Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: If We Don’t Fight Now, We’ll Be Out of Money

Translator: 549690339

Late at Night

In a small alley within Turin City, inside a grocery store, three middle-aged men were gathered together, conversing in hushed tones.

The older man asked, “Amor, how are things going?”

“The plan is proceeding very smoothly. The people’s patriotic fervor is high. Even without our guidance, I’m afraid they would spontaneously go protest!” Amor replied with a smile.

“We cannot be careless. The more critical the moment, the more cautious we must be.”

“You haven’t attracted any unwarranted attention, have you?” the older man asked with concern.

“Rest assured, Camelo! My current identity is that of a patriotic small merchant from Venice. Now, my actions are completely in line with my identity.

On the surface, as long as the Kingdom of Sardinia occupies Venice, I stand to make a handsome profit.

In such a situation, it is expected of me to be antagonistic towards Austria, so it won’t draw attention.” explained Amor.

There are more than a few capitalists who, for the sake of profit, advocate for the attack on Venice. Amor is merely exhibiting a bit more enthusiasm, which is hardly an issue.

“Well, that’s good to hear. In our line of work, the most important thing is to be careful and complete the tasks at hand without getting greedy.

Sicilio, how far has your mission progressed?” the man known by the code name Camelo continued to inquire.

“Not very smoothly. I’m just an obscure nobody, and the large newspapers don’t lack for submissions. For now, my articles can only appear in small street zines,” Sicilio responded, sounding rather helpless.

He was merely a literary youth; his writing was decent but not earth-shattering. In the culturally developed Italian Area, he didn’t hold much advantage.

Fortunately, the articles he was currently penning fitted very well with the times, alternating between denouncing the Austrians and lauding the bravery of the Sardinian Army.

Recently, there had been many such articles, but Sicilio’s were more blatant and radical, which perfectly suited the tastes of adolescents going through their rebellious phase.

“Don’t worry, just take it slow. Sardinian nationalism is somewhat beyond our expectations. Even without our influence, public sentiment would still pressure the government to send troops to Venice. Now we’re just accelerating the timetable.

Since we have already generated the hype, it doesn’t matter whether we did the prompting or not.

Now, everyone needs to shift their propaganda tactics a bit, start broadcasting about the brutal rule of Austria. You all can fabricate the content at will, just make sure to paint Austria in the most negative light possible.”

If you can’t think of anything, dredge up the dark history of the Sardinian nobility and capitalists, give it a spin, and pin all of it on Austria,” Camelo advised, nodding.

At this point, Camelo felt like laughing. He had set a record; as a spy, he was actively smearing his own homeland. If word got out, he estimated no one would believe it.

Even the two underlings he had developed locally were unaware that they were serving the Vienna Government; Camelo had always told them it was a secret intelligence organization from the United Kingdom.

Now encouraging the Kingdom of Sardinia to attack Venice is to coordinate with the strategic plan of the Great Britain Empire to establish a unified Italy.

Influenced by financial benefits and uplifting rhetoric, both individuals didn’t feel there was anything wrong with their behavior. They even believed that their actions were efforts towards the unification of Italy.

There was no choice, as these were the internal orders given. To hasten the Sardinian Army to advance towards Venice, it was now necessary to stir up their nationalistic sentiments and apply political pressure on the Sardinian Government.

There were many who carried out this mission, most disguising themselves as members of the intelligence organizations of England and France, and some even boldly infiltrated extremist groups.

In this era, without identity registration books and communication being so troublesome, concocting an identity from the Italian Area was impossible to verify.

Moreover, with the rise of nationalism in the Kingdom of Sardinia, anyone who donned the guise of a patriot and acted politically correctly was untouchable, even if their identity was discovered, the Sardinian Government dared not arrest them lightly.

With someone setting the tone, the combativeness of Sardinian nationalists was naturally even stronger. Faced with the pressure of public opinion, King Charles Albert eventually couldn’t hold out any longer.

It should be noted that after the February Revolution broke out in France, the revolutionary fervor also surged within the Kingdom of Sardinia. Had it not been for his quick decision to declare war on Austria to deflect the tension, it was questionable whether he would still retain his throne now.

In fact, Charles Albert had no intention of defeating Austria; originally, he had just planned to fight a war where gaining a little advantage would suffice to appease the domestic front.

Having already occupied Lombardy, he had exceeded the mission’s expectations. Continuing the attack on the Venice Area was too risky, and the chances of military success were not high.

“Azelio, where are our allied forces now?” King Charles Albert asked with concern.

Prime Minister Azzolini’s expression darkened. With the Kingdom of Sardinia reaping all the benefits, how could one expect other Sub-States to contribute?

Besides, the Italian States were heavily influenced by Austria. Now, under the force of public opinion, they had unwillingly joined the war; without the incentive of benefits, shirking their duties was inevitable.

“The 5,000 volunteers from Tuscany are already on their way and are expected to arrive in the Lombardy Region by the end of the month. The 7,000 troops from the Papal State have reached the Adige River. The 40,000 reinforcements from Naples are expected to arrive in part by May,” Azzolini answered with difficulty.

“Urge them to hasten, and continue to request an increase in the number of reinforcements from all countries. We must launch an attack on the Venice Area by May!” King Charles thought for a moment and said.

This was his final line to hold; the tide of public opinion was truly unstoppable.

At this moment, King Charles already regretted declaring the annexation of Lombardy so prematurely; otherwise, he could have used the partition of Lombardy to keep Tuscany on the hook.

That thought was fleeting. In an age where public opinion demanded unification, territorial partition was politically fatal.

“Your Majesty, now is not the time for a final battle with the Austrians. We must at least wait for the internal strife in Austria to escalate and for the arrival of the 40,000 troops from Naples. That will be the best time to launch an attack,” Minister of Army Li Qi advised.

Austria had not yet begun to suppress the Hungarian rebellion. If troops were sent to Venice now, agitating the Vienna Government, it could well bring the main Austrian forces down into the Italian Area.

Charles Albert explained helplessly, “From a military standpoint, that is indeed the case. However, politically we can no longer afford to wait. Furthermore, there are financial issues; the expenses of occupying the Lombardy Region have far exceeded our expectations.”

(Do not criticize the name. The translation of the Sardinian Army Minister is indeed Li Qi, it is not a Chinese name I have concocted..)