Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Chapter 55, The Hard Days Have Come

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Bardolio still underestimated the impact of defeating Austria, and for political needs, King Charles promptly granted him the rank of Marshal.

For the Italians, defeating Austria in this era was indeed exhilarating, and if the victories continued, it is feared that the Italian States would all confer upon him the rank of Marshal.

Through the propaganda of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Bardolio quickly became a hero of Italy, but being a hero was not easy, as he could not leave any blemish behind.

For instance, now that the citizens of Milan City could not buy food, they turned to him to solve the problem, since he was the planner of the grain arson incident.

As a hero of Italy, his word had to be his bond, and the promise he previously made to supply everyone with food now had to be honored.

General Bardolio’s political lessons were passable, or rather it should now be Marshal Bardolio, although his formal investiture had not yet taken place, which was of no great importance.

The Lombardy Region was so large that the Austrian army would not possibly requisition all the grain in a short time; even if grain merchants ran out of stock, nobility estates would always retain a portion for their own consumption.

While urging domestic grain transport, he also cheated the nobility of the Lombardy Region to procure a portion of grain from their estates.

Unfortunately, in this era, light industry in the Lombardy Region was well-developed, and most nobility had sold their grain to processing plants; now, during the spring plowing season, everyone had very little grain on hand.

After searching nearby, a reluctant Bardolio found it was a drop in the bucket; having already been plundered once, what could be left?

“Marshal, the grain from home has not yet arrived, and the grain we’ve collected in the city is very limited; given the current situation and including our military rations, we can support a maximum of three days.

The grain requisition teams we sent out might yield some results, but having been plundered once by the Austrians, the surrounding areas of Milan are unlikely to yield much,” Major General Manstu said with a worried frown (he had been promoted).

At this time, the grain from Sardinia was actually en route to Milan City, but the transportation in the Italian Area of this era was not so good, and the transport capacity was extremely limited.

Meeting the consumption needs of several hundred thousand people in the city was not easily accomplished. This was only the beginning, and it wouldn’t be long before grain shortages would appear in the countryside as well.

It could be said that the Kingdom of Sardinia’s occupation of the Lombardy Region, in the short term, was not an enhancement of its power but rather a heavy economic burden.

Bardolio was already feeling the pressure; democratic party members within Milan City had already presented him with independence demands, but he had temporarily managed to stave them off.

In addition, at this time, the city’s grain shortage compelled reliance on the Kingdom of Sardinia, preventing disturbances; once the crisis passed, it was feared another situation would emerge.

“I will explain the situation to the citizens. Starting from tomorrow, everyone’s food distribution will only be seventy percent of the usual amount.

Together with the grain collected from the surrounding areas of Milan, it should sustain us for about five to six days, by which time the grain from home should almost be there,” Marshal Bardolio analyzed.

Without a doubt, reducing the grain distribution would stir dissatisfaction among the populace, but all conceivable solutions had been considered, and he could not magically produce grain.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had no strong foundation in the Lombardy Region, and now, to maintain the stability of Milan City, they had to rely on the city’s nobility and capitalists.

Including the distribution of food, it had to be managed by these local snakes. These people were not the good sort; thriving under Austrian rule was not something modest people could achieve.

Unbeknownst to Marshal Bardolio, the underground black market had already opened, and if one paid attention, they would discover that the grain being sold there came from the city’s relief supplies.

Corruption and embezzlement, these are legacies of the Austrian era, with the local nobility equally serving as tools of the Austrian Government’s rule, naturally inheriting this fine tradition.

Capitalists, needless to say, have no moral constraints; no one could refuse an opportunity to make a profit, including some officers within the Sardinian Army.

When rationing food, just skimming a little off the top was a significant sum; how could they possibly give that up?

They had to make up for the losses incurred during the war, didn’t they?

Now that the rationing amounts had been reduced, wasn’t this a perfect opportunity for them to profit?

Marshal Bardolio might have genuinely been unaware, or perhaps he was feigning ignorance.

In any case, what was supposed to be a seven-layer ration for everyone, in the end, fell into the people’s hands at less than five layers. Even this final five-layer portion contained bread with all kinds of adulterants mixed in.

If you were lucky, it might just be the addition of bran, mixed with a bit of wheat straw powder. If you were unlucky, the dark bread you received could

directly have sawdust, leaves, pebbles, and other materials added in.

There’s nothing impossible, only things unimaginable. Fortunately, the lower class was already used to this. After all, the dark bread they normally ate was just like this; during fights, they could even use it as a brick, killing two birds with one stone.

Citizens who could afford it flocked to the underground black market—no, it can’t be called a black market, as they openly did business.

It’s just that the prices were slightly higher, especially the price of food, which skyrocketed to more than ten times the pre-war level, causing even some of the petty bourgeoisie to exclaim they couldn’t bear it.

Poor people, of course, had only one choice, to endure it. After all, Marshal Bardolio had assured them it was just a matter of days.

Everyone is a patriot; for the sake of the nation, for the sake of our people, enduring hunger for a few days is bearable.

Paris, France

At this time, the Bourgeois Provisional Government was busy with internal struggles.

On March 17th, the Blanqui Faction organized a rally of 150 ,ooo people, taking to the streets to demonstrate, igniting the contradictions between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in Paris.

When the Kingdom of Sardinia decided to send troops to attack Austria, the Provisional Government supported the decision, of course, this support was limited to verbal expressions, as they lacked the capability to offer substantial support.

Franz had misjudged the situation in France; the circumstances in France were not good. The Provisional Government, representing bourgeois interests, introduced a series of policies biased towards the capitalists, which naturally harmed the interests of the ordinary people.

For instance: On March 9th, the Provisional Government decreed a reduction in cash payments by savings banks, stipulating that anyone withdrawing deposits over 100 francs would be paid with devalued government securities.

Another example: On March 16th, the Provisional Government decreed that an additional tax of 45 centimes per franc would be levied on the four direct taxes paid by farmers—land, movable property, windows, and business.

(1 franc = 100 centimes, approximately equivalent to 0.29 grams of gold, though this value is not exact, the Franc currency’s value changed during the revolutionary period..)