In St. Peter's Basilica, Alfonso met Pius IX, who he had not seen for a year, an old man who was 78 years old this year, but in good health, but the international pressure of recent days had made him a little sluggish.

"Your Majesty, Alfonso, you are here." When Pius IX saw him, his expression was slightly relieved.

After a brief conversation, Pius IX backed away and dragged Alfonso to the inner chamber with a very eager attitude.

"This is ......" Alfonso looked at the envelope handed over by the other party, which had a white cross on a red background, the coat of arms of the House of Savoy.

"A letter from King Vittorio two days ago." The Pope confirmed his suspicions.

Now that the Pope had given him this kind of letter, Alfonso was no longer polite and opened it directly.

The letter contained the Italian king's opinion on Rome's handling of Rome, in a rather polite tone, and proposed that the Italian army be peacefully stationed in the city in the name of "protecting the pope", and that the pope would remain the nominal ruler of Rome, presumably similar to the position of honorary mayor.

This is a very good way to save the Pope's face, but since Alfonso can see the letter, the Pope's choice is self-evident.

Sure enough, seeing that Alfonso had finished reading it, Pius IX said: "Italy is coveting land that does not belong to them, and God now needs Spain's help." ”

"And what ...... the terms we talked about earlier?"

"Spain is free to register and manage its own clergy, and Rome will not interfere." Pius IX happily betrayed his colleagues across the sea, and at this point, there was no need to hide it anymore.

Pius IX originally thought that Italy would not dare to act with the threat of France, but he did not expect the French to sell their teammates so quickly, and as soon as the front line was slightly defeated, they decisively abandoned the Papal States.

Alfonso was not unequivocal about the Pope's refreshment: "The property of the Church in Spain will be transferred to the education and medical professions, and it will not in any way damage the glory of God." ”

Alfonso's attitude was very satisfying to the Pope, who used to think that Spain was a robber who took advantage of people's danger, but now compared to France, he is simply a staunch guardian of God.

Pius IX continued: "I have written a letter of rejection and will send it in three days, and it is better for the Spanish soldiers to be in place during this time, the more the better, and the Papal States will cover their military expenses." ”

The papal state was so wealthy that it would be easy to pay, and Alfonso then returned to Spain, where more than 30,000 soldiers were immediately loaded onto ships and shipped to Rome, while more were waiting in Valencia and Barcelona.

The Spanish garrison provoked an outcry from Italy, and even the ambassador, who had not been expelled in the previous prisoner of war incident, was finally expelled this time.

Vittorio knew his attitude without a reply from the Pope, and in response, the Italian army continued to gather in Rome.

Spanish soldiers also climbed the Roman walls and waited for them.

It seems that the two countries have come to the brink of war......

Spain and Italy were competing to see who would be the first to give in, and as a result, France couldn't sit still in the first place.

Spain has promised to enter the war in three months, and Italy is also a possible ally in the future, what will France do if they fight?

With this in mind, France contacted the three countries and said that they could sit down and talk, and the meeting would take place in Rome.

Countries quickly responded positively, and neither Spain nor Italy was willing to fight a full-scale war over it, and a diplomatic solution would naturally be the best one.

The meeting was scheduled for September 15, perhaps in anticipation of the possibility that the intervention of other countries might harm his own interests, and King Vittorio sent letters to the Pope in a frenzy, almost to the extent of two a day.

The terms were also increasingly generous, the best of which even proposed to reserve the western half of Rome within the "walls of Leo" to the Pope, bounded by the Tiber River, and promised the Holy See a completely independent sovereign state within it.

It can be said that Italy did its best to try to resolve the matter before the conference.

However, this proposal was rejected by Pius IX, and he repeated the letter to Alfonso, with the implication that the conditions sought at the Council of Rome could not be worse than this.

Since the partition of East and West was rejected, King Vittorio was so angry that he no longer had so many scruples, and although he was still sending letters, they were full of threats.

At the same time, not only did Spain's reputation in Italy become intimidating, but the Holy See lost its divine brilliance as a result of newspaper reports on what Spain and the Papal States had done.

Spain is okay, it's far away anyway, and it won't be okay to be scolded twice.

The church was miserable, and there were not many church robberies, but it was not uncommon for priests and deacons to be beaten in sacks while they were away.

But the Pope never commented on this, even though everyone around him could see that Pius IX was full of disgust and hatred at the mention of Italy.

Everyone is waiting for September 15th.

Britain, Bavaria (Prussian puppet), Austria-Hungary and other countries have requested participation in this meeting.

Fortunately, the big brother of France blocked them all, affirming that this was a matter for the Western Mediterranean countries and had nothing to do with anyone else.

Big Brother has not had a good time these days, although several major defeats in history have not yet occurred due to the anti-water of South Germany, but only the tentative attack of Prussia has cost France a lot.

After France switched to strategic defense, Nasan reorganized the Rhine Army into the Charon Army and the Matz Army.

In order to defend the border, both legions were ordered not to take a step back—which was not a wise move.

The positions on the French border were set up for offensive purposes and were not at all suitable for defense, and holding them here would lead to the separation of the legions and the Prussians calmly outnumbered them.

There were several exploratory attacks, the worst of which were three times greater than those of the French.

No matter how much the French can fight, it is impossible to fight three at a time.

If it is Alfonso, he will withdraw a little later, not only to join forces in one place, but also to put some pressure on the country to relax restrictions on recruitment.

However, the Emperor did not do so, believing that it would lead to a loss of glory in France and a loss of confidence in the Bonaparte royal family.

…… His fears were justified, as Paris had created another political maelstrom.

Many believe that the failure of the offensive is the responsibility of the current government, and the anti-war and opposition parties have united to challenge the government, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Olivier and the re-formation of the government.

Given the magnitude of the other party's momentum, Empress Regent Eugenie may agree to their terms today.

At this time, the only thing the queen and the emperor can do is not to take a step back, otherwise the next time it will not be the prime minister but the royal family.