Warlock Royal Family

() Although once again suppressing the ministers who complained about his huge spending at the State Council, Ladislaus still needs further support. The wealth collected by various means, whether it is fighting corruption and rectifying accounts, Still asking for donations is essentially weakening his ruling foundation. Although in the long run, these losses of the nobles can be recovered after the prosperity of the Vienna Trade Center, but the hearts of the people cannot be stabilized by future interests. ..

Ladislaus needs other means to win back people's hearts. This is the difficulty of being an aggressive monarch.

His control over the State Council was based on the fact that several members of the State Council were his cronies. He had no foundation in Vienna.

Developing the economy is mostly a very long-term, very slow job.

And sometimes politics is a very short-term, very urgent game, so he needs people who can support him immediately.

On December 1523, 12, His Majesty Ferdinand, Holy Roman Emperor, visited Rome and accepted the grand mass arranged for him by Pope Medici.

The next day, Austrian acting cardinal Ladislaus also arrived in Rome on a Spanish warship.

This is of course not a coincidence. Whether or not Ladislaus should attend the Christmas Mass is a very sensitive and embarrassing matter, and he has no intention of grabbing a good position in the College of Cardinals. It would be a better choice to spend another day at sea.

Although the escort of Spanish warships is economical and comfortable, the nautical performance of capital ships is really much better than those of small ships, but even Ladislaus, a miser, knows it.This again damaged his prestige and the Austrian du lixing a little.

This is a gesture, a gesture that satisfies His Majesty Ferdinand.A gesture that made it possible for him to pay a little more.

"Brother, thank you very much for coming to Rome to support me." Although Ladislaus did not act as a minister, it was the former Austrian acting Archduke Ferdinand who canceled the relationship. How much effort has been put in, now he can only suffer on his own.

It is important that Ladislaus can come to Rome to support his claim to the investiture of bishops and archbishops of the Anri Church in the various regions of Spain.

Although the bishops and archbishops in Spain have basically always been the youngest sons of the local nobles, foreigners, especially the most powerful Italians in the Holy See, have no way of intervening.

But unlike the Kingdom of France, these appointments were still issued by the Pope Elect of Rome.Although several generations of true popes have honestly accepted the "recommendation" of the King of Spain for decades, there will indeed be one or two appointments that are controversial for a period of time. Maybe Spain gets a sum of money to give up the position, maybe It is to pay a little money to get a job.

And generally speaking, any appointment, especially the appointment of mid-to-high-end clergy, still needs to follow some Roman rules, and requires temptation and compromise.

His Majesty Ferdinand wants to sever this relationship.He is unwilling to waste the energy of the state apparatus on this issue, and the countless trials and compromises with the Holy See will consume too much governing ability.

He wants the same power as the King of France.

"Your Majesty, this time is not easy to handle. The Holy See has only tacitly refused to recognize the power of the King of France for so many years. If the Spanish bishops' investiture rights are lost, the Holy See will probably find it even more difficult to rule the dioceses in continental Europe. They are not likely to agree. .” Ladislaus is quite hesitant to put too much pressure on the Holy See now.

If this kind of words appeared in the letter, it would be rejected, but His Majesty Ferdinand was not very worried at this time. Since Ladislaus came to Rome, he would support him. Dialogue, this is the benefit of the monarchs of the two powerful countries using the same surname.Both parties can occasionally communicate directly and honestly on minor issues.

"I can't make any concessions. Spain must also have the power that France has. It can only be more or less." His Majesty Ferdinand's words were very serious, but his expression was very understated, but Ladislaus clearly felt his The cousin emperor does have a sense of urgency dominated by ambition and desire. Spain already has too much, but the more it has, the more greedy it becomes.

This is not a personal desire, but a desire of a nation that is in full swing, a desire that a good monarch must try his best to satisfy.

"How to do it, use power to overwhelm people or compromise and exchange?" Ladislaus also has his own desire to satisfy, but it is not so hot and dangerous.

"Press the Church of Rome with force, and reach a compromise with the Medici family." This is also the traditional means of all major countries against the Church of Rome.

"How long can the Spanish fleet be assembled?" Ladislaus cautiously did not immediately mention the original purpose of the fleet's assembly. The sudden compromise of the Knights Hospitaller made His Majesty Ferdinand's Mediterranean strategy lose focus.

"Not too long." Although they are all Habsburgs, this important information cannot be fully shared. The pressure on the Church of Rome is Spain's secondary goal, but the fleet is Spain's core wealth.

So Ladislaus could only get a vague answer, but that was enough.

"So we have to make an offer to His Majesty Medici." Ladislaus continued, "Help him settle the Florentine Council?"

Since the election of the true pope, the position of head of the Republic of Florence, the "righteous banner bearer", has been vacant. The true election wants the child whom Ladislaus has seen to sit in this position, that is, the Asian with nomadic blood. Alessandro.

However, many congressmen are unwilling to accept such a little boy, who obviously has Moorish blood as the head of state, including many Medici's allies are also dissatisfied, and some Medici's traditional vassals are also upset. The desire for this position has been suppressed.

Enemies object and allies lose their voices.

The truly elected Pope can only control the Republic of Florence in an unjustifiable name. This is an unstable and dangerous state.

Although the emperor's power is very limited in the Republic of Florence, there are still a few members of the Unification faction.Moreover, the emperor's support will also make some fools no longer oppose the Medici family.

That's a pretty good offer.

"No", but such an offer is not in the taste of the Holy Roman Emperor. "Make that little Medici Duke of Florence. I'll crown him."

His Majesty Ferdinand lightly wanted to fulfill the biggest dream of the city's nobles. This is the benefit of becoming the Pope Elect. One-tenth of the losses in the church can be compensated by his own family.

"It should be ok, there will definitely be details, but that's what diplomats do." Ladislaus bowed slightly at this time, "Then how can Austria serve you?"

"I have nothing else to ask for. Your presence is the greatest support for me." His Majesty Ferdinand's main bargaining chip is indeed Spain and Austria, the two first-class powers and the close alliance of the second-class powers, but he is not really nothing else. what you want. "Of course, if you can exert a little influence in front of His Royal Highness Lange, the chief political officer of the Holy See. That would be even better."

Although Commissioner Lange was driven away by Ladislaus to come to Rome, he was compensated by the position of Commissioner after all, and his interests in Salzburg were also guaranteed, so he was not swallowed Just, Ladislaus asked himself that he could exchange with him again. After all, the other members of the Lange family were still in Salzburg, and they had to make a living under Ladislaus.

"No problem. Your Majesty, I will visit him tomorrow." Ladislaus readily agreed, "And what are your plans for the Knights Hospitaller?"

Most of the evacuated hospital knights are now gathered in Rome. After all, they are all subordinates of His Majesty the Pope in name.

Although the Knights Hospitaller lost Rhodes Island, they retained all their weapons, money, and the most important fleet. Thousands of people who migrated together could immediately build a large city.

Plus nearly a thousand elite soldiers who survived the battle.This is still a force to be reckoned with, a sword that has been honed over time.

The Habsburgs definitely did not want the chosen Pope to have control of the sword.

"Currently, the leaders of the various branches are in a mess and are about to divide their luggage. If they really disband, the properties scattered in various countries will definitely not be preserved." His Majesty Ferdinand did not see the value of this knight order clearly for a while.

"Didn't you think of taking this opportunity to bring this powerful group under your command and become the guardian of the Holy Land?" Because of some historical habits, if the Hospitallers were loyal to the secular monarch.The monarch of Europa called this monarch the guardian of Jerusalem.

This is purely an honor for other monarchs, but for Spain, it is not only a false title but also an opportunity.

"I really want to control them. But I can't pay a high price, and the Spanish nobles also covet the property of the Knights Hospitaller." His Majesty Ferdinand thought that Ladislaus wanted to share some elite knights at most. The thought was to bring them under the wings of the double-headed eagle.

The failure of the Knights Hospitaller gave all the greedy people an excuse. Most of the property was donated by the ancestors of the nobles during the Crusades for their faith, but now the descendants scratch their heads and want to take it back.

Although Ladislaus is also greedy, but these properties can be owned by the warlock royal family, so he can barely restrain himself. Of course, he doesn't want to be paid, and Austria can't work in vain for Spain.

The "Hospital Knights of Malta" system task only gives a little reputation reward, and the real reward needs to be paid by Spain.

"No, Your Majesty, the hospital knights together are a sword, and if anyone wants to control them, the sword will only be torn apart after being torn apart, and the sharpest piece will fall into the hands of the true elect Pope. You should give Give them back what they want most, du li and zi you, Malta is just a desert island and give them a new city to build, Naples, Malta, and Algeria are the eastern borders of the Spanish Empire."

"The military supplies that have been concentrated in Naples to save Rhode Island this time will not only cost a lot of money but also be frustrating if they are transported back to the mainland. You can just sell some of them to let them rebuild their castle." His Majesty Ferdinand showed a knowing smile. , he did not let Ladislaus make the request but said himself, "And Austria can also share part of it as an armament."

Ladislaus bowed deeply, this is what he asked for.