Chapter 896: Army of Justice 20
Chapter 896 Army of Justice 2.0
The conversation between Franz and Pius IX confused everyone around them. Aren't these two supposed to be mortal enemies?
Shouldn't they hope that the other side will surrender? Why are they singing the same tune here? And how did the crisis in Rome become the crisis of Austria?
"Your Holiness, I have always believed in God and your virtue. Someone must have falsely spread your will and tried to shake our faith in God."
Franz's words made everyone even more confused. Pius IX publicly declared war in the Vatican. How could this be false?
At this time, Pius IX said.
"Child, that is the devil's conspiracy. Now they have occupied the holy city, and even the soldiers on the front line have been bewitched by them!"
This sentence inadvertently revealed several pieces of information from Pius IX, that is, he not only lost Rome, but also lost the command of the army.
Franz was speechless. To be honest, he didn't expect that Pius IX would even lose his military power. But even if Pius IX had an army, he would still come here to find me without food or money.
"Your Excellency, please rest assured that our Habsburg family and Austria have always been the most devout believers.
But I need you to issue an edict to let us help you return to the Holy City."
"No problem, child. I'm ready!"
Pius IX took out a parchment scroll and handed it to Franz in a formal manner.
April 21, 1848.
Pope Pius IX officially announced that the Roman government was a believer of the devil and he would support Austria's just war against evil.
At the same time, the Pope also issued a letter to the people of the Apennines, the content of which was to warn people not to associate with the devil.
As for who is the devil? Of course, it is Austria's enemies, extreme nationalists, liberals, capitalists who want independence, and nobles who take the opportunity to make trouble are all on the blacklist.
Pius IX issued the largest fine in the history of Catholicism, with a total of more than 70,000 people excommunicated, and the whole world was shocked.
Excommunication, translated from Latin excommunicatio, originally means "severing contact".
A punishment imposed by the Roman Catholic Church on clergy and believers, namely excommunication. According to Catholic theology, those who were excommunicated cannot ascend to heaven after death.
So the Crusaders who had previously participated in the holy war became believers of the devil in the blink of an eye.
The faith of the Italian coalition almost collapsed, and deserters began to appear in large numbers. In more extreme cases, some soldiers even assassinated officers and nobles on the excommunication list.
The news that the army had no food and logistics had been cut off spread at the same time. La Poer saw hostile eyes everywhere, and whips and pistols could not give him a sense of security.
However, the small shop owner also became ruthless. He ordered the execution of all soldiers who discussed excommunication, and a curfew was imposed on the barracks. Any soldier who escaped or attempted to escape would be sentenced to death.
La Poer's series of actions further confirmed his identity as a believer of the devil, and some even thought that La Poer was the incarnation of the devil.
In fact, as long as Franz wanted, the speed of news spread was still very fast. The entire Apennines knew about these things almost overnight.
King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies had been planning for a long time. He was waiting for this opportunity, so he took the lead.
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies began a comprehensive purge of the liberals and revolutionaries, and at the same time overturned the laws and policies that had been formulated before.
As for the so-called supporters, most of them had been sent to the battlefield by Ferdinando II in various names. The rest either surrendered or rebelled, and only a very few chose to resist.
Ferdinando II had been fooled by the liberals twice, and he didn't want to hold back at this time. So his order was to kill the wrong person and never let him go.
The bloody massacre also earned him the reputation of the Cannonball King, but Ferdinando II didn't care at this time. He only cared about his throne and power.
Besides, wasn't there the edict of Pius IX? Just put all the blame on religion and the Pope, and maybe you can rob the church again at that time.
In addition to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, other states in Italy also took action. They had long since stopped wanting to support this war that was too costly, so they almost all announced the return of their monarchs at the first opportunity.
Those nobles who had previously wanted to unite with the capitalists found that the monarchy was still better after seeing the so-called free government!
After all, the monarchs still had to rely on them, and the capitalists only wanted to kill them.
The lower-class people also did not support the so-called new government, because their lives and status had not improved, but became more difficult because of the cancellation of the price limit order.
In the past, they could at least survive by working for the landlords, but the liberal capitalists had no feudal obligations. The latter would only use any means to drive the poor out of their houses and squeeze out the last drop of their value.
And the Pope said that those people were believers of the devil, so after the devil died, wouldn’t they have to pay back their debts?
Thus, the burning at the stake, which had been lost for hundreds of years, once again appeared on the historical stage.
As for the areas that used to belong to Austria, the rebellion was even more intense. These people experienced a fall from heaven where they could eat enough to the world where they could not eat enough, and then to hell where they had nothing to eat.
The huge contrast made these people the most determined opponents of the devil. They used the complex terrain of the mountains in central Italy to start hunting down the devil's followers.
And the people in the area where the Italian coalition was located believed that the Italian coalition was bewitched by the devil, because they had experienced it.
The so-called Italian coalition lacked food and clothing, and the military discipline was corrupt. They would naturally harm the local people, and the contradictions between the two sides were naturally the most intense.
For a time, the liberals in various countries in the Italian region fell one after another, and the monarchs were restored one after another.
The officers and soldiers of Austria experienced excitement, confusion, and then sudden enlightenment in a few days.
In short, they are now partners of justice, and the church and God are on their side.
This solves the worries of most people. After all, many people are still afraid of going to hell after death, so they work but do not work hard in the war.
However, this time they changed to fighting against the devil's believers, which in the past would go to heaven after death.
So the Austrian army launched a full-scale counterattack.
La Poer tore the notice of excommunication to pieces. In fact, he was afraid that others would see that he only killed the main culprit and coerced the followers without asking this question.
At this time, La Poul was in a position where he could not move forward or backward. The Austrian army in front of him was guarding the valley, and no matter how many people he sent, they could not break through.
Want to go back? Where to go? The liberals in Rome and the conservatives of the Pope did not recognize him.
Even at such a desperate moment, La Poul still did not want to surrender. He liked the feeling of holding power. Even if he was going to die tomorrow, he would die as a marshal, and would not choose to live a miserable life as a small shopkeeper.
La Poul decided that even if he was going to die, he would drag everyone down with him.
But he thought again that he was going to die anyway, if he did something he had never done before he died.
La Poul looked at the handsome messenger.