Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 343

Chapter 343: Chapter 30, Fell into a Pit

On April 15, 1863, the Kingdom of Sardinia conducted a public vote, electing Napoleon III as King, marking the beginning of France’s annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

There is no doubt that the referendum was not a universal participation; only those who were eligible to vote were the social elites who supported France.

More than six hundred delegates from the Kingdom of Sardinia unanimously elected Napoleon III as King. When this number of votes was magnified ten thousand times and rounded up, it became the “entire Sardinian People” who elected Napoleon III as their King.

Prior to this, all those involved in the regicide case had already been tried, with the dead dead, the imprisoned jailed, and the fugitives wanted.

In short, regicides must go to hell, a common will shared by all monarchies.

As for the truth of the matter, it was no longer important, as all traces had been dealt with by the French. It was impossible to overturn the case now.

Those who could escape from prison were all smart ones; they cooperated with the French at the first opportunity.

In plain terms, everyone knew the so-called suspects were a fallacy. The real participants had either fled or been executed.

Now, as the French wanted to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was necessary to eliminate dissenters, but there had to be a pretext for it — they couldn’t just kill people outright. Fabricating false cases was a good method to employ.

Since all the international delegations had left the Kingdom of Sardinia, the French, who were the sole authority now, had the final say in all affairs.

After the referendum results were announced, the international community, of course, was in an uproar. All countries recognized France’s annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, but this did not mean they supported it.

In public opinion, the French were severely chastised. Many international figures called for vigilance against French expansion to avoid a second European war.

The Italians, being the victims, even organized petition groups to seek assistance from European countries, hoping to use international pressure to force the French to abandon their annexation of Sardinia.

As one of the Great European Nations, the Vienna Government also received a petition. After reading the petition submitted by the Italians, Franz had to admit it was very touching, but alas, it was of no practical use.

Franz said with a sneer, “Tell them we express our regret over this incident, but it is indeed a disaster brought upon themselves by the Sardinian Government.

Everyone must be responsible for their actions. When the Sardinian Government supported extremist organizations, they should have considered possible repercussions.

After the incident, the Sardinian People took the side of the extremist organizations, helping the murderers escape, and now it is time for the Sardinian People to pay the price.”

In some ways, France’s annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia was also a good thing.

From now on, the greatest enemy of Italian nationalists would no longer be Austria, but ambitious France.

The annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia was just a beginning, once Pandora’s box was opened, it could never be closed again.

Spurred by the successful annexation of Sardinia, the French radicals would undoubtedly be emboldened, something Napoleon III could no longer control.

The arrogant French have always dreamed of being the world’s hegemon.

If it weren’t for this provocation, Napoleon III might have managed to keep things under control, but now get ready to be driven onto the chariot of nationalism!

Prime Minister Felix proposed, “Your Majesty, should we support the Italians a bit, to trouble the French and prevent them from becoming too complacent?”

Clearly, the French had become arrogant following the annexation of Sardinia and had become somewhat forgetful of themselves, as if they were the world’s hegemon.

Prime Minister Felix saw this and naturally felt a deep resentment, wanting to teach them a lesson.

Franz replied with a slight smile, “No need, the Italian nationalists are also our enemies. Let the French deal with them for now.

If the French have become arrogant, let them be arrogant a while longer. With Russia as the dominant power on the European Continent and the United Kingdom as the master of the seas, and neither Britain nor Russia taking a stand, why should we join in the fray?”

Now Britain and Russia jointly divide the world’s hegemony, while France and Austria are second-tier challengers. Because everyone’s power is too closely matched, neither France nor Austria is willing to accept a subordinate position.

Franz decided not to initiate a challenge because the odds of winning were too low and the benefits were not substantial.

There is most to gain at sea, but Austria cannot compete with the British and must wait for an opportunity. The returns on land are less attractive, and the European Continent is crowded with too many countries; pulling one thread might move the entire body, risking entanglement with Russia in mutual destruction.

France faces a similar situation and even more complications. Being the world’s number two is not easy, especially with both the army and navy at second place, which inherently attracts the animosity of the number one.

The name “Napoleon” alone is enough to command attention. Napoleon III inherited the legacy of Napoleon, and with it, the enmity he left behind.

If he had continued to act discreetly, it would have been one thing, but now his arrogance is likely to provoke a backlash from other countries, especially among the older generation who had experienced the anti-French wars and were still alive.

Prime Minister Felix opposed, “Your Majesty, I’m afraid that won’t do. Austria, even if it wishes to avoid trouble, might not be able to do so.

The French have extended their reach deep into the central and southern Italian areas. If we don’t intervene, who knows what overconfident France will do next?”

Simply put, France and Austria had already developed conflicting interests in the southern Italy area, and a clash was just a matter of time.

Franz said calmly, “It doesn’t matter, that’s a matter for the future. The Kingdom of Sardinia isn’t that easy to integrate, and the French should be very quiet on the European Continent for the next three to five years.

After three to five years, the Tsarist Government’s reforms will also be initially completed. As long as the balance among the three major European powers remains, we can move on to the next plan.”

It wasn’t that Franz was arrogant, reality was just so. Was the Italian Area that easy to annex? Austria had been promoting ethnic integration for many years, and the Austrian Italian region was where progress was slowest.

It’s a cultural issue, don’t look at the Italian Area as a loose sand, seemingly like a weakling, but their cultural heritage is very complete, in no way inferior to French culture.

Now in Lombardy and the Veneto region, the locals have all learned German, using German daily for writing, but the tradition of Italian culture has not disappeared.

After more than a decade of effort, we can now only say that we’ve pulled back the Germanic people who were Italianized, while the goal of integrating the Italians is still just a goal.

By comparison, Austria’s work on ethnic integration in Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, and the Balkan Peninsula has been much smoother.

Many small ethnic groups without cultural heritage have now become completely Germanized. Of course, this also has something to do with the long-term operation of the Habsburg Family, as initially, these people all recognized this brand.

What is the essence of ethnic integration?

The answer is: identification!

Once this is achieved, everything else becomes easier.

If one observes carefully, they will find that many minority ethnic groups within Austria are very similar in their lifestyle habits to German people.

Some ethnic groups are even called “Slav-speaking German people.” This means that aside from the language barrier, their lifestyle habits and folk customs have already been Germanized.

The main reason for this situation is that the Aristocratic Lords come from the Germany Region, and the people unconsciously follow the example of those above them, or during the era of serfdom, the Aristocratic Lords commanded them to change their lifestyle habits.

These special national conditions are reasons for the smooth process of ethnic integration. Even if the native language still exists, it has become a dialect.

Most people of this generation can still speak the dialect, the next generation might barely understand it, and if they live in the city, the heritage is likely to be almost cut off.

Even in the rural areas, after two or three more generations, these languages and scripts will likely lose their heritage, because learning them serves no purpose. People tend to be lazy, and what’s the point of learning a language that’s not used in society after birth?

In this era, the average lifespan is short, and people tend to marry and have children early. Many have children when they are seventeen or eighteen, and by the time they’re in their forties, they might be holding grandchildren, which is very conducive to ethnic integration.

As of now, German has become widespread. The generation that has received compulsory education from a young age now identifies with Teuton culture.

In any town within the Empire, German is used for communication and writing, with the only exception being the Italian Area, where seventy to eighty percent of the Italians still use Italian for communication outside of work.

Of course, because of the influx of other ethnic groups, the proportion of those who insist on using Italian among the local population has decreased to sixty percent.

There is no way around it, Italian cultural heritage is not backward, and with frequent commercial trade with the Central Italian States, this situation has arisen.

Not to mention the rural areas, where many people have learned German, but still prefer to use Italian in their daily lives.

If it wasn’t for the initial emancipation of the serfs and the purchase of the farmers’ loyalty with land, cultivating their sense of identification with Austria, the Austrian Italian Region wouldn’t be as stable as it is now.

Similarly, the French can’t do the same, because the Sardinian Government has already done the work of emancipating the serfs.

Apart from making alliances with local forces, the French government can’t buy off the numerous lower-class people, leaving room for nationalists to maneuver.

Throughout history, the main force behind every revolution has been the lower-class people. When have we ever seen capitalists charging to the front?

Under normal circumstances, as long as the lower-class people live reasonably well and have a high level of recognition of the government, there won’t be a large-scale rebellion.

Unfortunately, recognition is exactly what Napoleon III is lacking. The French people mainly recognize him because he has an awesome uncle, not because he himself is so beloved.

Italians are different; they are very happy to see the Napoleon Family become the French royal family. But asking them to pledge loyalty to the Napoleon Family? That’s not acceptable.

There is no recognition of kinship to begin with, let alone being annexed by France. If their interests are damaged, it might incite rebellion.

Promote ethnic integration? Sorry, France doesn’t even have compulsory education, how could it possibly provide it for the Kingdom of Sardinia first?

When it comes to their own interests, the French people are very sensitive. If the Paris Government were to promote language and writing integration, they would have to simultaneously handle the country’s compulsory education.

This in turn leads to a series of problems, in short, it’s something the Paris Government can’t do in a short time.

During the military governance period, the Kingdom of Sardinia will definitely behave, but once normal order is restored, it’s uncertain what will happen.