Chapter 741 The Unquiet Apennine Peninsula
"The Villars family donated 30,000 francs..."
"The Broy family donated 35,000 francs!"
"The Count of Eich has 40,000 francs..."
"The Duke of Loudin has 40,000 francs..."
The nobles and capitalists soon divided into two groups and began to compete desperately, neither wanting to be outdone by the other.
Donations started like an auction, and the amount kept rising.
Just after someone donated 50,000 francs, a voice rang out: "The Dupont family will donate a frigate to the navy."
The hall of mirrors fell silent for an instant.
Even the cheapest frigate costs about 120,000 francs!
However, the silence only lasted for a few seconds, and the attendant of Prince Kong Dai loudly said: "His Royal Highness also donated a battleship."
Others, whether nobles or capitalists, did not dare to speak out for a while.
Those who wanted to donate quietly came to the palace official responsible for recording donations and whispered the number of their donations.
Not long after, another winery owner in Bordeaux donated a battleship.
The dinner has turned into a battleship donation themed event.
Those who could not bring out a warship were too embarrassed to speak out.
By 10 o'clock in the evening, 5 warships had appeared on the donation list. The total donations from others amounted to nearly 3 million francs!
Before the dinner ended, Countess Debeninac announced in public that all gentlemen who donated warships would be invited to have dinner with the royal family next week.
Queen Marie just silently summoned the donation recorder and told him that she wanted to donate jewelry worth 2.7 million francs.
She spent more than half of her annuity on jewelry, but she took it out without hesitation at this time.
The next day.
In major newspapers in Paris, in addition to the lists of nobles and wealthy businessmen who donated large sums of money last night, words such as "evil alliance", "lost 30 years" and "Patriotic War" also appeared frequently.
It didn’t take long for these slogans to spread throughout France.
……
Rome.
St. Peter's Basilica.
Pius VI stared at Archbishop Muzarelli and said solemnly: "The title of 'Shield of God' originally belonged to Hungary, and now it is acceptable to Austria, which is united with Hungary. But Franz His Majesty II has never had any noble deeds that are known to everyone, and the title of 'Justice' does not suit him."
Muzzarelli smiled and looked at the twenty or so people sitting around. cardinal Bishop: "Do you think the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire is appropriate?"
Immediately, a cardinal in his seventies nodded and said: "His Majesty Franz II has obtained extensive responsibilities under his rule. Praise, the 'Just One' is not exaggerating."
A dozen people followed, but only three or four cardinals expressed dissent, and the others remained silent.
They all still remember that Muzarelli returned to the Holy See a few months ago and argued with His Majesty the Pope in public, refuting the Pope's irresponsible behavior for not refuting the rumors of Polish jihad at the first time.
The Pope was extremely embarrassed at the time, but there was nothing he could do about him.
Because just a few days before that, Venice and Tuscany mobilized tens of thousands of troops to conduct so-called exercises near the northern and southern borders of the Papal State. The sound of artillery lasted for nearly a week. . That posture was obviously to strengthen Muzarelli's momentum.
Since then, the Muzzarelli faction has become more and more powerful in the Holy See.
To this day, Muzzarelli publicly recommends that the Holy See declare Austria the "Shield of God" and canonize Francis II with the title "The Just".
Pius VI knew very well that a war would soon break out between Austria and France, and Muzarelli was helping Austria boost its prestige.
However, this would offend France.
This is definitely not a good thing for the Holy See.
Seeing that the Pope was still unwilling to let go, Muzzarelli couldn't help but smile and said: "Everyone should be very clear that France has actually broken away from the management of the Holy See.
"And His Majesty Franz II has handed over the nomination of Austria's Cardinal Archbishop to the Holy See. At present, the Holy Roman Empire is the true follower of the Holy See!
"When this war begins, dozens of Ten thousand troops will surround France, and the Holy See does not need to care about the attitude of the French at all.
"When the war is over, the Holy See will, with the help of Emperor Shinra, let the glory of the Lord shine throughout Europe again!"
There is one more thing he did not say, that is, around the Papal State Most of the Italian states have good relations with Austria. If Francis II is offended by the title ban, the Papal State will definitely not get any good results.
In fact, he hoped that the Pope would stubbornly deny his proposal.
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In that way, Austria will support itself more firmly, and it is not impossible to even "send away" Pius VI in advance and make himself the pope.
More than ten minutes later, Pius VI looked around at the cardinals present, stood up helplessly, and said to Muzzarelli: "In this matter, it is up to you to convey God's will. "
At the same time that the Holy See announced the new title of Francis II and reiterated that Austria is the "Shield of God," the Austrian Foreign Minister Count Rheinfels has arrived in the Kingdom of Sardinia in the northernmost part of Italy. .
The capital of Sardinia, Turin.
King Amedeo III of Sardinia looked at the Austrian Foreign Minister with a bitter look on his face: "You know, our country has no conflicts with France. So..."
Sardinia is sandwiched between France and Austria. Although the country can be regarded as second-rate in Europe, it still lives on thin ice and has always pursued a policy of not offending anyone on both sides.
However, because the Alps separate France and Sardinia, Sardinia is closer to Austria as a whole, and there are even Austrian troops stationed in Sardinia.
After all, starting from Milan, Austria, to Turin is a flat road, and it only takes four or five days.
The Earl of Rheinfels nodded: "I am not asking you to declare war on France, as long as General Beaulieu's army can pass through Chambery smoothly. You don't have to worry about what happens after that."
Amedeo III's mouth felt bitter.
Allowing the Austrian army to attack France through Sardinia is only a little worse than directly declaring war on France.
However, even if he did not agree, he would not be able to stop the Austrian garrison from leaving the Alps directly west.
The Earl of Rheinfels glanced at the King of Sardinia and smiled warmly: "Of course, if you can provide some logistical support to General Beaulieu, or even send troops to assist, after the war is over, His Majesty the Emperor will also You will be rewarded accordingly."
Amedeo III was about to shake his head when he heard the Austrian say: "Genoa and Corsica will all belong to Sardinia."
Amedeo III immediately shrank his pupils.
Although Genoa is not large in area, it is an extremely important trading port in southern Italy. Countless gold coins flow into the Apennine Peninsula from there every day.
Previously, Genoa, as a neutral port, was jointly protected by Britain, France, Austria and other major powers. No matter how much Sardinia coveted it, it would not dare to have any ideas.
(End of this chapter)