Flowers, Swords and France

As time went by, the long cold nights of winter began to dominate the entire earth. Because of the cold wind and snow, people began to avoid going out as much as possible. The originally bustling crowds on the streets disappeared, as if even a country was paralyzed.

Until the spring came again, the frightening cold nights began to slowly become warmer, the snow began to melt, everything began to revive, and the stagnant continent began to slowly wake up from the winter nights.

In this early spring season of 1853, an uninvited guest quietly came to visit the residence of the Imperial Minister Charles de Treville.

This gentleman was tall, with a thick brown beard, and looked to be about 40 or 50 years old, and he was still very energetic. He was dressed very elegantly and formally. Because of his serious expression, even in casual clothes, he looked like a politician who had been tested by the world for a long time. This is not a wrong impression. This middle-aged man is an influential figure - he is the new Russian Empire's ambassador to France, Count Litvinsky.

As one of the major European countries, the person who can become the ambassador to France must be the most powerful person in a country's diplomatic community. Count Litvinsky is naturally the same. He was born into a noble family of the Russian Empire. This family has been engaged in diplomatic activities for generations. As soon as he entered the Russian diplomatic community, he was highly valued and was also valued by His Majesty Tsar Nicholas I.

At the same time, in addition to being a national figure, he has another identity - he used to be the teacher of Crown Prince Alexander and one of his close advisers. His status is extraordinary. Some people even privately speculate that in the future, after Crown Prince Alexander takes over, he may become his own foreign minister - that is, prime minister.

Sending such a person to France as an ambassador is enough to show that the Russian Empire now attaches great importance to France.

This is an understandable result. After Louis-Bonaparte launched a coup and rebuilt the French Empire, he became the emperor of the empire, and his group of trusted followers also began to become important figures in the empire. For such a group of people, the royal families and nobles in various parts of Europe did not look down on them at first, especially the most conservative and tough Tsar Nicholas I, who was even more contemptuous of them and did not give them a word, which also made this group of people suffer a lot of humiliation.

Count Duroviev, the ambassador to France at that time, was naturally able to understand the emperor's intention, and he himself also relied on his noble family and looked down on Louis-Bonaparte and his group of lucky ministers and followers, so he put on a lot of airs and had a very unpleasant quarrel with this group of French upstarts.

As a result of his quarrel, the relationship between the two countries suddenly became very stiff, and there was almost no normal communication for a while, and Count Duroviev himself became a thorn in the eyes of this group of people.

However, as time went by, the rule of Emperor Louis Bonaparte and his ministers over France became more and more stable. Even though they were unwilling to interact with them, the Russian Empire finally found that they had to recognize the rule of this group of people over France - especially when Russia wanted to start making big moves abroad and urgently needed the support of European powers or acquiescence to their own actions.

Therefore, in order to improve the relationship between the two countries and repair the rift between the two dynasties caused by contempt, the royal family of the Russian Empire had to change its course and put on a posture of wanting to be friendly to France, and Count Duroviev himself was also recalled by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and thrown into a sinecure, which was a political failure.

Obviously, Count Duroviev was just a scapegoat, but since the Russian Empire made such a statement, it meant that they were indeed sincere in improving relations with France, and it was also a clear signal of a diplomatic shift.

This signal was not missed by the sophisticated diplomats in the capitals of Europe. They secretly watched what was happening in Paris and privately speculated on what would happen between the two powers at the two ends of the European continent. However, France was surprisingly unmoved and did not seem very excited - of course, it did not put aside the olive branch extended by the Russians, but calmly accepted the transfer of the Russian ambassador to France.

However, what the Russians wanted now was not just the calmness of the French. As soon as he arrived in Paris, Count Litvinsky tried every means to establish personal contacts with the dignitaries of the French Empire. He was very diligent in participating in various social activities and trying to make friends with those imperial dignitaries. As part of this effort, in this chilly spring time, he braved the cold wind and went all the way to the suburbs to visit the residence of Charles de Treville, the current Minister of Transportation of the Empire.

Although Minister de Treville was the Minister of Transport and seemed to have little to do with diplomatic work, everyone knew that the court of Emperor Louis Bonaparte was a Byzantine court, where so-called positions and powers were usually confused, and each person's status depended on his or her position in the emperor's heart. Therefore, as one of his most trusted assistants, Treville could play a role in diplomatic affairs even if he was a domestic minister. What's more, he had been temporarily in charge of France's diplomatic affairs before, and gained some impression points for the Bonaparte regime in various European countries.

After he came to Paris, after several beggings, he finally got such an opportunity. The minister allowed him to visit his home. Of course, he agreed with a cold attitude.

He was not surprised by this, because he had heard before coming to Paris that his predecessor, Count Duroviev, had a serious quarrel with the minister, and even ridiculed de Treville to his face. Therefore, de Treville had a quarrel with the count overtly and covertly, and it became one of the important reasons why the count was driven away, so he also expected that he would be exposed in advance.

For the sake of Russia's national interests, he is also willing to be treated like this.

With a calm mood, he was led by the servant to the mansion, and then was taken to the study of His Excellency Minister Treville.

"Nice to meet you. Please take a seat, Mr. Ambassador." As soon as he saw the Mr. Ambassador, Charles, who was already waiting here, extended his hand to him in a friendly manner.

"Nice to meet you, Your Excellency." The Earl walked up to Charles very respectfully, held his hand, and then sat across from him.

Although he had known the fact for a long time, when he saw it with his own eyes, he still sighed at the other party's youth.

After he sat down, Charles took out a box of cigars from the drawer of his desk with a smile, then opened it, took out one himself, and then handed the box to the other party, "This is what I am doing in diplomacy." The Foreign Secretary taught me this when I was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said that cigars can completely bring closer the relationship between two people. So to be honest, I don’t usually smoke, but I always keep some in my home... Please Give it a try, I hope you won’t be disappointed.”

"Thank you, Your Excellency." The count looked surprised, then immediately laughed again and took out a cigar from the box. "I have to say that Marquis Turgo has taught you the true meaning of diplomatic activities."

Charles's opening move surprised and pleased the Earl. He originally thought that he would be treated more coldly, but now it seemed that the young man no longer wanted to put on airs.

"You're welcome, you are my guest today, and we will entertain you wholeheartedly." Charles cut the cigar and lit it.

The smoke entered his lungs along the nasal cavity, giving him an indescribable sense of excitement. Although he doesn't like smoking or drinking, he can really refresh himself when he smokes once in a while.

At this time, the sophisticated Count Litvinsky also took a deep puff of his cigar, and then let out a long breath as if to vent his anger. He half-squinted his eyes, seeming a little intoxicated. "Oh! These are fine Havana cigars! You are so kind!"

"I have some good friends who gave me these. It seems they are quite loyal to me. At least you think these goods are good." Charles replied with a reserved smile.

Then, he flicked the cigar with his fingers in style and dropped the ash into the crystal ashtray. "To be honest, I was surprised when I received your request, because I didn't expect that I would be able to communicate with a foreigner now." The minister had an encounter... After all, I have now left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"Although you have now become a minister, the traces you left on the French diplomatic system are still there. You are still famous on the European continent, so even if you are not in that position, you still have influence on French diplomacy. , so it’s appropriate for me to pay you a visit. After all, I’m new here. , I should get to know everyone I should know," Count Litvinsky replied respectfully, "In addition, I read some of your previous speeches and remarks, and I found that some of them are different from us Russians. It coincides with each other, so I think it is necessary for me to communicate with you..."

"But now that I have left, I should no longer dictate to my original colleagues. Diplomatic work should be handled by those who are still serving." Charles's smile did not change, but he gave a rather cold answer, "If you want me to make any promises to you or help you do something, I'm afraid I can't meet your request. Because I can't cause trouble to the Foreign Secretary. He is responsible for dealing with your country. people."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Mr. Treville, you are being too modest." Charles's initial refusal did not surprise the Earl. He put down the cigarette in his hand and continued to impress the imperial man with the words he had thought of in advance. Minister, "As the minister of the empire, you are responsible for the The rise and fall must bear great responsibility, not to mention that this is an empire that you participated in creating, right? Because of your efforts and abilities, you have huge influence, and you should use this influence to contribute to this. Wouldn’t it be a pity to abandon the empire for profit?”

"It's really embarrassing for you to say that." Charles smiled and picked up his cigarette again. "I am not as powerful as you said. I am just serving His Majesty the Emperor and the people."

"We don't need to dispute this point, but you are a well-known figure in our country and a topic of conversation in other countries. Our Tsar Majesty believes that you can make a great contribution to the friendship between our two countries - as long as you want to "The ambassador still refused, "Moreover, even your sister is in our country's society. Junjie enjoys wide acclaim. The ladies, and even Her Majesty the Queen, are very fond of her demeanor and her superb painting skills. I regret that I was not in Petersburg at the time, so I could not see her style... However, fortunately, I Now in France, I finally have the opportunity to see her and appreciate her paintings.”

Then, his smile became even more meaningful, "When I left Russia, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince specifically mentioned Miss Treville to me. He said that he hoped that his gifts would satisfy her. If there is any If given the chance, he would also like to invite her to Moscow again to see the Kremlin, so that maybe she can leave more wonderful paintings..."

When he said this, it was obvious that Ciel's expression changed slightly.

Obviously, he did not say this just to close the relationship, and the focus was not "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to invite Miss Treville again", but - "a gift".

This is a reminder that your sister accepted our gifts on your behalf and cannot deny it. Of course, it is also an implicit advice - if you continue to cooperate with us, you can get more gifts.

And with Ciel's mind, of course he could understand this kind of reminder.

"Oh, these gifts made her very happy. After she came back, she told us about the reception given to her by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of your country, and she was full of praises." After the smoke filled the air, his smile became a little weird, " Here, I also want to express my most sincere gratitude to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander through you... I have to say that he is a bit flattering to us. "

"So you see, you are already in the game, aren't you? Our Crown Prince believes that you can become an old friend of the Russian people, because your surname and your resourcefulness are both worthy of our admiration." Seeing Charles Attitude changed, Count Litvinsky finally relaxed Come, "Count Durovsky was a little hasty in your attitude towards His Majesty the Emperor of your country before, so now we have asked him to return to the country to reflect. Now, I think... there are no obstacles to restoring friendly relations between the two countries." , and you can play a huge role in that.”

Sometimes just opening up the joints makes it easier to talk than before. thought the ambassador. (~^~)