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

Chapter 1332 The end of the road

At this time, in a small town bordering the Kingdom of Sardinia and France, the townspeople were still working and living monotonously as usual.

Suddenly, smoke and dust rose in the distance, which made people feel a little unusual, and some townspeople climbed up the bell tower.

"It's the cavalry!"

The townspeople on the bell tower shouted and immediately rang the alarm bell.

This small border town had just suffered a disaster a year ago. When the townspeople heard that cavalry appeared, they immediately began to flee in all directions.

Some people fled into their homes and blocked the doors and windows with heavy objects, while others took their families and belongings and fled the town as far as possible.

Of course, some people took up arms and spread the word in an attempt to defend their homes.

But the French cavalry came too quickly and rushed into the town in less than a quarter of an hour.

The French officers who were the vanguard did not waste any time and immediately charged at the militia that had just gathered as soon as they entered the town.

The courage that the militiamen had just developed disappeared immediately. The French cavalry chopped down two militiamen who dared to resist and forced the rest into a corner. The militiamen naturally laid down their weapons as if everything was natural.

At this time, a French officer rode out and spoke in French.

"Where is the mayor? Anyone know?"

"The mayor is hiding at home."

A militiaman said tremblingly.

"You can speak French? Take us to see the mayor, there are benefits."

Led by the townsman, the cavalry soon arrived at the mayor's residence.

Soon the mayor was dragged out by two French cavalrymen.

"Tell the residents of this town to gather in the square immediately and surrender to our army."

The residents of the town were already familiar with the surrender process. They had to hand over part of their property and then vacate their rooms for French soldiers to live in.

Small towns on the Sardinian border fell one after another. The reason why the French army could move freely like this was entirely due to the consequences of 1848.

The war caused the economy of the Kingdom of Sardinia to shrink drastically. After coming to power, Cavour was appointed. Faced with the mess, the latter adopted shock therapy.

The advantage of shock therapy is that it can minimize government spending and stabilize the economy, but its disadvantage is that it greatly weakens the government's control, which is reflected in the military as the deterioration of armaments.

When the Sardinian army on the border saw the French army, they chose to surrender without firing a shot, which made the natural barriers and defenses of the border useless.

The French vanguard arrived in Piedmont almost simultaneously with the news of the French invasion.

"The French are coming!"

The cavalryman in charge of the messenger didn't know whether he was a French spy or a novice. He shouted all the way and his voice was hoarse when he entered Turin.

But the effect was also very outstanding. The garrison troops along the way either fled like birds and beasts or surrendered directly to the French. After all, the French military discipline was poor, and resistance might backfire. Moreover, the Sardinians had long lost confidence in the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The news of the French invasion also reached Victor Emmanuel II. He was a little at a loss. Although he felt that he was different from his weak father, facing the French cavalry who launched a war without declaration, he could only scold them for being unruly.

"It is shameless of the French to fight without declaring war!"

"Yeah yeah!"

The ministers around Vittorio Emanuele II also nodded in agreement.

"What do we do now?"

After Vittorio Emanuele II asked the question, the officials of the Kingdom of Sardinia looked at each other in confusion. What could they do?
There is no need to explain the actions of a giant like France to an ant like Sardinia. This is the sadness of being sandwiched between great powers.

Seeing that the officials around him were silent, Vittorio Emanuele II felt chilled to the bone and couldn't help but speak angrily.

"You all should speak up!"

No one answered.

"Are you all mute?"

"You are a bunch of rubbish, and you are still clamoring to take back Genoa and unify Italy. You are just dreaming!" "Your Majesty, if you don't allocate funds to the army, how can we defend Turin?"

A general retorted that what he said was the truth. Without money, soldiers or weapons, no one was willing to die.

"Where's my money?"

asked Vittorio Emanuele II.

"do not know."

The officials and generals all answered with confidence. Vittorio Emanuele II was so furious that he looked at Cavour.

Cavour replied coldly.

"The kingdom is now deeply in debt, Your Majesty. Not only do you have no money, you are also in debt."

"you!"

King Vittorio Emanuele II felt a pain in his heart. In fact, the property of most royal families and governments in Europe were separate.

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But in order to quickly revitalize the Kingdom of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel II handed over the property of the Savoy royal family to the Sardinian government. Then, after a series of complex capital operations, Victor Emmanuel II himself successfully took on the debt.
At this moment, a servant rushed in in a panic.

"Your Majesty! The French envoy requests an audience!"

"The French envoy?"

King Victor Emmanuel II was somewhat confused, but the officials of Sardinia saw a turning point.

"Invite him in quickly!"

Soon the French envoy came in.

"Your Majesty, King Vittorio Emanuele II, the great French army needs to pass through your country to attack our enemy, the Austrian Empire. I hope you can allow it and provide sufficient supplies for our country."

The rulers of the Kingdom of Sardinia were somewhat caught off guard by the French envoy's straightforward remarks. First of all, they did not expect that the French were not coming for them.

Secondly, isn't this too rude of the French? Sending troops in without permission?

Finally, wouldn't this be embarrassing for the Kingdom of Sardinia? Agreeing to the French request would be like boarding the French pirate ship, and the Austrians would definitely liquidate the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future.

If you don't agree, I'm afraid the French army will attack the city.
The officials of the Kingdom of Sardinia all looked at Vittorio Emanuele II, who wished he could strangle all these useless guys to death.

"Your Majesty, please give me your answer within an hour. I will take my leave now."

The French envoy saluted and turned to leave.

King Vittorio Emanuele II opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

After a long moment, Vittorio Emanuele II asked.

"What should I do?"

No one answered.

"What should I do?"

Still no one answered.

"what to do!"

The pent-up anger in Vittorio Emanuele II's chest finally erupted.

The officials around looked at each other in bewilderment. At that time, nationalism was still very prevalent in Sardinia, so no one was willing to be a traitor, but no one was willing to die either. Everyone here had a lot of wealth, thousands of acres of land, and many children.

So everyone said in unison.

"Your Majesty, please make your decision."

The ball returned to the hands of King Vittorio Emanuele II again, and the coolness of the autumn wind made him shiver.

(End of this chapter)