Augustus, intending to aid Austria against the Ottoman Empire, informed Katerina through Faol.
Katerina immediately understood and, overnight, produced a news report.
Through the newspaper, she extolled the Austrian soldiers' unyielding will to fight and their formidable combat strength, while also expressing strong concern for their dire living conditions.
There were discerning individuals in every country, and based on past events, some had already recognized the extraordinary relationship between the Rome Newspaper and the Pope; the Rome Newspaper's stance was a barometer of the Papal States' movements.
Often, the information conveyed to the outside world through public opinion was much more reliable than artful diplomatic rhetoric.
From this news, which was not considered new by ordinary people, they could already foresee that something major was about to happen.
At the same time, Augustus's secret letter also reached Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Empire Emperor, in the Prague Palace.
Upon receiving the Pope's letter, Rudolf II eagerly tore open the envelope, and after reading the content, a long-lost smile appeared on his face, and he immediately dispatched someone to announce an imperial council.
Receiving this timely letter, Rudolf II happily paced back and forth in the palace corridor for a long while.
"Gentlemen, I have received a letter from the Pope; he is very concerned about our war with the Ottoman Empire.
Not only has he promised to continue providing us with war aid, but he also intends to call upon Christian nations worldwide to join us in this holy war, and even plans for the Papal States to directly participate.
Everyone, hold on, and exert more effort, victory is within reach!" Rudolf II's eyes sparkled with hope.
"The Pope merely wishes to weaken the Ottoman Empire using our strength; those flowery words in the letter, just read them and don't take them seriously.
As for the Pope saying he wants the Papal States to participate in the war, I can responsibly tell you, there is absolutely no such possibility." Kolladutz, the Court Chancellor and Deputy Imperial Chancellor, poured a basin of cold water without mercy.
Due to Rudolf II's reclusive nature and neglect of state affairs for many years, his control over the country had steadily declined, and the power of his ministers had risen, leading to increasingly disrespectful attitudes towards the Emperor in meetings.
Rudolf II had initially expressed dissatisfaction, but his resistance was fruitless, and over time, he simply paid even less attention to state affairs.
"The Pope also wants to send an observation team to our front lines to prepare for future participation in the war; is this also false?" Rudolf II questioned.
"It's just a show; when the time comes, the Pope will casually use some excuse to brush it off, and then do nothing, and by then, who knows how much more blood our soldiers will have shed in vain." Kolladutz said dismissively.
"Then tell me what should be done?" Doused by this cold water, Rudolf II's original good mood vanished.
"When the war began, I said it would be a war without a conclusion.
At this point, there are no winners, and we should quickly reach peace with the Ottoman Empire to free up our hands to deal with the enemies within the Holy Roman Empire." Kolladutz repeated words he had said countless times, knowing it was futile to say more.
"Seek peace! Always seek peace! My ears are calloused from hearing it!
You cowards! You keep saying the war has reached this point, but if you had all worked together from the beginning, would the war have turned out like this?
You only ever think about seeking peace, seeking peace!" Rudolf II roared, pounding the table in anger.
After an outburst of anger, he felt utterly helpless; he couldn't possibly dismiss all of them, and even if he did, their people would still take over, and it would remain the same.
Rudolf II had not tried it, and the result was that the new ones were even worse than the previous ones.
None of the ministers responded, nor did any of their expressions change in the slightest; they had seen the Emperor's loss of composure countless times.
Seeing this, Rudolf II felt even more indignant and said angrily, "There was a sentence in the letter that I didn't quite understand at first; the Pope told me to strictly guard against anyone internally making peace with the Ottoman Empire in private.
I'm afraid he was referring to you people making peace with the Ottoman Empire behind my back, wasn't he?"
Hearing this, Matthias, the King of Hungary, who had been leisurely, felt a jolt.
How could the Pope know that he was secretly negotiating with the Ottoman Empire and Hungarian rebels?
It shouldn't be, was it just a guess?
But why would the Pope write baseless guesses in a letter?
Matthias felt uneasy; it seemed he needed to pay more attention to this Pope.
"Your Majesty, how can you suspect our own people based on an outsider's baseless guess?" Jacob, the President of the Court Treasury, couldn't help but speak up to offer a "fair word."
"In my opinion, we should accept both the war aid and the observation team the Pope is sending.
The war is still ongoing, and these are all beneficial to us; even if we seek peace later, these favorable conditions will be our bargaining chips." Matthias cleverly expressed his stance.
This way, he both saved face for the Emperor, who was also his brother, and avoided offending the ministers who advocated for peace.
"That makes sense, I second the motion."
"I also second the motion."
...
Seeing Matthias so highly regarded by the ministers, while he himself faced obstacles everywhere, Rudolf II became even more enraged.
"Alright, since you listen to him so much, what am I doing here?
You discuss the rest yourselves.
Kepler invited me to stargaze tonight, I'm leaving, don't disturb my stargazing." Rudolf II left with a flick of his sleeves after dropping that remark.
In Rudolf II's heart, only astrology and alchemy were not to be neglected, and stargazing was naturally inseparable from astrology; how could he let worldly affairs interfere with stargazing?
Rudolf II simply left, leaving the ministers sitting there at a loss, all looking towards Matthias.
"The meeting is adjourned, this matter will be discussed later." Matthias appeared somewhat embarrassed on the surface, but deep down he was pleased; Matthias knew his opportunity was coming.
Amidst a chorus of complaints, a crucial imperial council thus ended inconclusively.
"I've truly had enough of this incompetent ruler!
He doesn't manage anything himself, and yet he constantly comes up with new ideas, tossing us around." Walking out of the Prague Palace, Kolladutz complained angrily.
"Alright, stop complaining; an incompetent ruler has his benefits.
If he were a wise ruler, would our lives be as comfortable as they are now?" Jacob consoled him in a half-joking tone.
"That's true." Kolladutz smiled wryly, then frowned again, saying helplessly, "It's just pitiful for the soldiers who shed blood in vain on the front lines and the people in the war-torn regions."
"The Emperor wants them to die, what can we do?
Ten thousand deaths is a number, a hundred thousand or a million deaths is also a number; you and I can't stop it." Jacob said with a bitter smile.
"Alright, let's not talk about these unhappy things anymore.
I have a ball to attend tonight, and I heard Schneider will also be there, do you want to come along?"
"Yes, please!
Tell me the time, I'll be there on time." Jacob readily agreed.