Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 402: The Great Powers Are Here to Eat Meat

In Paris, Napoleon III was left dizzy by an unexpected gift from the heavens.

The diplomatic situation in France has never been good. The various European countries have been subtly excluding them, and they are often left out of many activities.

Among the four great European powers, France has the least political influence. Any slightly bold move by them is seen as a great threat by their neighbors, who would immediately prepare for war.

After Napoleon III ascended to the throne, many efforts were made to improve the diplomatic environment; however, they yielded little effect.

Despite verbal assurances from various governments, they remained vigilant in their actions. Particularly after the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, a joint defense alliance emerged.

At first, there were some concerns on the part of Napoleon III, fearing a repeat of the anti-French coalition. But over time, he grew accustomed to it.

So be it if they are on guard, these countries would not dare to overstep anyway. Such actions from neighboring countries indirectly affirmed the strength of France.

After being emperor for a while and praised for a long time, it was inevitable that he became a bit arrogant.

As time went on, Napoleon III’s ambitions also grew day by day. It was fortunate that France did not win the Near East War, otherwise, he would have become even more arrogant.

In the face of the joint defense of various countries, Napoleon III dared not to act recklessly. He still possessed some sense of self-awareness in this regard.

To break the deadlock, Napoleon III made many efforts, such as maintaining a good relationship with England and Austria as much as possible.

Despite his strong desire for the Rhineland, Napoleon III restrained himself from taking action. Similarly, although he eyed Italy eagerly, he also held himself back.

The lessons left by his uncle informed him that an anti-French coalition could indeed be deadly. Without a reasonable excuse, any French expansion on the European continent would invite joint resistance from various countries.

The Kingdom of Sardinia dug its own grave, and no one could argue against that. Now, the Italian states were being watched closely by Austria, leaving no room for France to intervene.

If it weren’t for the plea for help from Francis II and the pretext for interference, Napoleon III would have been compelled to remain passive.

Napoleon, in high spirits, exclaimed, “The opportunity has arrived! Dispatch whichever of our forces is available to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as soon as possible. If we wait for Austria to send troops to suppress the rebellion, we’ll have no room for intervention.”

Undoubtedly, the rebel army led by Garibaldi was completely disregarded by him. In Napoleon III’s perception, the combat capability of the Italian army was only rated at five, while the rebellious forces were even less than that.

In the face of an absolute disparity in strength, even if there was some underestimation, it was not a big problem.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was within arm’s reach, and the French forces available were sufficient to crush any rebel forces.

In the original timeline, the Redshirts led by Garibaldi had covert support from the Kingdom of Sardinia, but at this moment, Sardinia was now a thing of the past and naturally could not support them.

If the United States federal government were to be considered, Garibaldi still had supporters. However, these supporters were currently licking their wounds, and it was time to keep a low profile. They now lack the ability to aid them, let alone dare to support them.

The Minister of War, Edmond Le Bœuf, replied, “Your Majesty, the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Twelfth, and Fifteenth Infantry Divisions, as well as the Second Cavalry Division, can all be mobilized.”

It was evident that Edmond Le Bœuf was highly familiar with France’s military deployment, as he effortlessly listed all the mobile units’ designations.

Currently, France was at its peak, maintaining a substantial reserve of mobile forces even in times of peace. In the event of war, they could easily mobilize millions of troops.

Interfering in the civil war in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies would require only the forces of the 1st and 2nd Divisions. At present, Garibaldi’s rebel forces consist of only 30,000 to 40,000 rebels.

Napoleon III immediately ordered, “Form an intervention force with the Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, and Fifteenth Divisions, appoint Marshal Patrice de MacMahon as the commander, and dispatch them to the battlefield with utmost haste.

The navy shall send a fleet for escort, while simultaneously blockading the coastline of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, prohibiting any ship from docking in rebel-controlled areas.”

The simultaneous mobilization of four infantry divisions was evidently not solely aimed at assisting in suppressing the rebellion. The rebels were not worthy of such attention from Napoleon III. Rather, it was more about preparing for the potential outbreak of a Franco-Austrian conflict.

This was tantamount to France sticking its hand into Austria’s backyard, so it was normal for the Austrian government to have an extreme reaction.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied the Minister of War, Edmond Le Bœuf.

This result upset the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abraham. Intervening in the civil war of the Two Sicilies would not only provoke Austria’s discontent but also annoy the British and the Spanish.

Leaving Spain aside for now as they had no energy to care about this, the reactions of England and Austria could not be ignored. If it triggered a chain reaction, that would be troublesome.

Foreign Minister Abraham reminded, “Your Majesty, the issue of intervening in the civil war in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies may require further consideration. Hasty interference at this moment would subject us to immense international pressure.”

This was inevitable. One could imagine that as soon as the French army entered the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, letters of protest from Britain, Austria, and Spain would appear at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The consequences it would trigger were still unknown, but it would certainly not be anything good.

Under the current international situation, at most France could extend some influence into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but the actual benefits it could obtain were very small.

Talks of annexation are out of the question. The plea for help from Francis II merely provides France with a pretext for intervening in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and potentially allows them the opportunity for annexation.

Attempting to annex a country on the European continent is extremely difficult, and opportunities like those with the Kingdom of Sardinia are not encountered every day.

Furthermore, the same pretext can only be used once; its repeated use would render it ineffective.

Napoleon III said confidently, “Don’t worry, this time it is Francis II who asked us to come over. Even if the governments of other countries are unhappy, they will not dare to intervene forcibly.

All we’ll face are the Austrians. The Austrian government surely won’t go to war with us over just the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, would they?”

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is the largest state in Italy, yet also the poorest. While it appears to be a sizable market, its purchasing power is actually very low.

It is largely self-sufficient in food, with minimal demand for manufactured goods. Trade with its largest trade partner, Austria, never exceeds three million guilders annually.

Aside from its strategic value, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies offers little else. However, this strategic value is equally negligible for Austria.

Granted, Sicily was located in the center of the Mediterranean, but with the presence of various powers, Austria had no way to directly occupy it.

Even establishing a naval base would be futile; to the east lies the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean base at Malta, while to the west is the French Navy’s headquarters.

Placing the Austrian navy between these two naval powers seems ill-advised.

Ignoring these naval powers, what else could Austria do? Would it dare to blockade the Mediterranean, a feat even the British shy away from?

Therefore, the Austrian government made the most rational choice: to leave Sicily alone. Currently, Austria does not station troops on this tiny state’s soil, only engaging in minimal economic interests.

And those interests could actually be ignored. The nation was already poor, could Austria expect to extract something of note from it?

Napoleon III, believing he had outmaneuvered them, swiftly dispatched an intervention force to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Meanwhile, Austria’s intervention force also set out.

……

On February 11, 1866, the Austrian intervention force arrived in Gaeta, while the French army, due to being closer, had already arrived a day earlier.

The war to suppress the rebellion had not even begun, but the gunpowder smell between the French and Austrian armies had already become strong. If both sides did not exercise restraint, these two forces might have started fighting first.

Having just fled from Naples and taken refuge here, Francis II fully experienced what a Shura Field was.

During the military conference, neither the French nor the Austrian officers displayed amicable expressions toward each other. Cooperation was out of the question.

Since mutual aversion prevailed, each side decided to go their separate ways. After all, neither side considered the rebel forces significant, as they both possessed the capability to crush them.

Francis II found himself in an awkward position, caught between France and Austria. It was like walking on a tightrope and one misstep could spell disaster.

In fact, when Francis II sought assistance from the French, some ministers had already warned him that being indecisive when choosing sides was a major political taboo.

For some reason, Francis II had a moment of folly, entertaining the notion that mutual restraint between France and Austria could maximize the interests of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Reality proved him wrong. Great powers were all after their own interests, regardless of where they were.

Austria had always been considerate in its dealings, engaging in fair trade without exploiting the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

However, the situation had changed with the involvement of France. The ultimate cost remained uncertain, but at least the expenses of both countries’ military interventions fell upon the Kingdom of Two the Sicilies.

Starting with tens of millions of guilders, there was little to discuss; great powers were not in the business of charity.

For these major powers, it was just a matter of squeezing military expenditures. For the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, it equated to several years of financial revenue.

The exact duration depended on the combat effectiveness of the rebel forces. If the rebels proved formidable and prolonged the conflict, the bankruptcy of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was only a matter of time.

The likelihood of such an event was high. With both France and Austria intervening together, intentionally hindering each other, it was inevitable.

The timing of suppressing the rebellion would depend on the strength of their mutual sabotage.