Make France Great Again-Chapter 749 - 740: Pope, how many mentors does he have?
At 10:10 in the morning, after the steam train slowly came to a halt, the visibly fatigued Pope Pius IX and his entourage immediately appeared in Jerome Bonaparte’s line of sight.
Alas! Poor Pius IX!
Seeing Pius IX’s slightly disheveled appearance in the carriage, Jerome Bonaparte couldn’t help but feel a bit of schadenfreude.
For a man in his sixties, a long journey is indeed an arduous task, and with one misstep, he might not make it all the way.
He (referring to Jerome Bonaparte) believed that if it weren’t for the joint persuasion of the Cardinal College and Pope State officials, combined with the pressure from the Austrian Empire (which had the power to deny the pope’s appointment, especially now that Catholicism was gradually declining across Europe), Pius IX would never have agreed to come.
After all, Catholicism, the Austrian Empire, and the Pope State all relied on the French Empire to survive; Catholicism needed the powerful national strength of the French Empire to spread its doctrine worldwide, the Austrian Empire needed the support of the French Empire to resist the Russian Empire, and the Pope State had to depend on the French Empire to retain its existing territories.
Even though Pius IX was revered as the Pope of Catholicism and the ruler of the Pope State, he could not resist the joint pressure of these three parties.
Otherwise, Pius IX might have faced a fate of dying from illness.
Moreover, the existence of the papacy for over a thousand years in this world has relied on their bottomless actions.
During the reign of the First Empire, the much-vaunted Pope Pius VII, who had never crowned anyone in over a thousand years, was still compelled by Napoleon’s forces to anxiously crown him.
If Pius VII could pull down his pride to do so, there was no reason Pius IX couldn’t sing praises for the Bonaparte Clan.
Under Jerome Bonaparte’s gaze, Pius IX took step after step toward Jerome Bonaparte.
After a moment of silence between the two, Pius IX first spoke to the King of France before him: "Your Excellency, Jerome Bonaparte, thank you for waiting!"
Jerome Bonaparte’s face immediately lit up with a joyful smile. He spread his arms wide and said to Pius IX, "Oh! My Holy Father, you have finally arrived!"
Pius IX also slightly opened his arms, and the two "warmly" embraced before quickly separating.
"Thanks to God’s blessing, you and your empire have triumphed over the Russian Empire, preserving the glory of Catholicism..." Pius IX praised Jerome Bonaparte and his Second Empire in a lengthy tone, "Your Majesty, with the unanimous agreement of the Cardinal College, the Pope State will bestow upon you the title of Saint, in recognition of your significant contributions to the Holy See. We hope you won’t refuse!"
Even though this so-called title of Saint meant nothing to the current Jerome Bonaparte, he, as the "Son of God," still calmly accepted the title bestowed by Pius IX?
"Holy Father, I will continue to lead France in fighting for the glory of Catholicism!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Pius IX with a feigned piety.
"Good!" Pius IX seemed content with Jerome Bonaparte’s "filial piety."
"Oh, by the way, Holy Father, I have some good news for you!" Jerome Bonaparte continued, speaking to Pius IX.
"Your Majesty, I am all ears!" Pius IX replied to Jerome Bonaparte.
"At the end of the Paris Conference in a few months, you will witness a Catholic Great Power standing again on the ground of Europe!" Jerome Bonaparte said slowly yet passionately.
"You mean Poland?" Pius IX responded to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Holy Father, I didn’t expect you to know so quickly!" Jerome Bonaparte continued to reply.
"That child Maximilian has already told me everything!" Pius IX replied to Jerome Bonaparte in a slightly trembling voice. He never expected, during his papacy, to see a Catholic country reestablished in Europe.
"Then I’m being redundant now!" Jerome Bonaparte lightly shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly.
Meanwhile, Grand Duke Maximilian, who had accompanied Pius IX, showed an embarrassed expression, feeling ashamed for informing Pius IX in advance about Poland’s reestablishment.
Originally, these news were meant to be personally conveyed by Jerome Bonaparte as a surprise to Pius IX. However, due to Maximilian’s premature notification, the surprise was entirely lost.
"No! Your Majesty, your contributions to the Lord can never be erased at any time!" Pius IX hurriedly said to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Holy Father, to hear such praise from you is truly an honor for me!" Jerome Bonaparte humbly replied as well.
Subsequently, at Jerome Bonaparte’s invitation, Pius IX joined him in traveling on the carriage that Jerome Bonaparte had taken. Nearing the boarding of the carriage, Jerome Bonaparte turned and invited Grand Duke Maximilian, "Maximilian, would you like to join us in the carriage?"
"Me??? Grand Duke Maximilian shook his head and refused: "Your Majesty, I better not!"
"Then you may take another carriage to the Tuileries Palace first, and once there, have Mokar prepare the rooms!" Jerome Bonaparte, like an understanding older brother, instructed Grand Duke Maximilian.
"Yes!" Grand Duke Maximilian smiled and nodded in response.
The main purpose of Grand Duke Maximilian’s trip to Paris this time was to strengthen ties with France. After all, he was about to take office, and there was a large group of pro-French generals within the Kingdom of Poland.
(Incidentally, Warsaw and its surrounding areas have now been occupied by the army of Polish Restorationists, and without exception, these troops are led by pro-French generals.)
After giving his instructions, Jerome Bonaparte got into the carriage, and similarly, Grand Duke Maximilian got into another carriage and left.
After leaving the train station, the two carriages parted ways, one heading towards the Tuileries Palace, and the other towards a destination near the Arc de Triomphe.
In the carriage, Pope Pius IX watched as the carriage gradually moved further away, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.
According to the plan, weren’t they going directly to the Tuileries Palace? Why separate from Maximilian!
"Your Majesty, where are we going?" Pope Pius IX asked Jerome Bonaparte nervously.
"Holy Father, you’ll know when we get there!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Pope Pius IX with a smile. He knew that his next actions would inevitably lead to resentment from Pope Pius IX, but what did it matter? As the ruler of an empire, he didn’t worry about Pope Pius IX’s likes or dislikes.
As long as he could ensure the safety of the Pope State and maintain stability on the Apennine Peninsula, the Pope State could only cower at his feet.
His reason for taking such an extra step was also to avenge the "one arrow’s revenge" he suffered in the Pope State in the past.
It was well known that Jerome Bonaparte was a very vindictive person.
The carriage carrying Pope Pius IX and Jerome Bonaparte stopped at a location more than two hundred meters away from the Arc de Triomphe. Jerome Bonaparte turned to Pope Pius IX and said, "Holy Father, we need to walk a bit from here!"
"Alright!" Pope Pius IX nodded and then followed Jerome Bonaparte as they got off the carriage together.
After getting off the carriage, Pope Pius IX looked ahead and discovered that under the Arc de Triomphe, more than 200 meters in front of him, was a fully armed French army.
"Your Majesty, what does this mean?" Pope Pius IX asked Jerome Bonaparte, with a hint of indignation.
"Holy Father!" Jerome Bonaparte feigned an innocent expression and replied to Pope Pius IX, "I just wanted to invite the Holy Father to review the French army, don’t you like it?"
Pope Pius IX forced a smile, nodded slowly to Jerome Bonaparte, and said, "I like it!"
"Then come along with me, Holy Father!" Jerome Bonaparte "considerately" supported Pope Pius IX as they continued onward.
When Jerome Bonaparte and Pope Pius IX reached a position less than 100 meters from the Arc de Triomphe, the Chief of Staff Nie’er, serving as the temporary commander, appeared before them and saluted Jerome Bonaparte.
"Thank you for your efforts! Nie’er!" Jerome Bonaparte said casually.
Under Nie’er’s guidance, Jerome Bonaparte and Pope Pius IX arrived at the French army’s formation under the Arc de Triomphe.
The soldiers within the formation showed expressions full of hostility, which made Pope Pius IX, who had been pampered for many years, feel somewhat weak in his legs.
"Holy Father, these are the soldiers who fought bravely in the Crimea Peninsula!" Jerome Bonaparte said with a smile to Pope Pius IX.
As a monarch who had stayed in the Crimea Peninsula for half a year, this small scene could not intimidate him.
Pope Pius IX stumbled through his French, expressing gratitude to the soldiers present and praised them as the most loyal defenders of the Lord.
The soldiers, upon hearing Pope Pius IX’s praise, showed genuine smiles. Coming from rural areas, they had been subtly influenced by priests and local nobles from a young age and therefore had a stronger belief in God than city dwellers.
Pope Pius IX’s words undoubtedly affirmed their achievements, lessening their sense of guilt for slaughtering fellow countrymen on the Crimea Peninsula.
"Long live His Majesty Bonaparte, long live His Holiness the Pope!" Under Nie’er’s order, all the soldiers shouted energetically while tilting the bayonets in their hands forward.
The cold gleam on the bayonets reflected in Pope Pius IX’s eyes, giving him a chilling sensation.
Perhaps because of the bayonet inspection, Pope Pius IX appeared particularly stiff the next day during Friedrich’s baptism.
However, that’s a story for another time.
