The next point of contention between the two sides was the restoration of the Papal State's pre-war territorial status, which was located in the middle of the Apennine Peninsula and could cut off Italy once it had its former territory.

Friedrich: "The status of the Papal State is transcendent, but the Kingdom of Italy is constantly encroaching on the territory of the Papal State through various intrigues, and we should put the Papal State in a special position, the Papal State does not participate in international affairs, but no country may invade the Papal State, otherwise the invader is an enemy of God, and anyone has the right to destroy him." ”

That is, to turn the Papal State into a vase, or a permanent neutral country, this matter has no effect on other countries, only the forces in the Italian territory that want to unify will be affected, like a fish bone stuck in the neck.

Gamore, of course, objected: "The Kingdom of Italy does not recognize the existence of the Papal State, he is only a puppet of Austria-Hungary." ”

Friedrich: "Even being a puppet is better than being destroyed by an evil state like Sardinia!" Is this the attitude of your kingdom of Sardinia towards the Pope and the attitude of God? ”

When it came to religious issues, Austria-Hungary had the upper hand, after all, the Papal States still had some influence among the world's believers.

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Earl Granville said, "Okay, since there are differences, then let's analyze and discuss them one by one." ”

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's ideal for Italy was to dismember Italy and recover the Venetian-Lombardy region at the same time, and the idea of the Kingdom of Italy was no longer important, and it was now up to Britain and Russia to take a stand.

Britain has interests in the Kingdom of Sardinia, so it wants to keep the Kingdom of Italy intact, but it is impossible to expect Austria-Hungary to strike and let Italy unify, and it is impossible for the British themselves to let the lobster soldiers go ashore to fight Austria-Hungary, especially now, Italy's defeat is decided, and the best thing to say is to let the Russians be the villains.

So the Count of Granville said to the Russian Foreign Minister: "Your Excellency Gorchakov, what do you think of this? ”

Gorchakov: "I don't have much of an opinion, but I think that the integrity and unity of the Kingdom of Italy should be respected, and we support the independence of the Kingdom of Naples. ”

Both support and both oppose, Gorchakov did not mention the Papal State, after all, for religious reasons, Gorchakov will not say good things about the Papal State, it is better to finish it quickly, and then the Orthodox Church will get the right to speak in Christianity.

And the reason for the goodwill expressed to the Kingdom of Naples is naturally because the independence of the Kingdom of Naples will basically not change, unless there is a country that really goes to war with Austria-Hungary, this country can be Britain, France, or even Prussia, but it can definitely not be Russia.

Although Russia is very angry with Austria-Hungary, it is impossible to fight for Italy and Austria-Hungary, especially now that the Kingdom of Italy has existed in name only, the Kingdom of Naples has been restored, and the use value of the Kingdom of Italy has been greatly reduced. Now even if Russia sends troops, there is a high probability that it will not be able to change the status quo of Italy, at most it will give Hungary and Czechoslovakia some blows in the east, if Russia does this, it is estimated that Austria will not be surprised, and one of the bases for the continued existence of Austria-Hungary is the existence of Russia. Even if it succeeds, the final result will not fall into their own hands, but let the British take advantage of it for nothing.

So interfering in Italy is a thankless task for Russia, and Gorchakov is not at all concerned with the provocation of the British, and if he really wants to help Italy, it depends on the attitude of the British.

Seeing that Gorchakov was not interested in the Kingdom of Italy, the Count of Granville had no choice. It just so happened that at this time, France had been abolished, and there was nothing that could be done about the Italian region for the time being, so it was impossible to really go to England!

The Earl of Granville still knew that Austria-Hungary had become the biggest winner this time, that is, a question of winning big and winning. Since Austria-Hungary cannot be stopped, try to minimize the benefits of Austria-Hungary.

Count Granville: "The Kingdom of Italy has a lot of responsibility for this war, but Austria-Hungary is not without responsibility, the war is completely avoidable, I think it is better for you two countries to take a step back, after all, the war has reached this point, and the result is already obvious." ”

By saying this, the Earl of Granville recognized the victory of Austria-Hungary in the war on behalf of Britain, but still wanted to fight for the Kingdom of Italy.

Friedrich: "We can make concessions, but at most Sicily can remain in the Kingdom of Italy, but that's all." ”

The people of Sicily were originally opposed to the rule of the Kingdom of Naples, so this could still be abandoned, and if it were not for the instigation of Austria-Hungary and the pressure on the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Naples would not have planned to take over this hot potato.

Gamor: "Austria-Hungary has no sincerity for peace, and Sicily is already under our control, so it cannot be counted as a condition for negotiations. ”

Friedrich: "Hehe, now the initiative for the change of the situation in the war is in our hands, and if we want to further dismember Italy, no one can stop us." ”

Friedrich's words aroused opposition from Britain and Russia, but they also realized that if the Kingdom of Italy did not surrender, it was afraid that even the Kingdom of Sardinia might not exist at that time, although the situation in Italy was now very bad, but compared with the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples in general.

"Venice can be returned to Austria-Hungary, but Lombardy cannot, the Kingdom of Naples will no longer be united with Sicily, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies will never be restored, and the Papal States will remain unchanged." ”

Friedrich: "The return of Lombardy to Austria-Hungary and the papal state's demand to reclaim the eastern territories are legitimate. ”

Gamor: "No! Both Lombardy and Venice are inalienable territories of the Kingdom of Italy, and we are resolutely opposed to the hegemony and aggression of Austria-Hungary. ”

Friedrich spread his hands and said: "Your Excellency the Count of Granville, you have also seen it, it's not that we Austria-Hungary don't want to negotiate, since the Italians have made a choice, don't blame us for continuing the war!" ”

The Earl of Granville threatened Gamore with a cold face: "Italy, as the initiator of the war, should accept the punishment and not continue to be ignorant." ”

The Count of Granville essentially maintained the Kingdom of Italy, and he also wanted the Kingdom of Italy to cooperate with him, and if Italy had not performed badly on the battlefield, Britain would not have been so passive, so Italy could only accept the mediation of Britain and accept the result of defeat.

The Count of Granville said to Friedrich: "Venice can be given to your country, but Lombardy must not return to Austria, this is the bottom line of Britain." ”

Friedrich bargained: "Lombardy may not be completely returned to Austria-Hungary, but the eastern third must be subject to Austro-Hungarian rule." ”

This was a promise of the benefits of the Hungarians, and naturally it was necessary to get it, and the Count of Granville agreed to this after careful consideration.

Thus, under the Anglo-Austrian negotiations, the Italian-Austrian War ended, the Austro-Hungarian Empire acquired Venice and a third of Lombardy, the Papal States recovered the eastern Adriatic coast, and the Kingdom of Naples became independent and recognized by the international community.

As for the Kingdom of Italy, under the threat of the British, they were forced to sign the peace agreement, but the British essentially preserved the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia, Sicily, and most of Lombardy remained in the territory of the Kingdom of Italy, and the overall strength of the Italian region was still the first.

The meeting took place in Birmingham, England, so the Peace Agreement between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary of 1871 was also known as the Birmingham Peace Agreement.

(End of chapter)