As soon as he heard Charles say that the matter was so serious, the bishop finally stopped calming down. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info Mr. and Mrs. Tréville had just told him that they had killed a priest in the church, and he was able to pretend to be okay and continue to talk and laugh after figuring out the situation, but when it came to Rome, the situation was very different.

Although since the late Middle Ages, the Church in France and the Holy See have actually been relatively independent, and the promotion of French bishops does not require Rome to be involved at all, for the bishops and other high-ranking people of the French Church, the Holy See still has some incense after all, and they do not want to see the Holy See overthrown.

It was precisely because of their voices that Louis Bonaparte launched an expedition to help the Holy See expel the revolutionaries in Rome as soon as he came to power, and in this way bought the hearts and minds of the Church.

"Your Excellency, is it ...... Did you hear something in private? He didn't care about putting on a reserved appearance anymore, leaned forward slightly, and looked at the smiling Charles, "Is there any news from Piedmont that made you come to such a conclusion?" ”

"There are indeed some clues that make people have to worry." Seeing that the other party had already taken the bait, Charles became even more preoccupied, "Let me tell you the truth, you should know, I have been in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a period of time before, and I have been in contact with some diplomatic affairs, and I can't hide many things." Although I am now retired, I should no longer have to beak the work of my former colleagues, but ...... Some things are so big that I think about it for a long time, but I still can't let it go...... Because of my devotion to religion, my concern for the Holy See and His Majesty the Pope, it is difficult for me to calm down. ”

Then, he picked up the cup full of coffee, looked at the bishop as he drank it, and waited until the other party's appetite had been hung up, and then slowly put the cup down, "Today, it is a little sad to see such a respected bishop like you, and so eagerly helping us so much, if we don't say it again." ”

He wanted to say this, of course, not because of his religious zeal to see the territory of the Church being swallowed up by Sardinia, but only to make the Holy See aware of the danger of the Piedmontese, which may not have any effect at present, but in the end, if the unification of Italy is to be prevented, the Holy See must help, both mentally and practically.

"Tell me, Your Excellency!" The bishop finally couldn't help himself, "What kind of conspiracy are Sardinia and Count Cavour secretly engaged in?" ”

"Don't be in a hurry." Charles waved his hand lightly, signaling the other to calm down, and then began to tell him the truth, "At that time, Your Majesty had just staged a coup d'état and swept away the opposition, and in order to prevent Europe from being in turmoil because of our actions, I went to the Foreign Office, but as soon as I got there, I found that Sardinia was trying to make overtures to France, and he was eager to make overtures to France—you must know that His Majesty had not even ascended the throne at that time!" They seem to want France to be their protector, to be favored and cared for by France in a way that is submissive to France. ”

"So that France can take the fire for them?" The bishop asked rhetorically.

"They didn't say they had that intention." Charles shook his head, but he didn't completely deny the other party's opinion, "However, I think that there are no people in the world who love us naturally, and they can't wait to stick to France, so there must be something they want from France." ”

"Of course it's obvious!" The bishop immediately agreed, and then he also frowned, "The Sardinians are desperate to curry favor with France, and then bring to power nationalist demagogues like the Count of Cavour......"

Now that the matter has come to this point, the bishop's insight can certainly lead to his reasoning.

"These Sardinians want to use France against their opponents, such as the Church or ...... Or the Austrians? And then they expand their power until they finally hold all of Italy in their hands? He looked inquiringly at Charles.

Italy today is undoubtedly a fragmented situation, but it is much better than the fragmented territory of the Middle Ages, which was divided into several major parts: the Kingdom of Sardinia, which occupied Piedmont and Sardinia; The Papal States, which occupied Rome and part of the central region, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the south, while the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the center and the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venesia in the north, both of which were directly ruled by the Austrians.

So if Sardinia really intended to force a unified Italy on his own, he would have to face resistance from these three sides.

The monarch of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was born into the Bourbon royal family, and was shocked during the Revolution era, and finally regained possession of the country after the shooting of King Murat of Naples, but the country was very unstable, in turmoil, and weakened to the extreme, and generally could not maintain its rule in the face of external attacks.

The main resistance came from Austria and the Papal States, Austria was an old power, and its strength was extraordinary, and Sardinia was completely unmatched, while the Papal States, although weak themselves, had France as their backer, so it did not seem so easy to break.

It is foreseeable that if Sardinia wanted to unify Italy, it would either have the support of several great powers and exclude the two great powers at the same time, France and Austria; Either you have to rely on one of the two great powers and use them to kill each other to profit from it, a goal that cannot be achieved by your own weak forces alone.

It was precisely because of his initial understanding of the situation that the bishop quickly drew his own inferences after hearing Charles's hints.

"I'm afraid they do have the intention of doing so." Charles first admitted, and then immediately found another step for himself, not saying to death, "Of course, this is what I have summarized based on what I have seen, and I have to emphasize again, I have no direct evidence that they must have done this." ”

"That is, at least for now...... the bishop breathed a sigh of relief, but his brow still furrowed. If that's the case, then it's too bad. ”

"It's bad...... Charr sighed softly, "but judging by their actions, that's probably what they think." ”

"Then what reason does France have to fight for them?" The bishop was a little confused, "Think about it, the Austrians are a Catholic power, and so are we, what reason do our two countries have to go to war with each other?" Just to make the Sardinians happy? ”

"Perhaps the Sardinians want to tie their own interests to those of the Bonapartes." Charles explained unhurriedly, "Let me tell you one more secret, His Majesty Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia, who wants to marry the Bonaparte family and marry his daughter to some prince of the royal family—perhaps they think this is an excellent way to please the Bonapartes, and I personally believe that your Majesty will be very happy." ”

"Of course Your Majesty will be happy if you please Your Majesty like this, who doesn't know that the Bonaparte family likes this the most." The bishop's nose twitched, and he mocked the Bonaparte family's love and the European royal family's climbing dragon and phoenix, "But...... I remember the daughter of His Majesty the King, who ...... this year Only 10 years old this year? ”

"Yes, I'm only ten years old this year, so of course the marriage won't happen immediately." Charles did not shy away from telling the other party this secret, "However, in a few years, when Her Royal Highness the Princess reaches the age of sixteen or seventeen, won't it be okay?" ”

"An ancient royal family wants to curry favor with Bonaparte to this extent!" The corners of the bishop's mouth couldn't help but twitch, obviously disdainful of King Emmanuel II's actions, but this disdain quickly turned into worry, "But, since he is willing to do this, then ...... That suggests that the Sardinians may really want to use France as a gun. However, a marriage ...... A marriage may not be able to completely please His Majesty, right? ”

"A marriage may not be enough, but the Sardinians have many ways to please Your Majesty, such as the honor of the defenders and liberators of the Italians, and the veneration of reverence." Charles commented without any emotion, "After all, His Majesty was a charcoal burner back then, and he still has some feelings for Italy. ”

"But he is now the emperor of France, not an Italian charcoal burner! Does an emperor still want to make a revolution in Europe? Isn't that ridiculous? The bishop could not help but retort, "Besides, what good will it do him to unite Italy?" What's in it for France? ”

Charles shrugged.

"So that's the problem."

Now the bishop understood exactly what Charles meant, and he suddenly found that there was enough evidence behind his scenes that the Sardinians did have a gradual plan to curry favor with the French emperor, and then use the power of France against their enemies, and finally achieve a plan for the complete unification of Italy.

Although he was not completely sure, he intuitively believed that this should be true, because the ordinary actions of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the words and deeds of Cavour himself, gave him this premonition.

And this is exactly what he hates.

He did not like to see the two remaining Catholic powers on the continent kill each other, and he did not like the papal dominions being threatened by the Sardinians.

"Your Excellency, please stop the evil plot of the Sardinians!" After thinking for a long time, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Charles, "We must not watch France get involved in such a conspiracy, sacrificing the blood of young people for the ridiculous ideas of the Sardinians, this is absolutely absurd!" ”

"Personally, I absolutely don't want to see such a hunch come true." Charles also immediately said to the other party, "But, as you know, we can't guess what His Majesty thinks, maybe he may not see it that way." ”

"But you're very good at talking to him, aren't you?" The bishop was a little anxious, "You must tell him about the terrible consequences of this...... After all......"

At this, he suddenly stopped talking, for he noticed that Charles was looking at him with a smile on his face, as if he was mocking something.

That's right, with the character of His Majesty the Emperor, how can a minister always insist on his own opinion in front of him? If His Majesty the Emperor insists, then he can only silently comply.

All kinds of thoughts came rushing in, thinking about it, and he only felt a little like sitting on pins and needles.

In the end, he made up his mind that, no matter what, at least the good news would be communicated between the French Church and the Holy See, and everyone could be prepared.

"Your Excellency, may I pass on your message to someone else?" He asked Charles in a low voice, "Of course, I will never reveal the source of the information. ”

"Of course...... In fact, I told you this story so that some people who should know about it earlier, so that I could calm the guilt in my heart and face the unjust death of Philip's gun in peace. Charles casually found a reason for his leak, "However, you don't need to be too anxious, after all, this is just the beginning of this now, and the conspiracy has not reached a critical juncture, we can wait and see what happens, after all, we should have planned in advance." ”

"yes...... Oh, yes. The bishop relaxed, "Thank you, Your Excellency. Your devotion to God is enough to touch everyone, and His Majesty the Pope will pray for you. ”

"God will not forgive those who disobey Him." Charlotte, who had been silent, finally spoke. "No one." (To be continued.) )