African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1544 Italy's Restless Moment
The German National Party's methods were extremely radical, but they had a good effect for the time being, maintaining the overall stability of German society. In contrast, the neighboring Austro-Hungarian Empire was in complete chaos.

The Liberec incident quickly ignited the Bohemian industrial region, where workers and the unemployed, organized by the Labour Party, wreaked havoc on the existing social order and fought against the Austro-Hungarian government.

The imperial government began mobilizing troops to quell the unrest in the Bohemian industrial region. However, the Bohemian labor party was clearly not to be trifled with, and at the same time, labor parties in other regions of the empire, especially in Austria, began to support the Bohemian riots.

……

Rome.

Since Benito's "march on Rome," this ancient city has been revitalized, becoming the capital of Italy's 40 million people. Resources from all over the country have been concentrated in Rome, with factories, administrative departments, and people all converging on the city.

Under the Benito government, Italy's overall economic development has been relatively stable in recent years. While it may not have been particularly outstanding before, Italy became a haven for the European economy after the global economic crisis.

Other countries at this time were not only struggling with stable development, but their economies were in serious decline, which made Italy's economy stand out as particularly "dazzling".

Rome, as its capital, developed faster than other cities in the country, becoming a "top student" among European cities during the economic crisis.

When a new wave of turmoil broke out in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Benito was the first to become restless, and he was extremely anxious in Rome.

"Barbo, now that there is internal strife in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, do you think this is an opportunity for the Kingdom to intervene in the internal strife of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and reclaim Eastern Lombardy and Venice?" Benito summoned his confidant Barbo immediately after receiving news of the Bohemian rebellion.

After a moment's thought, Balbo said, "I do not recommend that the Prime Minister do this. The internal strife in Austria-Hungary is currently concentrated in Bohemia and has not yet spread."

"They haven't mobilized their troops in Eastern Lombardy or Venice, so it will be very difficult for us to intervene, and the success rate is not high. Compared with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy's military is too weak, so we'd better not act rashly before then."

Benito was very dissatisfied with this answer. He said, "Reclaiming Lombardy and the entire territory of Venice has always been the kingdom's goal. These two regions are key to Italy becoming a world power."

“If we cannot recover the two territories, then Italy will forever lose the opportunity to rise and will only be a vassal of Austria.”

"Therefore, even if there are risks, as long as we can reclaim these two pieces of Italian homeland, all costs and sacrifices are worthwhile."

Balbo scoffed at Benito's idea, stating bluntly, "Prime Minister, your idea is somewhat unrealistic. The military disparity between Italy and Austria-Hungary is too great. If our troops enter Lombardy and Venice, there will only be one outcome: a humiliating defeat at the hands of Austria."

"Admittedly, Italy has made some progress under your leadership in recent years, and its performance in Europe is quite outstanding. However, militarily, we have absolutely no chance of competing with the Austrians. Not to mention the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire, we cannot easily challenge even the Austrian troops they have deployed in Eastern Lombardy and Venice."

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a major European power, with military strength second only to Germany, Britain, and France. Our Italian military strength is completely insignificant compared to these countries."

Compared to Benito, Balbo was clearly more composed, and he was also a figure with outstanding military talent in the Italian National Party. It was precisely because of his military abilities that he understood better the gap between Italy and Austria-Hungary in military strength.

Balbo said, "We Italians are a resource-poor country, which has resulted in a very weak military industry. We cannot equip ourselves with the sophisticated weapons that the Austro-Hungarian army had, and we also have to be very careful with the amount of ammunition we use."

"In addition, Italy's finances do not support the expansion and improvement of the kingdom's army. In recent years, Italy's economy has developed well, but this has not changed the status quo of Italy."

"Therefore, it is almost impossible for us to reclaim Eastern Lombardy and Venice in a direct war with Austria-Hungary, unless we have a top military genius like Napoleon, or at the very least, our own national hero Garibaldi."

"But I don't think there are any outstanding military talents in the Italian army right now."

"Moreover, Italy's geography and national conditions do not allow us to make such a risky strategy. Otherwise, let alone recovering Eastern Lombardy and Venice, it is very likely that the Austrians will turn around and invade the area currently under our control in Italy."

Benito was very dissatisfied with Balbo's words, which boosted the morale of others while diminishing his own. His face fell, and his mouth turned down.

However, Benito's bad attitude actually shows that he agrees with what Balbo said.

The reason Benito called him over to ask for his opinion this time was that Benito himself was very clear about the gap between Italy and Austria-Hungary.

However, he didn't want to miss this opportunity. The allure of reclaiming Eastern Lombardy and Venice was too great for him. Like a gambler, he looked at the rich rewards and always harbored a sense of wishful thinking: "Maybe I can turn things around."

If he could truly reclaim Lombardy and Venice, Benito would become the "saint" of Italy in the future. This temptation was fatal for Benito, but Balbo's words extinguished his illusions.

He stubbornly retorted, "So, according to your logic, we can never reclaim our lost territory, allowing the people of Italy to be enslaved by the Austrians. Now, with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in turmoil, we're just standing by out of cowardice!"

Balbo didn't take Benito's angry words to heart at all; after all, the Italian leader sometimes liked to act impulsively, and he was used to it.

However, Balbo certainly wouldn't let Benito pin this label on him.

He said, "Reclaiming Eastern Lombardy and Venice is the goal of every Italian. Even I, if I could do it, would not hesitate to die for it."

"However, the goal of reclaiming lost territory cannot be achieved with mere enthusiasm, especially since a single misstep could jeopardize the bright future of the entire country."

"Therefore, we cannot let our emotions cloud our judgment in this matter. Of course, we cannot give up on the goal of recovering our lost territory just because of the difficulties."

"Although we cannot directly engage in military conflict with Austria-Hungary, we can make some preparations, observe the situation, and take action when the time is right."

Benito asked listlessly, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Balbo said confidently, "We won't confront the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly, but we can certainly create trouble for them behind the scenes." "The current internal strife in the Austro-Hungarian Empire is mainly due to the concentrated outbreak of economic problems in the Bohemian region, while the economic situation in Eastern Lombardy and Venice under Austro-Hungarian rule is not much better."

"The starting point of this conflict in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the northern city of Liberec, where riots first broke out, instigated by the local Labour Party and textile workers."

"Eastern Lombardy and Venice were also the main areas where the textile industry of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was located, so the economic problems faced by Liberec were the same in Eastern Lombardy and Venice."

“We can add fuel to the fire, getting the Italians in Eastern Lombardy and Venice, like those in Bohemia, into action, thus exacerbating the turmoil within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.”

"However, we should not take any major actions for the time being. Instead, we should wait until the situation in Bohemia deteriorates further before initiating provocations against Eastern Lombardy and Venice."

Benito frowned and asked, "Why? Isn't it more advantageous for us if the Austro-Hungarian Empire is in chaos?"

Balbo explained: "The more chaotic the Austro-Hungarian Empire becomes, the better it is for us. However, it would be better if, during this turmoil, regions such as Bohemia could put pressure on the Austro-Hungarian government, forcing them to divert troops from Eastern Lombardy and Venice to other places to suppress the unrest. This would be a better outcome for us in Italy."

"On the contrary, if unrest were to occur in Eastern Lombardy and Venice now, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not only be reluctant to withdraw its troops from the region, but would also strengthen its military presence there."

The Austro-Hungarian Empire currently has three main areas to be wary of: the Balkan Peninsula, the Soviet Union to the east, and the Italian Peninsula.

Of these, Austria-Hungary would not easily mobilize its military forces to deal with the Soviet Union, leaving only the troops in the Balkans and the Italian peninsula.

Balbo naturally hoped that Austria-Hungary would reduce its troop presence on the Italian peninsula, so that Italy could take advantage of the situation and even recapture Eastern Lombardy and Venice.

To achieve this, it was necessary to feign weakness and lull the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a false sense of security regarding Italy.

Benito understood and said, "You mean we should observe how things develop within the Austro-Hungarian Empire first, and then, at the appropriate time, incite unrest in Eastern Lombardy and Venice?"

Balbo nodded and said, "That's right. At the same time, we should make military preparations, but not on the border, to avoid arousing suspicion from the Austrians."

"We can place the troops in the northwest of the kingdom and secretly mobilize them. If the Austro-Hungarian Empire ultimately cannot control the situation, we can try to take the risk of transporting the troops to the border by rail and eventually into Eastern Lombardy and Venice."

Here, Balbo mainly refers to the army. As for the navy, Italy was no match for Austria-Hungary. Even though the Austro-Hungarian navy's activities were limited to the Adriatic Sea, its strength was beyond Italy's reach.

This is still an economic issue. The unified Austro-Hungarian Empire was ultimately not as financially capable as the not-yet-fully-unified Italy, and the navy is an extremely expensive branch of the military.

In recent years, Italy has only just completed the merger of the navies of the former Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Naples, and has not yet expanded on a large scale.

Balbo continued, "At the same time, we should order a batch of weapons from other countries to make up for the gap in weaponry between our army and the Austro-Hungarian army."

"At least this will ensure that we can withstand the Austro-Hungarian counterattack after we regain Lombardy and Venice."

After hearing his plan, Benito's expression finally changed. He stood up and said to Balbo, "Balbo, you are the greatest military genius in Italy. Now, on behalf of Italy, I entrust you with the important task of recovering Eastern Lombardy and Venice."

"During this period, I can provide you with any support you need, including funding, troop deployment, and so on. I hope the final result will not disappoint me."

Balbo saluted Benito and assured him, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, I will keep a close eye on Austria-Hungary. Given the opportunity, I will do everything in my power to bring Eastern Lombardy and Venice back to the embrace of their homeland."

Benito and Balbo were ultimately betting that problems would arise within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and ultimately become unsolvable. As for Italy fighting the Austro-Hungarian Empire on its own, that would be like throwing an egg against a rock, an overestimation of its own strength.

Thus, starting from the end of January, the Italian National Party became more active in Eastern Lombardy and Venice.

Many years ago, there were branches of the Italian National Party in Eastern Lombardy and Venice, but they were always suppressed by the Austro-Hungarian government.

However, with the outbreak of the global economic crisis, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's control in the region was constantly weakened by economic problems.

The economic crisis led to social unrest and a large number of unemployed people, which in turn led to the resurgence and rapid expansion of the Italian National Party in Eastern Lombardy and Venice in the past two or three years.

Of course, Labour Party members in these two places are also quite active, including members of the Austrian Labour Party and the Italian Labour Party, who are active in Eastern Lombardy and Venice.

At this time, the Labour Party and the Italian National Party were of one mind and both wanted to further disrupt the local situation. The Labour Party's main goal was to support other parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so that the Habsburgs would be unable to attend to both sides and thus completely overthrow Habsburg rule.

The Soviet Union played a leading role in this, after all, this uprising within the Austro-Hungarian Empire was planned in advance by Moscow at the end of 1932, and was not merely a coincidence.

The Liberets workers' movement, among others, was planned and ultimately implemented by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's minimum requirement was to dismantle the Austro-Hungarian Empire, thereby removing this obstacle to the Soviet Union's advance into Europe from the map.

Therefore, this time they not only supported the Austrian Labor Party, but also mobilized the Czech Labor Party, the Slovak Labor Party, the Italian Labor Party, and others to cooperate with it.

In this situation, they were moving toward the same goal as various nationalists within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Whether it was the Labour Party or nationalists, their primary objective was to overthrow the Habsburg family's rule in the Austro-Hungarian Empire before considering other issues.

To his delight, Balbo discovered that the Italian National Party was doing very well in Eastern Lombardy and Venice. At this point, the Austrians were completely in the dark and had no idea whether it was the Labour Party or some other force that was causing trouble in Eastern Lombardy and Venice.

However, compared to the Labour Party, Balbo and the Italian National Party, following their previous arrangements, operated more covertly, while the Labour Party did not have these concerns. As a result, they attracted most of the Austro-Hungarian government's firepower.

(End of this chapter)