Episode 922: The Imperial March 2 – Assault return, running on the ground. (10)
-Everything the ‘Sage of the East’ said was correct!
-The Pope of Rome must abolish all the evil practices that have continued until now!
-We Italians must decide the fate of Italy!
When Savonarola publicly expressed support, the public sentiment in Florence was able to unite again.
Those who had hesitated due to the ‘excommunication’ now had an excuse to join again.
“It means that Savonarola has as much power as the Pope, at least as far as Florence is concerned. Gonfaloniere might be a bit of a pain, though.”
Shin Suk-ju responded to Hyang’s words in a tone full of cynicism.
“It is a self-inflicted disaster.”
Savonarola was famous as a religious figure, but he was even more famous as an authority on humanities, philosophy, and medicine.
The reason Lorenzo de’ Medici invited Savonarola to Florence was not because of religion, but because he was a famous humanities scholar.
Although Savonarola received support from the Medici family, the problem was that the Medici, especially Lorenzo de’ Medici, attacked him politically.
Hyang nodded at Shin Sook-ju’s answer.
“I see….”
‘Ah! ‘That song almost popped out at that moment!’
It was a scent that forced itself to sing without realizing it at the words ‘a disaster brought on by itself’.
Hyanghyang, who managed to suppress the feeling of virtue that came out almost instinctively, hurriedly moved on to the next thing.
“A letter of protest must have reached the Pope by now, right?”
“It has arrived.”
After the war of words with the Cardinal, the Hyang demanded a five-day suspension, which was due to several people hiding.
Firstly, it was to attract Savonarola, and secondly, it was to examine the unity and collusion of the envoys of the participating countries, including the great powers.
With the Pope’s envoy openly mentioning ‘excommunication’, the powers also had cause to act openly.
Lastly, it was to secure time to send a public letter of protest to the Pope.
The content of the protest written jointly by Shin Sook-ju and Seong Sam-mun’s support department was simple.
-How dare a single cardinal say that Tae Sang-tae of the Korean Federal Empire is being cruel!
-As a proud citizen of the empire and a subject of the empire, I cannot ignore this!
The next morning, a poster with the full text of the protest letter was posted on the embassy wall, and the imperial cavalry and Florentine cavalry with the same protest letter departed for Rome in broad daylight.
All Florentine citizens and envoys could see the scene of the Florentine flag, the Medici family flag, the imperial army standard, and the white flag waving as they departed for Rome.
After hearing Shin Suk-ju’s answer, Hyang smiled bitterly.
“The Pope must be having a lot of trouble. From what I hear, they are currently negotiating various things with the Sultan of Ottomans.”
At Hyang’s words, Shin Sook-ju also nodded with a similar expression.
* * *
“This is a pain in the ass. Haha~.”
As expected, Pope Alexander VI placed his hand on his itching forehead and sighed.
“I sent him as an envoy, and then something
like this happened…” I wanted to summon him right away and then oust him from his position as cardinal, but that was difficult.
This was because his loyalty to the authority of the Pope, or in other words, his faith and loyalty to Alexander VI himself, was as strong as a rock.
In order for the reform policy he planned and implemented as soon as he took office as Pope to be successful, he needed many cardinals who were absolutely loyal to him. Therefore, the cardinal who caused this scandal could not be dismissed carelessly.
“But then you curse the emperor of the empire, calling him a ‘shameless man’ and a ‘pagan’… If you do this, you will immediately cause problems with the Ottomans… haha.”
As soon as he thought of ‘Ottoman’, Alexander VI became even more troubled.
“If you do it wrong, a useful card will disappear, which is a big problem.”
The ‘useful player’ mentioned by Alexander VI was Bayezid II’s younger brother, Cem.
* * *
In the civil war to determine the sultan who would succeed Mehmed II, it was Djem who competed with Bayezid II until the end.
After losing the civil war, Jem entrusted himself to the ‘Knights of Relief’ to save his life.
Bayezid II, worried that his brother might return and start another civil war, offered a considerable bribe to the Knights Templar and the Pope.
And this useful card was passed down to Alexander VI.
* * *
What Alexander VI was worried about was the relationship between the Ottomans and the Empire.
As long as Jem was alive, the possibility of civil war recurring was quite high. Therefore, Bayezid II refrained from external expansion.
In addition, unlike Mehmed II, who preferred European culture, he valued returning to Islamic traditions.
Bayezid II also always maintained good relations with the empire.
When an imperial envoy visited, Bayezid II was the one who stopped what he was doing to greet the envoy.
If this incident were to reach the ears of Bayezid II, there was a high probability that he would abandon his current domestic policy and return to expansionism.
-You insulted the great emperor of the East! How much more so what would Islam think! It’s a temple!
In that case, the gem’s utility value would disappear.
If you find them and kill them while you are waging a holy war, it will end.
* * *
“I can’t help it. “I have no choice but to follow the principles.”
The answer that Alexander VI, who had been pondering over and over again, found was ‘Follow the principles.’
The order sent by Alexander VI to the cardinal staying in Florence was summarized as follows.
-Make sure to apologize ‘respectfully’ to the former emperor of the empire ‘in public’.
-Promise to send an answer within two years at the latest regarding the ritual issues raised by the previous emperor.
-Respond to other issues, especially the papal decree, from the perspective of a secular monarch.
-We will send a helper regarding the above issue.
After putting his seal on the handwritten letter and sealing it, Alexander VI gave an order to his aide.
“Send it to Florence as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
After his aide left, Alexander VI, left alone, tapped his fingers on the desk and fell into contemplation.
“‘According to the principles’… The problem is the ‘principles.’”
Alexander VI muttered with a bitter expression.
The power of the Pope, which was strong enough to create an incident called the ‘Humb of Canossa’, gradually weakened over time.
In particular, the weakening of the Pope’s power accelerated with the ‘Avignon Captivity’.
At least, it still shows off its considerable presence because it has political power based on deeply rooted faith among the people of Europe and actual economic and military power symbolized by the Papal States.
If it had been as powerful as it was when it caused the ‘humiliation of Canossa’, the principles would probably have changed.
Even if he was the emperor of an empire, he was a pagan.
* * *
After confirming the order sent by Alexander VI, the cardinal visited the conference hall and bowed his head to the priest.
“I am a short-thinking person and have done a great disservice to Your Majesty. I ask you to forgive me.”
“I can tolerate one mistake. But not twice.”
“thank you.”
After receiving the cardinal’s apology, Hyang looked at the newly arrived cardinal.
‘If you look at the priest’s uniform, he is a cardinal, but he is too young.’
“Who came with you?”
In response to Hyang’s question, the cardinal introduced a new companion.
“This is Cesare Borgia, Archbishop and Cardinal of the Diocese of Valencia.”
“This is Cesare Borgia, who holds the undeserved position of cardinal. “It is an honor to meet your famous majesty.”
“Nice to meet you.”
While responding to Cesare’s polite greeting, the scent muttered to itself.
‘A person who will be remembered in history has arrived.’
“By the way, will the newly arrived cardinal take over this position?”
Cesare stepped forward and answered the question.
“No. “I come to discuss ‘Caesar’s.’”
“Caesar’s? Ha ha ha ha ha!”
The fragrance laughed heartily at Cesare’s answer. It was a brilliant answer using the same logic he had presented.
However, although Hyang’s mouth was smiling, his eyes were not smiling.
‘Is this really true? It won’t be easy. But…’
Hyang looked at Shin Sook-ju and Seong Sam-moon who were preparing for a meeting next to them.
‘I have two useful cards.’
* * *
The meeting finally began to move in earnest when Cesare, who came with the title of ‘Vice-President of the Pope’, joined.
To be precise, ‘building justification for war’ and ‘dividing sides’ had begun in earnest.
“This is the Empire’s way of achieving the ‘peaceful unification of Italy.’”
“I already heard it. Do I need to hear it again?”
Shin Sook-ju responded to Louis’s point by looking at Cesare.
“There’s a new person here, so shouldn’t we go over it again?”
“Right.”
When Louis took a step back, Shin Sook-ju immediately moved on.
-The unification of Italy must be led by Italians.
-For peaceful unification, the empire recommends a federal system.
-The principalities and republics that make up Italy maintain their own independent systems. However, this is limited to cases where it is acknowledged that it belongs to a unified country called Italy.
-The principalities and republican kingdoms belonging to the federation (hereinafter referred to as federation members) do not possess independent military power. Instead, it operates an integrated military organization called the ‘Italian Federal Army’.
-Members of the federation maintain their own independent system, but taxes and judicial affairs follow federal law. In other words, Italians living in Italy are subject to the same tax and judicial systems regardless of where they live.
“…That’s it.”
As soon as Shin Sook-ju finished explaining, Louis immediately pointed out the problem.
“I always ask this question every time I hear this story, how will you decide who will rule over this self-proclaimed ‘unified Italy’?”
“I answer every time, but didn’t you already say it at the beginning? “Leave it to the Italians.”
“joy!”
Louis snorted lightly, glanced at Cesare and asked Shin Suk-ju.
“What if Italians choose the Pope as their monarch?”
“If it is the Italians’ choice, of course we will accept it. step!”
Shin Suk-ju, who paused for a moment, glanced at Cesare like Louis and continued speaking.
“I will accept it if it is a peaceful choice. But if it’s a method that draws blood, the winner will have the choice.”
Listening to the conversation between Shin Suk-ju and Louis, Cesare knew for sure.
‘This is not a place to discuss peace! ‘This is the place to write a declaration of war!’
Cesare, learning the nature of the meeting, cleared his voice and cautiously opened his mouth.
“Does that membership include the Papal States as well?”
“Includes the Papal States located in Italy.”
“But the Papal States…” As Cesare
went to rebut, Fragrance, who was only watching, intervened.
“Remember that the cardinal has come to discuss ‘Caesar’s’.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
In the end, Cesare had to do his best to attend the meeting in order to protect the interests of the Pope and the Papal States.
* * *
As time passed, the meeting went as Hyang expected.
The meeting was an afterthought, and the true feelings of the envoys were revealed only after the meeting was over.
‘Partitioning’ was almost finished.
![Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]](https://i0.wp.com/daotranslate.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Matans-Shooter.jpg?resize=85,105 "Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]")
