Augustus was lost in thought, drifting in and out of consciousness on the bumpy carriage, and soon they arrived.
After carefully selecting items inside the house, he had his attendants load the necessary things onto the carriage.
Though he said "selected," the result of his selection was to take everything. This included the chandelier hanging from the ceiling; he nearly took the floorboards and ceiling along with it.
If not for the presence of others, Caesar would have truly wanted to rip up the floorboards and ceiling to see if anything was hidden inside.
The attendants saw this but said nothing, simply assuming the new Pope was a particularly nostalgic person.
On the way back, Augustus rested for a while.
They arrived at the Papal Palace; roused by an attendant, Augustus stretched pleasantly and yawned.
Seeing this comical scene, the attendant unexpectedly burst out laughing. Realizing his gaffe, the attendant quickly apologized profusely, and beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead.
"It's alright, it's alright. Don't be so reserved around me. Just laugh if you feel like it; your smile is very nice," Augustus said, not without a hint of teasing.
Watching him laugh, Augustus's mood also brightened considerably. If not for that laugh, he would have almost forgotten that he was also a person of flesh and blood. Being surrounded by a group of lifeless wooden figures every day would drive even a mentally sound person to illness.
The feudal hierarchy was truly harmful. However, he still had to rely on this system for now and could not abolish it directly. The current social environment also did not allow him to do so, but he could certainly grant them a little more freedom.
Stepping out of the carriage, he saw a person walking directly towards him. The Papal Palace was also surrounded by a group of people in identical attire, but everything else was as usual.
Augustus briefly thought about it, confirmed that he was not being forced out, and motioned for the attendant to arrange for people to move the brought-back items upstairs, then began to observe them.
The people surrounding the Papal Palace wore black berets, ancient knight uniforms with red, yellow, and blue stripes, white collars, and white gloves. They held various cold weapons such as spears, halberds, and sabers, and a magnificent short sword was at their waist.
The one walking towards him was likely their leader, whose attire differed from theirs. He wore a black open-front shirt with several unknown badges on his chest, and his pants and shoes were striped with red and black.
This man was burly, with dark, shiny hair, fair but very rough skin, and visibly large pores covering his face. His brown eyes were bright and piercing, his nose bridge was high, and there was a scar on his left eyebrow and another on his chin. He was walking towards him with firm, powerful steps.
This is the Swiss Guard?
As an amateur European history enthusiast, Augustus was naturally not ignorant of the Swiss Guard.
The Swiss Guard was originally established in 1506 by Julius II, known as the "Warrior Pope." It was initially a mercenary organization, including mercenaries from various countries, tasked with protecting the Holy See of the Catholic Church and the Pope himself.
On May 6, 1527, during the Sack of Rome, the imperial army of Charles I, then King of Spain and Holy Roman Empire Emperor, mutinied after defeating the French army in Italy but not receiving their due pay. The 34,000-strong imperial army marched on Rome, intending to capture the Pope.
At this time, Rome only had 5,000 militiamen and 189 members of the Swiss Guard; the guards from other countries had long since fled. After the fall of Rome, the Swiss Guard fought a fierce battle to fulfill their duty of covering the Pope's retreat.
Of the 189 soldiers, 147 died on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica. The remaining 42 successfully covered the Pope's safe escape through a secret passage, with no one surrendering or being captured.
Moved by this, Pope Clement VII, also of the Medici Family, not only designated May 6 as an important memorial day for the Swiss Guard but also decreed that from then on, the Holy See would only employ Swiss people as guards, no longer using a mixed army. The Swiss Guard thus earned a reputation for absolute loyalty.
Although the primary function of the Swiss Guard is to protect the Pope and not for warfare, historically, besides the Sack of Rome, they have indeed not participated in any other battles. However, the Swiss Guard is by no means a disorganized rabble.
The selection for the Swiss Guard is almost stringent, requiring: Swiss nationality, Catholic, unmarried, noble birth, a certain level of education, completion of basic Swiss military training, a good conduct certificate, and meeting height and age requirements.
Most European nobles generally value honor, and while there are some completely shameless ones, they are a minority. How does the saying go? "My honor is my loyalty." In battle, the likelihood of these nobles deserting, mutinying, surrendering, or acting erratically is absolutely much lower than that of commoners.
Having received a certain level of education is another advantage they have over commoners. At this time in Europe, education was not widespread, and many commoners were completely illiterate.
Furthermore, on the European continent today, Switzerland has almost the most complete mercenary system. Having undergone basic training and performed well in this country means their military quality is absolutely outstanding in all of Europe.
Augustus's first thought on this was: What a waste! What an absolute waste!
Such an excellent Swiss Guard is only used to protect the Pope. If deployed in the army, how many soldiers could be firmly controlled!
Thinking of this, Augustus's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at the person who had already walked in front of him. The Captain of the Swiss Guard was startled by these two sudden beams of light and forgot what he was about to say.
"If I'm not mistaken, you are the Captain of the Swiss Guard, aren't you?" Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Augustus spoke first. The two couldn't just keep staring at each other.
The Captain of the Guard was visibly a little embarrassed and quickly replied.
"Oh, yes, yes, Your Holiness. I am Dracula, the Captain of the Swiss Guard. Your safety will be the responsibility of the Swiss Guard from now on."
"Can you tell me about the current situation of the Swiss Guard?"
"Of course, that is your right and my duty…"
"Currently, the Swiss Guard has 225 members, and all their weapons are made from the best metal materials available."
Dracula spoke voluminously, and when he mentioned certain things, he couldn't help but show a proud expression. Most of what he said was already known to Augustus; the only useful part was the last sentence.
After listening, Caesar walked up to a guard member and carefully observed his equipment. Dracula also quickly followed. Soon, Augustus realized a very serious problem.
"You don't carry ranged weapons?"
"That's correct," Dracula replied calmly.
"Then how will you be responsible for my safety? If someone tries to assassinate me, they won't just rush in for hand-to-hand combat, will they?"
"With our bodies and blood!" Dracula's powerful voice suddenly erupted, and the guard members responded in unison, making Caesar's brain freeze for a few seconds.
At this moment, Dracula held his head high, his eyes resolute, giving off a feeling of facing death without fear.
Augustus now believed that the praise for the Swiss Guard's absolute loyalty was not exaggerated. They were not loyal to him, but to every Pope, though at present, there was no difference between the two.
But what use did he have for their bodies and blood! He needed a guard, not a funeral escort.
"I need you to equip yourselves with ranged weapons. Every guard member's life is precious, and I don't want any unnecessary sacrifices. You decide what kind of ranged weapons to equip. Think it over and tell me; funding is not an issue."
"Alright, I'll go now and give you an answer once I've decided." Dracula left after saying this. Since the Pope had said so, he couldn't very well say, "We don't value our lives; we just want to die gloriously in battle."