With the support of their financial backers, the French revolutionary movement surged once again. A life of hardship provided fertile ground for the spread of revolutionary ideas. Before the French government could react, a massive anti-war, anti-hunger movement began in Paris and quickly spread across the nation. If one were to observe closely, they would find something interesting: the very same people who had initially been the most supportive of the war were now the most opposed to it. The people were the same. The only change was the many traces of age and hardship on their faces. It was clear that life had not been easy for anyone over the past year. What was supposed to be a war as easy as “an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves” had turned into a war of attrition. A large number of young Frenchmen, including their relatives, had gone to the battlefield. If the battlefield had seen continuous victories, it would have been one thing, but the current result was one French defeat after another. Hardship, coupled with worry for their loved ones, forced them to stand up and oppose the war. If nothing unexpected happened, these would be the same people who, unhappy with the armistice terms, would jump out and demand punishment for the traitors. One could only say that Napoleon IV’s government was unlucky, happening to be in charge during the most chaotic period of French thought. Just as the revolutionary movement was gaining momentum, on September 1, 1891, a large-scale uprising broke out in Rome. Unlike any previous anti-French uprising, the leaders of this one were nobles and clergymen. When a wall is about to fall, everyone gives it a shove. Seeing the French were on the brink of collapse, the local Italian power brokers, long dissatisfied with the French, finally took concrete action. From the very beginning, the uprising successfully incited the Italian soldiers in the garrison to defect. With the church’s cover, the rebels, working from both inside and outside, quickly seized the city of Rome. After the uprising’s success, Pope Leo XIII, as the religious leader, issued an “Anti-Aggression Manifesto” from the Vatican, calling on all Italians to rise up and expel the French. Upon receiving the news, Franz’s first reaction was that the climax of the Italian independence movement had arrived. Without any hesitation, he immediately ordered a division of his forces to attack south and support the Italian national liberation movement. … At the Palace of Versailles, the constantly deteriorating situation had finally pushed Napoleon IV to the edge of a cliff, to a point where he had to make a choice. Minister of War Luscinia stated, “With the fall of Rome, the collapse of the Italian front is now a foregone conclusion. We currently do not have enough troops to commit to Italy to salvage the situation. The Ministry of War recommends temporarily abandoning the Italian territories, retreating to the Alps, and withdrawing our forces to defend our homeland. This includes the grueling defense of Turin, which no longer needs to be continued.” The facts were plain to see: Italy, once the great pride of the French Empire, had now become a quagmire. Continuing to be bogged down there had no value, other than to pointlessly drain the nation’s strength. From a military perspective, retreating to the Alps was undoubtedly the best option. France could use the fewest troops to secure the southern front and then commit the saved forces to other battlefields. What was best militarily did not mean it was best politically. In a sense, France abandoning the Italian territories was not much different from a direct surrender. After losing the Italian territories, France’s weakness would be completely exposed. It was easy to imagine that the Anti-French Coalition would certainly not give up this opportunity to kick them while they were down. Those nations that were originally just ‘going through the motions’ and simply making up the numbers would now rush forward to tear a piece of flesh from France’s body. Everyone knew this, yet no one objected. They all understood that the problem now was no longer about whether to abandon the Italian territories, but about how to handle the aftermath. Sweeping his gaze over the assembled officials, Napoleon IV slowly said, “Very well, let’s proceed with the Ministry of War’s plan. It seems Austria is preparing to restore the Italian states. You all know what to do next, don’t you?” “Your Majesty, rest assured. We will handle it properly and won’t leave the enemy with…” Seeing that Napoleon IV was in low spirits and seemed a bit impatient, Luscinia’s words came to an abrupt halt. It went without saying that the natural course of action was to cause damage. For a long time to come, the restored Italian states would be France’s enemies. Now that they still had the chance, they naturally had to weaken these potential foes. In a sense, the more severe the damage France caused now, the more reconstruction funds would be needed after the war. The Italian states naturally had no money, so the problem would fall on Austria’s shoulders. As for France suffering retaliation after the war... What a joke. It was as if not doing it now would make the enemy show mercy. Since the outbreak of the war, France and Austria had made contact several times in secret but had never been able to reach an agreement. Otherwise, the war would have ended long ago. Did they really think France was so stubborn that it wouldn’t shed a tear until it saw the coffin? In reality, Austria’s conditions were simply too harsh for the French government to accept, which was why they had held out until now. Then, everyone reluctantly discovered that war was not something you could prolong. As the French army suffered continuous defeats on the battlefield, Austria’s conditions became more and more demanding. The gap between the two sides’ bottom lines was enormous. If the Austrian government was willing to compromise with the ceasefire terms from six months ago—no, even with the terms from three months ago—Napoleon IV would have agreed to them in an instant. There was no other way. The ceasefire terms from six months ago had already required France to cede French Africa, restore the pre-war borders in Central Europe, and pay a certain amount of war reparations. With the French army not yet defeated and most of French Africa still in their hands, the French government naturally couldn’t accept such terms. Three months ago, things were different. French Africa was no longer enough to satisfy Austria’s appetite. They not only added a massive war indemnity but also demanded that France abandon its Italian territories. The French government naturally didn’t dare to agree to such humiliating terms that would relinquish sovereignty. Before they could even react, the French army suffered two major defeats on the front lines. Immediately after, Austria pulled Russia, Spain, and Sweden onto its war machine. The next time they made contact, Austria’s terms were even more excessive. In addition to the previous demands, they now made territorial claims on the French mainland. And it wasn’t just a small claim. Not only did Austria want to reclaim its Holy Roman heritage, but the neighbors all around also wanted a share. There was no arguing it. If Napoleon IV dared to agree to terms that would shrink France, the Palace of Versailles would certainly get a new master. Prime Minister Terence Bourquin said, “Your Majesty, those fellows seem to have sensed something. They’ve all been keeping a low profile, and some have even left Paris. Also, the revolutionaries have suddenly become active. The shadows of the revolutionary party can be seen in several recent strikes and violent incidents. The revolutionary party alone doesn’t have the capability to plan so many actions. There must be other powers supporting them from behind. They are the only ones with the capability and the motive to do such a thing. If we don’t take action soon, they might make their move.” It was clear that Terence Bourquin was extremely wary of the financial groups, referring to them only by proxy even during official discussions. There was no other way. The last politician who openly advocated for cracking down on the financial groups was now six feet underground. Napoleon IV also bore some responsibility for this. When he took power, he was so busy consolidating his authority that he was used by the financial groups, and the factions in the government that advocated for suppressing them were marginalized. By the time Napoleon IV realized what was happening, the political forces advocating for a crackdown had already crumbled under the financial groups’ ‘gold offensive’. There was no helping it as politicians’ integrity was just that high. During the time of Napoleon III, a strong emperor kept them in check. Any politician who dared to get close to the financial groups was sent home to farm. To survive in officialdom, you had to be hostile to them. The saying, “A new emperor, a new court,” might be a slight exaggeration on the European continent. But Napoleon IV’s ascent wasn’t a normal transfer of imperial power. There was a period of regency by ministers, and no one from House Bonaparte was in control of the overall situation. A power shift after he took personal control was inevitable. The young and hot-headed Napoleon IV’s political skills were far from as mature as they are now. With no powerful figures to assist the Bonaparte dynasty, he was inevitably exploited. This was somewhat similar to the Chongzhen Emperor who was too busy seizing power, he forgot to maintain a balance between political factions. However, Napoleon IV’s political skills were still a bit stronger. In later political struggles, he had quietly fostered a new loyal political force. If the revolution hadn’t broken out in the middle of it all, he might have slowly crippled the financial groups. After all, the financial groups were just capitalists who had banded together for profit. They could just as easily split apart for profit, as their inherent cohesion was very weak. After a moment’s hesitation, Napoleon IV nodded and said, “Prepare to act! At this point, we can only gamble.”
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH) Support the translation and read more chapters at https://ko-fi.com/dragonlegion
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