Chapter 3344 The Devil’s Proof (4)

Once at the Louvre, Georgiana met the wife of the Russian ambassador, a woman who was as strong as a bear.

She told Georgiana about Paul I's "India Plan," and perhaps because it was so crazy, the ambassador's wife spoke of it as if it were a joke, as if it were impossible to achieve.

Before taking the throne, Paul I also publicly expressed his opposition to the expansion of Russia's borders and believed that order must first be established in Russia's existing territories. He was especially opposed to the partition of Poland.

However, the purpose of the empire's existence was expansion. In addition to the "India Plan", Tsarist Russia also had the "Greek Plan". Tsar Alexander I had expelled Turkish officials and replaced them all with Greeks and Armenians.

The Balkans originally referred to the ancient Hermosan Mountains, and later referred to the area from the Peloponnese to the Danube River.

The Thracians were the earliest inhabitants of Bulgaria, but around the 7th century, the Thracians and Slavs established the Slavic Bulgarian Kingdom in the Danube Valley. Bulgaria and Byzantium soon realized the importance of both sides. Byzantium wanted to use the church to tame these Slavs, but the Bulgarians initially adopted an anti-church and Byzantine strategy.

Until Emperor Simeon came to the throne, he not only accepted the church, but also stared at the "city of the emperor". He tried his best to imitate the Byzantine Empire, and at the same time he longed to defeat the empire and eventually occupy the empire. He even asked Patriarch Nicholas, who was still a cardinal at the time, to crown him and became the earliest "Caesar" (Tsar).

Although he wanted to be the emperor of the Romans, he married his daughter to Constantine VII, who was born in the "Purple Palace", even though the sickly boy was only 7 years old at the time.

Justinian promulgated the law of monogamy, but not every emperor had only one queen like him, Theodora. However, the Queen Mother Regent Zoe refused to recognize the marriage contract between Constantine VII and Simeon's daughter. At the same time, the admiral Romanus seized power and married his daughter to Constantine VII. Zoe The regency was replaced by Romanus, who was promoted to co-emperor the following year.

When Simeon learned that his position had been replaced, he immediately took control of the Balkans with the Bulgarian army and wreaked havoc on Thracian villages and looted outside the walls of Constantinople.

The stalemate forced both sides to go to the negotiating table again, where Simeon and Romanus, the "two fathers-in-law," deliberated in person.

But no matter what the result was, Simeon did not receive the officially recognized title of "Emperor of the Romans" in the end. There was only a seal engraved with "Emperor of the Romans" in the information circulated in the world. The Patriarch Nicholas who crowned him even deleted the content about the coronation and tampered with all mentions.

Later, Simeon's son Peter succeeded him. He married a Byzantine princess, the granddaughter of Romanos I. She maintained peace between Bulgaria and Byzantium for 40 years.

However, Simeon started a war with Serbia and other regions. In the end, Bulgaria was weakened by the battles with the Magyars and Pechenegs, and was conquered by Byzantium in the 11th century. The Bulgarian Patriarchate was also reduced to the rank of Archbishop, but retained its autonomous status and dioceses.

Even if Queen Elizabeth follows the example of her sister Mary and wears a wedding ring to the state, her rule will still face many challenges, let alone a "mistress" like herself who has no guarantee of a marital relationship.

The performance of the French navy in the North American War was actually pretty good. At least it was not one-sided and helpless, and there were many victories.

The real damage to the Navy was the Revolution. Only 5 of the 42 admirals were left, three-quarters of the 170 captains were gone, and only 42 remained.

In contrast, although the lieutenant was half gone, he recovered relatively quickly because he sent out warnings to retired officers, privateers, etc. However, the meaning of "captain" is more than just military rank.

Bougainville was a colonel in the dragoons and became a captain in the navy in 1791. In the UK, a naval captain can command a battleship, and Baron Bougainville, who is not a captain, can already command two cruisers to participate in scientific expeditions.

Although Georgiana didn't understand, she felt that naval battles required cooperation and coordination among warships, which required a "captain" to take command.

In contrast, the British Navy is in better shape than ever... As long as the weather is correct, sailing in the Adriatic Sea in March and April is not completely impossible, but the feeling of being "sneak attacked" is always unpleasant. of.

The Strait of Gibraltar is not suitable for navigation all year round. The Mediterranean climate has headwinds in winter, and the Atlantic currents will flow into the Mediterranean Sea and cause reverse currents. However, these problems would exist if the Spanish attacked from land.

"Where have you been?" Georgiana asked Bougainville.

"Look at the map with the others," said Bougainville. "What do you want a papal bull for?"

"As a gift," Georgiana said.

"I don't think the Protestants will accept the papal bull." Bougainville thought for a moment and said.

"That also depends on what the content is."

As soon as Georgiana finished speaking, Stanley came back.

"Director Denon asked me to ask you..."

"1505, order of etiquette." Georgiana said before Stanley could finish.

Then Stanley left again.

"What order of ceremony?" Bougainville asked.

"Julius II was the most accomplished pope in history, not just because he was good at fighting." Georgiana said. "Since the 10th century, the Holy Roman Empire and the kings of France have been arguing about who has a higher status. , Julius II established this order, the first is the Holy Roman Emperor, the second is the King of the Romans, and the third is the Kingdom of France.”

"What about England?" Bougainville asked.

"Ranked seventh behind Spain, Aragon and Portugal." Georgiana said with a smile.

"This gift will be like a golden apple, causing disputes." Bougainville said seriously, "You should not give it."

"Do you think the British will want to go to the front? Where in the queue?" Georgiana asked.

Bougainville said nothing.

"Seven is a magic number. How about we make a bet? The British will not be angry when receiving this gift." Georgiana said.

"But that's a papal edict. How can you..."

"Do you know how many files in the library have been stolen?" Georgiana interrupted Bougainville. "Only those who know the goods will think they are treasures. Do you know how many files were sold as scrap paper before I took over?"

It was while digging through these files that Georgiana discovered something "interesting".

First there were the Knights Templar, who were almost all tortured. King Philip IV gave the power of trial to the pope and the power of arrest to nobles with titles. They all made arrests in the name of the king. Most of the French Templars were not warriors, they were farm managers. author, carpenter and wine merchant. The torture for these people would be worse than just beheading them.

The second is the interrogation record of Galileo. Of course, Galileo was not tortured, although the purpose of torture was to torture those who refused to change until they changed their minds.

Galileo was arraigned at his home by Cardinal Bellarmine of the Inquisition in 1616, and the minutes of the proceedings were recorded by a notary.

This record appears in the 1633 Inquisition Records, and the notary died in 1621. The key to the problem is that this 1616 record and the 1633 Inquisition General Assembly meeting minutes are on the same piece of paper. , and the handwriting is exactly the same.

Although Rita Kist is a reporter who likes to make things up, she is a fairly good record-keeper. Perhaps because the wizard can also retrieve trial memories through memory in addition to the trial records she recorded. If she falsifies, it will be easy to be discovered. .

After a while Stanley came back, followed by Denon.

"I told her that was a bad idea." Bougainville looked at Denon and said, "Even if the 1505 edict is still there."

“I remember Julius II determined the ‘Papal Meridian’, what about that bull?” Denon asked.

"I don't think the British would approve of the Pope's way of dividing the world," Georgiana said.

"What difference does it make?" complained Bougainville.

"Sit down and talk, gentlemen, and do what we can, for better or for worse," said Georgiana.

In fact, she sincerely hoped that Tsarist Russia would accept beet sugar, but the promotional messenger never came back and there was no news, as if he had disappeared into the wilderness of Siberia.

There was a poet who wrote an ode to Paul I when he first came to the throne, saying that Russia was shining brightly and blooming like flowers under Paul's leadership. When the news of Paul's death came, he rejoiced with the people and wrote "Those pairs of terrifying The scary eyes are finally closed."

Under the rule of Paul I, Catherine's rule was like heaven, even if she wanted everyone under the same sky in the world to regard her as "mother".

Of course, this world only stops at Europa and Greece. God knows, how could Georgiana think of using Queen Catherine as a role model?