Flowers, Swords and France

Under everyone's gaze, Mr. de Radney, who had a big mustache, swayed his body a little uncomfortably and looked around carefully.

"Mr. de Treville, what instructions do you have?" he asked in a low voice.

"Instructions are not really instructions, but there are some words that need to be conveyed to you." Charles' face was still full of smiles, "You are stationed in the Kingdom of Sardinia. According to what we know now, it is a country full of vitality and has a very ambitious king."

"Yes, sir, you are right." The ambassador nodded in agreement, "The Kingdom of Sardinia is now the most powerful in Italy - perhaps I should say the only powerful country. Their new king, King Victor Emmanuel II, just succeeded to the throne two years ago. He is now in his early thirties and is very energetic. He wants to expand his power in Italy -"

"Until the unification of Italy?" Charles asked back.

"Yes, sir, as far as I can see, he does think so." The ambassador nodded again. "His Majesty the King made no secret of his determination, and his Prime Minister Cavour also had the same belief. They firmly believed that creating a unified Italy was the inevitable mission of the Kingdom of Sardinia."

"Puff..."

Hearing his words, many people couldn't help laughing.

Yes, in the eyes of today's Europeans, Italy, which has been divided for thousands of years, is nothing more than a geographical term. No one believes that the Kingdom of Sardinia and the unknown King Victor Emmanuel II can accomplish this achievement - in fact, in theory, based on Sardinia's strength and the king's personal ability, they should not have been able to accomplish this achievement.

However, the subsequent "history" proved that although he could not fight, at least he would take advantage of the situation and find a good thigh to hug.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had been seeking help from France for decades, when France was still in the Restoration Dynasty. Although the relationship between the two countries was damaged during the impact of the February Revolution, after Louis Bonaparte came to power. Out of realistic political needs, the Kingdom of Sardinia began to seek an alliance with France - or, in other words, accept France's protection.

"How do they treat France--Mr. President?" Charles asked in a low voice.

"Their attitude towards France remains the same." The ambassador answered cautiously, "As long as France is willing to support them, they are happy to be good friends of France."

Then, he lowered his voice, "When I returned home this time, His Majesty the King specially summoned me and told me that he was very happy to see...France is about to obey God's call again and become a monarchy. As a monarch, he is very happy to see his brother sit on the throne of France. A monarchical France is definitely the best friend of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Kingdom of Sardinia is also willing to go through fire and water for the French monarch."

"Oh! That's so beautiful!" Charles couldn't help but pat the table lightly. "France is also happy to be friends with it. Mr. de-Radney, it seems that you have done a very good job. You have effectively maintained the relationship between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia and fulfilled your duties."

Under the gaze of his colleagues next to him, De-Radney straightened his back quite complacently. "This serves the interests of France."

He seized this opportunity and took the lead before others, using the King of Sardinia's words to support the president's enthronement. This was a move that killed two birds with one stone - it showed that he was effective in his work and won over Sardinia; it also showed that his political stance was correct and he was unambiguous on major issues.

"Very good, in that case, prepare a report after you go back, write down your views on how to improve relations with the Kingdom of Sardinia, and I will convey it to Mr. President." Charles nodded approvingly, "The President has noticed the Kingdom of Sardinia's recent friendly expressions to France, and he is happy to let this friendly kingdom be under his protection." "The Sardinians are dissatisfied with Austria, and they want to unify Italy. Then they are destined to be enemies with Austria." At this time, the ambassador to Austria, Count de-Ellomon, couldn't help but interjected, "As far as I know, the Kingdom of Sardinia regards the Austrians as the main imaginary enemy. I think it is for this reason that they are so eager to seek the protection of France. Obviously, they want to borrow the power of France to fight against Austria, and then benefit from it..." He said this, firstly out of jealousy of his colleagues, not wanting them to be in the limelight. Second, it is also to maintain the relationship between France and Austria, and not wanting to see Charles being used because of ignorance, thereby damaging the interests of France. "I know what you mean, sir." Charles made a gesture, signaling him not to continue. "The strength of the Kingdom of Sardinia is not the most important issue. In other words, its strength is far less than its ambition, which is a good thing for us." All eyes were focused on him, and this feeling was really wonderful. "The key is that Mr. President needs a vassal state to improve his status in Europe. Although the Kingdom of Sardinia is not strong, it has enough strength to fill the facade. It is still good to be a follower."

"But they are too dangerous. France may be instigated by them to directly confront the Austrians at any time. If that happens, France will be put into unpredictable risks." Count de-Elromont could not help but continue, "Mr. Treville, I heard... I heard that you are more pro-Austrian, so you'd better not be too friendly with these Sardinians..."

Charles' face slowly darkened.

"It is our responsibility to judge France, and even to judge what I should do, not the responsibility of others!" He interrupted the other party in a tone that was almost like a scolding, "Besides, my hope to gain the favor of the Austrians and my hope to strengthen relations with the Sardinians are not contradictory, and can even be said to be conducive. When a person holds a stick in his hand, others are always more willing to be friendly with him. The fight between Sardinia and Austrians gives us the opportunity to participate, doesn't it?"

In international exchanges, when seeking to be friendly with a certain country, in fact, in a sense, it is more necessary to counter the other party. With the threat of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Austrians will be more cautious. If they want to keep their existing interests, they must seek help from the French. No matter how unwilling they are, realistic political considerations will outweigh emotional needs.

After 1866, the Austrians became loyal allies of the Germans with the same unwillingness.

"Your words make sense... but can we really control the Sardinians?" Although he knew that Treville was very unhappy, Count de-Elromont was still a little hesitant, "Once they are out of control, your plan may also be out of control."

"I will consider this." Charles replied casually, "Now these are just ideas, we have to wait until everything becomes a reality before considering it. Mr. de-Radney, remember to report to me as soon as possible. Okay?"

"Yes, sir." The other party agreed quickly.

When Charles ended the topic with these words, the atmosphere swept away the previous relaxed atmosphere and became a little solemn. Everyone was secretly guessing the thoughts of Charles and the person he represented.

"There is one more thing I want to announce to you all." Just as they were still thinking. Charles' words broke the silence again.

Everyone looked at him again.

"Gentlemen, Mr. President... the empire is about to be rebuilt." Charles' expression was very calm, without any fluctuations. "The preparations for the referendum are about to be completed. We expect to launch the referendum in the fall. And I can honestly tell you that there will be no mistakes in the result of the referendum. Therefore, the Bonaparte family will reign over France again as it did 50 years ago. We will usher in an empire again... If any of you have different opinions, you can raise them with me now?"

This mischievous question, of course, did not receive any response. Everyone held their breath and lowered their eyes, fearing that Treville would regard them as "rebels with ill intentions."

"Very good, I am grateful for your loyalty to the Empire." Charles laughed again, "Although the Empire has not been established yet, I firmly believe that it will bring the most glorious page to France - just as it has done before. You are all meritorious ministers of the Empire, and His Majesty trusts you very much. As long as you can complete the tasks given by the Empire, I can guarantee that you will have a place in the future Empire."

No one questioned his words in the name of the emperor. Whether in France or abroad, people have already regarded him as one of Louis Bonaparte's main confidants and assistants.

"For the stability and longevity of the Empire, I will hand over a very important task to you." Charles glanced around, "I hope that as the Empire's ambassadors abroad, you can complete this task for the Empire with the greatest enthusiasm."

What task? Everyone's eyes were filled with this question.

"The empire, from the day it came into existence, will have to realize its own continuation as the most urgent matter. In other words, the issue of succession will be the biggest problem for the empire." Charles slowly stood up and looked down at the envoys present. "What is worrying now is that our future emperor has no legal wife, and naturally there is no legal heir to inherit the empire... Therefore, after ascending the throne, it is necessary for the emperor to find a legal wife as soon as possible to govern the country with him and bring him a legal heir to the empire. This queen must be found from the family and bloodline that are worthy of the throne of the French Empire..."

When he said this, everyone in the room was shocked. Everyone's face turned pale and they didn't know what to say.

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

To be honest, it is not strange to want to find a queen from the European royal family. Napoleon did this before. He found a Habsburg for himself, and found royal spouses for other brothers and adopted children, which greatly satisfied the vanity of the small Corsican landowners. But... the current situation is obviously different. He is the emperor who makes the whole of Europe tremble!

"This... this may be a bit troublesome..." After a long silence, an ambassador asked cautiously, "We... our full-time job is to maintain relations between the two countries. If we do this, I'm afraid... I'm afraid On the contrary, it will affect our main work. It may not be so easy to find princesses of the right age from various royal families. If we force a proposal, I am afraid it will damage the diplomatic relations between the two countries..."

Although his worry seems a bit ridiculous, it actually has precedent. Doesn't everyone say that Napoleon decided to fall out with Russia because Alexander rejected his proposal to his sister?

Since Napoleon was like this back then, Louis Bonaparte's reputation in various countries is worse than Napoleon's now. If he rashly proposes to the royal families of various countries, he may end up with the same fate as Napoleon... Almost everyone thinks so. , but no one said this sentence.

Of course, even if they didn't say it out loud, Charles fully understood what they meant. To be honest, he and Louis Bonaparte thought so too, so they had no intention of asking for trouble in the first place.

"Don't worry, everyone. I'm not saying that you should ignore your own work and devote yourself to this matter... In any case, maintaining good relations with other countries is our most important task at the moment." Due to this necessary consideration, Ciel's answer was a bit cryptic, but it was completely understandable to the people opposite. "It will be completed on the basis of not affecting the relationship between the two countries and not offending the royal family of a certain country."

"Oh, oh...!" Everyone suddenly realized.

"Europe has a huge upper class society with various royal families. In my opinion, the royal family is not the only one who sits on the throne. On the contrary, from a historical point of view, interacting with these royal families is nothing more than It can only bring us a lot of unnecessary disputes..." Charles continued to explain, "For the benefit of France and to avoid future disputes, I think we should find some branches of the royal family that are in need of help and are willing to help us. It’s very appropriate.”

This is true. Although the Bonaparte family has already given birth to an emperor, and is about to give birth to another emperor, and was married to several royal families in Europe at that time, in the eyes of the royal families of various countries now, after all, he is still just an upstart. That's all, not to mention that Louis Bonaparte has just established a foothold in France, and it is really difficult to win the favor of the royal families in power in various countries.

However, European royal families have been multiplying for generations, and the current situation has been very chaotic over the years, so there are quite a lot of down-and-out royal families. If you try to find a way to find it, you should not be able to find someone who can serve as the Queen of France - -Even a second-married woman like Josephine can become a queen. Is it possible that a woman from a declining royal family cannot become the Queen of France?

After hearing Ciel's explanation, everyone felt relieved a little.

"We understand what you mean." After discussing in a low voice again, they all agreed to Ciel's request. "We will try our best to complete the tasks assigned by you."

"You are responsible for visiting, providing candidates for consideration, and then bringing them all to me for me to make a judgment. Remember, this matter must be kept secret to avoid causing commotion to the outside world and not particularly good for our image." Ciel shrugged, "Please take it seriously, because this will be one of the most important events after the creation of the empire."

He said it so seriously that the others couldn't help but stop whispering.

"If anyone can help France find the queen, then whoever can get the gratitude of His Majesty the Emperor -" Charles paused intentionally, "I don't think I need to explain the significance and value of this kind of gratitude, right?"

"Understood." Everyone nodded again.

However, when a large group of diplomats were asked to look for wives for themselves, even Louis Bonaparte would not dare to tell the public directly, so Charles was naturally happy to help him share this worry.

For his own personal purposes, he wanted to please Louis Bonaparte and win the emperor's continued trust and reuse.

"Okay, then please work hard for the empire." Mrs. Treville smiled sweetly, but she was full of ridicule in her heart. "We must find a candidate worthy of His Majesty's last name..."

She simply despised Louis Bonaparte. (~^~)