Chapter 7: The Austro-Prussian Conflict

Garibaldi ultimately accepted the invitation from Gao Da and became a contributor to the Italian 24-Hour Sun Newspaper, publishing his own stories in the paper.

Although Garibaldi was initially somewhat hesitant, all obstacles vanished once Gao Da obtained permission from his father, Vittorio Emanuele II.

The reason Vittorio Emanuele II agreed to let Garibaldi publish his articles was simple; after all, the owner of the Sun Newspaper was Gao Da, and Garibaldi's articles would still be subject to review—it was impossible for articles of just any nature to be published.

As for whether Gao Da might be deceived by Garibaldi into agreeing to publish articles advocating for a republic, Vittorio Emanuele II was not the least bit worried.

Luo Lun was a talent he had personally selected, and their loyalty to the royal family and support for the monarchy were trustworthy.

Gao Da was, of course, also very excited. At this time, the attitude of Italians toward Garibaldi was equivalent to the attitude of "fanatics" toward their favorite stars in later generations; the word "fanatical" was simply not enough to describe it.

Once Garibaldi's articles were published in the Sun Newspaper, the 24-Hour Sun Newspaper would immediately become one of the most famous newspapers in Italy and achieve extremely rapid expansion.

Perhaps the task Gao Da had assigned to Luo Lun would not even take two years to complete, and Gao Da could have more time to plan other matters.

Time passed in a flash, and soon three and a half months had gone by.

Thanks to Garibaldi's immense prestige, even though only two articles had been published in those three and a half months, it still made the Italian 24-Hour Sun Newspaper one of the most famous newspapers in the entire Kingdom of Italy, and it easily achieved the milestone of 10, 00 copies sold daily.

The current Sun Newspaper had already achieved profitability and was still using Garibaldi's fame to expand rapidly.

Also, because it was located in the developed industrial zone of northern Italy, the newspaper's expansion faced no obstacles; it was expected that daily sales would exceed 20, 00 copies this year, becoming a major newspaper in the true sense.

This era was different from later generations; newspapers were already the most effective means for people of this time to learn about outside news.

Although only 10, 00 copies were sold, the number of people reading the newspapers was definitely more than 10, 00. Based on the scale of 3 to 5 people per household, the number of people the Italian Sun Newspaper could influence was already approaching 50, 00.

Relying on the word-of-mouth transmission by these 50, 00 people, the news published in the paper could reach the ears of hundreds of thousands of Italians in a short period of time.

This was the power that public opinion could demonstrate; in an age where the public's leisure life was not yet developed, the power of public opinion that a newspaper could exert was enormous.

Both times, the person responsible for delivering the manuscripts was Garibaldi's second son, Qiaodi, and Gao Da had also cultivated a good relationship with him through their two meetings.

"A tiger father has no dog for a son"—this saying was very reasonable when used to describe Garibaldi's two sons.

In Garibaldi's many military operations, both sons had played relatively important roles, much like Garibaldi's assistants.

Moreover, compared to the aging Garibaldi, his two sons were in their prime, which was the peak age for a person.

To be honest, Gao Da was still quite envious of Garibaldi's two sons.

Although they were not outstanding military talents compared to Garibaldi, their level was definitely above average, and having been influenced by Garibaldi for a long time, they were not rigid in their personalities.

It was a pity that Gao Da was still too young, otherwise he would have had the idea of trying to invite Qiaodi to serve as his palace guard officer.

As time reached June 1866, Gao Da's originally calm heart finally became somewhat nervous.

The good news was that the Austro-Prussian War would most likely play out the same way as it did in history, because there had already been border conflicts between Prussia and Austria at the end of May.

This was indeed a war that was fundamentally unavoidable. Influenced by the general trend of German unification, the two major powers within the German sphere, Prussia and Austria, were destined to decide a winner.

Fortunately, Italy was standing on the side of the historical victor, Prussia. And Italy could achieve a "victory by lying down," easily recovering the Venice region while the Austrians were guarding against Prussia.

But the bad news was that the Italian army showed an extremely lackluster side in this war, setting a good precedent for the Italy of the First and Second World Wars.

If it were not for the fact that Prussia was too powerful at this time, I am afraid the newly born Kingdom of Italy would have become a meteor flashing across the Yapingningbandao.

For the current Gao Da, how to influence his father, Vittorio Emanuele II, was the most arduous problem.

Because that Italian army that was quickly routed was led by his own father, Vittorio Emanuele II, and he had quickly "fed the kill."

It was just that the southern battlefield could not influence the Prussia in the north at all; otherwise, perhaps the world situation would have been a different picture.

Gao Da understood that with his own ability and status, it was fundamentally impossible to influence the development of the Austro-Prussian War.

If one wanted to change the poor performance of Italy in the Austro-Prussian War, one had to invite the current true God of War of Italy, Garibaldi, to command the Italian army.

But this was precisely the most headache-inducing problem. Under the current circumstances, it was basically impossible for Vittorio Emanuele II to agree to let Garibaldi command the Italian army.

With no other choice, Gao Da could only "save the country by a roundabout path," using another way to facilitate Garibaldi's early participation in the war.

As time reached June, the conflicts between Prussia and Austria at the border became increasingly intense. The two major powers in the north and south of the German region were destined to be unable to coexist peacefully for long; whoever won this conflict would be able to unify the entire German region and thus realize the strategy of dominating Central Europe.

The tense situation not only affected the entire German region but also affected Prussia's ally, Italy.

Vittorio Emanuele II had already convened two cabinet meetings regarding the tense situation in Germany and had ordered the Italian army to be ready at all times.

Under such a tense situation, Gao Da also began his attempt.

"Good heavens, Gao Da, do you understand what you are saying?"

Inside the small, luxurious dining room of the Wang Gong, Vittorio Emanuele II, who had been eating breakfast with a look of contentment, was now looking at his favorite son opposite him with a look of surprise, asking in disbelief.

"I certainly understand, Father." Gao Da nodded, took a deep breath, and then said: "That is why I understand the importance of this matter."

"I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise I will consider the dangers of you getting close to Garibaldi." At this moment, Vittorio Emanuele II was more like the King of Italy than an ordinary father, looking at Gao Da with a deep and serious gaze, saying every word clearly.

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(End of this chapter)