Chapter 865 Hand-to-Hand Combat?

When the two sides collided again, the rebel soldiers found some problems. The Austrian soldiers who rushed to the front were all very burly and held guns without bayonets, and they also carried a large can on their backs.

This made the rebel soldiers feel a little confused.

"Are they holding water guns? Are they going to spray us in the face?"

However, when the two sides approached a distance of 20-30 meters, the Austrian soldiers took the lead in firing, and instantly knocked down all the front rows of the rebels.

But this was already within Giovanni's expectations, and he immediately shouted: "Don't stand there! Go! They are out of bullets!"

At this time, Giovanni's student soldiers decided to lead by example, and General Fabio also ordered his reserve team to rush forward. They knew that as long as they could bring morale, the outcome of the battle could be reversed.

But they were wrong. The Austrian soldiers in front of them still had bullets in their guns, and they were not carrying buckets, but air bags.

This is the characteristic branch of the Austrian Empire - air rifle soldiers. However, since the beginning of the anti-French war, due to the high cost and the lack of ideal results, they have gradually withdrawn from the army and become the private armed forces of some princes and nobles.

So it is normal that even the rebels who serve in Austria have never seen this branch of soldiers.

However, due to Franz's efforts, the air rifle soldiers have "resurrected" again.

Only the sound of "click! click! click!" can be heard, and those strange guns shoot bullets continuously.

More than a dozen soldiers holding high-pressure air rifles suppress the firepower together, and the rebels can't even get close. Coupled with the dark Austrian soldiers behind, the rebels who rushed to the front collapsed in less than a minute, some died and some escaped.

This time, neither Giovanni nor Fabio could stop the decline. Daniele Manin roared at the crowd that fled back again.

"For God's sake! Do something!"

"What the hell can I do?! Damn it! If you hadn't bewitched me, I would be a hero of Austria now!"

Fabio roared back, and at the same time pushed Daniele Manin, the new honorary mayor, to the ground.

"Damn traitor! Catch this traitor! He is a running dog of the Austrians!"

Daniele Manin had used this trick to judge countless people before, but it failed at this time because people were thinking about how to escape.

Fabio spat fiercely in Daniele Manin's face, and just when the former was about to shoot the latter, a cavalry with a large group of infantry in mixed clothing rushed over from behind them.

The two-sided attack accelerated the speed of the rebels' collapse, but the difference was that this time someone finally shouted "Surrender and save your life."

In fact, the troops that came to encircle were the reconnaissance troops sent by Franz before. After breaking through the siege, they contacted the loyalist troops in Venice.

In addition, Franz had contacted the remaining navy in the harbor area before, so a joint land-sea force was formed.

The rebels, who were caught in two sides, were almost doomed to fail from the very beginning, and then they just watched how they died.

The outcome of the battle was not in doubt, most of the rebels chose to surrender, and those who did not surrender or did not have time to surrender were all killed on the spot.

General Fabio and Giovanni appeared at the front of the team with Daniele Manin on their shoulders, announcing the end of the battle.

Franz accepted the other side's surrender, but the trouble was that Fabio and Giovanni insisted that they were Austrian heroes because they had captured Daniele Manin.

"Archduke Franz! We have long been looking forward to the arrival of the Austrian Empire's heavenly soldiers! These damned charlatans have controlled our families and tempted us with high positions and generous salaries. We were forced!

But now it's good! You are here! The sun of the empire has risen again!"

Franz looked at the sky. It was already dark. Due to the destruction of the war, the lighting system in many parts of the city was damaged, and the whole city seemed unusually dim.

"Invite them to the square of the town hall and starve them for a few days first."

"Archduke Franz"

The soldiers of the Royal Dragoon Regiment have seen many such things in Galicia, so they are not surprised and directly dragged several masterminds for interrogation.

According to past experience, these masterminds will have a list in their hands. They don't know why. These people are not running a company. Why do they have to have a list and account book?

The first thing Franz did after occupying Venice was to restore communication with the outside world. One reason was to report good news. Austria had been on the defensive since the war began and needed a victory to boost morale. It was also to deter the scoundrels. Internal threats were the most troublesome.

Another reason was that Venice was too important at this time. It was not only the core of northern Italy, but also the most critical node of the Austrian Empire at sea.

Although Franz had been developing Trieste, people's thinking and government policies had inertia. Everyone would always unconsciously lean towards Venice. People in their own country were like this, not to mention other countries.

Venice's glorious history won it another chance to be reborn, but this war destroyed half of its vitality.

But at this time, Venice was still one of the most important ports in the Austrian Empire and even on the Mediterranean coast.

The external channel at this time was too important for the Austrian Empire. The reason why the Austrians could live a life that was almost free of worries in the disaster years was the credit of sucking blood from the colonies.

Once the supply from the colonies is cut off, the domestic situation will deteriorate rapidly, but it will not collapse, after all, Franz has accumulated a lot of inventory over the years.

However, this will seriously slow down the economic development of the Austrian Empire in the future, and will leave certain hidden dangers.

The original purpose of this war was to solve the hidden dangers accumulated in the country for hundreds of years. Franz would never condone evil in order to end the war.

In fact, in addition to this, Franz also kept a trick, which was specially prepared for the British.

The third point is to relieve Albrecht's worries. After all, the main supporters of the rebels who support the Papal States and Italy are in the city, while the vast rural areas are more inclined to the royal family.

People in this era can easily look down on peasants, especially those high-ranking city masters. It is impossible for them to join forces with peasants. Poland is the best example before.

At the same time, Marshal Radetzky led his main force out of the Milan battlefield, which made the Milan rebels breathe a sigh of relief. They felt that their sacrifice was finally worthwhile.

Carlo Alberto promised to reach Milan within seven days and give the insurgents in Milan 5,000 rifles to help them get through the most difficult times.

However, what they didn't know was that the veteran general of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Eusebio, was just about to cross the river, and what they didn't know was that Marshal Radetzky himself had already arrived at the river with the vanguard and was watching everything quietly.