"Your Majesty," Leonard hesitated, "our relationship with the Pope is not very good...Clement X, like several of his predecessors, hopes that the entire Europe can be united. Jointly deal with the threat from the Ottoman Empire. Although he also regarded the Chinese's 'blasphemy' as a threat, he still believed that the threat from the Ottoman Empire was greater."
The current Pope in Rome is 83-year-old Clement X, who was elected as the Pope in 1670. Like his predecessors, he also opposed the Confucianism of the Ming Dynasty because of the almost unsolvable problem of "discovering the principles of heaven."
But this 83-year-old grandfather has regarded the Ottoman Empire as his main enemy since he chose to engage in clergy. Over the decades, he has formed a fixed mindset. In his mind, the Ottoman army was much more dangerous than the Confucian principles of heaven.
After all, one is the danger of smashing his job, and the other is the danger of smashing his head to eat... Moreover, Zhu Cixiang does not intend to impose the Confucian view of heaven on Westerners. Those who "discover God" and those who "obtain the favor of God" "The way of thinking of people is completely different. Scholars who "discover God" simply have no sense of mission as "people favored by God".
The Ottoman Empire was different!
Just as France and the Ming Empire began to confront each other, the Ottoman Empire also moved toward resurgence under the leadership of Koprulu and his son.
In the past two years, the Ottoman Empire's Yenicheri Army has undergone a comprehensive upgrade under the auspices of Grand Vizier Ahmed Koprulu. It has not only further expanded its establishment, but also absorbed the achievements of the Ming Dynasty's military reforms. Nailhead shells and wooden-handled grenades began to be introduced.
In addition, the naval reform storm set off by the "nailhead explosive bomb" also spread to the Mediterranean, giving the Ottoman Empire's navy, which was already at a disadvantage, a shot in the arm.
In the recent naval battles, the Ottoman Empire's fleets have achieved impressive results - even if they cannot win, they can still lose both sides!
Now, several Catholic Eastern and Southern European countries, including the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of Naples (co-monarch with Spain), and the Republic of Poland, are feeling great pressure.
Therefore, the Holy See had to stand up and repeatedly call for the formation of a grand alliance against the Ottoman Empire.
But Louis XIV had no interest in this, and even secretly sabotaged it - if the Ottoman Empire really broke Vienna, then only Louis XIV could inherit the legacy of the Holy Roman Empire.
In addition, Louis XIV was the Sun King who said "I am the country"! They have established an absolute monarchy, and of course they do not allow the Pope to interfere in the internal affairs of the French church.
Therefore, with the benefit of Louis, Bossuet, the bishop of Meaux, France, issued a document called "Declaration of the Gallic Clergy." It greatly limits the power of the Holy See in France, especially the fourth article which declares that the encyclicals and edicts issued by the Pope are not irreversible - this is simply to pull the Pope off the altar!
The Roman Catholic Church insists that the Pope is infallible! The Pope is the representative of God on earth. How can he change his golden words?
Even if it can be changed, the people below can’t say it! Isn't this a slap in the Pope's face if he still makes a statement?
If in the early years when the Holy See was powerful, people who said such things would have been burned to death.
King Louis XIV of France ordered the Catholic Church across the country to comply with this document, despite the opposition of the Holy See.
In this context, one can imagine the relationship between Louis XIV and the Pope of Rome - perhaps in the eyes of the 83-year-old Pope, this French dwarf is simply a heretic. If it were not for the Holy See The market is so sluggish that his old man has already used the "law of breaking the door" to kill the Sun King.
But now, the Sun King can come to Rome at any time.
The Holy Roman Empire and Spain are now half-dead, and no one dares to provoke the great Sun King.
The Sun King's face had darkened, and he said to his foreign minister: "Hugo, you can tell the Pope directly that it is time for him to prove to France that he loves God more than money. I expect him to make the right decision." s Choice!"
O God! Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the French Foreign Minister: This king actually asked the Pope to prove his belief in God... If the Pope does not give money, does he plan to change the Pope?
...
Hugo Leona, who still somewhat believed in God, hurried to Rome with Louis XIV's mission and met the 83-year-old Pope Clement X in the Vatican.
The Pope entertained the French Foreign Minister very grandly. The old man did not know that he was here to ask for money. He thought that the Sun King Louis XIV was going to respond to his call, and he and Leopold I, as well as the General of the Polish Army, Commander Jan Sobieski united to fight against the Ottoman Empire!
In the past 1672, the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate joined forces to invade Ukraine on the right bank of the Dnieper River controlled by Poland. Under the command of the Grand Vizier Ahmed Koprulu, 80,000 Ottoman troops were overwhelming and captured in one fell swoop. They captured the Kamenets Fortress and successfully surrounded Lviv in August of that year, forcing the Republic of Poland to sign the Treaty of Bucic in October of that year, which was humiliating and humiliating to the country.
Under the treaty, Poland had to cede large tracts of territory in the southeastern Podol and Bratslav provinces and southern Kiev. In addition, he has to pay 22,000 thalers as annual currency every year.
When the news reached Rome and Vienna, it immediately caused great panic.
The Republic of Poland is an important member of the Catholic camp! Without Poland's cooperation with the Holy Roman Empire in resisting the Ottoman Empire, the situation facing the Holy Roman Empire would have deteriorated dramatically.
If Vienna, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, was captured by the Ottoman Empire... Clement X could not even imagine it!
So the Pope was really happy from the bottom of his heart when he saw the Sun King’s envoy coming to Rome when the Catholic camp was facing a major crisis!
This kid Louis still has God in his heart!
"Hugo, you must have come to Rome to defend the faith of God, right?" The old pope spoke French in a hoarse and old voice (this is to show respect for France).
"Yes, yes..."
When Hugo Leonard was thinking about how to explain to the old priest in front of him, who had fought all his life to defend Catholicism, that the most dangerous enemy of God was not the Ottoman Empire, but the Ming Empire, the old pope had already crossed himself on his chest.
"Thank God! Poland can be saved, and the Catholics in Eastern Europe and the Balkans can be saved... Hugo, how many troops is His Majesty Louis going to send to attack the Ottoman Empire? Thirty thousand or fifty thousand?"
Is the Pope confused? How could France send troops to fight the Ottoman Empire before it was broken by the Ottoman Empire in Vienna?
"No, no..." Hugo Leonard shook his head.
"Not sending troops?" The old pope looked a little disappointed, "It's okay to provide some weapons and equipment... During the offensive and defensive battle of Kamenets Fortress, the Ottomans used imitation wooden shells to bombard the castle. The Polish warriors suffered heavy casualties."
"Of course we can provide weapons and equipment to the Poles..." Hugo Leonard said, "but I didn't come to Rome for this."
"Then you are..." The old pope looked at the French Foreign Minister who was a little hesitant in speaking with some confusion.
"His Majesty the King believes that the Americas under Catholic rule are facing a major threat!" Hugo Leonard said, "The lives of Catholics in New France are in extreme danger!"
"New France..." the old pope blinked his old eyes, "how many Catholics are there? Five thousand or ten thousand?"
"Almost 20,000..." Hugo Leonard said, "In addition, there are millions of Catholics in New Spain and New England, who are being attacked by the brutal New Zealanders supported by the Ming Empire. The threat of the United States of America! If we cannot provide immediate support to the Catholics in America, then the United States of America may rule the entire American continent. This will be the biggest disaster in Catholic history!
Therefore, His Majesty the King is preparing to send a large army to New France and New Spain to defend the Catholic faith there. I also hope that the Roman Catholic Church can provide military funding for this war to defend the glory of Catholicism... and I also hope that the church can provide funding for the New Rome, the city of God in North America, which is about to begin construction! "
The old pope opened his mouth and was a little dumbfounded. But he did not dare to refuse King Louis' request, so he had to ask Leonard: "How much does it cost?"
"Five million, five million gold louis!"
The old pope's eyes bulged out, "God, how could he want so much?"
