The next day, after the sun had risen.

The battle results from yesterday were finally tallied. The Heixinggen Brigade suffered 256 casualties, including 78 deaths, and three people went missing.

In the French 54th Brigade, 2,324 were captured last night, 687 were killed in action, and the remaining personnel fled into the forest. By the next day, more than a hundred, who had gotten lost, gradually returned and surrendered to the Heixinggen Brigade.

The commander of the French 54th Brigade, Aled, was stabbed to death in the chaotic battle last night, with two knife wounds on his body. Due to the dim lighting, it is unknown who killed him.

This battle was undoubtedly a great victory, but the casualties of over two hundred made Heinrich feel a bit heartbroken. However, the seasoned Leopold remarked, "War is so cruel!"

...

The Prussians and French fought fiercely, and now Prussia had the upper hand, while the Kingdom of Italy could no longer hold back.

"Your Majesty, our intelligence agents have confirmed that the last French troops withdrew on July 28th. Now that Germany and Prussia have begun fierce fighting, it is the perfect opportunity for us to reclaim Rome!"

Emmanuel II said, still somewhat worried, "The current situation on the front lines is unclear. We don't know if the French have the ability to interfere with Italian unification. What if Prussia loses and the French settle accounts in the fall?"

"This is not something we should worry about. Now both countries, Prussia and France, have to act according to our wishes. Whichever side we join, the scales of victory will tip in their favor, so both countries will do their utmost to win us over. Therefore, if we annex the Pope Country at this time, they will only remain silent." said the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"If we don't take the initiative now, there won't be such a good opportunity in the future. France and Prussia are currently stalemated in Alsace and Lorraine, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army is also distracted by Prussia and Tsarist Russia. All obstacles to the Italian unification cause have disappeared!" As one of the three founding heroes of Italy, Garibaldi also said, "Last time, if it weren't for Napoleon III's betrayal, Italy would have already achieved unification. Now that Napoleon III is held up by the Prussians, we cannot hesitate any longer, Your Majesty!"

Italian unification was Garibaldi's long-cherished wish, and after France declared war on Prussia, Garibaldi saw an opportunity. This is also the reason he appeared in the Italian royal palace.

Emmanuel II was a rather cautious person, but when his subordinates urged him in unison, he wavered and was about to speak.

"Your Majesty, something's wrong!" An intelligence officer rushed in holding a telegram.

"What happened?"

"Just yesterday, Your Holiness in Rome and the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued a joint statement. The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared that Rome is the holy site for all Catholic countries, and its sovereignty is sacred and inviolable. The Pope also announced that the Pope Country is under the protection of the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

...

Let's travel back to a day before.

Rome.

French troops had withdrawn. If you ask who was the most panicked, it had to be the Roman Catholic Church. Even though Pope Pius IX pleaded repeatedly, the French still withdrew.

With no protection from the French, Pius IX knew there was no one left to curb the ambitions of the Kingdom of Italy.

Pius IX certainly didn't want to become a prisoner. The problem was that once the French withdrew, what could his ragtag group do to resist the army of the Kingdom of Italy?

He didn't believe that the Kingdom of Italy would show leniency just because of his papal identity. Last time, that fellow named Garibaldi nearly captured Rome.

Just as Pius IX was in a fluster, not knowing what to do, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's envoy arrived.

"Your Holiness, our Austro-Hungarian Empire is willing to offer protection to your country. However, as a condition, the Pope Country must steadfastly stand with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, opposing the Kingdom of Italy's atrocities."

This condition was hardly a condition at all for the cornered Pius IX. If anyone opposed Italian unification the most, it was definitely himself.

Subsequently, under the guidance of the Austro-Hungarian envoy, the Pope Country signed a bunch of agreements with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including garrison rights.

Then both sides summarized the agreement's contents and released them, almost openly declaring to the Kingdom of Italy that the Pope Country was under their protection.

...

"This is outrageous!" Even Emmanuel II, as tolerant as he was, could not endure such humiliation. Although the last war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire wasn't particularly glorious, it was a victory nonetheless.

Now, the Austrian Empire is a thing of the past, and Emmanuel II, as a neighbor, understands better than anyone the state of the current Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is nothing compared to the former Austrian Empire.

Moreover, this time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is threatened by Russian armies in the east and strictly guarded by Prussia in the north. How can it compare to Italy?

Most importantly, just as the French leave, they go and make some damn statement with the Pope without asking for his opinion?

Emmanuel II leaned towards believing that this time Franz wanted to use the Austro-Hungarian Empire's influence to intimidate him. Now that the French were gone from Rome, it was essentially left for the Kingdom of Italy to govern.

The Austrians chose this time to stand up for the Pope Country, actually fearing that Italy would annex the Pope Country and achieve unification. A unified Italy, Emmanuel II thought, could challenge the current Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"Your Majesty, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is merely trying to exert pressure through diplomacy, hoping we'll back down, which aligns with the Habsburg style. But this time, Franz has miscalculated. Now Rome is isolated and helpless, and it's impossible for the Austrians to fly over the Adriatic Sea to personally support the Pope Country," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"The only thing the Austro-Hungarian Empire can do is make some small moves in the Venice area. Their main forces now have to guard against Tsarist Russia and Prussia, so as long as we strengthen defense work in the Venice area, they have no way and can only watch us annex the Pope Country," Garibaldi also said.

Garibaldi naturally had the support to say this. The last time, Garibaldi had led over a thousand volunteers to annihilate an Austrian battalion and captured more than 400 people. Through guerrilla warfare, he caused great trouble for Austrian Marshal Radetzky. Garibaldi had engaged French troops many times, so he was not overly fearful of these so-called great powers.

Although Garibaldi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs made compelling points, Emmanuel II still hesitated, feeling that this was not the right time for Italian action.

So he asked, "Could the Austro-Hungarian Empire's targeting of us at this time be similar to what France did last time..."

Last time, France had teamed up with Austria and Spain under the banner of Catholic countries to prevent Italy's unification of Rome.

"No, France now is preoccupied with its affairs, and Spain has just gone through turmoil. Moreover, the current Spanish king is one of our own, so the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot ally with any country this time."

Currently, King Amadeo I of Spain was the second prince of the Kingdom of Italy, Prince Amadeo. Thus, Spain might even support Italy, or at least the king himself might support Italy.

After repeatedly checking every potential fallback plan of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Emmanuel II finally felt at ease.

"In that case, let's march on Rome! However, to prevent Austro-Hungarian interference, we must station more troops in Venice. Deploy the elite of the kingdom to guard against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and as for Rome, let Mr. Garibaldi conquer it with the kingdom's other troops!"