Chapter 261 Threat
Purely violent means is war, and the reason why Freud did not explain the fact that Austria has formed an army and exists in the Papal State is because the Papal State is unilaterally transparent to the Kingdom of Italy .
Contrary to what Pius IX guessed, the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s intelligence system in Italy cannot be said to be non-existent, and it is basically non-existent.
But the Kingdom of Italy can easily penetrate the Papal State and learn the specific situation of the Papal State. The Papal State is a political and religious system. Since it is a religious country, it naturally cannot prevent believers from visiting, and the Papal State cannot stop believers from visiting. The people are also Italians and live deep in the hinterland of Italy, unable to interrupt the flow of people and commercial trade.
In this case, the Kingdom of Italy can get the information it wants as long as it bribes some people in the Papal State, or simply sends some people to the Papal State, and the Papal State has nothing to do Identify these people.
"Sir Freud, I probably know your country's plan. I can only say that your country's methods are very good, very good! Hahaha." Pius IX laughed heartily, thinking he had gotten the truth.
Freud was greatly depressed by the words of Pius IX. Did Pius IX guess the existence of the Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force?
Just guess it! It doesn't matter anyway, as long as Pius IX doesn't tell anyone, there won't be any big problem.
Floyd said: "Your Majesty! As long as you agree, don't mention this matter to others. I personally am still not at ease with some people in the Pope's country. You just need to tell me first The Papal State's army is ready and ready to fight against the Kingdom of Italy. , leave the rest to us.”
“No problem, the Papal State’s army is not strong in combat effectiveness, but its loyalty can still be trusted. Next, I will call on more knowledgeable people in my own name. The soldiers entered the army against the Kingdom of Italy," said Pius IX.
The Papal State's army is quite loyal, at least not polite when it comes to dealing harsh blows to Italians. After all, most of its members come from countries and regions outside of Italy.
......
After two days of discussion, the Kingdom of Italy reached a unified opinion. It could no longer delay and must strike hard at the Papal State.
The intervention of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was seen by the senior leaders of the Kingdom of Italy as a sign of the incompetence of Pius IX. It must have been Pius IX who took the initiative to back the Austro-Hungarian Empire and asked the Austro-Hungarian Empire to interfere in the great cause of Italian unification.
Once the French left, Pius IX also knew that the Papal State could not stop the actions of the Kingdom of Italy, so he was eager to find a replacement country, and there was no better choice than the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Emmanuel II analyzed: "The only threat in this war is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If the Austro-Hungarian Empire sends troops to intervene, there are only two directions. One is on land, Venice and Lombardy; the other is on the sea, and the eastern territory may We were bombarded by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, so we have to be prepared.”
"Although our strength at sea is not as good as that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the difference is not too big. The advantage of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is that the top battleships are more advanced than ours, but we have more ships. We will temporarily transfer the western navy to the eastern sea area, and then Cooperating with the army can effectively prevent the Austro-Hungarian navy from attacking the east coast," said the Navy Minister.
If possible, of course the navy would like to ask for more funds, but the last Battle of Lisa was a failure. At that time, the Italian Navy clearly had an advantage over the Austro-Hungarian Empire on ships. This is the Kingdom of Italy. It is unacceptable. The finances of the Kingdom of Italy cannot withstand such torture by the navy.
Army General Raffaele Cadorna said: "The Venice area must focus on defense. We only need to prepare 30,000 troops to attack the Papal States, and our opponent on the eastern front is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. , even with Prussia and Russia in check, it is not easy to fight against the Austro-Hungarian Empire without 100,000 troops. At the same time, the time we took the Venice area was too short, and it has been under the influence of Austria for too long, so some of the local residents were affected. Opponents should also be vigilant, so on the front line in Venice and Lombardy, it is best to have more than 150,000 troops.”
This is based on defensive considerations, and the area bordering Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not large. It is considered vast, and the terrain in the north is relatively steep due to the existence of the Alps. Only the southern coastal areas are connected through narrow plains, so 150,000 people are enough to cope with the attack of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. "As for the troops to attack the Papal States, of the thirty thousand people, our government will provide twenty-five thousand, and let Garibaldi organize the volunteers for the rest."
"Well, we cannot let Garibaldi control too many troops. This person's mind is very unstable. We still have to be careful." Emmanuel II affirmed.
Although Garibaldi is very capable, he is not on the same side as the Italian government. He is more inclined to liberal ideas and can be regarded as a martyr fighting for liberalism.
The Kingdom of Italy has never trusted him. Judging from his personal experience, it is understandable for the Kingdom of Italy to do so.
Garibaldi's thinking was indeed very out-of-the-box. As France's troublesome enemy in history, Garibaldi supported France in the Franco-Prussian War and organized volunteers to join the French army against Prussia.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. The main force in attacking the Papal State this time will naturally be led by the Kingdom, and he will not be allowed to take the lead." said the Minister of War.
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The armies of the Kingdom of Italy began to quietly gather towards Venice and Lombardy. Large-scale military changes naturally attracted the attention of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
But the Austro-Hungarian Empire pretended not to see it and allowed the Italians to complete all these actions. The Italians also observed the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire’s troops in the border areas were the same as before, without any movement.
This emboldened the Kingdom of Italy, which just verified the speculation that the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army was restrained by Prussia and Tsarist Russia and could not be mobilized. Therefore, after completing the mobilization of troops, the Venice area was almost "rock solid". The Italian government believed that it was time to resolve the issue of the Papal States.
Although the Papal State and the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued a joint declaration before, the Italians are now sure that the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot enter the Kingdom of Italy and interfere with the unification of Italy. There is nothing to say.
On August 16, the Kingdom of Italy issued an ultimatum to the Papal State, asking the Pope to give up resistance and the Papal State to peacefully merge with Italy.
Pius IX, who had the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, flatly refused. At this time, the Papal State army was expanded by Pius IX, and its number reached about 15,000 people, still capable of fighting.
The threat from the Kingdom of Italy to the Papal State soon received a response from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After receiving the authorization from the empire, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador directly threatened at the Italian Palace: "The Papal State has never belonged to Italy, Italy has never been an independent country, but Historically, the Papal State is much older than the Kingdom of Italy, and Italy is just a regional concept. If the Kingdom of Italy insists on taking action against the Papal State, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will never stand idly by.”
(End of Chapter)