Chapter 971: Old Friends
All these accolades combined, along with Adelaide's French Duchess title, meant that even the Duke of Modena wouldn't dare claim more power than her.
Most importantly, she was far from an incompetent leader. In just a few days, she had managed Modena's affairs with remarkable efficiency.
After all, she had observed Joseph's governance firsthand, and even a fraction of his methods proved immensely effective for a small nation like Modena.
For instance, her directive to establish the "Modena Wood Carving Trading Company" was modeled after the Paris Angel Company, focusing on brand building, enhanced promotion, and unified sales.
This single initiative was projected to earn Modena hundreds of thousands of francs annually.
Under such a positive cycle, no one harbored any dissatisfaction with her administration.
Meanwhile, in Venice.
After the Austrians departed from Venice, preparations for new parliamentary elections had begun, and today was finally ballot counting day.
Three parties were vying for power, but the neutral party was extremely weak from the outset, with no chance of winning.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, when Baroni, the President of the Venice Shipping Guild, appeared in St. Mark's Square, the thousands of people gathered there collectively held their breath, and the surroundings instantly fell silent.
Baroni received the envelope from the election committee, opened it publicly, and then proclaimed loudly, "The Trade Promotion Party has secured 61 votes. The Conservative Alliance Party has secured 7 votes. The Federal Party has secured 135 votes. The Federal Party will form the government!"
Venice's political model had undergone significant modifications—the positions of Governor, the Grand Council, and the Council of Ten were abolished, leaving only the Senate and the Parliament.
This made it difficult for the great nobles to control Venice's political landscape, with merchants and the citizenry dominating the election results.
The "French occupation army" that had drafted this series of rules garnered immense prestige in Venice. The most common saying among the people lately was, "His Majesty Louis XVI has brought us freedom and hope."
Of course, Joseph's primary objective wasn't solely to benefit the people of Venice, but because a parliament, especially in a small country, was genuinely easier to control than a monarch.
Furthermore, many of Venice's great nobles had close ties to Austria, so marginalizing them aligned with French interests.
For many ordinary Venetians, however, the main reason for their pro-French sentiment was that with the French army's arrival, they no longer had to pay "tribute" to the Holy Roman Emperor.
The first order of business for the Venice Federal Party after taking power was to announce Venice's application to join the Mediterranean Security Organization and the Iberian-Apennine Common Market.
They then dispatched envoys to Milan to discuss the "return of Verona to the Milan Republic."
In truth, for Venice, only the Venetian islands and the coastal region of Treviso were indispensable. Ceding the relatively impoverished inland provinces would actually reduce their financial burden.
As for the agreement concerning France's lease of Split Port, the Venetian Parliament passed it unanimously, signing it into immediate effect.
Split Port is located on the northern shore of the Adriatic Sea in northern Italy, specifically on the northwestern side of the Balkan Peninsula. This area would later be incorporated into Croatia in the twentieth century, but it was currently Venetian territory.
This port commands the entrance to the Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Venice. It is also just over 160 kilometers from the Austrian city of Senj, making it a potential rapid transit route to Central Europe when needed.
However, for Venice, it was an isolated outpost surrounded by Ottoman territory. Any trade conducted there would incur Ottoman taxes, making its value very low, so leasing it to France caused no regret whatsoever.
Moreover, Venice had long since abandoned its navy. After aligning with France, having a French fleet stationed at Split Port would actually provide them with greater peace of mind.
Thus, the entire Apennine Peninsula, with the exception of the Two Sicilies and the Papal States, had now fully joined the French-led military and trade system.
...
Austria's southwestern border.
Klagenfurt Fortress.
A knock sounded on the door of the fortress commander's office. An aide announced from outside, "Marshal, Mr. Schulmeister is here."
"Let him in," Leo said languidly.
He was currently the highest-ranking general in all of Austria, second only to Archduke Charles. All more capable officers had fallen to the French forces, while he maintained his unblemished record, and his prestige naturally soared.
Therefore, His Imperial Majesty had entrusted the immensely important Klagenfurt Fortress to him.
The door opened, and Marshal Leo slightly raised his eyelids, glancing at the merchant standing at the doorway: "Schulmeister, I am very busy. You'd best not be here to waste my time."
The merchant smiled and bowed slightly: "Marshal, an old friend of yours wishes to see you."
With that, he stepped aside, revealing the "attendant" behind him.
Leo was on the verge of calling for his guards, but when the "attendant" removed his hat, his jaw dropped in astonishment: "Le-Lefebvre, Major Lefebvre? Is that really you? What brings you here?"
He regarded this French officer with both respect and apprehension—back then, the latter had commanded only a single regiment, yet its combat power surpassed his own ten thousand soldiers, and he had even helped Leo earn numerous military merits, propelling him all the way to Marshal.
Schulmeister quietly corrected him from the side: "It's Colonel Lefebvre now, Marshal."
"Oh, yes. My apologies," a smile spread across Leo's face. "With your abilities, you must have received multiple promotions over the past two years.
"Please, have a seat. I'll have dinner prepared right away."
Lefebvre saluted him by raising his hat, a faint smile on his lips: "There will be plenty of opportunities for banquets later, my dear Franz. I've come this time to ask for your help with something.
"Ah, consider it helping yourself as well."
Leo quickly nodded: "We are the best of friends. Please, speak freely."
...
The French military camp in Udine, just over 50 kilometers from Klagenfurt.
Desaix nervously checked his pocket watch; the appointed time was drawing near.
He couldn't help but feel anxious. The upcoming operation would trigger a war between the two nations, and if anything went wrong, he would undoubtedly face a court-martial.
But if things proceeded smoothly, he would be etched into French history as the first officer to enter Vienna.
Just then, faint gunshots echoed in the distance.
Desaix immediately perked up and said to his chief of staff beside him, "Go see what's happening."
"Yes, Commander."
To make the act convincing, the vast majority of the Corsican Legion were unaware of his and Napoleon's plan.
Soon, scouts rushed back, shouting to him, "It's the Austrians! Approximately two companies strong, they're attacking us!"
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