Chapter 273 Chaos
Just as the Ferdinand was preparing to attack, the Kaiser raised a white flag, which stunned the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
With the surrender of the Caesar, other ships also gave up resistance. The Battle of the Adriatic Sea ended completely, and the maritime power of the Adriatic Sea completely fell into the hands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
At this time, three main battleships of the Italian Navy had been sunk. Now that they had surrendered, the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which had just launched a fatal attack, began to salvage people from the sea.
The threat at sea has been lifted, and the 50,000 troops that had been prepared in the port of Trieste are about to set off. They will be transported to the east coast of Italy on merchant ships to open up a third battlefield and, together with the Papal troops, take over the eastern part of the Kingdom of Italy.
…
Inside Venice.
The sound of artillery fire continued one after another, which was really unbearable for the residents in the city. Death could come at any time and it all depended on luck.
A material supply point where the citizens of Venice purchase food and daily necessities according to the arrangements of the municipal government.
Several temporarily hired armed men were responsible for maintaining order.
"Mr. Aros, the price of this flour is too high! It's twice as expensive as yesterday."
"Just tell me whether you want it or not! The whole city is short of food because of the war. Moreover, the kingdom has an army of over 100,000 people. Where will the food come from? It is requisitioned from the Venice area. We even risked our lives to collect this food from the countryside." Aros shouted impatiently at the crowd.
"This is not right! Mr. Aros, the flour of this pizza brand is not a product of our Venice. Didn't you collect it from the countryside of Venice?" A citizen asked, pointing at the cheap flour imported from East Africa.
"This is of course the previous inventory, and that's all that's left."
"Venice is a port city after all. The sea routes are not cut off! There are still ships coming in and out of the dock in the morning. How could there be a shortage of food?"
"There are ships, but they are not ships for transporting grain. Now there is a fight at sea. The enemy doesn't care what you do. They will destroy you when they see you. So only the brave ones dare to take the risk." Aros explained.
In fact, Aros was talking complete nonsense. The Austro-Hungarian Empire did not blockade the Adriatic Sea at all.
"Mr. Aros, can you give me a discount? After the war broke out, the factory where I work stopped working, and now I haven't received any salary."
"It's up to you to buy it or not. If you don't buy it, there are plenty of people who will. In times of war, it's always a good idea to store some food."
"Mr. Aros! We can pay, but the question is why is this Pizza brand flour the same price as other flours? It's usually the cheapest!"
"There's a shortage of pizza in the market right now. Don't think that pizza was cheap before. It's in short supply now. What about the flour? How much difference can the taste make? Maybe you like it!" Aros explained.
There were still some people in the crowd who were dissatisfied, but Aros didn't tolerate it. He took out a pen and crossed out the original price in front of everyone, and raised it by another 20%.
Aros said arrogantly, "Don't be so shameless. The whole city is out of stock and you are still choosy. I now announce that the price will increase every half a day. If you want to spend less money, pay the bill quickly, otherwise you won't even have the chance to regret it later."
As soon as Aros said this, everyone just ignored it and decided to grab some food and store it first, the more the better.
Although the price is high for the residents of Venice, who knows how long this war will last.
Although the sales price given by Aros was very high, it was really "conscientious" for the citizens of Venice. It was not because Aros was kind-hearted, but because his peers were more evil. Aros was not a pure Italian grain merchant, but he only got involved in this business last year. At that time, East Africa was vigorously promoting the export of cheap grain, which made him see business opportunities. So he vigorously imported cheap grain from East Africa from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and then sold it in Italy.
Since the resolution to seal off the city was passed at the city government meeting five days ago, the city government bosses have divided the city of Venice, and then the families and companies behind them have monopolized the interests in their respective areas.
The Aros family is in charge of an urban area in the west. Except for the workers of their own company and the thugs of the Aros family, all residents are managed within this area and their freedom is restricted.
As for the citizens' complaints, the bigwigs in Venice had already thought of a plan to pass the buck, and the scapegoat was none other than General Raffaele Cadorna, the supreme commander of the Italian Kingdom's army.
So they preached to the citizens of Venice like this: Because of the war, General Raffaele Cadorna declared martial law in the city, and residents were not allowed to go out on the streets at will. They had to wait for notification from the military or a certificate issued by the government, that is, a pass, before they could move freely.
As for how to get the certificate, you can go to the government outlets to apply for it, and it will be approved, but the process is quite slow and has a time limit. Is there a way to get the pass quickly? Yes, there is. You can pay money to buy it at a designated place, and once the money is in place, it will be approved immediately.
If you are caught without a pass, you will be treated as a spy and either pay a fine or undergo "reformation" for a month.
This certainly caused dissatisfaction among the citizens of Venice, but the citizens also blamed the Italian military. As for the city government, they were also out of "helplessness". After all, no matter how powerful the city government was, it was impossible to oppose the will of General Raffaele Cadorna, who commanded an army of more than 100,000. All this was instigated by General Raffaele Cadorna.
…
Florence.
The Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force launched an attack here three days ago, but with the help of the city walls and the temporarily formed army to resist, the government of Emmanuel II waited for the arrival of reinforcements from the west. Lieutenant General Karl, who saw that things were hopeless, led the expeditionary force away.
However, after the Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force attacked Florence, the entire Kingdom of Italy was in panic. The enemy appeared in the capital, which was a huge blow to the entire Kingdom of Italy. Fortunately, the Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force was small in number and had few heavy weapons, so they failed to capture Florence. Otherwise, the war would have ended in advance with the defeat of the Kingdom of Italy.
Because of this incident, Emmanuel II now pays more attention to the defense of Florence. The newly mobilized Italian-French border garrisons are responsible for the city's defense. As for the border areas, France cannot protect itself anyway, so there is no need for troops to guard them.
Where did the Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force that failed to capture Florence go?
The answer is the former Kingdom of Sardinia, the base of the royal family of the Kingdom of Italy. Lieutenant General Karl led his troops to start wanton destruction in the former Kingdom of Sardinia, especially factories and cities. The entire Kingdom of Sardinia was in chaos due to the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force, but the Kingdom of Italy was powerless against the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force. They were also afraid that this was a trick of the Austro-Hungarian Expeditionary Force to lure the tiger away from the mountain. What if they launched another sneak attack as soon as the army left Florence?
(End of this chapter)
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