#877 - Upheaval in Northern Italy
Chapter 873: Upheaval in Northern Italy
Adrian Casanova had the blood of the Medici family flowing in his veins.
However, under the joint suppression of the Austrians and the Holy See, his father's lineage was not recognized.
Even the Medici family's inheritance, his father did not receive a single penny.
And the Medici family was the true master of Florence, that is, the core area of Tuscany!
Half a century ago, Gian Gastone, the younger brother of Anna Maria, passed away, and the Medici family became extinct.
Austria, relying on its powerful influence over Italy, forcibly denied Anna's right to inherit the throne of Tuscany with the cooperation of the Holy See, seizing Tuscany into the hands of the Habsburg family.
Now Casanova and his grandson are the last bloodline of the Medici family in this world.
Mr. Hahn was a captain in the French intelligence agency, and his mission was to bring Casanova back to Tuscany.
After Hahn gave a brief explanation, Casanova was too shocked to speak.
After a long while, he looked at his frail grandson and finally nodded: "Okay, I am willing to go with you."
He thought of something else and hesitated: "If you can retrieve those paintings from my house, I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life."
"Paintings?"
"They were birthday gifts from my grandmother when I was a child," the old man said, "Works by masters such as Botticelli, Canaletto, and Boucher, although not their famous works, are all of great artistic value."
These names made Hahn swallow his saliva—these people's paintings, if taken to Paris, could easily sell for more than 100,000 francs.
Anna Maria was Europe's most famous art collector, and she invested most of the Medici family's wealth in purchasing works of art.
But her collection is now almost entirely in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
In fact, the few paintings in Casanova's hands were the reason he was framed.
"Okay, I will do my best to bring you the paintings," he nodded.
Three days later.
Casanova sat in the "Gem VI" carriage, heading to Florence, with the four paintings by the art masters in the back.
On the same day, the Treviso News published the news that Albeseo, the local tyrant who framed Casanova, was killed in his own home.
The murderer did it very cleanly, leaving no clues.
This was a small gift that Hahn gave to Mr. Casanova as a matter of course.
… …
Northern Italy.
Duchy of Parma, Piacenza.
Amidst the stirring and majestic military music, the Genoese Legion, dressed in white military uniforms and fully equipped in the French style, passed in front of the viewing platform under the command of a lieutenant colonel.
Napoleon glanced over the less-than-neat formation and turned to whisper to the Prince Regent's envoy, Viscount Durand, beside him:
"You know, surrounding Mantua requires a large number of troops. This kind of thing can be left to the Sardinian army to do, it just so happens that they have nothing to do in Brescia."
According to the resolution of the Mediterranean Security Organization, the armies of the member states have gathered in Piacenza.
Parma, which sent the most troops, sent 4,000 soldiers, and Luca, which sent the least, only sent a unit of 800 mercenaries.
The total force was just over 10,000.
Viscount Durand brought the Prince Regent's order, asking Napoleon to allocate 5,000 troops to participate in the Security Organization's operation.
The targets were naturally Tuscany and the Papal States.
Viscount Durand shook his head and said, "You should have also noticed that His Highness deliberately excluded Sardinia from this operation."
Napoleon asked in confusion: "Why is that? Sardinia's military strength is the strongest in Northern Italy."
"Balance," Viscount Durand smiled and said, "Sardinia's army alone can defeat the Papal States. At that time, they will exert a strength advantage over other countries. And His Highness hopes that all countries can get along equally.
"Of course, the ostensible reason is that Sardinia once declared war on our country, which is a punishment for this matter."
"Okay," Napoleon said reluctantly, "Then I will allocate the Nemours Legion to the Security Staff Headquarters.
"However, I would suggest recruiting some mercenaries from Flanders. You know, they are Protestants, and it will be more convenient to fight against the Holy See."
"Okay, I will report your suggestion to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent."
Viscount Durand nodded and added: "By the way, General Bonaparte, Vienna has issued a mobilization order, and it is estimated that troops will soon be sent to reinforce Mantua. His Highness asked you to prepare in advance.
"After winning this battle, you should be a Major General."
"Thank you for His Highness's trust, I will never let him down!"
A week later, the joint forces of France, Parma, Modena, Genoa, Luca, and Baden launched an attack on Ferrara, the northwestern province of the Papal States.
Well, everyone doesn't care about Casanova's status as an illegitimate child.
As long as he has the blood of the Medici family and France is backing him, then he is the true heir of the Medici family!
With this identity, it is right to follow him to seek a future.
Immediately, Casanova, in the Modena Palace, entrusted his spokesperson to announce in public that Ferdinand III, who is currently occupying Florence, has no right to rule Tuscany.
He will represent the Medici family and drive away the Habsburg invaders!
At the same time, in the name of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, he applied for Tuscany to join the Mediterranean Security Organization and the Iberian-Apennine Common Market.
The supporters of the Medici family immediately cheered, and the celebration activities continued until late at night.
And the Palace of Versailles also officially approved the application of the new Duchy of Tuscany through the Chappe semaphore tower two days later.
… …
The number of troops in the Security Organization is not large, and with the French Nemours Legion, there are only 15,000 soldiers.
The combat capability is also not considered strong, and half of the strongest Nemours Legion are recruits.
But even so, it still caused a shock to the Papal States.
The slogan "Let the Holy See return to piety" began to spread throughout the Papal States.
The Colonna family and the Orsini family, who originally had opinions on the Holy See, began to gather their forces in various provinces, openly responding to the Mediterranean Security Organization and announcing their secession from the control of the Holy See.
Even within the city of Rome, the "Rome Autonomous Organization" began to stir in places that the Papal Guard could not notice.
St. Paul's Basilica.
Pius VI and nearly 30 cardinals gathered in the Great Hall, discussing how to respond to the current situation with worried expressions.
