Flowers, Swords and France

After saying goodbye to Vienna, Charles and his convoy headed north. With the coordination of diplomats, he easily passed through Bavaria and then rushed all the way to the Free City of Frankfurt. In order to take care of Charlotte's health, after leaving the Austrian border, Charles asked someone to take her back to France first, and he embarked on the last journey of the plan alone - Johannesburg Manor on the outskirts of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt is now the seat of the German Confederation Parliament, so there are many diplomatic people. Not only politicians from various German states are everywhere, but even foreigners live here. So it is prosperous here, and there is a constant flow of traffic on the road. After the turbulent years of 1848, it is prosperous again. Although it cannot bear the title of "the capital of Germany", it is at least a charming city.

However, Charles did not plan to visit this city. His destination was just a manor not far from the city.

After a long journey, their convoy finally stopped in this manor.

Then Prince Richard von Metternich, who had followed Charles all the way, took him out of the carriage and carefully led him through the manor. The manor was about dozens of miles away from Frankfurt and the environment was quite quiet.

The manor, which was carefully maintained, was full of lush vegetation. The vineyard was lush and green, with a bright green color that was eye-catching. The house was surrounded by walls and rows of fruit trees; and the borders of the vineyard were also planted with various fruit trees. In short, every inch of this garden was fully utilized.

Such a residence, so simple, but not lacking in vitality, with abundant fruits and fragrance, is a good place for an old man to live alone in his later years.

Wandering in it, Charles unconsciously slowed down his steps, for fear of startling the people in the manor.

They soon came to the mansion deep in the manor, and then a middle-aged woman came to greet them.

The lady was about fifty years old. She was tall and thin, wearing a gray dress, and her face was full of wrinkles, but she could still see some of her past charm. Her face was full of smiles. She looked very kind.

"You are Mr. de Treville, right?" She nodded to Charles in a friendly manner and greeted him in very pure French, "Nice to meet you, I have always heard the prince and Richard mention you, and today I see you. You are indeed a handsome man!"

Although he knew it was just a polite remark, Charles was still very happy to hear it. "Thank you, madam, I am very honored to visit you," he said, taking off his hat and saluting.

"You have worked hard on this journey, right? Come, please follow me to the restaurant, someone will bring lunch up in a while. Although it is simple here, the game is still good." The lady looked at Richard next to Charles at this time, "Richard. You have worked hard too, take a good rest?"

"Thank you, madam." Richard also nodded to her. "Is Dad still resting?"

"His Royal Highness has woken up now. He was listening to someone reading the newspaper just now, but I have sent someone to inform him. He is probably preparing to meet Mr. Treville now." The lady answered truthfully.

"That's great!" As if he had completed some important task, he suddenly seemed relieved. "Charles, go eat something first. I'll go see my father and take you to see him later."

"Okay. Richard." Charles waved his hand casually and asked him to do as he pleased.

He knew that Richard must have obtained a lot of information about him after following him all the way back. Before the prince met him, he must have exchanged information with his father, and then the father and son would discuss a strategy to deal with him together.

Out of courtesy, Charles would of course give them and their son such space, and solve the problem of hunger by the way. He immediately followed his wife to the restaurant.

At the same time, Charles noticed Richard's attitude towards the lady - polite and respectful, but lacking enthusiasm. There was even an unconscious sense of distance.

This is quite normal. He knew that this princess was not his mother. Prince Metternich was a playboy. He had three wives. The first wife was named Elano Marie von Kaunitz-Littburg. This lady gave birth to 8 children for him, but most of them died early and left no offspring. Only the fourth child (died in 1829) Franz Karl von Metternich left an illegitimate child, and the sixth child Leotina gave birth to a daughter Paulina after marriage.

The second wife was Miss Maria Antoinette von Reckam, whom he married in 1827. This lady gave birth to a son Richard two years after marriage, and then died of postpartum illness ten days later at the age of only 24. Richard has become the only living son of Prince Metternich and enjoys the right of succession to the prince.

The third wife is naturally the lady in front of us. Her maiden name is Melanie. This lady married Prince Metternich in 1831. She was 26 years old that year, 32 years younger than the prince. However, the prince was still in good health. Within a few years of marriage, he let her give birth to 5 children, of whom two sons and one daughter survived to adulthood.

In addition, the prince also had many mistresses, who gave birth to many illegitimate children for him. I am afraid that he himself could not tell how many there were. Like Prince Talleyrand, Prince Metternich’s private life was also very complicated. It's so rich and colorful that it makes people envious - but there's no need to mention this inconsequential issue.

As can be seen from the above, although Richard is now the eldest son who will inherit the title of Prince Metternich, he is not the biological son of the prince's wife, so the relationship between the two of them is a little subtle - although Richard also He grew up under the care of this lady.

Not long after Ciel came to the restaurant, the meals prepared by the chefs were served. Ciel, who was already a little hungry, was naturally not polite and immediately started to eat. Mrs. Melanie is indeed a very kind woman. She fulfills her duties as a host and always talks to Charles, even though she is not really keen on it.

Charles chatted with her while eating, and time passed very quickly.

When he was almost full, Richard von Metternich finally returned to the restaurant.

"Char, please come with me. My father is ready. Please come with me."

"Really? That's great." Charles immediately wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then stood up simply.

Before leaving, he specially thanked his wife. "Madam, thank you for your hospitality."

"If you are willing to communicate with my husband in the most peaceful manner because of this, then my hard work will not be in vain." The lady replied with a smile.

"Oh, that's for sure." Charles was also amused by her humor, "I have full respect for seniors like the prince, and I came here to ask for advice from him this time."

……………………

Under the leadership of Richard, Ciel walked out of the restaurant. Then he walked up to the second floor and came to the door of the study.

Then he opened the door and led Ciel in.

Among the rows of bookshelves, Charles saw the old man sitting in the upholstered walnut rocking chair.

This old man has gray hair and wrinkles on his face, but he is very neatly dressed. Even his beard has been shaved clean. It is obvious that he has received excellent care.

He was also very energetic and had sharp eyes. He looked at Ciel the moment he walked in the door. It was as if he could see through his whole being.

This old man, who is nearly eighty years old, has a thin body, a sharp chin, and his skin has become very pale due to old age and seclusion. The smile on his face is also very charming, and he still has the graceful demeanor of his youth. If Marshal Soult and Duke Wellington gave Charles a sharp impression, then he gave Charles a somewhat feminine impression - he is indeed a talented person who can escape from Vienna dressed as a woman!

"Prince von Metternich, I am really honored to have the opportunity to meet you." After putting away the joking in his heart, Charles bowed to him respectfully, "In addition, I am very happy to see you so healthy. "

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"I am also very happy to see a young hero like you, sir." The prince smiled, and then stretched out his hand to motion for him to sit down. "I think that today, after I have retired, I can still get a visit from an outstanding person like you. I do feel that I am somewhat lucky.”

"Unlike a clown, a big shot is still a big shot even after he steps off the stage." Ciel complimented and sat down.

"Mr. Treville, there is one thing I must make clear." After he sat down, the prince smiled slightly. The wrinkles on his face became deeper and deeper, "I don't hate Napoleon, and I never even thought about deliberately destroying his empire, so you shouldn't continue your hatred from forty years ago to now. I think even though we are diplomats, But occasionally we can communicate with each other in a sincere manner. Yes, true sincerity - the sincerity of smart people. We don't say stupid things or hypocritical words to insult each other, but talk to each other based on the principle of matter-of-factness. Give lessons.”

"Your Highness, I have one thing to tell you clearly." Charles also laughed, "I really don't hate you at all, I only have admiration for you. Even... I don't hate Talleyrand."

Charles truly meant what he said. As a Bonapartist, he did not blindly worship Napoleon, nor did he intend to perpetuate Napoleon's old hatred. Moreover, even from Napoleon's perspective, Prince Metternich was indeed not an enemy.

Metternich indeed had no hatred for France and Napoleon. His only thought was to maintain Austria's strength and prestige.

When Napoleon's empire was at its peak, he flattered Napoleon and facilitated his marriage to the Habsburg princess. When Napoleon's empire was in danger, he did not intend to add insult to injury from the beginning.

In the turbulent years when Napoleon returned from Russia without success, he correctly realized that with Austria no longer able to return to the Rhine and the Netherlands, completely destroying the Rhine League would only make the Rhine region a weak place. The powerless small states then benefited Prussia. He proposed conditions to Emperor Napoleon several times in 1813, hoping to make peace between France and Austria in the form of France recognizing and respecting the rights and interests of other countries, in other words, withdrawing from the conquest of land after the Revolution.

His wishful thinking was to maintain a sufficiently powerful but hostile France after the war, and then maintain the existence of a strong Rhine League. In this way, the pressure from various countries can immobilize France, and the pressure from France can immobilize Prussia. As a result, it will not be able to get involved in the Rhine region.

However, his wishful thinking was soon shattered by reality. Napoleon, who had already fallen out with Talleyrand, regarded Metternich as a despicable person like Talleyrand and refused to trust him at all. And he still had a sense of luck, thinking that he could make a comeback, so he completely rejected all Metternich's proposals, and he must fight to the death with other European countries on the battlefield.

After his dream was shattered, Metternich had no choice but to let Austria join the Allied advance, and the Allied forces completely defeated Napoleon's army in the Battle of Leipzig.

Even at this time, based on the principle of balance of power, Austria and several other major powers still did not want to put the French Empire to death. They also put forward conditions to end this by France maintaining the borders of 1790 and Napoleon abdicating the throne to his son. A protracted war.

However, Napoleon still refused. He was like a gambler on the verge of doom, trying to make back his losses with increasingly smaller bets. He once again organized his army to fight against the Anti-French Alliance. As a result, the Allied forces marched into France. And after capturing Paris in March 1814, Napoleon had to sign an abdication edict in Fontainebleau on April 13.

This time, he gave up his throne to his son, but the coalition refused. He had to face the complete collapse of the empire and his own fate of being exiled.

In general, after the Russian campaign began in 1812, Emperor Napoleon made many foolish moves and refused every opportunity to stop his losses. He did not wake up until the end, and by then it was too late.

Louis Bonaparte finally regained the power of the country. Of course, he did not want to be like his uncle and perish with the empire under the siege of Europe. He did not want to continue hatred, and Charles did not have any of the same ideas. .

"I'm glad you can say that." After seeing Charles' sincere answer, the prince's smile deepened. "Then, do I think you are saying this on behalf of France?"

"Yes, at this moment, I am talking to you on behalf of France's interests." Charles raised his head and looked at this big man who had dominated Europe for forty years without flinching at all. "My words now count."

"Oh, what a beautiful demeanor! Richard should really learn from this!" the prince exclaimed, then clapped his hands gently, "God bless you, young man." (~^~)