I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 741 The Uneasy Apennine Peninsula

"The Villars family donated 3 francs..."

"The Broglie family donated 3 francs!"

"The Count of Echy, forty thousand francs..."

"Duke Loudun, 4..."

The nobles and capitalists soon split into two factions and began to compete desperately, neither willing to be outdone by the other.

Donations started like an auction, and the amounts kept rising.

Just after someone donated 5 francs, a voice rang out: "The Dupont family will donate a frigate for the navy."

The Hall of Mirrors suddenly became quiet.

Even the cheapest frigate costs around 12 francs!
But the silence lasted only a few seconds, and Prince Condé's attendant shouted: "Your Highness will also donate a warship."

No one else, whether nobles or capitalists, dared to speak for a moment.

Those who wanted to donate quietly came to the palace official in charge of recording donations and whispered their donation amounts.

Not long after, another Bordeaux winery owner donated a battleship.

The dinner has turned into a warship donation theme conference.

Those who can't produce a warship are too embarrassed to speak out.

By 10 p.m., five warships had appeared on the donation list, and the total donations from others were close to 5 million francs!
Before the end of the dinner, Countess de Berninac announced publicly that all gentlemen who donated warships would be invited to have dinner with the royal family next week.

Queen Marie simply summoned the donation recorder and told him that she was going to donate jewelry worth 270 million francs.

Most of her annual allowance was spent on jewelry, but she took it out without hesitation.

The next day.

In the major newspapers in Paris, in addition to the list 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.

Pope Pius VI stared at Archbishop Muzarelli and said in a deep voice: "The title of 'Shield of God' originally belonged to Hungary. Now it is awarded to Austria, which is in a union with Hungary, and it can be accepted. But His Majesty Francis II has never done any noble deeds known to everyone, and the title of 'The Just' does not suit him."

Muzarelli smiled and looked at the twenty or so cardinals sitting around him: "Do you think the title of Holy Roman Emperor is appropriate?"

Immediately, a cardinal in his seventies nodded and said, "His Majesty Francis II has received widespread praise for his rule. 'The Just' is not exaggerating."

Immediately, more than a dozen people followed suit, while only three or four cardinals expressed objections, and the others remained silent.

They all remembered that a few months ago, Muzzarelli returned to the Vatican and argued with the Pope in public, refuting the Pope's irresponsible behavior for not immediately refuting the rumors of a Polish jihad.

The Pope was extremely embarrassed at the time, but he could do nothing about it.

Because just a few days before that, Venice and Tuscany had mobilized tens of thousands of troops near the northern and southern borders of the Papal States for so-called exercises, and the sound of artillery lasted for nearly a week. That posture was obviously to boost Muzzarelli's momentum.

Since then, the Muzzarelli faction has become increasingly powerful in the Vatican.

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".

Pope Pius VI was well aware that war would soon break out between Austria and France, and Muzzarelli was helping Austria to boost its prestige.

However, doing so would offend France.

This is definitely not a good thing for the Vatican.

Seeing that the Pope was still unwilling to give in, Muzarelli couldn't help but smile and said, "Everyone should know that France has actually broken away from the management of the Holy See.

“And His Majesty Francis II has handed over the right to nominate the Austrian cardinal to the Holy See. Currently, the Holy Roman Empire is the true follower of the Holy See!
“When the war begins, hundreds of thousands of troops will surround France, and the Vatican will not have to care about the French attitude at all.

"When the war is over, the Holy See will, with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor, let the glory of the Lord shine upon all of Europe again!"

There was one thing he didn't say, which was that most of the Italian states surrounding the Papal States were friendly with Austria, and if the Papal States offended Francis II because of the title issue, it would definitely not end well.

In fact, he hoped that the Pope would stubbornly reject his proposal.

In that case, Austria would support him more firmly, and it would not be impossible for him to even "send away" Pius VI in advance and become the Pope himself.

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."

Just as the Vatican announced Francis II's new title and reaffirmed that Austria was the "Shield of God", Austrian Foreign Minister Count Rheinfels had arrived in the Kingdom of Sardinia in the northernmost part of Italy.

The capital of Sardinia, Turin.

Sardinian King Amedeo III looked at the Austrian Foreign Minister with a bitter face: "You know, there is no conflict between our country and France. So..."

Sardinia, as a country sandwiched between France and Austria, can be considered second-rate in Europe, but it still lives on thin ice and has always pursued a policy of not offending either side.

However, because the Alps separate France and Sardinia, Sardinia as a whole is closer to Austria, and there have always been Austrian troops stationed in Sardinia.

After all, the road from Milan, Austria to Turin is flat and only takes four or five days.

Count Rheinfels nodded and said, "I am not asking you to declare war on France. As long as Marshal Beaulieu's army can pass through Chambery smoothly, it will be fine. You don't have to worry about what happens next."

Amadeus III felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Allowing the Austrian army to attack France through Sardinia is only slightly worse than declaring war on France directly.

However, even if he did not agree, he would not be able to stop the Austrian garrison from going west across the Alps.

Count Rheinfels glanced at the King of Sardinia and smiled warmly: "Of course, if you can provide some logistical support to Marshal Beaulieu, or even send troops to assist, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely give you a corresponding reward after the war is over."

Amedeo III was about to shake his head when he heard the Austrian say: "Genoa, as well as Corsica, will all belong to Sardinia."

Amedeo III's pupils shrank immediately.

Although Genoa is not large in area, it is an extremely important trading port in southern Italy. Countless gold coins flow from there to the Apennine Peninsula every day.

Previously, Genoa, as a neutral port, was jointly protected by many major powers such as Britain, France and Austria. No matter how much Sardinia coveted it, it did not dare to have any ideas.

(End of this chapter)