Chapter 904 King of Rome

"The envoy of the Austrian Empire?"

Angelo Nebuti, the actual ruler of the Fourth Roman Republic, was overjoyed.

Although the Austrian army was already at the gates of the city, since the other side had sent an envoy, there was still room for easing.

In fact, Angelo Nebuti had been busy arranging the defense of Rome these days, and he felt that his efforts must have worked.

In fact, the defense arranged by Angelo Nebuti was full of loopholes. Although there were many literati in history who gave up their pens and joined the army and made great contributions, there was also no shortage of amazing talents who were good at everything.

But Angelo Nebuti obviously did not have that ability. The defense he arranged was full of loopholes. It would be strange if there were no problems when an amateur commanded an expert.

Angelo Nebuti's biggest problem was that he deployed all his troops on the outer defense line and did not leave enough reserves.

In fact, it is not accurate to say that there were not enough reserves. It should be that there were no reserves at all.

If a rebellion broke out within this defense configuration, all the defense lines would collapse. There happened to be a large number of followers of Pius IX and Austrian insiders in Rome.

However, Franz did not want to attack unless it was absolutely necessary, so the envoy came at this time.

But unlike what Angelo Nebuti imagined, the Austrian envoy was not here to negotiate, but to make a final announcement.

In fact, Franz did not think that the so-called Fourth Roman Republic had any capital for negotiation, but even if they had capital, Franz would not let this happen.

The so-called final announcement was also very simple, and it was still the most commonly used trick in history, "only the main culprit was killed, and the coerced followers were not questioned."

A great man once said: "Unite the majority to attack a small group."

This is the best way to divide and disintegrate the enemy, and it is also an eternal truth.

So Franz initially changed the target of the attack from the entire city of Rome to the Fourth Roman Republic, and then positioned the so-called main culprit on those senior officials and backbones.

The most important thing is that the Austrian side still holds the excommunication order issued by Pius IX, so Angelo Nebuti lost the moment the Austrian envoy entered the door.

Because the Austrian envoys only need to state their intentions, then the people of Rome will naturally weigh the interests.

Soon people will find that they don't need to fight desperately, because they are just being coerced, and Pius IX has forgiven them.

Of course, if it is just like this, if the high-level officials of the Fourth Roman Republic have some loyal supporters, then the Battle of Rome may still be unavoidable.

But Franz will naturally not let go of these guys who manipulate public opinion easily. In fact, it's nothing to say, just announcing the rewards of these people.

As the saying goes, there must be brave men under heavy rewards. The rewards of the high-level officials of the Fourth Roman Republic are not low, at least ordinary farmers and small citizens can't spend them in several lifetimes.

So the battle royale mode was opened in Rome, and the hungry, angry, greedy, and fanatical people screamed and launched a crazy killing of the backbone elites of the Fourth Roman Republic.

Everything happened too fast and too suddenly. Angelo Nebuti was still rubbing his hands and thinking about the draft in his mind in the last second, but the next second the accompanying Roman official had fallen in a pool of blood.

Angelo Nebuti had no time to stop all this. He only saw the Austrian envoy throw the scroll in his hand, and the Roman citizens and soldiers roared and rushed to the Congress Hall of the Fourth Republic (formerly the Roman City Hall of the Papal States).

When everyone in the Fourth Republic of Rome was busy escaping, two people felt very depressed. One of them was Mazzini. To be honest, he had just arrived in Rome for the second day and his butt was not warm yet.

But at this time, his bounty on the official Austrian bounty list was second only to Angelo Nebuti, the Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic of Rome.

Fortunately, Mazzini had just arrived and no one knew him. The few people who knew him were also wanted, so Mazzini could safely take his mistress and adopted daughter to avoid the center of the storm.

Except for the owner of the small hotel where he stayed, when Mazzini and his group returned to the hotel to pack up, the small owner took out a sharp knife to block the door of the room.

"Hehe! Giuseppe Mazzini, I recognized you at first sight! Hehehe, it's my turn to make a fortune today."

The fat shopkeeper wiped the greasy corners of his mouth and the saliva that he couldn't hold back.

"Friend, we are all Italians, you can let me go."

Mazzini was not panicked, and his calmness made the two women around him feel a lot more at ease, but the shining knife was indeed scary.

"Hehehe! Let you go? Sure, let your wife and daughter play with me, and I can talk when I'm in a good mood."

The wretched shopkeeper weighed the knife in his hand and continued.

This time Mazzini frowned and said seriously.

"This Mrs. Sang is not my wife. You must apologize to my friend and my adopted daughter."

"Humph! Why don't I apologize?"

"Bang!"

Mazzini raised his hand and shot the other's skull. The latter opened his eyes in disbelief, as if saying "You have a gun, why didn't you tell me earlier."

"You didn't ask!"

Mazzini has been hiding overseas for so many years and has many enemies. If he really didn't have some strength, how could he survive until now?

On the other hand, Garibaldi was even more depressed because his reward was higher than Angelo Nebuti's, and it was as high as one million florins.

Garibaldi and Liberio didn't understand why they were so hated. Did they accidentally offend some big shot?

And they and their Redwood Army were not as inconspicuous as Mazzini. So they had to take off the most iconic red scarf of the Redwood Army.

Although the Redwood Army was strong in combat, the fearless Roman citizens and city guards were even more terrifying.

The most important thing was that the members of the Redwood Army had also changed their minds. What were they fighting for?

For the Italians? The Italians wanted to kill them? All this was Garibaldi's fault. He shouldn't have returned to Italy, let alone been on the Austrians' blacklist.

So what if I could kill Garibaldi? The Papal States and the Austrians didn't want me, so wouldn't I be a hero?

Damn the heroes of the two worlds, I just want to be my own hero!

Many members of the Redwood Army had a complete change of mind at this time, because they felt that it was not worth it to risk their lives for those people.

However, when they wanted to kill their leader, they could not find Garibaldi and Liberio.

In fact, due to her background, Liberio had never trusted white people other than her husband.

So since arriving in Rome, Liberio and her people had secretly dug a tunnel.

But Garibaldi, who was hiding in the tunnel, did not feel lucky to have survived the disaster. He was just angry about being betrayed and fooled, and full of anger that had nowhere to vent.

On the second day, the citizens of Rome sprinkled water on the streets to welcome the king.

Pius IX looked at the open city gates and the people lining up to welcome him in some incredible way. He seemed to have returned to the time when people affectionately called him "Pionono".

But Pius IX knew very well that all that was just an illusion. These unruly people in front of him might turn into demons at any time. Perhaps finding mercenaries from Switzerland and Austria would be a more feasible way.

In fact, the top management of the Umbrella Company had already consulted with Pius IX on national security issues. The latter was willing to hire the Umbrella Company as a national strategic advisor to be responsible for the military and security issues of the Papal States.

In addition, Pius IX also plans to hire the Austrian Imperial Overseas Development Company as the economic advisory group of the Papal States, responsible for the economic development strategy of the Papal States.

The Austrian Imperial Army did not encounter any obstacles when entering the city, and the corpses piled up on both sides of the road silently told the tragic story of yesterday.

Franz did not spend a single soldier in this battle, but Albrecht came up with several combat plans, which made the latter very unhappy.

So Franz planned to entertain his uncle in the Eternal City.

In fact, Albrecht was not a stingy person, and although he was unhappy, he agreed with Franz's approach. After all, it is better to be prepared.

In case Franz's plan failed, there were also remedial measures.

However, in Franz's eyes, his own plan could not fail. Human nature is the most untestable thing.

Most people are mortals. Only a very small number of people have lofty ideas and can put them into practice, and it is not easy to overcome the survival instinct of human beings to seek benefits and avoid harm.

In addition, Prime Minister Metternich's work over the years was not in vain. There were Austrian insiders everywhere in Rome, and even many Austrians in the Fourth Roman Republic.

So Franz knew that his plan would succeed.

Although Rome had just been baptized by war, it was mainly modern buildings and residential areas that were destroyed.

Those magnificent ruins were still alive. Albrecht liked the city in front of him very much and believed that it was the origin of Western civilization like Constantinople.

Franz was also shocked by the grandeur of Rome, which was completely different from Vienna. The ancient grandeur of Rome, especially standing in the center of the ancient Roman Arena, really gave people a sense of dominance.

This feeling was so beautiful that Franz almost got carried away. You know, Franz had been forbearing for so many years, and this was the first time he acted in front of people with a look of contempt.

But this made Pius IX make a decision, a decision he did not regret.

On the third day, the Pantheon in Rome.

Although Vienna was in danger theoretically, Rome was a magical city that no conqueror wanted to leave.

Franz received a letter from Archduke Friedrich, who was working on a big plan.

Yes, he had learned about the victory of the airship unit in the first battle.

In fact, there was also an airship unit in Friedrich's navy, so he had another bold idea.

Capture Gibraltar.

This has been the common dream of all Mediterranean countries for hundreds of years, but no country has ever been able to accomplish this feat because its terrain is too rugged.

The main reason is that the fleet cannot play a role, and it is very difficult for the army to land on the island.

However, the emergence of the airship unit has turned this situation around, because the airship can attack the shore defense guns directly without being affected by them.

As long as the shore defense guns are destroyed, the fleet can approach and fire to provide cover for the landing troops.

In addition, the appearance of the Austrian Marine Corps is also one of Friedrich's sources of confidence. The role of the Marine Corps in Egypt and Crete was extremely prominent before.

If these special forces had not existed, both battles would have become protracted wars, and even if the Austrians won in the end, they would not have gained much.

Friedrich's battle plan was very feasible, and it was indeed a good opportunity to capture Gibraltar.

Because the technological revolution of artillery had not yet begun, those huge coastal defense guns that people feared still fired solid bullets and early shrapnel shells.

But if military technology continued to develop, and the British hid the 300mm cannons in the mountains, coupled with the reverse slope fortifications, it would not be a problem that airship airdrops could solve.

Even the giant aerial bombs used by aircraft during World War II may not have much effect, unless they had earth-penetrating bombs to solve these troublesome fortifications.

But it's not time yet. Taking Gibraltar now will have a huge impact on the European situation. By then, not only will the British not let themselves go, but the French, Russians, and Prussians will also draw their swords against Austria.

So the delicious food can only be given up, otherwise it will be bad to get a stomachache.

The Pantheon is a relatively well-preserved ancient building from the Roman Empire. It was built in the first century BC by Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus Octavian, the first emperor of the Roman Empire.

Franz arrived at the Pantheon as promised. Although a thousand years have passed, the magnificent building still makes people fascinated.

At this time, Franz suddenly discovered that it seemed that not only Pius IX was in the Pantheon, but also most of the celebrities in Rome and officers in the Austrian army came to the scene.

Franz was a little confused, but Colonel Bordeaux had dispersed the guards.

At this time, Pius IX came over in a full set of robes.

"Archduke Franz, I want to give you a gift."

"Your Holiness, what does this mean? Why do you need such a big battle?"

The fact that Pius IX appeared here in person proved that this could not be a conspiracy, but the situation at this time was indeed beyond Franz's expectations.

Because Pius IX had agreed to his deal, he had no reason to waste money or energy on himself.

"Archduke Franz, the Rauscher brothers have always said that you are a saint."

"Archbishop Rauscher is like that, he always likes to use those exaggerated and flattering words."

"No, Archduke Franz. I think you deserve better as an emperor who is to serve the secular world. I think you need this."

Pius IX pummeled the ground with his cane, and the random cardinals began to tap the ground with their canes.

A choir boy came over with a tray with a small crown in it. This is completely incomparable to the collection of the Habsburg family, not to mention the Austrian crown or the St. Stephen's crown.

But this crown is very old, it may be the earliest crown in the world.

"Archduke Franz, please kneel down, I will crown you."

Pius IX took the crown from the tray and put it on Franz's head.

"From now on, you are the King of Rome."