Chapter 767 Trouble

Pius IX's calculations were good, but Franz would definitely not be his tool.

Although Madame Sophie still did not understand Franz's explanation, it did not affect her wholehearted support for her eldest son.

She knew that Franz would not bother her anymore if he had made up his mind, so she could either stay out of it or give her full support.

Madame Sophie was not stupid, but it was difficult for her to get out of the historical limitations.

Although Franz hated the new pope, he could not do such a thing as an armed pilgrimage for the time being. As for Pius IX's invitation, he could just find a random excuse to prevaricate.

Although theoretically the pope would not take Franz as a hostage, what if Pius IX suddenly had an attack?

A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall, and Franz did not want to gamble whether a pope with a certificate of mental illness would have an attack.

Archbishop Rauscher also agreed with this, or he agreed with all of Franz's ideas. However, he particularly agrees with the opposition to the Pope, because Pius IX went too far.

He wanted to collect tithes and to deal with the Jesuits, which was to force the archbishops and local interest systems in various regions to death.

Coupled with Pius IX's investigation, trial, and dismissal of cardinals, the new pope almost pushed the entire European and even the entire world religious forces to the opposite side of him.

In addition, here I would like to say that Archbishop Rauscher should actually be considered an archbishop, which is usually called a purple cardinal.

The Pope can dismiss those cardinals, but he can't do anything about Archbishop Rauscher, because the latter was conferred by the Austrian emperor and was actually a pawn used by the royal family to control domestic religion.

At the same time, this is why Archbishop Rauscher always hates the Pope and often usurps the right to wear a white robe and a golden crown, because in Austria he is the Pope.

In fact, the entire Austrian church is very disgusted with the new Pope, especially the release of those political prisoners, which directly caused chaos in the entire southern Europe.

Although many countries do not listen to the Pope's edicts, they are happy to send religious instigators and criminals to the Vatican.

After all, this can save the cost of guarding prisoners. In theory, the church is even less likely to let this group of people go, and there is no need to bear the infamy. It is simply a good way to kill three birds with one stone.

However, I didn't expect that Pius IX would not play by the rules at all. He released the criminals and gave them the status of Jesuit priests, and then sent them all back to their hometowns, which made all countries complain.

Instigators are the most dangerous criminals no matter where they are. Such people can only be locked up, and it is impossible to let them go out to work collectively, otherwise there may be trouble.

The Austrian Empire has another more troublesome thing than other countries, that is, the garrison and temporary agency in the Papal States.

In fact, the Austrian army officially entered Ferrara in 1836. In fact, there were garrisons before, but in name they were still troops that had not been withdrawn.

After 1836, rebellions in the Papal States occurred frequently, and Gregory XVI directly asked Austria to station troops to suppress the rebellion.

By 1838, the rebellion was still going on. Franz knew very well what the source of the rebellion was, which was the black nobles (referring to the church nobles).

If this group of people continued to rule in the medieval way, the rebellion would never be quelled. I have talked about the black nobles twice, so I will not elaborate on them here. In short, they are similar to the medieval inquisitors, but they have changed their names and are called priests.

So Franz took advantage of the long-lasting rebellion and sent officials from the Austrian Empire to take charge while stationing troops.

As for the methods of expelling the original black nobles, there are many ways. In addition to persuasion and bribery, they can also be physically criticized by the rebels and assassins.

In fact, it was not Franz who wanted to help the enemy to quell the rebellion in the Papal States. It was not just because the Papal States could not be called an opponent, but helping the Papal States to quell the rebellion wasted too much manpower and energy of Austria.

It is also painful to bleed with a knife, unless the blade is not on your body. Taking over the trusteeship can not only reduce rebellion, but also strengthen economic exchanges between the two sides, earning profits while gaining a wave of public support.

This approach may be a loss for the Papal States in the long run, but it is a win for the Pope himself. In the short term, the Papal States saves expenditure costs and obtains additional income, which is a completely happy approach.

However, in order to avoid resentment within the Papal States and the vigilance of the great powers, Franz expanded the scope of trusteeship to Ravenna and stopped.

Ferrara, Bologna, and Ravenna are close to Austria, far from the core of the Papal States, and have relatively good manpower and resources.

Going deeper will easily touch the bottom line of the Papal States and the great powers, and further ahead is the Apennine Mountains, where the land and resources are not valuable, and the population is relatively sparse. What's more, the long battle line will sharply increase the cost of the Austrian Empire's governance in Central Italy.

However, Prince Metternich relied on his relationship with the Pope, and bribed several cardinals, and plunged into this quagmire regardless of anything.

Over the years, Austria's tentacles have been extended to Ancona, and finally when it was about to take action against Perugia, it was counterattacked by Gregory XVI.

Although it finally retained control from Ferrara to Ancona, it offended the church and Catholic countries such as France, Spain, and Sardinia.

At the same time, Austria's ambitions in central Italy were exposed, and even Britain and Russia raised objections, and it became the number one target for Italian nationalists to defeat.

Now the most troublesome thing is coming, a tough pope who is not willing to accept bribes has come to power.

Pius IX asked the Austrian Empire to withdraw from the Papal States in all aspects, and in addition to paying the past tithes, and at the same time agreeing on new tithes and tariffs.

And any of these three items is impossible for Austria at this time. The sunk cost of withdrawing from the Papal States is too high, which is equivalent to decades of efforts and tens of millions of florins spent in vain.

The sky-high cost of paying the tithes is also unacceptable to Austria. As for the pope's move on Austria's tithes, it is touching the interests of everyone, no matter who it is.

This situation has no solution. Franz cannot give in, and the pope will not give in either. But fortunately, the latter's attack is too wide, so the only people who come to add insult to injury are the British who believe in the Anglican Church.

Pius IX also disliked the British. He wrote a letter to Queen Victoria asking her to dissolve the Anglican Church and expel her husband Albert, who believed in Protestantism, and then swear allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church again. As a reward, Pius IX would personally crown him.

As a result, he successfully broke the defense of the "King of Understanding" who only cared about interests. The latter was directly asked to leave the Vatican by the Swiss Guard because he said too many dirty words.

Later, the successor, Viscount Stratford, was broken again, and this time he almost attacked the Holy See.