Holy Roman Empire

"Your Majesty, for the sake of the future of the Kingdom of Sardinia, you must leave here immediately." Minister of War Li Qi persuaded with a mournful face.

The monarch is also a huge bargaining chip in continental Europe. If the king Charles Albert is captured by the Austrian army, then the Kingdom of Sardinia will be almost the same.

This is not to coerce the emperor to order the princes, but to control the monarch, there are many things to do, such as forcing Charles Albert to sign a series of traitorous treaties, or even simply annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Even if other powers want to intervene, they have no bargaining chip in the righteousness, which is very detrimental to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Charlie Albert roared: "Trash, idiots, idiots... If it weren't for you incompetent bastards, how could we have failed? Now, you don't think about how to retreat from the enemy, and you actually want to run away..."

Time passed by, and under everyone's repeated persuasion, Charlie Albert still ran away. Of course, no one knows whether this has something to do with the arrival of the Austrian vanguard under the city of Turin.

When Palmerston, the British foreign secretary, arrived in Vienna, news of the capture of Turin by the Austrian army came.

After sorting out the information in his hands, even Palmerston, who is confident in his chest, still feels headaches about the problems of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Things were beyond their expectations. According to the British plan, Austria was still competing with the Kingdom of Sardinia for the Lombardy region at this time, and at most Austria had just regained its lost ground.

However, the performance of the Kingdom of Sardinia disappointed them. Perhaps the first national mobilization drained their blood, and the army mobilized for the second time was completely giving away their heads.

Especially the group of "patriots" and "Italian nationalists", originally thought that they would fight the Austrian army to the end, but the final result told the world that the talk is still talk.

Those who shout the loudest slogans are often the fastest deserters on the battlefield.As soon as the battle started, people didn't know where they went.

Charlie Albert put these people on the front line as cannon fodder, but he didn't expect that these people would be backhanded and returned, and directly gave the position to the Austrians.

This made Palmerston feel embarrassed. The Austrian army had to pay a completely different price for negotiating before occupying the Sardinian Kingdom and after occupying the Sardinian Kingdom.

If it weren't for the internal instability in France, Austria has no allies, and it is difficult to monopolize the Kingdom of Sardinia, he can go home directly.

This worry did not last long, and the welcome banquet prepared for him by the Austrian Foreign Ministry began.

……

Berlin

After receiving diplomatic support from Austria, the arrogance of the bourgeois liberal government rose again. In their view, with the backing of the entire German Federation, the Russians were not so terrible.

Don't look at the fact that all European countries are supporting the Danes. In fact, only the Russians will take action. The purpose of the Swedes is to ensure that the Kingdom of Denmark will not be destroyed, but they have no plan to help the Danes recover their lost land.

Especially after seeing the June Uprising erupted by the French people in order to support the Polish Revolution, the determination of the liberals to support Polish independence became firm again.

Frederick William IV couldn't bear it anymore, and if the liberals let the wave continue, Russia and Prussia will start fighting. Now 25 Russian troops have reached the border of Prussia and Russia.

The tsarist government's patience with the Kingdom of Prussia had reached its limit, and any move to provoke the Russians would be unwise.

Before the Crimean War, Russia had a great reputation on the European continent, and it was not at all comparable to the Kingdom of Prussia, which had not yet unified Germany.

Under his instruction, the Junker nobles who hated the revolution formed the "Property Defense Alliance".

A counter-revolutionary coup is brewing within the Kingdom of Prussia.The bourgeois government, which has no experience in struggle, seems to know nothing, and continues to implement the idealized unification plan.

……

The Anglo-Austrian negotiations started, and Palmerston was worried that the Sardinian government would surrender to Austria if it continued to drag on, and their investment there would be in vain.

After the greetings, Palmerston got straight to the point: "Mr. Metternich, for the sake of world peace, we need the Austrian government to carefully handle the conflict with the Kingdom of Sardinia."

Metternich laughed and said, "Mr. Palmerston, the conflict between us and the Kingdom of Sardinia will soon cease to exist, and the Italian region will soon stabilize. Your country need not worry at all."

Chapter 1: Anglo-Austrian Negotiations

Under what circumstances will the conflict between Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia disappear?

It depends on the specific situation. Anyway, Palmerston would not naively think that Austria sent troops to kill the Sardinian Kingdom, and for the sake of the so-called world peace, they would easily let the Sardinian Kingdom go.

Then the only thing is to let one party fall, and a slap can't be heard, and the enemy falls, and the contradiction will naturally disappear.

There is no doubt that it is the Kingdom of Sardinia that has fallen now, and Palmerston does not believe that the Sardinians can make a comeback.

Even if the remaining Sardinian soldiers turned into Spartan warriors, it would not change the outcome of the war.

Palmerston thought for a while and said, "Mr. Metternich, for the sake of world peace and stability, the British government suggests that your country end the Ossa War as soon as possible and return to the pre-war state."

The relationship between the British and Austria is very complicated. They oppose Austria's expansion in Italy, and because of their European strategic needs, they don't want to turn against Austria. That's why Palmerston visited Vienna this time. Means to resolve disputes between the Osa two countries.

We must know that after the Anti-French War, Europe entered the era of Britain and Russia.Although the Vienna system dominated by Austria isolated the British Empire from the European continent, it also contained the expansion of the Russians.

For the British, isolation means isolation. As long as the European continent maintains a balance, their hegemony will not be shaken, and the Vienna system also defends their core interests.

Now that the Vienna system has collapsed, and the situation on the European continent is about to undergo earth-shaking changes, curbing Russian expansion has become the top priority of the British right now.

Austria, which stood in the way of the Russians' westward expansion, was the ally most needed by the London government, and the Anglo-Austrian relationship could not be broken unless necessary.

Naturally, the British's complicated diplomatic strategy cannot be concealed from Metternich, and Austria also needs to cooperate with the British.

Regardless of whether Russia and Austria are an alliance, Austria does not need to contain Russia's continued expansion of power. In fact, the Austrian government is the one that does not want Russia to expand abroad.

Of course, this does not include Franz.

In fact, there is not much left for the Russians to expand westward. The two countries are not soft persimmons. It is impossible for the tsarist government to set their sights on this.

Sweden in the Nordic region is also tough. The Russians will not hit a wall. The only European region that can allow the Russians to expand is the Balkans.

People in this era feel that Russia entered the Balkans, occupied Constantinople, and rushed into the Mediterranean Sea, and it was out of control.

Franz's judgment is just the opposite. The Russians who stay in the country of ice and snow are the most terrifying. After entering the Mediterranean, the British will teach the bears to be human again.

Being powerful on land is not the same as being powerful on the sea.It's not that Franz despises the Russians. The army can rely on crowd tactics, and the navy is really a rookie.

If it is really about the development of the navy, Austria has an advantage over the Russians. At least Venice used to be a naval power, and now there are enough sailors.

If there is no sea, the navy must be awesome.Russia's sea area is indeed large, but it is not very suitable for the development of the navy.

Even now, the Russians are still a group of landlubbers, and the pocket version of the navy will not develop in a few decades.

Even as the Russians expanded in the Balkans, Austria got a share, perhaps not the tastiest part.

But Franz's attitude is: a bird in hand is worse than a thousand birds in the bush.

As long as the strength of Austria can be enhanced, as for the issue of containing the expansion of the Russians, whoever wants to do it can do it, anyway, he does not have the spirit of internationalism.

If the Russians are led astray, they will go to vigorously develop the navy.He doesn't mind fully supporting the Russians and letting them go further on this path of death.

Franz's attitude has also affected Austria's diplomacy to a certain extent. He is not as active in many international affairs as he was involved in Metternich's era.

Metternich shook his head and said: "Mr. Palmerston, there is always a price to pay for doing wrong things. The Kingdom of Sardinia dares to invade Austria, so naturally it has to bear the corresponding price.

The dignity of the Austrian Empire cannot be desecrated, and the evil Kingdom of Sardinia must pay the price for daring to launch a war of aggression against the Vienna system. "

Palmerston breathed a sigh of relief. Austria did not insist on annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia, so there is still room for relaxation, it is nothing more than a matter of interests.

He also played a role in encouraging the Kingdom of Sardinia to launch a war and provide loans to the Kingdom of Sardinia.If the Kingdom of Sardinia is really doomed and these loans have become bad debts, the British bankers will not spare him.

Palmerston thought for a while and said, "Of course, the Kingdom of Sardinia launched this war of aggression, so naturally it should pay the price.

For the sake of world peace, the British Empire is ready to mediate this war, and we hope that your country can temporarily suspend military operations. "

Metternich smiled and said: "Unfortunately, Mr Palmerston, you came too late.

At this time, the Kingdom of Sardinia has been occupied by the Austrian army, and King Charles Albert of Sardinia has been in exile overseas, and it may not be long before he arrives in London.

If your country can restrain the Sardinian guerrillas from continuing to make trouble, we can stop the next military operation. "

Has the Austrian army occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia?

If it only refers to the main cities, Austria has indeed occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia now; if it refers to the whole country, Austria has only occupied half of the territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

This does not prevent Metternich from bragging about B, the military occupation of this era, most of the time refers to the major cities, and the vast rural areas are often ignored.

At this point, Palmerston was too lazy to continue to fight, and the Sardinian Kingdom lost all the chips in their hands, and it was impossible not to bleed a lot.

Palmerston quickly entered the role and asked, "Mr. Metternich, what conditions does your government have to end this war? We can convey them on your behalf."

Metternich did not answer, but handed over a prepared armistice treaty.

Glancing at the above content, Palmerston's face changed. If Austria's request is followed, the Kingdom of Sardinia will not be far from becoming history.

"Mr. Metternich, isn't the above clause too harsh?" Palmerston said, frowning.

It's not just harsh, it's obviously very harsh.This is to put all the politics, military, finance, and territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia under the control of Austria, which is not much different from the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

For example: the appointment of government ministers and above officials must be approved by the Austrian government;

Another example: the Kingdom of Sardinia is not allowed to keep the army, but can only keep a police force of no more than 1 people, and use 50.00% of the fiscal revenue to hire the Austrian army to protect their territorial security;

The currency issuance rights of the Kingdom of Sardinia are hosted by the Austrian government;

Various taxes in the Kingdom of Sardinia are determined by the Austrian government;

The Kingdom of Sardinia is not allowed to produce weapons and equipment, and all weapons must be imported from Austria;

The diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Sardinia and any country or region are all performed by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

……

There is no requirement for land cession and compensation, but compared with the above requirements, it is estimated that the Sardinians would rather cede land and pay compensation than become an Austrian colony.

Metternich said very kindly: "This is just a draft negotiation. The invasion of the Kingdom of Sardinia brought very heavy losses to Austria, and Lombardy and Venice were almost beaten to nothing.

It also caused hundreds of thousands of Austrian casualties, and millions of Austrians were homeless. How can such a serious loss be counted?

If the Sardinians can't accept our conditions, it's not impossible, as long as they can fully compensate us for all our losses at once. "

……

Chapter 1 War Compensation

Vienna International Hotel

Palmerston argued: "Mr. Metternich, your asking price is too high, which has exceeded the capacity of the Kingdom of Sardinia!"

Metternich said calmly: "Mr. Palmerston, we can count as a battle. This time in the Ossa War, Austria spent 1 million guilders in war funds and paid 1.2 casualties of officers and soldiers. No one pays 1000 dong as a pension, which is also 1200 million dong.

The death toll of civilians was as high as 58.6, and that of nobles was 2.6, with the highest title reaching the Marquis, and millions of people were homeless.

Calculated based on the 500 dong casualty pension paid by each civilian and the 3000 dong pension paid by each nobleman, the total is 3.71 million dong. The homeless people will pay less, at least 1.5 million dong for resettlement fees, right?

Nearly half of the cities in Lombardy and Venice were destroyed in the flames of war, and the local economy completely collapsed. The cost of post-war reconstruction will not be less than 3 million guilders.

Also, the Sardinian army acted recklessly and plundered a lot of wealth from the people, at least 1.8 million guilders, which must be returned.

......"

According to the calculations of the Austrians, the Kingdom of Sardinia is estimated to be unclear until the next century. Before Metternich finished speaking, Palmerston said:

"Mr. Metternich, you can't calculate it like this. Most of the casualties and economic losses were caused by the revolutionaries, and the losses caused by the Sardinian army to your country are only a small part of them."

That's right, these losses are the result of the joint efforts of the rebels, the Austrian army, and the Sardinian army, but the losses will all be borne by the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Metternich said without changing his face: "Mr. Palmerston, we have enough evidence to show that the rebellions in Lombardy and Venice were all planned by the Sardinian government.

The losses caused by the rebels naturally need to be borne by the Kingdom of Sardinia.We only ask for compensation of 16.6 billion dong, which is actually very little. "

Naturally, Palmerston would not buy it, and he and Metternich went down one by one.

For example, civilian casualties: the Sardinian army did not engage in massacres, how could it be possible to kill so many civilians in such a short period of time?

Natural disasters, man-made disasters, and natural deaths are recorded on the head of the Sardinian government.

However, the war caused the population outflow, and if these people are still alive, compensation should be paid according to the number of dead people. Isn't it too nonsense?

What rebel members also need compensation for casualties?Isn't this nonsense?They are all sinners, and the Austrian government needs to pay pensions to their families?

No, this has to be discounted.

Another example: The Sardinian army plundered places, and they were all in the prisoner-of-war camps. The goods are all your spoils, okay?How can there be so much damage at most?

……

After half a month of wrangling, Palmerston finally reached an agreement with Metternich. The Kingdom of Sardinia paid Austria 3.38 million guilders in war compensation and 0.62 million guilders in ransom for prisoners of war, ending the war. (approximately 9352 million taels of silver)

This is already the limit. The Kingdom of Sardinia has not yet undergone Cavour's reforms, and now their fiscal revenue is only more than 1000 million taels of silver.

Faced with this huge amount of compensation, they definitely can't afford it.The existence of the Faomeme Treaty also cut off the possibility of them seeking help from the French financial sector. They had no choice but to borrow from the British.

With John Bull's feces, how could it be impossible not to take advantage of the fire at this time?

It can be said that after this huge debt is borrowed, the politics and economy of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future must be fully dependent on the British.

As for the opinion of the Sardinian government-in-exile, it is no longer important. They have lost the right to speak and can only accept the arrangement of fate.

It is enough to change the government if they are not obedient. The British spent a lot of money to keep them, hoping to support an obedient pawn in Italy and strengthen their right to speak in Italy.

Of course, another reason is that the British bank consortium was locked up in loans.The Sardinian government still owes the British a whole lot of debt. If they don't want to keep them, all these loans will be in vain.