I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1127 Youth Italy Organization

The young man wearing a felt hat pointed to the street: "There used to be three ironware workshops in the San Giovanni district. Now, there isn't even one left."

"Cheap ironware from France kept being shipped into the city, stealing all their business! The craftsmen could only make a living by wiping the carriages of the nobles."

He paused, recalled the manuscript, and raised his arm: "We must drive the French out! We must ban them from selling goods here in order to save our meager bread!"

Incited by the crowd, people nodded in agreement: "That's right, it's all the French's fault!"

"Only those shops selling French goods made money."

"The sofa workshop where my father worked has also gone out of business! These days, rich people only buy French industrial-grade sofas..."

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, the young man in the felt hat immediately whispered, "I heard that at the beginning of next month, many people will go to Pitti Palace to protest and ask His Majesty the King to order the expulsion of French goods. Everyone must come and participate!"

"Okay, I'll go too!"

"And I!"

In a room on the second floor of an exquisite villa across the street, an Italian nobleman with a wig and a stern face was speaking animatedly:
"We are all children of Rome! We once led the civilization of the world! But now, people seem to have forgotten all of that."

“We are fellow countrymen of Dante and Leonardo da Vinci, even our accents are so similar. It’s time to end this division and restore the glorious Roman Empire!”

"The Austrians have rolled back to the other side of the Alps. Now is the perfect opportunity!"

"The day we form the 'Italian Confederation', we will have a land area, a large population, and a market similar to those of Austria and France."

"Any country in Europe should take Italy's will seriously, just as it did when facing the Roman Empire centuries ago!"
"Therefore we must unite and break free from French control..."

He frowned when he suddenly heard shouts of "Drive out the French goods!" coming from outside the window, and turned to signal the old man standing next to him to close the window.

Once the noise subsided, he gave the dozen or so people sitting around the long table an apologetic smile and continued, "In fact, we have received extensive support from the royal families of various northern Italian countries, have ample funds, and possess enormous influence."

“We will help those who are determined to advance the great cause of the ‘Italian Confederation’ to win parliamentary elections until they become presidents or speakers of their respective countries.”

The middle-aged man sitting to his left immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Count Costantini, I firmly support the reunification of Italy!"

“You are truly a hero of Italy, Mr. Baroni. The Milan Parliament cannot be without your seat.”

Everyone else regretted being too slow and quickly followed suit, declaring, "For the Italian Confederation!"

"The great Rome will surely rise again!"

"Let Italy unite!"

These are influential politicians from republics like Milan, Genoa, and Lucca. If they could secure funding from a large organization, they would be highly likely to win the election.

Half an hour later, the meeting came to an end, and everyone went to the banquet hall for lunch.

Count Costantini went to the window, looked down at the young man in the felt hat who was still giving a speech on the street, and said to the old servant beside him, "Albano, who found that guy down there? And the content of his speech doesn't seem right either."

The latter hurriedly and respectfully replied, "Sir, those are not our people; they are most likely hired by some guild."

Count Costantini nodded: "This man has good eloquence; we can try having him work for us." "Yes, sir."

That afternoon, Albano contacted the young man who had incited the citizens. The two hit it off immediately, and after several meetings, arranged for their bosses to meet the following week.

In a café in Florence, Wilson, assistant to Sir Norris, the British trade representative to the Papal States, sized up the nobleman before him.

The other party had just identified themselves as a member of the "Young Italy" organization. He recognized the name; it was an Italian nationalist organization dedicated to promoting the unification of the northern Italian states.

Wilson smiled sincerely: "By the way, you just mentioned that you also received support from some royal families?"

“Indeed, Mr. Matt,” Count Costantini nodded. “However, I cannot disclose his information to you at this time.”

He wasn't exaggerating; the Young Italy organization did indeed have the support of King Victor Emmanuel IV of Sardinia.

In fact, the organization's rapid development over the past two years is entirely due to the substantial financial investment from the Sardinian royal family.

Yes, the new king of Sardinia was outwardly very submissive to France, but in reality, he harbored a deep resentment over the loss of the Savoy region.

However, Sardinia was too weak to compete with France. It was at this time that he noticed the trend of Italian nationalism.

If the various Italian states could be united according to the ideals of the Italian nation, then a force capable of rivaling France and Austria could be formed.

Sardinia, as the most powerful country in northern Italy, has a high probability of gaining leadership of the unified nation.

With his help, the Young Italy organization wrote numerous articles arguing that all Italians belong to the same nation and disseminated them in various countries.

The recent anti-French movement in Italy, with people from various countries protesting and causing disturbances, has provided them with an opportunity to promote nationalism.

At the same time, they also started working with countries such as Milan and Genoa to push parliaments to accept the idea of ​​an 'Italian Confederation' from a legal perspective.

As for monarchies like Parma and Florence, the inclusion of surrounding countries into the Italian Confederation had a significant impact on them in various aspects, including the economy and culture.

If all else fails, they can incite a riot and force these royal families to agree to join the Confederation.

Wilson then asked, "So, how many people do you have in various Italian countries? Oh, to show my sincerity, I'll reveal some information about us first."

"We are able to mobilize tens of thousands of people at the same time to demonstrate in Milan, Genoa, Parma and other places."

"At the same time, we have connections with high-level officials in many countries."

Count Costantini smiled smugly: "Our organization can mobilize more than 100,000 people. However, I don't think protests and marches are of much help to our cause."

Wilson said in a deep voice, "If we don't drive French forces out of Italy, the royal families of other countries will receive a constant stream of aid. You... cough, we will never achieve true unity!"

Count Costantini nodded thoughtfully: "You're right. But protests alone cannot invalidate the Common Market Agreement..."

Wilson smiled. "What do you think would happen if the protesters got their hands on flintlock rifles?"

(End of this chapter)