Chapter 259： Italy: It's my turn to play this time!

Chapter 259 Italy: It's my turn to play this time!

The next day, after the sun rises.

The results of yesterday's battle were only counted. The Hexingen Brigade suffered 256 casualties, of which 78 were killed and three others were missing.

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

The brigade commander of the 54th Brigade of the French Army, Alade was stabbed to death in the chaos last night. There were two stab wounds on his body. Because of the dark sky, it is unknown who killed him.

This battle was no different from a great victory, but the casualties of more than two hundred people still made Heinrich feel a little distressed, but Leopold, who was familiar with it, said: "War is so cruel!"

…

Prussia is fighting to the death, and now Prussia has the upper hand, and the Kingdom of Italy finally can't hold back.

"Your Majesty, our intelligence personnel have found out that the last French force was withdrawn on July 28. Now that Germany and Prussia have started fierce fighting, this is a good time for us to recover Rome!"

Emmanuel II was still a little worried and said: "The current situation of the frontline war 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 after the autumn."

"This kind of thing is not something we should worry about. Now both France and Prussia have to act according to our face. Whichever side we join, the balance of victory will lean towards that side. Therefore, both France and Prussia will only try their best to win us over, so we annexed the church at this time. country, they will just keep silent," said the Italian foreign minister.

"If you don't take the initiative to attack at this time, there will be no such good opportunities in the future. Now France and Prussia are stalemate in Alsace and Lorraine, and the energy of the Austro-Hungarian army is also being dragged by Prussia and Tsarist Russia. All efforts to prevent the unification of Italy The obstacles have disappeared!" Garibaldi, one of the three heroes of the founding of the Italian nation, also said: "Last time, if Napoleon III hadn't broken his promise, we would have completed the unification of Italy long ago, and now the stumbling block of Napoleon III is being held back by the Prussians , we can no longer hesitate, Your Majesty!"

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

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

"Your Majesty, it's not good!" An intelligence officer broke in with a telegram.

"What happened?"

"Just yesterday, His Majesty the Pope of Rome issued a joint statement with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared that Rome is a common holy place for Catholic countries, and its sovereignty is sacred and inviolable. under protection."

…

The time goes back to one day ago.

Rome.

The French soldiers withdrew. If you want to ask who is the most panicked, it is no different from the Roman Catholic Church. Even though Pope Pius IX repeatedly pleaded, the French still withdrew.

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

Of course Pius IX did not want to be a prisoner. The problem was that once the French withdrew their troops, what would those crooked people under him do to resist the Italian army.

I don't believe that the Kingdom of Italy will let it go because of my status as Pope. Last time, that guy named Garibaldi almost captured Rome.

Just when Pius IX was flustered and overwhelmed, the special envoy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire came to the door.

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

This condition is not a condition at all for the desperate Pius IX. If anyone is most resistant to the unification of Italy, it must be himself.

Subsequently, under the guidance of the special envoy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Pope signed a lot of agreements with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including the right to garrison troops.

Then the two parties summarized the contents of these agreements and published them, which is equivalent to telling the Kingdom of Italy that the Pope is under cover.

…

"Too much deceit!" No matter how much Emmanuel II could bear it, he couldn't bear this humiliation. Although the last war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Austria was not very good, after all, it was his side that won.

Now the Austrian Empire is in the past tense. As a neighbor, Emmanuel II knows best what is going on in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire today, but it is not at the same level as the former Austrian Empire.

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

The most important thing is that when the French move forward, they make some **** statements with the Pope. Don’t you ask your own opinion?

Emmanuel II is more inclined that Franz wants to use the tiger skin of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to blackmail himself this time. Now that the French are gone, Rome is basically in a state of being slaughtered by the Kingdom of Italy.

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

"Your Majesty, the Austro-Hungarian Empire just wanted to put pressure on us through diplomacy to make us retreat. This is also in line with Habsburg's style, but this time Franz made the wrong idea. Now Rome is isolated and helpless. It is also impossible to fly across the Adriatic Sea to personally support the Pope." The foreign minister said.

"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 beware of Tsarist Russia and Prussia, so as long as we strengthen the defense of the Venice area, they have no choice but to watch us. Annex the Pope." Garibaldi also said.

Garibaldi naturally has the capital to say this. Last time, Garibaldi led a volunteer army of more than 1,000 people to annihilate a battalion in Austria, and captured more than 400 people at the same time. It was a great trouble, and Garibaldi had fought against the French army several times, so he didn't have much fear of these so-called great powers.

Although what Garibaldi and the foreign minister said made sense, Emmanuel II was still undecided. He always felt that this was not a good time for Italy to do something.

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

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

"No, France has nothing to do now, Spain has just gone through turmoil, and now the king of Spain is our own, so this time the Austro-Hungarian Empire will not be able to win over any country."

Now Spanish King Amedeo I is Prince Amedeo, the second prince of the Kingdom of Italy, so Spain may support Italy instead, and of course the king himself may support Italy.

After repeatedly confirming all possible backhands of 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 deploy the elite of the kingdom to guard against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As for Rome, Mr. Garibaldi and other troops of the kingdom Let's conquer together!"

(end of this chapter)