Chapter 276: Peace Negotiations

It is clearly visible that the Italian government's regard for Tunisia is unparalleled. Upon learning that the French government had already invaded Tunisia, the Italian government not only chose not to give up, but instead urgently deployed various measures to force the French government to back down.

The Italian government fully mobilized public opinion.

Speaking of the history of Italian unification, it is inseparable from the three countries of Germany, France, and Austria on the European continent.

The unification of Germany indirectly promoted the unification of Italy, because the two greatest enemies of German unification—the Austrian Empire and France—were also the two primary culprits hindering Italian unification.

At that time, the Austrian Empire occupied the three regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Trentino-Alto Adige, while the French government helped the Papal States control a large area of land near Rome.

Before Germany successively launched wars against Austria and France, the Kingdom of Sardinia had never been able to find an opportunity for Italian unification; the fundamental reason was that these two great powers were simply too strong compared to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

This also led to the fact that Italy's relationship with France had never been very good since unification. This Tunisia incident directly ignited Italian public opinion, and many Italians spontaneously took to the streets, holding up banners and launching protests demanding that the government militarily intervene in the war in Tunisia.

The Italian government also gained the support of Garibaldi. Even though Garibaldi was already bedridden, he still forced himself to write an article on the importance of defending Tunisia and published it in the *Sun*.

The newspaper, established by Gao Da when he was still a Duke, had become the most important newspaper in northern Italy after more than a decade of management by the Italian royal family—there was simply no other.

Garibaldi would also occasionally publish articles about Italian construction in the newspaper; these articles were generally published after being reviewed by the royal family.

It was precisely because of Garibaldi's immense popularity that the *Sun* quickly became Italy's largest newspaper. The Italian royal family was also able to earn a great deal of income every year through the expansion of the *Sun*'s scale, while simultaneously being able to directly influence Italian public opinion.

If it had previously been just spontaneous protests by the Italian public, then once the photos of Garibaldi's manuscript were published in the *Sun*, the incident of the French invasion of Tunisia immediately captured the attention of the vast majority of Italians.

By this time, the Tunisia incident was no longer a small matter. If the Italian government did not handle it well, the public outrage they had stirred up would very likely cause them to shoot themselves in the foot.

While the government was responsible for stirring up public sentiment, Umberto I had already sent a telegram to his younger brother, Gao Da, who was serving as King in Spain.

By the time Gao Da received the telegram, Garibaldi's manuscript had already been published in the Italian *Sun*.

Since Italy was already aware of the French invasion of Tunisia, this matter was no longer a dispute between a European great power and an indigenous country, but a dispute between great powers.

On the surface, Italy had good cooperative relations with both France and Spain, and France provided more funding and related industrial support to Spain than Italy did.

But for Spain, it was also necessary to consider the situation in North Africa after France occupied Tunisia.

Italy's occupation of Tunisia would not have much of an impact on Spain, but if France were to occupy Tunisia, the impact on Spain would definitely be significant.

There are not many African countries along the Mediterranean coast; counting them all, there are only five: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

France already occupied Algeria; if they were allowed to occupy Tunisia as well, the balance of power in North Africa would be broken.

At that point, France would only have two directions for expansion: either move west to occupy Morocco, which would offend Spain, or move east to occupy Libya, which would offend the United Kingdom.

Although Spain and France's relationship was still quite good at this time, Gao Da, putting himself in their shoes, also felt that offending Spain was better than offending the United Kingdom.

According to the current European situation, whether France offended Spain or the United Kingdom, it would ultimately be two bottles of poison.

But if one considered it from the perspective of choosing the lesser of two evils, offending the United Kingdom would certainly be more fatal than offending Spain.

Therefore, considering Spain's own interests, Gao Da would certainly lean more toward Italy. Moreover, Gao Da himself came from the Italian royal family and was the biological brother of the current King of Italy, Umberto I.

With Umberto I personally sending a telegram for help, Gao Da still had to provide the help that was due.

Later that same day, Gao Da sent a telegram to his older brother, Umberto I, in a private capacity.

Gao Da first reiterated the blood connection between the two royal families and also mentioned the alliance treaty signed between the two countries during the reign of their father, Vittorio Emanuele II, stating that Spain would stand on Italy's side in the conflict.

Having received Gao Da's clear support, Umberto I was immediately overjoyed and explained this good news to the government.

Gao Da's strong support allowed the Italian side to breathe a sigh of relief, and they were more confident in carrying out their subsequent actions.

As for the reason why Gao Da was willing to strongly support Italy, even at the cost of a war with France, besides the previously mentioned threat that a French occupation of Tunisia posed to Spain, there was also the consideration of the French government's current predicament.

To put it bluntly, France did have the strength to take on both Spain and Italy in a major war. The problem was, what benefit would it be to France to start a major war against two great powers for the sake of Tunisia?

Offending Spain and Italy to the death would only make France's diplomatic situation even worse; as long as the French government was sensible, it was impossible for them to start a war with Italy and Spain.

Of course, there could also be accidents.

However, this war was destined not to be a total war; if necessary, letting the Spanish soldiers see some blood would also be a good thing.

Even if a war broke out, the great powers would certainly mediate at the appropriate time. After all, for the British, whether France or Italy won, it would affect their regional balance policy in Europe.

The Italian government, having gained the support of Spain, was high-spirited, and they decided to indulge the domestic public opinion and let the domestic protests develop.

At this time on the streets of Rome, angry Italians gathered together, shouting slogans like "Frenchmen get out of Tunisia!" while holding up banners reading "The government must stop this evil war!" as they marched through the streets of Rome in a mighty procession.

At first it was just a protest, but when the marching crowd passed the embassy district and saw the French flag fluttering in the wind on the roof of a certain embassy, someone—it is unknown who—incited them, and the angry crowd immediately rushed toward the French embassy.

If not for the guards protecting the embassy, I fear that this once magnificent embassy would have been destroyed completely by the angry Italians in the first instance.

Inside the embassy, the French ambassador's face was turning shades of blue and purple. The French had never expected the Italians to be so reactive; Tunisia did not belong to Italy, so where did the Italians get so much anger?

Surprise aside, as a proper Frenchman, the French ambassador certainly understood how exaggerated the destructiveness of this group of angry Italians gathered together could be.

If this incident was not handled well, not to mention the state of relations between France and Italy, he, as the French ambassador, would certainly not be able to walk out of the embassy in one piece.

"Quickly send a telegram to the Italian government! How can they indulge these people in attacking the embassy district? Damn it, do the Italians want to start a war?" The French ambassador first looked at the situation outside through a window with trembling hands, and after discovering that the guards could hold out for a while longer, he hurriedly issued orders to his subordinates.

With a series of clattering sounds, a string of telegram contents was sent to the Italian government.

"Haha, the French finally know what it means to be anxious." Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli, after finishing reading all the telegram contents, first handed the original telegrams to Umberto I, and then said this to the cabinet members with a smile.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, it seems our guess was correct. The French likely do not have the confidence to fight us to the death; they are also worried about the threat posed by the Germans.

Since that is the case, I believe we can ask Spain to act as an intermediary and request that the French government negotiate with us.

Unless France is willing to pay the price of war, I believe the Tunisia incident can be resolved satisfactorily," the Italian Foreign Minister said to Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli with a smile.

Inducing the public to attack the French embassy was precisely a scheme by the Italian government to test the French side's attitude.

France certainly understood the extent to which Italy valued Tunisia; they dared to launch the invasion of Tunisia, so they must have estimated Italy's reaction and made full preparations.

If France were willing to pay the price of war, the French ambassador to Italy would certainly have received relevant news, and might even have delivered a declaration of war at a critical moment.

This would also mean that the French ambassador would be quite tough and would not worry at all about falling out with Italy.

Of course, to prevent things from backfiring, the Italian government had also prepared a portion of guards in advance. As long as the guards at the French embassy could not hold out, these guards would swarm in to ensure the safety of the French embassy.

After all, to put it bluntly, an embassy represents the dignity and face of a country to the outside world and is inviolable. If the Italian government indulged the Italian public in destroying the French embassy, and even the French ambassador did not escape unscathed, then even if France did not want to start a war, it would have to answer to the French public.

From the telegram sent by the French ambassador to the Italian government, it could be seen that the French government's attitude was not that tough.

This also meant that the matter of the French invasion of Tunisia was negotiable; as long as Italy was a bit tougher, France would also have to consider the cost of completely falling out.

"Send more men to protect the safety of the embassy, and at the same time use the police to disperse the protesting crowd as much as possible. Be careful not to use force; if the crowd cannot be dispersed peacefully, then just let them stay there.

It also happens to tell the French that it is not just the Italian government that is angry; the Italian public is even more angry at their act of unprovoked aggression against Tunisia," Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli said after laughing for a while, and then issued the order.

The French embassy certainly still had to be protected; if the embassy were destroyed, it would be no different from slapping the French government directly in the face.

As long as the French government still cared about face, and still cared about its international status and prestige, it could not remain indifferent to such behavior.

But then again, while the French embassy was important, not annoying the Italian public was equally important.

If the Italian government chose to use force to suppress the public's behavior, it would only incite even greater anger among the public, which was completely unnecessary.

After all, at this time, the Italians were angry at the French act of invading Tunisia and did not have much dissatisfaction with their own government.

If the Italian government took the initiative to use force to suppress them, it would instead draw all the public's hatred onto itself. The Italian government would not take the blame for the French government, at least not until the incident subsided.

After letting the French ambassador feel the anger of the Italians, the Italian government also contacted the Italian ambassador to France, requesting that the ambassador to France question the French about the purpose of their war-like behavior and declare the attitude of the Italian government and the Italian public.

When questioned by the Italian ambassador to France, French Foreign Minister Gambetta also felt a great headache.

At this time, the development of events had clearly exceeded France's expectations; the French army had not fully occupied Tunisia before the Italian government discovered it.

This also meant that a fierce diplomatic dispute was about to unfold between France and Italy. Unless one side took the initiative to back down, this diplomatic dispute was very likely to evolve into a war.

As French Foreign Minister, Gambetta naturally understood France's diplomatic situation in Europe. If this matter was not handled well, it would not be as simple as just a war for France; it might even cause France's diplomatic situation to head toward an extreme.

There are only seven great powers on the European continent; besides the United Kingdom, which remained neutral, and Russia, which remained neutral after being courted by France, only Spain and Italy had not yet clearly joined the German diplomatic alliance that was isolating France.

If they were to completely offend Spain and Italy through the Tunisia incident, it would also mean that France would never be able to reach close cooperation with other European great powers besides the United Kingdom and Russia.

As for the United States, far across the Atlantic, it was completely outside France's consideration. After all, the United States was too far from the European continent; not to mention the comprehensive strength of the United States, this distance alone was enough to determine that the United States was incapable of influencing the European situation.

Sighing inwardly, French Foreign Minister Gambetta wore a kind smile and solemnly assured the Italian ambassador to France: France had no war ambitions regarding Tunisia; France's war-like behavior was merely to launch a reprisal against the Tunisian government, while simultaneously ensuring that French citizens living in Algeria were free from attacks by bandits and indigenous people on the Tunisian border.

When the ambassador to France conveyed the original words of French Foreign Minister Gambetta back to Italy, the Italian government breathed a complete sigh of relief.

French Foreign Minister Gambetta's attitude could once again prove that France did not want to start a war with Italy, which was of course a good thing for Italy.

As long as they could sit at the negotiating table, Italy was not afraid of France at all. After all, Italy had the support of Spain, and in terms of numbers, they were superior to France.

Although France did not know what price it had paid to obtain the acquiescence of the United Kingdom and Germany for the French invasion of Tunisia, in such a negotiation situation, it was almost impossible for the United Kingdom and Germany to clearly support France.

For Italy, as long as they could get France to the negotiating table, it meant that France could not swallow Tunisia alone.

The best result, naturally, was for France to abandon the invasion of Tunisia, and for Italy to increase its colonial investment in Tunisia, fully occupying this land within the next few years.

A medium result would be for Italy and France to jointly partition Tunisia, which was also the bottom line that Italy could accept.

As for France monopolizing Tunisia, this was something the Italian government absolutely could not accept. Italian Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli had even reported to King Umberto I that if France was determined to swallow Tunisia alone, the Italian government would have no choice but to choose to start a war, otherwise the angry public would start a war against the government.

This was the double-edged nature of igniting public opinion. The Italian government would indeed gain great support in a war against France, but the disadvantage was that the Italian government had to go all the way, with no room for regret in the middle.

Seeing that the situation had developed enough, the Spanish government also felt that it was about time for them to make an appearance.

After the Italian government asked the Spanish government for help, Spanish Prime Minister Cánovas summoned the Italian and French ambassadors to Spain and expressed Spain's willingness to act as an intermediary to help Italy and France negotiate for peace.

Regarding Spain's attitude, the French ambassador certainly had to take it seriously.

Times were different now; France was becoming increasingly weak, while Spain was becoming increasingly powerful through reforms.

Although Spain's comprehensive national strength had not yet surpassed France's, France also dared not ignore Spain's international status and influence.

The combined strength of Spain and Italy, even if it could not match France's, could still drag France into the abyss of war.

The French ambassador to Spain's attitude was quite respectful; he stated that he had no authority to represent the government in deciding on negotiation matters and needed to seek the French government's opinion before making a decision.

Prime Minister Cánovas nodded; his goal was only to put a certain amount of pressure on the French government, letting France understand that Spain did not support France's occupation of Tunisia.

As for the Italian ambassador, as soon as Prime Minister Cánovas proposed peace negotiations, he agreed to Prime Minister Cánovas's proposal with a smile.

After all, peace negotiations were good news for Italy, and Italy could fully accept them.

The French ambassador did not keep Prime Minister Cánovas waiting for long; just the next day, he expressed the French government's attitude to Prime Minister Cánovas, which was that they were willing to conduct peace negotiations.

The French government certainly understood that Italy, having gained the support of Spain, was no longer easy to deal with. If the French government acted willfully, who knows, the Italians might really have the guts to start a war.

It is unknown what role the French ambassador to Italy played in this, but in any case, the French government felt the anger of the Italians at that time through his description, which reminded the French government of the scene when the Parisians got angry—that was truly too terrifying.

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(End of chapter)