After Dimoubin let the Genoese envoys finish showering him with praise, he gestured behind him and continued:
"You should know that the Austrians could cut off our retreat at any moment. I took an enormous risk in coming to Genoa this time."
He sighed gravely. "Perhaps I will be surrounded and unable to return to France."
Vanoni froze for a moment, pressed both hands to his chest, and assumed an expression of heartfelt emotion.
"There is no general more courageous than you in this world. Thank you for everything you have done for Genoa!"
If someone had told him that, historically, Napoleon really did drive the Austrian Army occupying Genoa away, but never left afterward until his defeat... and even drained Genoa's treasury through loans—
One wondered what this envoy would have thought.
Of course, Joseph had no intention of occupying Genoa.
On the contrary, ensuring Genoa's independence best served France's interests.
This place was an important lever for controlling trade in Northern Italy. Only by protecting its regime as much as possible could they prevent Sardinia from unifying the entire Italian Peninsula.
From a geopolitical perspective, having a cluster of small countries around France was far more advantageous than allowing a unified great power to emerge.
There was even less need to mention the economic aspect. Small countries had limited industrial capacity and could only open their markets to great powers; otherwise, they could not even meet their people's daily material needs.
Especially now, with the Italian people beginning to awaken, ruling Genoa would not be easy. And after destroying the Genoese government, they would instead be helping Sardinia clear away the obstacles to unifying this region.
Dimoubin nodded and got to the point.
"You see, I had originally planned to retreat back to France, so I made almost