Chapter 741: Unrest on the Apennine Peninsula
"The Villard family donated 30,000 francs..."
"The Broy family donated 35,000 francs!"
"Count Aix, 40,000 francs..."
"Duke Loudun, 40,000..."
The nobles and capitalists quickly split into two factions, fiercely competing, each unwilling to be outdone by the other.
The donations began to resemble an auction, with figures continuously climbing.
Just as someone donated 50,000 francs, a voice rang out: "The Dupont family will sponsor the construction of a frigate for the navy."
Silence instantly fell over the Hall of Mirrors.
Even the cheapest frigate would cost around 120,000 francs!
No one else dared to speak for a time, neither nobles nor capitalists.
Those who wished to donate quietly approached the court official responsible for recording contributions and whispered their donation figures.
Before long, a Bordeaux winery owner also donated a warship.
The banquet had truly transformed into a convention for donating warships.
Anyone unable to pledge a warship felt too embarrassed to speak.
By 10 PM, five warships had appeared on the donation list. The combined contributions from others approached 3 million francs!
Before the banquet concluded, the Countess of Debeninac publicly announced that all gentlemen who donated warships would be invited to dine with the Royal Family next week.
Queen Mary, for her part, simply summoned the donation recorder and quietly informed him that she would donate jewelry worth 2.7 million francs.
She spent more than half of her annual allowance on jewelry, yet at that moment, she offered it without hesitation.
The next day.
In Paris's major newspapers, alongside the list of nobles and wealthy merchants who had made large donations the previous night, phrases like "Evil Alliance," "Lost 30 Years," and "War of National Defense" frequently appeared.
It wasn't long before these propaganda slogans spread throughout France.
...
Rome.
St. Peter's Basilica.
Pius VI stared intently at Archbishop Muzzarelli, stating in a low voice: "The title 'Shield of God' originally belonged to Hungary. Granting it to Austria, which is in personal union with Hungary, is acceptable. However, His Majesty Franz II has never had any widely known noble deeds, so the title 'the Just' is not suitable for him."
Muzzarelli smiled, then looked at the two dozen cardinals seated around them: "As for the title of the Holy Roman Emperor, do you all find it appropriate?"
Immediately, a cardinal in his seventies nodded and declared: "His Majesty Franz II has received widespread acclaim from his subjects; 'the Just' is no exaggeration."
More than ten people promptly echoed his sentiment, while only three or four cardinals expressed dissent; the others remained silent.
They all recalled that months earlier, Muzzarelli had returned to the Roman Curia and publicly debated with His Holiness the Pope, refuting the Pope's failure to immediately quash the rumors of a Holy War in Poland as irresponsible.
The Pope had been extremely embarrassed at the time, yet found himself powerless against Muzzarelli.
For just days before that, Venice and Tuscany had each mobilized tens of thousands of troops near the northern and southern borders of the Papal States for so-called exercises, with the thunder of cannons lasting for nearly a week.
That posture was clearly intended to bolster Muzzarelli's standing.
From then on, the Muzzarelli faction's influence within the Roman Curia grew steadily stronger.
Even today, Muzzarelli openly suggested that the Roman Curia declare Austria the "Shield of God" and canonize Franz II with the title "the Just."
Pius VI knew full well that war would soon erupt between Austria and France, and Muzzarelli was clearly attempting to boost Austria's prestige.
However, doing so would inevitably offend France.
This was certainly not a good thing for the Roman Curia.
Seeing that the Pope was still unwilling to yield, Muzzarelli couldn't help but smile faintly: "Everyone here must surely know that France has, in fact, already distanced itself from the Roman Curia's authority.
"And His Majesty Franz II has already granted the Roman Curia the right to nominate Austrian cardinals. Currently, the Holy Roman Empire is the Roman Curia's true follower!
"Once this conflict begins, hundreds of thousands of troops will encircle France, and the Roman Curia will have no need to concern itself with the French attitude.
"Once the war concludes, with the Holy Roman Emperor's assistance, the Roman Curia will once again allow the Lord's divine light to shine across all of Europe!"
There was one point he left unsaid: most of the Italian states surrounding the Papal States were friendly with Austria. If Franz II were offended over the matter of the title, the Papal States would certainly face dire consequences.
In truth, he hoped the Pope would stubbornly reject his proposal.
That way, Austria would support him even more steadfastly, and it wasn't impossible for Pius VI to be 'removed' prematurely, allowing him to ascend to the papacy himself.
More than ten minutes later, Pius VI surveyed the assembled cardinals, then reluctantly rose and addressed Muzzarelli: "In this matter, you shall convey the will of God."
Just as the Roman Curia announced Franz II's new title and reaffirmed Austria as the "Shield of God," the Austrian Foreign Minister, Count Rheinfels, arrived in the northernmost Italian kingdom of Sardinia.
Turin, the capital of Sardinia.
King Amedeo III of Sardinia looked at the Austrian Foreign Minister with a distressed expression: "You know, our nation has no conflict with France. So..."
As a nation sandwiched between France and Austria, Sardinia, though considered a second-tier European power, always lived precariously, consistently pursuing a policy of offending neither side.
However, since the Alps separated France and Sardinia, Sardinia was generally closer to Austria; in fact, there had always been Austrian troops stationed within Sardinia.
After all, the journey from Austrian Milan to Turin was flat and took only four or five days.
Count Rheinfels nodded: "I'm not asking you to declare war on France, merely that General Beaulieu's troops be allowed to pass through Chambéry without incident. You need not concern yourself with anything beyond that."
Amedeo III's mouth felt bitter.
Allowing Austrian troops to pass through Sardinia to attack France was only marginally better than directly declaring war on France.
Yet, even if he refused, the Austrian garrison could simply march west through the Alps, and he would be powerless to stop them.
Count Rheinfels glanced at the King of Sardinia, then offered a warm smile: "Of course, if you could provide General Beaulieu with some logistical support, or even send troops to assist, His Imperial Majesty would certainly grant you a fitting reward after the war concludes."
Amedeo III was about to shake his head when he heard the Austrian declare: "Genoa, and the island of Corsica, shall all belong to Sardinia."
Amedeo III's pupils immediately constricted.
Though Genoa was not vast in area, it was an extremely important trading port in southern Italy, with countless gold coins flowing from it into the Apennine Peninsula daily.
Previously, Genoa, as a neutral port, had enjoyed the joint protection of several major powers including Britain, France, and Austria. No matter how much Sardinia coveted it, they dared not harbor any ambitions.
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