In Paris, Napoleon Iii was already dizzy from the pie that fell from the sky.
France's diplomatic situation had always been bad. The European countries were faintly rejecting them and didn't bring them to many events at all.
Among the four major European powers, they had the lowest political influence. If they did anything out of line, the neighbors would immediately prepare for war as if they were facing a great enemy.
After Napoleon Iii succeeded the throne, he made a lot of efforts to improve the diplomatic environment, but the results were still minimal.
The governments of the various countries talked well, but in reality, they were still on guard against them. Especially after the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, a joint defense alliance appeared.
At first, Napoleon Iii was a little worried, fearing that the anti-French alliance would appear again. After a long time, he got used to it.
It was fine to guard against them, anyway, these countries didn't dare to cross the line. The actions of the neighbors just happened to prove the strength of France.
After being an emperor for a long time and being flattered for a long time, it was inevitable that he would become a little arrogant.
As time went on, Napoleon Iii's ambition also grew day by day. Fortunately, France didn't win the Near East War, otherwise he would become even more arrogant.
In the face of the joint defense of various countries, Napoleon Iii still didn't dare to act recklessly. He still had this bit of self-awareness.
In order to break out of the situation, Napoleon Iii also made a lot of efforts, such as maintaining a good relationship with Austria and England as much as possible.
Coveting the Rhineland, Napoleon Iii restrained his desire and didn't make a move. Eyeing the Regions of Italy, he also restrained himself.
The lesson left by his uncle told him that the anti-French alliance would really kill people. Without a reasonable excuse, as long as France expanded in Europe, it would be resisted by various countries.
The Kingdom of Sardinia was courting death, and no one could say anything. Now that Austria was keeping a close eye on the Italian states, there was no room for them to intervene.
Without Francesco II's telegram for help, there would be no excuse to intervene, and Napoleon Iii could only sit back and watch.
Napoleon said in high spirits, "The opportunity is here. Which of our troops is free, send them to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies as soon as possible. If we wait until Austria sends troops to suppress the rebellion, there will be no room for us to intervene. "
There was no doubt that he directly ignored Gabelli's rebel army. In the impression of Napoleon Iii, the Italian army's fighting power was only 5, and the rebel army's fighting power was less than 5.
In the face of absolute strength, it wasn't a big problem even if they looked down.
In the face of absolute strength, it wasn't a big problem even if they looked down.
In the original Space-Time, the Red Shirts Army led by Gápoli had the secret support of the Kingdom of Sardinia. At this time, the Kingdom of Sardinia had already become the Emperor, so naturally, they would not support him.
If the US federal government counted, then Gabelli also had had supporters. However, this supporter was still licking his wounds. It was time for him to keep a low profile. He did not have the ability to support them, nor did he dare to.
Edmund Leboeuf, the Minister of War, replied: "Your Majesty, the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Twelfth, Fifteenth, and Second Cavalry Divisions are at your disposal."
Edmond le Boeuf was evidently well acquainted with the disposition of the French army, and he recited in one breath all the designations of mobile forces.
Now that France was at its peak, it maintained a large number of mobile troops in times of peace. If war broke out, they could easily mobilize millions of troops.
To interfere in the civil war of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, one or two divisions of troops would be enough. Right now, Gabori's rebels numbered no more than thirty to forty thousand.
Napoleon Iii immediately ordered: "Have the Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, and Fifteenth Divisions form the Intervention Army. Appoint Marshal Patrice McMahon as the commander, and have him rush to the battlefield as quickly as possible.
The navy will send a fleet to escort them, and at the same time, block the coastline of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, forbidding any ship from docking in the rebel-controlled area. "
Mobilizing four infantry divisions at once was clearly not just to help suppress the rebellion. The rebel army was not worthy of Napoleon Iii's attention. It was more to deal with the possible outbreak of the Fao conflict.
This time, it was equivalent to France reaching into Austria's backyard. It was normal for the Government of Vienna to overreact.
"Yes, sire," replied Edmund Leboeuf, minister of war.
Abraham, the Foreign Affairs Minister, was very hurt by this result. Interfering in the civil war of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies would not only cause Austria's dissatisfaction, but also the British and Spanish.
The Spanish ignored it for the time being. They did not have the energy to care so much now. However, the reaction of London and Vienna could not be ignored. If it caused a chain reaction, it would be troublesome.
Abraham, the Foreign Affairs Minister, reminded: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid we have to consider the issue of interfering in the civil war of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. If we intervene now, we will have to bear great international pressure. "
This was inevitable. It could be imagined that as soon as the French army entered the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, Engosi's protest would appear in the French Foreign Ministry.
It was still unknown what kind of consequences it would cause, but it would not be good.
In the current international situation, France could at most spread its influence to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. In fact, the benefits it could obtain were very small.
There was no way to talk about annexation. Francesco II's telegram asking for help only provided an excuse for France to intervene in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. It did not mean that they had the possibility of annexing the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.
It was very difficult to annex a country on the European continent. It was not every day that they encountered a good thing like the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Moreover, the same excuse could only be used once. If it was used repeatedly, it would lose its effect.
Napoleon Iii said confidently: "Don't worry, this time Francesco II invited us over. Even if the governments are unhappy, they will not forcibly intervene.
We only have to face the Austrians. The Government of Vienna will not go to war with us for a mere Kingdom of Two Sicilies, right? "
The Kingdom of Two Sicilies was the largest state in the Regions of Italy. At the same time, it was also the poorest state in the Regions of Italy. It looked like a large market, but in fact, the purchasing power was very low.
Food was basically self-sufficient, and the demand for industrial and commercial products was very small. With its largest trading partner, Austria, the total annual import and export trade would not exceed three million BDH.
Apart from its strategic value, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies had nothing else. However, this strategic value was also of little value to Austria.
It was true that Sicilies was located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, but all the forces were gathered here. Austria had no way to directly occupy this place.
Even if they left a naval base, it would be useless. To the east was Malta, the Royal Navy's military base in the Mediterranean Sea. To the west was the French Navy's headquarters.
Placing the Austrian Navy in the middle of these two seemed unreliable no matter how one looked at it.
Even if they ignored these two naval powers, what could they do? Would Austria dare to blockade the Mediterranean Sea? This was something that even the British did not dare to do!
Therefore, the Government of Vienna made the most rational choice and left Sicilies alone. Now Austria did not station troops in this little brother's country. It was just a little economic benefit.
In reality, this little bit of benefit was negligible. They were poor to begin with. Did they want to get oil from the frying?
Napoleon Iii thought that his plan worked and sent the intervention army to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies as quickly as possible. At the same time, the Austrian intervention army also set off.
…
On February 11, 1866, the Austrian intervention army was in Gaeta. Because of the distance, the French army had already arrived here a day earlier.
The war to suppress the rebellion had not yet begun, but the smell of gunpowder between the two armies of Fao and Austria was already thick. If it wasn't for the fact that both sides were restraining themselves, the two armies might have started fighting first.
Francesco II, who had just escaped from Naples and was taking refuge here, fully experienced what it meant to be a hellish battlefield.
At the military conference, the officers of the two countries of Fao and Austria were not friendly to each other. Sincere cooperation? Dream on.
Since both sides hated each other, then they would fight their own battles. Either way, they did not care about the rebel army, and each had the strength to crush the rebel army.
Francesco II was in an awkward situation. Sandwiched between the two countries of Fao and Austria, it was like walking on a tightrope. One misstep and he would be finished.
In fact, when Francesco II asked for help from the French, some of his ministers had already reminded him. It was a political taboo to waver when choosing a side.
For some reason, Francesco II's brain went haywire. He thought that by letting the two countries of Fao and Austria restrain each other, he could protect the interests of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies to the greatest extent.
Reality told him that he was thinking too much. The great powers all wanted to eat. It was the same no matter where they went.
Franz had always been more mindful of his table manners. Both sides had always been fair trade and had not done anything to exploit the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.
Now, the situation was different. Another Frenchman had entered the picture. It was still unknown how much they would have to pay in the end, but at least the military expenses of both countries would fall on the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.
At least ten million Divine Shields. There was nothing much to say. The great powers were not here to do charity.
For a big country, this was not a big deal. They could just squeeze out some military expenses. For the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, this was just a matter of revenue for a few years.
As for how many years, it would depend on the combat power of the rebel army. If the rebel army cheated and allowed the war to continue, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies would go bankrupt sooner or later.
The probability of this happening was very high. If only one country intervened, it might be possible to cut the Gordian knot quickly.
Now that the two countries of Fao and Austria had sent their troops together, there was bound to be a lot of incidents where they deliberately hindered each other.
When they could suppress the rebellion would depend on the strength of their teammates.
