It was already noon, and the heat of early summer was beginning to show its power, the sky was cloudless, and the sun was scorching the wilderness, plunging everything into a sweltering heat. From time to time, soldiers passed by the roadside, but in this hot weather, they were listless, and they didn't even bother to greet each other.

I don't know how long it took for this silence to be broken by the sound of horses' hooves. A group of men in military uniforms rode along the road, stirring up smoke and dust, and the soldiers along the road stopped one after another, as for any general who led them to victory, and cheered warmly to the commander-in-chief in the middle of the group.

The Marquis de Treville, perched on horseback, also nodded to the soldiers from time to time, and he controlled the speed of his horse, and hurried unhurriedly towards his temporary headquarters, trying not to let his exhaustion become apparent.

He had just finished patrolling the front line, and had commanded his regiment to win the battle and win the victory, and seeing that the situation had been decided, the Marquis de Treville had finished his tour of the front line and hurried back to his headquarters on horseback. And now, all an old man wants is rest.

"Let's stop and rest for a while, General, the horses are tired......" Lucien, who was riding beside him, saw the fatigue of the commander and thoughtfully made a suggestion.

"No, not yet." The Marquis of Treville shook his head, "The emissary of His Majesty the Pope is still waiting for us. ”

"He? Didn't you make him wait? Lucien was a little puzzled, "Since we've been waiting for so long. How about making him wait a little longer? ”

"It's one thing to ask him to wait, it's another to ignore him completely...... I have to make them feel that we are sincere, so that they will be happy to work with us. The Marquis shook his head. We don't have to be respectful to them, but we can use these people after all. ”

After hearing the marquis's answer, Lucien was a little stunned for a moment, and couldn't figure out the twists and turns after thinking about it for a long time. In the end, he decided to abandon these frivolous thoughts and submit to the will of the general.

"You don't seem to have to be so respectful of the church, do you?" Still, he hesitated.

He was the generation that grew up after the Revolution. They have no affection for the Catholic Church, so they have no interest in defending the Church – as long as there is a war, of course. It's easy to say anything.

"Respect?" The Marquis raised his eyebrows, "It's just taking advantage of each other, and there's nothing to talk about respecting or disrespecting." We need them now, and they need us now. So we have mutual respect. ”

Then. He waved his whip, and the mount immediately slowed down and galloped towards its destination, and the others hurriedly hurried forward and followed the general.

Although they have always claimed to be devout believers of God and guardians of the Catholic Church, the arrogant and domineering French nobles have always paid little attention to the Catholic Church and its doctrine, and I don't know how many times they have done all kinds of appalling misdeeds.

From 1305 to 1378. The King of France forced the Holy See to move to Avignon, France, and placed it under the control of the French King. The seven successive popes were all French, and under the control of the French king, they became the royal tools of the French king, and they were known as the prisoners of Avignon.

In modern times, the French monarchs were not far behind, and on July 6, 1809, angering the Napoleonic Emperor, Pope Pius VII was arrested by the French army and escorted back to Savona for captivity, where he was not released until Napoleon's abdication in 1814.

To put it bluntly, the French monarchs used the Church as a tool to strengthen their ideological control internally, consolidate their authority, and blackmail the Pope externally to order Europe, and seek their own personal interests under the banner of the defenders of Catholicism.

Soon, they were back in the exquisite little villa.

As they dismounted and headed for the mansion, the distant fighting had subsided, and it was clear that the battle was nearing its end and that the French army had won a decisive victory.

"God forbid, we finally won these bastards!" An officer sighed softly beside him, "It seems that His Majesty the Pope is still blessed by God." ”

"God? Young man, you will know the way later...... "The old man's body on the horse rose and fell slightly as the horse galloped, and with the help of the servant, he turned over and dismounted. His eyes were full of mockery, "In the past thousand years, I have not heard of a pope who really believes in God...... Religion is for the poor, and the nobles believe it just to deceive the poor to believe it, but don't trap yourself, let alone the church, how can a person believe in his tools? ”

His mean joke caused a burst of laughter next to him.

………………

While this group of soldiers was still leisurely and slowly rushing back, the current envoy of Pope Pius IX, Bishop Mastaí Balatisteaoni, was in a completely opposite mood at the moment. He had been waiting for a long time, a little impatient, but he didn't dare to come out at all.

He had arrived from the castle of Gaeta in Lazio, which was now the refuge of the Pope and most of the top of the Holy See, and had finally escaped the threat of the rioters under the protection of the troops of the Kingdom of Sicily. After a long journey, he finally made it to the vicinity of the city of Rome, and God knows how much this pampered papal cronie suffered!

He didn't care about resting, so he ran here early in the morning to visit the commander of the French army, but he didn't expect to be ignored by someone, and he went straight out!

However, he still did not dare to say anything, so he continued to sit in his chair and waited anxiously for the general's return.

Seeing that he had waited from early morning to sunrise, he finally could not wait any longer, and decided to visit again another day, however, just as he stood up to say goodbye to the servant, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from the door, and he hurriedly went to the window to look, and found a large group of soldiers walking towards the mansion.

God forbid, these Qiu Ba have finally run back! The bishop couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

………………

Under the guidance of servants. The Marquis of Treville walked unhurriedly up the stairs to the door of the reception room on the second floor. He straightened his clothes slightly, then nodded. The servant opened the door, and the spirited general strode in.

The bishop, who had been sitting upright, quickly stood up, took off his hat and saluted the general, not daring to show the slightest disrespect. Perhaps because today was a secret visit, he was dressed in civilian clothes, not a clerical robe.

The Marquis only nodded at him rather arrogantly.

"Do you know French? Mr? He asked coldly.

"Yes, General." The bishop replied rather flatteringly. "I've taken it in France before and Valenciennes is a very beautiful place. I'm still eager to have the opportunity to visit again ......."

"Very well," the general nodded coldly, taking the initiative of the conversation entirely into his own hands, "I'll be back now." Just good news for you. Mr. Just this morning, my men won a decisive victory for His Holiness the Pope, and soon we will be able to drive out or annihilate all the rioters in the city of Rome...... His Holiness the Pope will soon be able to return to the restored sanctity of the city. ”

"Oh! That's great! Even though he was very dissatisfied with the general's arrogance, after hearing the news, the bishop still seemed overjoyed, "Thank you, General! Thank you, Mr. President! Xie Lu thanked France, saved the church from disaster! ”

Wait until the bishop has finished venting his excitement. The Marquis of Treville spoke again, his tone still as cold as Fang Cai.

"Is it just gratitude? That's a disappointment. Sir......" the Marquis sneered, "you know that too, don't you?" What is the political price to pay for our help, Mr. President, in order to help His Majesty the Pope...... Did he go out of his way to get just a few words of thanks? ”

Sure enough, it came! The bishop sighed inwardly.

Then, he hurriedly said what His Majesty the Pope had told him before leaving.

"Of course, we are not just verbally thankful, God will give the gospel for the feat of Monsieur Bonaparte, and we sincerely hope that the President will continue to rise one step higher......"

He suddenly stopped his mouth and carefully looked at the other man's expression.

"Oh? That's kind of interesting......" The general smiled suddenly, and his eyes softened a lot, "I think Mr. President will be very happy when he hears this." ”

If the president goes one step higher, where else can he go? Of course, there is no need to answer this question.

After confirming that there was no displeasure on the other side, the bishop was relieved, and then continued,

"Moreover, His Holiness the Pope also sincerely believes that the Bonaparte family, which has done so much for France and for God, deserves its rightful place to protect the country for generations to come......"

In other words, the Pope and the Church supported Louis Bonaparte in destroying the Republic and rebuilding the French monarchy over the country.

It is normal for them to think this way, and since ancient times, religion has always been a friend of the monarchy as long as it has a formal status.

Louis Bonaparte and his henchmen needed them to think so.

Seeing the bishop so uplifted, the Marquis of Treville finally relaxed completely.

"Haha He laughed loudly, and after a moment, he regained his composure and looked at the other man with a smile. In return, Monsieur Bonaparte promised that he intended to return the Church to every school in France, with the participation of the clergy in the cause of education...... What do you think? ”

"Ahh That's great! The bishop almost jumped for joy, and could no longer hide anything, "So what are you waiting for!" Mr. President, hurry up and proclaim yourself emperor! His Majesty the Pope is waiting to be crowned! ”

"Don't be in a hurry," replied the Marquis with a smile, "the time has not yet come. (To be continued......)

PS: Historically, Napoleon III was crowned on his own, but the Pope expressed his support for the first time.

Nasan seems to have resisted the coronation, and when he became emperor in 1852, there was neither a formal coronation ceremony, nor even a crown (even the crown left by his uncle)

Maybe he felt that he was too far away from his uncle and didn't want to replicate his experience?