At the New Year's Day mass, the elected pope did not excommunicate King Francois of France, lift the French nobles from their oath of allegiance to the king, and call on French Dark Sun believers to take action against their king, as the emperor requested.

This naturally made the emperor very angry.

This was also the reason why the emperor gave Ladislaus the power to distribute supplies instead of any other member of the Roman Ecclesiastical State.

If the true election of the pope relieves the Dark Sun believers from their obligations to the feudal lords, then there will be a greater chance for careerists to launch a rebellion. Even if no nobles immediately rebel, King Francois I of France will inevitably have to divide a certain amount of money.

Stay alert with strength.

The previous royal family of the Holy Roman Empire, the Hohenstaufen family, perished because they were excommunicated and then besieged by various nobles.

However, the emperor's big goal was not achieved, but it made his several small goals much easier to achieve.

For example, some of the things Cardinal Sforza did.

Cardinal Sforza put on the most formal cardinal attire today. His attire is slightly different from other cardinals. The gold rim and silver embroidery are extravagant. The purple scale on his shoulder symbolizes his chief status in the Roman Church.

**Official status.

Because His Majesty the elected Pope Adrian VI wanted to summon him in the Sistine Chapel, he specially put on formal attire. Although he still had the position of chief minister, he was nominally the most important assistant to the elected Pope.

, but in fact the power of the two people is very different. The Orsini and Colonna families who are deeply rooted in Rome are the leaders of the second group.

Therefore, it is a rare thing for Cardinal Sforza to be summoned alone in the Sistine Chapel.

When the Duchy of Milan was in the hands of the Sforza family, although the relationship with the main branch was bad, Bishop Sforza was a frequent visitor to the Sistine Chapel at the time. Now he really understands what it means to be sad when a rabbit dies and a fox dies. He once suffered from internal struggles within the family.

The cousins ​​who hated each other turned out to be dependent on each other.

However, Cardinal Sforza was not discouraged. Over the decades, the Sforza family had experienced ups and downs, and was driven out of Milan several times due to internal strife and foreign enemies. However, due to the last emperor of the previous generation, Maximilian I,

The wife is a member of the Sforza family. Although the relationship between the couple is not harmonious and they have no children, the alliance between the two families has always been very reliable. The Sforza family has always received support from the Warlock Royal Family, and every time

With the help of strong reinforcements, he successfully recaptured the Principality of Milan.

Now the task of restoring the Sforza family falls entirely on his own shoulders. Although the Kingdom of France is powerful, with the support of the Habsburg family, there is nothing to fear.

Cardinal Sforza once again hired himself a booster.

Of course, the trend of Ladislaus poaching Baron Galliani is also worthy of vigilance, but it is also something that cannot be done.

At least Emperor Charles V is generally good. Now the Cardinal has become the last male member of the Sforza family. The Emperor has proposed to marry one of his sisters, an illegitimate daughter of the previous emperor.

To the cardinal, and offered a dowry of eighty thousand talers.

Not only is the dowry of 80,000 talers very generous, it also shows that the Habsburg family is still considering restoring the Duchy of Milan as a general policy. Of course, when to give up the teaching position must be carefully considered.

After all, the position of chief executive seems to be exactly when it can be used.

The proposal of marriage was a reward for Cardinal Sforza's recent work. Although the elected pope ultimately rejected his proposal to openly break with the King of France, Sforza relied on the authority of the magistrate himself, no matter how weak his position.

The cardinal can also play a role.

He has recently adjudicated many lawsuits over the ownership of small religious territories. Some of them were beheading lawsuits that had been dragging on for decades. Suddenly, all the witnesses and material evidence were available, and several old men who could not even remember their names were suddenly confused.

I remembered the last words I heard decades ago, and these last words were surprisingly consistent. They were all repenting for their slights towards the great empire before they died, and demanded that the religious territories under their jurisdiction be returned to the royal family.

There was also a written will that suddenly appeared, which was unquestionably, very, very reliable. It was definitely not written just now by some professional fake certificate maker in a Roman prison.

At once, more than a dozen lands in the Holy Roman Empire that had been occupied by small and medium-sized princes after the vacancies of bishops or abbots were awarded to the acting Archduke Ferdinand for seventy-five years. These territories were mainly in Switzerland and Alsace.

, is close to the territory of the Habsburg family. It is not impossible to make the Habsburg family vomit it out after seventy-five years. After all, the possibility always exists. Of course, this probability is about the same as the world's eternal peace.

Of course, the Acting Grand Duke also ensures that the rights and interests of the Holy See in these religious territories are not harmed. The annual tithe will definitely be paid. These territories will also be managed by people arranged by the Roman Church, but the sovereignty belongs to the Acting Grand Duke. The Acting Grand Duke

Has the power to levy feudal taxes and mobilize local manpower.

There were also several knightly territories with extinct direct heirs, which were handed over to the Holy See to decide whether the collateral lines were eligible to inherit, and were also returned to the acting archduke.

Rejected all requests from collateral members.

This is the meaning of what is lost in the east and gained in the future.

Originally, although the small and medium-sized German princes did not have a strong voice in the Dark Sun Cardinals, the French cardinals would naturally come out to cause trouble in such a matter of strengthening the power of the Habsburg family.

However, recently, after the war began, several French cardinals have gone to serve in the Duke of Bourbon's army or returned to France. Only one highly respected one remains in Rome as an eye and eye, and he is also temporarily in the meeting of the College of Cardinals.

No sound can be made.

After the true elected pope rejected the main request of Emperor Charles V, he may have considered avoiding irritating his former students too much, and did not interfere in the issues of these small territories, acquiescing to the fact that Cardinal Sforza was very "fair, just and open"

ruling.

Cardinal Sforza had also been immersed in the Vanity Fair for many years, and his timing was really good. Although the true election of the pope did not give him any official status, he managed to acquire so many piecemeal territories at once, and he also managed to win over them.

It's really not a small benefit.

This series of transfers of benefits suddenly gave Cardinal Sforza a lot of points in front of the emperor and the acting archduke.

In addition to a side sister, he could also immediately recognize his title as Duke of Milan after he gave up his ecclesiastical position.

But the time has not come yet. Anyway, it is not too late to clear the name after driving away the French army in Milan. There are still many lawsuits waiting for the fair decision of Cardinal Sforza.

The situation now is much better than a few months ago. The Sforza family who did nothing at that time was really hopeless. Now, although the emperor's reward has not yet been fulfilled, the Warlock Royal Family has been repaying every grudge since its rise.

, it is the policy of life to live without losing any money. Whenever you receive a benefit, you must acknowledge it and there will be feedback.

As I walked, I thought, it has been a while since I entered the Vatican Castle.

Cardinal Sforza straightened his appearance at the door of the Sistine Chapel. He guessed that he would probably really choose the pope today and would have to beat himself up a little for the latest verdict. However, this was not a big deal. Now Cardinal Sforza was wearing a uniform.

The bishop's real boss is not the one in the Sistine Chapel.

The door of opportunity has been opened. No matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are ahead, I will definitely rebuild the Principality of Milan.

Under the watchful eyes of the Swiss guards, Cardinal Sforza walked into the Sistine Chapel with his head held high.
Chapter completed!