In Paris, inside the Saint-Germain-en-Laye Palace, a group of people sat around a square table.
The people around the long table were clearly all powerful nobles; they were dressed very luxuriously, with embroidery from their collars down to their knee-length breeches, adorned with jewels, with the exception of the one sitting at the head of the table.
That person wore an old faded coat from sun and rain, and a dirty, torn doublet. His hair was messy and disheveled, his beard had food crumbs on it, and his whole body exuded the smell of rotten meat, mixed with a strong, pungent odor of garlic.
Yet, the surrounding nobles did not show even the slightest hint of disgust towards him. On the contrary, they all treated this unkempt, shabbily dressed person with utmost respect, not just superficially, but from the bottom of their hearts.
That person was the current King of France, Henry IV. And all those present were high-ranking officials and powerful ministers of France.
"Hey, friends, how are you all doing?" Henry IV greeted in a cheerful tone.
This strange opening remark, spoken by a King in a meeting, had almost made the ministers drop their jaws the first time they heard it, but now they were accustomed to it and understood what it meant.
This opening remark meant that the King was in a good mood, and everyone could speak freely without being too restrained.
So, the ministers adjusted their postures slightly, relaxed their faces, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
"Does anyone have any interesting sights or news recently?" Henry rubbed his hands and looked around.
"I have some latest news regarding Austria and the Pope, which I believe you will find interesting," replied Sully, Duke, Henry IV's close friend and also his Finance Minister.
"Oh? What is it that connects Austria and the Pope? Don't keep me in suspense, tell me," Henry IV showed an eager desire to know.
"The Pope promised to continue providing war aid to Austria. Not only that, he also intends to call on various countries to join this war against infidels, and he is preparing the Papal States for war, intending for the Papal States to set an example. The observation team sent to the Hungary battlefield might already be on its way."
"A pro-Austria Pope? That's not a good thing. But if I remember correctly, didn't we have a hand in the election of this Augustus?" Henry IV was very puzzled. Henry IV had spent considerable effort to prevent the Spanish Bishop from being elected Pope, so how did he become pro-Austria?
"Precisely. We reached an agreement with the Medici Family to have our cardinals support the Medici Family's candidate. We also spent a full 300,000 francs lobbying other bishops for help. Originally, it wasn't his turn, but the bishop we were supposed to support unexpectedly passed away the night before the Papal Election, which is why we turned to support him.
However, his actions do not necessarily indicate that Augustus is pro-Austria. A while ago, the Papal States sent us a large number of weapon orders, which also earned us a great deal of money. Perhaps his actions this time are merely out of religious obligation to fight against infidels."
Sully subconsciously defended Augustus. The real gold and silver sent by the Papal States for weapon purchases a few months ago had deeply impressed Sully, greatly alleviating France's financial pressure.
"Sending us a large number of weapon orders only indicates that Augustus places great importance on the military, not simply sending us money. This only shows that our military technology is more advanced, at most the Pope likes our weapons, which has nothing to do with national relations.
But this situation is clearly different. The Pope is unconditionally aiding Austria, even at the cost of involving the Papal States itself. If he's not pro-Austria, then what is he after?" Henry IV did not agree with Sully's view. Discussing official matters did not involve personal feelings, and he directly refuted him.
"There is another possibility: aiding Austria is merely a smokescreen, and he has other intentions. This year, Augustus has been expanding his army on such a large scale, purchasing weapons and equipment, implementing some kind of conscription system, and even employing two foreigners to command the army, which has caused widespread resentment among the domestic nobles. It doesn't look like it's without purpose.
If there's no explanation, it won't pass muster internally or externally, so he came up with the excuse of resisting the Ottomans and aiding Austria." Prince of Condé, Count of Soissons, proposed another possibility.
This explanation received Henry IV's approval. Henry IV nodded thoughtfully, saying, "That's very possible. Try to find out the Pope's true intentions. Currently, it seems this Pope is not a law-abiding, devout believer. We need to pay closer attention to him."
"Indeed. At the very least, we need to clarify whether the Pope leans more towards us or Spain. So far, the Pope has not shown any bias, which is very unusual." Sully quickly caught on and realized the issue.
"The current Pope is, in any case, a Medici Family member. His attitude should be influenced by the Medici Family to some extent, and it also reflects the Medici Family's attitude to a certain degree.
The Medici Family is completely biased towards us. I don't think this Pope would ever stand against his own family, unless he has broken with his family. If that were the case, he would be rootless, and it wouldn't be too difficult for us to deal with him." The Prince of Condé analyzed calmly.
"I hope so. To say that Augustus would ignore existing resources and seek help from Spain, going the long way around, is too unreasonable, and it offers him no benefit. Spain is rarely constrained by the Papacy; instead, it has always wanted to control the Papacy. The Pope would have to be insane to invite a wolf into his house and treat the despicable Spanish as allies."
When Spain was mentioned, Henry IV's expression darkened. Nine out of ten misfortunes he had suffered in the first half of his life were inseparable from Spain. So much so that even after ascending to the throne of France, Henry IV would still occasionally humiliate the Spanish Envoy in public.
"Actually, I think whatever the Pope's intentions are, we just need to understand them. As long as the Pope doesn't side with Spain and doesn't harm our interests, we can simply let him develop. If the Pope's sphere of influence expands, it won't be our headache." The Prince of Condé suggested.
"You mean to support the Pope to become a force to contain Spain?" Sully asked.
"Precisely. Given the current state of our country, we are unable to contend for the Northern Italian region anyway. It would be better to let the Pope, this powerful ally, first curb Spain's expansion in the Italian region."
"But the prerequisite is to first make the Pope our ally," Sully stated bluntly.
The Prince of Condé didn't know how to respond directly. Hadn't they just gone in a circle?
Henry IV noticed the Prince of Condé's awkwardness and changed the subject: "I told you not to underestimate this Pope, but you seem to be overestimating him somewhat. To support him in containing Spain, we first need to see what he's capable of.
You should know that people who stand out too much often don't live long. Don't let him be eliminated by Spain before he even does anything; the Spanish are capable of anything. All right, let's not talk about the Pope for now. Let's discuss the war situation between Austria and the Ottoman.
What is the likelihood of Austria and the Ottoman making peace in the short term? If they make peace before the Pope implements his plan, then the Pope's efforts will be in vain."
"There have been a total of 172 battles, large and small, between the Austrian side and the Ottoman. Of these, 34 were indecisive, 109 were victories for the Austrian side, and only 29 were considered victories for the Ottoman." The Prince of Condé couldn't help but show off his intelligence gathering capabilities.
"But the war has still dragged on for so long, and it remains indecisive to this day."
"Yes. On the Austrian side, Rudolf II himself is firmly against an armistice. Coupled with the Pope's encouragement this time, it's even less likely that he will be willing to make peace. But his power has been diminishing over the years, and most of his subordinates desire peace, including Matthias, the King of Hungary, who currently holds the most real power."
"I rather hope they don't make peace so quickly," Henry IV said with a hint of meaning.