Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1228 - 1133: The Security Organization’s First Joint Operation

Chapter 1228: Chapter 1133: The Security Organization’s First Joint Operation

Ariosto’s eyes lit up instantly: “Are you saying that the Security Organization will…”

Talleyrand nodded with a smile again: “As soon as Lucca declares war, the Security Organization will begin assembling forces. As long as the Neapolitans dare to retaliate, the army will immediately enter Abruzzo.”

Abruzzo is a key town northwest of Naples, just over 150 kilometers from the capital, Naples City.

However, Ariosto was still a bit uneasy and said, “Your Excellency, the Archbishop, what if Ferdinand IV seeks help from Austria?”

On the surface, Naples follows Spain, but in reality, it has always pursued a pro-Austrian policy.

Talleyrand glanced at him: “If he remembers General Cordova’s words, he won’t choose to do so.”

He was referring to the early 16th century when the Duchy of Milan, due to Naples interfering in its succession affairs, decided to ally with France to attack Naples.

King Ferdinand II of Naples could not resist and sought help from Spain.

Spain’s famous general Cordova quickly led a large army into Naples and fought against France, while at this time the Duchy of Milan suddenly defected, inflicting heavy losses on the French army and forcing them to retreat.

King Louis XII of France, in anger, secretly negotiated with Spain to jointly divide Milan and Florence.

Cordova’s army then turned to occupy Florence, and the then King Frederick IV fled. Florence was thereafter under Spanish rule for nearly 200 years, later regaining independence through the Vienna Treaty due to the War of the Polish Succession.

How could Naples dare to invite the wolf into their home again?

Talleyrand said coldly again: “If Naples really seeks help from Austria, it might actually be a good thing.”

In the past, the Austrians couldn’t even hold the Mantua Fortress, and now letting them take the initiative to attack the fortresses garrisoned by the French army would simply be delivering war reparations.

Ariosto finally no longer hesitated and stood up, saying: “I will have the Elder Council vote on going to war.”

Several days later.

The Neapolitan Foreign Minister Domenico Caracciolo handed the war declaration note just delivered from the Republic of Lucca to Prime Minister John Acton and scoffed: “Are the Luccans mad?”

The latter quickly scanned the document and also smiled: “’Compensate Lucca for losses of 6 million francs and sign a written agreement to ensure that similar incidents will not occur again… otherwise, a full-scale attack will be launched within half a month.’

“Haha, their Elder Council probably needs to give an account domestically. After all, this time the British caused too much trouble.”

“Most likely so.” Caracciolo nodded and then asked, “What do you think we should do?”

Acton thought for a while and instructed, “Send someone to express to Lucca that it was the munitions officer smuggling weapons, and the military tribunal has already dealt with it.”

This was already giving considerable face to Lucca, a small country. It was also because the Lucca government presented solid evidence proving Naples’ involvement in the riot.

Acton then said: “Go summon Sir Paget and tell him that this has brought us considerable trouble and he must compensate us.”

They thus concluded this “small affair” and subsequently only gave a brief report to Ferdinand IV.

What they did not expect, however, was that Lucca really sent troops half a month later.

Lucca had never been so high-profile since its founding.

Lucca National Army soldiers were stationed in Abruzzo—they had conducted an emergency mobilization for this war.

On their left wing were 5,000 soldiers from Parma and Modena.

The right wing was made up of 4,000 Milan, Genoa, and Venice allied forces.

Following behind were 10,000 Sardinian Army members.

In the distance were two French artillery batteries, with 12 artillery pieces menacingly eyeing the Abruzzo border troops below.

At the same time, there were 3,000 French infantry serving as a reserve force. They all came from the French garrisons in Ravenna and Mantua.

The 1,500 Neapolitan soldiers on the opposite side were trembling all over.

The border lieutenant colonel in command constantly prayed in his heart that the enemy would not launch an attack. He had heard about the Lucca declaration of war but never expected it to appear in his defense zone—Lucca and Abruzzo do not even share a border. All of Naples thought Lucca would at most send a fleet to loiter near Naples City, which would count as “launching an attack.”

It wasn’t until he saw the 23,000-strong army that he remembered the existence of the Mediterranean Security Organization.

Two hours later, this Neapolitan lieutenant colonel was already drinking coffee in the Lucca military camp—he surrendered without any resistance.

Subsequently, the Security Organization’s allied forces divided some of their troops to besiege Abruzzo, while the 20,000 primary force continued advancing towards Naples City to the south.

The entire Naples fell into panic at once.

Ferdinand IV urgently mobilized troops to defend the capital while sending Caracciolo to negotiate with Lucca.

The total forces of Naples amounted to over 50,000 people, but because they did not take Lucca’s declaration of war seriously, the troops were still scattered all over the country, with fewer than 10,000 stationed near the capital.

Moreover, what worried Ferdinand IV the most was the 3,000 French troops in the Security Organization’s allied forces.

Although their numbers were not many, it signified France’s stance.

Even if Naples urgently dispatched troops to block this wave, as soon as France began reinforcing with more troops, Naples City could fall at any time.

Ferdinand IV did consider asking the instigator of the incident—the British—for mediation, but the British envoy resolutely refused and even threatened him not to reveal Britain’s involvement.

Eight days later, as the Security Organization’s allied forces dawdled to the walls of Naples City, they received news from Lucca’s Stadtholder—Naples had agreed to sign a ceasefire agreement with Lucca, including compensating Lucca with 6 million francs, paying 1.5 million francs in allied forces’ logistics costs, and promising never to interfere in the internal affairs of any Northern Italian state in the future.

Upon Lucca government’s request, the Security Organization’s allied forces began to withdraw.

As newspapers reported on the situation concerning the allied forces’ expedition, the entire Northern Italy boiled over.

This bloodless victory truly validated the reliability of the Security Organization’s mechanism.

Such as the small state of Lucca, which, when large countries meddled in its domestic affairs in the past, could only suffer in silence. But this time, Naples had to bow down and make reparations.

This filled all member states of the Security Organization with a sense of security.

At the same time, this joint military operation also served as a rehearsal for military cooperation among countries, revealing some coordination issues that laid the foundation for improving joint operational efficiency in the future.

Lucca graciously distributed the vast majority of the reparations to the countries that sent troops, to “support new industrial construction.”

Governments of all countries began celebrating the great victory, and the streets and alleys were lively, showing no signs of the protests and demonstrations that took place just over half a month ago.