
Even if someone dared to think it, an ordinary person would not dare to try to implement it. The slightest mistake would cost lives.
Now both sides had caught them in the act. Cavour now understood why the Austrian governments attitude had suddenly changed anyone faced with such a situation would seek retribution.
If they had received the news beforehand, they could have found a way to resolve it. Now caught off guard, they were completely denied the opportunity to act.
After briefly examining the information, Thomas decided to remain silent. At this point, intervening would require being prepared to face the wrath of both France and Austria. Clearly, the British government was not prepared to do so.
If France and Austria were mistakenly led to believe that they were behind the assassination plot, that would be a real problem.
At present, given the overall balance of power among the four major European powers, no single country can afford to confront two of them alone. Diplomatically, everyone must tread carefully.
Even though Russia won the Near East War, it was still Russia and Austria against Britain and France. If Russia took on Britain and France alone, the end result would still be the same as history.
Ivanov, the Russian representative who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: Given the current complex situation, in which the Sardinian government is involved in the assassination cases, it is no longer realistic for them to arrest the criminals themselves.
I propose that everyone form a joint investigation team to temporarily take over Sardinia and conduct a comprehensive investigation to eradicate this evil organization.
Thomas eyes lit up. This idea was not bad. International supervision was still better than letting France and Austria divide Sardinia. As for investigating the criminals, that was just a secondary concern.
He was also very interested in the potential mastermind behind the scenes. If they did not capture such audaciously reckless people, Thomas was also worried that one day they might also be targeted.
Thomas immediately agreed: Mr. Ivanov is right. We cannot let our guard down against this evil organization. If we do not capture them all, then the peace of Europe will be threatened at any moment.
The representatives of the various countries present were all astute individuals and quickly recognized the benefits of the joint investigation team, so they naturally voiced their support one after another.
As for the attitude of the Sardinian government, it was no longer important, and Prime Minister Cavour was at a loss for words. Refusing the entry of the joint investigation team at this point would mean facing the combined forces of France and Austria.
Although the Austrian government wasnt interested in Sardinia itself, they wouldnt miss out on the opportunity to preserve their sovereignty.
Only France and Austria had yet to express their stance. Marti adopted an indifferent attitude, leaving the chance to perform to Auvergne.
It would be easy for a joint investigation team to enter the Kingdom of Sardinia. But given the role of the Sardinian government in this incident, we have reason to believe that they would engage in sabotage, destruction of evidence, and even the silencing of people.
To ensure the smooth progress of the investigation, it is necessary to send military forces to the Kingdom of Sardinia. These forces will support the actions of the investigation team.
As the most affected nation, the French government is willing to 80,000 troops into the Kingdom of Sardinia to guarantee the smooth progress of the investigation.
It was clearly a conspiracy; its easier to invite the devil in than to send him away. Once the French troops enter Sardinia, it wont be easy to get them to leave.
Marti said cooperatively, We have no objections. If this evil organization is not eradicated, the peace of the European continent will be forever threatened. The Austrian government is willing to send three thousand troops into the Kingdom of Sardinia to collaborate with the investigation team in eliminating this evil organization.
With one nation sending 80,000 soldiers and another sending three thousand, the huge difference in numbers made it clear to even the most simple-minded individuals about the positions of France and Austria.
If it was about dividing the Kingdom of Sardinia, Austria wouldnt send such a small force. This clearly indicates that the Austrian government has no interest in the Kingdom of Sardinia.
All eyes turned to Auvergne, and it seemed that the deployment of 80,000 French troops to occupy the Kingdom of Sardinia was more than enough. Even if they claimed it wasnt for annexation, few would believe them.
Thomas objected and said, Mr. Auvergne, your troop deployment is excessive. We only need enough to ensure the smooth running of the investigation, and such a large force is unnecessary.
Moreover, with so many countries present, how can we allow one nation to bear all the obligations? Heres my proposal: the British government will send five thousand soldiers to help the investigation team and ensure the stability of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Its not that Thomas didnt want to send more troops, but the British government couldnt muster more at the moment. Even if they could, it wouldnt be practical. It costs money to send troops.
The French wanted to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, so it made sense for them to send more troops, as they could eventually recoup the cost. In contrast, this deployment of troops from England was more of a volunteer effort, fulfilling international responsibilities while balancing against the French.
Things got lively after that, with various countries chiming in with numbers 100 here, 200 there, until a 1,000-strong peacekeeping force was put together.
This fully demonstrated the spirit of internationalism. As for keeping France in check, everyone generously gave the British the opportunity to take the lead.
Feeling the pressure from the stares, Auvergne made some concessions: He cut 30,000 from his original number. However, this adjustment didnt change much in the end.
With the last-minute promise of one thousand troops from Russia, the combined forces barely reached ten thousand. It was clear that it would be almost impossible to counter France.
With none of the other countries willing to contribute more, Thomas was also helpless.
This military deployment was essentially voluntary. Other than gaining international prestige and visibility, there was little tangible benefit.
Unable to achieve military deterrence, they turned to political and diplomatic deterrence. Thomas immediately decided to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
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