Before Romeo could answer, the Spanish Envoy suddenly stood up, bowed to the Pope, and then respectfully said, "Please give us a clear answer, Your Holiness."
The brutal struggles within the Papal States over the past year had struck fear into various nations, and the Spanish Envoy had heard whispers of it. Romeo was the Papal States' Foreign Minister today, but he might be disgraced and dead tomorrow.
Whether Romeo's words would consistently represent the Papal States was what worried the Spanish Envoy. In the Papal States, apart from the Pope's personal guarantee, no one else's words could be relied upon.
Understanding the Spanish Envoy's concerns at once, and feeling slighted, Romeo was visibly annoyed: "The Papal States will naturally fulfill what it has promised. This meeting is an equal discussion between representatives of various nations. If you wish for His Holiness the Pope's personal reply, then please have your Emperor attend in person!"
The Spanish Envoy, however, pressed on: "Since it is a guarantee, it should naturally be given more formally by His Holiness the Pope himself."
"Please be clear," Romeo said, tapping the table heavily with his finger, unceremoniously, "The Papal States does not need to give any guarantees to Spain. Suppressing the Protestant rebellion in the Netherlands is a responsibility the Papal States has proactively taken on as the leader of the Catholic world, not something it owes Spain."
The Spanish Envoy was unimpressed: "If that's the case, then suppressing the Netherlands rebellion should be unrelated to the Venice issue, so why bring it up in this meeting?"
Romeo was momentarily speechless, and Duke felt it was his time to shine: "It's still the same old saying: the Papal States has an obligation to lead the Catholic world in resisting pagans and heretics. However, if there are traitors within, the Papal States doesn't mind eliminating internal threats first!"
"By yourselves? My Spanish Empire's territory spans seven continents, with abundant resources and formidable military might. Whether someone is a traitor is not for you to decide, nor is it for you to eliminate at will! On the contrary, if your country is without virtue, our country can tirelessly set things right for your country!"
He could have refuted the point by asking how opposing the Papal States' annexation of Venice made them traitors within Catholicism, but the pride of the Sun Never Sets Empire made the Spanish Envoy decisively choose to respond forcefully from a position of strength.
The Spanish Envoy had endured the high-handed attitude of the Papal States for a long time. Now, he could no longer bear it. What is my strength, what is your strength? I haven't threatened you with force, and you're actually threatening me.
Even though he hoped the Papal States would help suppress the Netherlands rebellion, he didn't think much of the Papal States' army. Spain had invested hundreds of thousands of troops over many years without success, so how could the Papal States, with an army of only tens of thousands, easily accomplish it?
The Spanish Envoy cared about one thing: if the Papal States personally intervened, many Catholic countries, including France, would no longer openly support the Netherlands rebels, making the rebels much easier to deal with.
The Spanish Envoy's assertiveness caught everyone in the Papal States off guard. Including Augustus, everyone in the Papal States had misjudged. They had originally thought that after this war, all countries would look at the Papal States' military strength with new eyes, but they didn't expect Spain to still completely disregard it. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
The Austria Envoy quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Why go to such lengths! We are all here to solve problems; fighting will only make our enemies laugh. His Holiness the Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, and the Spanish Empire is the strongest and most loyal defender of Catholicism. The two sides should be intimately connected. Ambassador, please state your demands; let's not say anything that harms unity."
The Spanish Envoy pondered for a moment, then stated his demands: "My demands are simple. Since the Papal States has said it will assist us in pacifying the Netherlands rebellion, I hope to receive a personal guarantee from His Holiness the Pope, and substantive assistance starting now."
Seeing the conversation veering off course, the Mantua Envoy tried to correct it: "Isn't the main topic of our meeting the Venice issue?"
The Spanish Envoy didn't even look at the Mantua Envoy, raising his head and responding openly: "As long as the Spanish Empire's demands are met, the Venice issue will no longer be a problem; conversely, if Spain's demands are not met, the Venice issue will always be a problem."
Romeo suppressed his anger and said in a calm tone: "Substantive assistance will certainly be provided. Before this, many goods were imported into Venice from Venice, including a large amount of timber necessary for shipbuilding, and a large number of goods were sold to Venice, yielding considerable profits. However, from now on, the Papal States will impose an embargo on the Netherlands, which, of course, includes Venice under the Papal States' rule. In addition, although the Papal States' army will first go to assist Austria, if Spain has any recent actions targeting the Netherlands, the Papal States can also provide financial support."
The Spanish Envoy calculated for a moment and nodded in satisfaction: "This can indeed be called substantive assistance. It would be even better if the Papal States could come forward and call on all Catholic countries to impose an embargo on the Netherlands. Currently, some Catholic countries have close ties with the Netherlands rebels, which has significantly increased the difficulty of our suppression efforts."
The France Envoy continued to stare out the window, pretending not to hear anything.
Romeo agreed readily: "That's certainly no problem. But the Papal States can only issue a call; it cannot guarantee the outcome. Whether nations respond to the call is determined by their own national interests, and the Papal States cannot force it."
The Spanish Envoy waved his hand grandly: "No matter, this is for the best. Then only the initial request remains: I hope to receive a personal guarantee from His Holiness the Pope."
The atmosphere suddenly grew cold again, and Romeo also fell silent. Everyone's gaze fell upon the Pope.
Finally, Augustus, who had been silent throughout, finally spoke: "Tell your Emperor Philip III that after assisting Austria in resisting the Ottoman Empire, the Papal States will assist Spain in pacifying the Netherlands rebellion. Please have him make preparations."
Giving a direct guarantee to the Spanish Envoy would be too undignified and would diminish the Pope's authority. Having him relay it to the Spanish Emperor had the same effect but saved face, which was the best way Augustus could think of handling it. For a powerful and self-important country like Spain, giving no face at all was certainly not an option.
Having achieved his goal, the Spanish Envoy was straightforward: "Good, His Holiness the Pope has always kept his word, and God is witness. With His Holiness the Pope's word, I am reassured. I have nothing else to say about the Venice issue."
Seeing that several major powers had benefited, the Mantua Envoy followed suit, sticking out his neck and raising his face to declare loudly: "Your Holiness, do you think that by bribing a few major powers you can annex Venice with ease? If we all unite, we can still make you spit Venice out!"
"What? Do you want to test if the Papal States' sword is sharp?" Duke suddenly rose, drew the sword from his waist, and pointed it at the Mantua Envoy.
He was already seething with anger from having to tolerate Spain, and now this small country also wanted to ride on the Papal States' head. If he couldn't deal with Spain, he could certainly deal with you!
Mantua hadn't fought a war in decades, and the envoy was a hothouse flower who had never seen such a scene. Terrified by the sudden display, his soul flew out of him, and he tumbled off his chair and crawled under the table.
Even Augustus was startled. He had told Duke to adopt a tough stance during negotiations, but drawing a sword to intimidate another country's envoy during negotiations was perhaps a bit much. Although, it seemed quite effective.
"Duke, what are you doing? Put your sword away and sit down!" As soon as Duke put his sword away, Augustus glanced at the Mantua Envoy and then changed his words, "Wait, first go and invite the Mantua Ambassador out, and apologize to him!"
Though reluctant, Duke complied, helping the trembling Mantua Envoy back to his chair and offering a very perfunctory apology.
Without the backing of a major power, and having witnessed the Mantua Envoy's bluster and cowardice firsthand, the other nations no longer entertained the idea of futile resistance and all tacitly remained silent.
With the timing ripe, Romeo played his last card: "For the long-term peace and stability of the Italian region, the Papal States proposes establishing a mutual defense agreement. A declaration of war against any nation joining the agreement shall be considered a declaration of war against all, and other member states shall be obligated to participate in the conflict, and this agreement shall also apply to the member states participating in the agreement themselves."
The last sentence was to dispel the fear of the Papal States' threat from various countries. At this time, it was to achieve an undisputed and trouble-free outcome on the Venice issue, but such an agreement would bury a huge pitfall for the Papal States' future.
"Good, I agree!" The Savoy Envoy was the first to express his stance. He had proactively shown goodwill to the Papal States precisely for the Papal States' protection. With such an agreement laid out openly, he had another strong guarantee against France's aggression.
"I disagree!" the Parma Envoy said, gathering his courage.
"It's fine if you disagree," Karl said coldly.
Everyone understood Karl's meaning.
The Parma Envoy quickly tried to mend the situation: "No, no, no, you've misunderstood. What I mean is that this agreement is truly very beneficial for peace and stability. We shouldn't limit ourselves to the Italian region; we can appropriately expand it."
"Yes, yes, yes, that's what I think too."
"The Parma Envoy is indeed thoughtful!"
The envoys of other nations echoed him.
"Good idea, we can consider it later," Romeo said, following his lead.
From then on, the Papal States' annexation of Venice was recognized by all countries present. The related handover procedures still required some time, and the envoys of various countries stayed briefly, only waiting for the procedures to be completed before returning to their respective countries to report.
In this meeting, there were no losers; all countries more or less got what they wanted: the Papal States annexed Venice, Austria gained the right to use the Venice port and was about to receive the long-awaited reinforcements, France not only reneged on its debts but also gained a large sum of money for free, Spain received the Papal States' promise to assist in suppressing the Netherlands rebellion and a crucial embargo, and the various countries in the Italian region dispelled the threat of the Papal States' aggression and gained a strong security guarantee.