Pius IX, upon reflection, recalled the conversation he had with Freud that day, and noticed some anomalies.

On that day, he was lost in wild thoughts, so what exactly was Freud affirming? He specifically mentioned not to talk about this with subordinates. What exactly was the trump card of Austria-Hungary?

"Mr. Freud, I have just received intelligence that the Kingdom of Italy's army is about to arrive beneath the walls of Rome. The trump card of Austria-Hungary you mentioned a few days ago, what exactly is it? It is a perilous time for the survival of the Pope Country; could you inform me about it!"

"Ah! Didn't you guess it a few days ago?" Freud asked somewhat surprised.

"Uh, now I realize that what I guessed might be slightly different from your country's intentions..."

"Well then, allow me to keep the suspense. Once the war breaks out, Your Majesty will know, there's no need to hurry for now." Freud finally realized what was going on: Pius IX had made wild guesses and then turned the tables.

Pius IX was anxious: "Mr. Freud, the situation is very critical now. The Kingdom of Italy is about to attack Rome. How can I be at peace?..." Just as Pius IX was about to continue speaking.

"Boom... boom... boom..."

The sound of cannon fire came from outside the city.

The Italian army had begun its attack.

"Your Majesty, since you want to know the trump card of our Austria-Hungary, why not come with me to the frontline to have a look?" Freud said.

"Uh, let's forget about that! The affairs inside Rome need me to oversee and manage." Pius IX replied evasively.

Freud smiled knowingly and said, "In that case, how about the Pope and I have a cup of coffee here and wait for the outcome of the war together?"

Freud considered himself a hostage to put Pius IX at ease—if he didn't plan on fleeing, he must have some preparations in place.

Seeing Freud calmly sitting, Pius IX also put down a bit of his guard. If at this moment Freud found an excuse to leave, Pius IX could be certain that he was being set up by Austria-Hungary.

...

Inside Rome's defense line, the Pope Country's army, consisting of believers from various countries, was engaging in battle with the Kingdom of Italy's army outside the city.

Garibaldi and others had attempted to use the slogan of Italian unification to rouse the military and civilians within Rome, urging them to abandon resistance and peacefully unify Rome.

However, after Pius IX scattered a huge amount of money, the Pope Country's army completely disregarded Garibaldi and others' surrender demands. Moreover, due to the high number of foreigners, who empathized with Italy's fate?

A bullet shot by a Dutchman almost hit Garibaldi himself, and when communication failed, the Kingdom of Italy could only use artillery to enlighten these unyielding Pope Country soldiers.

The sides engaged in artillery exchanges, and leveraging the cover and city walls, the numerically inferior Pope Country's army managed to fight back and forth with the Kingdom of Italy's army.

"Boom... boom... boom..."

Despite pre-war reinforcements, Rome, which hadn't faced warfare for a long time, was severely damaged, with parts being breached.

However, Garibaldi and others did not dare to let their soldiers charge directly. Compared to history, the Kingdom of Italy had halved its troop numbers to tackle Austria-Hungary, so they had to use them sparingly.

"Continue the bombardment. Once the city's defenses have larger breaches, our men can charge in." Garibaldi instructed Cadorna.

"Hmm, artillery, ready!" Cadorna commanded the kingdom's artillery units.

...

The sound of artillery was a signal.

Having eaten their fill and drunk to their heart's content, the Austrian-Hungarian expeditionary force began advancing toward Rome at the same time Garibaldi and others arrived. Upon hearing the artillery sound, Admiral Karl divided the expeditionary force into two groups, rapidly heading toward Rome from the east and west.

"Today we shall join forces with the Roman garrison to encircle the Italian army, allowing them no return." Admiral Karl said fiercely.

Meanwhile, the Italians focused on attacking Rome were evidently unaware that a surprise force was coming to encircle them from the south.

Austria-Hungary did an excellent job of keeping it a secret; even Pius IX didn't know there was an Austrian-Hungarian army right under his nose.

As the bombardment continued, it reached five in the afternoon. Garibaldi felt that the time was about right, with parts of Rome now collapsed.

He said to Cadorna, "It's time to begin!"

"Attack!" Cadorna ordered after getting Garibaldi's confirmation.

To boost morale, Garibaldi, as he always did, personally led the charge, using the Italian volunteer army as the vanguard to launch a full-scale assault on Rome.

However, some of the Pope Country's soldiers on the ramparts were already considering retreat at this point. Yet, the special nature of the Pope Country played a role. As Pius IX said, has faith truly lost its appeal?

Of course not. Devout believers had no intention of retreating with the temporarily hired Italian soldiers; they intended to defend Rome and fight to the death against the Kingdom of Italy.

The two sides engaged in a bloody battle amidst the walls and bulwarks. But with their numerical advantage, the Kingdom of Italy gradually began to get the upper hand.

The believers retreated towards the city, using streets and buildings within the city to stage a last-ditch resistance. Meanwhile, the Italian army, led by Garibaldi's reinforcement corps, finally breached Rome.

At this moment, with Rome's "situation finalized," Garibaldi shouted passionately, "For the warriors fighting for Italian freedom! We have returned! This is Rome, the homeland of us Italians."

Just as Garibaldi was about to permanently erase the Pope Country from Italy's map, gunfire and cannon blasts suddenly sounded from behind—Austria-Hungary had arrived!

...

The Kingdom of Italy's army, having rushed headlong into Rome, didn't even have time to react before being ambushed from behind.

Admiral Karl, leading the fast-marching Austria-Hungary expeditionary force, arrived at a crucial moment. Coinciding with the Italian army's entry from outside the city and ongoing front-line clashes, they didn't notice the enemy behind them in time.

However, Garibaldi, at the very front, was the first to react: this gunfire and cannon noise was wrong!

But unfortunately, it was too late. The fervently fighting elite of Austria-Hungary charged in from behind, turning the Kingdom of Italy's army into a sandwich between the Roman garrison and the Austrian-Hungarian expeditionary force, trapped in a narrow area unable to mount an effective counterattack.

An alarmed Cadorna, startled by the Austrian-Hungarian force, stumbled and scrambled to Garibaldi's side.

He cried in a trembling voice, "It's over, Mr. Garibaldi! It's all over!"

By this point, Garibaldi, breathless from the battle, his chest heaving up and down as he breathed, grasped his gun with resolute hands and said calmly, "No, it isn't over. As long as I am alive, I will fight until the last moment. The enemy can annihilate my body, but the spirit of Italian freedom can never be destroyed."

With that, Garibaldi ignored Cadorna and turned to his comrades who had been beside him all along and said, "Brothers, today we've stumbled. Are you afraid? Next, we might meet our fallen comrades!"

"Mr. Garibaldi, we are not afraid, for we fight for freedom!"

"Good, for freedom! Let's charge one last time!"

Garibaldi's volunteer regiment paid no more heed to the Roman garrison and turned to charge at the Austrian-Hungarian army—even while the Pope Country's soldiers kept attacking from behind, at this moment, Garibaldi and his comrades had only resentment towards Austria-Hungary, the invader, in their hearts.

"Bang... bang... bang..."

Under attack from both sides, the Kingdom of Italy's army, led by Cadorna, directly surrendered, while Garibaldi, Italy's hero, and his comrades fell in a pool of blood.

Rome was conquered twice today, once by the Kingdom of Italy, and then by Austria-Hungary—once reclaimed for Italy, once for the Pope Country.