Chapter 69: The Meeting
Vatican City is unwalled in the direction of St. Peter's Square, and is completely open to the city of Rome, which can be driven along the Concorde into St. Peter's Square. Exiting the Avenue de la Concorde, the Führer's motorcycles divided into two groups, left and right, and stopped at either side of the entrance to the circular colonnade.
It was followed by trucks carrying soldiers of the Guards, which also did not enter St. Peter's Square, but stopped in the driveway of the stately colonnade road on the east side of the square. A group of soldiers of the Guard Flag Corps wearing black parade uniforms jumped out of the carriage at the urging of the non-commissioned officer, and then lined up in a neat queue and stepped into St. Peter's Square with high spirits.
Seventy-five officers and men of the Führer's Guard lined up in another neat phalanx on the left hand side of the guard of honor of the Swiss Guard of the Holy See, with black steel helmets shining with cold light and bayonet-mounted 98K ceremonial rifles clinging to their boots.
"This is the first time since the establishment of the Vatican that foreign troops have been allowed to enter this square." A papal priest whispered to his companions.
"They were, by definition, the personal guards of the German Führer, and not really an army." It was a domestic imam in a black gown who spoke.
"Your Excellency has now conquered all of Europe, and Germany may become the next Holy Rome in his hands." A cardinal priest stroked the beads on his wrist and said with a serious expression.
"If that's what you say, we might be witnessing a piece of history today. However, the rebuilding of Holy Rome is not as easy as imagined, and there is still a long way to go. A cardinal shook his head and sighed.
In order to give the guard of honor time to prepare, Xu Jun's Mercedes Benz deliberately slowed down, and as a result, a group of Italian citizens waiting on the Avenue de la Concorde greeted the handsome German Führer while throwing prepared flowers and confetti into the convertible compartment.
The citizens of Rome showed unusual enthusiasm, but put great pressure on the Führer's personal guards, and Captain Starck stood on the pedals with the door of the car, sprinkled with colorful shredded paper and various flower petals.
Although an Italian gendarme stood every few steps on the side of the street, the German guards in the front and rear guard cars still watched the crowd on both sides vigilantly, they really did not dare to underestimate these Italians, they seemed to have a natural assassination specialty.
Italy has a history of Assassins, and the Roman era was full of assassinations, especially during the Apennines when the Papal States ruled the Apennines, and the whole of Europe smelled of conspiracy. (Wehrle: "I've heard that the highest ranking Assassin in Italy could sweep a thousand armies with a Hidden Blade.") Xu Jun: "What kind of assassin is this, it's a Germanic berserker at all." ”(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻”)
"Keep smiling, Weierle, you look too nervous." With a big smile on his face, the Führer waved frequently to the enthusiastic crowd outside the car.
"I'm sorry, my Führer." A smile erupted from Weierle's tense face.
"We're almost there, and there's St. Peter's Basilica in front of us." Xu Jun tilted his head and gently pushed Weierle's ribs with his elbow.
"Ah, yes, my Führer, that is Vatican City." Weirle replied respectfully.
The guard car in front of it, along with other vehicles, was parked on the outside of the colonnade, and only Xu Jun's Mercedes-Benz 770K drove into St. Peter's Square from the entrance of the colonnade, which was also the result of consultation with the Vatican.
"Salute!" Stark jumped off the pedal, ran to the honor guard, drew his saber and stood it in front of him.
"Salute!" The Swiss guards, dressed in Renaissance-style uniforms, stood tall at the captain's command, and the guards raised their sharp halberds in their hands and saluted the German Führer as he stepped out of the car.
To the sound of the welcome music played by the Holy See Band, the German Führer marched gracefully towards the Supreme Bishop of the Catholic Church, the suzeraint of Christendom, the servant of God in the world, and the current Pope Pius XII.
"Welcome to Vatican City, Your Excellency the German Führer." Pius XII stretched out his right hand to Xu Jun.
Seeing the Pope's action, the bishops and bishops standing on both sides began to become nervous, and many of them even held their breath and stared at Xu Jun, who stepped forward.
"It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty." Xu Jun stretched out his hand and shook the Pope's hand.
The expression on Pius XII's face changed slightly, but then a gentle smile appeared.
This was a temptation by the Pope, and if Xu Jun was a devout believer, he should bow his head and kiss the ring on his right hand to show respect for him and the Holy See.
When each pope succeeds to the throne, he will cast a ring that belongs to him, the ring is made of pure gold, and the ring is carved with the Peter's fishing pattern passed down from generation to generation by the Holy See, because each pope nominally claims to be the successor of the first Pope of Rome, Peter, so he also declares his power in his hands with this pattern.
Therefore, this ring is called the "Fisherman's Ring" or "Peter's Ring", which is the personal symbol of the Roman pope, and every pope has used this ring as a personal seal when issuing personal letters and orders of the Holy See, and affixed it to the fire paint seal of the letter or the lead seal of the official document cord.
After the death of each pope, his precepts are crushed under the supervision of the Administrator of the Pontifical Treasures, so that they will not be used to seal forged official documents before the new pope is elected.
In addition to greetings and salutes in the general sense, the right to kiss also has a hidden political meaning behind it, that is, in Christendom, it is also seen as a sign of submission to the Holy See.
Xu Jun had not studied religion very well before, but there were many experts in this area in the Nazi Party, especially Himmler, who raised a large group, so he had already been given professional advice that he had to be careful when dealing with an organization like the Church, which was extremely focused on tradition and etiquette.
The results of the first attempt by the Holy See were evidently disappointing to them, and the young man, who was known to the world as "the apostle of God," did not appear to be a pious man as they had previously imagined.
But there is nothing surprising that the Holy See has stood for thousands of years, and I don't know how many virtuous kings and tyrants it has seen in the past, including beasts in human skins and true saints who are compassionate, but the Holy See has never cared whether they are personally religious or not, only whether they can contribute to the development of the Holy See. As long as it is beneficial to the development of the Holy See, even if you have bloody hands and heinous crimes, then you will only need to repent sincerely before the holy God and receive God's merciful forgiveness.
"It's been seven years since we last met, and I didn't expect that we would meet here again in seven years, except that I have become the Pope and you have become the head of Germany." Pius XII smiled and let go of Xu Jun's hand.
"Yes, looking back now, I can't help but feel that the fate of life is really wonderful." Xu Jun withdrew his hand and retrieved the scepter from his left hand.
"All things are God's will, and all glory be to the Lord." The Pope leaned slightly sideways and made an inviting gesture.
"You're right, Your Majesty, everything is God's arrangement." Xu Jun raised his head and smiled brightly.
"Please come with me, Your Excellency the Führer, the Vatican has prepared a Mass for you today." The Pope spread his hands.
"It's a great honor for me, Your Majesty." Xu Jun bowed slightly elegantly.
The Pope turned around and led the way towards the majestic St. Peter's Basilica behind him, followed by a group of priests and priests, and two young deacons carrying the hem of the Pope's cloak.
The papal band played melodious sacred music, and the clergy and young friars of the choir lined up in two groups and sang hymns in unison.
Xu Jun turned his head to look at the colonnade behind him, and then at the SS guards lined up on the side.
"Looks like a good start, Werle." The German Führer winked his eyes at Werler, then strode towards the church door with the cardinal, who had been specially guided for him.
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