I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 888 The Vatican's Conditions

Queen Mary looked in surprise as the two convoys not far away got entangled.

Suddenly the vehicles tilted, the horses neighed, the police and the Vatican Guards pushed each other and ordered each other to retreat immediately. The scene was like a fight for stalls in a cheap vegetable market.

She looked at the captain of the guard: "Why is Archbishop Muzarelli here?"

Brian stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, Archbishop Muzzarelli arrived in Paris last week and said he wanted to discuss some church affairs with Archbishop Beaumont. But he and the Pope are not on good terms...ah, not so harmonious. He probably wants to embarrass the Pope on purpose today..."

Brian was carrying out Joseph's instructions.

As one of the highest leaders of the French Church, he naturally hoped that the influence of the French Church could surpass that of the Roman Catholic Church.

But he had only thought about it before, who would have thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would actually do it!
Queen Mary was so anxious that she kept making the sign of the cross on her chest: "What should I do?"

Brian signaled to the palace guards: "Separate the two groups first!"

The captain of the guard looked at the queen, and seeing that she had no objection, he immediately ordered hundreds of Swiss Guards to charge forward.

After a full 15 minutes, the two convoys were finally separated by a human wall formed by palace guards.

The Paris police were well-trained in the police academy and were numerous, so they beat Muzzarelli's palace guards until their clothes were disheveled and their faces were covered in blood.

Archbishop Briand saw this and hurriedly reminded the king and queen in a low voice: "Your Majesty, go and greet the Holy Father first."

Queen Marie nodded and pulled Louis XVI towards the golden luxury carriage. Hundreds of nobles from the Palace of Versailles followed them according to their rank.

However, when the king and queen were more than ten meters away from the luxurious carriage pulled by eight horses, they finally saw clearly that there was a strange man in a scarlet cardinal's robe behind the window.

Brian followed with his fat legs. When he saw the man, he was immediately shocked and asked, "Why is it Archbishop Muzarelli?"

At this moment, someone on the other side of the human wall said in Latin: "Holy Father, are you okay?"

Everyone was stunned, and then turned around to see Pius VI tremblingly getting down from the white "gem" carriage.

The two black horses pulling the carriage snorted as if to welcome the Pope.

There was a sudden silence in the square of Versailles Palace.

After a moment, Queen Mary finally reacted and winked at the captain of the guard: "Send Archbishop Muzzarelli back."

Then she and Louis XVI walked quickly towards Pope Pius VI. When they got closer, she wanted to kneel down and kiss the Pope's ring according to etiquette, but she found the ground was littered with broken flags and smashed ceremonial vessels, and there was no place to step.

Queen Mary turned her head to look at the nobles behind her and saw that the audience formation that had been rehearsed many times was already in a mess, and there was no solemn atmosphere at all to welcome the Holy Father.

Brian suggested at the right time: "Your Majesty, let the Holy Father go to the Palace of Versailles to rest first."

Half an hour later, order was finally restored in the Palace of Versailles.

In a lounge, Louis XVI and his wife were awkwardly comforting the Holy Father, while most of the nobles in the back were talking and laughing from time to time.

Brian glanced at the Dauphin next to him and said to Queen Marie, "Your Majesty, the banquet is about to begin. The Holy Father may need to change his clothes for the banquet."

Queen Mary nodded, and then smiled at Pius VI and said, "Holy Father, I will listen to your teachings at the banquet later."

After the king and his wife and the nobles left, Pius VI was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard a knock on the door. Before he could say anything, the door was pushed open and the French prince strode in.

Pius VI was slightly startled, stood up, stretched out his hand to the latter, and waited for him to kiss his ring.

Joseph was not a devout believer. He ignored him and just bowed slightly. Then he sat down on a chair beside him and pointed to the chair behind the Pope: "Please sit down too."

Pope Pius VI sat down reflexively, and heard the French Dauphin say, "Holy Father, you are here for the battle in Ferrara, right?"

"This..." Pope Pius VI looked at his young face, hesitated, and nodded, "It was indeed a disaster that should not have happened."

Joseph shook his head: "It's just the Italians who want to take back their own land."

"You are probably mistaken, Your Highness. According to the Bull of Constantine..."

"We all know that it was forged by the Vatican," Joseph interrupted him rudely. A large amount of archaeological evidence in later generations has confirmed that the decree did not exist in history.

Pope Pius VI opened his eyes wide, as if he could hardly believe that the "Son of God" could say such blasphemous words.

Joseph glanced at the Pope and asked bluntly: "What are you willing to give in exchange for the withdrawal of troops?"

Pope Pius VI took a deep breath, looked at the closed door, and said hesitantly: "If you want to discuss diplomatic matters, perhaps you should ask Her Majesty the Queen to come."

Although he had also heard that the French Crown Prince was in charge of state affairs, in his opinion, that should be done under the guidance of Queen Marie.

Joseph smiled and said sideways, "Archbishop Brian, please tell Her Majesty the Queen that the Holy Father needs to rest and the banquet will be postponed for an hour and a half."

Brian's voice came from the other side of the door: "Yes, Your Highness, I'll go right away."

Joseph turned back and said, "Okay, now we have plenty of time to communicate."

Pope Pius VI looked at the young crown prince in surprise, then quickly adjusted his attitude and put on the smile of an elder: "Your Highness, for the sake of Almighty God, it is wrong for you and the northern Italian countries to attack Ferrara..."

Joseph sneered: “At the most critical moment of the war between our country and Austria, the Holy See declared Austria as the ‘Shield of God’ and awarded Francis II the title of ‘The Just’.

"Since the Vatican has given great support to France's enemies, it should be prepared to bear France's wrath at some point."

Pope Pius VI looked aggrieved: "That was all Muzzarelli's idea. You should judge him..."

"Oh," Joseph waved his hand, "The decision was made by the Vatican, and the benefits of Austria were given to you and the cardinals. If something goes wrong, you're going to throw Muzzarelli out to take the blame?

“Let’s not waste time on meaningless topics.

"I ask again, what are you prepared to give in exchange for the withdrawal of troops?"

Pius VI stared at the "Son of God" for a long time, sighed, and said with difficulty:

"Okay. The Holy See is willing to give 100...120 million ducats to compensate for France's losses."

Seeing Joseph pick up the teacup and sip the tea attentively, he gritted his teeth and continued:
"And put Ferrara and Bologna under French administration..."

(End of this chapter)