For Florence and Tuscany, which it represents, since Venice has been wiped out by the Prussians, they can only show respect for the Prussians, because if they continue to fight against Prussia
, so how could the Tuscan family alone be able to defeat the Prussians without such a powerful help as Venice?
It was precisely because of this kind of thinking that the Grand Duke of Tuscany personally went thirty miles out of the city to meet the Prussian army.
After William accepted the Archduke's gift, his original thoughts of launching an army to accuse him were suddenly put to rest. For William, Prussia's traditional area of influence was in Central Europe rather than in Italy, although William was not prepared to do so in the future.
Abandon the Italian region, but in the short term, Prussia has no plans to extend its tentacles to the Italian region.
After all, Italy is the most complex region in Europe. It was once the center of Europe during the Renaissance, and it was also the headquarters of the Pope. Here, radical and conservative ideas collided repeatedly, and even Italy became the center of the entire country.
The vane of European thought.
Furthermore, Italy is adjacent to Austria and France. Although the two countries have gradually weakened, they have not given up their influence on Italy. After all, Prussia is far away from Italy and can be said to be beyond reach.
Under such circumstances, Prussia may not be able to gain a foothold in Austria even if it pays a considerable price.
After William met the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Grand Duke of Tuscany warmly invited William to Florence as a guest. At the same time, the Grand Duke also said that Tuscany would give the Prussian army a batch of food, grass and baggage for free.
At the same time, if the Prussian army needs to purchase supplies in Tuscany in the future, Tuscany will also provide appropriate concessions.
The Grand Duke's knowledge also brought a smile to William's face.
However, the affairs of the Republic of Venice delayed William's trip. In addition, although the attitude of the Grand Duke of Tuscany is now soft, who can know what he really thinks. Under such circumstances, he rashly went to Florence.
Who knows if this Grand Guild will cause any trouble.
Therefore, William simply declined the archduke's invitation to go to Florence.
After that, William led the army to continue to Rome, but when the flattering Grand Duke of Tuscany was flattering William, the Grand Duke did not know that there was a person in the crowd behind William who was using a very special
Looking at his back with dissatisfied eyes.
This person is none other than Carl.
The previous events in Venice had already made Karl quite dissatisfied with Ferdinand and the Grand Duke, but now the Grand Duke was patronizing William's flattery. He, the genuine king of the Tuscan suzerainty, and the Habsburgs
The leader of the Fort family turned a blind eye. How could this attitude prevent Karl from feeling angry.
It can be said that Alexander's incident was a very bad start for the entire Habsburg family. Alexander's actions of raising troops to capture Vienna and placing his own brother under house arrest became a role model for the younger generation of the entire Habsburg family.
.
Since Karl could learn from Alexander and later personally expelled Alexander from Austria, what can Ferdinand, who is also the legitimate son of the Habsburg family, not be able to imitate!
According to Ferdinand's previous idea, he hoped to cause trouble in Venice. Then he gathered the power of Tuscany and Venice to teach the Prussians a lesson in Venice, and then Karl, who was controlled by the Prussians, naturally
It became the only target for Prussia to vent its anger.
"Your Majesty, after returning to Vienna, I think it would be better for His Highness Ferdinand to go to Budapest as soon as possible. In addition, I think based on the current situation, His Highness Ferdinand only needs to lead his own troops to Hungary. There is no need for
Let’s send reinforcements!”
An aide who was following Karl knew what Karl was thinking, so he followed Karl and said.
When Karl appointed Ferdinand as the Archduke of Hungary, Karl made a promise to Ferdinand. That is, Karl would support Ferdinand with a batch of grain and an army of 6,000 men to help Ferdinand capture Budapest from Alexander.
.
But now, the events in Italy have obviously changed the attitude of Karl and his cronies.
"Well, we will wait until we return to Vienna to discuss this matter. Our top priority right now is to keep a low profile. We just hope that there will be no accidents along the way and that we can return to Vienna safely!"
As he spoke, Karl's eyes became profound.
In early June 1794, the Prussian army entered the border of the Papal States.
When talking about Italy, we have to talk about the Papal State. Although the Pope of the Catholic Church is the spokesperson of God on land, before the fifth century AD, Christianity did not have only one pope. At that time, all bishops could be called popes.
.
Until the fifth century AD, through the unremitting efforts of several Roman popes, there was finally only one pope in the entire Christianity, that is, the Roman Pope. Then the conflict between religion and secularity made the popes begin to seek secular rights.
During the reign of Gelesius I (reigned 492-496), this ambitious pope declared that the pope’s religious power was independent of both the emperor and the church councils, claiming that “ecclesiastical power” was higher than
"Imperial Power".
What really brought the power of the Pope to its peak was in 756 AD. Pepin the Short, the King of the Frankish Kingdom who had just successfully usurped the throne, donated the land from Rome to Ravenna that he had seized from Byzantium in order to reward the Pope for his support in seizing power.
pope.
After this incident, the Pope not only became the spiritual leader of the Christian world, but also had his own secular kingdom.
In the Middle Ages, the authority of the Pope reached its peak. The sale of the Atonement Scrolls and the formation of the Crusades brought the Roman Pope a steady stream of wealth and power that far exceeded all monarchs on the European continent.
After the fourteenth century AD, the influence of the Pope gradually weakened. But it is undeniable that the Pope's status in the Papal States is still unshakable.
The person currently serving as the Pope of the Holy See is Pius VI. When mentioning this Pope, we have to talk about a major event that caused a sensation in the entire world. That is, when Napoleon ascended the throne and became the Emperor of the French Empire, he was forcibly robbed to Rome.
It was Pius VI who crowned Napoleon.
Of course, during the coronation, Pius VI and the Catholicism he represented were ruthlessly trampled by Napoleon, because Napoleon created a historic self to crown himself.
Then, the pope who was robbed to France was also very pitiful, because he died in France after Napoleon's coronation.
When the Prussian army arrived at the border of the Papal States, they could see from a distance that a solemn-looking, neatly dressed religious man was waiting on the border of the Papal States. This was none other than the Cardinal of the Papal States.
A member of the group.
Seeing the cardinal wearing a red smock and full vicar's robe, William immediately ordered the army to stop in order to show respect, and then William came to the cardinal with only a team of guards.
This cardinal is a very important member of the Holy See. He is also the successor of the next pope, Giovanni, whom many people are optimistic about.
Giovanni was born into a middle-class family in Rome. He entered the Roman church at an early age. Since then, Giovanni stood out among his peers with his intelligence and devotion to God, and was recognized by the church priest.
Recognized. Later, under the recommendation of the priest, Giovanni entered the Roman Theological Seminary to study.
By virtue of his Roman origin and his excellent performance in the seminary, Giovanni was recognized by many Catholic upper-class people.
Giovanni is already fifty-two years old this year, but it is clear that Giovanni is currently in his prime, as can be seen from the momentum he moves around.
Although Giovanni and William had never met each other, it was obvious that William had done enough homework when he came to Rome, and for Giovanni, who was unanimously expected to become the Pope after Pius VI,
How could N. William not pay more attention to it?
William knew Giovanni, and Giovanni was obviously no stranger to William.
You must know that in order to win over the Holy See, the Prussians have always been generous to the cardinals of the Holy See, not to mention that this Giovanni was the one William deliberately ordered to win over.
Although Giovanni's voice is very high, it does not mean that Giovanni will definitely become the next pope of the Holy See. After all, the interests involved in the pope are not small. In this case, under Giovanni
Until you get to that position, everything is unknown.
But for William, he didn't think so. William, who knew the original history, naturally knew that the Giovanni in front of him became the next Roman Pope after Pius VI.
Although the process of Giovanni ascending to the papal throne was rather strange, and it was not the decision of the entire College of Cardinals, William was still optimistic about Giovanni.
It is precisely because of William's attitude that Prussia has invested a lot in Giovanni over the years. The amount invested in Giovanni alone was enough to be used by Prussia to bribe the Holy See.
half of the amount.
Under this kind of long-term investment, although Giovanni had never met William, he was full of good impressions of William.
"Your Majesty William, welcome to Rome!"
When William drove his horse to be more than sixty meters away from Giovanni, William slowed down his horse and got off the horse. He walked up to Giovanni with a smile, and after seeing William's actions, Giovanni
Varney felt more favorable and proactively greeted William.
You must know that William is not an ordinary person. It is not uncommon for people to let William slow down his horse speed from such a far place and then dismount and walk away, because this is enough to show that William attaches great importance to this person.
Under such circumstances, Giovanni, who received William's courtesy, naturally treated him with courtesy.
"Your Excellency Giovanni, although you have never been masked, I have often heard of your name even in Brandenburg. It is really an honor for me to have you come to greet me in person!"
"This time, His Majesty the Pope was originally going to send Bishop Montague to greet you, but considering that you have a special status after all, I specifically asked His Majesty the Pope for me to greet you!"
The two chatted for a moment. William looked behind Giovanni. The people who followed Giovanni to greet William were all members of the Holy See, including a cardinal and three cardinal priests. Look.
Seeing this situation, William nodded secretly.
It seems that Prussia's investment over the years has not been in vain.
The number of cardinals in the Holy See is about eighty, and not all of them are cardinals. The cardinals are composed of three levels, cardinals, cardinal priests and cardinal deacons. In the earliest days, they had the right to elect the pope.
There were only cardinals, but in 1179, the then Pope Alexander III announced that all three levels of cardinals had the right to elect the pope.
Despite this, there were only a dozen cardinals in the Holy See, and under such circumstances, Giovanni was able to have one cardinal and three cardinal priests accompany him to the border of the Papal States to meet William.
This shows Giovanni's influence in the Holy See.
Later, Giovanni introduced the several people from the Vatican who were following him to William. Among them, the one who caught William's attention was an unattractive cardinal priest.
According to the information of the Prussian Intelligence Ministry, Giovanni was able to create a huge momentum in the Holy See. The cardinal priest behind him can be said to have contributed a lot.
This priest's name is Hamilton. Regardless of his name or appearance, this Hamilton can only be called ordinary. However, according to the comments of the Prussian Intelligence Ministry, this Hamilton's
However, his evaluation is quite high, and he is regarded as Giovanni's number one think tank. Even Giovanni's ability to gather a group of forces in the Holy See is largely due to this Hamilton.
However, what made William feel a little strange was that this Hamilton, who had received very high praise from the Prussian Intelligence Department, was actually a very ordinary-looking young man.
It looks like he is only a few years older than William!
It seemed that Giovanni saw William's shock at Hamilton's age, so Giovanni walked up to William and proudly introduced:
"Your Majesty William, let me introduce to you here, this is our youngest cardinal priest in the Holy See - Hamilton!"
Just when Giovanni was about to introduce William's identity to Hamilton, Hamilton took a few steps forward and said:
"Your Excellency Giovanni, I don't need you to introduce me. His Majesty King William of Prussia is famous. Even if I am far away in Rome, I can often hear about it. It is really an honor for me to be able to see His Majesty today."
!”
Although Hamilton's polite refusal prevented Giovanni's good intentions from being used for a while, but looking at Giovanni's expression, it can be seen that the Cardinal obviously did not take it seriously.
William and Hamilton and others also exchanged a few words. Afterwards, under Giovanni's greeting, William ordered his followers to run back to the Prussian army's phalanx and ordered the army to continue to advance.
While the Prussian army was advancing, William accompanied Giovanni and others and continued to stand on this small hill, as if to stage a military parade for Giovanni and others.
Mode.
The Prussian army entered the border of the Papal States with great momentum. For Giovanni and others who were standing on a small hill and could overlook the overall situation, the momentum generated by the march of this Prussian army shocked them.
Groups of Prussian soldiers with firm eyes and solemn expressions passed under the hillock, while the Prussian cavalry held their battle flags high and looked piously at William and the others on the hillock.
"There is indeed a reason why Prussia can ignore the heroes in Europe. Look at His Majesty's army. Even the most powerful army under God in the epic is nothing more than this!"
Giovanni said to William, and there were many compliments in his words. Although the Prussian army could indeed see the appearance of an elite division as it marched, but for a dignified cardinal to say this, it obviously also contained a strong meaning.
Strongly political.
"These soldiers are the pride of Prussia, and of course they are also the pride of God now! They are both soldiers of Christ, and these soldiers will also fight for the Holy See! Of course, I believe that with your courage, it will be a matter of time before you ascend to that throne.
matter!"
After saying that, both William and Giovanni burst out laughing.
Although others listening to the conversation between the two may feel a little confused, the two people talking at this moment can be said to know everything.
All this was seen by Hamilton on the side.
After entering the Papal States, Giovanni accompanied William for a while and then returned to Rome first. After all, before William entered Rome, there was no need for a cardinal with such a high status as Giovanni to accompany him throughout the journey. Of course, William
Even after William entered Rome, the cardinals who maintained their own identity would not surround William like lackeys.
After all, there is a difference between secular rights and religious rights.
However, when Giovanni returned to Rome, William also asked Henry to lead a group of cavalry to accompany Giovanni to Rome. After all, William still needs some procedures to go to Rome to accept the coronation of the Pope. At the moment, William's status makes it inconvenient to go to Rome, so he can only go to Rome.
Henry can be represented.
According to the results of previous communication between Prussia and Rome, the Holy See will hold a triumphal ceremony for the Prussian army in Rome. After the triumphal ceremony, William will go directly to the Holy See to accept the coronation of the Pope, and then circle around Rome to accept the worship of all people.