Although Edgar was trying hard to persuade her, and even deliberately moved out her daughter as a prop, Alice, who was extremely disappointed in her husband, but still had some expectations left, was finally moved. She agreed to her husband's request and worked for him.
He went to seek a job "to create a collection of coronation paintings".
At this time, Aigron was worried about another matter.
Because his grandmother, the Queen Mother Letizia, and his uncle, Cardinal Fish, bid him farewell and prepared to return to Rome.
When he heard their request, Aigron's first reaction was naturally to try his best to stay.
"Grandma, you have been away from France for so many years and finally managed to return here and finally reunited with us. Why did you have to leave?" Facing the old lady in front of him, Aigron said to her sincerely, "Your
Your grandson and great-grandson are here now, wouldn’t you like to spend more time with us?”
Facing her grandson's request to stay, the old woman's eyes showed reluctance, but she still insisted on her own idea.
"My grandchildren, how could I not miss you? However, there are always moments of separation in life. Now that I have witnessed the moment when you put on the crown, I am already satisfied. Now it is time to go back..."
"This is your home, where do you need to go back?" Aigron asked, "If you think Paris is too noisy, then we will go to Fontainebleau in a while. I believe the environment there will be very suitable for you -"
"Silly boy, what else have I not seen here? I know where is more suitable for me." Letizia smiled, and then touched his cheek lovingly, "This country is indeed prosperous and beautiful, but
Rome is my destination. I am too old and I just want to stay where I am most comfortable..."
Seeing the old lady's insistence, Aigron knew that it was useless to say any more.
In fact, he also felt that for this kind of old lady who was used to living alone and living a life of asceticism, the wealthy life in the palace was indeed not as attractive as the quiet life and religious atmosphere in Rome.
It is also more beneficial to her life span.
In the past imperial era, she had always preferred to live in Rome. After all, the mother of the founding emperor of the French Empire was actually Italian.
Because he knew this, Aigron had no choice but to force his grandmother to stay, so he could only reluctantly agree to her request.
"Well, since you insist so much, then I will obey your will. I will arrange for people to escort you back, so be careful along the way."
"Thank you, child." Letizia smiled and comforted her grandson, "Don't feel sorry for this. I will always be with you no matter where you are, and I will always pray for your career and your health. Now we
Your current status is entirely due to God's blessing, and you must devoutly respect God's will and seek benefits for your people..."
Then, like any ordinary grandmother, she babbled a lot to Aeglon about the need to fear God and follow the faith.
Of course, Aigron only heard this in one ear and out the other. After all, the word "piety" had nothing to do with him.
However, that is to say, but now that Aigron has reached the throne of monarch, he has become the natural leader and guardian of the Gallic Church, and the Catholic Church has also become his ruling "ally", even if in his heart
He didn't take the church or its doctrine seriously, and on the surface he could only show an attitude of respect.
So he patiently listened to his grandmother's words, and also said that he would do his best to protect the Catholic faith and protect the Holy See. He also asked his grandmother to send a message to the church's senior officials after returning to Rome - if there is trouble in Rome in the future,
It’s hard to deny one’s own definition.
In history, the royal power of France has always been in a state of cooperation and conflict with the church, both utilization and wariness. There have been violent conflicts many times: first in 1303, King Philip IV of France sent people to beat the then Pope Boniface VIII.
After his death, he forcibly moved the Holy See to Avignon in his own country. Later, in 1494, Charles VIII led his army into Italy and started the Italian War that lasted for more than half a century. The most recent one was of course Emperor Napoleon imprisoning the Pope.
’s classic masterpiece.
Conflicts between royal power and ecclesiastical power occurred from time to time. In essence, the church not only wanted to occupy the "spiritual high ground", but also wanted to have actual lordship power. It owned a "Papal State" territory centered on Rome. In order to realize itself
Interfering in secular politics for the sake of personal interests will inevitably lead to a fierce struggle with the royal power that wants to implement centralized power.
After hundreds of years of struggle, the secular power finally won a great victory. The authority and influence of the Holy See gradually weakened, and finally it had to start to rely on the secular kingship.
Because of Italy's fragmented and chaotic state, the church began to regard France as its "protector", so the Pope did not hesitate to personally flatter Emperor Napoleon and personally crown an unorthodox monarch.
In this era, with the rise of Italian nationalism, the call for national reunification became louder and louder. As a separatist force, the "Papal State" also became the target of these nationalists. At the same time, Italian Enlightenment ideas also
As the church continued to spread, the awakened intellectuals also began to regard the reactionary and decadent Roman Church as an annoying obstacle. They believed that if the church had been entrenched in Rome and controlled the surrounding areas, it would be impossible for Italy to achieve national rejuvenation, so they hoped to completely
Remove this obstacle and realize their great ideals.
Under the impact of nationalists and intellectuals, the Roman Church and the Papal States were increasingly in danger.
On the original historical line, in 1848, a revolution broke out in Paris, and the July Monarchy of the Orleans family completely collapsed; and this revolutionary wave soon spread beyond the national borders and spread to many European countries. In 1849
In February, a group of republicans and intellectuals launched a revolution in Rome, drove away the pope, and created the "Roman Republic", announcing that they would separate church and state and create a new political system.
The Pope first fled in panic to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and then immediately asked France for help (among the European powers, Britain had already broken with the Holy See and established the Anglican Church, Russia was an Orthodox country, Prussia was a Protestant country, and they had no motive to save the Roman Church.
Instead, he was happy to watch the joke; Austria was also falling into the quagmire of revolution at that time. The rebellions in Lombardy and Hungary, as well as the war against the Kingdom of Sardinia, made it impossible for him to spare any time. The only powerful Catholic power left was just emerging from the quagmire.
France is coming out.)
At that time, Louis Bonaparte, who had just won the election to become president, gladly sent troops to Rome under the clamor of French religious figures and conservatives, eventually destroying the Roman Republic and taking the opportunity to become the guardian of the church.
It is worth mentioning that the Roman branch of the Bonaparte family, that is, Lucien Bonaparte’s eldest son Charles Lucien Bonaparte, was on the side of the republicans and also joined the republican army, fighting with his cousin
He launched an armed struggle and was eventually forced into exile.
Like Aigron, Louis Bonaparte was naturally not a devout believer. The reason why he stood up to defend the Roman Church with arms was ultimately to win the support of conservatives when he came to power and to act as a "maintenance of European order".
He played the role of "the leader" to dispel the outside world's doubts about the Bonaparte family's return to power.
Like his cousin in the historical line, Aegron has similar needs.
As the ruler of the French Empire, his natural obligation is to ensure France's advantages over its neighboring land neighbors. Naturally, he is also naturally motivated to maintain the fragmented structure of neighboring countries. He does not want to see Germany's consent, and of course he does not
Would like to see the unification of Italy.
His mother Luisa is even now the ruler of the Duchy of Parma.
Napoleon III in history was somewhat capricious. He clearly understood the logic of real politics and had been supporting the Papal States with force and trying to maintain the division of Italy. However, at the same time, he had been helping the Kingdom of Sardinia and accelerating its unification war.
It even took the initiative to go to war against Austria in 1859 and sent troops to defeat Austria, allowing Sardinia to obtain Lombardy, the richest province in Italy, from the Austrian Empire at a very small cost, while France itself gained nothing.
What's even more annoying is that in 1871, the Kingdom of Sardinia took advantage of Napoleon III's failure in the Franco-Prussian War to march into Rome and annex the Papal States, and forced the Pope to take refuge in the Vatican.
This is equivalent to the fact that all Napoleon III's investment in Italy, whether in Sardinia or Rome, was in vain. No one will be grateful to him.
Naturally, Aigron would not do such a stupid thing.
He will unswervingly maintain the balance of power and division of Italy, and even intervene with force when necessary - on this point, his ideas are almost identical to Metternich's, and he is worthy of being a student taught by him.
Therefore, his private commitment to "armed defense of the Roman Church" was not to satisfy an old lady's piety and superstition, but out of his own practical interests.
Once a revolution breaks out in Rome, as long as the Roman Church requests him, he will, like Napoleon III in history, not hesitate to send troops to assist and restore the status of the Holy See - unlike Napoleon III's other unpopular wars,
His approach of "supporting the Holy See" is quite popular among his European neighbors. At least he has a righteous name in hand, which can cover up his naked intentions in private.
Of course, Aigron also knows that he cannot completely go against the trend of history. Although Italy's military force is weak and the strength of the democrats is very poor, the corruption and scandals accumulated over the past millennium have made the Roman Church really unpopular.
With the development of the times and the increasingly urgent threats, the Roman Church is bound to make constant concessions and reforms - just as what happened later in history.
Therefore, Aiglon believes that if he really saves the Roman Church, then he can use the huge influence of the "protector" to promote the church to reform and eventually create a kind of moderate republican Roman ecclesiastical state, at least to a certain extent.
to alleviate this deep-rooted contradiction to a certain extent.
Although this cannot eradicate the contradiction, as long as it can alleviate it, it is enough. He can only manage the affairs of his own generation.
Of course, it was impossible for the old lady Letizia to understand the many twists and turns. She was just extremely happy with Aigron's statement.
For her, the most heartbreaking thing in her life was when Emperor Napoleon broke with the church and imprisoned the pope. He was eventually excommunicated by the pope. In her opinion, this was the decisive factor in her son's final defeat - because he offended God.
.
And now, seeing her grandson respecting the church so much, she was naturally moved.
"My good grandson! It's great that you can be so sensible... The late His Majesty the Pope once praised you in his sermon. Since then, everything has gone well for you. I hope you can always follow
Don’t make any mistakes on this correct path..."
Next, she repeatedly promised that when she returned to Rome, she would convey his determination and good intentions to the higher-ups of the church.
Of course, Aigron would not just put his hope in his grandma.
In order to build a good relationship with the church's senior leaders, he has continued to win over powerful cardinals through his uncle, Cardinal Fish, and his secretary, Leon's uncle, Cardinal Esposito.
.
Anyway, since he became the Emperor of France, he has a lot of jewelry collected in the palace, and he will not feel bad if he gives some away casually.
Although the church's brand has been fading over the centuries, it still has something worth using.
Today, when the Habsburg family has declined, no one can compete with him for the title of "Catholic Patron" anymore.
Under such circumstances, the Catholic forces in France will naturally eliminate their preference for the "orthodox royal family" and actively stand on his side.
However, in any case, religion is only a tool of rule and not the purpose of rule.
Before he came to power, Prince Talleyrand had already purged the government, and Marshal Soult had already purged the army, eliminating dissidents in these two places. Then the next purge of the church was naturally logical.
, after wiping out the opposition in the House of Nobles, Aiglon will follow the same pattern within the Gallic Church and implement an oath system. Anyone among the bishops who refuses to be loyal to the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor will have to leave.
Although they put on a pious posture on the surface, all the French kings in the past have tried to keep religious affairs and the French Church firmly under their control, and Aiglon was naturally no exception. What should the Catholic Church in Gaul do and how should it be done?
To do it, who should do it can only be decided by the Emperor and his ministers. No one else has the right to comment, not even the Pope himself - if the Pope is ignorant, then he doesn't mind
Learn from the sages of the past to teach the Pope a lesson.
With a mean sarcasm towards the Pope, Aigron bid farewell to his grandmother with a smile on his face.