In fact, Augustus was completely unaware of everything that was happening at Lorenzo's residence. At this time, he was dressed in plain clothes, enjoying himself with the common people in Rome.
Augustus hadn't properly enjoyed himself since arriving here. Although he was playing, it wasn't without meaning.
Familiarizing himself with Rome and understanding the lives and sentiments of the people would certainly be beneficial.
Faol's hand did not extend that far; Faol was very clear about what places he should not touch and had no further ideas, naturally wanting to avoid suspicion.
Otherwise, if he reached a point of absolute power, neither advancing nor retreating would only lead to a dead end.
However, Lorenzo's guess was not entirely wrong; there were indeed moles among the people who came, and more than one, but they had no relation to Augustus, as the various forces within the military were already complex.
Nominally having a common goal, it was not strange for a few people more closely related to political enemies to infiltrate, as everyone's network of connections was not entirely out in the open, and most people had dealings with multiple parties.
After seeing off these "friends and relatives," Lorenzo began to worry, not just about how to sound out the Pope, but more importantly, if the Pope insisted on integration, they would inevitably take action, and what attitude should he adopt then?
Directly supporting them or making his stance too obvious would put him on the opposite side of the Pope, which was tantamount to inviting trouble, but once they took any drastic action, it would be too difficult for him to dissociate himself.
Lorenzo didn't believe that so many people visiting at the same time today could be kept secret from everyone without anyone knowing; not to mention that moles were inevitable, even those genuinely opposing integration who wanted to drag him down could reveal this matter, perhaps even slightly embellishing it.
Political enemies would be even less hesitant to spread rumors and slander.
Even if he didn't promise them anything, he could still be accused of turning white into black, and he had impulsively agreed to help inquire about the Pope's news, which undoubtedly pushed him into the eye of the storm.
He couldn't stop them from taking action; he had no actual binding power over them now, and vague things like favors usually only worked when they weren't very useful.
When such a large group of people appeared at his doorstep, Lorenzo understood that this visit, regardless of what he promised or didn't promise, would not have much impact.
If it weren't for seeing their agitated expressions, Lorenzo would have suspected that political enemies had deliberately set him up.
Now there were three paths before him: first, to go all the way and fully oppose integration with them, which would mean openly breaking with the Pope, and unless a balance was established between the Pope and the ministers, he would sooner or later be finished; second, to do nothing and adopt a neutral attitude, leaving it to fate whether he would be implicated afterward; third, to pledge loyalty to the Pope and stand on the side of supporting integration, which would be the safest in the short term, but would also ruin his popularity, and in the future, he would only be able to rely on the Pope like Faol, and might even be retaliated against by these so-called friends.
Lorenzo paced around the room, thinking, and unknowingly walked to the dressing mirror, looking at himself in the reflection, feeling utterly conflicted.
A few days later, the civil servants' holiday ended, and they returned to their respective work posts, while many others, including soldiers, still had a few days off.
After the long holiday, Augustus returned to the conference table and clearly felt that many people were not in good spirits, including himself, perhaps due to holiday syndrome.
After Augustus symbolically uttered a few perfunctory remarks, the meeting began.
"Your Holiness, you mentioned the integration of the military before. Do you have any plans now?"
Lorenzo spoke first, having promised to help inquire about the news, he certainly had to ask. As the Military Minister, it was very reasonable for him to be concerned about military integration. As for his stance afterward, it would depend on the Pope's attitude. Since he had to ask, it was better to ask sooner rather than later, and Lorenzo himself was very eager to know.
"Oh, the matter of integration? Didn't I hand it over to Duke? He is in charge of this matter, Duke, tell us your plans."
Expressing his attitude now would easily put him in a passive position. Since Lorenzo asked, Augustus took the opportunity to pass it on to Duke, also giving him more say.
"I apologize, I have no plans yet. I don't sufficiently understand the composition of the former Papal States army, and I am currently working hard to understand it." Duke replied meticulously.
From the words of the Pope and Duke, Lorenzo could only extract two useful pieces of information: first, the Pope had not given up on the idea of integration; the most ideal situation did not exist; second, Duke was not yet ready.
"For specific unclear issues, you can consult Lorenzo more; I believe Lorenzo will certainly not hesitate to offer his guidance, right?" As he spoke, Augustus cast an inquiring gaze at Lorenzo.
"Naturally, that is what I should do." Lorenzo appeared very amiable.
"Then I thank you in advance." Duke said politely.
"How is the conscription progressing now?" Augustus asked with concern.
"Everything is going smoothly. All officer appointments are in place, and official service can begin as soon as the holiday ends."
"That's truly wonderful! Five thousand conscripted soldiers, and you managed to find enough officers in such a short time, that's truly an outstanding achievement!" Augustus praised enthusiastically.
Lorenzo, having reached his current position, would certainly not be bought by a simple compliment, but being praised was always a reason to be happy.
At this moment, David said with a solemn expression, "Your Holiness, as far as I know, Lorenzo has appointed a large number of his own relatives and friends among the conscripted officers. Now it seems the quantity has met the standard, but the quality is questionable."
Lorenzo was about to retort, but Augustus beat him to it.
"My dear Lorenzo, appointing worthy individuals without avoiding relatives is truly a model for officials. Knowing people well and assigning them appropriate tasks naturally requires sufficient understanding. With such loyal and capable ministers working diligently for the country, how can we worry that the Papal States will not prosper? I am deeply gratified. Perhaps these selected officers are not satisfactory in many aspects, but no matter who replaced them, they might not do any better. Therefore, Lorenzo is a great meritorious minister! Do not speak such words that hurt the feelings of a meritorious minister again."
What Augustus said was entirely to help Lorenzo out of a difficult situation, but it wasn't entirely false.
In this setting, it would not look good on him to make anyone lose face.
Saying this was to remind David not to continue the topic.
How could he not know that Lorenzo practiced nepotism? Not only that, he also knew that Lorenzo had gained a lot from it.
Now was a time when talent was needed, and these minor issues could be completely overlooked.
Even if he were to punish him at some point, it would never be because of a few words in a meeting, otherwise, in time, only sycophantic ministers would remain in the great hall of the Papal States.