Flowers, Swords and France

After negotiating with the Minister of the Interior, the Trevilles invited the Archbishop of Paris to their home, and then asked him in a subtle way to show his influence in the church and prevent Philip from causing trouble. Try to eliminate it as invisible as possible.

The archbishop, who was always shrewd and good at dancing, did not disappoint the couple's expectations. After a short period of weighing, he decided to comply with the couple's request and suppress the matter within the church.

In his opinion, although Philippe de Treville was reckless, he probably did not intend to conflict with the church. Judging from the fact that he later panicked and asked his sister and brother-in-law for help, he did know that he had done something wrong. Done. Now that Mrs. Treville has said that she will let Philip go home to think about his mistakes, the bishop does not intend to pursue it further. After all, he does not want to fall out with the Treville family.

After receiving the bishop's personal promise, Charlotte's mood obviously improved a lot. The relieved smile floated on her face again. She entertained the bishop diligently and expressed her gratitude in this way. And apology - no matter what, Charlotte is also a traditional person, and she really feels bad about causing the church to suffer such a loss.

Because the two parties had reached a tacit understanding quietly, the atmosphere now became very pleasant. The Trevilles and the Archbishop were chatting and laughing, and it was considered a great time for the guests and the host.

The bishop has been in the church for many years and has served as a priest in many places. He has accumulated a lot of anecdotes from various places. He deliberately selected some interesting or curious stories to tell to the young couple so that they could listen with gusto.

However, what puzzled the bishop was that after they chatted for nearly an hour, the young Minister Treville still had no intention of saying goodbye and leaving - he knew that this Minister had a high position and must be very busy. Very well, it is considered appropriate and polite to say goodbye now.

The reason why he received me here today was just to show his attitude, put pressure on himself and support his wife. After he had agreed to their request, he really couldn't see any special reason for the minister to stay. here.

Do they have anything else they want me to do?

There was a flash of doubt in the bishop's mind.

If true, that would be outrageous. He is not a servant of the Treville family and has no obligation to do everything for them. Now that he has done a big favor, it is a favor. If this side continues to make demands, it will be annoying. According to him, the Trevilles should not be such ignorant people.

With this thought, he remained calm on the surface and continued chatting with Mrs. Treville. At this time, Charles stopped interrupting and just sat on the sofa, frowning slightly, as if he had something to say. think.

While the bishop and Mrs. Treville were talking and laughing about his experience in the south, as if he had made some decision, the young minister finally spoke.

"Your Majesty, your experience is really rich and eye-opening to us. Have you ever been to Rome?"

"Rome?" Although the bishop has been chatting with Charlotte, he has been paying attention to the minister, so although the minister's interruption was very abrupt, he almost immediately responded, "I have been to Rome several times, but basically it is It’s work related, so I haven’t been to other places, so I can’t tell you any interesting experiences.”

"The Holy See is the most interesting place, isn't it? We have heard many legends about it...such as the Borgias and the story of Innocent III." Charles replied with a smile, "These stories It’s all very interesting.”

"These are just ancient legends. Some are shameful slanders, and some...some are exaggerated rumors..." The bishop felt a little embarrassed and immediately explained to Charles, "You know, at that time, the church had many political opponents. , and they also have many hateful literati who are trying every means to slander the church.”

In the Middle Ages, the Holy See could be said to be a sanctimonious but filthy person, full of all kinds of filthy secrets. There were few popes in the past who truly believed in God and abided by the rules and precepts, leaving behind many absurdities and ugliness. For example, the pope of the Borgia family is very famous - however, the bishop is a member of the church after all, and he must abide by his position. Even though he knows that these things are true, he must deny it in order to maintain the authority of the church. sanctity.

"Maybe it's slander, maybe not, but I think it's not too important." Charles was still very calm, "No matter what the Holy See itself is, it must be pure, and His Majesty the Pope must also be noble and correct. We must safeguard the church. France must be a devout Catholic country that lives according to the commandments given by God.”

"You are very right." The bishop immediately agreed with the minister, "France is a land blessed by God. Only when everyone respects the gospel of the Lord can this country be happy and can it rise from the abyss of revolution. Freed from it... Now only France can step forward to maintain the authority of the church and prevent the entire Catholic world from falling into a terrible disaster..."

"The world is so unpredictable... In the blink of an eye, we have become the protectors of the church." Charles couldn't help laughing. "A few centuries ago, France was still in a mess with the Holy See."

"The world is indeed unpredictable, sir." The bishop nodded and agreed with Charles's opinion. "At that time, because of Boniface VIII's arbitrary rule, the French monarch and the Holy See had some terrible misunderstandings, which eventually led to a series of disasters. But now the times are completely different. Now the Holy See and France are completely on the same side."

France is a country with a strong Catholic tradition. The church is very powerful, and religion is rooted in every aspect of people's lives. As early as the Middle Ages, France had countless churches, and they were divided into multiple parishes for management by the church. The church also accumulated huge wealth in the wealthy Gaul region for many years.

As time goes by, the wealth accumulated by the church will of course greatly affect the country's economy and be coveted by kings and nobles.

During the reign of King Philip IV of France, there was an extremely violent conflict between the secular government and the church in France. In order to pay for the war, Philip IV levied taxes on French clergy who had always enjoyed tax-free privileges, which directly violated the interests of Boniface VIII. In 1296, he issued an edict stating that the church's tax-free privileges were inviolable. Without the Pope's permission, the king could not levy taxes on the clergy, and the clergy could not pay taxes to the king. However, the King of France responded tit for tat and announced that no French wealth and materials would be allowed to be exported abroad. After a period of stalemate between the two sides, Pope Boniface VIII finally had to agree with the King of France's decision. Because at that time, the Roman Curia was very dependent on tribute from various French dioceses.

In 1301, the Pope heard that Philip IV had drafted a regulation to limit the power of the Pope. Boniface VIII issued three encyclicals in a row, accusing Philip IV of serious crimes in church issues, declaring that the archbishop could only accept the trial of the Roman Curia, announcing the cancellation of previous financial concessions, and preparing to excommunicate the King of France.

However, just before he announced his decision, the furious King of France sent troops directly to Rome, and then arrested the Pope directly to France, and humiliated the highest spiritual leader of the Catholic world in various ways. Although he released Boniface VIII soon after, the Pope could not bear the humiliation and soon died of grief and anger. After his death, the King of France forcibly supported the Archbishop of the Bordeaux Province of France as Pope, breaking the convention that the Pope must be an Italian, and forcibly moved the Vatican to Avignon. For nearly seventy years, it was directly controlled by the King of France, known as the Prisoner of Avignon.

Since then, in the eyes of French monarchs, the church has been an accessory - it can be used to embellish when they are happy, to increase the sacredness of the monarch's power, to flatter the monarchs, and to kick it away when they are unhappy. The monarchs of all dynasties have regarded themselves as the natural objects of loyalty of the various churches in France. They appoint and dismiss bishops themselves, and the Roman Church can only be a rubber stamp - as a French bishop, this bishop can of course only say that he did nothing wrong, and the fault lies with the pope at the time.

The emperors of the Bonaparte family also continued the practices of the monarchs of the previous dynasties. Although Emperor Napoleon ordered the return of the church that was expelled during the Great Revolution to France in order to gain the support of the church, he privately looked down on the church and the pope. When the pope presided over his coronation ceremony, he simply snatched the crown from the pope and crowned himself, and Pope Pius VII could only endure it silently.

Later, because he felt that the Pope was not loyal enough, the emperor even imitated the previous kings and sent troops to capture the Pope to France and imprisoned him in the Palace of Fontainebleau. He did whatever he wanted.

Now, Napoleon's nephew has become emperor again. He also tries every means to please the church and wants to cooperate with the church, but in his heart, what is the difference between him and his uncle? These emperors have always only looked up to themselves, and Emperor Napoleon III is no exception. He certainly has no respect for them.

However, although it seems very unbelievable for a Bonapartist to say "We must maintain the authority of the church", the bishop welcomes this argument very much. From the perspective of the church, France must maintain the purity of that religion in order to avoid a catastrophe like decades ago.

Moreover, in today's Europe, due to the religious reform that lasted for hundreds of years, the power and prestige of the Catholic Church have been greatly reduced. Among the great powers, Britain, Russia, and Prussia are heretical countries that do not take the Roman Catholic Church seriously. The pillars of Catholicism such as Austria have also declined. Only France can serve as the pillar of Catholicism and maintain the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

It doesn't matter whether Bonaparte and Treville are pious or not. Anyway, there are not many pious senior clergy in the church. The key is that these people can make people prostrate themselves at the feet of God devoutly, which can safeguard the interests of the church.

"So, in your opinion, what is the biggest danger facing the church now?" Charles asked again abruptly.

The bishop was refreshed. He finally understood that the minister seemed to have something important to reveal to him.

"In my opinion, it is the heresy that is rampant everywhere, and the lost lambs they seduce..." After a moment of silence, he answered in a low voice. "And all kinds of revolutionary fallacies."

In the dangerous year of 1848, revolutionary frenzy broke out all over Europe. The storm swept almost every corner. France's crown fell and it became a republic for a time. Revolution also broke out in Rome. These revolutionaries under Garibaldi's Under his leadership, he expelled the Holy See and declared the establishment of a republic in Rome. Fortunately, Louis, who was the president of the republic at the time, -Bonaparte sent an expeditionary force, led by Charles's grandfather, Marshal Treville, and finally defeated this group of revolutionaries and drove Garibaldi away. This allowed the Holy See to return to Rome, and Rome is now There are also French garrisons, which support the operation and security of the Holy See, and also restore the Holy See's rule over a large area of ​​central Italy.

Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the church now relies on the authority of the French Empire to rule Rome and the Papal States. Without the help of France, I am afraid that the territory of the weak church will soon be swallowed up by surrounding countries.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

For the Holy See, it is of course best for the French monarch to be an orthodox monarch like the Bourbon royal family. However, when the Bourbon royal family is destined to be unable to ascend the throne, then a monarchical France is always better than a republican France. Therefore, they also welcomed Louis Bonaparte as emperor with reservations.

In essence, the Holy See, which started a thousand years ago, has no principles at all other than preserving itself and amassing wealth. It can welcome anyone who is willing to protect it, even if the protector actually looks down on it.

"No, Lord Bishop, I think that although what you said is terrible, at this point in time, it is not enough to become a threat to the life and death of the church." Charles shook his head and rejected the bishop's view, "Heretics Although they are rampant, they will not threaten the church as long as France is here. The so-called revolutionaries have now disappeared. Although they cannot always do nothing, at least at this moment, they are seriously injured and have no way to get up. Threats to the security of the church.”

"Then what do you think is that life-and-death threat?" the bishop immediately asked.

"I think what is really threatening the church is a country that is carefully trying to unify Italy in some way that is not noticed by people, and people who are trying every means to promote this process." Charles said decisively, "You must You heard, just a few months ago, the King of Sardinia appointed a new Prime Minister to assist him. "

After hearing what Charles said, the bishop suddenly felt a little confused. He was not very well informed. However, last year, in November 1852, the King of Sardinia appointed Count Cavour as the prime minister of his country. Of course he still knew about this big news.

"You...you mean Count Cavour? Do you mean that he is the most dangerous enemy of the church?"

"Yes, I'm talking about him." Charles nodded, "What kind of person do you think this Count of Cavour is?"

"I...I have never met him personally, and I have never had any dealings with him." After pondering for a moment, the bishop replied in a low voice, "But judging from some of his past remarks, I think he is a A demagogue, a person who deliberately pursues nationalistic goals..."

"Yes, I agree with you. I think Count Cavour is a lunatic who is obsessed with illusory fanaticism. It is not surprising that there are many such lunatics, but he is also a man with no moral sense and A liar with evil methods, the combination of the two will make him a very scary person.” Charles paused slightly, and then deliberately emphasized again, "If we don't pay attention to him, sooner or later he and his followers will cause a disaster in Italy, and this disaster will bring trouble to the Holy See. It will be an immeasurable disaster, so I think... we must take precautions to prevent this disaster."

In fact, as one of the three heroes of Italian unification, Cavour is certainly not just a "madman" or a "liar", but now Charles needs to use him to intimidate the church, so naturally he might as well exaggerate - anyway, For the Church, anyone who threatens the survival of the Papal State must be a madman and a heinous villain.

"You mean he wants to harm the church?" The bishop opened his eyes slightly.

"Yes, he intends to do so, because he wants Sardinia to unite all Italy." Charles immediately replied, "Of course, he hopes to achieve this in a sneaky way - you see, although he is used to boasting To build up momentum for himself, he has claimed for many years how powerful he is, but in fact, all he has is deception, and he hopes to achieve his goals through the hands of others. "

Then, he looked at the bishop and emphasized again, "And this liar and demagogue is ready to lead Sardinia, unify Italy, and completely destroy the Papal State."

"This madman!" blurted the bishop. "He is destined to go to hell and this fantasy should not become a reality."

"Maybe he will indeed go to hell, but before he goes to hell, we can't stop him just by talking." Charles was not excited at all, and remained calm, "You don't understand the seriousness of the problem - this person, I hope To beguile France and do something for his poor and weak Sardinia.”

"France cannot do this," the bishop replied immediately. "Didn't you say that? France is now the protector of the church and it cannot do this!"

"I think so too, but maybe not everyone thinks so..." A smile reappeared on Charles' face. (~^~)