Chapter 3: The Banquet at Hong Gate

Franz and Aleksandr's meeting still yielded constructive results. The relations between Russia and Austria quickly began to warm up. Minor conflicts caused by the Pudan War vanished like smoke.

Kingdom of Sardinia

The Austrian army was packing up. The ceasefire agreement had already been signed, half of the war reparations had been paid, and the British government provided a guarantee for the remainder. The time for the troops to withdraw had come.

Franz had no intention of breaking the agreement. If possible, he wouldn't mind immediately withdrawing the troops, as maintaining a large army abroad was costly.

However, having occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia once, it was impossible for the Austrian army to leave without taking something. Every soldier wanted their share of the spoils.

With so many spoils, transportation became a hassle. Selling them locally in the recently war-torn Sardinia would yield a low price, with some goods even lacking potential buyers.

Field Marshal Radetzky was a competent commander. To protect everyone's interests, he decided that the army would transport the goods back to the country for sale, and then the profits would be distributed among everyone.

...

Turin Industrial Area

A Major was directing nearby, "Be careful, Tom. These machines are extremely valuable, said to be worth tens of thousands of schillings. You can't turn them into scrap metal; we wouldn't even earn back our transportation costs!"

"Don't worry, Major. I wouldn't dare let these treasures get damaged," Tom replied.

The bandits come and go as they wish, the soldiers too.

Since the Vienna government decided to abandon the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Austrian army fully utilized their initiative and began their journey to riches.

Of course, they found it tedious to rob ordinary citizens. Robbing a noble or a capitalist yielded far greater rewards than plundering an entire village. The choice was easy.

Marshal Radetzky had strict military discipline; they plundered with organization. Each troop was assigned a region, and then they took action.

Such acts required specialized knowledge. European armies always had a tradition of plundering. During the wars against France, the Kingdom of Sardinia had been frequently "visited" by the French army.

In the process of robbing and being robbed, everyone also learned to hide their wealth.

Properties and lands weren't a concern. These immovable assets were safe. The challenge was how to hide easily transportable valuables like cash, antiques, and paintings.

The nobles and capitalists weren't foolish. They began hiding their treasures even before the enemy arrived. After all, as long as they didn't resist, the army would usually only plunder without killing.

How much they could hide depended on their skills. Experienced individuals knew to hide the most valuable items but leave some cash available for the soldiers to take.

If everything was hidden, there was a risk of losing it all. How could the soldiers possibly leave empty-handed? And if they were to use torture?

Torture wasn't just Li Zicheng's monopoly. Many had resorted to such methods, although none as brutally as him.

Someone as principled as Franz wouldn't let the Austrian army engage in such unrefined acts.

Before the operation, soldiers had been trained on handling valuable items. For example, they were taught to handle antiques and machinery with care. Areas like basements, hidden cabinets, hollow walls, and freshly turned soil, where treasures might be hidden, were the primary focus of their search.

Professionalism was the key. A disciplined and educated plundering troop was highly efficient, and they accumulated abundant spoils of war.

During this era, there wasn't a railway connecting the Kingdom of Sardinia to Austria. Transportation mainly depended on manpower and animals, which was naturally slow.

Starting from August, the Austrian army began transporting these assets back home, and they continued to do so diligently.

A soldier reported, "Major, we've found a warehouse full of black wheat, said to belong to a grain merchant."

The Major frowned and hesitated, "We have already confiscated a lot of grain. We're about to withdraw, and we can't consume all of it. Seal it for now, and wait for orders. I'll report this."

Austria wasn't short of grain. Transporting it from the Kingdom of Sardinia at a high cost was hardly profitable, making it a worthless spoil of war.

...

Expeditionary Army Headquarters

Marshal Radetzky had received numerous reports of seized grain, coal, ores, and other industrial raw materials.

For Austria, these assets were of little value. Transporting them back would not be profitable and might not even cover the transportation costs.

To leave them for the Sardinian government was not something he could easily accept. Following this conflict, the relations between the two countries wouldn't normalize for decades. Weakening the power of the Kingdom of Sardinia was in Austria's best interest.

Should he destroy them? Marshal Radetzky hesitated.

"Marshal, why not sell these materials at a low price to merchants?" General Edmund Leopold Friedrich proposed.

One must choose who to rob carefully. Merchants from England and France, naturally, were not targets for looting. Of course, this only applied to major merchants with backing. Smaller merchants, if robbed, were just robbed.

After the Austrian army occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia, there were merchants interested in purchasing the spoils of war. However, due to their extremely low offers, Marshal Radetzky, not willing to incur such a loss, opted to transport them back home for sale.

After pondering for a moment, Marshal Radetzky replied, "Let's sell them then!"

One should not hold grudges, especially not against money. No matter how cheaply these basic materials are sold, the total sum will still be substantial.

As for the consequences of these materials falling into the hands of foreign merchants, Marshal Radetzky didn't bother contemplating. Regardless, it wouldn't bode well for the Kingdom of Sardinia.

...

Inside the Vienna St. Stephen's Cathedral, a religious feast was unfolding, with Pope Pius IX personally "attending" the meeting.

Yes, he was just attending the meeting. Even though he was the head of the religious world, his power and influence had diminished significantly. While not entirely humiliated, he had lost the authority to make unilateral decisions.

Faced with the terms proposed by the Austrians, he found no reason to decline.

The fall of the Vatican headquarters meant that in order to reclaim it, selling some church assets to raise military funds seemed inevitable.

Whoever opposes this, lacks true faith in God. And those in the clergy lacking such devotion have no right to continue serving the Almighty.

This was just the view of Pope Pius IX. Many Austrian bishops felt it was quite unreasonable. With so many assets of the Church, why should they sell the properties under their jurisdiction?

"Enough of this quarrel. It's an order. Anyone opposing the reclamation of the Holy Land, I will strip them of their bishopric right now!" Pope Pius IX threatened.

Stripping of their duties might just be the first step. A worse fate might await them.

They weren't Protestants, who might ignore Papal decrees, nor were they powerful nobles who could march troops to Rome and force the Pope to retract an order.

Blinded by their interests, the world has never lacked individuals such as Bishop Montreuil.

Unlike long-standing bishops who had reaped their rewards, he had just assumed his position. Montreuil had invested all he had for this position and had not yet reaped its benefits.

And now, a massive sale of church assets would cut off his financial pipeline.

Glancing around the hall, seeing the anger on every bishop's face, he mustered some courage.

It wasn't the Middle Ages anymore. Why was the Pope so domineering?

"Your Holiness, the clergy needs to eat. If we sell the church assets, what will we live on?" Montreuil questioned.

"As servants of God, we are not here for luxury. The church's income is enough to sustain the clergy," Pope Pius IX said dismissively.

The church still had revenues, especially in a devout country like Austria where believers would donate.

Montreuil continued, "But Your Holiness, the church needs to operate. If funds are insufficient, we can't guarantee the faith of the people won't wane."

With devout sincerity, Pope Pius IX responded, "A devout believer must overcome such challenges. If you cannot bear this responsibility, let someone capable take over."

Those who were about to support him chose to remain silent. Clearly, the Austrian government was eyeing the church's wealth. For the sake of reclaiming the Papal State, Pope Pius IX had sold them out.

Stripping a bishop of his duties was a minor issue. Without their divine aura, they were no match for the government.

Seeing the previously indignant bishops now quieted, Montreuil realized he was done for.

He had inadvertently become a sacrificial lamb. At this point, he didn't even have the courage to defend himself.

Admitting guilt might lead to a lesser punishment. If he continued to resist, death would be a light sentence. His entire family might face repercussions.

Don't think Europe didn't have collateral punishments. Even if they wouldn't go as far as punishing nine generations, targeting his family was very likely.

Witnessing Montreuil's submissive guilt, Pope Pius IX was satisfied with his show of authority.

With no opposition, Prime Minister Felix was invited forth.

In the sight of God, Pope Pius IX representing the Vatican and Felix representing the Austrian government signed the Church Asset Transfer Agreement.