I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 718 Information Gap

You know, according to the speed of communication in this era, even if the horses are exhausted, it will take four or five days to get from Rome to Paris.

In fact, most of the two days between the assassination and Joseph receiving the news were spent on the road from Rome to Lyon.

Lyon sent the message back to Paris via the signal machine, but it actually only took 40 minutes!

This was when the signalman had just started working and was very unskilled in his work, and the report from Rome was a bit long.

According to Schaap's estimation, if the signal tower is connected and everything goes well, it will only take less than half an hour to transmit 20 words from the southernmost point of France to the northernmost point.

Totally the telegraph of this era!

Joseph looked at the secret report and nodded: "This matter will have an important impact on the political structure of the entire Europe. Emman, please ask Archbishop Brian and Mr. Talleyrand to come over immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Not long after, two French ministers came to the Dauphin's drawing room.

Joseph signaled that they did not need to salute and handed them the secret report directly: "What do you think about this matter?"

The two of them read the secret report quickly. Brian thought: "Although the Pope escaped, Archbishop Einaudi was seriously injured trying to protect him. The Pope must be very angry at this time and severely punish the Emperor of Shinra."

Talleyrand shook his head and said: "I think the Pope doesn't seem to want to have too much trouble with the Austrians."

"Oh?" Joseph looked at him and said, "Please tell me your reasons."

"Yes, Your Highness." Talleyrand leaned forward and said, "If the Pope decides to take revenge on the Holy Roman Emperor, he will publicly announce his crime and the method of punishment as soon as possible.

“But he chose not to announce the Holy See’s attitude and instead sent an envoy to Vienna without even clarifying the envoy’s mission.

"This is obviously to facilitate the envoy's flexibility in negotiations."

Joseph nodded, tapped the armrest of the chair with his finger, and said, "What you said makes sense. So, what does the Pope want?"

Brian continued: "Austria has given fuller support to the Holy See and made a commitment to protect the Papal State."

Talleyrand also added: "The Holy See has more control over church affairs in Austria. It is even not impossible to directly ask for a large sum of money."

Joseph nodded slightly: "If Austria chooses to cooperate with the Holy See, although it will be under deeper control by the Holy See, it will gain a lot of benefits in the short term.

"For example, a war in Poland would be more justifiable.

"We should probably do something."

What Joseph did not say was that in his long-term plan, the Papal State was to be dismantled, with papal legitimacy eventually transferred to Avignon in France.

But if the Papal States and Austria are deeply bound, the former will obtain a more stable political and military environment, which will bring huge obstacles to its dismantling.

Briandao: "You can choose to assassinate the papal envoy on Austrian soil. This will deepen the pope's anger towards Austria."

Talleyrand continued: "Or our country can directly come forward and condemn Austria for assassinating the Pope. In this way, the Holy See must punish Austria for the sake of dignity, and private transactions will no longer be possible."

Joseph suddenly narrowed his eyes: "I'm thinking, if Austria and the Pope reach a compromise, what should Cardinal Muzarelli do?"

After Muzzarelli refuted rumors in Vienna that the Pope had convened a "Crusader", the Holy See has remained silent. Coupled with the delicate relationship between him and the Pope, it is easy to imagine that he should have made some kind of deal with Austria. .

Talleyrand said: "He will probably be abandoned by Austria. The Pope will then liquidate him for his unauthorized actions."

"So, if he knew in advance that Emperor Shinra was going to negotiate with the Pope, what would he do?"

Talleyrand immediately said: "Do your best to sabotage the negotiations."

Joseph nodded and looked at Fouche: "How long does it take for the papal envoy to arrive in Vienna from Rome?"

"About 20 days, Your Highness." Fouche said, "The various arrangements in the Holy See will slow him down."

"And what time will it take for us to get the news to Vienna?"

"About 10 days. The signal machine will first send the news to Lorraine, and then people will be sent on horseback to Vienna."

Joseph smiled: "In other words, if we intervene, Archbishop Muzzarelli will be given 10 days to prepare?"

"That's right, Your Highness."

…

Vienna.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Francis II said to Chiaramonti with a sullen face: "I said that the assassin had nothing to do with me, and I deeply regret what happened to the Pope.

"At the same time, Archbishop Muzzarelli and I have a deep friendship and I will not allow anyone to harm him."

He has also recently been troubled by the assassination of the Pope.

And that damn assassin turned out to be an officer of the Royal Carpathian Regiment!

Francis II knew that the Pope would come to cause trouble and had already made some preparations. However, he did not expect that the Pope's envoy would target Muzarelli as soon as he came up.

Chiaramonti said in a high-pitched tone: "Obviously, you were bewitched by Muzzarelli in some way, and then you attacked the Lord's agents in the world. The Pope can completely punish you based on the Hadith." Penalty'!

The so-called "excommunication" is a kind of punishment of "excommunication". Those who are punished will not be able to participate in any Catholic religious activities, cannot enter churches, will not be recognized as believers, and will not be able to ascend to heaven after death.

This is even more terrible for Catholics than killing them.

Especially for Francis II, if he is excommunicated, he will even lose the qualification to become the Holy Roman Emperor. Because the most basic condition for the Holy Roman Emperor is that he must be a Catholic.

Historically, after Napoleon occupied Rome, he was excommunicated by Pius VII. However, the emperor with hundreds of thousands of troops did not take it seriously at all.

Franz II's face turned completely black, staring coldly at Chiaramonti: "Is the Pope going to declare war on me?"

Chiaramonti suddenly smiled: "It all depends on your choice, Your Majesty.

"As long as you no longer accept Muzzarelli's instigation, the merciful Pope will forgive all your sins.

"And the Pope will not support the rumors about the Crusades in Poland."

When Franz II heard that the Crusades could be discussed, he immediately relaxed: "I can no longer cooperate with Archbishop Muzzarelli. I hope the Pope can also remember his promise."

Chiaramonti shook his head and lowered his voice a little, saying: "No, Your Majesty, what you have to do is to secretly arrest the person who led you astray."

Franz II frowned: "He is a cardinal. Do you know how much impact his arrest in Austria will have?!"

"Please rest assured that the Holy See will not have any objections to this move. In other aspects, I believe you can do it."