Chapter 669: The Strangeness of the Vatican

Chapter 670 The strangeness of the Holy See

In the crown prince's cabin, Perna sat behind the exquisite wooden table, eating breakfast in small bites, but from time to time she secretly glanced at Joseph opposite, and her cheeks suddenly turned red.

Her eyes were filled with a happy smile, and she quickly lowered her head again, pretending to be concentrating on the food on the plate.

She didn't do a routine check-up on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince today - she did a full-body check-up last night, and everything was very normal. Even, it's a little too normal...

Just as her thoughts were wandering, Eman knocked on the door with a dinner plate in hand, placed two pieces of fried fish steak and toast in front of the crown prince and her respectively, and bowed to signal.

The waiter's expression was calm, as if the scene in front of him was just an ordinary day.

A maid walked around from behind Emang and walked along the corner towards the inner room of the cabin.

Perna was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up as if she had been electrocuted. She stepped forward to block the maid and showed an awkward smile: "Well, Diana, wait, I will clean up the room later. Bar……"

Well, the space on the boat is limited and the bed is very narrow, so last night’s bedding is still on the floor. Maybe some traces are on it too.

If the maid saw this, she would die of shame.

In the past few years, Joseph had become accustomed to others making his bed and folding his quilt. At this time, he also reacted and coughed dryly: "Cough, Diana, you don't have to worry about it."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph looked at the extremely shy Perna again. The two of them smiled tacitly at the same time.

Joseph signaled Emang to go out as well, pressed Perna on the chair next to the dining table, and said softly: "You have breakfast first. You will faint after the boat sails, and I'm afraid you will lose your appetite."

"But in the room..."

"Just leave it to me."

Perna looked at Joseph's busy figure, and a deep sweetness suddenly filled her heart.

With black smoke rising from the chimney, the "Poroskafi" resumed its racing journey, but the Dauphin's cabin was never tidied up...

Two days later.

The steamship returned to Paris first, leaving the second-place "Seven Birds" more than 90 kilometers away.

The entire inland shipping industry was immediately shaken! Hundreds of reporters quickly sent countless reports about the game back to China.

Camelia is still a little weak and has had a low fever since yesterday morning. This made Perna very anxious, and she directed the royal doctor who came to greet her to carry her into the carriage.

Annemarie Heriot was taken away directly by the palace guards. What happened on the ship had already been reported back to Versailles by land.

Count Heriot, the father of the noble lady who pushed Camelia into the water, had already been waiting nervously on the pier. He waited until the crown prince finished awarding the prize to the winning boat, and then he cautiously approached.

"Your Highness, I swear to God, that was just Annemarie's own stupid behavior, and I had no knowledge of it..."

He had already found out that the Austrian girl was not only the maid of the Crown Prince, but also the granddaughter of the Queen's wet nurse.

His arrogant daughter must have never understood this before taking action.

Lord Heriot had seven children, three of whom were daughters. He never wanted to expose his family to the wrath of the royal family because of Ann Marie.

Joseph just glanced at him coldly, turned around and walked into the carriage: "The judge will give a fair verdict."

When Joseph returned to the Palace of Versailles, he had lunch with the king and queen whom he had not seen for many days. When he returned to the palace, he saw Talleyrand waiting for him at the door.

"Are you back from Rome?" Joseph raised his hand to gesture to the living room and turned to Talleyrand and said, "Let's go inside and talk."

The Foreign Minister limped along, lowered his head, and said with an annoyed expression: "Your Highness, the Pope has expressed his unwillingness to allow the Holy See to interfere in the situation in Poland."

Joseph sat down on the sofa and frowned slightly: "Have you mentioned to him the matter of 'recasting the Catholic Spear'?"

Talleyrand nodded: "Yes, Your Highness, I mentioned it to the Pope seriously, and he seemed to, ah, have any concerns. I mean, he was obviously interested when he first heard it, but then he refused to do it. Let’s continue on this topic.”

"Please sit down." Joseph clasped his hands and shook his head, "Such a decision by the Pope will have a certain impact on our Polish strategy.

"What do you think His Majesty Pius VI is worried about?"

Talleyrand hesitated and said: "Perhaps you don't want to offend the Russians?"

Joseph shook his head again: "Russia has no influence on the Papal States. Even if there are some trade exchanges, this benefit is nothing compared to regaining the power to be close to the Holy See in Eastern Europe.

"Even if Poland can defeat Russia, it will be a holy blow of the 'Spear of God' against the Orthodox heresy. This can exponentially increase the prestige of the Holy See."

At this time, the Holy See was far from the glory of the Middle Ages——

Although France is called "Catholic Dutiful Son", it actually has its own independent church system and does not accept the management of the Holy See at all.

Britain, Prussia, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, and most of the German states had all converted to Protestantism.

And some of the remaining Catholic spheres of influence, such as Bavaria and Salzburg, are already engaged in the Protestant Reformation.

Only Spain and Austria are the last "reservations" of the Holy See.

Therefore, Poland, which recently established a constitution that stipulated Catholicism as the state religion, has become a rare "performance growth point" for the Holy See over the years.

Joseph originally wanted to use this to gain Poland the support of the Holy See. Although the control of the Holy See has declined, it is still the legitimate spokesperson of God in the hearts of tens of millions of believers in Europe.

If the Holy See can make a call for Poland to "resist the Orthodox heresy," not to mention that it will encourage Catholics from all over the world to go to Poland to participate in the "holy war," it will at least greatly boost the morale of the Polish people.

The mentality of simply resisting aggression and resisting aggression in accordance with God's will are completely different.

This was also one of Joseph's Polish strategies.

Unexpectedly, Pope Pius VI refused.

"So, why did the Pope put aside the huge benefits?" Joseph caressed the armrest of the sofa, lost in thought, "There are greater benefits..."

Talleyrand continued: "Perhaps he is facing threats that force him to give up his interests."

Joseph looked at him and said: "You are right. Among the countries related to the situation in Poland, Russia is a heretic and Prussia is a Protestant. Only Austria can have anything to do with the Holy See."

Talleyrand said in surprise: "But Austria adheres to the national policy of safeguarding Poland, so it shouldn't..."

Joseph narrowed his eyes: "No, I think it's probably Austria."

He knew very well that Austria had never shown mercy when it invaded Polish territory in history.

"If the Papal States gave up their support for Poland because of Austria, then it all makes sense."

The Papal States almost have territorial disputes with neighboring Italian countries - this is not the era of Pepin. Although Sardinia, Tuscany, and the Two Sicilies are all Catholic countries, they also firmly demand that the Pope return their respective territories. .