Turin
Ever since the French governnt announced the identity of the assassins, the Sardinian governnt has been in a panic. This is like trouble falling from the sky into ones own ho.
Everyone present would dare swear in Gods na that they had nothing to do with this assassination attempt.
Even if they wanted to assassinate soone, it would be Franz, not Napoleon III. What was the point of assassinating Napoleon III?
King Victor Emmanuel II eagerly asked, Pri 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 ti when Franco-Austrian relations were deteriorating, then whether it was true or not, the French governnt 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 governnt find the confidence to start a war?
From the perspective of interests, the French have been seeking expansion into the Italian region for quite so ti. With this ready-made pretext, trouble has co knocking at the door of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
After a monts thought, Victor Emmanuel II said resignedly: I hope those fools can hold out and stubbornly bla Austria. Otherwise, we will be in big trouble.
Its not that they dont want to conspire with the French against Austria; its just that the likelihood of that happening is almost zero.
Historically, after Pri Minister Cavour convinced Napoleon III, he himself could not believe it for a long ti.
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 finding a way out of this predicant.
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 becos 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 IIIs lapse in judgnt inadvertently contributed to Cavours 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 soone inside the country had helped the assassins. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for these amateurs to track his movents.
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 nad Sobolev.
This person has disappeared, and their acquaintance with the assassins seems highly coincidental. They first t 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 an to tell that dostic 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, sotis 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-mont decision.
Napoleon III waved his hand and said, Keep investigating. I dont care what thods you use, but you must find this Sobolev, who has suddenly appeared, for .
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 doesnt 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 governnt doesnt buy it, they cant just attack them on these grounds, can they?
Unless there is evidence that the assassination was planned by the Austrian governnt, 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 forrly a public official of the Kingdom of Lombardy, its still not enough to incriminate the Austrian governnt.
From the motive for the cri, suspicions against the Austrian governnt have been ruled out. Its hard to believe that they would just send soone to assassinate a foreign emperor without a clear reason. No one would believe that.
Napoleon IIIs desire to attack Austria does not an 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 ti 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 bla 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 ti 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 mbers of radical Italian nationalist groups that had previously received funding from the Sardinian governnt.
Although it would be quite a stretch, this assassination could be said to have been orchestrated by Italian nationalist groups, making the Sardinian governnt partly to bla. Using this as an excuse to stir up trouble shouldnt 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 governnt providing funds to these radical groups.
Presenting all this evidence to the Sardinian governnt would be more convincing. At the sa ti, 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 its ti 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 exclaid with delight, You an the Austrian governnt will support our annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia?
Persigny replied without hesitation, No. Tis 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 governnt no longer needs our support, so their promises are no longer valid.
But they wont oppose our expansion into Sardinia. In fact, the Austrian governnt is hoping for more aggressive action on our part to further aggravate the Anglo-French conflict.
Napoleon III nodded in agreent. 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 re Kingdom of Sardinia amount to?
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