Franz and Alexander's meeting had achieved constructive results. Russo-Austrian relations swiftly began to warm, and the minor friction caused by the Prusso-Danish War vanished like smoke.
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Austrian army was packing its bags. The armistice treaty had been signed, half the war indemnity had been paid, and the United Kingdom Government had guaranteed the remainder. It was time to withdraw.
Franz had no intention of going back on his word. If possible, he would not have minded pulling the troops back at once. Keeping a large army in the field was extremely expensive.
However, since they had occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia once, the Austrian army naturally could not have gone there for nothing. Leaving even the smallest thing untouched was impossible; nearly every soldier was now returning laden with spoils.
With so much loot, transporting it was a major hassle. Selling it locally was no good either—prices in the Kingdom of Sardinia, freshly baptized by the flames of war, were abysmal, and some goods could not even find buyers.
Marshal Radetzky was a good marshal. To protect everyone's interests, he immediately decided that the army would transport everything home for sale, after which the proceeds would be divided among them.
In Turin's industrial district, a major stood to one side and directed, "Tom, be careful. These machines are precious treasures, supposedly worth tens of thousands of guilders. Don't turn them into scrap iron, or we won't even make back the transport costs!"
"Don't worry, Major. I wouldn't dare let these precious treasures get damaged," Tom replied.
Bandits passed like a comb, soldiers like a rake.
Ever since the Vienna Government decided to abandon the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Austrian army had fully unleashed its initiative and embarked on a journey to get rich.
Naturally, they