When an unremarkable carriage quietly carried Prince Metternich, the advisor of the Austrian Empire, into Milan City, the entire city was unaware of his arrival.

Even Governor Albrecht, the Governor of Lombardy-Venice, was no exception. Therefore, when Prince Metternich’s carriage arrived at the Milan Governor’s Mansion, the soldiers guarding the entrance stopped his carriage and requested Prince Metternich to present relevant documents.

Inside the carriage, Prince Metternich opened the door and then handed a family emblem of the Metternich Clan to the soldier.

"This is..." The soldier, who had never seen the emblem before, curiously examined the item handed to him by Prince Metternich, and asked inquisitively.

"Hand this item over to your Governor Albrecht, and you’ll understand everything!" Prince Metternich responded calmly.

"Please wait a moment!" The soldier immediately changed to a respectful tone, responding to Prince Metternich, then turned and walked towards the Governor’s Mansion.

After a while, the soldier quickly returned to the entrance of the Governor’s Mansion, followed by a group of soldiers wearing the light blue uniforms of the Austrian Empire, adorned with various medals on their chests.

When these soldiers arrived at the entrance of the Governor’s Mansion, the leading soldier immediately raised his hand to signal the others to stop. He approached the side of the carriage alone, peering through the window to see Prince Metternich pretending to sleep inside.

Subsequently, the soldier cautiously opened the carriage door and gently called out, "Your Highness, Your Highness!"

Upon hearing the call, Prince Metternich slowly opened his eyes, looked at the soldier standing at the carriage door, and revealed a gentle smile, lazily saying, "Oh, it’s Albrecht! Why did you come personally?"

"Your Highness Prince Metternich, I was just idling in the office, so I came over!" Governor of Lombardy-Venice, son of Grand Duke Karl, and reputed general of the Austrian Empire, Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf, replied respectfully to the 85-year-old Prince.

"It’s kind of you to come!" Prince Metternich replied slowly to Albrecht.

"Not at all, not at all!" Albrecht’s tone revealed a hint of flattery, "You’ve been the one with a hard journey! Did everything go smoothly on your way here?"

"Nothing happened," Prince Metternich shook his head in response to Albrecht.

"That’s good to hear!" Grand Duke Albrecht smiled and then said, "Perhaps we should go into the Governor’s Mansion and then continue our conversation?"

"That works!" Metternich nodded and continued to close his eyes for a nap.

Albrecht closed the carriage door, then instructed the driver to proceed into the Governor’s Mansion.

The carriage, driven by the coachman, entered the courtyard of the Governor’s Mansion.

In this courtyard filled with Renaissance buildings and sculptures, the coachman stopped the carriage again, and seeing this, Grand Duke Albrecht quickly approached the carriage to open the door for Prince Metternich.

In his state of feigned sleep, Prince Metternich slowly opened his eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through all things, then stood up and stepped off the carriage.

As Prince Metternich stepped into the courtyard, his eyes occasionally surveyed his surroundings. He recalled the scene years ago when he met with Marshal Radetzky here, and couldn’t help but sigh, "Ah! I didn’t expect it; so much time has passed, yet nothing here has changed!"

"Indeed! Decades, even centuries, may seem distant to us, but for these buildings, it’s merely a fleeting moment!" Albrecht sighed as well.

"Let’s not talk about this anymore," Prince Metternich, with slightly darkened eyes, shook his head and replied to Albrecht.

"Yes, let’s not dwell on it!" Albrecht, sensing Prince Metternich’s melancholy, which might have been triggered by the surroundings and Marshal Radetzky’s death, quickly changed the topic, "Let’s go! Let me show you inside!"

Under Albrecht’s guidance, Prince Metternich slowly strolled along the courtyard path, and soon, they arrived at one of the palaces within the Governor’s Mansion.

Upon entering the palace hall, Grand Duke Albrecht quickly introduced the members to Prince Metternich, "Your Highness, these are the members of the Governor’s Mansion!

This is my Chief of Staff Benedek, and this is the commander of the First Division of Lombardy..."

Grand Duke Albrecht introduced each subordinate to Prince Metternich in turn, and Prince Metternich smiled and nodded to each of them, expressing his approval.

After introducing each subordinate, Albrecht also guided Prince Metternich on a tour of the Governor’s Mansion’s War Room.

Inside the War Room, Albrecht looked at Prince Metternich with hopeful eyes and asked solemnly, "Your Highness, have there been any latest instructions from Vienna?"

Prince Metternich smiled slightly, then nodded slowly to Grand Duke Albrecht, "Indeed, Vienna has commanded me to convey the latest instructions to you!"

With Prince Metternich’s affirmative response, excitement flickered in the eyes of Albrecht and the generals behind him. They had tirelessly prepared in Lombardy for nearly a month, all for this very moment.

"Prince, when can we begin formal action!" Grand Duke Albrecht asked Prince Metternich excitedly.

Prince Metternich slowly opened his mouth and said, "The purpose of my visit this time is twofold: first, to give you the final combat orders, and second, to deliver the ultimatum to the Kingdom of Sardinia!

That is to say, before the ultimatum reaches the hands of the Kingdom of Sardinia, you cannot take any action.

Once the ultimatum reaches the Kingdom of Sardinia and if they do not provide a satisfactory response within the specified time, then you may begin action!!"

"Understood!" Grand Duke Albrecht nodded in response to Richard Metternich, and suddenly thought of something, asking again, "By the way, as far as I know, France has not yet formally broken off diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Sardinia. Will this cause any unnecessary trouble for our actions?"

Although Albrecht’s attitude was very tactful, Prince Metternich understood that Albrecht was worried that the French Empire might intervene in the Kingdom of Sardinia, which could likely lead to a war between France and the Austrian Empire.

"You can rest assured, the French Empire will not help the Kingdom of Sardinia because of this matter!" Prince Metternich replied confidently to Albrecht.

On the issue of the Kingdom of Sardinia, both Prince Metternich and Count Baur did not think Jerome Bonaparte would go back on his word.

After all, the Austrian Empire is not completely annihilating the Kingdom of Sardinia, but weakening it.

"If that is the case, I’ll go prepare immediately!" Grand Duke Albrecht replied to Prince Metternich.

...

Subsequently, Prince Metternich assigned an officer from the Governor’s Mansion to go to Turin and hand over the Austrian Empire’s ultimatum to Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Sardinia, who would then pass it to Victor Emmanuel II.

The officer, following Prince Metternich’s orders, set off from Milan and, after several hours of hard riding, finally reached the border between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia by that evening.

The Sardinian army on the border, upon seeing the Austrian officer, hastily assumed a defensive posture.

The Austrian officer quickly dismounted and made a gesture of surrender with both hands. Seeing this, the Sardinian officer quickly asked, "What are you here for?"

The Austrian officer hastily replied in Lombard, "I am here to deliver a message from His Majesty Franz Joseph of the Austrian Empire!"

"Deliver a message? To whom?" The Sardinian officer asked again.

"Of course, it is to deliver it to your King Victor Emmanuel of the Kingdom of Sardinia!" The Austrian officer replied.

"Got it! Come on over!" The Sardinian officer waved at the Austrian officer, who was then allowed to enter the territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Subsequently, at the invitation of the Sardinian officer, the Austrian officer rested overnight at the Sardinian camp and set off for Turin again the next morning.

After several hours by train, the Austrian officer arrived in Turin.

Upon getting off at the Turin Railway Station, the Austrian officer swiftly headed to the Austrian Embassy in Sardinia.

After meeting with the ambassador at the embassy, the Austrian officer handed over the ultimatum from Prince Metternich to the ambassador to Sardinia.

Upon seeing the ultimatum, the ambassador’s face showed a surprised expression.

As the Ambassador of the Austrian Empire to Sardinia, he was only now learning of this matter.

To be cautious, the Sardinian ambassador inquired solemnly, "Is this ultimatum truly from Vienna?"

"Your Excellency, this ultimatum was indeed given to me by Prince Metternich!" The Austrian officer responded confidently to the ambassador to Sardinia, "If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to Milan!"

[There is no radio station set up between Turin and Milan!]

"In that case, I will head to the Turin Royal Palace now!" The ambassador to Sardinia chose to trust the Austrian officer.

After all, in recent times, the Austrian Imperial Army has been frequently moving in the border areas, which he is well aware of.

Therefore, King Victor Emmanuel II of the Turin Royal Palace has often inquired what the Austrian Empire intends to do.

It now appears that the Austrian Empire’s prior movements in the border area were intended to attack the Kingdom of Sardinia.