The Austro-Prussian War was a conflict that had been prepared for a long time, and one in which the entire German states took a very clear stance.
The conflict had already begun in April, but due to the Prussian King's hesitation, Prussia only began preparing for war in May.
However, for this war, Prussia was clearly the one better prepared. The Prussians had long been ready to unify Germany, while the Austrians were still immersed in dreams of empire and were unaware that the Austrian Empire's situation was already extremely perilous at this time.
As June 1866 arrived, tensions along the Prussian and Austrian borders intensified.
The Kingdom of Bavaria, located in southern Germany, sought to initiate a vote for a Confederation in hopes of persuading both Prussia and Austria to halt their preparations for war. However, the military readiness of both nations had progressed to such an extent that Bavaria's efforts could not influence their actions.
As the Iron Chancellor Bismarck declared the decision of the Assembly invalid and demanded the dissolution of the Confederation Assembly, the entire German region began a vigorous process of taking sides.
This upcoming war would not only decide the victor but also determine the ultimate master of the German territories.
Standing with Prussia were Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, and other states in Northern Germany, as well as the three free cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck.
And standing with Austria were Saxony, Hanover, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, and other member states of the German Confederation.
In terms of the number of states and their population and area, the Austrian side had an advantage. However, in terms of military strength, the Prussian side was superior.
As June 14th officially arrived, this war, which both sides had long prepared for, finally broke out.
Carlo was not worried about this war at all. Even if it were just a one-on-one fight between Prussia and Austria, Austria would not be a match for Prussia.
Although the Italian army would not play a significant role, it could still tie down some Austrian troops in the early stages of the war.
Furthermore, Garibaldi had already prepared an army of over ten thousand men in advance; at the very least, this army would not be a hindrance.
If the Austrians were truly careless, Italy might not only recover the Venetian region but also claim the long-desired South Tyrol region.
It is worth mentioning that, not feeling confident about Garibaldi leading troops on his own, Victor Emmanuel II also agreed to Carlo's request to invite Garibaldi's second son, Ciotti, to serve as Carlo's ducal court military attache.
This position had no real power whatsoever, as Carlo was not entitled to a guard detail.
Ciotti's daily task was to accompany Carlo to study at the military academy, while also handling some miscellaneous matters for Carlo.
While Carlo was engaged in the monotonous and boring military studies day after day, the war between Prussia and Austria was raging intensely.
Although the entire battlefield was divided into three areas, the decisive one was the battlefield located in the Bohemian region.
This was not only where the main forces of the Prussian and Austrian armies clashed but also the most valuable part of the Austrian Empire.
The good news was that Carlo, thanks to his connections, could easily obtain the latest war reports from the front lines and publish them in his Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper.
Along with occasionally including some news about Garibaldi, the Italian Il Sole 24 Ore had completely solidified its position in the Italian media landscape.
Riding the momentum of the war's outbreak, the daily circulation of the Il Sole 24 Ore had exceeded 15,000 copies and was rapidly approaching a daily circulation of 20,000 copies.
If it weren't for the limitations of printing technology and communication technology of that era restricting the newspaper's expansion, the Il Sole 24 Ore could have taken this opportunity to become the largest newspaper in Italy.
The entire war did not last long, because Prussia was concerned about French intervention, causing the war to start with great fanfare and end rather abruptly.
The good news was that Italy successfully obtained compensation for participating in the war: the complete Venetian region and a portion of South Tyrol.
The bad news was that both the Italian army and Victor Emmanuel II displayed extremely poor performance during the war; the performance of over a hundred thousand Italian troops was not even as good as Garibaldi's army of over ten thousand men.
However, as the saying goes, the good outweighs the bad. Compared to the national celebration brought about by the recovery of Venice and the annexation of half of South Tyrol, Victor Emmanuel II's poor military command could be actively overlooked by the Italian public.
At least on this matter, Victor Emmanuel II and Garibaldi reached a compromise.
Garibaldi hoped to see a unified and powerful Italy in his lifetime, while Victor Emmanuel II hoped to achieve the great goal of unifying Italy during his reign; the two hit it off perfectly.
This also had benefits for Carlo.
The suggestion for Garibaldi to recruit troops and prepare for war was put forward by Carlo, and it proved to be quite effective.
If Garibaldi's army hadn't played a significant role on the southern front, it would have been very difficult for Italy to even recover Venice, let alone annex a part of South Tyrol.
The biggest factor in this was Prussia's concern about French intervention.
In the original history, after the Italian army's defeat, Garibaldi was appointed in a time of crisis, and with a hastily assembled army of only 38,000 men, he repeatedly defeated the Austrian army and even almost reached the Tyrol region.
But at that time, Prussia was concerned about French intervention and demanded that the Italian government immediately withdraw its troops with an extremely firm attitude.
Garibaldi reluctantly had to withdraw from South Tyrol, which meant Italy only gained the Venetian region, which the Austrians had voluntarily abandoned, in this war.
Now, because of Garibaldi's proactive attack, he had already captured most of South Tyrol before the Prussians demanded a withdrawal.
This also became the basis for the Italian diplomatic department to demand South Tyrol, and although they ultimately only obtained less than half of South Tyrol, it was still a greater gain than in the original history.
Compared to Italy, the Kingdom of Prussia was the country that gained the most from this war.
After the war ended, the German Confederation was declared dissolved, and Austria lost control over the German territories.
Prussia leaped to become the leader of all the states in the German region and annexed the Kingdom of Hanover, becoming the new hegemon of the German territories.
This was quite favorable to countries like Italy. With Prussia attracting the attention of Britain and France, Italy could develop quietly for a while, and Carlo didn't have to worry that some of his actions would cause bigger unexpected events.