Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 482

Chapter 482: Chapter 55, The Rome Uprising Breaks Out
 

The crisis of faith was a problem, but it was also an opportunity. At this time, the Vatican was so preoccupied with its own troubles that it created favorable conditions for the government to intervene in the Church’s internal affairs.

If the government had the right to punish clergy, then from now on, the Church could only submit.

Otherwise, they would be investigated for violations of canon law. It’s not outlandish to say that out of ten clergy members, seven or eight could be found in violation without any issue whatsoever.

The remaining two or three shouldn’t be complacent either. If they haven’t yet violated canon law, it’s only temporary or simply hasn’t been discovered. As long as the government wishes, problems can be found sooner or later.

It wasn’t just Franz who kicked the Church when it was down; the crisis of faith significantly reduced the Church’s status in the eyes of the people, and governments across Europe unanimously cut back the Church’s privileges.

With the end of this turmoil, the thousand-year struggle between imperial and ecclesiastical authority on the European Continent also drew to a close. This time, imperial authority won an absolute victory, and the Church lost any chance of turning the tables.

All of this was in the future, and Napoleon III didn’t have the leisure to enjoy the fruits of victory yet, as a mess of thoughts continually refreshed the values of the French populace.

Citizens against the Church and those in support of it came to blows on the streets of Paris, with some even resorting to gunfire. In the end, it was Napoleon III who ordered the garrison to intervene and quell the battle.

Revolutionaries hidden in the shadows thought the time for revolution had come and jumped out one after another to create chaos, making Paris a devil’s playground for a time.

Paris was in chaos, and the situation in the Italian Area was even more severe. Amidst the turmoil, the revolutionaries saw an opportunity.

The founder of the Italian Youth Party, Mazzini, and the leader of the Italian National Liberation Army, Garibaldi, had both secretly returned to the country, ready to launch an armed uprising and overthrow French rule.

The rebellion hadn’t even started when divisions arose within the rebel army. Ideological leader Mazzini and military leader Garibaldi clashed over their visions.

Garibaldi, passionate and animated, said, “Napoleon III’s behavior has already caused a rift with the Vatican; they would kill him if they could.

Now is the best opportunity. We can join forces with the Church to launch an uprising and overturn French rule in one fell swoop.”

The Italian Revolutionary Party’s strength was very limited, and it was divided into more than a dozen small and large organizations. They had come together temporarily only through British mediation, but in reality, they each went their own way.

To drive out the French as soon as possible, Garibaldi advocated for an alliance with the Church, using the Vatican’s strength to overthrow French rule.

Mazzini said with righteous indignation, “No, allying with the decayed Vatican is not a revolution at all; it is simply replacing one ruler of Italy with another.

Our revolution’s purpose is to drive out the French, topple feudal rule, and establish a united and free Italy.”

In the program of the Italian Youth Party, feudal rule also included the Vatican, and from the very beginning, the two sides stood opposed to each other.

This thinking had already spread widely across the Italian Area and gained the recognition of the majority of revolutionaries.

Originally, the goal was to drive out the Austrians; now it had shifted to the French. This was a result of both practical needs and compromise on all sides.

To reduce the difficulty, the revolutionaries decided to choose France as the primary enemy for the time being. After driving out the French, they would then consider the Austrian problem.

Ideological differences led to a split within the Revolutionary Party. It wasn’t because Garibaldi and Mazzini disregarded the bigger picture, but because compromise on their part was futile.

Both viewpoints found their champions within the party. Everyone knows one of the hardest things in the world is to inculcate one’s ideas into another’s mind.

After the French repression, the main force of the Revolutionary Party comprised zealous youths and idealists, people with a firm stance on revolution. Once they were set on a viewpoint, not even nine cows could pull them back.

The uprising hadn’t had the chance to break out when the party had already split internally. No, they had never been united; there were more than a dozen revolutionary leaders, with Garibaldi and Mazzini being the most influential.

The former had led armed uprisings and was the de facto martial support of the party; the latter was the proponent of the idea of a united Italy and the ideological leader of the party.

The uprising was launched despite their inability to reach an agreement because John Bull’s money was not easy to take. The revolutionaries didn’t produce anything, and without the financial support from their British backers, they would have starved sooner or later.

In fact, in this era, many European revolutionary parties were a case of bait-and-switch. While publicly chanting lofty slogans, they engaged in thieving and whoring behind the scenes.

There was no other way, for people need to eat, and revolutionaries were no exception. Either they had to cling to wealthy patrons or fend for themselves.

“Fending for themselves” was not so easy; the revolutionaries were not few in number and suffered from the problem of being conceited but unskilled. Keeping such a large group alive was not a simple task.

Counting on national donations was less realistic than expecting capitalists to donate. As the revolutionaries were essentially wanted criminals, they couldn’t publicly reveal themselves in the country.

Ordinary people didn’t have much money to spare, and even if they were willing to contribute generously, it was like a drop in the bucket—adequate only in quantity. This increased the risk of exposure since secrecy cannot be maintained when too many people are aware.

In the end, they could only hope for the capitalists to fork out the money; after all, their strength was solid. By contacting just a few capitalists, they could raise a sum of funds, significantly reducing the risk of exposure.

However, the capitalists’ money was not easy to come by, as these individuals were risking their lives to support the revolution, and they would expect a return on their investment.

Waiting for a return on their investment after the success of the revolution was out of the question. Not many capitalists were that foolish, and most did not look favorably upon the Revolutionary Party.

Even if the revolution succeeded, it did not mean that they would be able to take power. Without seeing a return on their investment, very few capitalists would engage in such business.

To secure funding, it was not surprising for them to do some shady dealings on behalf of these financiers. Often, the Revolutionary Party acted as the capitalists’ gloves, doing their dirty and exhausting work.

Of course, a significant part of this involved taking the blame for others. When the police couldn’t solve cases, they frequently pinned them on the Revolutionary Party.

There were, naturally, plenty of principled revolutionaries, but this group usually was quite poor and needed to work to earn money.

Most revolutionary organizations couldn’t even raise the funds needed to start an uprising, forcing these individuals to contact foreign powers out of necessity for financial aid.

Even though they knew they were making a deal with a tiger, reality forced them into compromise.

The Italian Revolutionary Party chose to compromise in the face of reality; without support against the French, no one had the confidence to win.

This was also Franz’s fault, as his excessive force when attacking the Kingdom of Sardinia had struck a blow to the Italians’ confidence, instilling in them a deep fear of the powers.

Later, when Garibaldi led the people of Naples in an uprising, they were brutally defeated by the French, which made them understand what “a gap in strength” meant.

This Italian uprising was also the result of British deceit and persuasion. The London Government assured the revolutionaries that if the uprising succeeded, they would organize European countries to intervene.

Without the British backing them, the revolutionaries would not dare to go all out. After all, they had only recently narrowly escaped from the French and had taken refuge in Britannia.

Garibaldi did not trust the British promises. If he had a choice, he wouldn’t wish to start an uprising at that time. To increase the chance of success, he chose to drag the Church into the fray.

“Dear Mr. Mazzini, the most important thing now is to drive out the French and let Italy become independent. Other issues can be deferred,”

If the revolution succeeded, they would have plenty of time to deal with the Church; if it failed, Napoleon III would take care of it for them.

At this stage, the uprising was like an arrow drawn on the bow that had to be released. For victory, compromises must be made.

This line of reasoning was not flawed. Napoleon III was suppressing the Church, and if a ripe excuse was presented to him, he certainly would not miss it.

Mazzini reluctantly accepted this reasoning. He had no choice, as the British had spent a great deal to secretly send them back. Without making a significant impact, how could they justify themselves?

However, persuading his subordinates was not an easy task. At least the current reasons were not enough; compromising with idealists was not ordinarily easy.

…

After numerous tribulations, the Italians still launched an armed uprising before Christmas in 1870, and with covert support from the Church, the Rebel Army quickly seized Rome.

Emotions surged in the Italian Area, and under the instigation of the revolutionaries, uprisings emerged everywhere, as if a new wave of revolution had erupted.

The sudden large-scale uprising in Rome was like a scorching slap on Napoleon III’s face, casting a shadow over the newborn Greater French Empire.

In the Palace of Versailles, an infuriated Napoleon III immediately roared, “The Army Department must dispatch troops to suppress the rebellion at all costs, and extinguish this insurrection as quickly as possible.

Execute all the leaders of the Revolutionary Party; yes, execute them by hanging. There’s no need for mercy this time; show no mercy and kill them all.”

Clearly, Napoleon III had been pushed to his limits. The recent troubles were too much for him to bear.

Minister of War Patrick McMahon promptly responded, “Yes, Your Majesty. We are ready. The Counter-Insurgency Forces will set out today.”

With His Majesty so angry, maximum efficiency was necessary. Patrick McMahon knew the gravity of the situation; regardless, the show had to go on.

Deploying troops to suppress the uprising on the same day was indeed a bit rushed. But that was fine as long as their forces were mobilized, which would suffice for an explanation to the Emperor.

It demonstrated the art of politics, which had to be executed impeccably. Patrick McMahon didn’t take the strength of the Revolutionary Party seriously and believed that the large troops could quash the rebellion at any moment.

The only difficulty was in how to capture all the enemies in one go, leaving no future trouble.