Chapter 740 The Uneasy Apennine Peninsula

Chapter 741 The Unsettled Apennine Peninsula

"The Villars family donated 30,000 francs..."

"The Broglie family donated 35,000 francs!"

"The Count of Echy donated 40,000 francs..."

"The Duke of Loudun donated 40,000..."

The nobles and capitalists quickly split into two factions and began to compete desperately, unwilling to be outdone by the other.

The donations began to rise like an auction.

Just after someone donated 50,000 francs, a voice rang out: "The Dupont family will donate a frigate for the navy."

The Hall of Mirrors instantly became quiet.

Even the cheapest frigate would cost about 120,000 francs!

However, the silence lasted only a few seconds, and Prince Condé's attendant shouted: "Your Highness will also donate a warship."

Others, whether nobles or capitalists, did not dare to speak for a while.

Those who wanted to donate also quietly came to the court officials responsible for recording donations and whispered their donation figures.

Soon, another Bordeaux winery owner donated a warship.

The dinner had turned into a warship donation theme conference.

Those who could not produce a warship were too embarrassed to speak out.

By 10 o'clock in the evening, 5 warships had appeared on the donation list. The donations of others added up to nearly 3 million francs!

Before the end of the dinner, Countess de Berninac announced publicly that all gentlemen who donated warships would be invited to dinner with the royal family next week.

Queen Marie just quietly summoned the donation recorder and told him that she was going to donate jewelry worth 2.7 million francs.

More than half of her annual pension was spent on jewelry, but she took it out without hesitation.

The next day.

In addition to the list of nobles and wealthy businessmen who donated large sums of money last night, words such as "evil alliance", "lost 30 years" and "patriotic war" also appeared frequently in major newspapers in Paris.

It didn't take long for these propaganda slogans to spread throughout France.

...

Rome.

St. Peter's Basilica.

Pope Pius VI stared at Archbishop Muzarelli and said in a deep voice: "The title of 'Shield of God' originally belonged to Hungary, and now it is awarded to Austria, which is in a union with Hungary, and it is acceptable. But His Majesty Franz II has never done any noble deeds known to everyone, and the title of 'The Just' does not suit him."

Muzarelli smiled and looked at the more than 20 cardinals sitting around: "Do you think the title of Holy Roman Emperor is appropriate?"

Immediately, a cardinal in his seventies nodded and said: "His Majesty Franz II has won wide praise from his people, and 'The Just' is not an exaggeration."

Then more than a dozen people followed suit, and only three or four cardinals expressed objections, while the others remained silent.

They all remembered that a few months ago, Muzarelli returned to the Vatican and argued with His Majesty the Pope in public, refuting the irresponsible behavior of the Pope for not refuting the rumors of the Polish holy war in the first place.

The Pope was extremely embarrassed at the time, but he could do nothing about it.

Because just a few days before that, Venice and Tuscany respectively mobilized tens of thousands of troops near the northern and southern borders of the Papal States for so-called exercises, and the sound of artillery lasted for nearly a week.

That posture was obviously to boost Muzzarelli's momentum.

Since then, the Muzzarelli faction has become more and more powerful in the Vatican.

Until today, Muzzarelli publicly suggested that the Vatican declare Austria as the "Shield of God" and canonize Francis II as the "Justice".

Pope Pius VI knew that a war would soon break out between Austria and France, and Muzzarelli was helping Austria boost its prestige.

However, doing so would offend France.

This is definitely not a good thing for the Vatican.

Seeing that the Pope was still unwilling to give in, Muzzarelli couldn't help but smile and said, "Everyone should know that France has actually been separated from the management of the Vatican.

"And His Majesty Franz II has handed over the nomination right of the Austrian cardinal to the Vatican. At present, the Holy Roman Empire is the real follower of the Vatican!

"When the war begins, hundreds of thousands of troops will surround France, and the Holy See does not need to care about the attitude of the French.

"When the war is over, the Holy See will, with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor, let the glory of the Lord shine upon the whole of Europe again!"

There is one thing he did not say, that is, most of the Italian states around the Papal States are friendly with Austria. If the Papal States offends Francis II because of the title, it will definitely not end well.

In fact, he hopes that the Pope will stubbornly deny his proposal.

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In that case, Austria will support him more firmly, and even "send away" Pius VI in advance, and it is not impossible for him to become the Pope.

More than ten minutes later, Pius VI looked around at the cardinals present, stood up helplessly, and said to Muzarelli: "In this matter, you will convey God's will. ”

Just as the Vatican announced the new title of Francis II and reiterated that Austria was the "Shield of God", the Austrian Foreign Minister Count Rheinfels had arrived in the Kingdom of Sardinia in the northernmost part of Italy.

The capital of Sardinia, Turin.

Sardinia King Amedeo III looked at the Austrian Foreign Minister with a bitter face: "You know, there is no conflict between our country and France. So..."

Sardinia, as a country sandwiched between France and Austria, can be considered a second-rate country in Europe, but it still lives on thin ice and has always pursued a policy of not offending either side.

However, since the Alps separate France and Sardinia, Sardinia is generally closer to Austria, and there are even Austrian troops stationed in Sardinia.

After all, it is flat from Milan, Austria to Turin, and it only takes four or five days.

Count Rheinfels nodded: "I am not asking you to declare war on France, as long as General Beaulieu's army can pass through Chambery smoothly. You don't have to worry about what happens next."

Amedeo III felt bitter in his mouth.

Letting the Austrian army attack France through Sardinia is just a little worse than declaring war on France directly.

However, even if he did not agree, he could not stop the Austrian garrison from going west through the Alps.

Count Rheinfels glanced at the King of Sardinia and smiled warmly: "Of course, if you can provide some logistical support to General Beaulieu, or even send troops to assist, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely give you a corresponding reward after the war is over."

Amadeo III was about to shake his head when he heard the Austrian say: "Genoa and Corsica will all belong to Sardinia."

Amadeo III's pupils shrank immediately.

Although Genoa is not large in area, it is an extremely important trading port in southern Italy. Countless gold coins flow into the Apennine Peninsula from there every day.

Previously, Genoa was a neutral port and was jointly protected by many major powers such as Britain, France, and Austria. No matter how much Sardinia coveted it, it did not dare to have any ideas.