Chapter 390

The news of the Kingdom of Sardinia occupying Lombardy reached France and caused a huge commotion in the interim government.

The French supported the war between Sardinia and Austria to expel Austria from Italy and make Lombardy and Venice independent. They had no intention of letting Sardinia unify Italy.

The head of the interim government, Alphonse de Lamartine, had been in a bad mood ever since he received the news that Sardinia had occupied Lombardy without bloodshed.

Austria was one of the four most powerful countries in Europe. How could they be so cowardly as to give up Lombardy?

The correct way to do things was to fight with the Sardinian army until both sides suffered heavy losses. Then, they would be unable to suppress the internal rebellion and be forced to give up the Regions of Italy. The Kingdom of Sardinia would also suffer heavy losses in the war and be unable to annex Lombardy.

The script that they had written was actually changed right from the start. However, the group of scriptwriters did not have the right to change it back. The investors had long kicked them out.

"Mr. President, the Austrian ambassador, Mr. Mentenede, is here."

The attendant's voice sounded in his ear. Alphonse came back to his senses and said, "Let him in."

After a series of routine diplomatic greetings, Mentenede led the conversation to the main topic.

"Mr. President, what do you think about Italy?"

Alphonse smiled. The Austrians were willing to send a representative to negotiate with them. This was a good opportunity to increase France's influence.

"Mr. Mentenede, every nation has the right to pursue national independence. I think it's a good choice to let Lombardy become an independent nation!"

Mentenede was already cursing in his heart. This isn't France's territory. Don't you feel bad? Lombardy and Venice are important financial resources. Austria can't give them up easily!

"Mr. President, I think this issue should be considered according to the situation. Lombardy is an inseparable part of the Austrian Empire. We will not make any concessions on this issue.

Why don't we discuss the other regions of Italy, such as the division of power in Sardinia? We should have a common language in this area! "

The French must be interested in dividing Italy. Even though the interim government was busy with internal conflicts, they knew this was an important issue.

A united Italy was not in Austria's interest, nor was it in France's interest. The Mediterranean Sea was too small to accommodate so many big countries.

If Austria was unwilling to give up Lombardy, the war with Sardinia would definitely continue.

The Austrian ambassador had come. It was obvious that the division of Italy was to exchange benefits with France and make the Government of France give up supporting Sardinia.

Alphonse did not have much of a choice. He had already figured out what had happened in Lombardy. Both sides did not exchange fire, which meant that the Austrian army did not suffer any losses.

Unless there was external support, he did not think that the Kingdom of Sardinia would be able to defeat Austria. The difference in strength between the two sides was too great, and it was not something that could be made up for with one person's ability.

It was impossible for the interim government to provide too much support to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Moreover, what benefits could they gain from supporting the Kingdom of Sardinia?

It was true that France wanted to monopolize Italy, but Alphonse did not have that kind of ambition.

Although the Vienna system had collapsed, he had not forgotten the warning of the Russians. The British were also watching from the side. If he took this step, he would have to fight the European continent alone.

"Mentenede, what do you think is," Mentenede asked.

Since the Austrians wanted to bribe them with the interests of the Kingdom of Sardinia, they would have to look at the price first. As long as the price was right, it was not impossible to stab the Kingdom of Sardinia in the back.

Since the Austrians wanted to buy them over with Sardinia's benefits, they would have to look at the price first. As long as the price was right, they could stab Sardinia in the back.

"Austria will get Genoa and Turin. The rest will belong to France. The two countries will form an alliance to fight against international pressure!"

With that, Montenede picked up a pen and drew a line on the map, dividing the Kingdom of Sardinia into two. In terms of area, both sides were evenly divided.

Mentenede's expression changed. He did not expect the Austrians to have such a big appetite. They actually wanted to take over Sardinia.

On the surface, France had gotten a great deal. Austria had taken on the main force of Sardinia, and the French only had to wait for the war to end before sending troops to occupy it.

But in reality, that was not the case. The core of Sardinia was in Turin and Genoa, where more than 80% of the country's industry was gathered.

If these two places were to fall into Austria's hands, it would be difficult for France to take them back. In this era, France's military strength was not superior to Austria's.

Alphonse said, "Mr. Mentenede, I'm afraid that's not possible. The core of Sardinia … "

…

The price was sky high, and the price was low.

Mentenede's order was to stall the French and prevent them from providing support to Sardinia. As for the division of Sardinia, that was just a pretense.

There were a lot of internal problems in Austria. Before they were dealt with, Franz would not expand.

Moreover, if history did not change, when the proletarian uprising broke out in Paris in June, the French would not be able to help themselves and would no longer have the strength to support Sardinia.

After suppressing the uprising, the Government of France would change again, and a new round of political struggle would begin. This time, the political struggle would continue until the restoration of Napoleon Iii.

The so-called division of power was just an empty promise.

Alphonse was not stupid. He also knew that there might be problems with the division of Sardinia proposed by the Austrians, but the interim government urgently needed to achieve results to ease the internal conflicts.

Both sides could be said to hit it off. Even if it was an empty promise, as long as the French had the strength, they could also cash it.

Any treaty that was beneficial to France now would be a political achievement for the interim government, and it would be good to use it to divert the attention of the country.

The two sides directly fought a protracted war. In addition to the division of the Regions of Italy. Alphonse also needed Austria to recognize the legitimacy of the interim government and to abolish the shackles imposed on France by the Vienna System.

These kinds of questions were used to negotiate conditions. In this era, the French were very isolated in diplomacy, and the interim government urgently needed to gain recognition from the world.

The Seven Months Dynasty, which was under attack, actually did not do anything wrong in diplomacy. Since the beginning of the war against France, the Government of France had played the role of the public enemy of Europe, and they had no choice but to pretend to be obedient.

Naturally, the interim government could not be tough. Just look at the reaction of the Russians. If there was money, the gray animals would have killed their way to Paris.

…