Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 403

Chapter 403: Chapter 90: Unlucky Child
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In the situation where France and Austria were undermining each other, the Italian Rebels temporarily achieved glorious victories, launching surprise attacks on the French Army one day and ambushing the Austrian army the next, spreading the fame of the Red Shirts Army worldwide.

That was only what the newspapers said; in reality, the Red Shirts Army had been beaten and scattered in all directions. These hastily recruited rabble, with a lack of guns and ammunition, were no match for a regular army.

Being defeated in battle didn’t mean they had no achievements. Even without any, there were people who were willing to generously award them anyway!

After the France-Austrian Armies arrived at the frontline, it took less than a week for Naples to be recaptured, and within half a month, all cities on the Italian Peninsula held by the rebels fell, with the main forces nearly annihilated.

It was at this time that the accomplishments of the Red Shirts Army suddenly skyrocketed, with the casualties of the France-Austrian Armies each breaking into the thousands.

Poor Garibaldi, still unaware of his new fame, became an Italian hero overnight, and now, he was preparing to go into exile overseas once again.

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It wasn’t that they weren’t trying hard, but the enemy was simply too powerful. Even if Italy were truly unified, it couldn’t possibly face France and Austria at the same time; this was a war that couldn’t be won.

Francis II was scared. Initially, France and Austria were just setting traps and creating pitfalls for each other, but now the situation had escalated to large-scale brawling.

Of course, considering the “friendship” between France and Austria, their armies naturally couldn’t engage in direct combat.

Soon, both sides found a solution: fight out of uniform, and record all casualties on the Italian Rebels, creating the great war accomplishments of the Red Shirts Army.

I wonder if this could be considered a form of historical revisionism. Originally, the Red Shirts Army had made a name for itself on the back of the Spanish Army, but now they were being propped up by France and Austria.

In actuality, whether in the original timeline or the present, this force was rather bloated. In the Prussia-Austria War, their true form was exposed as they were nearly annihilated with more than half the total troops of the Austrian army.

Now, it’s even worse than in the original timeline; Garibaldi wasn’t even given the time to train his troops before being utterly crushed.

Francis II was a mild-mannered, kind, and weak man who received strict moral and religious education but lacked sufficient political and military schooling.

This was the fault of his family. His mother had died just a month after he was born, and Ferdinand II then married the Austrian Grand Duchess Maria Theresa Isabel as his second wife.

Under these circumstances, the education of the unfortunate child, Francis II, was undoubtedly neglected. The fact that the step-mother did not play wicked schemes to kill him meant she had at least some moral integrity.

Considering that Ferdinand II and Grand Duchess Maria Theresa Isabel had twelve children, eight boys and four girls, the more children there were, the less valuable they seemed. Neglected by his father, Francis II was raised to be well-behaved.

But even well-behaved children can be rebellious at times. Not wanting to see Austria dominate the government of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Francis II sent a distress telegraph to the French upon being coaxed.

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After sending the telegraph, Francis II regretted it. Being a member of the Bourbon Dynasty, he actually sought help from the Napoleon Family, which was practically disregarding the honor of his own family.

Unfortunately, there’s no medicine for regret in this world. He had made his bed and now, with tears, he had to lie in it.

Francis II had now returned to the capital, Naples. With the rebels nearly eradicated, tragedy had begun.

In the game between France and Austria, the Two Sicilian Kingdom became the biggest victim. It was bad enough that the war had erupted on their homeland, but the worst part was that they were expected to pay the war losses and damages incurred by both sides.

In the Naples Palace, Prime Minister Carlo Ferrigno said gravely, “Your Majesty, the conflict between France and Austria could still escalate further. We must find a way to stop it, or the consequences will be unthinkable.”

Carlo Ferrigno had been against French intervention from the start. As a seasoned politician, he was well aware of the nature of the great powers.

Even if Spain was no longer a concern, there was still Austria to deal with the current problem. Bringing France into the mix would just mean adding another exploiter.

Indeed, this was proven true: France’s involvement balanced out Austria, but the price paid was far too severe.

The cost of military assistance had at least tripled, and it might increase even more in the end. Due to the military clashes between France and Austria, the economy of the Two Sicilian Kingdom suffered greatly, and the rebels in Sicily remained unaddressed.

These were just the immediate troubles; caught between France and Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was destined for difficult times ahead.

Although Francis II was politically inept, he was still of royal birth and possessed basic judgment skills.

The current situation was extremely dangerous. If the conflicts between France and Austria intensified, or even war broke out, then the Two Sicilian Kingdom would be in big trouble.

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Picking sides in this conflict would be challenging—choose incorrectly, and the consequences ranged from abdication to the loss of the kingdom.

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The best course of action was to prevent the conflict from escalating and to avoid this life-or-death decision on alignment. As for involving other countries to intervene, Francis II had learned from his mistakes and didn’t dare to act rashly anymore.

With no choice left, Francis II asked, “How to stop it? I’ve already summoned envoys from both countries, but the current military conflict is not recognized by France and Austria.

Even if we wanted to reconcile the differences between the two countries, we’re not qualified.”

The covert gambits, of course, couldn’t be discussed openly unless one side couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to flip the table. Otherwise, these conflicts didn’t exist; troop casualties were the result of “eliminating rebels.”

To get both sides to stop, unless there was a clear victor and one side conceded, or the losses were so heavy that neither side could bear them, forcing a halt.

Without a doubt, thousands from France-Austrian Armies had been killed or injured, yet there was still no sign of determining a victor, nor had they reached their breaking point.

Prime Minister Carlo Ferrigno answered, “Your Majesty, we could start with international reputation, reminding the commanding officers of France-Austrian Armies.

They’ve been unable to deal with the rebels for such a long time, and their casualties continue to rise. If this goes on, they’re going to be disgraced.

Secondly, fabricate evidence suggesting someone deliberately brought up the conflict between France and Austria, giving them a way out.”

This was the best solution available; as long as France and Austria needed to save face, they couldn’t allow the casualties to keep rising.

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Otherwise, it wouldn’t be long before the European Continent was abuzz with the incompetence of the France-Austrian forces, unable to handle the Italian Rebels. The generals at the front had no way to explain this to their people back home.

Creating a scapegoat was actually best left to the British; they had both the means and the suspicion of foul play. With just a little tampering, neither Paris nor Vienna would suspect.

However, Prime Minister Carlo Ferrigno was too timid to provoke the British, fearing that exposure would backfire on him.

Blaming the Americans, on the other hand, was no big deal; at this point in time, America was an upstart only able to assert itself on the American Continent. If it tried to stand out in Europe, it would get socially crushed.

The accounts of the Lincoln government supporting the Revolutionaries hadn’t yet been settled by the countries of Europe? Don’t think that just because the Federal government paid a certain price, the matter was settled; if given the chance, those countries would still seek retribution.

After pondering for a moment, Francis II made a decision: “Make it more covert, and don’t involve us.”

Society was the greatest teacher, and harsh realities the most potent catalyst for growth. Had it been earlier on, Francis II would never have engaged in such acts.

Now, his integrity had inevitably declined, taught by none other than the Revolutionaries.

After ascending to the throne, Francis II also implemented social reforms: for instance, devolving more autonomy to the localities, advancing liberalization, granting amnesty to political prisoners, cutting taxes…

Notably, not long after the amnesty of political prisoners, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies erupted into chaos, with part of those who swore oaths of loyalty to the King raising the flag of rebellion as soon as they left prison.

The 1860 insurrection could be said to be of Francis II’s own making. The headless Revolutionary Party, due to the emergence of these individuals, started the revolution.

There were no other reasons; it was all caused by interests. Any reform was bound to harm the interests of some, and those disillusioned by Francis II’s led social reforms became part of the revolutionary supporters.

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The former political prisoners who had promised to reform and turn over a new leaf saw their chance and became leaders of the revolution once more, igniting the first spark.

Without foreign intervention and with Austria’s support, the 1860 insurrection was suppressed by the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, with the person leading the suppression being none other than the current Prime Minister, Carlo Ferrigno.

But the matter didn’t end there; the old habit of Francis II’s kindness flared up, and he did not execute all the rebels.

Later, for reasons unknown, he took a frivolous approach and turned to judicial measures.

The final outcome was that due to insufficient evidence, many Rebels were acquitted and released. These escapees once again went into hiding.

This rebellion could grow because of these significant contributors; without these influential locals, the uprising could never have gone so smoothly.

With more lessons learned, Francis II’s worldview was shaken, and his moral baseline inevitably shifted closer to that of a politician.