I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 889 Preparing to Marry My Sister
Seeing that the French Crown Prince was still staring at the teacup without any expression, Pius VI's voice trembled a little:
"At most, plus Ravenna."

He spread his hands and said, "This is the bottom line of the Holy See, Your Highness."

Ferrara, Bologna and Ravenna comprised nearly 70% of the Papal States' territory north of the Apennines.

Add to that 120 million ducats, or 1 million francs, which is not a small amount as "war reparations."

"This tea is not tasty enough." Joseph suddenly shook the teacup, "Eman, please change it for the black tea that Archbishop Muzarelli sent me."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph looked at the Pope again and said, “Would you like to change a cup too?
"Well, although this tea is very valuable, it is not irreplaceable."

Pope Pius VI felt that every word uttered by the young man was like a mountain pressing down on him, making him unable to straighten his back.

After a while, he suddenly clenched his fists, raised his head and said loudly:

“No one will support that traitor, that conspirator!

"I represent the orthodoxy of the Holy See!

"If you continue to persecute me like this, France will be hated by hundreds of millions of Christians across Europe!"

Joseph smiled.

He leaned forward and said calmly, "Respected Holy Father, may I ask how many divisions do you have?"

"Wha, what?"

"Infantry, cavalry, and artillery," Joseph said, "including the Vatican's own guards, or foreign troops willing to respond to your call, how many divisions are there?"

Pope Pius VI was stunned by this overly straightforward question, and then he clenched his fists even harder, but was shocked to find that the Holy See could not recruit a single division...

Among the three traditional pillars of the Roman Curia, Spain is allied with France and has just announced that it will never interfere in the affairs of northern Italy.

Austria was on the verge of losing even Mantua, so how could it have the energy to reinforce Rome?
France...it's the French army that's aiming their cannons at the Vatican.

Joseph picked up the newly replaced cup of black tea on the table and continued:

“You probably forgot that the premise for the Holy See to call on all European Christians is that it can influence the balance of power among Catholic countries.

“Right now, there is no such balance.

"France is the heaviest weight on the Catholic scale!

“France is the only country that has the power to influence the Catholic world!

“You just said that no one supports Archbishop Muzzarelli?

"In fact, if he had 10 divisions behind him, all the cardinals would support him."

Pius VI's clenched fists slowly loosened, his waist bent again, and he sighed: "What kind of conditions did he give you?"

Joseph took a sip of his tea and said casually, "150 million ducats. Also, the Holy See will only retain the two provinces of Rome and Perugia."

Pope Pius VI turned pale, and his lips moved several times before he uttered, "150 million... OK, 150 million ducats. But at least the Holy See must keep the 'legacy of St. Peter'."

The "patrimony of St. Peter" he was referring to was the land that the Holy See claimed to have inherited from the Roman Empire, primarily the three provinces of Rome, Perugia, and Terracina.

The area is roughly two-thirds the size of the Papal States' territory south of the Apennines.

Joseph thought that he was still too polite. Back then, Napoleon's army had directly pushed forward all the way, leaving the Papal States with only the city of Rome. Didn't the Vatican just accept it obediently?
And now the Pope wants to bargain with himself.

He glanced at Pope Pius VI and said, "Archbishop Muzzarelli should not have gone far. He can be the one to attend the palace banquet instead."

"No... I agree." In fact, Joseph could force the Holy See to move to Avignon, France right now, but doing so would most likely force Pius VI to fight to the death.

Eat the food one bite at a time.

Everything Joseph is doing now is to weaken the prestige of the Roman Catholic Church.

Once the Italian states have benefited from the Papal States and the Papal States have become extremely weak, the next plan can be implemented to make the Holy See move to Avignon willingly.

Soon, the French King and Queen, the Crown Prince, and a large group of nobles came to the banquet hall, surrounded by the Pope.

Everyone had a pious smile on their face, it was a solemn and sacred scene.

Now that everything that needed to be discussed has been agreed upon, basic respect should still be given to the Pope.

At the banquet, Pope Pius VI announced publicly that the Holy See had decided to award Louis XVI the title of "the greatest Catholic King."

The Pope seemed to be very worried during his visit to Paris and hurried back to Rome the next afternoon.

However, when he returned, he changed into a golden luxury car and the Paris police no longer followed him closely.

The vast majority of Parisians did not know that the Pope had visited until a few days later, but the embarrassing scene of the Pope in the square of Versailles Palace yesterday became an enduring joke among the nobles.

Two days later.

A grand ceremony was held at the Palace of Versailles to celebrate His Majesty's being crowned the "Greatest Catholic King".

The whole of Paris was in a frenzy.

The citizens sang and danced and set off fireworks. The tense and anxious atmosphere brought about by the war had disappeared.

In the evening, at a ball at the Palace of Versailles.

The gas lamps made the Hall of Mirrors as bright as day.

The court musicians played cheerful dance music with all their might, and the nobles kept spinning around. The gems and gold threads on their clothes turned into flowing stars, dazzling the onlookers.

However, the royal families and diplomats from the northern Italian countries had no interest in dancing. Instead, they gathered around the French Crown Prince with great anticipation, waiting to hear some good news.

Yes, they have been in Paris for nearly two months, ever since the signing of the Sécurité Mediterranee agreement.

For these countries, maintaining good relations with France is the most important political issue.

At the end of the song, Prince Ludovico of Parma mustered up the courage to come before the French Dauphin, raised his glass, bowed and said: "To our 'greatest Catholic King'."

Joseph picked up a glass of wine and clinked it with his: "To my dearest father."

He took a sip of wine, gestured to Princess Therese, who was surrounded by noble ladies not far away, and winked at Ludovico: "It seems that you haven't asked my sister to dance yet. She will be sad."

Ludovico was stunned for a moment, then his eyes showed ecstasy: "Your Highness, do you have any objection to my pursuing Princess Therese?"

"Of course." Joseph smiled, "I will bless you."

Ludovico was a handsome and gentle young man, and Joseph had a good impression of him.

Most importantly, his sister Therese liked him. Every time the little girl saw him, she couldn't hide the smile from the bottom of her heart.

Joseph knew that the French princess had a very limited choice of marriage partners, and that the candidate had to be the heir to a country. And currently, there were no more than three people in Europe who met this condition and were of the right age.

Among these countries, there are also countries that cannot marry France due to political considerations.

So Ludovico is almost Therese's best choice.

(End of this chapter)