Fox of France

Chapter 498, Joint Statement

Before the arrival of the Pope, Napoleon had already learned about Joseph's invitation to France for a friendly visit through telegrams, and also knew that Joseph hoped that through this contact with the Pope, he would gradually tie the Holy See to himself economically. on the chariot.

So Napoleon received the Pope in Paris with considerable enthusiasm. Then they had friendly negotiations in the Consulate, and Napoleon expressed his approval and appreciation for the Pope's intention to vigorously promote charity. He also expressed his willingness to cooperate with this within the scope of his ability.

Immediately afterwards, the Pope had a frank discussion with Minister Lucien on some specific matters, and determined the responsibilities and obligations of both parties. Then the Pope, accompanied by Minister Lucien, visited various universities and hospitals in Paris. Then Pope Ho issued a joint statement together with Napoleon.

"Pope Pius VII of the Vatican and Napoleon Bonaparte, the first ruler of the French Republic, on behalf of the Holy See and the French Republic, jointly issued the following statement:

France believes that to ensure freedom of religion, to ensure that any nation, any country, and anyone can freely choose to believe in religion or not, and to believe in this or that religion is a natural human right that should not be interfered by any secular force.

The Holy See believes that, according to the teaching of Jesus Christ, 'Render to God what is God's, and to Caesar what is Caesar's'. Secular regimes should not interfere in matters of religious belief. In fact, in the history of the church, because of the secular government's intervention in religion, the church was divided and a large number of heretical beliefs were produced. This is a historical lesson. Therefore, the Holy See believes that at present, any attempt to rely on state power to interfere with religion violates the basic principles of religion.

The French believe that it is the unshirkable responsibility of the government to respect the natural human rights of any person. Even in a forced war, we have the responsibility to protect the basic human rights of combatants on the opposing side. To this end, the French Government undertakes the following:

If combatants of the opposing side are captured, their basic human rights will still be guaranteed by the government of the French Republic. The French government and its armed forces refrain from using violence and intimidation against captured persons when interrogating them.

For the wounded and sick among the captured persons, the French government will try its best to treat their wounded and sick within its ability, and will never allow any harm or violence to the life and body of the captured persons, especially murder , torture, biological experiments, or willfully withholding medical assistance and care.

The French government and military will also promise not to deliberately attack the hospital facilities of the enemy to protect the safety of the other's medical staff.

The French government believes that even in war, the personal rights of civilians should be guaranteed not to be violated. The French government promises not to deliberately attack civilian installations, attack, loot, or otherwise harm hostile civilians during war.

The Holy See believes that all human beings were created by God and should be brothers and sisters. A war between brothers and sisters is a great tragedy. Even if the war cannot completely disappear for a while, it is of great significance to avoid excessive atrocities as much as possible in the war.

The Holy See appreciates the relevant commitments made by the French government, and looks forward to other countries making corresponding commitments to reduce the harm caused by war to brothers and sisters in various countries.

In order to express its support for the French government's goodwill, the Holy See suggested that from now on, protected medical personnel in warring countries can wear a red cross to indicate their identity. Hospitals and other facilities should also be marked with a red cross so that the warring parties can identify them.

The Holy See will organize medical staff to help the wounded and sick on both sides during the war. This move reflects Jesus' love for mankind. The Holy See requires all warring parties to protect the safety and dignity of the medical staff organized by the Holy See. "

With this joint statement, both France and the Holy See have placed themselves on a moral high ground. Now, any country that does not wage war in accordance with the joint declaration of France and the Holy See is almost automatically considered a barbarian.

At the same time, the Holy See has taken a big step towards building a "charitable empire".

At the same time, in North America, the situation of the war began to undergo tremendous changes.

Since France declared war on Britain, Louisiana quickly organized a volunteer army of up to 50,000 people and began to attack Canada. But the performance of the French army in this series of offensive operations was not good. General Arthur Wellesley's troops, relying on defense, repelled many French attacks in succession.

However, the tactical success did not change the strategic passivity. After these few battles, the supplies of the British army were already very tight, because the sea routes were blocked, and all kinds of vital supplies could not be shipped in. So the army under General Arthur Wellesley is now seriously short of ammunition.

At this time, something more terrible happened-those French-speaking guys in Quebec suddenly declared their independence, and announced their withdrawal from the war, and remained neutral in the war.

The British had already prepared for the betrayal of these guys in Quebec. But being prepared does not mean being able to respond effectively. Although those guys in Quebec declared that they would remain neutral, the British simply did not believe this. More importantly, Quebec controlled the waterways, and their attitude changed, making the British's logistical problems even more prominent.

After Quebec was "neutralized", French merchant ships sailed into the St. Lawrence River immediately and sent a large amount of supplies to Quebec. This made the British begin to worry that the "neutrality" of the Quebecers was actually just to prepare for the hoarding of supplies enough to launch an attack.

At this point, the U.S. military also began to regroup and re-launched an attack on Canada. They came from the east, but the "neutral" Quebec provided various conveniences to the US military, including selling them various supplies.

General Arthur Wellesley realized that if he continued to confront the French in the Great Lakes area, those Quebecers and Americans would probably cut off his already weak supply line, so he had to order the entire army to attack the French. Ottawa retreats. But retreating before the enemy is easier said than done. Especially in the French Volunteer Army in North America, almost every soldier has a horse, which makes their combat effectiveness in pursuit battles far exceed their performance in positional battles. By the time Arthur Wellesley finally retreated to Ottawa, he had lost half of his army.

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