Make France Great Again-Chapter 142: The War Ends

August 7, 1849

The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a handwritten letter from the British Foreign Minister Palmerston, in which Palmerston opposed Schwarzenberg’s proposal to "maintain the restoration of the boundaries established in 1815." Palmerston subtly indicated in the letter that it was impossible to restore the boundaries of 1815, and Belgium was destined not to become a member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so cooperation should only be sought under the current system.

Without British support, Felix Schwarzenberg had to abandon his strategy and turn to end the long-drawn-out Austria-Sardinia War.

Under the guidance of Felix Schwarzenberg, the Austrian Ambassador to Sardinia, representing Habsburg interests, was entrusted with the heavy responsibility and became the plenipotentiary representative for the negotiations.

Due to the lack of strong support from otl France, Sardinia was no longer as composed as before, and coupled with the reparations demanded by the Austrian Empire, which were not an unacceptable amount for the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Sardinian Dynasty reluctantly agreed to all the conditions of the Austrian Empire.

[In the otl line, Tocqueville immediately decided to support the Kingdom of Sardinia after explaining the situation to Louis Napoleon. Tocqueville explained France’s determination to Count Hubner, and the Italian Army led by Biru also started to move. Seeing this, the Austrian Empire continued to cut down its original conditions, while also requesting Louis Napoleon’s government to maintain the boundaries of 1815.

As a result, France not only did not receive Sardinia’s gratitude, but instead made Sardinia think all their achievements were deserved. At the same time, the request to maintain the 1815 boundaries truly disgusted Louis Napoleon.

If Britain hadn’t prioritized realistic interests over the illusory orthodox principles, France might have formed a new Anti-French Alliance Army.]

The "Austria-Sardinia Treaty" was established under the witness of Radetzky and Charles Alberto (Sardinian Prime Minister acting as Minister of War and Foreign Affairs).

In addition to acknowledging the maintenance of the pre-Great Revolution established boundaries and compensating 70 million francs, the Austrian ambassador also implied that the Kingdom of Sardinia could only gain full trust from the Austrian Empire if the new King married a Habsburg princess.

The conditions of the Austrian ambassador for the new King Victor Emmanuel were utterly humiliating—almost equivalent to Austria planting a spy and a "Supreme Ruler" within the Sardinian royal court. From then on, all Sardinian actions would be impossible to hide from Austria.

[PS: Facts prove that Habsburg women never once turned out reliable. Educated to be exquisite egoists, once they married into another country, their core interest swiftly shifted from the Austrian Empire to the country they married into.]

To quell Victor Emmanuel’s anger, the Turin Royal Palace had already smashed several valuable porcelain items from the East, each a priceless treasure.

With over a hundred thousand people dead and 70 million francs lost, they gained only an Austrian princess.

For the Sardinian Dynasty, this was a losing transaction beyond words, and they could only swallow their broken teeth in silence.

On August 7, all European countries and the overseas Kingdom of Britain gradually learned about the substantive content of the "Austria-Sardinia Treaty."

It was truly a case of some rejoicing while others were troubled.

The signing result of the "Austria-Sardinia Treaty" took Tocqueville by surprise. He initially expected the Austrian Empire would demand exorbitant terms from the Kingdom of Sardinia with no French support, yet such a situation did not occur, and the entire treaty gave an impression of leniency.

Tocqueville sought to visit the Sardinian Mansion to find the Sardinian ambassador to France but was informed by the military attendant that the Sardinian ambassador was not at the mansion.

Tocqueville knew this was merely Sardinia’s means of "protesting" against the French Republic for not assisting the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Sardinia’s attitude left Tocqueville slightly frustrated. In his view, the French Republic was not Sardinia’s nanny, and it was not necessary to subjugate their interests for the benefit of Sardinia.

Nonetheless, to win over the Kingdom of Sardinia, Tocqueville decided to go to the Elysee Palace to request Jerome Bonaparte to promise some interests to Sardinia so that they could join the French camp.

On his way to the Elysee Palace, as Tocqueville exited the carriage and approached the Elysee Palace, he was stopped by two guards stationed at the entrance of the palace.

"Gentlemen, I am Minister of Foreign Affairs Tocqueville! I wish to enter the Elysee Palace to visit Mr. President!" Worried the guards stationed at the entrance might not recognize him, Tocqueville introduced himself to the unfamiliar-faced guards.

One of the guards glanced at Tocqueville and immediately said, "Minister Tocqueville, please return! The President is not at the Elysee Palace; Mr. President has already gone to the Outer Province with Secretary Percy and aide-de-camp Conrobel!"

"To the Outer Province? When did that happen?" Tocqueville queried the guard in surprise.

According to the French Republic’s constitution, the French Republic’s President faces no restrictions during parliamentary recess.

Jerome Bonaparte leading Elysee Palace bureaucrats to inspect the Outer Province did not violate any legal matters.

Nonetheless, this situation still left Tocqueville feeling as if something obstructed his mind.

"Just yesterday!" the guard responded.

"Did Mr. President mention when he might return?" Tocqueville eagerly asked.

"Minister Tocqueville, please do not make things difficult for me! I’m just a soldier; for specific inquiries, you should ask Director Mokar! He’s the office director at the Elysee Palace!" The guard replied helplessly staring at Tocqueville.

Seeing it impossible to obtain accurate information from the guard, Tocqueville had no choice but to go to the home of Mokar, the Elysee Palace Office Director.

Could by Tocqueville’s visit, Mokar vaguely replied, "It could be a month, or two maybe. Mr. President will surely return to Paris by the end of October!"

"Mr. Mokar, do you know the precise itinerary of Mr. President?" Tocqueville asked in disappointment.

"Minister, the President’s itinerary is not within my responsibility, so I truly have no idea where the President is now!" Mokar shrugged to Tocqueville and then continued, "However, since Mr. President is indeed a leader of a country, wherever he goes will be under the spotlight, so just keep an eye on the newspapers to find out."

"I understand!" Tocqueville abandoned the idea of searching for Jerome Bonaparte.

Bidding Mokar a rushed farewell, Tocqueville walked alone down the street.

"Newspapers for sale, newspapers for sale! French Congressman visits Emra to meet Henry V! Newspaper for sale, newspaper for sale!"

The shouts of the newspaper boy awakened Tocqueville, who quickly called the newspaper boy.

"Sir, do you need a newspaper?" the newspaper boy asked Tocqueville.

"Give me a copy of the newspaper!"

"7 centimes, sir!"

Discovering he only had Napoleon Gold Coins in his pocket, Tocqueville handed the coin to the boy and told him to keep the change.

"You truly are a generous gentleman!"

The boy thanked Tocqueville and left.

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