Flowers, Swords and France

It was not until this time that Charles was really sure that everything the Duke of Wellington said to him was from the heart.

In other words, this old man, one of the greatest military commanders of the Napoleonic era, who was once so strong and cold that he was called the "Iron Duke" with awe, is now an anti-war activist? This old man who once led the army to defeat Napoleon's last hope of dominating Europe now hopes that Britain and France will always remain friendly and not fight again?

Well, this does sound a bit unbelievable... It's simply ridiculous.

But if you think about it carefully, it's actually not particularly ridiculous.

At Waterloo, where corpses were everywhere, looking at the terrible battlefield that was already desolate, Wellington once said, "I pray to God that I don't fight again in the future."

He did so - after the war, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the occupation forces in France, but he opposed signing a punitive peace treaty and rejected the suggestion of Blücher, the commander of the Prussian army, to shoot Napoleon and burn Paris. He also organized loans to rescue France's exhausted finances, and proposed to withdraw the occupation forces after three years in order to take care of the national sentiments of the French.

Unlike what people imagine, most of the military commanders are unwilling to engage in war after they come to power. Because only those military commanders who have led troops to fight and are accustomed to seeing their subordinates and enemies dead all over the field will have the most profound understanding of what war is and how terrible it is. When they are in power, they want to avoid war and implement conservative and relatively moderate policies.

This is the case with the Duke of Wellington and Soult. There are also many examples in the 20th century. Eisenhower, who once served as the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces, even reminded the American people not to be deceived by the military-industrial interest groups and not to easily launch foreign wars when he left office as president.

So, from this point of view, it doesn't seem strange that the Duke of Wellington sincerely hopes that Britain and France will no longer fight.

However, it is normal not to want to fight, but why only talk about Britain and France? Charles' mind flashed a little doubt.

He clearly said that he did not want to see the "two great nations" of Britain and France fighting again, not that he did not want to see Britain go to war with a foreign country again. This was true even when Charles made it clear that Britain and France might go to war with Russia in the near future.

So, his anti-war declaration, in addition to expressing his pacifism, may have other profound meanings.

"You are absolutely right. The two great nations should live in harmony. There should not be irreconcilable differences between them. I do not see such differences." With such an understanding, Charles carefully tried. "I believe it. Defending peace in Europe and even the world is equally beneficial to France and Britain. Under the same lofty purpose, they have no reason to oppose working together for such a great and sacred cause."

"Working together for a great and sacred cause - you are still too used to beating around the bush." ​​The Duke snorted, showing that he did not agree with Charles's politician style. "Let me be frank. In my conception, as long as our two great countries join hands, not even a mouse can move in any corner of the world. In this case, why should the two great nations hurt each other and shed the blood of young people in a meaningless war instead of helping each other? Britain is willing to safeguard France's vested interests and possible interests - as long as France returns with the same enthusiasm..."

Understand... Finally understand.

Under the Duke's almost explicit statement, Charles finally realized.

Isn't this the Anglo-French Agreement?

In history, the Duke of Wellington's proposal was indeed realized - Britain and France no longer fought, but each recognized the defense of their own interests and jointly used all means to maintain such vested interests.

It started on April 8, 1904, when British Foreign Secretary Marquis of Lansdowne Fitzmaurice and French Ambassador to Britain Cambon signed a cordial treaty in London, mutually recognized their respective spheres of influence and established a military alliance. Until 1956, Britain and France jointly sent troops to Egypt to safeguard the interests of the Suez Canal and retreated. Britain and France established an alliance and maintained a consistent pace for half a century. During this period, two world wars were fought.

It was not until 1958 that Charles de Gaulle launched a coup to seize power and abandoned this alliance, seeking reconciliation with Germany and hoping to establish a unified European Union. This understanding and alliance relationship was officially declared over.

The British sought this alliance relationship, of course, not out of love for the French people, but to maintain their own interests.

And the Duke's proposal was fifty years earlier than the historically realized entente.

There is no doubt that the Duke of Wellington is a pacifist.

But there is even more doubt that he is a pacifist who is based on the premise of protecting Britain's vested interests.

"You have given me a great shock." After hesitating for a moment, Charles could only give such a noncommittal answer.

"Let me tell you the truth, my proposal is precisely to allow Britain to continue to enjoy its own glory - in fact, I don't know, don't you want the same thing?" The Duke continued in a calm tone, "Everywhere in the world , the land we have occupied is already large enough, even if we take all the people of Britain to develop it - in this case, what reason do we have to continue to fight for the land? However, we must protect it all? maybe this It is not something that we alone can do. The British... are like a shepherdess who are fortunate enough to be in a very privileged position by the love of God, locking the countries of Europe in the sheepfold. However, this kind of blessing. Can our luck be maintained like this? No, from my point of view, the wealth of the countries in the mainland is increasing day by day, and their power will only become stronger and stronger. In the end, they will definitely be able to break through the sheepfold and march towards the entire world... "

"France is also on the mainland, oh no. As you said, it is in the sheepfold." Charles gave a calm answer. "It's also, like you said, eager to see what the world looks like."

"Hasn't the French seen enough now? If not, it can continue to see." The Duke replied leisurely, "I think France can easily understand my point of view, isn't it?"

The Duke's meaning is simple, France is also a vested interest, and it has the motivation to work with the British to maintain the old world order - as history has proven.

After all, he is a veteran who has been in Britain for so many years. During the most glorious moment of the British Empire, the Duke keenly discerned a fact that almost no one has noticed yet - that is, as countries healed from the trauma of war and grew stronger from the Industrial Revolution, , Britain can no longer safeguard its vested interests by itself, or even defeat its most dangerous enemies by itself. It needs help from powerful European countries. Help it protect its vested interests.

In the glorious prosperous age, we can still have such a clear understanding. Being able to see the hidden dangers is so much better than those pretentious British politicians.

In the Duke's view, France was a useful helper compared to other countries that were ambitious and insatiable.

Huh, that's a pretty good suggestion. Under the eager and expectant eyes of Duke Wellington, Charles sneered in his heart.

However, regardless of him. Neither Louis Bonaparte nor Louis Bonaparte was destined to accept such a proposal.

Because Britain is the biggest beneficiary of the current world order. It has the most extensive territory in the world and is also the master of the entire ocean. If you want to do so, it is tantamount to bowing to the British and admitting that you cannot compete with her. This is Conditions that no current French ruler would agree to.

The reason is simple, for both empires. The earth is too small, as long as France wants to have an empire that is on par with Britain or even surpasses it. It was unable to fight to maintain Britain's number one position - the same was true for the German Empire in the early 20th century, even though the British repeatedly wanted to win over the German Empire. But they just couldn't come to a compromise, even though together they could theoretically defeat any enemy in the world at the time.

Historically, it was not until the Franco-Prussian War failed and the French lost hope of competing for world supremacy and gave up their former ambitions that they chose not to expand further but to help the British maintain the old order.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

When he thought of this, Ciel suddenly felt slightly unhappy.

The Duke of Wellington's proposal was tantamount to revealing that in his heart, Charles was not as bold and ambitious as Louis Bonaparte. He believed that Ciel could be satisfied with a little favor.

"I'm afraid the world that France has seen is not big enough." Because of this displeasure, Charles added a little sarcasm in his tone, "But what can we do? Everyone has seen it, and the best The whole world is owned by that lovely shepherdess, and she doesn’t want outsiders to see it.”

"I think it is possible to make some compromises between Britain and France." Perhaps because he felt that Charles's statement was a joke, with a strange expression, the Duke muttered in a low voice, "At the same time, from keeping the two Judging from the vested interests of the great nation, it may also be necessary. However, France has just recovered from the trauma. After recovering, how much does she need to see? Excessive expectations will only cause resentment, but will not actually bring benefits to anyone. While I still have some time, you can tell France's wishes. Let me listen... don't forget, until this moment, I am still the supreme commander of the British Army."

This was not only a guarantee to appease Ciel and encourage him to make demands, but also a threat to ask him not to take advantage of the situation and cause bad things to happen. At this time, Charles was able to completely grasp the old man's meaning.

The price I offer is something you will never be able to satisfy.

But even so, I still admire you very much.

Ciel whispered in his mind.

"Please forgive me for not being able to answer you immediately about this question, because it is not something I can talk about casually. Only His Excellency the President is qualified to judge what France needs and what France should do to defend itself." Without making a sound, he evaded the obligation to give a price and threw the responsibility on Louis Bonaparte.

After a pause, he continued in that calm tone, "But don't worry, I will communicate with the country and hand over the answer to this question and France's further suggestions in the form of a memorandum to you and the British government. I can personally guarantee that we are willing to repay the British government and your sincerity with the same enthusiasm. Even... I am personally willing to fight to defend the common interests of Britain and France, if necessary."

The Duke looked at the blond young man in front of him calmly and finished his words in a respectful and enthusiastic tone.

He is indeed proficient in this business, just like the lovable and hated Talleyrand.

"Little guy now!" After a moment, he burst into laughter. "However, time will prove that I am right and you are just being clever!"

Finally, he raised his head again, looking at the void above his head thoughtfully and slightly worriedly.

"But I won't see that day." (To be continued ~^~)