Flowers, Swords and France

"God will not forgive those who disobey Him, no one can."

Charlotte's sudden words resonated with the bishop.

"Yes, Madam, you are right, we cannot go against God's will!" Because the interests are at stake, he has thrown away the original kind mask at this time and revealed his true will, "No matter what, as a Catholic country, we should stand with the Holy See. It is foolish to help some ill-intentioned conspirators to damage the church. It will not be good for France or your Majesty himself!"

There is no doubt that the bishop made such a judgment from his own standpoint. As a religious person, he believes that France must defend the Holy See, which is also the opinion of many people in France.

However, although his position is biased, Charles thinks that his words are not unreasonable.

As far as France's interests are concerned, the unification of Italy is definitely a disaster-since ancient times, no country would want a unified country to suddenly emerge on its borders, so France should stop it if it can.

In this era, nationalism is naturally correct. If France openly says that it wants to become the enemy of the Italian nation (of course, this word is a very illusory term, but if illusory terms are said too much, they can become an imaginary community and a real national call), it will definitely arouse the hatred of all Italians. However, if the Holy See is dragged in and said to be for the protection of the Catholic Church, the situation will be different. At least there will be a banner that can be used.

The Bourbon royal family, with a bad reputation and even weaker power, is too decadent. It is difficult to support them to keep their pitiful family business in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Moreover, it involves the dispute between the Bonaparte family and the Bourbon royal family. It is not a good target for support. Although the Holy See has been in decline and infamous since the Middle Ages, it is still a political entity with resources, territory, and some appeal at this moment. It has great power in Italy and can become a high wall to block the nationalist conspiracies of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Count Cavour.

In essence, Charles did not want Italy to continue to be divided in order to defend the Church. He wanted Italy to continue to be divided in order to defend the Church. Defending the Church was an excuse that could be used, but it was only a means. The ultimate goal was to keep Italy divided.

In the original history, the Kingdom of Sardinia relied on the help of France to achieve its goal of unifying Italy step by step. Especially in 1859, through various instigations, Emperor Napoleon III launched the Franco-Austrian War, and finally drove away the Austrian forces in northern Italy with the help of the French, and then recovered the Lombardy region. Then, through Garibaldi's volunteer army of less than a thousand people, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was destroyed with overwhelming force, and its territory was also incorporated into the territory of Sardinia.

Without the help of France, Sardinia would not have been able to do this. Before France joined the war in 1859, Sardinia had been beaten very badly by the Austrians. Austria alone could delay the unification of Italy for decades.

Therefore, it can be said that the greatest contributor to the unification of Italy was not Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi, but Emperor Napoleon III.

However, even though he had such great contributions, not many Italians were grateful to him. After the Franco-Austrian War in 1859, because Napoleon III only seized the Lombardy region for Sardinia in the peace treaty with Austria, but did not take the Venice region, Italy even erupted in a wave of protests against him, accusing him of betraying Italy's interests. After the unification of Italy, they tried every means to erase his help and described him as a reactionary who supported the Pope to obstruct the unification of Italy.

This is indeed a sad joke, but it is not surprising. After a country is unified with the help of foreign aid, in order to consolidate its legitimacy, the elites who ruled the country after the war must find ways to deify their predecessors, advocate national consciousness, and downplay the role of foreign aid. This is an inevitable move.

The funny thing is the French monarchs. From the American War of Independence to the Italian War of Unification, Louis XVI and Napoleon III were both fools. They made countless efforts but ended up being clowns in the eyes of the other side and became the forgotten "father of the nation", and France also suffered huge losses.

They made such a mistake, and Charles didn't want to follow suit.

Napoleon III supported the Italian national movement, but Charles believed that Italy should not be unified at all. Sardinia was servile to France, and Charles believed that it could be made a vassal, but there was no need to take advantage of it.

Now Sardinia has been flattering the Bonaparte family. If it follows the course of history, Napoleon III will treat it as a vassal and eventually go to war with Austria, giving this country a chance to take advantage of the situation.

Of course, this would happen several years later, and it had not yet entered the core decision-making of the country, so Charles could not raise any objections. He also knew that the Emperor was a man of great determination and self-confidence, and would not change his mind so easily. Therefore, he decided to prepare for a rainy day and gather supporters and forces outside the venue first, so that when the situation entered that stage, he could raise more forceful opposition.

He has been thinking about this matter for some time. Recently, because of Philip's incident, he just got a reason to communicate directly with the church, so he decided not to waste this opportunity and first bring the church and the Holy See to his side. .

Of course he doesn't like these sticks, but as long as these sticks are as extremely opposed to Italian unification as they have been in history, then they are allies worth using.

"You are right, Lord Bishop." With complicated thoughts, Charles agreed with the bishop's opinion, "The Sardinians' conspiracy must be defeated, and Rome must be in the glory of His Majesty the Pope as it was in the past. Among them, I will never accept a group of Piedmontese taking away this glory.”

"Then everything is up to you, Your Excellency." The bishop bowed to him solemnly, "We will support your opinions when you need them."

Of course, he knew that Charles suddenly told him these secrets not because of any uneasy conscience, but for some special purpose. However, as long as Charles could clearly express his opposition to the Sardinians' plot, then regardless of the purpose in the heart of the minister, Whatever it is, he and the religious community will support it.

"Then let's just wait for that moment to come." Charles picked up the coffee cup again and drank some of the coffee in one gulp. "I hope we can stop everything in time."

The bishop stayed at the residence of His Excellency Minister Treville for longer than expected, and did not leave until the afternoon with a slight uneasiness, while the Treville couple were in a much better mood.

"Char... everything is finally over." After watching the bishop leave, Charlotte finally breathed a sigh of relief, "There won't be any more twists and turns now, right?"

"I think there will be no troubles..." Charles still looked thoughtful, "Now the church will not pursue him, and the government will not pursue him. As long as he is willing to make due compensation, then there should be no problems... It will be calm."

"That's great." Charlotte fell back and lay on the sofa, looking exhausted. "Hey, it's really embarrassing to say those words in front of the bishop! I really hope Philip can do it in the future. Be serious and stop embarrassing yourself and your family.”

"I believe Philip has received a profound lesson. He is a smart man, and he will probably not do such stupid things in the future." Charles grabbed his wife's hand with concern, "Well, since it's over now If you are pregnant, you should rest more.”

"Call him over and give him a few words and I'll be able to sleep." Charlotte had a smile on her face because of her husband's intimacy.

Philip is also in this mansion today, waiting for the outcome of the negotiation between the Charles couple and the bishop. Because the Charles couple has not yet concluded the negotiation with the bishop, Philip has been very uneasy, fearing that the talks between the two parties will collapse.

The anxious torment did not end until the afternoon. A servant walked to the room where he was resting and invited him to the Charles couple.

"How's it going, Charles? Has the bishop agreed?" He asked Charles immediately as soon as he arrived here.

"The bishop was very dissatisfied at the beginning, got angry, and spoke very fiercely. However, with our patient persuasion and entreaties, he finally reluctantly agreed to compromise..." Charles spread his hands and looked very helpless, "These bishops , everyone is so stubborn, it’s really nerve-wracking.”

"Have you compromised..." The sense of relief that the nightmare was over made Phillip almost unable to stand still. "Great...this is finally over..."

Although he paid a heavy price, in the end, he escaped the danger and no longer had to face the terrible ending of being ruined. With his status, as long as he doesn't lose all his reputation, everything will eventually get back on track.

In just an instant, his face was filled with a smile, "Thank you, Charles, Charlotte... Thank you very much!"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"No need to thank you or anything else. I just hope you can be careful in doing things in the future and don't let dad worry about you anymore." Charlotte still had a straight face and scolded her brother, "Also, what I said before , you have to pay for all this yourself, and the bishop will inevitably provide benefits this time..."

"Okay, okay, I know." Philip hid his impatience and depression just right, and looked at his sister and brother-in-law respectfully, "You guys make a bill and list all the expenses. I will try my best to get it." Those who paid this money will pay it back even if they borrow money from loan sharks!”

"Hey, Philip, where did you think you were going? We have no intention of letting you go bankrupt! We won't let the lion open his mouth. You only need to pay the due expenses." Charles shook his head and reassured himself. Cousin, “We are family.”

"Thank you!" Phillip quickly thanked him again.

"In addition, I also hope that you won't be angry with Charlotte. Although her attitude is a bit harsh on the surface, you know that she values ​​family ties very much, and she sincerely hopes that you can live a good life." Charles looked at it seriously. Looking at Phillip, "If she wasn't this kind of person, she wouldn't be so enthusiastic to help you out... Please understand her mood."

"Char! Stop talking like this!" Seeing Charles say such words, Charlotte suddenly felt extremely embarrassed and couldn't help but tug on Charles's sleeve.

"I...I know, I won't be angry with Charlotte." Philip quickly assured Charles.

However, although he said so, he was still a little indignant about Charlotte's behavior - of course, this indignation could only be hidden in his heart.

"I guess you can't continue your original work recently. Do you have anywhere else to go?" Charles asked again.

"...Not yet." Philip shook his head.

"Then why don't you just follow me recently? So as not to hang out with those friends again." Charles immediately suggested, "It just so happens that I also need someone capable around me... Charlotte is pregnant recently and can't go anywhere. There must be some things that others can help do. Of course, please rest assured that I will pay you."

"That's great." Philip agreed immediately.

"If you are willing to do a good job, I can rest assured for a while..." Charlotte let out a long breath, looking extremely tired, "By the way, I'll take the time to find a good wife for you. I think you should think about this carefully."

Philip's heart twitched heavily.

Alas, now I can only bow my head and be a servant.

"Thank you, Charlotte." He bowed. (~^~)