132 – The Crown Prince’s Request (2)
That’s how I made up my mind. His Highness the Crown Prince looked at me and smiled and told me not to be nervous as it was no big deal.
“What can be done?”
When I heard those words, I felt dazed, as if my head had been hit with a mace.
Because you’re asking me how difficult it is without even telling me what to do? Because I thought:
But seeing as they don’t even tell me what’s going on and just ask me to agree, there’s no doubt that very important confidential information is involved.
If you fail, you will be a huge disappointment to His Highness the Crown Prince, so you must succeed at all costs.
But the only consolation is that they won’t put me in a 2-star operation like in a movie that only special forces soldiers would carry out.
It must be said that it is truly fortunate among misfortunes that life does not come and go.
“Please order. “Then I will do just that.”
“As expected, it’s Director Jaeger. “I believed that you would definitely take action to resolve my concerns.”
It may feel like bowing down and being worshiped, but if His Majesty the Crown Prince tells me to do this, then doing this is the path that a loyal subject should choose.
Also, it would be less boring to do something than to do nothing for a month.
Because His Majesty the Emperor granted me the great commercial city of Strasbourg, giving me the foundation to build a great power.
If you repay with the determination to work as hard as you can, you will be able to get promoted a little faster next time.
“Okay, then let’s bring up the main topic right away.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
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“A few days ago, the Pope sent a special envoy to convey his intentions and said that he was vehemently opposed to lifting the excommunication against the Francois Republic.”
When I heard those words, I could barely suppress the curse that almost came out of my mouth.
Because, for the first time in hundreds of years, the Pope was not only respected in name by everyone, but because their interests were aligned, he was given the opportunity to control the Francois Republic, a secular state, in order to restore the papacy.
The story is that I saved a drowning man, saved his life, and even gave him a check for 20 million won, but when he got a taste for the money, he sat down and told me to give him 50 million won more than he had already given me.
Honestly, if it weren’t in front of the crown prince, I would have spit out a bowl of curses.
“This is such nonsense that it makes your head spin just by hearing it.”
After hearing those words, the crown prince took a sip of tea with an expression of agreement with what I said, then sighed heavily and said,
“I agree with that. However, as you know, the Pope’s status is that of God’s representative, higher than that of the emperor of the empire, and the number of territories and people he controls is similar to that of a marquis of the empire. So, for hundreds of years, he has never exercised power proportional to his authority. So, I guess this incident gave me a taste of power and led me to say such nonsense.”
When I heard that, it struck me as blasphemous that on programs like The White Tower, corporals and sergeants who are now 21 years old often talk about topics that they themselves are nothing special about.
Just because he had the rank of sergeant, he was able to do whatever he wanted, and I remembered how he tried to lord it over the soldiers who succeeded him, by doing all sorts of things to the private.
Like him, His Holiness the Pope led over 70,000 troops to fight against the Francois Republic for the national interest of the Reich Empire.
I think he mistakenly thinks that he can run the empire as he pleases since he is given the papal power and given a lot of money.
Don’t you even think that if the Pope fails to grasp reality and steps forward, he could be replaced or assassinated by the cardinals under him?
No. That’s what I think, but the Pope, who was treated as a living cause maker and public order maintenance device for hundreds of years, has suddenly risen in status.
Even though his life may be in danger, he may want to somehow take advantage of this opportunity and become a pope who truly reigns over monarchs like the popes of hundreds of years ago.
The problem is that it is the Reich Empire that suffers from this ridiculous idea.
“But no matter what happens, if you don’t honor this request, the relationship between the Holy See and the Empire will deteriorate, and a huge amount of donations will be needed to restore the relationship. Also, won’t we always be at a disadvantage in our future relationship with the Holy See?”
“If it were another country, it would be okay to reject such an unreasonable offer considering the situation, but the opponent is the Vatican. “You probably know better than me what consequences can arise if the Holy See is properly controlled.”
“Yes. If we refuse, the Pope will not be able to force us into a corner by resorting to excommunication this time. “After winning with the power of Deus, they will demand repentance under the excuse that they lack faith.”
If we listen to that, we will be branded as bad people who continue to follow the Pope’s erroneous words even though he says such nonsense.
This will give cardinals from other countries who oppose the current Pope a justification to target the Reich Empire for conquest.
In the worst case, the Reich Empire on the Europa continent may be surrounded by numerous countries and forced to fight an all-out war, just like Germany did during World Wars I and II.
Because, just like Germany, there were so many people around us targeting the Reich Empire.
“So, I’m not worried at all. So in the end, there is only one answer.”
“Please tell me.”
“A royal envoy personally sent by the Pope is secretly in Reichburg. He hopes to negotiate with us. “Convince him and make him understand that removing the excommunication now will be more helpful in increasing the authority of the Pope.”
Honestly, I have a strong feeling that this persuasion will not be easy, but…
In the end, if what the Pope wants is to strengthen the papacy, there is no way…
Why did the Crown Prince give me the role of persuading the other party?
“I understand. “But may I ask why you want to give me the role of persuading the royal envoy?”
His Royal Highness answered those words carefully with a serious expression.
“That’s simple. Because this envoy came secretly, it is difficult for other diplomats to meet him in person and negotiate with him. In addition, don’t you have the diplomatic skills to completely confide in Vice Foreign Minister Henri at the Castle of Nancy with just a few words and give His Majesty the Emperor a land of greater scope than he could have imagined? Besides, you are ostensibly on probation, so even if the royal envoy does something crazy like secretly leaking the agreement document, you can get away with it under the pretext of asking how a person on probation can sign.”
“I see. Then, I think they have already brought the initial proposal to Your Majesty. “Can you show me?”
The crown prince listened to me and showed me the draft of the negotiation proposal sent by the royal envoy.
After removing all the formal rhetoric written there, the content was like this.
It is good that the Francois Republic government is realizing its sins, reflecting on its sins, and saying it will repent, but I think it is reasonable to pay more money to be forgiven for being excommunicated.
Or, the message was to offer something that would further increase the authority of the Pope.
If something like this had been written in a diplomatic document under normal circumstances, it might have been crazy and crazy, but in a situation like this, if the request was this simple and clear.
In fact, it may be easier to persuade the royal envoy.
Because I have a simple way to increase the authority of the church and the reputation of the empire.
“We have already signed a peace treaty with the Francois Republic, so it is impossible to receive more money from them and give it to the Holy Father. Because when the treaty was signed, they also received an apology to be paid to the Holy See. However, it is difficult to add our own money to the apology. “Is there any way to solve this?”
I nodded and answered those words.
“It’s not like it doesn’t exist. Rather, it will be easier because the opponent is the church.”
“Then I will believe it, Major General. “I will prepare as much compensation as possible.”
Like that, I left the Crown Prince’s house and was able to meet the Holy See’s emissary late that night.
“Hello, I am Bishop Luigi Valliera who has come in compliance with the wishes of the Holy Father.”
“This time, I am Director Peter Jaeger, who has been in charge of consultation to uphold His Holiness’ will and realize it in a secular way.”
Next, we exchanged a few more words to say hello and then spoke.
“Then let’s start a real conversation.”