After retracing their steps, the convoy returned to the Papal Palace as dusk began to fall.
After such a futile journey, several older nobles felt their bones were about to fall apart, regretting that they had come on this trip, thinking that they would never join in such excitement again, and the other nobles were also dispirited.
Augustus was very satisfied with this result; he was in a good mood and physically fine, but he was tired, and that night he slept exceptionally soundly.
Just as dawn broke, Augustus had not yet woken from his sleep. Faol's shouts came from the door, accompanied by a series of urgent knocks.
"Augustus, something has happened." He repeated this several times.
Augustus was woken from his sleep and felt a bit annoyed. Faol was good at everything, except that he took things too seriously; even small matters were treated as major issues requiring his decision, forcing him into diligent governance.
The result was that citizens could buy corn imported from America via Spain, personally ordered by the Pope, in the market, and textile capitalists were encouraged by the Pope to use domestically produced alum…
"Come in. What happened? Hurry up and tell me, do you have to wake me up so early?" Augustus continued to lie in bed, speaking with his eyes closed.
Faol walked in, trying to make his voice sound normal: "The Governor of Venice's cousin was murdered within our Papal States. When the incident occurred, a servant escaped and later returned to find his master's body. When found, the body was incomplete, half-hanging upside down from a tree. The Governor of Venice was furious upon hearing this and immediately dispatched an ambassador, demanding that we thoroughly investigate the matter and severely punish the true culprit."
"Who did it?" Augustus asked nonchalantly.
"Bandits."
"Bandits?" Augustus was somewhat incredulous.
"Yes, that's right, bandits from within our Papal States."
Augustus slowly opened his eyes, his mind resuming its function, and after some thought, he said, "The main purpose of bandits is to acquire wealth; why would they kill someone? Especially someone of such noble status, which would be easily recognizable, and could fetch a large ransom. Why did they kill him?"
"Perhaps they were afraid of retaliation, so they killed him to silence him?" Faol offered a seemingly reasonable guess.
"That shouldn't be the case. I know some local officials; if bandits don't cause fatalities, many turn a blind eye. After all, for them, bandit suppression is difficult, high-risk, and unrewarding.
In this situation, bandits, fearing retaliation, should be even less likely to kill; now that the matter has escalated, it's impossible for anyone to coexist peacefully with them.
Killing to silence also doesn't make sense; you said a servant escaped. And that this servant could escape right under the noses of a group of bandits is strange enough in itself. And he returned, and just happened to find the body; there's no such coincidence.
If I were a bandit, even if a fish escaped the net, I would definitely destroy the body after killing. But this group of bandits kills without silencing and destroys bodies without eliminating traces. This is not about murder for profit; it's more like a demonstration."
This matter had too many suspicious points; just by hearing a general outline, Augustus discovered so many, not to mention how many loopholes there would be in the details.
"Perhaps it was just a mistake made by the bandits in a moment of haste, or perhaps the Governor of Venice's cousin did something to provoke them? After all, they are bandits; nothing they do is surprising." Faol's tone was full of disdain.
"Do not underestimate anyone. Desperate criminals generally have much stronger adaptability than ordinary people, and those who have survived until now would not be unrestrained people." Then, a thought flashed through Augustus's mind, "Faol, do you think it's possible that someone wants to damage our relationship with Venice, colluding with bandits, or sending people to do it deliberately in the name of bandits?"
"We cannot rule out that possibility, but there is no evidence, and who would it be?"
Augustus pondered for a moment, then relaxed: "Actually, none of this matters anymore."
"How can that be? The Governor of Venice asked us to thoroughly investigate this matter and severely punish the true culprit." Faol expressed his incomprehension.
Augustus explained: "The person is already dead, and handing over the true culprit will not help; the relationship between the Papal States and Venice has already deteriorated. And who determines the true culprit? Me and him.
Anyone at all, I can say he is or is not; if it's handed to him, he can also say he is or is not. In other words, if I find the true culprit and hand him over, he can deny it; if I just find a scapegoat for him, he can also believe that is the true culprit.
Therefore, we only need to organize a bandit suppression, kill a few bandits, hand them over to him, tell him these are the true culprits, and this matter can be concluded. The problem of banditry, however, is worth more attention."
Faol was a bit confused: "But there is someone secretly trying to damage our relationship with Venice; it would be better to find him."
Augustus shook his head helplessly and said, "It's probably impossible to find him; we don't even know if that group of bandits is dead or alive, so how can we investigate? However, you can try to investigate, get as much information as possible, and hand over the investigation results along with our conjectures to Venice.
Just show our level of importance. If Venice is still not satisfied, let them send their own people to investigate. The mastermind might not even be from our country; Venice doesn't have the power to pressure us."
"Then I will do my best to find out who the mastermind is."
"You don't have to; just go through the motions. Finding the truth would actually complicate things."
"Why is that?" Faol was even more puzzled.
"If it's internal, I won't punish him for it; we have already conceded too much to Venice. If it's external, finding out would only give us another enemy." Augustus paused, then said with certainty, "The relationship between the Papal States and Venice cannot improve."
In the original timeline, Venice and Pope Paul V were practically at loggerheads. Venice passed laws prohibiting the construction of new churches or the bequeathing of legacies to clergy, and even prepared to put two priests on trial.
And Paul V even excommunicated the Governor of Venice, but the Governor of Venice made no concessions. Instead, Paul V, worried about pushing Venice towards the Protestants, voluntarily revoked the excommunication, which made him lose face, and this also symbolized the end of the era of excommunication.
Augustus knew these circumstances, so of course he would not senselessly excommunicate the Governor of Venice. The reason why the relationship between Venice and the Papal States had not reached that point yet was not because Venice had done any less, but because Augustus had been making concessions.
The authority given up could be reclaimed once the time was ripe. Although these concessions caused some dissatisfaction, they were not enough to shake his rule.
However, Augustus could not tell Faol these things. Faol also had a tacit understanding; when Augustus didn't speak, he didn't ask, only nodding as if he understood.
"But banditry is indeed an urgent matter; we need to discuss countermeasures. You immediately send someone to inform everyone about a meeting this afternoon." Augustus seemed to remember something and then added, "Oh, and this time, let Carl and Duke also come."
Ordinarily, Karl and Duke would train troops outside the city, and they could skip some unimportant meetings, as going back and forth would take quite a bit of time.
Most of the matters discussed on a daily basis truly had little to do with them.
This time, things were different; they had a lot of say in the matters to be discussed. Additionally, Augustus had thought of a good place for soldiers who couldn't stay in the army, and there were other things Augustus needed to tell them in person.
In the afternoon, in the conference hall, the time arrived, and everyone was present. Karl and Duke had fine beads of sweat on their foreheads, indicating they had rushed to get there.
"The Governor of Venice's cousin was killed by bandits within our borders. What are your thoughts on this matter?" After much thought, Augustus decided to bring this up first to gauge everyone's attitude.
To Augustus's surprise, the first to speak was the Military Minister Lorenzo, who seemed to have no connection to the matter. He said in a firm tone, "It must be thoroughly investigated. This matter is definitely not as simple as bandits killing for profit. The circumstances of the incident are too suspicious. Someone must have planned this behind the scenes, intending to damage our relationship with Venice. The real culprit must be found and never tolerated or condoned!"
After he finished speaking, Lorenzo's gaze inadvertently swept towards a certain seat. Augustus caught Lorenzo's subtle movement but didn't know who Lorenzo was looking at.
Augustus couldn't recall Lorenzo ever being so firm, which somewhat surprised him.
Recalling the first Papal States meeting where Lorenzo was accused of accepting gold from Venice, the rumors he heard about Lorenzo's close relationship with Venice, and Lorenzo's usual attitude towards Venice, Augustus roughly understood what was going on.
It's perfectly normal for various ministers to have differing attitudes towards different countries, and some give-and-take between them is not unforgivable, as long as they maintain a certain degree and don't forget which country's minister they are. Augustus didn't take this matter too seriously.
However, since Lorenzo said that, it seemed to imply that the mastermind was among those present. Who could it be? Augustus originally didn't want to know, but now he couldn't suppress his curiosity.
"Minister Lorenzo, do you seem to be implying something?" Augustus wasn't the only one who noticed Lorenzo's gaze; Enzo asked what Augustus was thinking.
To everyone's surprise, Lorenzo flatly denied it, saying, "No, that's not it. I only know the general outline of the case's progression. How could I make baseless guesses? It's just that this case is full of suspicious points, and I believe you've also noticed that it's clearly not a simple case of bandits killing for profit."
The other ministers nodded in agreement. Those who could sit there wouldn't be too bad; what Lorenzo could see, after careful thought, everyone should be able to discover the problems.
Even if they truly saw nothing, seeing everyone else nod and following suit was surely correct.
Thus, a comical scene unfolded: a group of high-ranking officials, sitting upright, were nodding around a conference table.
After everyone had nodded sufficiently, Augustus said in an unquestionable tone, "Lorenzo is right; I also noticed these problems. This is by no means an accident; it must be a carefully planned human conspiracy, and I intend to have Faol thoroughly investigate this matter."
"Can he do it?" Perhaps out of concern, Lorenzo, without any regard, publicly questioned Faol's ability.
At this moment, Faol felt very aggrieved. The Pope said he didn't want him to actually find the mastermind, so the result would naturally be no result.
Lorenzo stepping forward to question his ability at this time meant he couldn't refute it, nor could he make any guarantees. The Pope had essentially made him take the fall.
Faol also didn't expect Lorenzo to be so bold today.
"Lorenzo doesn't seem to agree with my decision. What are your attitudes? Who is in favor, and who is against?" As he spoke, Augustus looked at the remaining ministers.
"I approve of His Holiness the Pope's decision."
"I also approve."
...
The ministers expressed their stances one after another, and Augustus smiled with satisfaction.
"It seems the others have no objections, so the minority must obey the majority. I'm sorry to inconvenience you, Lorenzo."
"I hope the truth can come to light as soon as possible." Knowing that nothing could be done, Lorenzo no longer insisted. Catching sight of Faol, whose expression wasn't looking so good, he quickly apologized, "Mr. Faol, please forgive my presumption. I was so eager to find out the truth of the matter that I offended you in my haste. Please accept my apology."
"It's alright." Faol answered lightly, but his heart was heavy. Lorenzo wanted the truth so badly, yet he had to deliberately fail to find a result. This was the first time Faol had done something like this, and he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.
"But I implore His Holiness the Pope, after finding out the truth, you must severely punish the real culprit, regardless of whether he holds high power and authority." Lorenzo was still uneasy, seemingly having guessed a part of Augustus's thoughts.
"It shall be so. Does anyone else have any questions?"
After a while, no one spoke, and Augustus continued, "Good, then let's proceed to the next matter. Although this matter may not truly have been done by bandits, the rampant banditry in the Papal States is a real issue. Every year, many innocent and good people suffer property losses because of it, and some even lose their lives.
I am deeply saddened by this. I believe that addressing banditry is a major issue concerning the national economy and people's livelihoods and should be put on the agenda as soon as possible. Please offer any good suggestions you have; by pooling our wisdom, we can surely come up with a good plan."
"Your Holiness the Pope, I believe the fundamental reason why banditry is rampant and difficult to eradicate is not the banditry itself, but rather that some people within our ranks are colluding with bandits and fostering them for their own gain." Lorenzo analyzed, and this time, the target of his accusations was very clear. Everyone looked at Francesco, as public security had always been within his jurisdiction, and the public security team was also under his management.
Francesco found himself the focus of everyone's gaze and knew that remaining silent at this point would be tantamount to admitting guilt. He sharply retorted, "Lorenzo, are you talking about me? What has gotten into you today, biting like a mad dog? The Governor of Venice's cousin died, but why does it seem like your father died?"
Lorenzo was not to be outdone: "Did I say it was you? Don't jump to conclusions. And please clean up your language. A high-ranking minister of the state having such poor character would surely be a laughingstock if word got out."
Seeing the two at loggerheads, as if fire was about to erupt from their eyes, Augustus quickly interjected, "Let's stick to the matter at hand and avoid personal attacks. Speaking like this in a meeting is truly a bit... undignified." Then, he turned his gaze to Lorenzo, "You too, don't speak in riddles, and you must present evidence. You cannot make wild accusations without evidence."
While mediating, Augustus was also thinking: if Francesco was colluding with bandits and condoning banditry, it would not just be about fostering them for his own gain. Given the strength of the bandits, fostering them would be far from enough for self-importance; rather, he must have used the bandits to do certain things.
Augustus immediately understood that Lorenzo had previously suspected Francesco was the mastermind behind the killing of the Governor of Venice's cousin, but due to insufficient evidence, he hadn't stated it explicitly. But what benefit would Francesco gain from doing this? And how could Lorenzo be so certain that he was the mastermind?
Augustus changed his mind and decided to have Faol seriously investigate this matter, but even if a result was found, it would be kept secret and only made public when needed. However, Augustus hoped that such a time would preferably not come.