Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 295: Interests Determine the Truth

Turin

Ever since the French government announced the identity of the assassins, the Sardinian government has been in a panic. This is like trouble falling from the sky into one’s own home.

Everyone present would dare swear in God’s name that they had nothing to do with this assassination attempt.

Even if they wanted to assassinate someone, it would be Franz, not Napoleon III. What was the point of assassinating Napoleon III?

King Victor Emmanuel II eagerly asked, “Prime Minister, have you looked into the information about the assassins that the French have revealed?”

Cavour, looking haggard, replied: “We have. They are all radical Italian nationalists from the Italian region. Their aim in assassinating Napoleon III seems to be to provoke a conflict between France and Austria.

Before taking action, these four individuals had obtained citizenship in the New Holy Roman Empire, and one of them was even a public official in the Kingdom of Lombardy.”

Framing others still depends on timing! If it happened at a time when Franco-Austrian relations were deteriorating, then whether it was true or not, the French government could take it as fact.

Clearly, these assassins were not professionals, did not choose the right timing, and succeeded only in angering the French.

Unfortunately, France and Austria were not yet at the point of breaking off relations. Under the Vienna System, where would the French government replace the confidence to start a war?

From the perspective of interests, the French have been seeking expansion into the Italian region for quite some time. With this ready-made pretext, trouble has come knocking at the door of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

After a moment’s thought, Victor Emmanuel II said resignedly: “I hope those fools can hold out and stubbornly blame Austria. Otherwise, we will be in big trouble.”

It’s not that they don’t want to conspire with the French against Austria; it’s just that the likelihood of that happening is almost zero.

Historically, after Prime Minister Cavour convinced Napoleon III, he himself could not believe it for a long time.

The situation was even worse now that Austria was much stronger than it was in history. Whether it was the preservation of European stability through the Vienna System or the still robust Russo-Austrian alliance, France could not dare to make any reckless moves.

Cavour analyzed, “Your Majesty, the British and the Austrians will not stand by and watch the French continue to expand. We can seek their assistance.”

There was a hint of weariness in his expression, mixed with deep concern. Obviously, he had put a lot of effort into replaceing a way out of this predicament.

In politics, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. To unify the Italian region, Austria is its greatest enemy; but to resist the French invasion, Austria becomes its ally.

Both France and Austria have ambitions to dominate the Italian region, and it is only through mutual suppression that the Kingdom of Sardinia has survived.

Under normal circumstances, there would never be an opportunity for the unification of Italy, as neither France nor Austria would tolerate it.

Napoleon III’s lapse in judgment inadvertently contributed to Cavour’s greatness. In reality, it was a gamble — Cavour wagered that France and Austria would not partition the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Now he dared not gamble. The international situation had changed and relations between France and Austria were warming. The secret treaty that Franz had concocted to appease the French, which proposed the division of the Kingdom of Sardinia between the two countries, hung like a sword of Damocles over them.

……

Palace of Versailles

Napoleon III was in a terrible mood; this assassination attempt was not as simple as it appeared to the outside world.

Based on the information gathered, it was obvious that someone inside the country had helped the assassins. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for these amateurs to track his movements.

Napoleon III asked, “Have we uncovered the mastermind behind the scenes?”

Minister of Police Maupas replied, “Your Majesty, the enemy is very cunning. These assassins do not know that they have been manipulated. The information was obtained from a person named Sobolev.

This person has disappeared, and their acquaintance with the assassins seems highly coincidental. They first met in a small tavern in Paris.

We have investigated related individuals and found no suspicious leads. Sobolev may be an alias, with no other information beyond his transaction with the assassins.”

Napoleon III scolded angrily: “Useless fools! Do you mean to tell me that domestic enemies happened to run into four idiots and then used them as assassins?”

“Your Majesty, that is indeed the truth!” Maupas replied honestly.

Coincidences often happen in reality, sometimes even more bizarrely than in fiction. This assassination attempt occurred under coincidental circumstances, and the so-called mastermind behind it was simply a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Napoleon III waved his hand and said, “Keep investigating. I don’t care what methods you use, but you must replace this Sobolev, who has suddenly appeared, for me.”

Whether or not there is a mastermind behind the scenes, this overlooked Sobolev is a threat. The world is never short of extremists, and Napoleon III doesn’t want to live in fear of assassination attempts every day.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Maupas replied.

After calming down a bit, Napoleon III began to consider how to leverage this incident to maximize his interests.

“The assassins were Austrian citizens. Can we take this up with Austria and demand accountability?”

Foreign Minister Auvergne objected subtly: “Your Majesty, what exactly can we demand from the Austrians?”

This is the crux of the matter — interests.

Extortion also depends on the target. If the Austrian government doesn’t buy it, they can’t just attack them on these grounds, can they?

Unless there is evidence that the assassination was planned by the Austrian government, international pressure can be used to make the Austrians pay a price.

Obviously, the current evidence is insufficient; even if one of the assassins was formerly a public official of the Kingdom of Lombardy, it’s still not enough to incriminate the Austrian government.

From the motive for the crime, suspicions against the Austrian government have been ruled out. It’s hard to believe that they would just send someone to assassinate a foreign emperor without a clear reason. No one would believe that.

Napoleon III’s desire to attack Austria does not mean that he completely ignores the consequences. The cooperation between the two countries still outweighs any potential conflict. From the perspective of interests, it was not yet time for both sides to turn hostile.

Similarly, targeting the Kingdom of Prussia or Belgium is not feasible. Without sufficient evidence, simply trying to shift the blame could backfire disastrously.

Should this opportunity be used for a large-scale internal purge? As soon as this idea arose, Napoleon III quickly put it to rest.

The economic crisis is still ongoing, and internal stability must be maintained. Provoking internal strife at this time could easily lead to unpredictable consequences.

After much hesitation, Napoleon III spoke: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send a note to the Kingdom of Sardinia holding it responsible for this incident.”

Pressing a soft persimmon was one aspect, but more importantly, these assassins were members of radical Italian nationalist groups that had previously received funding from the Sardinian government.

Although it would be quite a stretch, this assassination could be said to have been orchestrated by Italian nationalist groups, making the Sardinian government partly to blame. Using this as an excuse to stir up trouble shouldn’t attract interference from other countries.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” replied the Foreign Minister Auvergne.

Minister of the Interior Persigny spoke up: “Your Majesty, it would be best to include the confessions of the criminals to prove that this assassination was orchestrated by Italian radical groups. We should also gather evidence of the Sardinian government providing funds to these radical groups.

Presenting all this evidence to the Sardinian government would be more convincing. At the same time, we can seek international support, using the assassination to garner sympathy and gain the upper hand in diplomacy.

The Austrians have promised in the past to support our annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia; now it’s time for them to fulfill their promises.”

The more evidence provided, the more persuasive the case, and the more public support gained, the greater the benefits obtained.

Napoleon III exclaimed with delight, “You mean the Austrian government will support our annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia?”

Persigny replied without hesitation, “No. Times have changed. During the war for the unification of Germany, Austria would have been willing to let us annex the Kingdom of Sardinia in exchange for our support.

But now that Germany is divided into three, the Austrian government no longer needs our support, so their promises are no longer valid.

But they won’t oppose our expansion into Sardinia. In fact, the Austrian government is hoping for more aggressive action on our part to further aggravate the Anglo-French conflict.”

Napoleon III nodded in agreement. Since the Austro-Sardinian War, Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia have been in a political cold war, with Austria no longer having any interests in Sardinia.

Instead, British influence in Sardinia is rapidly spreading. If France were to act against Sardinia, the British would stand to lose the most.

If it could make Britain and France fall out, what would a mere Kingdom of Sardinia amount to?