As the Austro-Hungarian Empire exerted force on multiple fronts, Italy soon found itself unable to hold on. By the end of 1870, the Austro-Hungarian Army had crossed Venetia and Lombardy, advancing into the territory of the former Kingdom of Sardinia.
Seeing that the Kingdom of Italy was doomed, the British had no choice but to step forward for emergency mediation. After contacting the Russians, Prussia, France, and the Holy Roman Empire also dispatched representatives. On January 3, 1871, the Italian and Austro-Hungarian sides negotiated a ceasefire in Birmingham, Britain.
Birmingham.
Italian diplomat Gamour said, "The Austro-Hungarian Empire openly dispatched troops to launch a war of aggression against the Kingdom of Italy, causing enormous losses. The Austro-Hungarian Empire must withdraw all its forces from the Kingdom of Italy and compensate the Kingdom of Italy for its losses."
"Pfft!" Austrian Foreign Minister Friedrich could not hold back his laughter. Anyone who did not know better would have thought Italy had toppled Vienna!
Friedrich said, "When it comes to turning black into white, you are still the experts. Who should bear responsibility for this war has been clear from the very beginning. Despite the Austro-Hungarian Empire's repeated warnings, Italy ignored our opposition and insisted on attacking the sovereign Papal States. That was intolerable to any Catholic nation. And the Kingdom of Italy—no, the Kingdom of Sardinia—has always been a warmonger. Therefore, the Kingdom of Sardinia must pay the price for its actions!"
Gamour said, "The Kingdom of Sardinia bore the mission of unifying the Italian lands from the beginning, so our actions had the support of the entire Italian region. This was the will of the people, not warmongering."
Friedrich said, "Oh! The will of the people? How interesting. What I saw was not the will of the people at all. The soldiers