Chapter 607

Looking at the increasing number of casualties, Franz also felt a headache. Just as Carlo Ferrangeli had predicted, Austria also needed to save face.

If they could expose themselves and fight with the French, then the loss of tens of thousands of people was nothing. The problem was that Austria was not ready to fight with the French at all.

Once the window paper was broken, a full-scale war was destined to break out. A local war did not exist. Neither side could admit defeat. Once the war started, it would rise to the point of life and death.

The arrogant French would not admit defeat, so Napoleon Iii could only fight to the end. Austria had the population advantage and had the upper hand in terms of war potential, so Franz could not admit defeat.

This meant that it was useless to determine the winner of a local war. No one was willing to give in, and the war would continue.

Either they would fight for three to five years, and whoever could not hold on first would admit defeat, or both sides would suffer. Or they could directly fight to the death.

This was not something that could be ended in a short period of time. In this era without planes, tanks, and cars, it was impossible to rely on two legs to fight a blitzkrieg.

It was a battle of comprehensive national strength. Opening the map, one could see that the geographical position of the two countries, Fao and Austria, had been decided. Whoever launched the attack would suffer.

Regions of Italy would at most take over half of the Kingdom of Sardinia. This was not the core of the French, and the local people were a group of Italians who could not be tamed.

Occupying this place would only increase the logistical pressure. Franz did not think that the Austrian army had the ability to cross the Alps and fight all the way to Paris.

It was more likely that they would be limited by logistics, and then driven back by the French. After all, the French could transport goods by sea and fight a war of attrition with the Austrian army here.

Central Europe was separated by the German Federal Empire and Switzerland. "Borrowing" was enough. What was the difference between this and invasion?

Unless the French were induced to send troops, Austria would not take the initiative to attack. Franz did not want to experience the feeling of being rejected. It was definitely not a wonderful experience.

If these were tolerable, the most unacceptable thing for Franz was the cost of the war. If they won against France, they would at most receive war reparations.

Ceding territory, Austria could not afford it! Moreover, Franz was not interested in France's territory.

He did not dare to take the Kingdom of Sardinia. Otherwise, the number of Italians in the country would explode, which was not conducive to ethnic integration and increased the possibility of an explosion.

Colony? After the battle with Faur, it was unknown how much of the Austrian navy would be left. It would be a miracle if they could keep their current territory. How could they have the ability to expand?

Even if it was war reparations, it was unknown if they could get it. If Johann Bull intervened, it would be done for nothing.

Don't count on the Russian-Austrian alliance. That thing is not reliable. If the Austrians could slack off in the Prussian war, the Russians could naturally slack off in the Franco-Russian war, and besides, the Russians were still locked in a bitter struggle with Prussia, and could do nothing to help.

Since of the window paper was, of the casualties of the Austriof the Austrian army was was. If this continued, it was inevitable that the number of casualties would exceed that of the Ossarian War.

At present, the smell of gunpowder in the Italian Peninsula was getting stronger and stronger. Both France and Austria were constantly increasing their troops.

Napoleon and Franz felt the same, or more uncomfortable. The Regions of Italy were fighting in the Regions of Italy. The French navy was strong, but the Austrian navy was not weak. At least in the Adriatic Sea, the French navy could not suppress Austria. The French army in the The Balkans was isolated from the beginning.

The French navy was very strong, but the Austrian navy was not weak either. At least in the Adriatic Sea, the French navy could not suppress the Austrians. The French army in the Balkans had been isolated from the beginning.

The problem was the geographical location. The most suitable place to fight was the Regions of Italy. Napoleon Iii did not dare to touch Central Europe. Otherwise, the enemy would not be Austria, but the anti-French alliance.

Even Napoleon III dared not touch Central Europe, otherwise the enemy would not be Austria, but the anti-French alliance.

The Austrian railway was indeed well built, but everyone's track was different and could not be connected. The railway could not be counted on at all. This was under ideal conditions. Under normal circumstances, the French army would most likely stop in the Lombardy area. The local fortifications were complete and not so easy to break through.

This was under ideal conditions. Under normal circumstances, the French army would most likely stop in the Lombardy area. The local fortifications were complete and not so easy to break through.

In the Austrian War, the Kingdom of Sardinia relied on internal sneak attacks to tear through the defense line. Now, they did not have that many spies.

In this context, even if the French army occupied the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the two sides could only be considered a draw.

To win the war, it could only be like the original time and space, where Franz personally led the army and commanded blindly.

Today was different from the past. If Franz and Napoleon Iii led the army together to PK, no one would know the result. After all, neither of them were experts in using troops.

In the original time and space, Napoleon Iii did not have time to show off, so the French army won. If he used all his strength, the outcome was still unknown.

There were examples of the Near Eastern War, the North-South War, and the Prussian War. The Government of Paris was also more cautious and did not have the arrogance of being the first in the world.

Unlike when he was fighting for the country, the rich Napoleon Iii was no longer a gambler. His throne was not that legitimate. The French people could not tolerate failure, and any failure would shake the foundation of his rule.

This intervention in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies was just a test of Austria. It was really not worth it to risk a war for a test.

Neither side wanted to start a war, but the situation in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies put both countries in a difficult position. Everyone wanted face, and whoever gave in first would mean that they admitted defeat.

Although there was no real loss in admitting defeat, they had to take a gamble. In this context, Prime Minister Carlo Ferrangeli took action.

The Foreign Minister Urdinov looked at the evidence in his hand and questioned, "Prime Minister, these documents are too unconvincing. I'm afraid that the Fao and the French ambassadors won't believe it."

His heart was broken. Even if they wanted to frame someone, they had to be a bit more professional! Directly using a pile of documents as evidence, any printing shop on the street could sell them wholesale. It was not convincing at all.

Prime Minister Carlo Ferrangeli smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, they don't need to believe it. Seeing these things, did you think of something? "

Urdinov nodded. He could hear the hidden meaning in Prime Minister Carlo Ferrangeli's words. Few people would believe that the Americans were stirring up conflict with the Fao.

The federal government neither had the strength nor the courage to do so. More importantly, there were not enough benefits for them to do so.

If it were the British, it would be more or less the same. John Bull had a record of provoking the relationship between the two countries many times and was discovered by the two countries. As a repeat offender, he was naturally a key suspect.

Regardless of whether it was internally or externally, this excuse would serve as an explanation. It was useless for the Government of London to deny it. Paris and Vienna would directly believe it.

The main reason why the relationship between the Fao and the two countries had not been further improved was because of the British. Otherwise, the two countries might have formed an alliance a few years ago.

The plan proposed by Franz to divide up Europe was actually the source of Napoleon Iii's ambition. After the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, it became even more unstoppable.

In the secret agreement between the Fao, there was a plan to push the British out of the Mediterranean, and it had already begun to be implemented.

Whether it was Greece, the Osman Empire, Egypt, or North Africa, the British's expansion in recent years had not been smooth.

The Government of London was naturally unhappy to be tripped up by the two local tyrants. However, these were all small tricks in the dark. On the surface, everyone was still friendly and friendly.

John Bull, who was unhappy, naturally took revenge. Provoking the relationship between the two countries was one of them. Many of the methods used by the British were overt. Even if they were exposed, it still affected the relationship between the Fao and the British.

Otherwise, the two countries of the Fao and the British would still be happily dividing up the European continent. How could it have come to this?

Soon, the evidence prepared by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was passed to Paris and Vienna. However, the protagonist was changed to the British.

Prime Minister Carlo Ferrangeli did not dare to provoke the British, but it was different for the two countries of the Fao and the British. Both sides tacitly put the blame on the British.

This was not an injustice. The London newspapers had already exposed the truth of the civil war in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. They used a lot of ink and ink to describe the Fao and the British secretly.

Due to the lack of enough film and video materials, these news were naturally denied by the Government of Paris and the Government of Vienna.

However, with the help of the British, the news quickly began to spread across the European continent. The people who were watching the show were full of excitement.

There were many people who wanted the two countries to go to war. For example, Prussia and Russia, who were currently at war, wanted to see someone else suffer along with them.

Only when the war between the two countries of the Fao and the British, who were watching the show, would the strength of everyone be pulled back to the same level. Whether they were willing to admit it or not, Prussia and Russia had fallen behind.

Alexander II Of Russia had the most right to speak. He had seen the Russian Empire go from prosperity to decline with his own eyes. Now, it was only the ruler of Europe in name. Its actual strength had already fallen behind the two countries of the Fao and the British.

This was not just a problem of money, but the overall strength of the country was lagging behind. Agricultural countries could not win against industrial countries. The gap between the ages could not be made up by the number of people.

Vienna

Foreign Minister Wesenberg suggested, "Your Majesty, the conflict between the Fao and the British must stop. If it continues, the British will be the ones to reap the benefits.

Now is not the time for the decisive battle between the two countries of the Fao and the British. We need time to prepare. "

War was not child's play, especially a war between two big countries. The World War in the original world was an example. Both sides had made sufficient preparations before the war started.

Now that Austria was unprepared, what could they use to fight the final battle?

Minister of Finance Carr objected, "The matter this time was started by the French. If we just let it go, where would we put our face?"

This was also one of the problems. Someone had to be responsible for this conflict, and it definitely could not be Austria. The Government of Vienna had to regain their face.

Prime Minister Felix said fiercely, "Whoever started this dispute has to be responsible for this incident. Since Francesco II let the wolf into the house, he has no right to continue being the king of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

Francesco II has a lot of brothers. We can totally replace him with a pro-Austrian king. His younger brother, Count Trani, is a good choice. "

In the eyes of Vienna, Francesco II's actions constituted a betrayal, and traitors naturally had to pay the price. However, he was the king. Vienna could not kill him, but it was possible to remove the throne.

This was Francesco II's own fault. He had already made a mess of the country and was very unpopular. But he had stupidly asked for help from Napoleon Iii, which made many people in the Bourbon family very dissatisfied with him.

In this context, the Government of Vienna asked Francesco II to abdicate, but he did not have many supporters at all.

As for the French? Forget it. Napoleon Iii was not a charity. The price to pay to protect Francesco II was too high, and the benefits were far less than the costs.

Count Trani's full name: Luigi Maria, Francesco II's half-brother, was born on August 1, 1838, and was 28 years old now.

This was not the point. The point was that Luigi Maria was the son of Archduchess Maria Theresia Isabella of Austria. His grandfather was Archduke Carr, the God of War of Austria, and had the bloodline of the House of Habsburg.

Francesco II was able to inherit the throne, not because of how strong his supporters were, but because of the European inheritance law.

As a great noble, whether it was the Bourbon family or the House of Habsburg, they were the upholders of the rules and carried out everything according to the rules.

That was why Francesco II was able to grow up safely and inherit the throne. There were no so-called melodramatic plots along the way.

Everything was treated according to the standard treatment of a crown prince. There was no abuse by the stepmother at all. Archduchess Isabella was a cultured person and would not do such tasteless things.

Because he lost his mother at a young age, everyone pitied Francesco II. He was loved by the whole family since he was a child. Compared to his younger brothers who were strict from a young age, he was the one who grew up happily.

It was not a good thing for a king to not suffer setbacks from a young age, which was one of the reasons why Francesco II did such a stupid thing.

The world did not revolve around one person, and now Francesco II was in a tragedy. The Fao conflict needed an explanation, and Austria's face needed to be preserved.

As the culprit, Francesco II could not escape the blame, and abdication was the only choice.

This had nothing to do with Franz, and Count Trani had no friendship with him. It was not as if Archduke Carr did not have any sons, and the legacy would not fall on his grandson. It was just that the Government of Vienna was just taking advantage of the situation.

Franz sneered and said, "Then let Francesco II abdicate, but we can't just let the French go. Since they dare to reach out, they must pay the price.

Our strategy against the French can be implemented. Napoleon Iii is still too idle, and we must keep them busy. "

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