Three days later, the clouds cleared and the rain cleared, the sky was clear and clear, but Turin was completely transformed into a vast ocean inside and outside.
On the lower west side, the deepest water here can reach the neck of an adult. It is impossible to see the road conditions under the yellow-brown water filled with impurities. Citizens with poor water quality may even drown when traveling on daily basis.
risk.
The situation in the east area of the city is not much better. The water in most streets has reached the chest of an adult man. This depth is enough to submerge nearly one-third of the low-rise houses in Turin, causing nearly six people to die.
Thousands of people are homeless and displaced.
Even the Royal Palace of Turin, the residence of His Majesty the King, did not escape this catastrophe. Although the courtiers of the palace tried their best to prevent the influx of floods, in the end they were in vain.
The king's favorite back garden, the Florentine Baroque style garden, has now been occupied by the smelly floods. The precious orchids and herbs, and the priceless nanmu furniture can only be left to soak quietly.
It's waiting to rot in the water.
The entire first floor of the palace, as well as the exquisite and luxurious courtyards, fountains, theaters and churches inside, all became muddy and extremely dirty in these three days.
Even Carlo Emanuele III himself was forced to move into a room on the upper floor of the palace despite the inconvenience of his legs and feet.
Humiliation, unprecedented humiliation. In more than 40 years of governing the country, Carlo Emanuele III has never suffered such a great humiliation.
But compared with the predicament in Turin and the suffering of the people, the old king could not care less about his personal honor and disgrace:
Now nearly one-third of the city's population is homeless and has no fixed place to live. This is definitely the top priority for Carlo Emanuele III at the end of October when the weather turns cold.
Every night, countless people were unable to find a place to stay. They wore thin, damp shirts and stayed awake all night in the cold autumn wind. Countless people contracted the cold and had high fevers.
Lucky citizens could pick up some wooden boards and piece them together into simple floating platforms, but most people could only huddle on the roofs of flooded houses and sleep on the ground.
Although Carlo Emanuele III has been trying his best to coordinate and settle these citizens, he not only opened the city hall and various government department buildings to the public, but even specially designated the bastion where the army was stationed and the Turin Palace.
An area used to house displaced people.
However, these measures can only accommodate a few thousand people at most. In the face of the 60,000 displaced people, they are undoubtedly just a drop in the bucket.
In addition, the city of Turin is now not only short of food, but also clean water has become a huge problem.
You know, the chest-deep water in the city is poured from the sewers. Moreover, the streets of European cities are full of dirt and filth. No one knows how many snakes and insects are soaked in the water.
The decaying carcasses of rats, ants, and other animals.
Even just looking at the disgusting dim yellow water and smelling the pungent stench everywhere, absolutely no one would want any drop of water to get into their mouth.
But where can people get clean water?
Basically every well has been swallowed up by floods, and the groundwater has also been polluted. The palace and the nobles can filter the sewage and boil it for drinking, but what can ordinary people do? They are in the cold winter.
There may not be enough firewood reserves, so how can you light a fire and boil water at this time?
In the first two days, people could still collect clean rainwater from the heavy downpour. However, as the clouds disappeared and the rain stopped yesterday, the little clean water in the hands of citizens was about to be exhausted.
Some desperate citizens didn't care at all, so they plunged directly into the sewage beneath them and started drinking. As a result, many people had unstoppable diarrhea and high fever that afternoon, and many died of dehydration as a result.
.
In every street of Turin, you can almost see bloated corpses floating on the water, and the living don't even have the energy to express sympathy and prayers to these dead.
What's even more terrible is that as the saying goes, there will be a great epidemic after a flood. Although it is not yet certain whether an infectious plague broke out in the city of Turin, looking at the hundreds of people suffering from high fever due to wind chill or dysentery, the rest
Citizens can't help but feel panic and panic.
After all, no one knows whether a man lying unconscious in a corner is infected with cholera or plague.
Carlo Emanuele III also ordered doctors and scholars from the University of Turin to help citizens prevent the epidemic, but those scholars were unable to protect themselves at this time and were of no use at all.
Despair, boundless despair, no one knows how long these days will last, no one knows whether they can survive such a catastrophe.
At this time, the 200,000 people in Turin were like a huge powder keg. They were sad, they were angry, and they hated not only the Corsicans outside the city, but also those high-ranking officials and nobles who were lying on their bodies and living in the palace.
His Majesty the King.
Carlo Emanuele III's order to reduce ration shares and re-levy grain reserves became the first spark to detonate this powder keg.
...
At noon on October 28, San Martino Square was already crowded with thousands of refugees. They were hungry and depressed, but they still looked forward to the delivery of today's food rations.
This square is one of the few highlands in the city, and floods have little impact on it. Therefore, countless refugees have flocked to it in the past few days. Fifty people can squeeze into an open space the size of a courtyard. The entire square
Thousands of citizens evacuated from the disaster gathered.
Soon, a municipal manager led dozens of officials and policemen escorting a group of grain carriages into the square.
Upon seeing this, the citizens immediately stood up and lined up around the carriage. Their daily ration was only this meal. If they did not receive food here, they would have to tighten their belts and sleep hard tonight.
.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Municipal bureaucrats and police first spent a long time maintaining order, stopping and arresting more than a dozen refugees who were fighting for the front position, and then started today
distribution of rations.
However, every citizen who received the ration immediately fell silent. They looked at the food in their hands and couldn't believe that this was their food for the whole day:
A piece of bread as thin as a cicada's wings, a bowl of vegetable stew that smelled suspiciously, was as light as water, and was still cold.
This is still the daily quota for adult men. As for women and children, they don't even get a piece of bread, only a bowl of so-called vegetable stew.
Just for a moment, a series of complaints and roars resounded through San Martino Square:
"Are you kidding me? Yesterday I was able to get a piece of bread, but today I only have this small piece?!"
"I handed in three bags of flour, which is enough for me to eat until winter, but now I can only receive one piece of bread every day?!"
"Damn it, my bread is moldy! Can anyone eat this?"
"There are dead rats and cockroaches in my soup!"
...
Thousands of refugees waved their fists angrily and approached the municipal manager and the food convoy step by step.
The supervisor was so frightened that he dropped the account book in his hand. In front of him were thousands of refugees filled with grief, anger, and righteous indignation. It was impossible for him and dozens of police officers to deal with them alone.
Just when the situation became increasingly difficult to deal with, an officer suddenly rushed to the scene with more than a hundred soldiers.
Seeing the troops entering, the refugees who were shouting and cheering immediately became much restrained.
But they did not disperse, nor did the anger and unwillingness in their hearts. Everyone still stood there and stared coldly at these uninvited guests.
The city manager also immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know the purpose of this army coming here, he still hurried forward to shake hands with the officer and say thank you:
"You came just in time, sir, otherwise I would have been beaten to death by these unscrupulous people... If your troops have no other tasks, I wonder if you can help us maintain order on the scene. Today's rations will be distributed soon...
."
"Maintaining order? Sorry, we have other tasks now."
The officer sneered, not hiding his contempt for the unruly people in front of him. He walked straight to a grain carriage, patted the axle, and ordered loudly:
"Come here, take all these carriages back to the Southwest Bastion!"
Not only the citizens present widened their eyes, but even the municipal manager was shocked and quickly stopped him:
"What... what are you doing! Sir, these are rations to be distributed to the citizens!"
The officer ignored the municipal supervisor at all, and while ordering his men to start driving the car, he calmly took out a cut cigar and held it in his mouth. In Turin at the moment, the living conditions of these soldiers are undoubtedly the most generous.
He puffed on the spot for a while, not caring about the hateful looks of the citizens, and then casually threw the half-smoked cigar in the puddle at his feet:
"I am the grain collection officer of the city defense force. The task I received is to once again collect the grain reserves in the hands of the people. It just so happens that your rations have not been distributed yet. We will save the money from these idiots.
Want to come back."
The citizens who heard this were stunned. They couldn't believe that they would see such a ridiculous scene with their own eyes.
Before the city hall even distributed relief grains to itself, the army had to confiscate the grains to superiors again.
What the hell is this, left hand instead of right hand? What about these hungry civilians?! Is this world so absurd?!
The municipal manager was also shocked. He opened his mouth wide and it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence:
"But...but, these victims should..."
The officer obviously didn't have much patience anymore. He plucked his ears and sighed:
"Brother, your mission is to distribute food to civilians, and my mission is to collect food from civilians. So why bother? I can just take this convoy away and it will be over. We can get the best of both worlds. Okay
The officer spoke calmly and carelessly about the people in the square. In his eyes, those who had to crowd in the San Martino Square to receive food rations were just the most humble poor people in the city.
There was silence. Everyone was silent for this ridiculous scene, and in this silence, endless anger was quietly brewing.
Rumors have long circulated in the city as to why the ration quota was suddenly cut.
Some people say that the food and wine bags in the army are not well taken care of, and all the grain reserves turned in by the citizens were destroyed in the flood. Others say that this is a microcosm of the corruption-ridden army. The grain they turned in is either circulated in the black market.
Or it was given to adults by flattering officers.
But no matter what the truth was, when they saw that the troops in front of them were trying to take away their last life-saving food, everyone became strangely angry.
A citizen who couldn't bear it jumped out. He stopped in front of the convoy and yelled:
"Are you going to watch your compatriots starve to death in the Royal City of Turin! You traitor to the nation!"
The officer chuckled dismissively:
"Traitor? I am a soldier. The bounden duty of a soldier is to obey. The collection of grain reserves is an order from His Majesty the King. All I have to do is to implement it to the end. But you are a madman. Are you questioning His Majesty's decision? Do you want to
Give up Turin to the Corsicans!"
This series of interrogations was frightening. During the war, no one dared to bear the charge of being a traitor.
The citizen subconsciously took a step back.
However, he was surprised to find that at some point, a human wall of dozens of angry citizens appeared behind him.
Everyone glared at the leading officer with blazing eyes, as if what he just said had entered their ears.
They knew they were trying to block the flow of traffic, but they still fought hard regardless of their own safety.
"Fuck you!"
The citizen stopped retreating. He clenched his fists and unexpectedly pounced towards the officer:
"So what about the king's orders! A king who doesn't love his people doesn't deserve our support!"
With this roar, the riot began.
Refugees from the entire San Martino Square gathered around and completely surrounded the troops who were trying to take away the rations.
The soldiers raised their muskets and tried to resist, but the distance between the two sides was too close. They didn't even have time to load their ammunition or assemble their bayonets, and they were overwhelmed by the swarming citizens.
The officer had already been completely beaten by the crowd. Perhaps he could not believe until his death that these damn idiots dared to attack an aristocratic officer.
Screams and roars intertwined in the Plaza San Martillo. In less than ten minutes, the food collection team that came to confiscate relief food was beaten to death by the angry citizens.
When the bureaucrats and policemen in the city hall saw this, they ran away, not daring to stay in this place of right and wrong for even a second.
The floor tiles in the square were spattered with blood, corpses of soldiers and civilians lay scattered everywhere, and a group of black crows hovered in the sky, ready to enjoy their meal at any time.
The people, whose hands were stained with blood, finally calmed down and looked at each other blankly without saying a word. Their faces were not filled with the pleasure of revenge or the joy of victory, but instead were full of bitterness and confusion.
Yes, they protected what they deserved from these bandits, but what should they do next?
Those officials who fled would inevitably report the situation here, and it wouldn't be long before the riot in San Martijó Square would be suppressed by a large army.
At that time, what other way do ordinary people like them, who are unarmed, do they have other options besides sitting back and waiting to be killed?
Do you want to flee like birds and animals? No, even if you can escape the pursuit of the army, won't you still have to struggle to survive in the hell of the siege of Turin?
Everyone is thinking about this question, but in fact everyone has the same answer tacitly:
If you don’t do one thing, you won’t stop doing the other thing.
...
The riots in Piazza San Martillo instantly ignited Turin.
The civilians struggling to survive in dark corners could no longer endure such hellish days. Even if an enemy army was watching outside the city, no one felt obligated to sacrifice their lives for the powerful.
They don't want to be treasonous, they just want to live.
Countless people joined the riot, and they gathered into an unstoppable flow of people with only one destination - the Royal Palace of Turin.
In the early stages of the riot, due to the traffic congestion caused by the city's flooding, the response of the army and police was extremely slow, and there was no time to nip the rebellion in its infancy.
And when the citizens gathered in large groups, the military and police did not dare to rashly suppress the huge crowd. No one dared to escalate the situation further before receiving orders from their superiors and the king.
Soon, thousands of suffering people completely surrounded the palace, and the streets were filled with floating boats. The curses continued all day long, and everyone screamed and asked His Majesty the King to give them a way out.
.
Carlo Emanuele III, who was presiding over the proceedings before the court, was in a daze for a long time after hearing the news. He did foresee the uneasiness of the people, but he never expected that this riot would come so quickly.
It is obviously impossible to use the army to suppress this riot. Half of Turin has already raised the banner of resistance. If a mass killing starts at this time, let alone whether the Corsicans outside the city will take advantage of it.
Enter, the loss of prestige caused by such bloody suppression is not something Carlo Emanuele III can accept.
The old king absolutely did not want to leave a kingdom of Sardinia with turbulent people to Prince Vittorio.
The Alderman, the Home Secretary and the War Secretary took turns trying to negotiate with the mob on behalf of His Majesty the King in exchange for their departure.
But the extremely angry citizens did not accept the persuasion of these ministers at all. They demanded to see His Majesty the King in person and obtain the King's personal commitment.
The people became even more angry and even began to attack the defense line formed by the palace guards. Even the irritable Minister of War was hit on the head with a stone while reprimanding the citizens.
The situation is getting increasingly out of hand, but Carlo Emanuele III still cannot accept the possibility of negotiating with public opinion representatives in person.
Although the old king is indeed an outstanding negotiator and has brought huge benefits to the Kingdom of Sardinia in several diplomatic negotiations, such a king who comes from the ancient Savoy dynasty will never negotiate with the mob.
of.
It is undoubtedly a great shame for a noble king to lower his dignity and personally negotiate with representatives of these mobs. This is his bottom line.
But just as His Majesty the King was going his own way and the situation was becoming increasingly tense, the Corsican army, aware of the unrest in the city of Turin, took action.
...
They did not send an army to attack. Instead, they sent a messenger alone in a small boat close to the city wall of Turin, claiming to be negotiating a contract with His Majesty the King of Sardinia on behalf of Prime Minister Bonaparte.
After obtaining permission to enter the city of Turin, the envoy did not enter the Turin Palace under the escort of soldiers. Instead, he requested that his personal safety be threatened, outside the palace, under the watchful eyes of thousands of Turin people.
Notify and submit peace terms to the Kingdom of Sardinia in public.
The treaty brought by this messenger can be summarized in only four simple articles:
First: The Kingdom of Sardinia officially announces the transfer of sovereignty over Sardinia and its affiliated islands to the Kingdom of Corsica, and permanently gives up all claims to Sardinia and its affiliated islands; the Kingdom of Sardinia can retain the legal status of the kingdom,
Renamed the Kingdom of Savoy.
Second: The Nice area obtained by the Kingdom of Sardinia in the "1748 Treaty of Aachen" needs to be returned to the Kingdom of France.
This chapter is not over, please click the next page to continue reading! Third: The Kingdom of Sardinia pays a war indemnity of 120 million livres or the equivalent of gold and silver to the Kingdom of Corsica every year for ten years. The indemnity is paid by
San Giorgio Bank received one-third of the compensation for the establishment of the Turin Investment Fund for the post-disaster reconstruction and recovery of the city of Turin.
Fourth: The Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Naples, and the Kingdom of Spain reached an unconditional peace, gave up all diplomatic relations with the Sicilian rebel forces, and withdrew from the Italian War.
After reading the peace treaty brought by the Corsican army in public, the envoy also promised the thousands of citizens present in the name of Prime Minister Bonaparte:
If Carlo Emanuele III and his cabinet accept this treaty, the Corsican army will not only not enter Turin, but will also immediately remove the Po River embankment and lift the water attack on the city of Turin.
Even facing the dilemma of food shortage within the city, Prime Minister Bonaparte expressed that out of humanism and sympathy for his Italian compatriots, he could immediately give a batch of Corsican army supplies to the people of Turin, even if the King of Sardinia
Do not accept this peace treaty.
Listening to the messenger's words echoing in the square in front of the court, thousands of citizens fell silent, and the scene was completely silent.
Everyone hates the Corsicans who brought about this catastrophe, but from a realistic perspective, from their perspective, from the perspective of a group of small citizens struggling to survive in the besieged city, the treaty and treaty sent by the Corsicans
Prime Minister Bonaparte's promises are indeed very attractive.
The most important two items in the treaty are nothing more than the cession of Sardinia and Nice, but what does this have to do with these mere mortals?
Will the gold and silver in Sardinia and the silk and pearls in Nice fall into the pockets of poor people like them who have nothing?
As for the impact that losing these two territories would have on the country, few ordinary citizens would consider it.
"Fuck national affairs, I just want a piece of bread and a dry bed."
This is the cry from the heart of thousands of civilians struggling to survive in the floods.
Moreover, Prime Minister Laurence Bonaparte also promised that the army would not enter the city of Turin. This made the citizens who were worried about the burning, killing and looting after the Corsicans entered the city breathed a sigh of relief. They were already struggling on the edge of life and death and absolutely did not want to do so.
Let’s face the sharp blades of the Corsican people who drink raw hair and drink blood.
As for the part of the peace treaty that one-third of the war reparations would be used for investment in Turin, as well as Prime Minister Bonaparte's promise to donate Corsican military supplies to the people of Turin, it made the citizens present even more difficult.
Confidence.
This is a truth that everyone understands.
I have never heard of an enemy commander offering to deliver supplies to a besieged city, let alone spending empty war reparations on enemy citizens.
But for a siege commander who was sure of victory, Laurence Bonaparte's behavior was no less than the mercy of the Virgin Mary. After all, he could just wait for the food in the city to run out and watch the famine and plague raging in Turin.
In the end, the city was captured easily.
And if the Corsican people's kindness is rejected, although the messenger did not say it explicitly, his words already hinted that Turin will face another attack on the day when its city is broken, after the floods, famines and plagues are raging.
There will be a catastrophe of massacre.
Although they did not talk to each other, the vast majority of citizens had a thought in mind:
Let this flood recede, let this hell dissipate, let peace come, all this suffering is enough!
From the first day when the flood poured into the city, it was impossible to defend Turin!
The aristocrats can dance and dance in their mansions until they die, but we people may not even be able to see the sun tomorrow!
Soon, the people's demands for the Turin Palace changed.
They no longer asked Carlo Emanuele III to increase the rations per person and clean up corruption in the army and city hall. No one would place their hope in the superior but stupid and incompetent military officers and municipal bureaucrats.
Peace, peace once and for all, is now the only demand of nearly 100,000 people in Turin.
...
A moment later, the Foreign Minister forwarded to His Majesty the King the peace treaty brought by the Corsican envoy, as well as the latest demands of the people outside the palace.
After hearing all this, Carlo Emanuele III was in a daze for a long time. It took a full five minutes to finally come back to his senses, and only one sentence came out of his mouth:
"Laurence Bonaparte... as sinister as a snake and as cunning as a ferret, he truly deserves his reputation..."
"His Majesty..."
The Foreign Secretary raised his head cautiously and persuaded him wisely:
"Since the Corsicans want to use their logistical supplies to win over people's hearts, why don't we take advantage of their tactics and accept the supplies they send to defend Turin first, and then wait for His Highness Vittorio..."
"You idiot!"
His Majesty the King suddenly became angry, and the disappointment in his words could not be concealed. At this time, the King was too lazy to be polite to this useless foreign minister:
"Do you think Laurence Bonaparte's proposal to deliver supplies to us was really motivated by some kind of humanism? What kind of sympathy for his fellow Italians? He knew that I would never accept this proposal, so he deliberately said it to those people
Citizens listen!”
How could the old king not know that it was absolutely impossible for the defenders in the city to accept this ridiculous proposal of the Corsican people? If they accepted it, the Corsican people would definitely take advantage of the situation and put forward a series of additional requirements, such as that all supplies must be provided by
The Corsicans personally escorted him into the city.
And by then, who can guarantee that the cabins used by the Corsicans to transport grain will be filled with fully armed soldiers, preparing to stage a Trojan horse in the eighteenth century?
Carlo Emanuele III could already conclude at this time that Laurence Bonaparte was sure that he would not accept it, so he deliberately leaked the news to thousands of people.
After all, as a result, public opinion has become:
"Prime Minister Laurence Bonaparte was compassionate and took the initiative to send supplies to the suffering people of the enemy country; His Majesty the King of Sardinia became so angry that he would rather his people starve to death than accept charity from the Corsican people."
At that time, those people will not care whether the Corsican proposal will lead to the fall of Turin. They will only feel that His Majesty the King in the palace puts his face above the lives of his people.
As for the so-called part of the peace treaty that one-third of the war reparations would be set up as a Turin investment fund, Carlo Emanuele III could see at a glance that this was not what the envoy claimed at all.
Compensate ordinary people for their losses in the war.
The purpose of Lawrence Bonaparte's move was simply to coerce the public opinion in Turin so that he could monopolize and control the entire financial sector of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future.
Although he has not yet seen the detailed treaty sent by the Corsicans, Carlo Emanuele III can already guess that the Corsicans will definitely add a large number of additional clauses to ensure that this investment fund will be in the kingdom's financial market.
privileges in the world, and complete Corsican control over the Foundation.
Once this so-called investment fund is established, it will have abundant funds, powerful political privileges, and enthusiastic support from the general public. With these unique advantages, the Turin Investment Fund will become a major player in the Kingdom's financial community in a very short period of time.
of excellence.
And such a foundation that represents the citizen class and monopolizes the entire country's financial industry is actually controlled by Corsicans.
Then the countless profits it earns will naturally flow to Ajaccio instead of staying in Turin.
However, those who can see this level are destined to be only a handful of people like Carlo Emanuele III who have received a good diplomatic education.
The general public is ignorant, and Carlo Emanuele III once again deeply realized this truth.
At this point, if he objects to the establishment of the Turin Investment Fund, I am afraid that the first people to be angry will not be the Corsicans, but the 200,000 people in Turin. They will only rebuke His Majesty the King for preferring to give gold and silver to
The Corsicans were not willing to stay to benefit their own people.
And Carlo Emanuele III had already realized that the Corsican envoy's biggest purpose in coming to Turin was not to hand over the treaty at all. He had come to confuse Bonaparte from the beginning.
people's hearts, adding another fire to the already urgent Turin riots.
In the end, Laurence Bonaparte, who was firmly behind the scenes, could gain both fame and fortune, and reap the fruits of victory under the admiration of the citizens of Turin.
"Brilliant, really brilliant..."
After being furious, Carlo Emanuele III collapsed on the throne exhausted, muttering to himself:
"Landing at Valdolidore, raiding Genoa, dividing his forces to contain Vittorio, launching a surprise attack on Turin from the direction of Genoa, building embankments and attacking with water for two weeks, and finally demagogueing and manipulating public opinion. Laurence Bonaparte is really a master of tactics.
, even if I were twenty years younger, I'm afraid..."
The situation had reached a critical moment, and the old king had neither the energy nor the desire to rebuke Laurence Bonaparte for his hypocritical words and deeds.
The two of them were from the same land and were the supreme ruler over ten thousand people. Carlo Emanuele III himself understood very well that hypocrisy was just a compulsory course for an ambitious man.
Carlo Emanuele III also understood that although he had seen through Laurence Bonaparte's scheme, it was already too late.
The siege of Turin has become a dead end. Even if the most skilled chess player takes over the game, it will still be of no avail, not to mention that he is one of the most outstanding chess players on the continent.
With this thought in mind, the old king looked at the peace treaty at hand.
"His Majesty!"
Seeing that His Majesty the King seemed to be seriously considering the treaty in hand, the Foreign Minister was immediately shocked. He would not accept the fact of the Kingdom's defeat under any circumstances.
Prince Vittorio also led an army of 10,000 men and had an absolute advantage in strength. How could he sign this humiliating treaty without fighting a single soldier:
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's army has not yet fought with the main force of the Corsican army. We can feign surrender to delay until..."
"No need."
Carlo Emanuele III gently interrupted the Foreign Minister. The moment he accepted the defeat of the Kingdom of Sardinia in his heart, his body and mind relaxed, and his voice became much calmer:
"This treaty needs to be signed by the French. If it is torn up hastily after signing, not only Sardinia and Nice will be lost."
Like the last treaty signed with the Republic of Genoa, Lawrence also included the Kingdom of France as a co-signatory of the treaty. Based on the diplomatic experience of Carlo Emanuele III, Lawrence's intention can naturally be seen.
Although Louis XV's war-weary mentality is well known, France is also eager to regain the Savoy region. Since France formed an alliance with Austria, the focus of France's expansion in Europe has been on Savoy and Nice in the south.
.
On the surface, the Duke of Choiseul is still trying his best to expand the war in Italy. If the Kingdom of Sardinia tears up the peace treaty at this time, it will undoubtedly give the Kingdom of France a handle. The French army may be defeated in three days.
Will drive into Savoy.
The Savoy and Piedmont regions are the capital of the entire kingdom, and their importance is far from being comparable to that of Sardinia. If Savoy is abandoned in order to preserve Sardinia, Carlo Emanuele III himself
None of them could face the ancestors of the Savoy dynasty in the sky.
"But...!"
The Foreign Secretary wanted to say something more, but Carlo Emanuele III was impatient to listen.
He also had to admit that Laurence Bonaparte's treaty was drawn up just right. While the lion opened his mouth, he also controlled the intensity just above his own bottom line.
This chapter is not over, please click the next page to continue reading! If the treaty requires the cession of Savoy to France, then Carlo Emanuele III would rather risk being overthrown by a mob of two hundred thousand people.
We must defend Turin, and even if Turin is lost, we must order Prince Vittorio to resist to the end.
But if it is Sardinia, this island was originally a spoil of war obtained by the kingdom from the War of Spanish Succession. Its greatest role is only to turn over some financial revenue to the kingdom and provide a kingdom title.
As for Nice, when it held Sardinia, this seaport city was the kingdom's most important trade outlet. However, now that Sardinia is about to be ceded to the Corsicans, the importance of this city has been greatly reduced.
Already.
There were only two people in the empty throne room, the Foreign Minister and the King. Carlo Emanuele III quietly looked at the treaty in his hand without saying a word, but in fact he knew that he had nothing to do with the Corsican people.
Bargaining money is gone.
...
Suddenly, an officer of the Royal Guards broke into the throne room and asked anxiously:
"The mob is already attacking the palace gate, and many of them are armed! Your Majesty, please give the order to fire, otherwise the Turin Palace will..."
"well..."
The long sigh echoed in the throne room, even covering the officer's anxious shouting.
Time is running out.
Carlo Emanuele III stood up, staggering, but managed to steady himself with the help of the Foreign Minister and the military officer.
Although he knew that this was the wisest and most rational decision, and even though he thought he was well prepared, Carlo Emanuele III still couldn't stop thinking about signing his name on that shameful treaty.
I felt dizzy.
The king's eyes were blurry and he could no longer see the main hall in front of him. All he could see were the wars and wars of the past forty years.
He once led 20,000 troops to deal with nearly 60,000 French and Spanish allied forces, protecting the country under the siege of the two major powers; he also defeated the French army in the Battle of Asita, and was hailed as a rare war genius in the world.
The three major powers, France, Spain, and Austria, surrounded the land of the Kingdom of Sardinia; the War of Polish Succession, the War of Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years' War were three major wars that swept across the land of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
He sought opportunities in these cracks, preserving his kingdom while expanding his territory in northern Italy.
In Vienna, his eloquence won applause, and in Aachen, his diplomatic skills were astonishing. The signing of the "Peace of Vienna" in 1738 and the "Treaty of Aachen in 1748" also brought large areas of territory to the entire kingdom.
Langhe, Torto, Novara and Nice, he personally incorporated these lands into the territory of the kingdom.
Frederick the Great of Prussia praised him highly, while Louis XV of France was very afraid of his uncle.
The great achievements of the past forty years continued to flash before the old king's eyes, but they could not arouse any joy or pride. They only made him feel that the reality in front of him became increasingly cold and cruel:
The Kingdom of Sardinia was defeated, at the hands of the Corsicans.
Carlo Emanuele III was defeated, defeated by Laurence Bonaparte.
The foundations of the country for forty years were all given to the Kingdom of Corsica in one fell swoop.
If I were twenty years younger, and if my control over the kingdom was still the same as it was twenty years ago, would all this be different?
The old king shook his head and threw all illusions away:
"Bring me the pen, ink and seal."
After a while, he took the quill pen handed by the attendant and signed his cursive name on the peace contract tremblingly, writing slowly but without hesitation.
Then, under the blank gaze of the Foreign Minister, the old king opened the golden seal and used all his strength to stamp the white cross coat of arms of the Savoy dynasty below the signature.
Since Carlo Emanuele III succeeded to the throne, this coat of arms has appeared on victory peace treaties countless times, and he never thought that one day he would end up in an unequal treaty that was humiliating and humiliating the country.
Stamped with this elegant and exquisite coat of arms.
He handed the signed peace treaty to the Foreign Minister, and the quill in his hand slipped to the ground inadvertently:
"Reply to the envoy of the Corsican Army. The Kingdom of Sardinia has accepted their conditions. This news has also been announced to the citizens of the whole city. The peace they want has arrived."