In order to test the British, Franz decided to speed up the process of annexation of Italy by the French, and now Naples, the Papal States, Tuscany and other states are bargaining with the French.

The absolute disparity in strength made them lose their intention to fight by force. Austria was expected to intervene, but unfortunately the Vienna government chose to watch the play.

The excuses are all ready-made, old accounts from 1848. At that time, these states were forced by public opinion to stand in opposition to Austria, although the aristocratic king was still a good friend of Austria, and decisively dragged his feet and did not cause real trouble to Austria.

The generous Franz has never cared about it, and now it is normal to choose to stand by and watch, and the Italians need to pay the price for their willfulness.

This was all announced on the surface, and secretly the connection between the Habsburgs and the Italian aristocracy has never been broken.

Even now Austria is supporting them, otherwise these state governments would not have the confidence to bargain with the French.

Vienna normally promised France to annex these Italian states, but how to do so depends on the actual situation.

As a member of the aristocratic class, there is no problem in protecting class interests now. Napoleon III was also a vested interest, and it was impossible to break this unspoken European rule, otherwise the continent would not be able to mix.

Austria's precedent of rebuilding the HRE set an example for Napoleon III, who now also wanted to be Emperor of Italy.

As for the question of Italy not having an emperor, it was decisively ignored by him, how did the French emperor come, the Italian emperor can also copy it, and the pope will make the right choice.

Otherwise, the army came to Rome and forced the Pope to be crowned, which was already done by many predecessors, and Napoleon III did not mind following suit.

Naturally, it was impossible to completely annex the Italian region peacefully. Austria rebuilt the HRE, and it was because the Germans themselves wanted to unify and build a strong state.

The Italians also wanted to be united, but they were not willing to be united by the French. Without a basis of popular opinion, Napoleon III had to coerce and induce.

Now the French soldiers have appeared in the Italian states. No military action was taken, and the governments of the states were barely cooperating.

At most, it was to negotiate conditions, and no government openly objected, so that the French could not find a chance to do it. Now these slippery guys are all offering sky-high prices.

This is what Franz would have liked to see, and it would be even more interesting if Napoleon III could not help but kill them.

Without the cooperation of these local snakes, the Italian region will soon become chaotic, and then not only will it not strengthen the national power of France, but it will consume their strength.

Even if these land snakes are recovered, it does not mean that they will be fine. If the French do not interfere at all and rely on the governments of these states to rule, it is estimated that they can barely survive.

Once involved, anti-French will become the mainstream of Italy in the future. Even if it is to divert social contradictions, these people will also direct hatred to the French.

Moreover, there is a conflict of interest. Don't look at the capitalists who seem to be very cooperative now, and when there is a conflict between French and Italian capital in the future, you will know how serious the consequences will be.

It is almost impossible to balance this bowl of water, and it is strange that the Italian capitalists think that the government is biased in favor of French capital and does not support the revolutionary party.

This belief that the subjective tendencies of the individual are too strong, and it can almost be said that it will happen. This happens all the time in Austria, and people often go to the Supreme Court to fight lawsuits.

In many cases, there will be an embarrassing situation where both parties are justified, so that the judges do not know what to do, and in the end they have to negotiate a private settlement.

Of course, once this kind of thing is encountered, the legislature will patch it in a targeted manner, and the improvement of the legal system will be completed step by step.

If you go to France, I am afraid that before the lawsuit is over, the crowd of demonstrators outside will be able to toss the Paris government half to death.

It is estimated that the French are also prepared for these problems, but they did not expect how serious the consequences were, otherwise they would not be so active now.

After all, the problems that occurred in Austria were properly resolved in the end, and they did not make a fuss.

Why can't we do what others can do? This kind of arrogance is not lacking in the French.

Napoleon III has already begun to pave the way for his son, and if he cannot satisfy the great power desires of the French, I am afraid that the future Napoleon IV will have a headache.

Napoleon III, who was already good at playing with people's hearts, could not have been unaware of the terrible nature of such thoughts. Now, following the example of Austria to form a joint Franco-Italian empire in the HRE, it was also forced out.

Napoleon III was still confident in the combat effectiveness of the French army, and the United Empire was the hegemon of Europe as soon as it was established.

This was enough to satisfy the pursuit of most French people, and the foundation of the empire was stable. Of course, being able to ascend to the Italian throne is also a temptation for him personally.

Wealth always needs to be returned home, and for the Bonaparte family, the Italian throne is also very significant, although there was an Italian king in the Napoleonic era.

Now there are still a lot of fans in Italy, and these people are the confidence of Napoleon III to dare to be Italy. There is force, there are supporters, and there are opportunities, so why back down?

As for the jurisprudence, it is a big deal to have another election. This time, we don't want a national election, just let the state government elect it.

As the king of the Kingdom of Sardinia, he is also eligible to run, and who else would dare to grab this position except Napoleon III? Since he was the only candidate, he naturally had to be elected.

Theoretically, Ludwig I of the Kingdom of Lombardy was also eligible to run, and Lombardy was also a member of the Italian region. Even Franz, who had the crown of Venicia on his head, was one of the candidates.

It's just that neither Franz nor Ludwig I thought they were part of Italy, so naturally they wouldn't run over to stir things up.

Obviously, Napoleon III did not think so. In Europe, wearing many hats is the standard for the old aristocracy, especially the title of emperor.

How to kick the two kingdoms of Lombardy and Venesia out of Italy became Napoleon III's biggest headache.

Napoleon III did not believe that a treaty of paper would bind Austria in the face of interests. If something happens in the middle of the way, and Franz jumps out to run for the Italian emperor, he will make a wedding dress for someone.

After all, in terms of family influence, the Bonaparte family is still not as good as the Habsburgs, and the deepest background of the old aristocracy is that they have many relatives and full legal principles.

In order to speed up the pace of the French, Franz decided not to embarrass Napoleon III, and it was better to withdraw on his own initiative.

……

At Schönbrunn Palace, Franz summoned Foreign Secretary Wesenberg and instructed: "The Foreign Ministry sent a note to the French to convene an international conference in Vienna to redivide part of the disputed part of Europe."

For example, the regions of Venesia and Lombardy should belong to the German region, not to the Italian region, which is now a German-speaking cultural sphere. ”

This is what Napoleon III wanted to do, but did not dare to do. Nominally the division of Italy, in fact it was also a definition of the sovereignty of the Italian Empire, which was to be born.

It is an indisputable fact that no matter how ferocious the idea of unification of the Italian regions is, it has never been unified since the collapse of the Roman Empire.

The so-called de jure sovereignty does not exist at all. Now Lombardy and Venezia don't want to mix with them, and there are no legal problems.

If a region is not a country, how can it be sovereign? Before the birth of the Italian Confederation, changing the geographical terminology in advance was a political signal from Franz to Napoleon III.

Anyway, the geographical division is all artificial. It's not impossible to re-divide it now. As long as France and Austria are consistent, what is the point of changing the geographical scope?

This will not involve the interests of all parties, and even if there are objections, there will not be much of a problem. The reasons for the division, Franz thought about it, and it was composed according to culture.

In this way, the definition of the German region is broader. With the exception of Lombardy and Venezia, most of the Balkans became German.

Whether the outside world recognizes it or not, the official documents of Austria can be changed anyway. These regions are indeed part of the German cultural sphere now, and there is nothing wrong with dividing them according to cultural traditions.

Wessenberg thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's a bit troublesome to do this. These areas are just what everyone calls according to custom, and if they are divided according to cultural circles, I am afraid that many countries will be vigilant. ”

Vigilance is inevitable, and who made Austria's propaganda slogan the unification of the German regions? The political slogans are all shouted like this, and it is no wonder that everyone is not vigilant.

Of course, not shouting this slogan is not much better. Pull a random person in Europe and ask: Does Austria have any ambitions to unify the German region, and the answer is the same - yes.

Anyway, I can't hide it, so it's better to shout it out in a bright light. Over the years, the Viennese government has shouted earth-shattering slogans, and the result is still the same.

Vigilance is vigilance, but it does not make everyone hate. After all, Franz was not a radical, holding high the banner of "peaceful reunification", and so many states in the HRE Empire were role models.

If it weren't for the fear of detonating the situation in Europe, Franz would have been able to break up the Federal Reich of Germany at any time. In recent years, there have been many small states that have been co-opted by Austria.

Now, if the German region is expanded, it is estimated that Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands will not be able to sleep.

Franz said indifferently: "Don't worry, at the same time as the division of regions, you can sign an international convention to make it clear in the legal situation that 'regional nouns cannot be a uniform legal basis', so that they can feel at ease." ”

This is all nonsense, and regional nouns have never been a uniform legal basis. Could it be that everyone is an earthling, and the earth can be legally unified?

The so-called reassuring people are better fooling people and making them relax their vigilance. As for the future, Franz really didn't hit their minds.

Originally, there was only a small land, and there were not many resources, so it was very troublesome to rule. As long as his brain is not flooded, Franz will choose to expand in an easier area.

Now everyone has their own fun, and the expansion of the scope of the German region is mainly for the sake of propaganda, which is conducive to the export of German culture.

It may not be remarkable now, but in the future it is the Greater German-speaking cultural sphere. Otherwise, wouldn't it be tragic to make the layout in advance and let English become the mainstream of the world?