Augustus arranged for an attendant to find Faol and ask him to meet him at his residence, then returned to his residence and took out a pen and paper to write letters to Karl and Duke respectively.
"My esteemed friend Karl, in the recent Papal Election, I was fortunate to be chosen by the Lord to become the new Pope.
Upon learning of your recent misfortunes, I earnestly wished to help you, but I was far away in Rome and previously held little influence, truly feeling willing but powerless. I regret that I was unable to assist you.
You are a brave soldier, an excellent general, a rare military genius. Your extraordinary courage and outstanding talent are evident to all. However, you have been treated extremely unfairly in Austria, which is a tremendous loss for Austria.
Now, I presumptuously, as the new Pope of the Roman Curia and the Papal States, sincerely invite you to serve in the Papal States, hoping to provide you with a stage to showcase yourself, and also hoping that you can help me achieve my grand vision of revitalizing the Papal States. I await your arrival here."
The letter to Duke was largely similar in content, with some added remarks about the drawbacks of mercenaries and the spirit of chivalry. Only by prescribing the right medicine can it be effective.
Augustus racked his brain to write the two letters, hoping to poach these two underutilized talents. Augustus still couldn't be sure what Claude was like before, but what he could be sure of was that he was so similar to himself, his vision certainly wouldn't be too bad.
The two people he valued so much must have their outstanding qualities, which could be seen from the content of the letters. Augustus didn't know what the average quality of officers in this era was, but it was clear that these two were at least not useless.
However, even though Augustus had tried his best, he still had no certainty of success.
Karl is an officer of Austria. At this time, Austria is engaged in the "Long Ottoman War" with the Ottoman Empire, and various rebel armies in regions such as Transylvania within the country are raising the banner of independence. According to history, the war with the Ottoman would not end for more than another year.
If Karl were to leave Austria and come to him at this time, what would that be called? Desertion! No soldier with even a shred of honor would be willing to have such a stain on his life.
And no one could say what would happen a year later. His plans always had to proceed; he couldn't possibly leave the position he originally intended for him vacant for a year. Moreover, since his arrival, the historical timeline had already shifted. If Austria and the Ottoman were to fight for another three or five years, wouldn't he be ruined by him?
Although Duke greatly valued the spirit of chivalry and conformed to traditional aristocratic values, mercenaries were mercenaries after all. Having lived a life of constant danger, they somewhat harbored the idea of seeking wealth amidst risks.
The lifestyle and training methods of mercenaries themselves also differed greatly. Asking him to abandon his mercenary status and honestly become a regular army officer, he might not necessarily be willing.
More importantly, Duke was not alone; he had over a thousand men under him. Unlike the regular army, those thousands of men were all brought by him and would have to leave with him. Even if he was willing, if all his subordinates refused, it would be difficult for him to handle.
Therefore, the possibility of Duke coming was not very high, unless he encountered special circumstances and had no other choice.
After arranging for these two letters to be sent out, Caesar was about to consider how to scout for new candidates; letting one or two people affect his plan was not Augustus's style of doing things.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Your Holiness, I am Faol."
The familiar knock and familiar voice reminded Caesar of the first time Faol knocked on the door when he first arrived in this world.
Although only a little over a day had passed, it felt like a very long time. He had already become the Pope, and Faol was about to leap from an ordinary bishop to the Pope's Chamberlain.
A chick, upon hatching, will consider whoever it sees first to be its parent. Augustus's first sight upon arriving in this world was Faol, so he naturally felt some goodwill towards him.
"Come in, Faol." After responding to Faol, Caesar also rushed towards the door in a few quick strides.
"Congratulations on your successful election as the new Pope!" Faol pushed open the door and eagerly congratulated him. His joy was evident, both happy for his friend's election as Pope and excited for his own impending rise in rank.
Faol was a clever man. He knew without thinking that, given his relationship with the new Pope, being summoned at this time would likely lead to a promotion. He didn't have a strong family background to support him, and even though he had tried his best to do everything perfectly, he had always been unable to advance further. Now, everything was different; he had finally made it.
"My dear friend, you're finally here! You can't imagine how much I've missed you!"
Before he finished speaking, Augustus lunged forward and gave Faol a big bear hug.
Startled by the sudden embrace, Faol's legs went weak, and he almost sat down. One must know that previously, this person had always been outwardly cold towards him. Now that he had become the Pope, he seemed like a different person. What was going on? Was this what it meant to feel more lonely the higher one's position?
"Your Holiness, what is this? You weren't like this before." Faol couldn't help but ask.
"What was I like before?" This was a question Caesar had always wanted to ask, so he naturally asked it now, following Faol's words.
Seeing Faol's expression become even more puzzled, Caesar added, "I need to know what I was like in your eyes before. I want to maintain my strengths, correct my weaknesses, and strive to perfect myself so as not to betray the Lord's expectations.
I will make some changes from before, so if I am different from how I was, don't be surprised. Also, there's no need to keep this a secret; I hope more people can supervise me."
Faol naturally understood the Pope's meaning: no need to keep it a secret meant spreading the news. However, what the Pope was like before, that question really needed some careful thought.
After pondering for a moment, Faol began his eloquent evaluation.
...
It must be said that Faol was truly too smooth. He didn't fill his speech with meaningless flattery, covered every aspect, and was very measured, detailing strengths and weaknesses appropriately without overstepping any bounds. This allowed Augustus to perfectly obtain the information he needed without feeling the slightest displeasure.
When Faol finally uttered the last word, Augustus came to a conclusion: he could just act naturally.
In Faol's description, his former self and his true self were practically cast from the same mold; even some very subtle details were completely identical.
As for whether there were differences that Faol didn't mention, Augustus had even less to worry about. In this world, probably no one understood him better than Faol. Even if there were differences, if Faol didn't know, who would? This was undoubtedly great news for Augustus.