The command of the Papal Army, the power struggle that took place within the Papal States, by this time had already spread to the front-line army.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, the Great Pope has sent an order ordering us to halt our advance and return to Rome immediately to suppress the rebels!" A middle-aged officer said with a sad face

There was no way, before receiving the order from His Majesty the Pope, the cabinet government also issued a military order to them, ordering them to cooperate with the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia to conquer Venice as soon as possible.

Polkin has a headache, listen to the pope, or listen to the cabinet, this is a fateful choice question, and one wrong step in the political struggle will be doomed.

Don't look at the fact that the democrats seem to have the upper hand now, Pope Pius IX went into exile in Naples and thought that the winner was decided, but in fact the struggle for power had just begun.

As the religious leader of Europe, the Pope is also the master of great summoning, and he can't do it at home, but he can be called a helper, and in history, France and Austria sent troops to help him regain power.

"Your Excellency, what should we do now, and who are we going to listen to?" An officer asked hesitantly

Polkin shook his head helplessly, he really didn't know what to do, deep down, he was inclined to the Pope, but the problem was that he couldn't guarantee the Pope's victory in this political battle.

The problem didn't last long, and a young officer broke in and broke the tense atmosphere: "Your Excellency, the front is ambushed by the main enemy force, ask for support!" ”

Without hesitation, Polkin ordered: "Order the second regiment to go to reinforcements immediately, and pass the order to let the third regiment of the rear army accelerate its advance." ”

Now that the enemy has already fought, there is no need to think about it so much, let's fight first!

It's a pity that the army of the Papal States has long been decayed, and the Papal Guard doesn't dare to use them, so they know what they are.

What happened in the country had already spread in the barracks, and the Papal Army, which did not have much desire to fight, completely let itself go at this time.

When people's hearts are scattered, it is not easy to bring the team. If it's on the battlefield, the consequences are quite touching.

By the time the 2nd Regiment caught up, the forward troops had already been routed. In the era of platoon guns, everyone fought for courage, but unfortunately what the Pope's army lacked was courage.

Seeing that the routed soldiers had run away, I don't know who took the lead, everyone ran away with the girl, and the second regiment that had just come to reinforce was defeated without a fight, and a big battle had not yet begun, so it lost in such a daze.

……

After running twenty miles in one go, the sky gradually darkened, and after making sure that the Austrian army did not pursue it, the Papal army stabilized, and General Polkin was still confused.

Why did the battle just start, and it was lost so badly? There is no way, he can be regarded as a confused general fighting a confused war.

Porkin's ascension to the throne relied on his noble birth and shrewd political acumen, and as for military ability, when did the Pope's elected generals need to test their military ability?

Looking at the chaotic military camp, Polkin frowned and asked, "Have Nelson's losses been counted?" ”

"Your Excellency, Commander, three thousand three hundred officers and soldiers have returned now, and there should be more people coming back one after another, and we are helping them return to the building!" Nelson replied mechanically

Don't look at Nelson's name and think that he is a famous European general, but in fact it is just a very coincidental duplicate name, and there are not 10,000 people with this name.

"Oh God, what a battle this is! Immediately summon me officers at the rank of lieutenant colonel and above to come over for a meeting. Polkin growled

Forgive him, as a noble N generation, he commanded so many people to fight on the battlefield for the first time, and after suffering a big defeat, he didn't collapse immediately, even if he had a good quality in his heart.

In this battle, the personnel losses of the Papal army were not large, except for the forward troops who were ambushed by the Austrian army, the troops behind did not exchange fire with the enemy at all.

By the third day, the total number of officers and men who had returned one after another had reached more than 6,300, or less than 10 percent for a 7,000-strong force.

After a defeat, Polkin became conservative and stayed still, waiting for logistical supplies while gathering the rout and watching the situation on the battlefield.

A middle-aged officer whispered: "Your Excellency, Marshal Badolio has ordered us to immediately attack the Austrian army and help the Sardinian army complete the flank outflanking!" ”

Polkin said with a sneer. "Command us? What is he Bardolio? When will the marshal of the Kingdom of Sardinia be able to command the troops of our Papal States?

Do you think I'm also that idiot from Maheld, stupidly running to be cannon fodder for them?

Paul, tell the Sardinians that our army is fighting hard with the enemy's main force and is unable to support the brother troops, and I believe that the heroic Sardinian army will be able to defeat the enemy and win the war! ”

On the question of the war against Austria, the four Italian states had already reached a verbal agreement, and Marshal Badolio was nominally the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces.

However, the actual effectiveness of this coalition commander is known to whoever uses it.

Originally, everyone was a competitor, and this is not a verbal agreement that can eliminate the estrangement between each other.

The Sardinian army could sit back and watch the Tuscans defeat, and Porkin could sit back and watch the Sardinian army fight bitterly with the Austrians.

"Yes, Commander!" Paul replied

"Order the troops to pack their bags, and we will retreat the day after tomorrow, leaving the battlefield to the Sardinians." Polkin added

Pit teammates, who is afraid of whom?

Polkinko never considered the Kingdom of Sardinia an ally, and in his opinion the Kingdom of Sardinia was ambitious and wanted to unify Italy, and the threat to the Papal States was far greater than that of Austria.

If they do not turn against each other on the battlefield, they are worthy of "allies".

On the surface, Polkin lost the battle this time, and if he can't wash away the shame of defeat, he will definitely be unlucky to go back.

Politically, however, the defeat was a timely rain that allowed Porkin to weather the political difficulties.

After a war with the Austrians, the cabinet government can explain the past, and he has carried out the order.

It is normal not to win, this is completely a "non-war crime", and it will be done if the enemy's strength is magnified a little, anyway, no one thinks that the Papal army can win Austria, and the expectations are not high.

Of course, the Pope's side had to say it differently, for example, because of the attack by the Austrian army, a large number of wounded were added, and the retreat was naturally slow.

By the time the slow withdrawal is over, the domestic political struggle will almost be over.

History is always a striking coincidence, and because of necessity, Porkin made the same choice and withdrew from the war after a defeat.