Flowers, Swords and France

Under the gaze of everyone present, Ciel spoke passionately about loving peace, so sincerely that it almost seemed to come from the heart. However, what he got was not a burst of enthusiastic cheers in response to him, but a slightly shocked look at each other.

The Austrians looked at each other, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't.

There is no doubt that they will not believe this performance at all.

In today's France, anyone can say that he hates killing and loves peace, but Louis Bonaparte and his associates are not qualified. If they were not ambitious and evil, and were not afraid of murder and arson, how could they have climbed up from humble beginnings step by step, and finally launched a bloody coup to usurp the supreme power of France?

And this Mr. de Treville is obviously as cruel, vicious, cunning and insidious as any of his comrades.

According to the information they received through various channels, they already knew very well - Charles de Treville was one of the chief directors of the coup, and he personally ordered the bloody suppression of the opposition and popular demonstrations.

However, due to diplomatic etiquette, they could not interrupt Treville's exaggerated performance, and they could not even show a smile, so it was no wonder that his expression was weird.

What's more, the person who just claimed to be peace-loving was Helmut von Melesen himself. If he said it in a sarcastic way, it would obviously be an irony.

Helmut von Melesen, who originally planned to be cunning, did not expect that Charles not only did not rush forward impatiently, but also made such a shameless comment. Seeing that the topic was blocked by Ciel, he was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say.

I saw that the atmosphere was a little cold. Charlotte patted Charles's hand with a smile, "Okay! Why are you having such a long talk at home? You're really not ashamed! Just cheers, don't scare the guests!"

After finishing speaking, she picked up the wine glass and looked at Helmut von Melesen and others. "Okay, gentlemen, let's have another drink, shall we?"

After getting Charlotte's help, Helmut von Melesen finally looked better.

"Cheers to peace!"

Everyone raised their glasses again and drank a toast.

After taking another swig of wine, Helmut von Melesen composed himself.

"Mr. de Treville, you are right. Peace and prosperity are very beneficial to our two countries - and even Europe as a whole. Each of us should love peace..." He stared at Charles, as if thinking To probe every change in his expression, "But, as we all know, there are many kinds of peace - there's peace that everyone likes and peace that everyone likes, and peace that everyone doesn't like, I think. And so do you. Can you tell the difference?"

This time, after Ciel's counterattack, his attitude became much more serious. Apparently, he no longer held contempt for Ciel because of Ciel's initial involvement in diplomacy.

Looks like there's something going on!

Ciel immediately felt relieved.

Same as your own judgment. The Austrian's visit this time is not just a false story, but he really wants to find out something meaningful from himself - otherwise, he would not start testing again now. Instead, he continued to change the subject.

"You are right, sir. There are many kinds of peace." Charles nodded, staring at von Melesen's face as well. "If there is a kind of peace that is reluctantly born accidentally because of the mistakes of the times, and makes everyone feel deeply unhappy about it, then the foundation of peace is very fragile and unstable. It cannot be maintained. It’s very difficult. I prefer a positive and constructive peace to this kind of peace, which I think is beneficial to every country in Europe.”

"On what basis is a positive, constructive peace... based?" Although it was not in line with diplomatic rules to ask this question, Helmut von Melesen continued to ask because the stakes were so important. He asked, "Is it from 1789, 1792, or 1810?"

"Of course it was in 1815. I have no dissatisfaction with the verdict of the Congress of Vienna. Besides, it is difficult for us to provide a better peace than it." Charles did not fall into his language trap, and This shows that he does not want to overthrow the existing order. "Although it must be admitted that our country has some mutterings against the existing order, this does not change our entire view - the balance of power in Europe is an important cornerstone for maintaining peace, and we are in no way opposed to this."

His words made the Austrians look at each other again.

"Are you sincere?" they seemed to be asking.

Whether the Bonaparte family could calmly and silently accept the verdict of the Congress of Vienna was doubtful, and this doubt was one of the major reasons why it was difficult for them to make up their mind to befriend France.

"Sir, it is indeed very encouraging that you can say that - at least to me." Helmut von Melesen continued in an encouraging tone although he was full of doubts, "However, I have some rumors here that are not consistent with what you said... Sir, I heard that you also made a speech at the World Peace Conference more than a year ago? I read some records of that speech. The tone may not be so constructive..."

"Oh? I did make some impromptu remarks at the time, although some of them were not considered in advance, but if you think that they were some kind of bellicosity, then you must have misunderstood me... If you can get my original words at the time, you should be able to see that I support the principle of balance of power and relaxation, but I think that the existing system needs some amendments that are not difficult and are still based on the existing order, so that it can reflect the status that France deserves."

"Some minor amendments? Sir, please forgive me for being frank, people are different, when you think you have not offended others, some people will always feel that they are offended - so for us, being frank is conducive to mutual trust and understanding." Helmut von Meleson became more serious, "In addition, you hope to improve the status of France. To be honest, I deeply understand it, because every patriot has this hope... There is nothing wrong with it."

He deliberately lengthened the sound here to hint to Charles that the Austrians were not particularly opposed to the Bonapartists continuing to be in power in France, and Charles also heard his hint and felt relieved.

He waited for the other party to say "however" and reveal the bottom line of the Austrians.

"However..." As expected, Helmut von Meleson immediately changed the subject, "From our understanding, balance of power means that each party is willing to respect the other and exercise restraint. Based on this principle, we sincerely hope that your wish will not be carried out in the most dangerous situation... If someone unilaterally destroys our precious peace, I think it will be extremely difficult for us - all of us - to accept it. After all, France has been so reckless in the not-so-distant past."

Are you going to use other countries to embolden yourself? Charles sneered.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

It is normal for the Austrians to worry that the French will provoke them. After all, the Bonaparte family, which has beaten the Habsburgs several times to cede land and pay compensation and beg for mercy, has left them with a heavy shadow - to some extent, perhaps they are more afraid of the Bonaparte family coming to power than any other country.

And he did not expect to completely dispel their doubts on this occasion.

"What are you worried about? War?" Charles raised his head and asked loudly, "Sir, as I said just now, no one in France would think of war, not the president, nor me. The lessons of history are always in our hearts, and we don't want to be enemies with anyone... On this issue, the president is more rational than anyone else, because no one has received such a painful lesson like him. There is no need for you to worry about this kind of thing."

Then, Charles stood up gently and bowed to the other party sincerely.

"Please believe me, as the president said, we are only thinking about defending our country and nation now, and we have absolutely no war plan against anyone. Besides, our country has just recovered from the turmoil and needs to recuperate. The people have no desire to compete with other countries, and only want to live a stable and prosperous life."

His tone was so sincere that even he himself almost believed that he and Louis-Bonaparte were not preparing for a war against Russia.

Such a sincere tone and such a rational confession finally moved Helmut von Melerson slightly.

Undoubtedly, he certainly did not completely believe Charles' words, but at least he felt that Charles was not a reckless madman.

"France not only does not want to destroy peace, on the contrary, it is more diligent in defending peace." Charles continued, "And this important task is not something that only France can undertake. All the peace-loving powers in Europe should unite and cooperate for this great goal, right?"

"Do you think there is a need for France and our country to cooperate?" After a moment of silence, Helmut von Melerson asked back.

"It is very necessary, and the sooner the better. The president and I are convinced of this." Charles nodded and answered with an undoubted certainty, "You probably won't believe it, but the Bonaparte family has a natural liking for Austria... so the emperor finally married an Austrian princess. What's more, we are all devout believers in God, and we should play a greater role in defending Christ and the church together... Germany and France have been defenders of Christ for thousands of years. What reason is there to change all this?" (To be continued...)