Flowers, Swords and France

On June 22, 1849, the sky over Windsor Castle was blue and clear.

Although this was an extremely chaotic era, there were still many people who could enjoy the charming countryside scenery like Charles and be intoxicated by it.

It had just rained heavily here, so the air was not hot, and the floating clouds did not dissipate by themselves because the rain stopped. It sometimes blocked the sunlight, giving all living things a chance to rest from the scorching sun. Combined with the green grass unique to England, after breathing the turbid air in the city for a long time, who would not regard this place as a paradise on earth?

At least, in the eyes of Her Majesty Victoria I, the Queen of Great Britain and the future Queen of India, all this was so beautiful.

Because of this, she was riding a horse at this time, leisurely strolling in the endless green of Windsor Castle, enjoying such a wonderful morning.

The horse's hooves stepped on the green grass, making a calm and rhythmic sound, which made Her Majesty feel more relaxed and comfortable.

"My dear, our kingdom is so beautiful!" After being intoxicated for a moment, she smiled and looked at the person riding next to her, "Isn't it?"

"It's beautiful, my dear." The person next to him immediately echoed. Although it was such a relaxing occasion, his expression was still very serious, as if he was thinking about something. Although he was over 30 years old, the prince's face was still fair and not marked by many traces of time.

The only person who could talk to Her Majesty like this was of course her cousin - that is, her husband, Prince Albert from the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family.

Generally speaking. After countless generations of inbreeding in a closed circle, most of the German royal family did not develop well, and various genetic diseases were rampant. There are many lunatics and idiots in history books - the Habsburg royal family of Austria and the Wittelsbach of Bavaria are the representatives of them.

However, there are always exceptions. Prince Albert rarely meets the standards of a prince in a fairy tale - handsome, knowledgeable, witty, and elegant. It must be said that after arriving in this island country, he has won the hearts of the people.

But what about Her Majesty the Queen herself?

Well, to put it nicely, she is determined. To put it bluntly, she is domineering. If it were just domineering, it would be fine. Even the Queen's most staunch admirers admit that the Queen does not like cultural undertakings very much. She has no interest in philosophy or science.

She is a queen with little knowledge. Although she has an instinctive desire for power, she lacks the wisdom to use it. Only someone like Prince Albert, who is both patient and knowledgeable, can be loved by her and help her use the power in her hands.

However, the British did not give the prince what he paid, which is a regrettable historical story.

[After marrying Queen Victoria, Prince Albert did not become the King of England like William in 1688. The British Parliament and the people refused to grant him such a status. So, for the rest of his life, his title was "King Companion", which was higher than the general royal nobles, but lower than the king. 】

At this moment, this enviable couple had just passed their thirties and had six children (two sons and four daughters. The eldest son, the future King Edward of England, was in very good health, and the second son, Prince Alfred, was a hemophiliac. The daughters were also very healthy because the hemophilia gene they carried was recessive, so Alfred's hemophilia was only regarded as a personal misfortune at this time, and it did not make Her Majesty the Queen worried and sleepless.)

Seeming that the prince seemed to be worried, Her Majesty the Queen blinked, slowed down the horse's speed, and then moved closer. "My dear, what's bothering you again? You are such a fool, always thinking about so many things. Aren't you wasting your life in vain? It's rare for you to come out and take a breath. You should forget about Congress and politics. Let's have some fun..."

"But, my dear, as you said, this is our country. How can we run away and ignore it?" The prince sighed softly, with a look of premature aging in his eyes, "Our responsibilities are too heavy..."

"Okay, okay..." The queen spread her hands and interrupted her husband's long speech in time, "Then can you tell me , what is my husband upset about at this moment? "

"Many, many," the prince replied, "Let's talk about the first thing. Our dear Marquis of Dalhousie is in trouble again. You know, there are a group of people in Parliament who are very dissatisfied with the way he governs India and have been attacking him, so he now asks us to give him some support to maintain his authority in India..." \u003csay, 1812-1860), his father was a Scottish nobleman, served as a general under the Duke of Wellington, and was canonized as a United Kingdom nobleman-Baron Dalhousie by the British royal family in 1815 for his military exploits.

He studied at Harrow School in his childhood and later entered Oxford University. He became a member of the House of Lords in 1837 and inherited the title when his father died in 1838. In 1847, he succeeded Harding as the Governor-General of India, and in 1849, he was canonized as the Marquis of Dalhousie by the British royal family for his effective suppression of the Sikh soldiers' rebellion.

His achievements in the career of the Governor-General of India are highly controversial. His supporters believe that he was an outstanding and far-sighted official who consolidated the rule of the East India Company and laid the foundation for the future management system. His wise policies led to His successor was able to stem the tide of rebellion. His opponents believed that he was an important person responsible for the deterioration of the East India Company's financial and military conditions, sowing the seeds for the 1857 rebellion, and causing Britain to waste countless financial and material resources. 】

"Why do we have to support him?" The queen opened her eyes slightly, "He has been there for several years? If he doesn't even have the ability to stabilize the situation, why do we still support him?"

"We must uphold the authority of the Governor. Until the day we remove him, we should show unsparing support for him. Only with this support can the Governor have sufficient authority in India and then maintain stability there. , my dear." The prince shook his head and expressed his opinion. "India is too important to Britain to risk."

"Okay, okay, since you said so. Then do as you say." After a moment of silence, the Queen agreed with the prince's opinion, "If he needs support, I will give it to him."

"He also asked for financial subsidies because he needed to expand the military establishment in India." The prince added. "Although there are many people in the parliament who support his views, there are also many who oppose it, so he also hopes that we can exert our influence..."

After hearing these words from the prince. The queen's face quickly darkened - when a monarch hears that he has to spend a lot of money. I'm always in a bad mood.

"What he said makes sense. I thought about it for a long time and decided to help him..." the prince added in a low voice. "After all, spending a little more money doesn't matter as long as you can achieve your goals."

"Well... I hope Marquis Dalhousie can live up to our expectations." After another moment of silence, the Queen nodded lightly. However, she was still a little unhappy. added angrily in a low voice.

"None of these Scots are good!"

After saying that. She urged her mount slightly, and the horse galloped forward quickly, and the prince had no choice but to speed up and catch up.

After running for a while among the beautiful gardens and green grass, the queen finally forgot her discomfort just now. She slowly slowed down and then looked back at her husband with a smile.

"Then do you have anything else good to say?"

"A good thing?" The prince frowned, and then replied, "Yes, there is, but I don't know if it can be called a good thing..."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Oh? What is that?" The Queen was a little surprised.

"It belongs to the French." The prince nodded gently. "According to the news sent back by the ambassador to France, President Louis Bonaparte is now enjoying himself in France, and his power and influence are increasing day by day. Our politics Everything we have been waiting for is slowly but inevitably happening.”

"Isn't this good?" The Queen smiled. "Isn't it that the government hopes he can do this, so it lets him go? After he has power, he can help us deal with Russia. If he is dead, he might be able to revive his uncle's miserable dynasty..."

"That's why people are worried." The prince frowned, "Mr. Bonaparte is so unexpected. He did it more smoothly and shrewdly than we thought! Who could have imagined that He actually has this ability! This has to make people a little worried. You also know that swords and guns can't tell the enemy. At least a few decades ago, the Bonaparte family drew their swords against Britain..."

"But that was then, and this is now. No matter how confused Mr. Louis Bonaparte is, he will not still hold the hatred of the past in his heart? Even if he does, what is there to be afraid of?" The Queen replied, her tone still very calm. "My dear, you are just thinking too much, and that is not good. I think M. Bonaparte is more afraid of us than we are of him! Our empire will not be afraid of a dead phantom, If the new Bonaparte wants to be our enemy, we can still crush him, and it will be easier than crushing the old one."

When talking about this, the Queen looked matter-of-fact. "When will everlasting Britain need fear a Corsican rascal? For now, at least, we can do anything, can't we?"

Her eyes were full of arrogance. Her Majesty, the Queen of the most powerful country in the world, was qualified to possess this kind of arrogance.

"Okay, what you said is not unreasonable..." After a moment of silence, the prince nodded and agreed with his wife's opinion. "Since the plan has been decided, we should implement it to the end."

Although the queen's logic is simple, it is indeed very correct.

Then, the Queen laughed again, with some girlish coquettishness in her smile, "Dear, speaking of this, I haven't been to France yet... When we have time, let's go to Paris together, okay? I often I’ve heard people talk about the Tuileries Palace and Versailles, but I haven’t seen what they are like in so many years. I want to see them.”

"Okay." The prince agreed to the queen's proposal. "However, France is still too chaotic now. We might be regarded as unwelcome people if we go there. Besides, what does a monarch do in the Republic? If there is a chance in the future, we will go together."

"That's right! We finally came here, how can we always think about those annoying things?" After getting her husband's consent, the queen chuckled again, and then she suddenly whipped the horse and let the horse gallop quickly, "Come and chase me!"

Looking at his back, the prince sighed secretly, and then threw away other distractions, and galloped away like a teenager. (To be continued...)