Selling Out Allies
Napoleon's victory in Italy shook the whole of Europe. It could be said that the feudal rulers of all Europe were now trembling before France. Those countries that were still at war with France were even more uneasy.
After capturing the Mantua Fortress, Napoleon did not immediately march north to attack Vienna. Instead, citing the need for rest and recuperation after a major battle, he left a garrison behind and led the main army back to Milan.
In Milan, after listening to General Napoleon 'Augereau account of the attempt to crush the counter-revolutionary uprising by the Milan aristocracy, General Napoleon highly praised General Augereau's courage and determination in the suppression of the rebellion, stating. "Those reactionary things must be overthrown, just as dust in a house must be swept!"
Upon learning that some nobles who had participated in the rebellion had temporarily escaped justice by fleeing to reactionary countries opposed to the great France people, General Napoleon angrily declared, "Where can they escape to? Wherever they flee, they cannot escape the punishment of justice!" He also warned those countries secretly supporting the rioters not to assume that the France people's love of peace would tolerate such insults. He stated that the France people were kind, but never weak, and that those reactionaries who dared to offend the dignity and interests of the France people, no matter how far they fled, could not escape the wrath of the France people.
Napoleon did not merely make empty promises; he immediately sent notes to the surrounding Duchy of Parma and the Republic of Venice, demanding an immediate and reasonable explanation for their collusion with the rebels.
The Duchy of Parma and the Republic of Venice were thrown into chaos. Frankly, neither of these two neutral states were truly benevolently neutral towards France; historically, they had been more benevolent towards Austria. This was understandable, given their previous allegiance to Austria. However, their actions during the conflict France and Austria were indeed very much in line with the norms of neutrality. As for the Milan nobles who fled there, in that era, wasn't it perfectly normal for Italy nobles to move from one city to another? How could this be interpreted as them secretly supporting these people?
But they knew that in this day and age, cannons were law, and the France were clearly in the right. So they had no choice but to quickly send someone over to explain and apologize.
"How despicable!" Napoleon exclaimed angrily upon seeing the representatives of both countries.
"What do you mean by coming here now? You've been colluding with those rebels, and now you're pretending to be good people here?" Augereau quickly put on an angry expression and said.
"Oh dear, oh dear, our country has truly fallen for their trick! I've come here specifically to clarify this matter. They came to our country claiming to be doing business, but I never imagined they were criminals fleeing here. Now these people have long since fled elsewhere, and we have no way to catch them and bring them back to face their crimes. We have no choice but to swallow our pride and apologize to the General. In short, this matter was due to our country's oversight, and we are deeply sorry, General Bonaparte. Fortunately, France, and Your Excellency the General, have always been magnanimous and unwilling to hold a grudge against a pitiful little country like ours. We are also willing to make some compensation to make up for the General's losses."
"However..." Napoleon said.
So both countries paid Napoleon (note, Napoleon, not France, meaning this money didn't need to be recorded) millions of Florin in reparations. Napoleon's reputation as a tyrant was so widespread in the Italy states that it could be used to frighten children to sleep.
Napoleon sent the money directly to Joseph. Napoleon wrote a triumphant letter to Joseph, boasting of his achievements and saying, "You've been doing business for so long, and you've only made a little money? Look at your brother here, I just said a few words and I've made so Florin. So, when it comes to business, you seem to be no match for me now."
Joseph was reportedly furious after reading the letter and then sent a letter back to Napoleon. Napoleon's adjutant then noticed that Napoleon general had not slept well for several nights.
"General, what happened? You haven't been sleeping much these past few days," the adjutant asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," Napoleon said nonchalantly. "It's just that some stingy fellow came up with a few very interesting math problems. You know, when I'm bored, I like to use math problems to exercise my mind and relax."
Joseph sent Napoleon a few math problems. Napoleon, upon opening the letter, knew it was Joseph's revenge. But the ever-unyielding Napoleon smiled and said, "Just a few math problems? I have nothing else to do, so I'll make you admit defeat!" And so Napoleon willingly fell for the trick.
"So, General, these problems should have been solved by now, right?" the tactless adjutant asked again.
"Oh, we've got some direction; we should be able to solve it soon." Napoleon's eyes gleamed.
Napoleon's victory also put considerable pressure on the Spain. Spain had some interests in Italy, and now, with Napoleon's victory, almost all of Italy had closed its doors to Spain —even the so-called "neutral" countries. No one believed that Spain had the strength to protect itself, so everyone rushed to side with France.
If it were merely a loss of interests in Italy, Spain could grit its teeth and bear it. But now, the bigger problem is that Spain sees no hope of victory in this war.
Napoleon's overwhelming victories in Italy left the entire Anti-French Alliance feeling utterly hopeless. The Britain were relatively better off, thanks to the Channel barrier and their powerful, reliable navy; self-defense was not a major challenge. But Spain was in a different situation. It bordered France!
Spain's navy still possessed some strength, but Spain army was truly weak; even the Spain army itself didn't believe it could compare to Austria. Previously, they could console themselves with the Pyrenees, believing that although their army was mediocre, the terrain advantage of the Pyrenees would still allow them to repel a potential France invasion.
But after witnessing Napoleon's performance in Italy, this confidence vanished instantly. Compared to the precipitous Alps, the Pyrenees were considerably lower. If even the Alps couldn't stop the France, how could the Pyrenees possibly protect Spain?
Furthermore, in the struggle for overseas colonies, the Spain and Britain had some conflicts. As a result, Spain, which also shares the surname Bourbon, actually hinted to France through various channels that it was willing to achieve a peace with France based on equality and mutual respect.
At this time, Talleyrand, who had just returned to Paris from Italy, used his connections with Barras to secure the position of Foreign Minister. Upon receiving this news, Talleyrand immediately realized that his opportunity had arrived.
Talleyrand immediately used these connections to make contact with Spain. On the one hand, he made exorbitant demands, asking for huge war reparations and a large amount of compensation for overseas colonies. He told them that the Austria were also in talks with him, even offering to exchange the Rhine Region for Lombardy. On the other hand, he threatened that once France and Austria made peace, Spain would have to give up much more to achieve peace with France.
Talleyrand's conditions were clearly too harsh for the Spain to accept. However, the bleak prospects of the war prevented the Spain from outright rejecting Talleyrand, as Austria might indeed be withdrawing from the war. The Spain knew that the Austria had made further demands for economic aid from the Britain, claiming that if the Britain did not immediately provide financial support, Austria would have no choice but to negotiate peace with the France alone.
Unfortunately, during this period, Britain also experienced an economic crisis. Compared to the major crises that later swept the globe, this crisis was not particularly severe, but it still left the Britain with limited purchasing power for the time being.
If everything were normal in Italy, they could borrow some money from Italy banks. But under the current circumstances, Italy banks simply dared not lend money to the Britain or Austria. Therefore, when Talleyrand threatened that the Austria were ready to make peace with France, the Spain believed him wholeheartedly.
Since everyone was prepared to betray their allies, it was only natural to be the first to do so. However, the France, or more precisely, Talleyrand, were asking for too much. The Spain envoy stated that if peace were to be achieved under these conditions, it wouldn't be peace, but rather a sign of Spain defeat. Talleyrand immediately retorted, "Does Spain still believe it hasn't been defeated at this point?"
However, Talleyrand still gave the Spain a way out. He hinted to the Spain envoy that if the Spain would give him enough money, he would be willing to help the Spain gain the sympathy and understanding of some important figures and see if he could secure better peace terms for the Spain.
The Spain paid the money, but no one knows how much. In any case, Talleyrand was a very trustworthy man. Not long after receiving the money, his tune changed. He quickly told the Spain that he had secured a peace plan for Spain that required neither ceding territory nor paying reparations—that is, the Kingdom of Spain would declare an alliance with France. The two countries would become allies who would help each other and jointly maintain peace in Europe and even the world.
While the Spain were stunned, upon closer examination, they realized that the plan actually made sense. Since they were already prepared to betray their allies, they might as well go all the way. Thus, both sides quickly reached an agreement. By early July, Spain and France had reached a consensus. Spain announced its withdrawal from the Anti-French Alliance and allied with France to jointly maintain peace and order in Europe.