Flowers, Swords and France

It was already noon, and the heat of early summer was gradually showing its power. The sky was cloudless, and the sun was scorching the wilderness, plunging everything into a stifling heat. Soldiers passed by the road from time to time, but they were all listless in this hot weather, and they didn't even bother to say hello to each other.

I don’t know how long it took before the silence was broken by the sound of horse hooves. A group of people in military uniforms rode on horseback and galloped along the road, stirring up clouds of smoke and dust. The soldiers along the road stopped one after another, just like any general who led them to victory, they were also concerned about this group of people. The commander-in-chief of the Central Committee cheered warmly,

The Marquis de Treville, who was sitting high on the horse, nodded to these soldiers from time to time. He controlled the speed of his horse and rushed towards his temporary headquarters in a hurry, trying not to let himself get tired. manifest.

He had just finished inspecting the front line and commanded his legion to win the battle and win the victory. After seeing that the overall situation had been decided, the Marquis de Treville ended his inspection of the front line and rode back to his command leisurely. department. Now, all an old man wants is to rest.

"Let's stop and take a rest first, general, the horse is already tired..." Lucien, who was riding next to him, saw the officer's fatigue and made a considerate suggestion.

"No, not yet." Marquis Treville shook his head, "His Majesty the Pope's envoy is still waiting for us."

"Him? Didn't you ask him to wait?" Lucien was a little confused, "Since we have already waited for so long, what if we ask him to wait a little longer?"

"It's one thing to ask him to wait, it's another thing to completely ignore him... I have to let them feel our sincerity, so that they will be willing to cooperate with us." The Marquis shook his head. "Although we don't need to be respectful to them, we still need these people."

After hearing the Marquis's answer, Lucien was stunned for a moment. After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't figure out the twists and turns. Finally, he decided to give up these idle thoughts and obey the general's will.

"You don't seem to have such respect for the church?" However, he still hesitated.

He is a member of the generation that grew up after the Great Revolution. He has no feelings for the Catholic Church, so he has no interest in defending the church - as long as there is a war, of course. Everything is easy to say.

"Respect?" The Marquis raised his eyebrows, "We are just using each other, there is no respect or lack of respect. We need them now, and they also need us now. So we have mutual respect."

then. He waved his riding whip, and the horse immediately increased its speed and galloped towards its destination. The others hurriedly urged their horses forward and followed the general.

Although they have always claimed to be devout believers in God and guardians of the Catholic Church, the arrogant and domineering French nobles have never taken the Catholic Church and doctrines seriously, and have done all kinds of appalling misdeeds countless times.

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 consecutive popes were all French. They were under the control of the French king and became the royal tool of the French king. It was known as the Prison of Avignon in history.

In modern times, French monarchs were no less generous. On July 6, 1809, because he offended Emperor Napoleon, Pope Pius VII was arrested by the French army and escorted back to Savona and imprisoned until Napoleon abdicated in 1814. be released.

To put it bluntly, French monarchs throughout the ages have used the church as a tool to strengthen ideological control internally, consolidate their authority, and externally coerce the Pope to order Europe, seeking their own personal gains under the banner of Catholic defenders.

Soon, they returned to this exquisite little villa.

When they all dismounted and walked towards the mansion, the sound of fighting in the distance gradually subsided. Obviously, the battle was coming to an end, and the French team had won a decisive victory.

"God bless us, we finally defeated these bastards!" An officer sighed softly from the side, "It seems that His Majesty the Pope has been blessed by God."

"God? Young man, you will know later..." The old man's body on the horse undulated slightly as the horse galloped. With the help of the servant, he turned over and got off the horse. His eyes were full of implicit sarcasm, "In the past thousand years, I have never heard of any pope who really believes in God... Religion is only for the poor streets, and the nobles believe It’s just to trick poor people into believing, but don’t let yourself get caught in it, let alone church people. How can a person believe in his tools?”

His mean joke caused a burst of laughter from those nearby.

………………

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

He came from Gaeta Castle in the Lazio region, which is now the refuge of the Pope and most of the top leaders of the Holy See. Under the protection of the Royal Sicilian Army, he finally escaped the threat of the rioters. After many hardships, he finally arrived near the city of Rome. God knows how much suffering this always pampered Pope confidant suffered!

Not caring about rest, he rushed here early in the morning to visit the commander of the French army. Unexpectedly, he was ignored and went out directly!

However, he was angry, so he still didn't dare to express anything, so he could only continue to sit in the chair, waiting uneasily for the general's return.

Seeing that he had waited from early morning to three o'clock in the morning, he finally couldn't wait any longer and decided to come to visit another day. However, just as he stood up and prepared to say goodbye to the servant, he suddenly heard a noise coming from the door. He quickly went to the window to take a look , and found a large group of soldiers walking towards the mansion.

God bless, these Qiu Ba finally came back! The bishop could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

………………

Under the leadership of servants. The Marquis of Treville walked slowly along the stairs to the door of the reception room on the second floor. He adjusted his clothes slightly and nodded. The servant opened the door in response, and then the energetic general strode in.

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

The Marquis just nodded to him rather arrogantly.

"Can you speak French, sir?" he asked coldly.

"Yes, general," the bishop replied flatteringly. "I have visited France before. Valenciennes is a very beautiful place. I still really want to have the opportunity to visit again..."

"Very good," the general nodded coldly, taking the initiative of the conversation completely into his own hands, "I'm coming back now. I just have some good news for you. Sir. Just this morning, my subordinates Having won a decisive victory for His Majesty the Pope, we will soon be able to drive out or annihilate all the rioters in Rome... His Majesty the Pope will soon be able to return to this holy city."

"Oh! That's great!" Even though he was very dissatisfied with the general's arrogance, the bishop still seemed overjoyed after hearing the news. "Thank you, general! Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you, France, for saving the church from disaster." Saved!"

Wait until the bishop has finished venting his excitement. Marquis Treville spoke again, his tone still as cold as before.

"Is it just gratitude? That is so disappointing. Sir..." The Marquis sneered, "You also know? Our Mr. President paid a huge political price to help His Majesty the Pope... He Is it just a few words of thanks for all your efforts?"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Sure enough, it came! The bishop sighed in his heart.

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

"Of course, we are not just verbally grateful. God will give the gospel because of Mr. Bonaparte's feats. We sincerely hope that the president can continue to rise to a higher level..."

He suddenly stopped talking and looked at the other person's expression carefully.

"Oh? That's interesting..." The general suddenly smiled, and his eyes softened a lot. "I think Mr. President will be very happy after hearing this."

If the president is promoted one step higher, where can he go? Of course this question does not need to be answered.

After confirming that the other party was not displeased, the bishop felt relieved and continued,

"Furthermore, His Majesty the Pope also sincerely believes that the Bonaparte family, which has worked so hard for France and God, should be given its due status and protect this country from generation to generation..."

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

It is normal for them to think this way. Since ancient times, as long as it has a formal status, religion will become a friend of the monarchy. This has always been the case.

And Louis Bonaparte and his followers just needed them to think this way.

Seeing the bishop being so polite, Marquis Treville finally relaxed completely.

"Hahahaha, that's great!" He laughed. After a moment, he regained his composure and looked at the other party with a smile. "In return, M. Bonaparte has promised that he intends to return the Church to every school in France, and for the priests to participate in education... What do you think?"

"Ah! That's great!" The bishop almost jumped with joy and could no longer hide anything. "Then what are you waiting for! Mr. President, hurry up and proclaim yourself emperor! His Majesty the Pope is waiting to crown him!"

"No need to worry," the Marquis replied with a smile, "the time has not come yet." (To be continued...)

ps: Historically, Napoleon III was crowned on his own, but the Pope immediately expressed support.

Nathan seems to have resisted the coronation ceremony. When he proclaimed himself emperor in 1852, there was neither a formal coronation ceremony nor a crown (he even refused to wear the crown left by his uncle).

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