Garibaldi ultimately accepted Carlo's invitation, becoming a contributor to the 24 Hours Sun Newspaper of Italy and publishing his own stories in its pages.
Although Garibaldi had been somewhat hesitant at first, once Carlo obtained his father Vittorio Emanuele II's permission, all obstacles vanished.
Vittorio Emanuele II's reason for allowing Garibaldi to publish his articles was simple: after all, the Sun Newspaper belonged to Carlo, and Garibaldi's articles would still be reviewed. It was impossible for articles of every nature to be published.
As for whether Carlo might be misled by Garibaldi and agree to publish articles advocating republicanism, Vittorio Emanuele II was not worried in the slightest.
Loren was a talent he had personally selected, and Loren's loyalty to the royal family and support for the monarchy were trustworthy.
Carlo, of course, was immensely excited. At this time, the Italians' attitude toward Garibaldi was much like that of brainless fans in later generations toward their favorite stars—"fanatical" was not nearly enough to describe it.
Once Garibaldi's articles appeared in the Sun Newspaper, the 24 Hours Sun Newspaper would immediately become one of Italy's most famous newspapers and expand at an astonishing pace.
Perhaps the task Carlo had assigned Loren would not even take two years to complete, and Carlo would have more time to make arrangements for other matters.
Time rolled onward, and three and a half months passed in the blink of an eye.
Thanks to Garibaldi's enormous prestige, although only two articles had been published over those three and a half months, the 24 Hours Sun Newspaper of Italy still became one of the most famous newspapers in the entire Kingdom of Italy, easily achieving daily sales of ten thousand copies.
The Sun Newspaper had now turned a profit and was still expanding rapidly on the strength of Garibaldi's fame.
Moreover, because it was located in Northern Italy's developed industrial zone, the newspaper's expansion encountered no obstacles. Its daily circulation was expected to exceed twenty thousand copies that year, making it a truly major newspaper.
This era differed from later generations. Newspapers were already the most effective means for people of this time to learn news from the outside world.
Although only ten thousand newspapers had been sold, far more than ten thousand people read them. Based on each household having three to five people, the Italy Sun could already influence nearly fifty thousand people.
Through word of mouth among those fifty thousand people, the news printed in the newspaper could reach the ears of hundreds of thousands of Italians in a short time.
This was the power public opinion could display. At a time when the people's leisure lives were still underdeveloped, the force of public opinion wielded by newspapers was enormous.
Both times, it was Garibaldi's second son Giotto who delivered the manuscripts. Through his two meetings with Giotto, Carlo also built a fairly good relationship with him.
A tiger father bred no dog sons—this saying was exceedingly apt for Garibaldi's two sons.
During Garibaldi's many military campaigns, both sons had played fairly important roles, acting almost like Garibaldi's assistants.
And compared to the already aged Garibaldi, his two sons were in the prime of life, at the very peak of a man's years.
To be honest, Carlo rather coveted Garibaldi's two sons.
Though they could not be considered outstanding military talents when compared with Garibaldi, they were certainly above the passing mark. Having been influenced by Garibaldi for a long time, they were not rigid in temperament either.
Unfortunately, Carlo was still too young. Otherwise, he would have considered inviting Giotto to serve as one of his court guards.
As time entered June 1866, Carlo's previously calm heart finally grew somewhat tense.
The good news was that the Austro-Prussian War would most likely still unfold as it had in history, because border clashes had already broken out between Prussia and Austria by the end of May.
This truly was a war that could not be avoided. Driven by the great tide of Germany's unification, the two great powers within Germany, Prussia and Austria, were destined to fight until a victor emerged.
Fortunately, Italy stood with Prussia, the victorious side in history. Italy could also lie back and win, easily recovering the Venetian region while the Austrians were on guard against Prussia.
But the bad news was that in this war, the Italian army displayed an utterly pathetic side, getting World War I and II's Italy off to a fine start.
Had Prussia not been so powerful at this time, the newborn Kingdom of Italy might have become a shooting star that briefly streaked across the Apennine Peninsula.
For Carlo now, the most arduous problem was how to influence his father, Vittorio Emanuele II.
For the Italian army that was swiftly crushed was led by his own father, Vittorio Emanuele II, who soon delivered himself right into the enemy's hands.
It was only because the southern front could not affect Prussia in the north at all; otherwise, perhaps the world situation would have taken on an entirely different shape.
Carlo understood that, with his own abilities and status, it was simply impossible for him to influence the course of the Austro-Prussian War.
To change Italy's terrible performance in the Austro-Prussian War, they would have to invite Italy's true current god of war, Garibaldi, to command the Italian army.
But that was precisely the most vexing problem. Under the current circumstances, Vittorio Emanuele II would basically never agree to let Garibaldi command Italy's army.
With no other choice, Carlo could only save the country by a roundabout route, using another method to bring about Garibaldi's early entry into the war.
As time entered June, the clashes between Prussia and Austria along the border grew ever more intense. The two great powers of northern and southern Germany were destined to be unable to coexist peacefully for long. Whoever won this conflict would be able to unify the entire German Region and thereby realize the strategy of dominating Central Europe.
The tense situation affected not only the entire German Region, but also Italy, Prussia's ally.
Vittorio Emanuele II had already convened two Cabinet Meetings over the tense situation in Germany, demanding that Italy's army remain ready at all times.
Under such tense circumstances, Carlo also began his own attempt.
"Good heavens, Carlo, do you understand what you're saying?"
In the Royal Palace's small, luxurious dining room, Vittorio Emanuele II, who had been eating breakfast with a contented expression, now stared in shock at his favorite son across from him and asked in disbelief.
"Of course I understand, Father." Carlo nodded. Only after taking a deep breath did he say, "That is precisely why I understand the importance of this matter."
"I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, I will have to consider the dangers of allowing you to associate with Garibaldi." At this moment, Vittorio Emanuele II was more the King of Italy than an ordinary father. He looked at Carlo with deep, solemn eyes and spoke word by word.
Please bookmark, invest, vote with recommendation tickets, and cast monthly votes!
Before you continue