In the Lombardy region, the situation was very unfavorable to Austria. The Italian-Austrian War was definitely not as simple as recorded in historical books. There were bourgeoisie, aristocratic rebellions inside, and enemy troops outside.

The reinforcements sent by the Vienna government were suppressing the rebellion in the Venetian region at this time. Only one Austrian division arrived on the front line, and Marshal Radkis could use a total of less than 30,000 troops.

This number is twice that of the same period in history, otherwise it would have been retreating from the Milan area in shame as in history.

After taking a closer look at the map on the desktop and taking into account the current international situation, Marshal Radkis made an extremely surprising decision at the military meeting.

"Order the troops to prepare, we will give up Milan City on April 1!"

"What? Marshal, are you sure this is not a joke?" Vic asked in disbelief.

"Vic, I'm very sure what I'm doing!" Marshal Radkis said without changing his face.

"But Mr. Marshal, we are not at the point where we must retreat now. Once the rebellion in Venice is suppressed, our reinforcements will arrive, and there will be no problem blocking the Kingdom of Sardinia!" Vic asked somehow.

This is not Victor's own doubt. The many officers present felt it was difficult to accept. Why should we retreat if we could win?

"It's very simple. We can block the attack of the Kingdom of Sardinia, but we have no ability to defeat the enemy in the face of internal and external troubles.

The rebels in the Lombardy region have colluded with the Kingdom of Sardinia. If we hold on for a long time, the rebellion will continue.

This also involves the political and economic aspects. In short, the Vienna government has authorized me to fully handle the Italian issue. You just need to execute the order!" Marshal Radkis explained coldly.

He will definitely bear a lot of pressure when giving up Lombardy, and it will even cause a series of chain reactions. Under normal circumstances, no general is willing to bear this responsibility.

Marshal Radkis's courage to do this is not unrelated to the orders sent by the Vienna government. As long as the final victory is not concerned with the gains and losses of a city and a place.

In his opinion, this was the top leaders of the Vienna government and had also discovered the crisis in the Italian war theater. If the problem could not be solved as soon as possible, then the Pope, the Principality of Tuscany, and the Kingdom of Naples would all pounce on it.

Marshal Radkis's troops were sufficient to deal with the Kingdom of Sardinia and the rebels alone. Once these countries all joined the war, it would be dangerous.

Instead of this, it is better to give up the Lombardy region first. The Sardinian family occupied these territories, and the other three Italian states would not participate in the war.

Anyway, they declared war due to public opinion. The main troops of several countries have not yet been dispatched. Now they are volunteer soldiers spontaneously organized by the civilians.

If the Kingdom of Sardinia occupied these areas and the people had explained it, even if it was out of envy, jealousy and hatred, they would not send troops to help the Kingdom of Sardinia fight.

There will be internal strife without external troubles. The internal conflicts among Italian states are also quite large. Now it is just a political need to transfer the hatred of the people to Austria.

But this situation cannot continue. You can deceive anything, but the stomach cannot deceive you. People always have to eat.

The economic crisis continues, and there are quite a few unemployed people in Italy. If this problem cannot be solved, the contradiction will still break out.

In addition to Italians, the attitude of Britain and France is also a problem.

The French hoped that Lombardy and Venice could establish their own country. While driving away Austria, they did not want Italy to be unified.

The British hoped that a unified Italy would be able to balance France and Austria at the same time, but they did not want to see Austria collapse.

While weakening Austria, it is necessary to preserve Austria's strength, which can block the Russians' path to expansion.

In this context, once the Kingdom of Sardinia occupied Lombardy, the two sides would definitely merge, and the French's position would change as they go, from current support to hostility.

The British support for the Kingdom of Sardinia will only be verbally. They will let the Kingdom of Sardinia stop when they see it is better, but unfortunately, the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was kidnapped by the public, can only continue to fight.

After the contraction of the front line, Marshal Radkis's troops became more sufficient, while the front line of the Kingdom of Sardinia was lengthened.

The Lombardy that had just been occupied could not provide them with supplies, and it mainly depends on domestic transportation, which was definitely a pressure on the Kingdom of Sardinia.

While fighting against Austria, they must also feed the Lombardy people, otherwise they will rebel if they are hungry.

Without the substantial support of Britain and France, three countries were missing to participate in the war. The end of this war was already destined. The Kingdom of Sardinia was limited in its national strength and could not compare with Austria.

Marshal Radkis was confident that with his troops, he would defeat the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, then recover the Lombardy area, and even burn the war to the land of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Strategically speaking, this time it was not a retreat, but a luring the enemy into depth.

Of course, Franz sent him a private message asking him to destroy all the Italian riots as much as possible, which was also the reason why he made up his mind.

The word "rebellion" is not that simple. Marshal Radkis clearly refers to the capitalists and nobles in the Italian region. Without these people's exploitation of the people, where would the rebellion come from?

Lombardy was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, and it is estimated that most nobles and capitalists would turn to the Kingdom of Sardinia and liquidate after the war was over. These people could become members of the rebellion.

If they use their property to buy the hearts of the people, the Austrian Italians will soon stabilize. After all, the Lombardy people are Germans entering Italy. Without the obstacles from the upper class, it is much less difficult to integrate ethnically.

There are advantages and disadvantages. Marshal Radkis doesn't need to consider that much. Anyway, he has seen the favorable side and can solve the Italian problem once and for all.

For the final victory, both Lombardy and Venice can give up temporarily. As long as he is finally taken back, he is still an Austrian hero.

In the quiet conference room, a sound broke out, and a middle-aged general stood up and said, "Master Marshal, maybe we can do something else, so that the Kingdom of Sardinia can easily occupy Lombardy!"

"Edmund, what are your plans?" Marshal Radkis asked with concern.

"Marson Marshal, since the Lombardy people welcome the Italians so much, we might as well help promote them to make their impression of the Kingdom of Sardinia better!" Lieutenant General Edmund Leopold Friedry said with a sneer.

……
Chapter completed!