Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 295
Chapter 295: Chapter 44, Interest Determines Truth
Turin
Ever since the French government had announced the identity of the assassin, the Sardinian Government had been thrown into panic. It was a calamity that struck without warning, as if falling from the sky.
Everyone present could swear by the name of God, they all dared to swear that this assassination had nothing to do with them.
Even if there was an assassination to be carried out, it was meant to target Franz, not to run off and kill Napoleon III—what kind of plan was that?
King Victor Emmanuel II urgently asked, “Prime Minister, have the French released the information about the assassin’s identity?”
Cavour, looking haggard, replied, “It has been found out. They are all radical nationalists from the Italian Area, and their purpose in killing Napoleon III seems to have been to provoke a conflict between France and Austria.
“Before acting, these four individuals had already taken nationality in the New Holy Roman Empire, and one of them had even been a public officer in the Kingdom of Lombardy.”
To fabricate a scapegoat, timing is everything! If relations between France and Austria had been deteriorating, then whether true or not, the Paris Government could take it as the truth.
Clearly, the assassins weren’t professional enough and didn’t choose the right moment, succeeding only in angering the French.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t yet time for France and Austria to turn against each other. Under the Vienna System, where did the Paris Government get the confidence to start a war?
From an interest standpoint, France’s aspirations to expand in the Italian Area had been known for not just one or two days. With an excuse delivered to their doorstep, the Kingdom of Sardinia now faced trouble.
After pondering for a moment, Victor Emmanuel II said helplessly, “Let’s just hope these idiots can hold firm and continue to blame the Austrians, otherwise our troubles will be great.”
It was not that they did not want to conspire with France against Austria, but such a possibility was virtually zero.
Historically, even Prime Minister Cavour himself had trouble believing he had convinced Napoleon III, and for a long while at that.
The situation now was even worse; Austria was much stronger than in history. Whether it was to maintain the stability of Europe through the Vienna System or the still-solid Russian-Austrian Alliance, it restrained France from acting rashly.
Cavour analyzed, “Your Majesty, neither the British nor the Austrians will stand by and watch the French continue to expand; we can seek their assistance.”
His brows still etched with fatigue and mixed in with a heavy worry. Clearly, he had exerted a lot of effort trying to find a breakthrough strategy due to this assassination case.
In politics, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. To unify the Italian Area, Austria was their greatest enemy; to resist French invasion, Austria became their ally.
Both France and Austria had ambitions to dominate the Italian Area, and it was only through their mutual restraint that the Kingdom of Sardinia had survived.
Under normal conditions, there was never a chance for unification in the Italian Area, as neither France nor Austria would tolerate the unification of Italy.
Napoleon III’s whimsical actions had fulfilled Cavour’s greatness. In fact, historically it was a gamble, with Cavour betting that France and Austria wouldn’t partition the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Now he didn’t dare to gamble; the international situation had changed, and the relationship between France and Austria was warming up. The secret treaty hatched by Franz to stabilize the French by partitioning the Kingdom of Sardinia further hung over their heads like a sword.
Palace of Versailles
Napoleon III was in a very foul mood; this assassination attempt was not as simple as the version released to the public.
All the information gathered proved that there were people inside the country providing convenience to the assassins. Otherwise, it would be difficult for these amateurs to even track his whereabouts.
Napoleon III asked, “Has the true mastermind behind this been dug out yet?”
Minister of Police Mopa answered, “Your Majesty, the enemy is very cunning. These assassins still do not know they have been used. The information they received came from someone named Sobolev.”
“This person has disappeared, and their acquaintance was very coincidental, initially meeting in a little pub in Paris.
“We have screened the relevant personnel and have not discovered any suspicious signs. The name Sobolev might be an alias. Aside from the dealings with the assassins, there is no other information about him.”
Napoleon III cursed, “Useless! Are you trying to tell me that somehow an enemy within our nation coincidentally met four fools and then made use of them as assassins?”
“Your Majesty, that is the case indeed!” Mopa earnestly replied.
Fortune plays into the hands of many events, and reality often outstrips fiction in its oddity. This assassination was the product of a fortuitous series of coincidences, and the so-called mastermind behind the scenes was more impromptu than anything.
“Continue the investigation,” Napoleon III said with a dismissive gesture. “I don’t care what methods you use; you must locate this Sobolev who suddenly appeared.”
Regardless of whether there was a mastermind, the elusive Sobolev remained a threat. The world was never short of overzealous youths, and Napoleon III certainly did not want to be at the receiving end of assassination attempts on a daily basis.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Mopa replied.
Having calmed his anger, Napoleon III then considered how he might maximize his gains from this incident.
“The assassin is of Austrian nationality, what if we take this reason to hold the Vienna Government accountable?”
Foreign Minister Auvergne subtly opposed, “Your Majesty, but what can we demand from the Austrians?”
That was the crux of the issue—interests.
Extortion also requires the right object. If the Vienna Government did not play along, surely one could not use that as a pretext for war?
Unless there was evidence to prove that the Vienna Government orchestrated the assassination, one could leverage international pressure to coerce the Austrians into paying a price.
Certainly, the evidence at hand was not sufficient, even though one of the assassins had been a public official in the Kingdom of Lombardy. Neither was it enough to implicate the Vienna Government.
Based on motive, the Vienna Government was already cleared of suspicion. At the end of the day, no one would believe a story about assassinating an emperor without rhyme or reason.
That Napoleon III sought to strike at Austria did not mean he failed to consider the consequences. The two countries had a relationship more defined by cooperation than discord, and it was not in their interests to fall out with each other.
For the same reason, it was also not feasible to target the Kingdom of Prussia or Belgium. Without sufficient evidence, framing and provoking a conflict on unfounded grounds could backfire massively if the setup was exposed.
Should he use this as an opportunity for a major purge within the country? This thought had barely arisen before Napoleon III extinguished it.
The economic crisis was ongoing and domestic stability had to be maintained. Stirring up internal strife at this time might lead to unforeseen consequences.
After much deliberation, Napoleon III spoke, “The Foreign Ministry should issue a démarche to the Kingdom of Sardinia, holding them accountable for this incident.”
Picking on the weaker party was only one side of it; more importantly, these assassins were members of the radical Italian Nationalist Groups, which had received funding from the Sardinian Government.
It was a bit of a stretch, but one could argue that the assassination was orchestrated by the Italian Nationalist Groups, making the Sardinian Government bear some responsibility. Causing trouble on this pretext would not provoke intervention from other nations.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Foreign Minister Auvergne responded.
Minister of Internal Affairs Pesini spoke up, “Your Majesty, it would be best to accompany the criminal’s confession proving that this assassination was orchestrated by the Italian radicals, along with evidence of funding from the Sardinian Government to the radical groups.
Presenting all this information to the Sardinian Government would make a more compelling case.
At the same time, we could seek international support, using the assassination to resonate with others and take the diplomatic initiative.”
“The Austrians made promises in the past to support our annexation of Sardinia, and now it’s time for them to fulfill those promises,”
The more substantial the evidence, the stronger the persuasion, the more public support one can garner, and the more benefits one could reap.
Napoleon III said with delight, “Do you mean to say the Vienna Government would support our annexation of Sardinia?”
Without hesitation, Pesini replied, “No. Times have changed. During the period of German unification wars, the Vienna Government would have not minded letting us annex Sardinia in exchange for our support.
Now that the Germany Region is divided into three, the Vienna Government no longer needs our backing, and hence their promises hold no water.
However, they also would not oppose our expansion into Sardinia; in fact, the Vienna Government would prefer us to be more aggressive, to further exacerbate the discord between England and France.”
Napoleon III nodded in agreement. Since the Ausa War, Austria and Sardinia had been in a political cold war, with Sardinia devoid of Austrian interests.
On the contrary, British influence in Sardinia was rapidly expanding, and if France were to take action against Sardinia, the British would suffer the most.
If he could pit England and France against each other, what was a mere Kingdom of Sardinia in comparison?
