Excommunication

Starting in March 1803, construction began on a new wonder not far from the Free Palace.

With the opening of the railway, the area around the Free Palace has gradually become prosperous. It boasts beautiful scenery, convenient transportation, and is relatively far from the city center, resulting in cleaner air. Furthermore, since getting here requires a train journey, poor people are generally unwilling to travel here unnecessarily, so there are few poor people. This scarcity of poor people also means relatively good security. It is particularly suitable for kind-hearted individuals who cannot bear to see the poor settle down. Therefore, this area is now one of the most important affluent districts in Paris.

Long before the construction of the Free Palace, certain well-informed, powerful, or even godlike individuals had already bought up all the land in the vicinity from the government. At that time, the area was barren and worthless, but now, the value of the land here has skyrocketed.

Two years ago, at Napoleon's insistence, the École Normale Supérieure was also relocated to this area. At that time, because the railway had not yet been built, the area was relatively undeveloped, and land prices were low. To facilitate his work, Laplace, as the executive vice-principal, also bought a small villa here—after all, the land was cheap. Just two years later, the price of his villa had multiplied many times over. Now, calculating it, the money earned from that villa far exceeds what Laplace earned as the principal of the École Normale Supérieure. Therefore, one of Laplace's biggest regrets is that he only bought one villa back then. Especially after learning that Monge had quietly bought three villas here—three! That old man, he's truly enviable.

Besides the École Normale Supérieure, the University of Paris also moved some of its departments here. However, the University of Paris is too large, unlike the École Normale Supérieure, which can be easily moved. Therefore, they only moved their art school here.

It was Sunday, and a group of art students took their easels to the Free Palace to sketch. While they were drawing, they inevitably started discussing another building that was under construction nearby.

By this time, the new wonder was more than half completed. In fact, the main buildings were basically finished, only some necessary decorations had not yet begun. To reduce the impact of noise and dust on the surrounding area, the entire construction site was surrounded by a wall. However, from the small hills where students often sketched, the entire construction site could still be seen relatively clearly.

"This stadium is huge. It's almost as big as the Colosseum." Nicolas sat down in front of his easel and continued to paint the Free Palace under the morning sun on his canvas, while casually chatting with Fedorov, who was idly sitting next to him.

"It should be a bit larger than the Colosseum in size, just like the Free Palace is a bit larger than the Pantheon. But we're far away now, so everything looks a bit smaller from here," Fedorov replied.

"When do you think this thing will be fixed?" Nicolas asked again.

"The Olympic Games will be held here next summer. So, this project should be almost finished," Fedorov said. "Sometimes I really think the process of building it is a true miracle. My friend, do you remember when we first moved here, this place was just a wasteland? In less than two years, such a huge building rose from the ground. Think about it, the Rome used 80,000 slaves and spent decades to complete the Colosseum. The France, on the other hand, built it in just two years."

"They have reinforced concrete, you know. But don't you think reinforced concrete still doesn't look as good as real rock? It lacks that feel. You understand..."

"Come on, Nicolas," Fedorov shook his head dismissively. "You should know that the Pantheon and the Colosseum were also built with a lot of cement. Of course, there weren't steel bars back then, but they were all inside, so you couldn't see them, could you? If there's any difference, well, maybe it's just that it hasn't been long enough, so there aren't enough signs of weathering yet."

"Perhaps," Nicolas said. "Don't you think that Bonaparte really liked Rome?"

"Isn't this common knowledge? Otherwise, why would everyone award him the Imperator Medal, and why would the Holy See investigate the emperor of a great nation based on a baseless rumor? Isn't it obvious? Bonaparte loved Rome, especially the Rome crown."

"Just a few days before Bonaparte took office, he gave a speech saying that democracy was the best system and that he would always be loyal to the French Republic," Nicolas said.

"Heh, only a kind-hearted person like you would believe what politicians say. However, one thing is indeed strange. Generally speaking, by this time, some media outlets should be starting to promote the superiority of the monarchy, because logically, Bonaparte's coronation should be very close. To still be saying that democracy is good at this time might cause problems if the shift is too abrupt later."

"You're saying Bonaparte is likely to be crowned emperor very soon?" Nicolas asked.

"Otherwise, why would the Pope send people to investigate the Austria Emperor at this time? Isn't it just to take back the crown so that it can be handed over to Bonaparte to rule?"

"But Austria and France seem to have a pretty good relationship these days."

"So, some things are really hard to understand."

Just as the two students were muttering to themselves, the Holy See officially dispatched investigators to Austria to investigate the case of the Holy Roman Empire Emperor being accused of heresy.

Austria reacted with extreme anger, announcing a ban on Holy See investigators from entering Austria and sending Holy See an ultimatum demanding an immediate end to this insulting behavior and an apology to His Majesty the Emperor. They stated that they hoped the Holy See would immediately reconsider its actions and not go further in hurting the feelings of the Austria people; otherwise, the Holy See would be held responsible for any consequences.

The threat in these words was quite clear. The Holy See naturally refused to accept such a threat and immediately lodged a protest with Austria. The Holy See stated:

The Holy See has a traditional right to examine the purity of believers' faith, a right derived from the supreme God. The Austria government's unreasonable actions are a blatant disregard for the Holy See and even for God, which in itself has slipped to the brink of heresy.

However, His Holiness the Pope and God are merciful and tolerant of mistakes. The Holy See's investigation is intended to learn from past mistakes and correct them, and to help those in need. It is not merely an investigation, but also an act of assistance. Therefore, there is no insult to His Majesty Franz II in this matter. His Majesty Franz II should also adopt a humble attitude of correcting mistakes if they exist and striving for improvement if they don't, in the face of the Holy See's help, rather than displaying such a wrong attitude of avoiding diagnosis and resisting the Pope's concern.

Therefore, His Majesty Franz II and the Austria government under his rule should immediately pull back from the brink and change course. His Holiness the Pope awaits His Majesty Franz II's repentance and apology.

This statement from the Holy See naturally further angered Austria, at least it seemed so. Austria announced a suspension of tithes from the Holy See. These taxes would be temporarily held in custody by the Austria Imperial Household until the Holy See changed its course, lifted its insulting scrutiny of His Majesty the Emperor, and apologized to him.

This decision naturally infuriated the Holy See. The Holy See dispatched a special envoy to Austria, demanding that Emperor Franz II immediately rescind the resolution. However, the envoy was attacked by unidentified individuals in Vienna and injured, forcing him to temporarily abandon his mission and return to the Holy See.

This incident put Emperor Franz somewhat on the defensive, but he remained adamant that he would not allow a single gold coin to leave Austria for the Vatican until the Holy See dropped its "insulting investigation" against him.

In September of that year, the Holy See again sent a note to Franz, demanding that Austria pay 1/11 of the due tax within a specified period, or else "decisive measures" would be taken against Emperor Franz II.

But Emperor Franz II remained unmoved. The Austria media began to launch direct attacks on the Pope, even threatening that Austria should follow the example of Emperor Henry IV and march on Rome to replace the Holy See.

Of course, such boasting was just talk, because at present, Austria and the Papal States are separated by the core ally of France — the Northern Italian Republic.

Other newspapers ridiculed the Pope in various ways. They mocked him, saying he was just bluffing and wouldn't dare to do anything. One newspaper even depicted His Holiness the Pope in a cartoon as a coward hiding behind an icon of Jesus, trembling with fear.

Interestingly, His Majesty Franz's rebellion actually improved his public image considerably. After suffering repeated defeats in the war Franz II France, many considered him a symbol of indecisiveness, weakness, and incompetence. Even when portraying him as having immoral tendencies, he was depicted as someone with "boundless suffering." Now, after his actions, people actually see a resemblance in His Majesty to a true emperor, even somewhat manly.

Of course, this action forced the Pope to take a real action. So, in February 1804, His Holiness the Pope officially issued a decree excommunicating Franz II and stripping him of his title of "Emperor of the Rome".

Austria responded immediately to the Holy See's actions, declaring that Pope Pius VI was old, frail, and mentally unstable, and therefore unfit to continue as pope. Consequently, Austria did not recognize the validity of the edicts issued by Pope Pius Pope Pius VI. Emperor Franz II, of course, remained Catholicism and "Emperor of the Rome."

Regarding the conflict between the Holy See and its ally Austria, the France adopted an attitude of indifference, simply observing from the sidelines. At the official level, France Foreign Minister Talleyrand issued a statement saying:

The French Republic has consistently upheld the policy of religious freedom and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The French Republic hopes to see peaceful coexistence, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and common progress among all countries and religions in the world...

In short, although Foreign Minister Talleyrand said a lot, if you really cut it down, it basically boils down to this: What's it to me?

Even the France media didn't pay much attention to this matter. Although it made the front page of "Science Truth Daily" on the first day, it didn't take the top spot, because the top news was. "The French Academy of Sciences officially awards the 'Prometheus Prize'".

Yes, the day the Pope announced the excommunication of Franz II coincided with the French Academy of Sciences awarding its first Prometheus Mathematics Prize and Prometheus Medical Prize. Therefore, this decision not only failed to make the front page of * Science Truth Daily *, but also barely appeared in other mainstream newspapers.

Strictly speaking, because Catholicism is the predominant faith in France, Science Truth Daily still gave the Pope face by placing his edict on the front page; while in Protestantism countries, such as the Confederation of the Rhine and Britain, the news didn't even make the front page.

Back in the Confederation of the Rhine, since the mathematics prize was awarded to Gauss, who was from Brunswick, the front pages of the newspapers were naturally filled with reports of Gauss's award. The rest of the front page was dedicated to various introductions to Gauss's achievements, although frankly, introducing Gauss's accomplishments was a daunting task for most newspaper reporters and editors. Not to mention in the early 19th century, even in the 21st century, how many reporters and editors truly understood Gauss's work? In fact, just a few years before Joseph's time travel, he had seen a news story online about "China students throwing leftover materials all over the floor during a mathematical modeling competition."

Fortunately, the newspaper * Science Truth Daily * solved this problem for them. * Science Truth Daily * had a lot of popular science articles about Gauss's mathematical achievements. They could just copy them directly. Although those popular science articles in * Science Truth Daily * were generally the kind where "I recognize every word, every number, every symbol individually, but I have absolutely no idea what they mean when they're put together," those clueless Northern Germany still loved reading them. Even though they couldn't understand them at all, they still read them over and over again, and then told themselves, "Even though I don't understand anything, we Confederation of the Rhine are amazing!"

As for the Pope excommunicating the Austria Emperor, what does that have to do with us? Put it later, later. Hmm, the first edition should include news about Gauss and a popular science introduction to Gauss scholarship. The second edition? That should be used to introduce the Nobel Prize in Medicine—we can't be too biased, can we? We also need to interview Gauss's friends, classmates, and elementary school teachers. Hmm, do you know how Gauss calculated 1+2+3...+100 when he was a child?

Therefore, the affairs of the Pope and the Austria Emperor naturally had to be relegated to the third edition. Even in the third edition, a portion of the beginning was dedicated to praising the France for their selflessness.

As for Britain, their situation was much the same. The headline on the first page naturally reported the award, and the rest of the first page was used to introduce the two laureates. Considering that Carroll's achievement was already widely known after the previous the Lancet controversy, his introduction could be simpler. However, Gauss's introduction was indispensable.

Moreover, Gauss was a child prodigy, which made the story even more necessary to report. You see, readers in various countries have a preference for stories of child prodigies, so almost every newspaper reported on how Gauss calculated 1+2+3...+100 when he was a child.

However, at least these issues were resolved on the front page. After all, Gauss wasn't Britain, and Carroll was even worse—he was a traitor. So, reporting on them naturally required less space than reporting on the Confederation of the Rhine. Therefore, the first page was able to accommodate all of this content.

However, by the second edition, the Britain felt they should publish some reflective articles on the current state of Britain science and technology, reflecting on why Britain was so uncompetitive in such a prestigious award. They also wanted to briefly introduce their main rival, the France, and their developments in this field, highlighting what the Britain could learn from them—so the papal decree didn't even have room for a second edition.

The third edition, well, also catered to future students planning to study in France, introducing various France universities. Especially this time, although the Nobel Prize in Mathematics went to Gauss, the other three finalists were all from the École Normale Supérieure, which piqued the Britain interest in this newly established university, resulting in a significant amount of space dedicated to introducing these institutions. Finally, the Pope's excommunication of Austria didn't even receive a prominent place in the third edition.

In Austria, the news didn't even make it into the newspapers. Many people only learned about the pope's Pope Pius VI the emperor and the stripping of his title of "Emperor of the Romans" a few days later, when the Austria government announced that Pope Pius Pope Pius VI was old, frail, and mentally unstable, no longer fit to serve as pope, and therefore Austria did not recognize the validity of the edicts issued by Pope Rome VI.

In short, the Holy See's move should have drawn the attention of all of Europe, but because they deliberately chose a good time, and with the intentional or unintentional cooperation of various parties, it turned out to be quite uneventful.