The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1907 A knife lies beneath the word "patience".
"Calvin, you will immediately take a team to the palace to protect His Majesty. At the same time, you need to request further instructions from His Majesty regarding the suppression."

"As ordered!"

Several officers around him answered in unison.

Marshal Lamarmora clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

It seems that the Austrian Empire's reach has extended into Turin, something he already knew.

But knowing it is one thing, being able to find it is another. And there's an even more troublesome issue: whether His Majesty the King believes it or not.

Many people at this time were double agents, and their identities were extremely sensitive. There were also some powerful nobles who hedged their bets; this had become a tradition for them.

If they were to investigate haphazardly, they might lose their own people before even figuring things out. Spending all his time with this scum, Marshal Lamar Mora can't even utilize five-tenths of his abilities.

What worried him even more was that the Austrians would take this opportunity to launch an attack. Once the Austrians crossed the Ticino River, the Kingdom of Sardinia would have no chance of holding out.

However, Marshal Lamar Mora didn't need to worry too much, as his adjutant soon brought back some astonishing news.

When he led his men into the palace, the king and his ministers were nowhere to be seen. They were even mistaken for rebels and engaged in a firefight with the royal guards.

Soon, even more absurd news followed: the garrison outside the city stated that they could not leave their post without His Majesty the Emperor's order.

This nonsense was clearly just an excuse, but Marshal Lamar Mora couldn't refute it because what the other party said was legal and compliant.

Marshal Lamar Mora really couldn't forcibly mobilize the surrounding troops, and at this point he could only sulk in silence.

However, Marshal Lamarmora's anger did not last long, because the blockade troops he sent out actually defected.

In fact, most of the soldiers in the Kingdom of Sardinia did not have a strong fighting spirit; they did not want to fight to the death with their own people, much less kill innocent civilians.

After all, the vast majority of these soldiers came from the common people. On one hand, there was the inhumane government of the Sardinian king, and on the other hand, there were their neighbors and relatives. It was not difficult for them to make a choice.

The officers sent by Marshal Lamarmora were dutiful, but the soldiers had little impression of these high-ranking officers.

The officers were either subdued and pinned to the ground, or shot in the back. Once the first wave of surrenderers appeared, countless more would follow, since those who came later carried less psychological burden.

As troops surrendered one after another, the morale of the citizens rose steadily, while capitulationism continued to spread within the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Surrender and escape became the norm, while persisting in the war became the minority. The large-scale surrender and escape had an even more terrible negative consequence: chaos in the command system.

There were no telephones or cell phones in this era; command relied on messengers. The plan had been laid out, and as long as everyone performed their duties, the rioting crowd could be kept out.

With Marshal Lamarmora then taking charge, all problems could be easily solved. However, such tactics require high morale and unwavering will, both of which are precisely what the Sardinian army lacks.

As the saying goes, a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole, let alone hordes of deserters and surrendered soldiers.

The carefully constructed defense system collapsed instantly, and the insurgents flooded into the police station, city hall, and tax office like a flood.

Tax collectors, officials, and gendarmes of the Kingdom of Sardinia were dragged out and beaten to death, and their bodies were hung on lampposts by the people.

Bakeries and gun shops were not spared either, with people looting food and guns to vent their discontent.

The insurgents, now armed with more weapons, escalated their actions, launching attacks everywhere, even besieging the city's defense command headquarters in Lamarmora.

"Lamarmora, get out here!"

"Emanuele II has surrendered!"

"The city belongs to us!"

A second lieutenant rushed into the command post.

"Commander, what should we do! We're surrounded!"

Lamar Mora's expression at this moment was somewhat relieved.

"Warriors of the Kingdom of Sardinia! For the Kingdom of Sardinia, for this land beneath our feet, for King Emmanuel II, let us fight to the very last moment!"
Long live the Kingdom of Sardinia!

Long live the Kingdom of Sardinia!

Lamarmora was indeed no mediocre man. Although he only had a few hundred men under his command, he quickly organized a counterattack and soon repelled several attacks by the Turin people.

The streets near the Turin city defense headquarters had been reduced to ruins. The soldiers were taking advantage of this rare rest to resupply, and several officers were distributing cigarettes imported from the Austrian Empire to everyone.

Cigarettes dangled in their mouths, matches were struck one after another, but no one was willing to utter a single word. Silence reigned, quiet prevailed, there were no tears, no accusations, and no grand words of encouragement.

Corpses littered the ground, ruins everywhere. These soldiers were undoubtedly brave and loyal, but Lamarmora felt no joy whatsoever.

This is not what he wanted.

Some loyal ministers and generals were unable to reverse the current situation, and many more capable people chose to stand by and watch. Few were willing to die for the dynasty, since His Majesty the King had already fled, so why should they come?
Lamar Mora took a deep drag on his cigarette, then smiled as he watched the approaching dark cannon barrel.

Cavour was also in a sorry state. He hadn't expected that the highly anticipated Victor Emmanuel II would lead the escape, as he didn't think things were that serious yet.

However, seeing the city engulfed in flames, Cavour knew it was finished. His only option was to flee to Savoy, where the mountain people were very simple and honest.
The resistance of the Kingdom of Sardinia did not last long, but the killing and war never stopped.

The radicals wanted to emulate France by establishing a free Sardinia to continue the war with the Austrian Empire, while the royalists simply wanted to replace the king and continue ruling by negotiating peace with the Austrian Empire. The capitulationists wanted to open the city gates wide to welcome the Austrian army into the city.

In addition, there are groups of anarchists who oppose all forms of government and law, and all constraints and dogmas.

In other parts of Europe, this group didn't amount to much, but Italy was an exception. Here, anarchists not only gained influence but even formed factions.

At the same time, some rebellious officers formed warlords who wanted to establish a military government to emulate Napoleon.

The main factions alone are divided into five, and even without considering the smaller factions with fewer members or less power, it's a complete mess.

With so many factions, and each faction possessing its own military power, a chaotic war quickly broke out in Turin.

Each faction fought its own battle, viewing everyone except themselves as the enemy. No one knew who fired the first shot, nor who the first bullet struck. In short, once the gunfire began, no one could stop the carnage; everyone erected barricades and exchanged fire.

At this time, there were bound to be those who took advantage of the chaos; in this city where everyone had a gun, the battlefield was everywhere.

In addition to open warfare, both sides are willing to hire assassins to kill each other's political leaders and military commanders.

In less than two days, the leaders of the various factions were almost completely replaced.

The garrison outside the city remained inactive, neither carrying out Victor Emmanuel II's orders nor accepting the attempts to win over the factions within Turin.

The Sardinian army at the front lines was in a state of panic, with a group of commanders hesitant and the remaining soldiers looking like a swarm of headless flies.

When Victor Emmanuel II fled to Savoy, he was greeted by a large crowd of locals, which offered some solace to his wounded soul.

However, Victor Emmanuel II was soon injured again.

For some reason, the telegraph lines connecting the whole country suddenly stopped working, and every telegram he sent seemed to sink without a trace, receiving no response.

"Damn it! Why did this happen?"

Without the telegraph network, Victor Emmanuel II in Savoy was like a deaf-mute; he had no idea what was happening and could only judge the situation based on intelligence sent by the French.

At this moment, an aide spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I told you that so-called science is unreliable! We should still keep the couriers and carrier pigeon stations."

"What's the use of all that nonsense! I need a solution! A solution!"

In a rare display of rage, Victor Emmanuel II is feeling extremely frustrated.

In fact, King Victor Emmanuel II had sent messengers before, but there had been no reply yet. The Kingdom of Sardinia was not large, and he had only sent out capable men; a reply should arrive in two or three days at most.

However, at this moment, Victor Emmanuel II felt a sense of emptiness in his heart. He seemed to have a bad feeling, but he was not quite sure.

King Victor Emmanuel II's anxiety also affected the ministers of the Sardinian Kingdom, who were now at a loss as to what to do.

King Victor Emmanuel II and his prime minister Cavour were both autocratic in nature, and no one knew what they were really thinking.

In this kind of court politics, it's not stupidity or incompetence that's to be feared, but rather choosing the wrong side. Once the monarch himself no longer considers you one of his own, it could very well mean the complete end of a family's political career for an entire generation.

At least as long as the emperor himself is still alive, there is little chance of another opportunity.

Cavour himself was also very frustrated. In his original plan, the Kingdom of Sardinia should have used the power of the French to deal with Austria, at least to maintain its own superior status.

However, at some point, the Kingdom of Sardinia became a shield for the French, always taking the fall for them.

At this time, the Kingdom of Sardinia was in chaos, and he sought help from France, but was told by Alexandre Colonna Walevsky that the Second French Empire would not directly intervene in the war, but would only help mediate.

This is completely different from the content of Cavour's secret talks with Napoleon III, in which the former felt that he must have been deceived by the latter, but in reality, the latter had no idea what Walevsky was doing.

Having been suppressed by the Austrian Empire for so long, Napoleon III was already restless. However, Walewski felt the time was not yet ripe and wanted to continue to bide his time.

After all, Napoleon III had been hearing this theory for over a decade, and even if it made sense, it would eventually become tiresome. Moreover, this statement was meant to make him endure, and to make France endure.

The word "endurance" is like a knife on the heart, constantly cutting and causing pain that is not easily tolerated.

Not to mention that this lasted for more than a decade. It should be noted that Napoleon III was no longer the exile who had been having an affair with a dishwasher, but the high and mighty Emperor of the Second French Empire.

His every word and action could determine the life, death, honor, and disgrace of countless people, and he was accustomed to the instant gratification of having the authority to speak for others.

The endless flattery and increasingly tight information cocoon made Napoleon III's patience increasingly dwindle.

Although the Austrian Empire was a sword hanging over France's head, it never actually fell for over a decade.

Is this knife truly capable of cutting down France?

Napoleon III was highly suspicious, and he felt that Britain and Sardinia would side with him, while Russia and Prussia would also take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Walevsky was in charge of diplomacy and intelligence gathering, and he was quite certain that France at that time could not defeat Austria.

Walevsky didn't think the British would help France at this time, and in his view, it would be very foolish to become a pawn for the British just for those superficial promises.

As for the Kingdom of Sardinia, Walevsky didn't take it seriously at all. Such an ally, whose soldiers had no will to fight, whose generals had no strategic vision, whose country had no fighting power, and who was rotten from top to bottom, was not worth mentioning.

The Russians and Prussians were equally untrustworthy, and the analyses of Napoleon III's advisors were simply not reliable.

Moreover, from a purely rational perspective, it would be more advantageous for Russia and Prussia to maintain their alliance with the Austrian Empire.

Walevsky believed that unless there was a civil war within the Holy Alliance and the German Confederation or strong external support, France should not engage in direct conflict with the Austrian Empire.

Walevsky's theory was not well-received after France suffered a major setback in 1848, let alone eleven years later, when people simply felt that the foreign minister was too weak to shoulder the great task of French revival.

Of course, Cavour was unaware of all this; he only felt that he had been betrayed by the French.

Even if the Kingdom of Sardinia were united in its internal chaos, it would still be difficult to withstand the advance of the Austrian Empire.

Walevsky also offered Cavour a condition: France would help quell the rebellion, but the Kingdom of Sardinia would have to pay with Savoy and Nice.

Savoy and Nice, as the French-speaking regions of Sardinia, naturally have a closer relationship with the French, especially since the local upper class has long been Frenchified.

If the Kingdom of Sardinia agrees, Savoy and Nice can instantly become French territory, since the opinions and loyalty of the mountain people are not important to the bigwigs.

However, ceding Savoy and Nice would remove Sardinia's natural barrier against France, leaving the French with a loophole that they could exploit at any time.

Acquiring Savoy and Nice would complete France's geographical and natural boundaries and effectively prevent the Austrian Empire from launching an attack from the southern foothills of the Alps.

In addition, it could also slightly satisfy the vanity of Napoleon III and the French nation.