I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 702 Trading
Papal States.

Rome.

The black carriage rolled over the muddy road, splashing large amounts of dirty water and making a mess of the exquisite red trousers of the cavalry guards on both sides.

In the car, Austrian State Minister Baron Thugut folded the secret letter he had just received before departure and put it back into the envelope.

Baron Walter, who was sitting opposite him, looked at his frowning brows, picked up a nut on the table and put it into his mouth, and said casually: "It seems that Your Majesty still hasn't been able to get the silver mine?"

Although Tugut didn't want to talk to this fool, he didn't want to offend the royal family, so he nodded and said:
"General Wurmser lost a battalion ten days ago. He requested reinforcements and heavy artillery. His soldiers, as you know, are very lazy..."

After all the miners were moved to the mountain, they fought desperately to hold off the Austrian invading army for another 8 days, and finally received reinforcements from Warsaw.

The soldiers of the five regiments greatly improved the situation in Krakow, and even used the familiar terrain to recapture the town of Chebinia. Although they were unable to hold it later, they dealt a heavy blow to Wurmser.

Nearly two months after the Austrian army occupied Krakow, they were still fighting over a small town. The Holy Roman Emperor finally could not sit still any longer.

Wilmser attributed the poor battle results to low morale, and the factor that affected morale the most was the damn rumor that "the Pope called for a holy war."

So, after repeated discussions, Francis II and his ministers finally came up with a solution.

Thugut came to Rome as the emperor's special envoy to implement this plan, and Walter had to go with him in order to take credit for it.

"The Pope will surely not be able to resist the great temptation, and then the lie will be shattered," Walter said proudly, making an explosion gesture, "The poor Poles offered up Krakow. You and I will accept His Majesty's award, it's that simple."

"I hope it goes as smoothly as you said." Tugut looked out the window with a complicated expression.

Four p.m.

Thugut walked out of St. Peter's Basilica with a solemn look on his face.

Walter, who was waiting in the corridor, came over and asked, "How is it? When will the Pope go to Vienna?"

Turgut frowned and shook his head: "His Holiness the Pope rejected our proposal."

"How is this possible?!" Walter shrieked with his eyes wide open, "All of our archbishops are nominated by the Holy See and protect the absolute integrity of the Papal States, and he only needs to go to Vienna and say a few words. How could he refuse such a good thing!"

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 and cut ties with the Vatican. Archbishops of important dioceses in the country no longer accepted appointments from the Vatican, which greatly reduced the Vatican's sphere of influence.

In addition, although the Holy See had a huge influence in Europe, the Papal States had territorial disputes with almost all the surrounding countries - the territories of the Papal States were basically seized from them during the eras of Pippin and Charles.

And since the Papal States had few troops, even a small country like Modena could threaten it.

All along, the Italian countries just lacked an excuse, otherwise they would immediately declare war on the Papal States.

Historically, after Emperor Nazianzu provided this excuse, the Papal States were quickly divided up by the Italians, leaving only the small city of Rome.

Therefore, the Vatican has always been insecure, but no major country has promised to protect him.

France is eager for the death of the Roman Catholic Church. Avignon will then become the leader of the Catholic world.

Spain was powerless, and its close relative, the Two Sicilies, had huge territorial claims on the Papal States.

Austria had also been undergoing religious reform before, trying to get rid of the influence of the Vatican as much as possible.

This time, all Francis II wanted was for the Pope to go to Vienna and publicly deny the rumors that he had called for a "new crusade."

It can be predicted that as long as the Pope personally dispels the rumors, the soldiers invading Poland will no longer bear a huge mental burden and their morale will be immediately restored.

At the same time, the morale of the Poles would drop, and the battle of Krakow would soon be over.

However, the Pope rejected the Austrian deal.

There is no other reason, it’s just that the “New Crusade” designed by Joseph was originally an unsolvable conspiracy.

Now, Poland and Russia were engaged in a national war, and under Mesmer's "deception", everyone regarded it as a clash between Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

If the Pope says "there is no such thing as the Crusades" at this time, it would mean he has admitted 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 already declining Roman Catholic Church may be completely devastated by this incident.

In particular, Pope Pius VI himself will bear full responsibility.

He couldn't afford to gamble.

Three days later, Turgut met with Pius VI again, but still failed to convince the latter.

In desperation, Baron Thugut had to prepare to return to Vienna.

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That same evening, Walter mysteriously took him to a cafe.

In the VIP room, a hooded man was already waiting there.

Seeing the Austrian Minister of State coming, he immediately stood up and said, "We are meeting here under the arrangement of God, Your Excellency the Baron."

When he lifted his hood, Turgut was stunned: "Archbishop Muzarelli?"

Muzzarelli is one of the most powerful cardinals in the Vatican, in charge of the Curia secretariat and has a major say in its finances.

Muzarelli politely asked Tougut to sit down and got straight to the point: "I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has some minor problems that need to be solved?"

Turgut immediately turned his head and looked at Baron Walter. This guy actually told other people such a confidential matter!

Muzzarelli smiled and said, "With all due respect, Baron Walter was right to mention this to me."

Tugut turned around and said calmly, "So, you asked me to come here because of this matter?"

"Indeed." Muzarelli folded his hands and smiled. "Only I can help His Majesty the Emperor with this matter."

"Oh? What are you going to do?"

"I often serve as the Pope's special envoy to contact politicians from various countries. In other words, I can speak on behalf of the Pope."

……

Minsk, eastern Poland.

Polish-Russian War front.

An inconspicuous horse-drawn carriage slowly drove into the Russian-controlled area along the village path, accompanied by the sound of artillery fire in the distance. Immediately, several Russian soldiers pointed their guns at this place, and one of them shouted in Polish: "Stop! What are you doing?"

The Polish king's secretary, Spione Piatori, stepped out of the car and said to the highest-ranking Russian officer, "I am the king's secretary. I have something very important to discuss. I need to see General Korezhnikoff immediately."

An hour later, in the command post of the Russian Lithuanian Front, Korezhevsky looked at Piatori in shock: "You mean... His Majesty the King wants to surrender?"

(End of this chapter)