Chapter 702 Transaction
The Papal States.
Rome.
The black carriage rolled over the muddy road, splashing large amounts of sewage and messing up the delicate red trousers of the cavalry guards on both sides.
In the car, the Austrian Minister of State, Baron Turgut, folded the secret letter he had just received before departure and put it back into the envelope.
Baron Walter, who was sitting opposite, looked at his frown, picked up the nuts on the table, threw them into his mouth, and said casually: "It seems that your Majesty still hasn't been able to get the silver mine?"
Although Turgut didn’t want to talk to this idiot, he didn’t want to offend the royal family either, so he nodded and said:
"General Wilmser lost a battalion ten days ago. He asked for reinforcements and heavy artillery was shipped to him. You know, his soldiers are very slack..."
After the miners all moved to After climbing the mountain, they desperately held off the Austrian invading army for 8 days, and finally waited for reinforcements sent from Warsaw.
The soldiers of the 5 regiments greatly improved the situation in Krakow, and even used the familiar terrain to recapture the town of Chebinia. Although they failed to hold it later, they dealt a huge blow to Wilmser. .
Nearly two months after the Austrian army invaded Krakow, they were still fighting over a small town. Emperor Shinra finally couldn't sit still.
Wilmser attributed the poor battle situation to low morale, and the biggest factor affecting morale was the damn rumor that "the Pope called for a holy war."
So, after repeated discussions, Francis II and his ministers finally finalized a solution.
Tugut came to Rome as the emperor's special envoy to implement this plan. But in order to take advantage of this credit, Walter had to follow his peers.
"The Pope will definitely not be able to refuse that huge temptation, and then the lie will be shattered," Walter made an explosive gesture and said proudly, "The poor Poles offered Krakow. You and I accept it. Your Majesty’s award, it’s that simple.”
"I hope it goes as smoothly as you said." Turgut looked out the window with a complicated expression.
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
Tugut walked out of St. Peter's Basilica with a solemn expression.
Walter, who was waiting in the corridor, hurriedly came over and asked: "How is it? When will the Pope go to Vienna?"
Turgut frowned and shook his head: "His Majesty the Pope refused. Our proposal.”
"How is this possible?!" Walter stared and screamed, "Our country's archbishops are all nominated by the Holy See and protect the absolute integrity of the Papal State, and he only needs to go to Vienna to say a few words. He would actually do such a good thing Refuse!”
No wonder he was so surprised, the conditions proposed by Franz II this time were indeed generous.
During the reign of Joseph II, Austria had begun to follow France's example of severing itself from the Holy See. Archbishops of important domestic dioceses no longer accepted appointments from the Holy See. This significantly reduced the Holy See's sphere of influence.
In addition, although the Holy See has a huge influence in Europe, the Papal State has territorial disputes with almost all surrounding countries - the territory of the Papal State was basically snatched from them during the times of Pepin and Charles. .
And since the Papal State has few troops, even a small country like Modena can threaten him.
All the Italian countries have just lacked an excuse, otherwise they would immediately go to war with the Papal States.
Historically, after the emperor provided this reason, the Papal States was quickly divided by the Italians, leaving only the small city of Rome.
So the Holy See has always been insecure, but no big country has promised to protect it -
France hopes that the Holy See will die soon. Avignon can become the leader of the Catholic world.
Spain is powerless, and its close relatives, the Two Sicilies, have huge territorial claims on the Papal States.
Austria was also undergoing religious reforms before and wanted to get rid of the influence of the Holy See as much as possible.
This time, what Francis II wanted was just for the Pope to go to Vienna and publicly deny the rumors that he had called for a "New Crusade".
It is foreseeable that as long as the Pope personally refutes the rumors, the soldiers who invaded Poland will no longer bear a huge spiritual burden, and their morale will be restored immediately.
At the same time, the morale of the Poles will be reduced. With this ebb and flow, the battle in Krakow will soon be over.
However, the Pope rejected the Austrian deal.
Nothing else, just because the "New Crusade Holy War" originally designed by Joseph was originally an unsolvable conspiracy.
Now, Poland and Russia are engaged in a national war, and under Mesmer's "fudge", everyone regards it as a collision between Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
If the Pope says "there is no such thing as a Crusade" at this time, he will be admitting defeat to the Orthodox Church, which is equivalent to throwing the face of the Holy See on the ground and stepping on it a few times.
The Holy See, which was already in decline, is likely to be completely destroyed because of this incident.
In particular, Pius VI himself will bear full responsibility.
He can't afford to gamble.
Three days later, Turgut met with Pius VI again, but still failed to convince the latter.
Baron Turgut was desperate and had to prepare to return to Vienna.
That night, Walter mysteriously took him to a cafe.
In the VIP room, there was already a man with a hood waiting there.
Seeing the Austrian Minister of State coming, he immediately stood up and signaled: "Under the arrangement of God, we will meet here, Your Excellency the Baron."
When he lifted his hood, the figure Gut couldn't help but was stunned: "Archbishop Muzzarelli?"
Muzzarelli is one of the most powerful cardinals in the Holy See. He is in charge of the Holy See Secretariat and has a great influence on the Holy See's finances. say.
Muzarelli politely asked Turgut to sit down and said straight to the point: "I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has some minor troubles that need to be resolved?"
Turgut immediately turned his head and looked at Baron Walter. This guy actually told others about such a confidential matter!
Muzzarelli smiled and said: "With all due respect, Baron Walter was right to mention this to me."
Turgut turned back and said calmly: "Then, You came to me here about this matter ”
“That’s true.” Muzarelli folded his hands and smiled, “Only I can help His Majesty in this matter.”
“Oh? How? ”
"I often serve as the Pope's envoy and have contact with dignitaries from various countries. In other words, I can speak on behalf of the Pope."
...
Minsk, eastern Poland.
The front lines of the Polish-Russian War.
Accompanied by the sound of cannons in the distance, an inconspicuous carriage slowly drove into the Russian-controlled area along the village road. Immediately, several Russian soldiers aimed their guns at the place. One of them used Polish shouted: "Stop! What are you doing?"
Spione Piatori, secretary to the King of Poland, got out of the car and said to the highest-ranking Russian officer: "I am the secretary to the King. I have something very important and I need to see General Korezhennikov immediately. .”
One hour Later, in the command post of the Russian-Lithuanian Front, Korezhennikov looked at Piatorli in shock: "You mean... His Majesty the King is going to surrender?"
(End of this chapter)