Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Chapter 3: The Feast at Hongmen

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Translator: 549690339

Franz and Alexander’s meeting still yielded constructive results as the Russian-Austrian relations quickly began to warm up, with the minor frictions caused by the Prussia-Denmark war dissipating like smoke in thin air.

Kingdom of Sardinia

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The Austrian Army was packing its bags; the armistice was signed, and half of the war indemnity was paid. The British Government guaranteed the rest, and the time to withdraw the troops had also arrived.

Franz had no intention of reneging. If possible, he wouldn’t mind withdrawing the troops immediately; maintaining a large army abroad is very expensive.

However, since they occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia once, it was impossible for the Austrian Army to leave empty-handed. It was unthinkable not to participate in plundering; nearly all of the soldiers were now returning fully loaded.

With so many spoils of war, transportation became troublesome. Selling them on-the-spot was not feasible in the recently war-torn Sardinia, where one could hardly get a good price, and some goods even lacked buyers.

Marshal Radetzky was a fine marshal. To protect everyone’s interests, he immediately decided to have the troops transport the goods back home for sale and then divide the money amongst themselves.

In the industrial district of Turin, a major was directing a troop, “Tom, be careful. These machines are valuable assets, supposedly worth over ten thousand shields. You better not turn them into scrap metal; we wouldn’t even earn enough to cover the transportation cost!”

“Don’t worry, Major. I wouldn’t dare let them get damaged,” Tom replied.

The looters were as thorough as a comb; the soldiers cleaned out as thoroughly as a rake.

Ever since the Vienna Government decided to abandon the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Austrian Army had been playing to their strengths, embarking on a wealth-gathering journey.

Of course, they were too lazy to rob ordinary civilians; not only was there no profit, but it would also be a waste of time.

Raiding a noble or a capitalist could yield more than pillaging a village, making it an easy choice.

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Marshal Radetzky ran a strict military; the wealth-gathering was organized. Each unit was assigned a zone and then promptly set into action.

This also tested their professional knowledge, as European armies had always had a tradition of plundering. During the anti-French wars, the Kingdom of Sardinia had been raided multiple times by the French Army.

Through being robbed and robbing others, everyone learned how to hide their wealth.

Properties and lands needn’t be worried about since these immovable assets that couldn’t be taken were safe. The real trick was how to conceal easily transportable valuables such as cash, antique paintings, and calligraphy.

The nobility and capitalists were not fools; they would hide their wealth before the enemy arrived. As long as one didn’t resist, the army usually just robbed without killing.

How much one could hide was a matter of skill, and those with experience knew to conceal the most valuable part of their wealth while leaving some cash on hand for the soldiers to plunder.

If everything was hidden away, it would most likely end in total loss. How could the soldiers let go if they didn’t find anything? If they got desperate, what would happen if they resorted to torture?

Extorting money wasn’t exclusive to Li Zicheng; many have done it, though none quite as excessively as him.

Franz, a man of integrity, naturally wouldn’t allow the Austrian army to engage in such unskilled activities.

Before the operation commenced, he had already sent people to train the soldiers, for example: artifacts such as antique paintings must be carefully preserved, and mechanical equipment must be handled with care.

Basements, hidden compartments, hollow walls, newly disturbed soil… these potential hiding spots for wealth were all major targets of the search.

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Everything fears specialization. A quality plundering squad had formidable fighting power, and now, they were bursting at the seams with spoils.

In that era, there was no railway connecting Sardinia to Austria, and transportation relied mainly on manpower and animal power, so naturally, speed was an issue.

Since August, the Austrian army had been transferring their belongings back to the homeland and were still making efforts to continue doing so.

A soldier reported to the major, “Major, we’ve found a warehouse full of black wheat, apparently stored here by a grain merchant.”

The major frowned and hesitated before saying, “We have already seized a large quantity of grain, and we are about to withdraw soon, so we can’t possibly consume it all. Seal it and leave it there for now; wait for orders. I will report this first.”

Austria wasn’t short of grain. Transporting it from Sardinia at great expense was hardly profitable, classifying it as an insignificant spoil of war.

The highest command of the expeditionary force, Marshal Radetzky, had received too many reports of seized grain, coal, ore, industrial raw materials, and other basic commodities.

For Austria, these items were as useless as chicken ribs, not profitable to transport back home, and likely not even enough to cover the transportation costs.

Leaving them to the Sardinian government was not something he was willing to do. After this battle, normalizing relations between the two countries would not be expected for decades; weakening the power of the Kingdom of Sardinia aligned more with Austria’s interests.

To destroy or not? Marshal Radetzky hesitated.

“Marshal, why not sell these supplies cheaply to the merchants?” Major General Edmund Leopold Friedel suggested.

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Choosing victims for looting was important, and certainly, foreign traders from England and France were not to be targeted. Of course, this only applied to well-backed major merchants; minor ones were fair game if looted.

After the Austrian army had occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia, merchants were already interested in purchasing the war booty. However, Marshal Radetzky didn’t want to suffer a loss since the offers were too low, so he opted instead to transport the goods back to the country to be sold.

After hesitating for a moment, Marshal Radetzky said, “Then sell it!”

One shouldn’t pick a fight with money. So many basic supplies—even if sold cheaply—would add up to no small sum.

As for the consequences of these supplies falling into the hands of these foreigners, Marshal Radetzky couldn’t be bothered to think about it anymore; certainly, it wouldn’t bode well for the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, a grand religious feast was in progress, with Pope Pius IX personally “attending” the meeting.

That’s right, attending. Despite being the top figure in the religious world, he was now a tiger that had fallen flat on the plains and, though not quite abused by dogs, he had lost the authority of absolute command.

Faced with the terms offered by the Austrians, he truly had no grounds for refusal.

With the headquarters of the Roman Curia in ruins, it was only logical to sell some of the Church’s assets to fund the military efforts to reclaim their base.

Anyone who dared oppose this was not devout enough in their faith to God. Clergy who lacked devout religious conviction didn’t have the right to continue serving God.

That was Pius IX’s opinion. To many Austrian bishops, however, this was utterly unreasonable. With the extensive properties owned by the Vatican, why should they sell those under their control?

“Enough bickering. This is an order. Anyone who opposes the recovery of the Holy Land, I will strip of his bishopric right now!” threatened Pius IX.

Removing their roles was probably only the first step; further draconian measures would likely follow, spelling disaster.

They weren’t Protestants who could treat the Pope’s orders as nothing or regional lords who could march their armies to Rome to challenge the Pope’s decrees.

Monte Rey, one of those blinded by self-interest, was among them.

Unlike long-established bishops who had already made their fortunes, he had only just begun his position. For this role, Monte Rey had risked his entire fortune and had yet to recoup his investment.

Now, with talk of a massive sale of Church assets, wasn’t that cutting off his revenue?

Surveying the room and seeing the furious faces of all the bishops, his courage surged.

This wasn’t the Middle Ages anymore. Why should the Pope have such unchallenged authority?

“Your Holiness, the clergy need to eat too. If we sell the Church’s assets, what shall we live on?” Monte Rey challenged.

“As servants of God, we’re not meant to covet luxuries. The Church’s revenue is enough to sustain the clergy’s livelihood,” Pius IX dismissed casually.

The Church wasn’t without business, especially in a country like Austria with a strong religious atmosphere; there was never a shortage of faithful donations.

Monte Rey continued his defense, “But, Your Holiness, the Church also needs to operate. Without sufficient funds, we’ll be unable to ensure that the public’s faith doesn’t diminish.”

Pius IX, with pious resolve, said, “As a devout believer, one must overcome these difficulties. My child, if you lack the capacity to take on this responsibility, then let someone capable do it!”

Those ready to offer support quickly chose to stay silent instead. Clearly, the Austrian government had set its sights on the Church’s wealth, and Pius IX, in his bid to reclaim the Papal State, had already sold them out.

Forget about deposing a bishop—it was a minor problem if all of them were dismissed. Without the halo of sanctity, they were no match for the government.

Seeing the indignant bishops quieten down, Monte Rey knew his fate was sealed.

He’d inadvertently become the chicken used to scare the monkeys. At this point, he didn’t even have the courage to argue.

By admitting his guilt compliantly, he could hope for a lighter punishment; continued resistance would mean a light penalty was death—his entire family might suffer.

Don’t assume Europe to be free of collective punishment; even if it didn’t escalate to involving entire families, his clan would not be spared retaliation.

Watching Monte Rey admit his guilt, Pius IX was quite satisfied with the authority he had established.

With no objections left, Prime Minister Felix was invited to attend.

In God’s presence, Pius IX representing the Church and Felix representing the Austrian government signed an agreement transferring Church assets.