Additionally, as Princess Adelaide is from the powerful nation of France, all these “auras” combined mean even the Duke of Modena dares not claim to have more power than her.
Most importantly, she absolutely didn’t give any blind commands. Instead, in just a few short days, she managed the affairs of Modena in an exceptionally orderly manner.
After all, she had closely observed Joseph’s governance. Even learning just one or two tenths of it proved immensely effective for a small country like Modena.
For instance, she instructed the establishment of the “Modena Wood Carving Trade Company,” referencing the model of the “Paris Angel Company” to create a brand, strengthen publicity, and unify sales.
This move alone is estimated to bring Modena several hundred thousand francs more annually.
With such a virtuous cycle, no one would harbor dissatisfaction with her administration.
City of Venice.
After the Austrians left Venice, preparations for a new council election were underway, and today was finally the day for the vote counting.
Three parties were vying for contention, but the party pursuing a neutral line was very weak from the start, having no real chance of victory.
The final victory would be decided between the somewhat pro-France “Venice Trade Promotion Party” and the very pro-France “Venice Federal Party.”
At one o’clock in the afternoon, when Baroni, the president of the Venice Shipping Guild, appeared in the square of St. Mark’s Cathedral, the thousands of people waiting there held their breath, and the surroundings instantly fell silent.
Baroni took the envelope from the election committee and opened it in front of everyone, then loudly announced: “The Trade Promotion Party received 61 votes. The Conservative Alliance Party received 7 votes. The Federal Party received 135 votes, and the Federal Party will form the cabinet!”
Currently, Venice’s political structure has been greatly modified—abolishing the Governor, as well as the “Great Council” and “Council of Ten” institutions, leaving only the “Senate” and “Council.”
This made it very difficult for the great nobles to control Venice’s political situation, with merchants and citizen classes dominating the election results.
The series of rules laid down by the “French Occupation Army” have won tremendous prestige in Venice, and lately, the phrase most often heard from the people here is “His Majesty Louis XVI has brought freedom and hope.”
Of course, Joseph’s main intention was not to benefit the people of Venice, but because a parliament is indeed easier to control than a monarch, especially in a small country.
At the same time, most of Venice’s great nobles were closely tied to Austria, marginalizing them also served France’s interests.
Actually, for many ordinary Venetians, the main reason they were pro-France was that with the French Army’s arrival, they no longer had to pay “tribute taxes” to the Emperor of the Holy Rome.
After the Venice Federal Party took over, their first act was to announce Venice’s application to join the Mediterranean Security Organization and the Iberian-Apennine Common Market.
Then, regarding the matter of “returning Verona to the Milan Republic,” they sent envoys to negotiate with Milan.
In fact, for Venice, only the Venetian islands and the coastal area of Treviso are indispensable, and discarding relatively impoverished inland provinces could actually reduce fiscal burdens.
As for the agreement on France leasing Split Port, the Venice Council unanimously passed it, signing it directly into effect.
Split Port is located on the northern shore of the Adriatic Sea in northern Italy, at the northwest side of the Balkan Peninsula. Here, after the twentieth century, it was incorporated into Croatia’s territory, but now it is still Venice’s territory.
This port guards the Adriatic Sea and Venice Bay, and it is only 160 kilometers away from the southern Austrian city of Senj, potentially serving as a fast conduit to Central Europe if necessary.
But for Venice, it is an isolated location overseas, surrounded by Ottoman territories, and conducting trade requires paying taxes to the Ottomans, having very little value, so leasing it to France was not distressing at all.
Moreover, Venice had long abandoned its navy. After leaning towards France, if the French Fleet stationed at Split Port, it would instead make them more assured.
Thus far, the entire Apennine Peninsula, except for the Two Sicilies and the Pope State, has fully integrated into France’s military and trade system.
…
Southwestern border of Austria.
Klagenfurt Fortress.
The door to the fortress commander’s office was knocked, and an attendant outside said, “Marshal, Mr. Schulmeister has arrived.”
“Let him in,” Reo said lazily.
He is currently the officer in Austria with a rank only next to Archduke Karl—those more capable than him have successively fallen into the hands of the French Army, but he has maintained his “invincible record,” naturally boosting his prestige to its peak.
Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor entrusted the vastly important Klagenfurt Fortress to his care.
The door opened, and Marshal Reo slightly raised his eyelids, glancing at the merchant standing at the door: “Mr. Schulmeister, I am very busy, so you had better not be here to waste my time.”
The merchant smiled and bowed slightly: “Marshal, an old friend of yours wishes to see you.”
As he spoke, he stepped aside, revealing the “attendant” behind him.
Reo almost called for the guards, but when that “attendant” took off his hat, he opened his mouth wide in surprise: “Le-Levefevre Major? Is it really you, how did you come here?”
He held both respect and awe for this French officer—back then, the latter commanded just a regiment, with combat strength exceeding his own division of over ten thousand soldiers, and also helped him garner a lot of military merit, aiding his ascendance to marshal.
Schulmeister softly corrected beside him: “It’s Colonel Lefever, Marshal.”
“Oh, yes. You see, my memory,” Reo’s face broke into a smile, “with your skills, you must have had many promotions in these past two years.
“Please, have a seat, I’ll arrange for a banquet immediately.”
Lefever raised his hat to him in a salute, smiling, “There will be plenty of opportunities for banquets later, dear Franz. This time I came because I would like to ask for your help.
“Ah, it can also be considered as helping yourself.”
Reo promptly nodded, “We are the best of friends, please feel free to say what you need.”
…
In the French Camp at Udine, over 60 kilometers away from Klagenfurt.
Desai nervously glanced at his pocket watch; the agreed time was drawing near.
He couldn’t possibly not feel nervous, as the forthcoming action would incite war between the two countries, any mishap would land him on a military court.
But should everything proceed smoothly, he would be recorded in French history as the first officer to enter Vienna.
At that moment, in the distance, a strong sound faintly resonated.
Desai immediately perked up, speaking to the advisor next to him: “Go check out what happened.”
“Yes, Commander.”
To fully mimic realism, the majority of the Corsican Legion was unaware of his plans with Napoleon and others.
Soon, a cavalry scout returned, reporting to him loudly: “It’s the Austrians, about two companies, launching an attack on us!”
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