The New Pope

In early 1464, Pius II passed away in Rome.

Envoys from the Vatican were dispatched to various important countries in Europe, summoning cardinals to hold a new round of elections.

"Emperor, we have come to bid you farewell."

The two cardinals from Vienna, Georg and Bessarion, stood below the throne, awaiting Laszlo's instructions.

Bessarion had already been appointed Imperial Envoy, but he had stayed in the Vatican to accompany Pius II through his final moments.

Afterward, he personally came to Vienna to inform the Emperor and Cardinal Georg of Vienna about the Pope's passing.

The upcoming papal election required him to preside.

Therefore, he would immediately take Georg to Rome.

Once the new Pope was elected, he would resign from his position as Cardinal-Dean and leave Rome to assist the Emperor in Vienna.

As the greatest patron of East Roman exiles, he had used the resources of the Holy See in Rome to support many Eastern scholars.

After much deliberation, he decided to accept the Emperor's proposal and invite those under his patronage to accompany him to Vienna.

Once he left the Roman Curia and was no longer involved in the core affairs of the Holy See, the Holy See would definitely reduce its subsidies to these exiles.

Since the Emperor was willing to spend more money to support these scholars, Bessarion was naturally happy to bring them to Austria.

However, these were matters for later; the immediate priority was the current papal election.

"Bessarion, regarding this papal election, as the presiding officer, you should have the most say."

Laszlo looked at the benevolent Greek elder before him, hoping to get firsthand information from him.

"This time, I have invited a total of twenty-one cardinals to the Vatican to participate in the papal election.

However, considering that the civil war in England is still ongoing, the actual number of attendees may be less than expected."

Bessarion began to recall the information he possessed.

"The Orsini family and the King of France are very likely to support the French cardinal, Guillaume d'Estouteville.

Another French cardinal, Alain de Coëtivy, stands with him."

"Alain... is he the French cardinal who led the attack against you?"

"Yes, he is the French King's most loyal puppet.

This man not only opposed me but also opposed Pius II's ascension; although he wears the red robe of a cardinal, what he truly desires is to expel the Roman Curia from France."

Laszlo subtly glanced at Georg, who stood beside Bessarion, and noticed a hint of awkwardness on the face of the Cardinal of Vienna.

This was a matter of stance: a cardinal's nationality would greatly influence his political and religious position.

Especially after Charles VII issued the Edict of Bourges and Albrecht II issued the edict of mainz, cardinals were more inclined to seek benefits for their own countries rather than expand the power of the Holy See.

"Is there a high chance of a French cardinal being elected?"

"Not higher than the candidate you support."

Laszlo nodded. The King of France had a total of four cardinal seats, and he had two, plus one from Milan, so the difference between the two sides was not significant.

The local powers in Rome, the Orsini family and the Colonna family, had also taken sides.

"The one the Colonna family chose, I remember his name is Pietro Barbo, right?"

"Yes, Emperor, he is an extremely conservative and mediocre cardinal, and most importantly, he is a Venetian.

Do you really intend to support him?

If this person takes office, all previous reform efforts might come to naught."

Bessarion frowned, a worried expression appearing on his wrinkled face.

Laszlo sighed lightly and waved his hand helplessly, saying, "I don't want to elect a Venetian either, but there are no better options now."

The Barbo family was a prominent family recorded in the Venetian Golden Book, but this family was now declining with the weakening of Venice.

Pietro Barbo must be dissatisfied with him, but Laszlo believed he would be a smart man.

As long as he didn't become a doddering old fool like his uncle Eugene IV, it would be fine.

"This... you clearly have so many other choices under you."

"Many? It only seems like many.

Bessarion, if you were to run for Pope, how many votes would you get?"

The Greek cardinal remained silent; apart from the cardinals controlled by the Emperor, probably no one else would vote for him.

"What if Georg went?"

The result would be no different.

If two German Popes were elected in a row, how would other countries manage?

"I was very much against promoting a Venetian at first, but the Colonna family convinced me.

Their enemy is the Orsini family, and the Orsini family's ally is my enemy, France.

Aside from the cardinals under my control, Pietro is the only candidate who has no direct connection with France and advocates for strengthening papal centralization.

After he takes office, due to the Edict of Bourges, it is highly likely that his relationship with the King of France will deteriorate.

Although he also dislikes the Empire because of the Italian Wars, as long as the French are prevented from being elected, these are irrelevant."

As long as the new Pope did not completely side with France, this election would be his victory.

Of course, he had also considered that if this Venetian Pope turned against him after being elected, he would personally go to Rome with a fully armed army.

If someone didn't want to be graceful, then he would help them be graceful.

Thinking of this, Laszlo revealed a smile.

Currently, the cardinals controlled by the French King and those controlled by him maintained a balance in the College of Cardinals.

As long as neither side made a compromise, then even if all the old men in the College of Cardinals starved to death, a new Pope would not be elected.

"What about the remaining forces?"

"One potential ally is the Aragonese cardinal, Rodrigo Borgia.

This greedy scoundrel is easy to bribe; you should be familiar with this."

Indeed, not unfamiliar. Laszlo still remembered bribing Rodrigo with a few Eastern beauties and a large sum of money.

"If necessary, I will make him vote obediently."

"Then there are over a dozen cardinals from Italy itself; many of them obey the local magnates of Italy.

Florence and Genoa each have one; you should be able to find a way to control them."

"I will send people to discuss this with them; I presume they will not refuse my request."

Laszlo then discussed some minor details with the two cardinals before personally seeing them off from Vienna to Rome to participate in the papal election.

Within two months of Pius II's death, cardinals from all over the continent successively arrived in Rome.

The election of the new Pope soon began.

The cardinals were confined within a sealed chapel, conducting round after round of elections.

Everyone in Rome was watching, occasionally looking up at the smoke that announced the results.

Unfortunately, for the first few days of the election, only black smoke emerged from the chimney.

This meant that no one had achieved the two-thirds absolute majority required, and the election was still ongoing.

Louis XI in Paris and Laszlo in Vienna were anxiously awaiting the results.

As time passed, the food supplied to the cardinals daily gradually decreased.

Most people couldn't endure such hardship, let alone a group of elderly men.

This election was exceptionally intense, dragging on for nine days.

People had not seen such a prolonged papal election in a long time.

On this day, the Vatican institution responsible for ensuring the cardinals' meals only provided each of these old men with a cup of water and a palm-sized piece of bread.

No matter how much money was received or how many promises were made from outside, there would always be someone who couldn't help but want to end it all.

The morning's voting ended, and black smoke still billowed from the chapel's chimney.

In a luxurious mansion not far from the church, William Paleologus, the Marquis of Montferrat, stood by the window, anxiously gazing at the black smoke.

His elder brother, John, had recently passed away, and he had now inherited the title and territory of Marquis of Montferrat.

However, before he could even go to Vienna to meet the Emperor, he was dispatched to Rome to observe the situation.

"Mr. Envoy, please sit down and have a drink; there's no need to be so anxious."

An old man with graying temples sat at the dining table, gently comforting William in a mild tone, yet with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Mr. Giovanni, aren't you worried at all?"

William's impatience was mainly due to how long this election had dragged on.

The last time the Emperor secretly manipulated the papal election, Pius II was elected before the ninth day.

That time, the Emperor's opponents were negligent; this time, they would not make the same mistake.

After Pius II took office, the Emperor's path of expansion was smooth, and the forces of France and the Orsini family suffered heavy blows.

This time, they would absolutely not allow a Pope close to the Empire to take office.

"You should have confidence in the Emperor's power."

Giovanni Colonna, the head of the Colonna family, unhurriedly drank the fine wine in his cup.

One of his relatives, Girolamo Colonna, a cardinal personally promoted by Pius II, was also in that church.

He would keep an eye on the cardinals controlled by the Colonna family to prevent them from making any wrong decisions at critical moments.

He didn't need to worry about the Emperor's side; Cardinal-Dean Bessarion, who was presiding over the election, was now on the Emperor's side.

As long as the Colonna family and the Emperor stood firmly on the same side, a Frenchman would never be elected Pope.

As for why a Venetian was chosen as the favored candidate, Giovanni had his own subtle intentions.

The Emperor could be his helper against the Orsini family, but the Emperor absolutely could not completely control Rome.

Those scoundrels of the Orsini family wanted to invite a wolf into the house, pushing a Frenchman onto the papal throne to deal with the Emperor, just like they promoted the Anjou family to the throne of Naples.

Giovanni would not make such an unwise decision.

So he chose Pietro, a Venetian who disliked both France and the Empire, as the candidate.

He even gave up his plan to support Bessarion for this reason.

According to past experience, whether promoting Bessarion or his own cardinal, Girolamo, the result could never be decided.

He had seen too many "compromises," such as Pope Callixtus III or Pius II.

Choosing Pietro this time followed the same logic.

"Of course I understand the Emperor's power, but what if..."

William didn't continue, just stared intently at the church.

If a French Pope were truly elected, Italy, which had only known peace for a few years, might plunge into chaos again.

If the French army returned, his Montferrat would surely be the first to suffer.

He strongly hoped that the peace in Italy would not be broken, and even more so that the French would not make a comeback.

"The Emperor's votes plus mine already account for nearly half of the total number of participating cardinals, so rest assured,

The victory will ultimately be ours."

No sooner had Giovanni finished speaking than William suddenly turned his head sharply to look at him, making Giovanni's heart clench.

"White smoke?"

"Mm."

William nodded vigorously, his face filled with a mixture of tension and excitement.

It was his first time witnessing the birth of a Pope, and he only hoped that the Pope who would speak publicly later would not have a thick French accent.

Upon seeing the results, William and Giovanni, instead, calmed down.

William left the window and sat opposite Giovanni, and the two waited like that; soon, someone would bring them the final result.

Inside the small chapel where the papal election was held, the cardinals sat around, all looking haggard, clearly having suffered no small torment.

Fortunately, it was all over, and relief was visible on everyone's faces.

Bessarion read out the final vote count: Pietro Barbo received the vast majority of votes, with only two French cardinals abstaining.

"Pietro, do you accept your election as Pope?"

"I accept."

Pietro replied weakly, showing no joy at his election.

According to custom, he should next be asked his pontifical name, but this time it was different.

An agreement containing 18 articles was placed before him, and the members of the College of Cardinals looked at him expectantly.

These were some reform proposals that Pius II had concocted in the final moments of his life, mainly concerning limiting papal power and expanding the College of Cardinals' co-governance.

They had finally agreed to elect Pietro in exchange for Pietro signing this agreement.

The cardinals had already tasted greater power, which Pius II had granted them, and they did not want to hand these powers back.

And Pietro's ideas of centralization conflicted somewhat with this.

Of course, Bessarion's fervent reformist ideas were even more dangerous, and thus he was excluded first.

The cardinals actually did not have many other choices.

They couldn't possibly elect a Frenchman or an Austrian, could they?

Even the cardinals from Milan, Genoa, and Florence they dared not choose too readily, as these places were within the Emperor's sphere of influence.

As for the Spaniard Rodrigo, he was ignored from the start.

Pius II had publicly issued a bull condemning Rodrigo's corrupt character, and the cardinals did not think highly of this greedy fellow.

After much deliberation, it was still better to elect a Venetian.

Pietro scanned the room, his expression remarkably calm, as if the College of Cardinals were not attempting to coerce him, the Pope-elect.

He quickly signed his name on the agreement.

Seeing this, the cardinals all breathed a sigh of relief.

The Italian cardinals were happy to retain their power, while the cardinals from various countries could return and give an account.

Georg noticed a fleeting hint of ruthlessness on Pietro's face, which made him feel that something was amiss.

But Bessarion did not notice this.

"What name do you choose?"

"Paul."

"Then you are Paul II.

Let's go; we must go to Saint Peter's Square to announce the election of the new Pope to the people."

Bessarion let out a long breath; ultimately, it was the French who gave in first, which allowed Pietro to win the election.

However, he no longer cared about these things; he would now resign from his position as Cardinal-Dean and solely fulfill the duties of Imperial Envoy.

Pietro, no, now he should be called Paul II, picked up the agreement from the table, a gentle smile on his face.

"Gentlemen, I will carefully consider the guidance you have offered, but the Pope, as the Vicar of Christ, does not need to be subject to these restrictions.

I hope you will remember this."

With that, he ignored the bewildered cardinals and walked out with light steps.

Soon after, from the balcony above Saint Peter's Square, Bessarion announced to the people: "We have a Pope!"

Amidst the cheers of the people, Paul II appeared above the square and delivered his first blessing to the people of Rome.

On the other side, upon receiving the news, William immediately rode swiftly out of Rome.

He wanted to be the first to bring the results of the papal election back to report to the Emperor, and incidentally, complete his first audience after inheriting the title of Marquis of Montferrat.