Flowers, Swords and France

Under the shining sun, the carriage team carrying Charles and Charlotte left Schönbrunn Palace and headed north.

Autumn is the most refreshing season of the year. The carriage was driving on the road outside the palace. Charles and his wife admired the scenery of the Austrian wilderness and forgot everything else for a while.

However, they could not cut off all the troubles in the world after all. On the contrary, in order to protect the interests of themselves and the entire family, they were destined to get deeply involved.

The team did not leave far. On the contrary, when they came to a manor, they stopped one by one.

When the carriage stopped, the appreciation of the Treville couple could only end here.

"Charlotte, you should have a good rest. I can handle these things by myself." Charles touched his wife's forehead and said goodbye to her briefly. "Lunch will be served later. You should eat more."

Because it was already noon, Charlotte felt a little tired, so she just lay on the cushion with her eyes half open and half closed.

"Okay, Charles, I wish you..." Just when she was about to wish Charles a blessing, she couldn't help laughing, "This time, I don't know whether I should wish you success or failure..."

"Then wish me success, Lolotte." Charles also smiled and leaned over to kiss Charlotte's forehead.

"By the way, where's your pocket watch?" Charlotte was still drowsy, "I don't think you checked the time along the way... You didn't put it on your chest."

Charles didn't show his panic for a moment, and he still kept a smile on his face, "... Well, before leaving for Schönbrunn Palace, I accidentally broke my pocket watch. I've given it to the embassy and asked them to fix it for me as soon as possible. Then I'll send it back from here. Maybe it will have arrived in Paris when we get to France."

"You're always careless!" After hearing Charles' explanation, Charlotte glared at him. "You can break any good thing. Be careful next time!"

But no matter what she said, she was relieved to know the whole story. Although this pocket watch is precious, it's nothing in her eyes.

"Well, I'll be careful. Goodbye!"

Charles left the carriage with a flawless smile.

He got off the carriage, and the embassy secretary who followed him into another carriage came to his side.

"Is everything ready?" Charles restrained his smile and asked directly.

"Yes. Ready, sir." The secretary replied respectfully, and then extended his hand, "Please follow me."

The group of them stepped over the fence on the side of the road and walked into the manor. They had not walked a few steps when his friend, the young Richard von Metternich, came to greet him with his men.

"Charles!" He waved and greeted as he walked.

"Richard!" Charles also shouted a greeting, and then walked quickly to greet him.

The two young men shook hands and celebrated their reunion together.

Then. Richard looked at a middle-aged man in military uniform who was slowly following him. "Your Highness, this is Mr. Charles de Treville."

Then he introduced Charles, "Charles, this is Prince of Vasa, His Highness Gustav von Holstein Gottep."

Charles followed his gesture and looked at the silent middle-aged man. This middle-aged man is quite tall and looks to be in his fifties, but his face is quite old, and he looks older than he actually is.

His typical features are clear. It can be seen that he was handsome when he was young, but there is not much left now, and his brows are often furrowed, and his forehead is full of wrinkles. It seems that he has something on his mind that he can't solve. If Richard hadn't introduced him personally, Charles would have just treated him as an ordinary country gentleman.

"Your Highness, it's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled politely and extended his hand to the prince.

Seeing his seemingly respectful but actually oppressive performance, the middle-aged man's face was obviously shaken. Then he finally extended his hand and shook his hand together.

"Mr. de Treville, I am glad to see you too."

This prince is Prince Gustav of Vasa, a member of the former Swedish royal family, the Holstein-Gottep family, which is a branch of the famous German royal family, the Oldenburg family, which came to rule Sweden in 1751 with the ascension of Frederick I.

The father of this prince is Gustav IV, the King of Sweden who reigned from 1792 to 1809.

He was originally the eldest son of the king. If nothing unexpected happened, he would inherit the throne and rule Sweden after the king's death. However... there are many accidents in the world. A series of mistakes made by his father, Gustav IV, ruined his kingdom and all the future of this former crown prince.

To make a long story short, just looking at the time Gustav IV was in power, we can see that he was living in an era when everything was changing rapidly and turbulent. When he succeeded to the throne in 1792, the French Revolution was already in full swing. As a king, he was naturally full of hatred and fear for the French mobs, and was very afraid that the Jacobin virus would spread to his kingdom.

In 1805, he was still not intimidated by Napoleon's genius. He joined other European countries in the Third Anti-French Alliance and went to war against France, but his army was not as strong as he imagined. In front of the powerful French army, the Swedish army was not successful, and Swedish Pomerania was soon occupied by the French army.

The new enemy could not be defeated, and the old enemy came again. Russia, which was also in the anti-French alliance at that time, was an ally of Sweden, but Russian Emperor Alexander made peace with Napoleon in Tilsit in 1807, leaving only Sweden and Portugal to fight side by side with Britain. On February 21, 1808, Russia invaded Finland in the name of forcing Sweden to obey Napoleon's continental blockade policy, and conquered most of Finland in just one month. On September 17, 1809, Sweden declared defeat and signed the Treaty of Frederick Harbor, ceding one-third of Sweden's eastern territory to Russia, establishing the Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian Empire. Sweden lost the Finnish territory, and Gustav IV became the last Swedish king who still owned Finland.

Such a series of failures naturally dealt a heavy blow to the king's prestige. The loss of Pomerania and Finland was a loss that the poor Swedish Kingdom could not afford. Therefore, Swedish officers and ministers united. They staged a conspiracy coup. On March 13, 1809, the conspirators rushed into the kingdom and arrested the king's family. Then they announced the abdication of Gustav's throne.

Gustav IV wanted to end the coup by passing the throne to his son, but the coup plotters refused to agree with his approach. Instead, they forcibly deprived his family of the right to inherit the throne, and then supported his younger brother Archduke Karl as king, who became Karl XIII.

The poor Gustav family had to be driven out of Sweden. They only got the title of Prince of Vasa.

In addition, later, Charles XIII, who usurped the throne, was in very poor health, and his only son, Charles, died suddenly of a stroke in 1810. After some discussion, the Swedish government actually listed Bernadotte, the then French Marshal and Prince of Ponte-Corvo, as a traitor.

This former darling of the Great Revolution and pioneer of the Republicans accepted the title of traitor, and then brought his family to Sweden. After the death of Charles XIII in 1818, he succeeded to the throne and became King Charles XIV. Sweden also bid farewell to the rule of the Holstein-Gottep dynasty. Entered the Bernadotte dynasty.

In 1844, this giant of the era died, and his only son Oscar succeeded to the throne and became King Oscar I of Sweden. He is still on the throne now.

It can be seen that the royal line of the Swedish king today has little to do with the royal line of this prince. His prince title is nothing more than yesterday's flower, representing only the bloodline of a royal family.

This prince had followed his father to the European continent when he was young, and finally drifted all the way to Austria. After he grew up, he became an officer under the Austrian royal family.

In 1830, he married his cousin, Princess Louisa-Emily of the Baden royal family, but his son died at birth, leaving only a daughter, Karona. What's worse is that in 1843, because of emotional discord, the princess divorced him, leaving him alone with his daughter.

In short, this former crown prince has not had much luck since 1809. Everything bad has happened to him.

People who are often teased by fate will either be trained to be extremely strong and fearless, like Beethoven; or they will become cautious and taciturn, and take a silent attitude of acceptance of everything - just like this prince.

He only had the title of prince and the "honorable status" of the crown prince, but his life was full of ups and downs, and he had almost never received the benefits of these titles. Money, honor and status did not come to him. Only his daughter was with him, and his character became gentle and calm, as if he could accept anything.

Of course, after meeting Charles, his luck might change.

Because Charles would give him a great opportunity to get his family out of the embarrassing situation.

"Please follow me." The middle-aged man felt a little uncomfortable when Charles looked at him, so he turned around and led the way, taking Charles and Richard to his mansion again.

"Sir... Where is your wife?" Seeing that only Charles was following, he was a little curious, "We have prepared lunch, you might as well call your wife up to share lunch together. Although this place is simple, you and your wife can at least enjoy the fun of the countryside."

"I think it's better not to, sir. Charlotte is pregnant, it's best not to move easily. Besides... I don't want her to get involved in this kind of thing, it's hard work." Charles shook his head gently, and then opened the topic directly, "I think you are very clear about my purpose, so I don't want to waste our time with unnecessary polite words, don't you think?"

Such direct words made the prince feel even more uncomfortable. He looked at the two young people uncomfortably. Charles had a firm face, and Richard shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he would decide the matter.

After hesitating for a moment, as if urged by the sun above his head, some fine sweat appeared on the forehead of the middle-aged man, and finally nodded.

The French big shot looked a little arrogant, as if he had condescended to come here and would turn around and leave without wasting time as long as he disagreed with him. This made people with his character feel even more uncomfortable.

"Okay, sir... I think we can talk." After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded. "plz follow me."

Judging from this attitude, it should be almost possible.

Charles breathed a sigh of relief, and then he and Richard looked at each other and smiled again.

He came to see the prince today. Of course it wasn't just lunch. In fact, he wanted something from the prince - he wanted the prince to agree to marry his daughter, Carolina, to Louis Bonaparte, who was about to become emperor. Become the future Queen of France.

After Charles and various French envoys abroad issued a secret order to find a queen for the French emperor, although these envoys had their own ideas in their hearts, they still faithfully performed their duties, and among the royal families across Europe Search around for pedigrees to find suitable candidates.

I have to say. Their efforts had some effect, and soon, envoys from various places provided some candidates. Among them, Princess Karona is naturally among them.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

This princess was born in 1833. She is now just eighteen years old, which is the best age to get married. Moreover, she is of high origin. She is a descendant of a famous German royal family, and her grandfather is even a king. What's even better is that their family is now out of power. He lives a very miserable life, and in the end he doesn't care that much about rank and royal blood.

Taking into account these "advantages", Charles quickly regarded this candidate as one of the most important candidates, and then had private contact with the prince through officials of the embassy in Austria - free love was not practiced in this country. In that era, getting the father's consent meant that the marriage was almost finalized.

However, everything did not go smoothly during the contact. Although His Royal Highness was initially happy when he learned the news, he soon fell into doubts and did not agree easily.

first. Louis Bonaparte himself was not much younger than him, but he was already very old. Moreover, he had just usurped the throne and his reputation was not good. And no one can say for sure how long he can stay on the throne or whether he will make the same mistake as his uncle.

Of course, this concern is not the most serious, because at this time, such marriages between young and old were common among the upper classes in Europe, and there were many with a larger age gap; moreover, under Louis Bonaparte and his Thanks to the efforts of the party members. France has slowly restored order and appears to be able to enforce a long-term rule.

But, secondly, he was concerned about the opinions of the Austrian royal family. After all, he was now living under the patronage of the Habsburg royal family, and he did not want to offend the royal family either emotionally or rationally. The initial attitude of the royal family was indeed ambiguous, which is easy to understand. His Majesty Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, did not think highly of Louis Bonaparte like other relatives.

When the Austrian royal family did not express support, the prince hesitated several times but still did not agree.

But things are different now. After Charles arrived in Austria, he vigorously stated to the emperor the importance of friendly relations between France and Austria, and he repeatedly said that a pro-Austrian queen would help maintain this relationship; and as Metternich's son , Richard also strongly encouraged and expressed support for the marriage to the emperor and others.

Under the operation of these two people, His Majesty Franz-Josef's will wavered as usual, and finally expressed his willingness to see the result - after all, the French Emperor wanted to marry someone who was not from his family. A woman will not lose the face of his family.

After receiving this somewhat vague attitude, Richard was not idle. He immediately contacted Prince Vasa. But this time, with the emperor's endorsement, the prince's attitude was much more positive and seemed very inclined. Yu agreed.

So, after leaving Schonbrunn Palace, Charles arranged a secret trip to their manor, hoping to take this opportunity to finalize the matter at once to avoid wasting time.

Naturally, this journey was kept secret from the outside world, lest the French emperor and his close comrades become the laughing stock of Europe if the marriage fell through.

However, when Charles saw this middle-aged man for the first time, he knew that he had already succeeded more than half-this middle-aged man, like the emperor, was not a strong-willed type. Perhaps the unlucky royal family There are many such people.

They soon arrived at the reception room inside the villa. The decoration of the reception room was very simple, but Ciel didn't care and sat down directly next to the desk with the owner.

"Sir, I have to say that you have posed a difficult problem for me." After sitting down, the middle-aged man frowned even more tightly. "Every father hopes that his daughter can enter the best world." Inside the home...but now I am confused about everything..."

"I understand your feelings very well, Your Highness." Charles stared at the other party calmly, his tone was direct and straightforward, "But I think I must point it out to you seriously. This is not a difficult problem, on the contrary, I think it is an excellent one. Opportunity - think about it, there is only one queen of France, how great an honor it is? I don't think this will diminish their glory, right? If it’s not a great destination, then there won’t be much left in the world.”

The prince lowered his gaze silently, obviously not objecting to his words.

After all, in the eyes of most people today, France is the most powerful country on the European continent and the country with the most prosperous culture and commerce. Its queen is naturally one of the most noble titles for women in Europe. Anyway, it is not It would be an insult to his daughter.

But...he also knows. Things are not that simple.

France has been in turmoil for decades and has gone through several dynasties. Who knows how long this next one will last? If this dynasty ends soon, wouldn't he let his daughter suffer in vain? Besides, Bonaparte... is always unpleasant to read.

"Sir, I think there is nothing to hesitate about." Seeing that he was still hesitating, Charles couldn't help but continue urging, "Please believe in my sincerity. I also admire you and your daughter's bloodline very much, so I specially This is my request. As long as you agree, I don’t even think there is any need to continue to choose other candidates.”

While complimenting the prince, he secretly threatened him. They were not the only candidates on his side. They can't help but keep wasting time.

"Thank you for your concern for us." The prince smiled slightly, "But I think this matter is related to a person's happiness, and I must consider it carefully."

"Of course you can keep thinking about it, but please think about it, what a great opportunity is in front of you. Do you really want to miss it because of hesitation?" Charles continued to encourage these people with his determination. Prince, "You have experienced too much misfortune, so you want your children to be happy. We feel this way." I admire you very much, it is the great father's love that keeps society together, but you can see it with your own eyes, right? Fate has played a trick on you, causing your father to lose his throne and you to lose the dignity of the crown prince, but now... Your daughter has the opportunity to return to the throne, even an even more dazzling one!"

The middle-aged man's face became paler and paler. He thought of his life and too many things. It's really uncomfortable to be dependent on someone else, especially when there was still hope of getting a country.

"Queen of France!", "Queen of France!" These words echoed in his ears like a spell.

If his daughter becomes the queen of the most powerful country on the European continent, then those people who despise and ridicule themselves can no longer ignore themselves, right?

And her daughter may become the mother of a future French emperor... and continue her bloodline into the royal family of an empire...

This was really a temptation that he, a descendant of a down-and-out king, could not refuse.

"Can you tell me directly? Do you agree or disagree?" Charles keenly noticed his wavering, so he stepped up his efforts to urge directly. In his opinion, this might have been successful. "Tell me now and God bless you!"

Sure enough, under his urging, the middle-aged man's brows widened, and he finally made up his mind. He looked at Ciel and opened his mouth.

"Dad!" At this moment, there was a hurried shout outside the door, and then the same hurried footsteps came from the door, and then the door was kicked open.

A short, slender girl wearing a floral pleated skirt appeared in front of Ciel.

Because of the violent action, her face was a little red, her gray eyes were full of nervousness, and her chestnut curly hair was trembling slightly. Her nose bridge is high and straight, and her eyes are very deep, making her look gentle and approachable. However, in her pointed and furrowed eyebrows and bitten lips, she can see the stubbornness of a queen.

She glanced at Ciel without any fear at all.

"Don't promise them!"

The middle-aged man retreated slightly in embarrassment. Although he still maintained his due dignity on the surface, no one could see his wavering on the inside.

His face was cloudy and uncertain. The honor of his daughter becoming a queen and some other disadvantages were constantly tangled in his mind. He opened his mouth several times, but in the end no words came out.

Hey, it seems I have a new enemy, Ciel sneered in his heart. (~^~)