I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 718 Information Gap

You know, according to the speed of communication at that time, even if you didn't hesitate to tire the horses to death, it would still take four or five days to travel from Rome to Paris.

In fact, most of the two days between the assassination and Joseph receiving the news were spent on the journey from Rome to Lyon.

It only took Lyon 40 minutes to send the message back to Paris via signal machine!

This was when the signalman had just started working and was very unskilled in his job, and the report from Rome was a bit long.

According to Chap's estimation, if the signal tower is connected and everything goes well, it will take less than half an hour to transmit 20 words from the southernmost tip of France to the northernmost tip.

It’s totally the telegraph of this era!
Joseph looked at the secret report and nodded, saying, "This matter will have a significant impact on the political landscape of the entire Europe. Emand, please ask Archbishop Briand and Mr. Talleyrand to come here immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Soon, two important French ministers arrived at the Crown Prince's reception room.

Joseph signaled them not to salute and handed them the secret report directly: "What do you think about this matter?"

The two quickly read the secret report. Brian thought, "Although the Pope escaped, Archbishop Einaudi was seriously injured in order to protect him. The Pope must be very angry and will severely punish the Holy Roman Emperor."

Talleyrand shook his head and said, "I think the Pope doesn't seem to want to make things too awkward with the Austrians."

"Oh?" Joseph looked at him and said, "Please tell me your reasons."

"Yes, Your Highness." Talleyrand bowed and said, "If the Pope decides to retaliate against the Holy Roman Emperor, he will publicly announce his crime and the method of punishment as soon as possible.

“But he chose not to announce the Vatican’s position, and instead sent a special envoy to Vienna without even clarifying the envoy’s mission.

“This is obviously to allow the special envoy flexibility in the negotiations.”

Joseph nodded, tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. "You make a lot of sense. So, what does the Pope want?"

Briand continued: "Austria will give fuller support to the Holy See and promise to protect the Papal States."

Talleyrand also added: "The Holy See has more control over the affairs of the Austrian Church. Even directly asking for a large sum of money is not impossible."

Joseph nodded slightly: "If Austria chooses to cooperate with the Holy See, although it will be under deeper control of the Holy See, it can gain a lot of benefits in the short term.

"For example, a war in Poland would be more legitimate.

"Maybe we should do something."

What Joseph did not say was that in his long-term plan, the Papal States would be dismantled and the orthodoxy of the Church would eventually be transferred to Avignon, France.

But if the Papal States and Austria were to be deeply bound together, the former would gain a more stable political and military environment, which would create huge obstacles to its dismantling.

Brian said: "You can choose to assassinate the papal legate on Austrian soil. This will deepen the pope's anger towards Austria."

Talleyrand continued: "Or our country can directly condemn Austria for assassinating the Pope. In this way, the Holy See will have to punish Austria for the sake of its dignity, and private transactions will not be possible."

Joseph suddenly narrowed his eyes: "I was wondering, if Austria and the Pope reached a compromise, what would the cardinal named Muzzarelli do?"

After Muzzarelli refuted the rumor in Vienna that the Pope had called for a "Crusade", the Vatican remained silent. Coupled with the delicate relationship between him and the Pope, it is easy to assume that he must have made some kind of deal with Austria.

Talleyrand said: "He will most likely be abandoned by Austria. And the Pope will then settle accounts with him for his presumptuous behavior."

"So, if he knew in advance that the Holy Roman Emperor was going to negotiate with the Pope, what would he do?" Talleyrand said immediately: "Do everything he can to disrupt the negotiations."

Joseph nodded and looked at Fouché: "How long will it take for the papal legate to reach Vienna from Rome?"

"About 20 days, Your Highness," Fouché said. "The various pomp and ceremony of the Vatican will slow him down."

"And how long will it take us to get the message to Vienna?"

"About 10 days. The signal machine will first send the message to Lorraine, and then send someone on horseback to Vienna."

Joseph smiled. "So if we intervene, Archbishop Muzarelli will be given 10 days to prepare?"

"That's right, Your Highness."

……

Vienna.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Francis II said to Chiaramonti with a gloomy face: “I said that the assassin had nothing to do with me, and I deeply regret what happened to the Pope.

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“At the same time, Archbishop Muzarelli and I have a deep friendship and I will not allow anyone to harm him.”

He has also been troubled by the assassination of the Pope recently.

And that damn assassin turned out to be an officer of the Royal Carpathian Corps!
Francis II knew that the Pope would cause trouble and had already made some preparations, but he did not expect that the Pope's envoy would target Muzzarelli right from the start.

Chiaramonti said in a high-pitched voice: "It is obvious that you have been deceived by Muzzarelli, which is why you have committed a murder on the Lord's representative on earth. The Pope can completely impose an 'excommunication' on you according to the canon law!"

The so-called "excommunication" is a kind of "disfellowship" punishment. The punished person will not be able to participate in any Catholic religious activities, cannot enter the church, will not be recognized as a believer, and will not be able to go to heaven after death.

This is even more terrible for Catholics than killing them.

Especially for Francis II, if he was excommunicated, he would even lose the qualification to become the Holy Roman Emperor, because the most basic requirement for the Holy Roman Emperor is that he must be a Catholic.

Historically, after Napoleon occupied Rome, he was excommunicated by Pope Pius VII. However, Napoleon, who had hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, did not take it seriously at all.

Francis II's face darkened completely, and he stared at Chiaramonti coldly: "Is the Pope going to declare war on me?"

Chiaramonti suddenly smiled and said, “It all depends on your choice, Your Majesty.

"As long as you stop accepting Muzzarelli's instigation, the merciful Pope will forgive all your sins.

"As for the rumors about the Crusades in Poland, the Pope does not support them."

When Francis II heard that the Crusades could be discussed, he immediately relaxed: "I can stop cooperating with Archbishop Muzzarelli. I hope the Pope will remember his promise."

Chiaramonti shook his head and lowered his voice, saying, "No, Your Majesty, what you need to do is secretly arrest the person who led you astray."

Francis II frowned: "He is a cardinal. Do you know how much impact his arrest in Austria will have?!"

"Please rest assured that the Vatican will not have any objections to this action. As for other aspects, I believe you can do it."

(End of this chapter)