Chapter 902: Marching Into Rome

This time, Franz brought not only Pius IX, but also the monarchs of various states in Central Italy.

Although conservatives in various countries have regained power and started to crack down on liberals and nationalists, Franz does not want these people to regain power.

After all, foreign nobles are not Franz's capital, and it is easier to control capitalists.

The monarchs of Central Italy are also troubled by the fact that local forces are too powerful to be eliminated, especially Tuscany, which abolished the death penalty under the guidance of those nobles and politicians.

This means that in theory, even if someone assassinates the Archduke, he will only get a life imprisonment.

At the same time, since torture and labor have been abolished, it means that the murderer can live out his life in a Tuscan prison, just like the demon who completed 77 murders in Norway.

When the law loses its binding force, it is just a piece of toilet paper, especially in the turbulent 1848. The cost of killing is ridiculously low, and the prison guards are also afraid that the prisoners will die.

Therefore, a prisoner only needs five florins to get the right to go home, and in Tuscany, it only costs ten florins to hire a killer.

Under such vicious competition, the assassin industry in Tuscany has closed down one after another. The assassin brotherhood that has plagued Central Italy for a thousand years has disappeared.

Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany once dared not go out in his own country. He once wanted to restore the death penalty, but the nobles and capitalists would not agree, after all, this would weaken their power.

Grand Duke Francesco V of Modena had a similar experience. Although the Principality of Modena has the death penalty, he, as a grand duke, has no power to sentence people to death. The parliament composed of nobles and capitalists will oppose all his actions.

After years of famine, the nobles and capitalists united to raise food prices, and they made a lot of money. When the people were angry, Francesco V had to issue an order to suppress and maintain stability to protect the rights and interests of the nobles and capitalists.

But when the uprising happened, they betrayed him at the first time.

Under the lead of Francesco V and Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany, Franz decided to help them solve the problem.

In fact, this was also helping Austria solve the problem. After all, the stronger the local forces, the more unfavorable it was for Franz to infiltrate.

So the Austrian Empire army was divided into two routes. One route was led by Franz to defeat Parma, Tuscany, Lucca, and Modena, and the other route was led by Albrecht to recover the land of the Papal States and approach Rome.

The monarchs of Central Italy returned to their old place, but it was not the glorious return that the conservatives hoped for, but they were completely liquidated.

Franz didn't want to care about how to liquidate, because those monarchs should have more ideas than him.

In Rome, the new Roman Republic was in chaos.

They were not recognized by other regions of the Papal States, so the Papal States at this time had dozens of governments of all sizes.

The food problem in Rome was naturally not solved, but before it was just that the civilians had no food to eat.

After they successfully drove away Pius IX, even the upstarts had nothing to eat. Although Pius IX has been criticized, local governments are still willing to provide him with food.

The new Roman Republic obviously does not have this weight, and Angelo Nebuti is almost scratching his head out of the Mediterranean.

But there is no way. Expelling Pius IX was his last decision, and he proposed it in front of the people and supporters.

So everyone hopes that Angelo Nebuti can take responsibility, but now even if he is killed, there will be no food.

Angelo Nebuti has ordered other provinces in the country to transport food to Rome at all costs more than once, but at this time, those provinces have no government, so who will come to execute his orders.

The leaders of those provinces are also busy fighting for power and profit, so how can they take care of the affairs of Rome.

At the same time, there is an even more difficult thing, that is, Angelo Nebuti thought that the French would help him after he expelled the Pope and established a republican government.

After all, they are all different species on the European continent at this time, but the reality is that the French provisional government not only did not mention any assistance.

Instead, they immediately announced that they were irreconcilable with the Roman Republican government, not only cutting off diplomatic ties but also interrupting normal trade.

The result was that the already serious famine became even more serious. Although the French food was expensive, at least it could give the lower classes hope.

But when the French merchant ships left, the Romans were completely desperate. As for the British aid, it was even more distant.

Although the British did not oppose the Roman Republican government as fiercely as the French Provisional Government, the successive defeats in the Mediterranean naval battles made them lose their control of the Mediterranean.

Similarly, the supplies that the island of Crete had stockpiled over the years also went into the pockets of the Austrian Empire. At this time, even if the British wanted to support the Roman government, they had no food.

As for transporting from the mainland, their domestic economic crisis and food crisis would continue to worsen. At this time, Ireland was in chaos due to the serious food crisis, and there were also signs of unrest in Scotland.

Historically, rebellions in Scotland have never stopped. They always believed that they should be an independent kingdom and have been fighting for it, so the British have a very high tolerance for Scotland.

Since the famine began, Britain has been buying grain from overseas and sending it to Scotland, but the locals still believe that the English poisoned their potatoes and even demand compensation from the British government, otherwise they will do it themselves.

In addition, even if the British want to sell their heads to aid Rome, their distant water cannot quench their immediate thirst unless they transport grain from the Ottoman Empire.

However, the Ottomans themselves are also suffering from famine, and Magid may not take this risk. Even if Magid is willing to take this risk, it will take a month with the Ottoman Empire's mobilization capacity.

The United States on the other side of the ocean is in good weather, but at this time, the Americans took advantage of Britain's deep domestic and foreign political and economic crises to add insult to injury and once again proposed to rebuild the border.

John Russell has been able to become prime minister after so many years, and he still wants to do something big. If he really agrees to the Americans at this time, then he will be in trouble.

However, the chaos at home and abroad at this time, coupled with the destruction of the Mediterranean Fleet, John Russell is destined to be nailed to the pillar of shame.

Angelo Nebuti was not the only one who was worried in Rome. Mazzini, who came from England, was also worried.

The latter was very excited when he received the news of the Italian Revolution and the holy war of Pius IX from England. Later, he gladly accepted the invitation of the Roman Republic Government to serve as an advisor and honorary mayor.

But reality gave him a blow. When Mazzini arrived in Rome, he did not see the crowd welcoming him, but only saw hungry people everywhere.

His supporters were also worried because even they could not eat.