Emperor of the Romans

Napoleon was startled, but he knew that his elder brother either remained silent or, when he did speak, it was almost certain, or at least highly likely, to come true. He had just been forced to abandon his Augustus dream, but Joseph had suddenly uttered this statement. Napoleon felt his blood rush to his face, and he stammered, "..."

"Joseph... what do you mean... what did you just do...?"

"France must be a republic, and you must be the First Consul of the French Republic, but this doesn't contradict being emperor," Joseph laughed. "I have several options for discussion."

"Tell me your plan," Napoleon said, struggling to suppress his excitement.

"You're not thinking of stealing that Holy Roman Empire Emperor's hat, are you?" Lucien said. "I think that might be a viable option."

"This is one of the options," Joseph said. "In the first option, we can treat the title of Emperor as an honorary title, or even a medal, like the one Napoleon had. The highest rank in that medal is Emperor, awarded only to the First Consul of France. Moreover, it requires a high enough threshold—a separate national referendum—before the First Consul, who has rendered outstanding service, can obtain the title of 'Emperor' and thus receive a series of ceremonial honors. Similarly, the Second Consul could obtain the title of 'Caesar.'"

This plan is the least difficult, but the benefits are also limited. At best, it might satisfy your vanity, but it won't create a royal family.

Napoleon frowned. "The next plan."

Joseph smiled too; he knew Napoleon probably wouldn't like this plan much.

"We, France, together with the North Italian Federation, and the Rhine Region, all these free republics, form a union, which we call 'Rome,' and the coordinating body of the union is called the 'Senate,' and the leader of the union is called the 'Emperor.'"

This 'emperor' was a bit more substantial than the previous one, and had some additional benefits, such as enhancing domestic pride, uniting the free world, making France freedom and democracy a 'symbol of civilization,' and implicitly denigrating other feudal states as barbarians. However, this glory would still end with him, and he could not form a royal family.

The final option is that we first force Austria to relinquish the title of 'Holy Roman Empire', or force His Holiness the Pope to revoke their title and crown of 'Holy Roman Empire', and then we declare the establishment of a 'legitimate' Roman Empire, with His Holiness the Pope crowning you as 'Emperor of the Rome'.

Then the France government would announce an alliance with the 'Roman Empire' and cede a small piece of land—I think Versailles would be a good place—to the 'Roman Empire'. In this way, an empire with territory, sovereignty, and the ability to be passed down would emerge.

Then our Roman Empire and France signed an agreement that allowed for the full opening of their borders, free trade, and dual citizenship for citizens of the Roman Empire and the French Republic ..."

"Citizens of the 'Roman Empire'? Who are they?" Lucien asked.

"Those who have achieved certain accomplishments in various fields, contributed to human progress, and propelled human progress, can obtain Roman Citizen as long as they apply to the Imperial Senate and are approved by the Senate. We will place all kinds of non-governmental organizations and organizations under the banner of 'charity' within the territory of the 'Roman Empire,' making the 'Roman Empire' a beacon of civilization. Yes, Caesar and Octavian established a great Roman Empire by force, and today, we are building another Roman Empire that can become a beacon of human spirit with our love for civilization and humanity! You see, isn't that wonderful? Moreover, the crown of this 'Roman Empire' can be passed down through families."

"So, where will the funds for this 'Roman Empire' come from?" Napoleon asked.

"Isn't that simple?" Lucien said. "The Roman Empire is the French Republic's closest ally. Isn't it normal for the French Republic to give its good ally some economic aid? This kind of thing can be done in no time."

Joseph shook his head and said, "Lucien, use your brain." Joseph continued, "Such a simple method, surely Napoleon thought of it? Do you think you're the only one in our family who knows how to fleece the France? Right now, when the France people are filled with gratitude and admiration for Napoleon, they certainly won't care about such a small matter. But what about the future? All passions in the world are like the tide, rising quickly and falling just as quickly. Neither gratitude nor admiration can last. In the future, especially when we are no longer here, our enemies may use this to accuse us of taking advantage of the France people."

I'm not saying we can't take advantage of the France people. We might as well take advantage of them. But we can't do it so obviously, so simplistically. Actually, there are many ways to raise money. For example, we could establish a dedicated humanitarian aid organization, accepting donations from all sides for various charitable causes. And this cash could, of course, be deposited in the banks of our Roman Empire, where we could make a considerable profit. And to encourage good deeds, we could stipulate that those who donate a certain amount can obtain the glorious status of 'Roman Citizen,' and those who donate even more can become 'Rome cavalrymen' or even 'Roman Nobility.' I think that just with these means, we won't have to worry about the money to maintain the 'Roman Empire.'"

"What? Is that even possible? If this happens, even if our descendants are all idiots, they might still be able to live a good life just by selling Roman Citizen and noble titles!" Lucien felt like he had learned something new.

This was actually quite common practice in later generations. For example, the Knights Hospitaller Saint John Jerusalem, a "suspected country" whose seat of government was leased and which had no territory of its own, didn't it live a good life by wholeheartedly bestowing the title of "Holy Knight" all over the world? If it was lucky enough to encounter a rich guy from a certain island in East Asia, establish diplomatic relations, and then occasionally create news about severing ties to keep the rich guy in check, life couldn't be better.

"I think the third option is quite good," Napoleon concluded. "It seems we need to send another person to make contact with His Holiness the Pope."

Of course, this matter cannot be rushed; many things still need to be prepared gradually. For example, doing so would obviously lead to Austria's dissatisfaction, and might even lead to a new war. Although Austria may not have the courage to start a war now that Prussia is crippled, necessary preparations are still essential.

In addition to this, to gain sufficient support from the France people for the Bonaparte family, they also needed to find ways to improve the living standards of ordinary people. Although the "Zeus Plan" had been successful, it would take time for it to fully translate into a productive advantage.

The wars of the past few months have brought various reparations, which is a good thing in itself. However, on the other hand, the influx of this money into France, especially the large sums of money given by Napoleon for his war stipends, has also led to some inflation.

In addition, there is the issue of the sea route to Ireland, and any of these issues, for the time being, take precedence over how to become emperor.

Shortly afterward, Napoleon sent an envoy to the Holy See, but this envoy was not there to discuss the matter of becoming emperor; rather, he was there to continue discussions with the Holy See regarding the status of Catholicism in France.

The Holy See and the Holy See are naturally very enthusiastic about the restoration of the French Diocese. Even though France often has instances of disrespect towards the Pope and the Holy See, among the countries that support Catholicism, there is truly no other country that can compare to France.

The Spain era is over; they are no longer a fraction of the once all-powerful empire that swept across the seven seas. As for Austria, the Holy See once hoped it would take the lead, but now it seems Austria is completely unworthy of such expectations. If it cannot reclaim the French Diocese, and even ends up with France becoming like Britain did, creating a France Anglican Church, then Catholicism will truly be doomed.

However, the two sides still have some disagreements on certain conditions. The France demand that the France Catholic Church have the following privileges:

First, the France Church is financially independent and has no obligation to contribute to the Holy See. Furthermore, religious taxes such as tithes are no longer levied in France.

Secondly, the France Church possesses independent personnel authority. From cardinals and archbishops to bishops, down to the lowest parish priests and pastors, all are appointed by the France themselves and their appointments are reported to the Holy See for record-keeping (note, it's reporting, not notification). The Holy See cannot interfere with the France Church's personnel authority for any reason. In other words, in France, who becomes a cardinal, archbishop, bishop, etc., is entirely up to the France (Napoleon). The Pope is essentially irrelevant. Adjustments to dioceses, the construction of new churches, and other actions by the France do not require Holy See approval and can be carried out entirely autonomously.

Third, any decision of the Holy See must be approved and signed by a cardinal representing France, as recognized by the France government, to be effective in French Diocese. Even if such decisions are implemented in French Diocese, their legal force is less than that of decisions passed democratically by the French Diocese. This means that if the France people feel that a decision is now detrimental to France, they can directly suspend its implementation within their dioceses.

"This... this is still Catholicism? Isn't this just a completely France version of Anglican Church?" It is said that when the Pope saw these conditions offered by the France, he couldn't help but exclaim in this way.

The France envoy reportedly replied, "Holy See, our country initially intended to be a constitutional monarchy, not a republic. However, some people disagreed, and as a result, France became a republic. Now, republican France is willing to accept a constitutional monarchy-based church, which I personally believe is a very sincere gesture."