The Duke of Gramont's speech represented that he had given up Italy in favor of Spain, and how could everyone present not hear it?

Timothy got up angrily and left without saying a word, since the three countries of the Spanish religion had reached an agreement, it would be humiliating for Italy to continue to stay here.

……

The results of the Rome Conference had spread throughout Western and Central Europe in a single day, and judging by Italy's departure from the table, there was no doubt that southern Europe would be rekindled, and the only question was: would there be a full-scale war between Spain and Italy, or would the dispute be resolved through a local conflict?

The war between the two newly unified powers, which were of similar status, undoubtedly touched the hearts of Europeans, especially since this war may have a profound impact on the larger war, the Franco-Prussian War, which is all the more worthy of people's attention.

The British aristocracy, who had a high mentality and at the same time were bored, even started a gamble on the way of the war and the eventual winner.

Not only did the war not know how the war would be fed abroad, but there was also debate in Spain.

Since the news came back, this discussion has spread rapidly among all levels and has become the hottest topic of the moment.

Spain has not been at war with European countries since the Napoleonic Wars, and the most common fighting day by day is the civil war.

Coinciding with the wave of European nationalism, the war was seen throughout Spain as a nation-building battle, to sweep away the decline of the past few decades.

Pacifists, of course, existed, and in their view, Spain had just completed its unification, and it was time to rebuild the country, and it was not time to rush into war with another great power.

Italy, in particular, is not worth a conflict with a small Papal State, on the contrary, two countries that have just emerged from the chaos should trade with each other and develop together.

However, their voices were drowned out in a crowd of shouting and killing.

Although there is no historical hatred between Spain and Italy, the capture of the Italian volunteers in the formation makes everyone think that they are soft persimmons, and it is of course good to be able to hold down other countries and beat them, anyway, it is not for them to go to the battlefield.

The more conservative ones were like Cruze's idea, using a naval blockade to force Italy to agree to its terms.

The slogans of the radicals were so strange that some even wanted to fight a full-scale war and rebuild Naples and Sicily under Spanish rule.

The reason why there are so many differences in attitudes is that the initiative in this war is completely in the hands of Spain, and it is Spain itself that has the final say on how and to what extent it is fought.

If you don't want to fight, just withdraw from Rome, Italy will never break through France and invade Spain proper.

As a result, not only ordinary citizens, but also high-ranking officials and generals in Spain had different opinions on this, and many of the suggestions were sent to Alfonso's desk on an expedited basis.

"So, what do you think, Your Majesty?" Campos sat across from Alfonso, flipping through all sorts of fanciful plans.

"There must not be a full-scale war." Alfonso set the tone first: "We're going to save the French later, and it's better to get rid of Italy before then."

Even if they can't, they must be made to realize that they cannot win the war as soon as possible after they join the Prussian side, and force them to withdraw from the war. ”

"Hmm." Campos nodded, in line with his thoughts.

Alfonso continued; "First of all, we have to recognize what we want from Italy. Obviously, the first is to preserve the Papal States and fulfill our promises, the second is to establish a national identity, and finally, to get as many resources as possible on the premise of achieving the first two. ”

"Resources? Italy has nothing...... Land? Naples and Sicily are out of the question...... Is it Sardinia? Campos speculated.

"......" Alfonso was silent, Sardinia was lost 160 years ago, and now it is full of Italians, you dare to think about it.

"No, I mean the population, there are more Italians, there are fewer Spaniards, and at this stage we are not very short of labor, but there will always be a shortage.

Italians are very similar to us, they are a good source of labor, but with the relationship between our two countries, the Italian government cannot allow us to recruit workers from them, so I want to solve this problem in this war. ”

"Oh." Campos's disappointment is beyond words, Europeans have a heart to build an empire in these years, especially former soldiers like Campos, who have carved the expansion of territory into their bones.

For them, going to war with the European powers, dying tens of thousands of people, and not taking some land, is like a sacrifice in vain.

Alfonso was a little helpless when he saw this, he thought for a moment and said, "Sardinia...... It's not all out of chance, and depending on the developments that follow, it's not a problem to get a few Sardinian ports in the name of a recruitment hub. ”

……

On the other hand, Italy did not know that Spain not only wanted to obstruct its own reunification, but also had to develop the idea of ceding its own territory.

When the news came, King Vittorio was so annoyed that he immediately gave an order to the military headquarters to "teach the Spaniards a lesson."

The military headquarters gladly accepted the order, and the 25,000-strong volunteer army was surrendered in Spain, which led to doubts about their abilities, the people felt that they were rice buckets, and the king lost trust in them.

For this reason, they reorganized the internal personnel and let several generals resign, so that the impeachment storm in the outside world was calmed down.

Suffering such great humiliation, the military department naturally did not want to take revenge on Spain all the time.

As for whether you can beat it or not...... They carefully studied the previous war in Spain and came to a conclusion - it was not that our side could not fight, but that their teammates were too crotch-pulling.

In fact, it is not surprising that they came to such a conclusion, because it is true, the Italians have only fought with the French in the whole process, and after surrendering on the frontal battlefield, they somehow surrendered.

So the POW incident is really not their responsibility.

In this way, the Italians had a definition of their combat effectiveness - the standard level of the great powers, not able to beat the French, but about the same as the Spaniards.

So, after receiving the order, they began to urgently transfer troops and siege artillery.

On 17 September, 110,000 of Italy's 200,000 troops gathered around Rome and began to march on the rest of the Lazio region of the Papal States outside Rome.

Their march was unhindered in any way, as the Pope had already given up these doomed territories.

As long as they hold Rome, the rest of the lands will come back - it's okay if they don't come back, they are worthless compared to the Eternal City.