The main industries in Italy at this time were concentrated in the north. Due to factors such as politics and geography, they were divided into the "Turin–Genoa" industrial zone and the "Milan–Venice" industrial zone.
Without question, the Industrial Revolution in Italy had only just begun. Traditional handicrafts still predominated, though quite a few mechanical tools had been added to the mix.
The capitalists of Venice and those of the Kingdom of Sardinia both cooperated and competed with one another. Many capitalists had businesses in both places, and the relationship between the two sides was not so easily sorted out.
After the conditions proposed by Marshal Radetzky spread through Venice, the capitalists responded one after another. As for whom they truly supported in their hearts, that was difficult to say.
None of that mattered anyway. This was an open scheme. Even the capitalists most hostile to Austria needed the Kingdom of Sardinia to send troops into Venice as soon as possible.
Every extra day the war continued brought them incalculable losses. Even the Kingdom of Sardinia's domestic capitalists were no exception; nationwide mobilization also hindered them from making money.
Turin grew even more bustling. The Venetian capitalists joined the war of public opinion, seemingly becoming the final straw that broke the camel's back. Faced with the vast sea of demonstrators, Charles-Albert had no choice but to order the army to launch its offensive ahead of schedule.
To that end, he also dispatched the last 40,000 troops still available in the country. The Kingdom of Sardinia's forces alone had reached 190,000; with the strength of its allies included, their total force theoretically approached 250,000.
The reason it was only theoretical was that, apart from the Kingdom of Sardinia's army, the forces of the remaining states were still just loafing around.
The Neapolitan