In the Lombardy region, the situation was very unfavorable for Austria, and the Italo-Austrian war was definitely not as simple as recorded in the history books, with bourgeois and aristocratic rebellions inside, and enemy troops pressing the territory outside.

The reinforcements sent by the Viennese government, which were at this time suppressing the rebellion in Venice, had reached the front with only one Austrian division, and Marshal Radekiss now had less than 30,000 men at his disposal.

This figure is double that of the same period in history, otherwise it would have retreated from the Milan area in a gray way, as in history.

After carefully looking at the map on the table and taking into account the current international situation, Marshal Radkiss made a surprising decision at the military conference.

"Order the troops to get ready, we will abandon the city of Milan on April 1st!"

"What? Your Excellency, are you sure this is not a joke? Vic asked in disbelief

"General Vic, I'm pretty sure what I'm doing!" Marshal Radkiss said without changing his face

"But Your Excellency, we are not at the point where we have to retreat, as soon as the rebellion in the Venetian area is suppressed, our reinforcements will arrive, and there will be no problem in holding back the Kingdom of Sardinia!" Vic asked

This is not Victor's doubt, many officers present find it difficult to accept, why retreat if they can win?

"Quite simply, we can hold off the attacks of the Kingdom of Sardinia, but we have no way to defeat the enemy's abilities in the face of internal and external troubles.

The rebels in Lombardy have colluded with the Kingdom of Sardinia, and if we keep fighting each other for a long time, the rebellion will continue.

There is also a political and economic dimension, and in short, the Vienna government has given me full authority to deal with the Italian question, and you just need to carry out the orders! Field Marshal Radkiss explained coldly

Giving up Lombardy, the pressure he has to bear is definitely not small, and it will even cause a series of chain reactions, which under normal circumstances no general is willing to bear.

Marshal Radkiss dared to do this, and it was not unrelated to the order from the Vienna government, as long as the final victory was won, he did not care about the gains and losses of one city or one place.

In his opinion, this is the top level of the Vienna government, and they have also discovered the crisis in the Italian theater of operations, and if they cannot solve the problem as soon as possible, then the Papal States, the Duchy of Tuscany, and the Kingdom of Naples will all pounce.

Against the Kingdom of Sardinia and the rebels alone, Marshal Radekiss had enough troops at his disposal, and once all these states were in the war, it would be dangerous.

Rather than this, it is better to give up the Lombardy region first, and the Kingdom of Sardinia will occupy these territories, and the other three Italian states will not enter the war.

In any case, they were forced to declare war on the basis of public opinion, and the main armies of several states have not yet been dispatched, and now they are all volunteers who have been organized by the people.

If the Kingdom of Sardinia had occupied these areas, and the people had confessed to it, they would not have sent troops to fight against the Kingdom of Sardinia, even if it was out of envy and jealousy.

In the absence of external infighting, internal strife would have erupted, and the internal contradictions of the Italian states were no less serious, and now it was only the political needs that transferred the hatred of the people to Austria.

But this situation cannot be sustained, everything can be deceived, but the stomach cannot be deceived, people always have to eat.

The economic crisis continues, and there are many unemployed people in Italy, and if this problem cannot be solved, contradictions will still erupt.

In addition to the Italians, the Anglo-French attitude was also a problem.

The French wanted Lombardy and Venice to be able to establish independent states, and while driving out Austria, they did not want Italy to be united.

The British, on the other hand, wanted a united Italy that could counterbalance both France and Austria, but they did not want to see Austria collapse.

Weakening Austria while preserving Austria's strength could block the Russians' path of expansion.

In this context, once the Kingdom of Sardinia occupies Lombardy, the two sides will certainly merge, and the position of the French will change with it, from the present support to hostility.

The support of the British for the Kingdom of Sardinia will only stay in words, and they will let the Kingdom of Sardinia accept it when it sees it, but it is a pity that the Kingdom of Sardinia, which has been kidnapped by public opinion, can only continue to fight.

After the contraction of the front, the forces at the hands of Marshal Radkis were more sufficient, while the front of the Kingdom of Sardinia was stretched.

The newly occupied Lombardy could not supply them and still had to rely mainly on domestic transportation, which was definitely a pressure on the Kingdom of Sardinia.

While fighting Austria, they had to feed the Lombard populace, otherwise they would go hungry and rebel.

Without the substantial support of Britain and France, three more states entered the war. The outcome of this war was already doomed, and the Kingdom of Sardinia had no way to compare with Austria due to its limited national strength.

Marshal Radkies was confident that with his forces, he would be able to defeat the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and then recover the Lombardy region, and even spread the flames of war to the Kingdom of Sardinia itself.

Strategically speaking, this time it is not a retreat, but a lure of the enemy to go deeper.

Of course, Franz sent him a private message asking him to eliminate all the rebellious parties in Austrian Italy as much as possible, which is why he made up his mind.

The word "chaotic party" is not so simple, Marshal Radekis clearly refers to the capitalists and aristocrats in Italy, without the exploitation of the people by these people, where would the rebellion come from?

The annexation of Lombardy to the Kingdom of Sardinia meant that the vast majority of the nobility and capitalists would fall to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and when the war was over, they would become part of the rebellious party.

Using their property to buy the hearts and minds of the people, Austrian Italy will soon be stabilized, after all, the people of Lombardy are Germans who have entered Italy, and without the obstacles of the upper classes, it is much less difficult to carry out national integration.

There are naturally pros and cons, Marshal Radkiss does not need to think about it so much, anyway, he has already seen the positive side, and he can solve the Italian problem once and for all.

For the sake of the final victory, both Lombardy and Venice can give up for the time being, and as long as he finally recovers, he will still be a hero of Austria.

In the quiet conference room, a voice sounded in the breakthrough, and I saw a middle-aged general stand up and say: "Your Excellency, Marshal, maybe we can do something, we can't let the Kingdom of Sardinia occupy Lombardy so easily!" ”

"Edmund, what are your plans?" Marshal Radkiss asked with concern

"Your Excellency Marshal, since the people of Lombardy are so welcoming to the Italians, we might as well help spread the word and give them a better impression of the Kingdom of Sardinia!" Lieutenant General Edmund Leopold Friedrich said with a sneer

……