Chapter 259 Italy: It’s my turn this time!

The next day, after the sun rises.

The results of yesterday's battle were only calculated. The Hechingen Brigade suffered 256 casualties, including 78 killed in action and three others missing.

The French 54th Brigade captured 2,324 people last night and killed 687 in battle. The remaining personnel fled into the forest. By the next day, more than 100 people returned to Heixing because they were lost. Root Brigade surrendered.

The commander of the 54th Brigade of the French Army, Aladdin, was stabbed to death in the chaos last night. He had two stab wounds on his body. Because of the darkness, I don’t know who killed him.

This battle was nothing short of a great victory, but the casualties of more than 200 people still made Heinrich feel a little distressed. Leopold, who was accustomed to seeing them, said: "War is so cruel!"

…

Prussia was fighting to the death, and now Prussia had the upper hand, but the Kingdom of Italy finally couldn't hold it any longer.

"Your Majesty, our intelligence officers have found out clearly that the last French troops withdrew on July 28. Now Germany and Prussia have begun a fierce battle. This is a good time for us to regain Rome!"

Emmanuel II was still a little worried and said: "The current situation of the war on the front line is unknown. We don't know whether the French have the ability to interfere with the unification of Italy. What if Prussia fails and the French settle accounts in the future."

"This kind of thing is not something we should worry about. Now both Prussia and France have to look at our faces. Whichever side we join, the balance of victory will tilt towards which side, so both Prussia and France will only try their best to win over us, so we will annex the Church at this time. country, they will just remain silent," said the Italian Foreign Minister.

"If we don't take the initiative at this time, there won't be such a good opportunity in the future. Now France and Prussia are deadlocked in Alsace and Lorraine, and the energy of the Austro-Hungarian army is also involved by Prussia and Tsarist Russia, preventing all progress in the unification of Italy. All obstacles have disappeared!" Garibaldi, one of the three founding heroes of Italy, also said: "Last time, if Napoleon III had not betrayed his faith, our Italy should have completed the unification long ago. Now Napoleon III is a stumbling block held back by the Prussians. , we can no longer hesitate, Your Majesty!"

As Garibaldi's long-cherished wish to unify Italy, Garibaldi saw an opportunity when France declared war on Prussia, which is why he appeared in the Italian palace.

Emmanuel II was a relatively cautious person, but after his subordinates tried to persuade him, he was a little shaken and was about to speak.

"Your Majesty, this is bad!" An intelligence officer broke in with a telegram.

"What happened?"

"Just yesterday, His Majesty the Pope in Rome issued a joint statement with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared that Rome is the common holy land of Catholic countries and its sovereignty is sacred and inviolable. The Pope also announced that the Papal State is placed under the jurisdiction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Under protection.”

…

Go back to one day ago.

Rome.

The French soldiers withdrew. If you want to ask who was the most panicked, it was the Roman Catholic Church. Even though Pope Pius IX repeatedly pleaded, the French still withdrew.

Without the protection of the French, Pius IX knew that no one could anymore curb the ambitions of the Kingdom of Italy.

Of course Pius IX did not want to become a prisoner of his subordinates. The problem was that once the French withdrew, what would his crooked men do to resist the Italian army?

I don't believe that the Kingdom of Italy will be lenient just because of my status as pope. Last time, that guy named Garibaldi almost captured Rome.

Just when Pius IX was in a panic and at a loss, the special envoy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire came to the door.

"Your Majesty, our Austro-Hungarian Empire is willing to provide asylum to your country, but as a condition, the Papal State must stand firmly on the side of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and oppose the atrocities of the Kingdom of Italy."

This condition was not a condition at all for the desperate Pius IX. Whoever resisted the unification of Italy the most must be himself.

Subsequently, under the guidance of the Austro-Hungarian envoy, the Papal State signed a large number of agreements with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including the right to garrison troops.

Then the two sides summarized the contents of these agreements and published them, which was equivalent to telling the Kingdom of Italy that the Papal State was covered.

…

"Too much bullying!" Even if Emmanuel II could endure it, he could not bear the humiliation. Although the last war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire did not go well, after all, his side won.

Now the Austrian Empire is a thing of the past. As a neighbor, Emmanuel II knows best what the current situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is. It is not at the same level as the former Austrian Empire.

Moreover, this time the Austro-Hungarian Empire was threatened by the Russian army in the east and Prussia was guarding it in the north. How could it be compared with Italy?

The most important thing is that the French go ahead and make some bullshit statement with the Pope. Why don’t they ask for their own opinions?

Emmanuel II is more inclined to think that Franz wanted to blackmail himself with the tiger skin of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Now that the French are gone, Rome is basically at the mercy of the Kingdom of Italy.

The Austrians chose this time to defend the Papal State because they were actually afraid that Italy would annex the Papal State and complete the unification. After the reunification of Italy, Emmanuel II himself thought of challenging the current Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"Your Majesty, the Austro-Hungarian Empire just wants to exert diplomatic pressure to make us retreat. This is also in line with Habsburg's style. However, Franz made the wrong idea this time. Now Rome is isolated and helpless. The Austrians It is also impossible to fly across the Adriatic Sea to personally support the Papal State,” said the Foreign Secretary.

"The only thing the Austro-Hungarian Empire can do is to make some small moves in the Venice area. Their main force now has to be wary of Tsarist Russia and Prussia, so as long as we strengthen the defense of the Venice area, they will have no choice but to watch us. Annex the Papal States," Garibaldi also said.

Garibaldi naturally has the capital to say this. Last time, Garibaldi led more than a thousand volunteers to annihilate an Austrian battalion and captured more than 400 people. Through guerrilla warfare, he caused a lot of damage to Marshal Radetzky of the Austrian Empire. It was a huge trouble. Garibaldi had fought against the French army several times, so he didn't have much fear of these so-called powers.

Although what Garibaldi and the Foreign Minister said made sense, Emmanuel II was still hesitant. He always felt that this was not a good time for Italy to take action.

So he asked: "Will the Austro-Hungarian Empire dare to target us like this like France last time..."

Last time, France pulled Austria and Spain together under the banner of Catholic countries to prevent Italy from unifying Rome.

"No, France has no time to worry about anything else now, Spain has just gone through turmoil, and now the King of Spain is one of our own, so the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot win over any country this time."

Now King Amedeo I of Spain is Prince Amedeo, the second prince of the Kingdom of Italy, so Spain may support Italy, and of course it may be the king himself who supports Italy.

After repeatedly confirming all possible backup plans for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Emmanuel II was finally relieved.

"In this case, let's march to Rome! However, in order to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Empire from interfering, we still need to put more troops in Venice and mobilize the elites of the kingdom to guard against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As for Rome, Mr. Garibaldi and other troops of the kingdom will Let’s conquer it together!”