Flowers, Swords and France

As the snow slowly melted, everything began to revive, the chill of early spring began to fade away, the temperature rose, and time came to the season of spring flowers blooming and everything reviving.

At this time of year, the warm spring breeze dyed the entire continent green, and the city regained its former vitality. People began to regain their past habits, wandering around in the spring night, watching plays, and celebrating the arrival of the real New Year in the entertainment of singing and dancing.

However, on such a night, an unremarkable carriage drove out of the city through the bustling streets, and then disappeared into the darkness of the night quite stealthily. After a period of bumps, it finally stopped at the residence of Mr. Charles de Treville, the Minister of the Empire.

Because there was an appointment in advance, the doorman of the mansion did not make it difficult, but cooperated to welcome him to the mansion without causing any commotion. Just a dozen minutes later, a young man in a black coat came to the reception room of the Minister.

The young man was dressed in luxurious clothes and had a gentle and reserved attitude. It was obvious that he had experienced wealth since childhood. Although his manners were calm and elegant, the slightly furrowed brows still revealed a little nervousness in his heart.

Originally, as the son of Prince Metternich, young Richard von Metternich did not have many things to worry about. However, when he entered the diplomatic world and was determined to make achievements in this field where his father had once shone brightly, the situation was completely different. The glory and haze of this world would also attack him, making him overwhelmed and unable to cope.

The warm spring breeze in 1853 could not take care of every corner of the world. In fact, Richard von Metternich felt only chill in his heart at this time, and it was a chill colder than winter.

With the help of his father's influence and his own operation, he finally became the secretary of the Austrian Empire's Embassy in the French Empire last year. Considering that the ambassador was Baron Rothschild, who basically did not ask about political affairs, he could be said to have basically dominated the operation of the embassy.

The French Empire is one of the most powerful countries in the European continent, and naturally one of the most important embassies abroad of other major countries. To have such a high status at such a young age, it can be seen how much effort this young man has spent.

There is no doubt that the French do not have a very good impression of Prince Metternich, but the prince is a prince after all, and as the heir to the prince's title, he has become a rising star in the Parisian diplomatic community, attracting much attention, and has always been regarded as an important figure in the future of Austrian politics.

In normal times, he is elegant and can talk and laugh with every important person or lady, and he has inherited his father's true teachings. What he is most proud of is that through his own efforts, he has become friends with another young man he admires, Minister Charles de Treville, and helped each other a lot, which also made this big man who seems to be destined to be powerful in the future become a friend of the Austrian Empire.

For him, today is the time to verify this friendship again.

"Oh, my friend, congratulations!" Charles opened his arms enthusiastically when he saw Richard, "It's a pity that you didn't bring the bride..."

"You will always have a chance, Charles." Richard smiled and held Charles' hands, "You are my good friend, I am so sorry that you can't appear at our wedding... But it doesn't matter, I will live in Paris with my wife in the future, and you will have many opportunities to meet her in the future-she is also full of curiosity about you."

"I really hope it's not the kind of curiosity about the devil." Charles laughed and pointed to the chair next to him, "Please sit down."

After Richard grew up and admitted it, his father found a marriage for him.

The heroine of this marriage is the daughter of his daughter Leotina, that is, his granddaughter Paulina-Shandor-after adulthood, Leotina married a Hungarian noble Count Moritz-Shandor, and they only gave birth to Paulina, a daughter, so she can inherit a large family business at a young age.

In order to allow Richard to have as much wealth as possible and to prevent the family business from flowing out, the prince decided to let Richard marry Pauline - an uncle marrying his niece who was seven years younger than him, which was not shocking in Europe at that time.

Because of his marriage, Richard von Metternich bid farewell to the prosperity of Paris a while ago and returned to Austria. He married Ms. Pauline Chandor with the blessings of his father and relatives and friends. Although he could not be present to congratulate them in person during the wedding, Charles still gave the couple a valuable gift and continued to maintain a good relationship with Richard.

The newlyweds were originally the most proud time for a person. However, after his marriage, Richard rushed back to Paris quickly and hurried to visit Charles's house, and deliberately concealed his whereabouts. The meaning of this is indeed intriguing.

At least, for many people, this is definitely not a good omen.

"Thank you for seeing me so soon." After sitting down, Richard von Metternich said with a hint of relief.

"My friend, what urgent matter has happened that you are unwilling to visit me openly?" Charles asked the other party curiously.

"It is indeed a matter of utmost urgency - Charles, the thing we are most worried about is about to happen." Richard's tone became a little anxious, and he was even too lazy to say some polite words to Charles. "This matter is estimated to spread throughout your Ministry of Foreign Affairs in two or three days, but now I will tell you in advance. According to our reliable local intelligence, the Russians have gathered troops near the borders of the two principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, and it seems that they will send troops soon..."

"Wow!" Charles' expression suddenly became serious, and then he looked at Richard seriously. He knew that Richard von Metternich was no longer speaking as a friend at this time, but speaking on behalf of the entire Austrian Empire.

"This news... is not that shocking." After a moment of silence, he replied in a low voice.

"It's not that shocking, and even expected. However, no one wants to see it happen." Richard von Metternich nodded in a low voice, "Everything you warned us about before has become a reality now, Charles."

Nearly two years ago, Charles visited the Austrian Empire for the purpose of selecting a queen, and met with Emperor Franz Joseph and Prince Metternich in Vienna and Frankfurt respectively. When meeting with the emperor and his foreign minister, he emphasized the threat of the Russians and pointed out that in the near future, the insatiable Russians will take advantage of the fact that Europeans have not yet recovered from the previous revolutionary storm, and then march into the interior of Europe, step by step to realize their long-cherished wish of planting the double eagle flag in Byzantium.

Although he was a little exaggerated, his words did make sense, so the emperor and the foreign minister were skeptical. However, they did not expect that this prophecy would come so quickly and directly. They found that they had been hit by the cold wind from the Arctic. From the intelligence they received, the Russians had assembled a huge force on the border. It was obviously not just for military intimidation. They wanted to do it for real.

It was for this reason that the newlywed Prince Richard von Metternich had to hastily end his honeymoon with his wife, and then rushed back to Paris with his secret mission, and ran directly to Charles's house at the beginning. At this moment, he desperately needed help from this friend.

Logically speaking, the two principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were still vassal states of the Turks at this moment. The Turks were the first to bear the brunt, and there was no direct threat to Austria. However, in the eyes of the Austrians, this threat was undoubtedly projected on themselves.

In the past, the Turks once made the entire Christian world shudder. The successive sultans were great warriors and had marched to the gates of Vienna several times. However, now, Turkey has long been in decline and no longer as brave as it used to be. The Ottoman Empire, now known as the "sick man" of Europe and later called by Winston Churchill "the infamous, aging, and penniless Turkey", has always been regarded as dying by the European powers that were watching it. They were just waiting for it to die and divide up its huge legacy.

As Turkey's close neighbor and sworn enemy, the Austrians believed that they were the most qualified to divide up this huge legacy. They were eyeing the Balkans, and the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were also full of covetousness. These places have always been regarded as the forbidden fruits of the Austrian Empire itself - although it cannot swallow up all the Turks' heritage now, they believe that they will eat it up sooner or later, no matter how much it costs.

Once these places fall into the hands of the Russians, then all these dreams will undoubtedly become a bubble.

Moreover, once the Russians controlled these areas, the Transylvania region previously obtained by the Austrian Empire would undoubtedly be exposed to the Russians. Although the Turks were suffering now, what about the future? The Russians who controlled the lower reaches of the Danube continued to move forward. How would the Austrians deal with it then?

Undoubtedly, the Austrians had already felt the huge pressure similar to the lips and teeth being cold.

Everyone knew that the Russians were insatiable and their greed for territory was endless, so being squeezed forward step by step by the Russians and having to bow to the Russians was a prospect that could not attract His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph and his ministers at all.

However, the Austrian Empire was not prosperous now, so they did not want to bear this pressure alone. At this time, His Majesty the Emperor remembered what Charles had said and promised in front of him, so they wanted to confirm this promise from the mouth of the now popular minister of the French Empire, so that Austria could make the most sensible judgment.

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

"Charles, are the words you said before still valid now?" After giving a brief account of the background, Richard von Metternich looked at Charles a little nervously. "I know that sometimes in diplomatic affairs, a year is equivalent to a century, but I think that since you were able to make such a promise at the time, there is no need to back down now..."

"My friend, now I am no longer serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." To Richard's disappointment, Charles was not inspired by him, but circumvented the guarantee requirement in a diplomatic manner, "I I can be responsible for the French government at that time. What I said before was also suitable for the time. But now, if you want to know the attitude of the French Empire, I think it is best to ask the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I think they will give Your answer.”

"Charles, you can't say that - everyone knows that you are His Majesty's favorite and have a great influence on his opinions. I don't think this influence will fade after leaving the diplomatic post." Richard looked at this popular minister, "Don't worry, as long as you can answer our country's problems, our Emperor will be sincerely grateful to you."

Why does everyone think I only think about corruption? Although Ciel was still smiling, he felt slightly embarrassed in his heart.

"I am very grateful to His Majesty the Emperor for the importance he places on me, but now the time is tight and it would be embarrassing for us to hastily express our stance - it would be better if he could express a more positive stance when he was at Schonbrunn Palace." Charles seemed to Regrettably, he made an insinuation about Emperor Franz Joseph, but of course Richard just pretended not to hear it. "Of course, if you have to ask me for my personal opinion, I can tell you that I am still firmly opposed to the Russian challenge to the existing European order. It is unreasonable to allow Russia to expand - and it is harmful to our descendants. It will be an outright disaster for future generations. Of course, this is just my personal opinion..."

Although Charles tried hard to express that this was just a personal attitude, his attitude still made Richard breathe a sigh of relief.

He didn't believe Charles's private views. Since the minister said this, it definitely meant that French officials did intend to prevent the Russian expansion by any means, and this meant that his mission would be successfully completed.

"Thank you, Charles!" He sighed with relief, "You are right, we cannot let the Slavs cast haze over the entire Europe!"

"So what is the attitude of the Austrians now?" Charles looked at him with a smile, and then asked suddenly and coldly, "I can understand that now His Majesty the Emperor wants to cooperate with us to fight against the brutal Russians?"

This sudden question interrupted Richard's joy, and his expression suddenly became embarrassed again.

"Your Majesty has made up his mind and will never sit back and let the Russians control the source of the Danube. Otherwise, it will be a disaster for Austria and a disaster for the whole of Europe!" After a moment of silence, he whispered, "However, consider During the previous riots, His Majesty the Tsar helped us put down the Hungarian rebellion and was a favor to us, so we have to take this into consideration in our actions. "

"Oh..." Ciel nodded meaningfully.

Today's international order rarely pays attention to morality, and repaying kindness has never been inevitable.

The so-called "favor" is just a nice excuse. In essence, Austria wants to use the power of Britain and France to support itself, but it does not dare to squander its strength and risk a head-on confrontation with the Russians, so it chooses to do so. It was just a matter of sitting on the wall and reaping the benefits. Richard himself understood it, and he knew that Charles must also understand it, so it was a bit embarrassing.

However, diplomacy itself means telling lies with open eyes, so even though he was embarrassed, he said it smoothly without seeming aggrieved, even though there was a bit of ridicule on Ciel's face.

"I think I understand what you mean." Charles nodded, "In other words, in the coming days, the Austrians hope that we and the British will step forward to shield Austria from the terrible haze?"

"That's not true, Ciel..." Richard replied with a hint of embarrassment. "We are determined to help you and weaken the Russian position morally. I believe that morality is a very important asset that will prevent the Russians from going their own way."