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

Chapter 1911 The Treaty of Milan

"We need a point of reference, or more precisely, our Italian nationalists need a point of reference."

The weaker and more miserable the Kingdom of Sardinia is, the more it proves the empire's superiority, thus making them abandon their illusions as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if we destroy the Kingdom of Sardinia now, it would be like making those Sardinians martyrs, which is not what we want to see.

Let them rot. Until they destroy themselves.
After all, what is there to fear from the Kingdom of Sardinia without Sardinia, or the Dynasty of Savoy without Savoy?

Upon hearing this, everyone finally smiled knowingly. It seemed that His Majesty the Emperor had already planned ahead, so there was no need to worry too much, after all, Franz had so many advisors around him.

Not far away, Franz's chief of staff, facing the gazes of the crowd, could only offer a polite but awkward smile. Honestly, he knew absolutely nothing.

Not only him, but the entire staff often didn't know what Franz was doing.

But that's no longer the problem. The problem now is how to ensure the two new territories are settled smoothly.

Even though the war hasn't started yet, and not even negotiations have begun, the Kingdom of Sardinia is already a fish on a chopping block, and no one has any objection to this, nor will anyone.

Genoa is actually easier to digest; the real problem is Sardinia.

As an isolated island, further separated by mountains inland, Sardinia faces immense challenges in assimilation, even from a purely geographical perspective.

The most rational approach would be to allow it to become independent or adopt a feudal system, which would save both money and effort.

However, this option was not available in the Austrian Empire; Franz could not allow something to exist independently of the imperial system.

The difficulty of forcibly assimilating does not mean that we cannot encourage them to actively seek assimilation.

In fact, the Austrian Empire was powerful enough to have sufficient influence and appeal, whether in politics, military, economy, culture, or religion.

One of the key reasons why Sardinia is difficult to assimilate is its backward and closed culture, but times have changed and so have its adversaries.

The primitive cultures of Sardinia could hardly withstand the time-tested hedonistic culture of the Austrian Empire, which can be considered a true cultural melting pot, where the imprints of various cultures can be found.

Various cultures and doctrines contend and merge with each other, and what remains in the end is a culture with maximum appeal and pervasive influence.

The invention of the telegraph, railways, and new steamships also completely changed those isolated geographical units. The Austrian Empire was not the Kingdom of Sardinia. Building a railway would not have crippled it; it was just a matter of a word from Franz.

The main reason why the Kingdom of Sardinia was unwilling to build a railway on Sardinia was that it did not have a high opinion of its value and future development, and it did not consider Sardinia its homeland.

The Kingdom of Sardinia never resolved the issue of discrimination between northern and southern Italy, nor did it ever consider resolving these issues.

Franz had no intention of ignoring it. Sardinia was not as hopeless as the Savoy dynasty had imagined, although it was in a bad state at the time, especially after wool, its mainstay industry, was impacted by cheap cotton, resulting in almost negative profits for the entire region.

At that time, the economic lifeline of the entire island of Sardinia depended on sheep. Wool, mutton, sheepskin, lambs, and cheese accounted for 70% of the island's revenue, which is why they were called shepherds by the Piedmontese.

The islanders of Sardinia are passionate about farming, but unfortunately, they are neither skilled at it nor can they cultivate the land. Therefore, their farming is barely enough to make a living.

As for minerals, apart from a small amount of silver, there are almost no other mineral resources.

Modern manufacturing was almost non-existent; only simple, primitive handicrafts existed.

Another counterintuitive point is that fishing usually accounts for a large part of the economy of a normal island, but fishing is also underdeveloped in Sardinia, and even the port is controlled by outsiders.

The islanders don't benefit much, so they have little motivation, and without enough manpower, the fishing industry can't develop.

Sardinia is famous for its coral and pearls, but the production value is very low.

In short, Sardinia was in a half-dead, undeveloped state. Based on Franz's later experience, Sardinia's agriculture and mineral resources could at least be salvaged. If you also consider the existing fishery resources, it could be considered a comprehensive development.

Culture and economy are the most tangible aspects for the people; as long as these two aspects are grasped, it is only a matter of time before they are integrated into the Austrian Empire.

As for politics and military affairs, these were the strengths of the Austrian Empire at this time. As long as the Austrian Empire could continue to win, there was nothing that could not be solved.

Almost all human empires in history thought this way, but most of them perished because of it. Franz has no intention of following their old path, and he will not take victory as a prerequisite.

At this point, King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was in deep despair, and things had completely spiraled out of his control.

The entire Kingdom of Sardinia was in chaos. What terrified him most was not the Austrian Empire's exorbitant demands, but the fact that he didn't even know how much territory he still controlled.

Cavour was even more desperate than Victor Emmanuel II, as he was more aware of the dire straits of the Sardinian kingdom at that time.

At least that's what Cavour himself thinks.
"Let's surrender."

Finally, someone couldn't withstand the pressure any longer. With powerful enemies outside and internal rebellion, it's easy to despair, since they truly can't see any hope.

These Sardinian leaders weren't stupid; they could guess what was going on since the French hadn't made a move yet.

No matter how well Cavour hid himself, or how inspiring his words were, he lacked sufficient persuasiveness without reinforcements.

After the first person spoke, there was a moment of silence—no rebukes, no insults, no contempt, no anger.

Some looked at the lone hero with gratitude, while others even showed expressions of relief. Everyone looked at Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour as if they had grasped a lifeline.

At that moment, Cavour involuntarily laughed out loud. He knew Italy was truly finished. Could this group of people really carry the flag?

Can they really lead the Italian nation to revival? Do they even deserve to be called elites?
Cavour was actually a realist disguised as an idealist. He knew all too well the character of these speculators, after all, he was also seen as a speculator by others.

Cavour began to feel fortunate that he had not succeeded, because if he had succeeded, these short-sighted scoundrels who only cared about their immediate interests would have truly become the rulers, and that would have been the real end for the Italian nation.

Victor Emmanuel II's poor performance was not unexpected by Cavour, since the latter had only ever wanted to use the former's name. Cavour had never expected Victor Emmanuel II to be able to turn the tide, so he was naturally not disappointed.

In truth, Victor Emmanuel II was above average among European monarchs of that time.

However, given his abilities, it would be too difficult for him to turn the tide in such a desperate situation, especially since his previous reforms had already created a lot of internal conflicts within the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour were both believers in the free market, so together they created an unprecedented golden age of trade.

However, monopolies and vicious competition have caused massive unemployment. As for why monopolies occur in free markets, the two are not in conflict, and to some extent, they are even an inevitable consequence of free markets.

Freedom is not the same as fairness; the winner takes all, and the strong get stronger—that's the truth. It's just that very few people will say this truth.
In Piedmont at this time, many traditional handicrafts went out of business, and family handicrafts disappeared completely, since even the most capable women could not compete with machines.

Coupled with the strong competition from the Austrian Empire, the slums in the cities were overcrowded, and widespread discontent allowed the flames of rebellion to spread so rapidly.

The commercialization of agriculture caused even more intense pain. The influx of cheap agricultural products from France, Austria, and even Britain and the United States led to the bankruptcy of many farmers. In addition, the collusion between large landowners and bankers exacerbated land consolidation.

More poor people flocked to the cities, making the already impoverished even poorer. The advent of the telegraph and newspapers broadened the horizons of the lower classes, who discovered that Austria, just across the river, was not like that at all.

Even if people lose their own land, they can rent land from the state and hardly need to worry about acquisition; they can just focus on farming.

Even if local land is insufficient, one can apply to cultivate land elsewhere. If all else fails, one can develop overseas. Furthermore, the safety net in areas such as healthcare and education is something the people of Sardinia would never even dare to dream of.

Do not underestimate the allure of land and housing to the poor in the 19th century. For many, land and housing were their roots, and some would rather starve than leave their land.

Why is the Homestead Law so attractive?
Don't assume that the Homestead Act was all good just because later generations say it was great. In fact, the number of people who died during the westward expansion was more than ten times the number of people who died during the same period of exploration and war on the Death Continent.

If a poor person is born in a city in the eastern United States and has no land or housing, then he will most likely never have any in his life.

Therefore, hundreds of people were willing to risk their lives to fight for a better future, and the cruelty of this was unimaginable to later generations.

For them, land and housing are the bottom line, the meaning of survival.

The Kingdom of Sardinia caused them to lose their land and houses, and in order to accelerate development and gain more power, it inevitably began to promote religious secularization reforms.

Cavour's most trusted partner, Justice Minister Ratazi, is a radical anti-clerical figure rarely seen in the history of Europe.

It's not that radical anti-clerical figures are rare, but rather that very few have acted as radically as Rattazi. He accomplished in five years what many countries in later generations took decades to achieve.

Many people in later generations compared his reforms to the religious policies of the most radical period of the French Revolution, but in fact his approach was even more radical.

Confiscating church and monastery property was just the basic operation; he even directly prohibited churches and monasteries from acquiring real estate in any form, and required churches to split donations 50/50, and then pay taxes.

They forced nuns to return to secular life, converted convents into prisons or demolished them, and even sold them to brothels to humiliate the church.

Latazi repeatedly suggested that all priests should be brought to court for thorough questioning, and that all believers should pay taxes to the state because they were wasting their precious lives on meaningless things.

They launched a fierce attack on the Roman Catholic Church, deeming it a bunch of bastards who were both male thieves and female prostitutes.

Attacks against Pius IX have never ceased throughout history. This time, when Pius IX went to the East, he was even called a deserter, the number one scourge of the West, and a disgrace to the Italian nation.

In fact, the Kingdom of Sardinia was already in turmoil long before the Austrian Empire issued its ultimatum, especially in the rural areas where there were numerous uprisings and assassinations of government officials.

Many anarchists believe that the government is the source of all evil, and the so-called lubricating role of religion is more like adding fuel to the fire at this time.

In order to build up strength for the unification of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour also adopted a number of centralized measures, which made the real bourgeois liberals dissatisfied.

What made them even more dissatisfied was the heavy taxes imposed by Victor Emmanuel II, who also understood that all the slogans ultimately came down to force.

Although the size of the army was limited, Victor Emmanuel II continued to expand its military, since the treaty did not impose specific restrictions on the army's armaments in Sardinia.

Where does this military funding come from? The money will naturally come from the people.

Even so, the Kingdom of Sardinia still maintained a very high deficit. Victor Emmanuel II felt that everything he did was for Italy, but in the eyes of the common people, it was just warmongering.

Without external wars, Cavour could have helped Victor Emmanuel II maintain this facade of prosperity. But once the powerful Austrian Empire intervened, the internal conflicts within the Kingdom of Sardinia could no longer be suppressed.

Having witnessed his father's fate, Viktor Emmanuel II knew that his own fate was now approaching, and perhaps abdication was the best option.

Victor Emmanuel II summoned his fifteen-year-old son, Umberto.

"The future of Italy rests in your hands."

On May 23, 1859, representatives of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire formally signed the Treaty of Milan in Milan.

The Kingdom of Sardinia formally ceded Genoa and Sardinia to the Austrian Empire, and paid the Austrian Empire a loss of ten million florins, to be paid off over fifteen years.

However, before the leaders of the Sardinian Kingdom could even breathe a sigh of relief, France sent troops to occupy Nice and Savoy, and even Victor Emmanuel II and the newly enthroned Umberto I became prisoners of the French.

The attack caught the Kingdom of Sardinia off guard, but in reality, it was a long-planned operation by the French and local pro-French elements.

The French army advanced rapidly, and if it weren't for the numerous mountains blocking their way, the Sardinian leadership probably wouldn't have even had time to react.

There were still many soldiers and nobles in the Savoy region who were loyal to the Savoy royal family, and they were mobilized in a very short time.

However, despite the commendable courage of these mountain people, the French regular army, with its overwhelming numerical advantage and the guidance of a traitor, easily crushed the corpses of the Savoy royal guard.

Victor Emmanuel II and the newly enthroned Umberto I were already in despair, and the time the soldiers bought them was far from enough to allow them to escape the French pursuit.