Chapter 261 Threat

Pure violence is war, and the reason why Freud did not explain the fact that Austria had formed an army and existed in the Papal State was because the Papal State was 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, or basically non-existent.

However, the Kingdom of Italy can easily infiltrate 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 cannot stop believers from visiting, and the people of the Papal State are also Italians. Located deep in the hinterland of Italy, it cannot interrupt the flow of people and commercial trade.

In this case, the Kingdom of Italy can obtain 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 no way to check the identities of these people. Screening.

"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.

The words of Pius IX made Freud very depressed. Could it be that Pius IX guessed 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! Just understand. Don't mention this matter to others. I am still not sure about some people in the Papal State. You only need to prepare the Papal State's army first." Okay, just use all your strength to fight against the Kingdom of Italy, and 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 personally call on more knowledgeable people to join the army to fight against the Kingdom of Italy." Pius IX said.

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 that 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 actively turned against the Austro-Hungarian Empire and begged 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 had 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 cooperate with the army It can effectively defend against the Austro-Hungarian Navy’s raids on 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 was unacceptable to the Kingdom of Italy. The Kingdom of Italy The finances cannot withstand such troubles from 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 State. Our opponent on the eastern front is the Austro-Hungarian Empire, even if there is Prussia and Russia to contain it. , 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 influenced by Austria for too long, so we should also be wary of some opponents among the local residents, so in Venice and On the Lombard front line, the best troop size is more than 150,000."

This is based on defensive considerations. The area bordering Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not very large, 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 deal with the attack of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"As for the troops attacking the Papal State, of the thirty thousand people, our government will provide twenty-five thousand, and let Garibaldi organize the volunteers for the rest."

"Well, we can't let Garibaldi control too many troops. This man's mind is very unstable. We still have to be careful." Emmanuel II affirmed.

Although Garibaldi was very capable, he was not on the same side as the Italian government. He was more inclined to liberal ideas and was regarded as a martyr fighting for liberalism.

The Kingdom of Italy has never trusted him, and 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.

…

The armies of the Kingdom of Italy began to quietly gather towards Venice and Lombardy, and 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 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 at this time It's time to solve the problem 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's army was expanded by Pius IX, and its number reached about 15,000, still capable of fighting.

The Kingdom of Italy's threat to the Papal State soon received a response from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After receiving the imperial authorization, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador directly threatened at the Italian Palace: "The Papal State has never belonged to Italy, and Italy has never been As a separate country, historically speaking, the Papal State has a much longer history than the Kingdom of Italy, and Italy is just a regional concept. If the Kingdom of Italy is obsessed with it and wants to attack the Papal State, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will never stand idly by. "