Flowers, Swords and France

"Can I understand this way - the French, including His Majesty the Emperor, have no ill will towards Austria's Italian territory?" After asking such a question, Richard von immediately focused all his attention, carefully examining the Minister of Treville opposite him, and observing any of his actions.

He was very nervous because he knew that he was already taking a small risk.

Diplomatic affairs are sometimes a business that pays great attention to details. It is very important to master the degree. A qualified diplomat must know what topic he can talk about on a certain occasion and to what extent. He must remember to avoid some embarrassing taboos in the topic so as not to anger the person he is facing.

The Italian issue that Richard is now raising is exactly the taboo topic between France and Austria today.

In the era of Emperor Napoleon, Italy was the main battlefield for the confrontation between France and Austria. After the emperor emerged in Toulon and Paris, he immediately led the Republic's expeditionary army to the Italian battlefield, treating it as a place to gain fame and wealth. After several years of war, he almost squeezed out the entire Austrian power from the Italian region, and then divided Italy into two kingdoms, which were handed over to his adopted son Eugene and his brother-in-law Murat to rule.

However, after the fall of the empire, after the exchange of interests and final confirmation at the Vienna Conference, Lombardy, Venice and other northern Italian regions returned to the hands of the Austrians, while the Piedmont region was handed over to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Originally, this arrangement could be considered quite precise - Austria regained its traditional territory and made the Kingdom of Sardinia a buffer state between France and Austria. After the restoration of France, the Bourbon dynasty repeatedly reiterated that it would never covet Italy's territory again, and the Austrians were able to rule the northern Italian region peacefully for decades thereafter.

But after 1848, the situation was very different. After a series of astonishing changes in the situation, the head of the Bonaparte family unexpectedly became the emperor of the French Empire and regained control of all military, political and diplomatic powers in France.

The Bonaparte family had old grudges with the Habsburg Empire, and the emperor had participated in a secret organization against the Austrians in Italy in his early years, so there was a new hatred. These old and new hatreds added up to be enough to make the Austrian monarchs and ministers worry.

Originally, from the perspective of the Austrians themselves, if they had to choose between France and Russia, they would certainly prefer the "elegant and civilized" French, but this choice was mixed with the weight of Louis Bonaparte, and the situation was very different. No one knew whether the emperor would suddenly have a whim and give himself a show-off march into Italy.

What is more worrying is that perhaps because of the same ambition of Louis Bonaparte, the Kingdom of Sardinia, sandwiched between France and Austria, also began to stir and tried every means to please Emperor Napoleon III.

The idea of ​​the Kingdom of Sardinia is of course easy to understand. They just want to please the French to fight the Austrians, and then use the power of the French to expel the Austrian forces, get rid of the buffer state status, and expand their own power in Italy.

At this moment, Vienna is not only worried about the Russians who have already marched, but also about the Sardinians who seem to be stirring and the French behind them.

Now the Russians are going to march to the Danube and the Balkans. If the French also want to march to Italy, then they will be equally terrible villains in the minds of the Austrians, and neither of them is worth relying on or getting close to.

Originally, for the atmosphere of the secret conversation between the two, Richard did not want to ask such a sharp question, but when Charles sang the old tune of Franco-Austrian friendship again, he decided to ask the minister directly after hesitation.

In his position, he hoped that France and Austria could be friendly, and he thought it would be beneficial to both countries.

Although he, like other senior figures in the Austrian Empire, was worried that the emperor, who had new and old grudges and was extremely adventurous, would not understand the situation and continue to treat Austria as an enemy, but after a period of communication, he had a little confidence in Charles.

Before, after several exchanges, he found that this young minister who had recently become famous and powerful in French politics really wanted France and Austria to be friendly. Although this person was unfathomable and what he said might not be the same as what he thought, Richard felt that he had to give it a try, even if the gamble would fail, it was destined to be worth a try.

This test was to see the sincerity of Minister Treville. He was either a fake friend who said one thing and meant another, and all his "pro-Austria" declarations were just empty words; or he was a truly sincere pro-Austrian, and it was worth the Austrian Empire to invest more resources to make friends with him. After all, if France and Austria could really be friendly, it would really help Austria's current situation.

Under Richard's nervous gaze, Charles frowned slightly, seeming to be unprepared for this question - but Richard hoped that he was unprepared, so that more personal will could be seen in his response.

"Richard, we are friends, and friends should be honest with each other, not to mention that you just gave me such an expensive gift. So, although your question is not within the scope of today's discussion, I I will still answer you." After a long silence, Xia said. Er smiled bitterly, looking a little embarrassed, "Let me tell you clearly, our Majesty is indeed very concerned about the Italian issue... Well, I won't beat around the bush. He does have some concerns about the Austrian people because of some past experiences. Some of the Italian forces don’t agree with it.”

Sure enough!

Richard's heart twitched heavily, but he suppressed it immediately.

Although this is very bad news, the truth is better than lies.

This is a good start.

"However, I'm not saying that he dislikes the Austrians very much. Having opinions about the Austrians' power in Italy is different from having opinions about Austria as a whole." Charles emphasized again, "At most, he wants to make demands with Austria. Just adjust Italy’s sphere of influence..."

"Charle, I appreciate your frankness, but I must sternly point out to you that this is not a problem that can be described as 'at best'!" Richard immediately interrupted him, although he knew it was not polite. , but he knew even more that he had to express the seriousness of the problem in this way and not give the French any luck. “For us, the territory of Italy is equal to the territory of other parts of the empire, and it also represents Austria’s supreme national interests and necessity for survival. There can be no situation that only harms the Italian territory without harming the empire itself. Therefore... we cannot calmly discuss the adjustment of Italy's sphere of influence with France, Sardinia, or any other country. This is absolutely unworkable! It is impossible for any country to negotiate with us after harming our Italian interests. Let’s stay friendly.”

"Oh, oh! My friend, don't be so excited!" Seeing that Richard said so seriously, Charles couldn't help laughing, "I'm just telling you a fact that is not actually crucial. In fact, you have to See, his current role is that of emperor, and he must act in accordance with the interests of the empire. He will not act in accordance with the interests of the empire. Therefore, although he may have a grudge against the Austrian Empire in his heart, in actual actions, he will not do anything detrimental to Austria - the interests of the empire require him to maintain goodwill with Austria. People like me hope that he can act rationally."

"I believe in the sanity of His Majesty the Emperor, but I also know that we cannot place all our hopes on the sanity of any one person, especially such a successful adventurer." Richard shook his head slightly, as if he did not agree with it. Charles's words, "A gambler who has been winning for a long time has a hard time stopping because they are used to winning..."

"No gamble is worth paying for another empire!" Charles increased his voice and emphasized emphatically to the other party, "Friend, he is the emperor now, and his top priority is to maintain the rule of the empire and maintain an existing situation that is beneficial to him. Order! A groom wants an emperor, so why does he want to be a groom? Everyone understands this, and I will spare no effort to explain it to His Majesty. The stakes are high, let him understand this!”

This rhetorical question was indeed so powerful that Richard couldn't help but nod slightly.

Indeed, if he judged it from an absolutely rational standpoint, he asked himself that he really could not find a reason why His Majesty Napoleon III insisted on having trouble with Austria - even if he wanted to please the army, he could have taken risks elsewhere and pulled chestnuts from the fire for the Sardinians. It won't do France any good.

However, even though he is young, his father's years of words and deeds have made him extremely cautious. "What if His Majesty really has his own way and insists on going against us?"

"If he really wants to do this, I will be extremely opposed to his decision and will do everything in my power to implore him to change his mind. Generally speaking, with his trust in me, he will indeed do so." Charles He raised his head, looked at Richard very seriously, and then said word by word, " Of course, there are always contingencies. If everything is really irreversible, the empire will be at odds with Austria, and if Austria has done nothing wrong, I will hang up my hat and leave in protest, withdraw from the imperial court, until the empire changes its ways and starts again. Until we get on the road repaired by Faao.”

"Oh my God!"

Richard was stunned by this sudden promise from Ciel. In fact, he had never expected to hear such a promise from Ciel. "Ciel, are you serious?"

"Totally serious, and not because of impulse." Charles nodded without hesitation, "You can write this sentence on paper, then send it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna for secret filing, and give it to your Majesty the Emperor. It’s all about the numbers, and Treville keeps his word.”

"This... this is really..." Richard's eyes wandered around, obviously he hadn't accepted the news yet. "Why do you have to do this?"

"First, I really want France and Austria to be friendly, and I can't afford any hesitation. Second, France and Austria are the diplomatic line I have advocated, and I believe that this is the cornerstone of French diplomacy. To deny this is tantamount to saying that my entire line is wrong, so I must resign and leave the imperial government with my mistakes." Charles still seemed calm, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "Third, I am fully confident that I can convince His Majesty and the imperial government to adopt my suggestions."

"Is that so..." Richard blinked rapidly to cover up his inner fluctuations.

He felt a very strong self-confidence from this young man. He firmly believed that his line was right, and that his Majesty would definitely follow his advice.

This self-confidence was so strong that he couldn't help but waver a little - after all, this young man really rose to prominence, and he was indeed qualified to be confident.

It seems that this test is quite successful, Richard thought.

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

"Very good, Charles, I will convey your words and your promise to His Majesty verbatim. I hope that this promise will not have to be fulfilled on the day it is needed." He stood up and walked solemnly to Charles. "In addition, I can assure you that we Austrians have no ill will towards France. As long as the French extend a hand of friendship to the Austrians, it will never fall through. Like you, I also use my future to guarantee that if France is not at fault and Austria takes the initiative to break with France, then I am willing to resign and go home to fiddle with my garden."

"Now that you say that, I am afraid that we will go to the foothills of the Alps to plant flowers together one day." Charles suddenly laughed, and then he stood up himself.

"That will naturally not happen!" Richard laughed. "But if you want to go, then the door of Austria is always open to you."

Because they were in a good mood, the two shook hands again.

From Richard's face, Charles judged that he had satisfied the other party more than enough today. He had received the answer he wanted and made clear Austria's position. After the two of them had a long conversation, it was already late at night.

Just when Charles thought that the other party was about to leave, Richard suddenly laughed meaningfully again.

"Charles, do you still remember Mr. Bismarck?"

"Yes, I still remember. This gentleman and I were invited by your father to visit his estate together." Charles nodded immediately, "I have communicated with him several times. I think he is a smart and positive person."

"You are right. He is indeed a smart and positive person, and he is too smart and positive." Richard's smile deepened, as if he was a little sarcastic.

"What does this mean?" Charles asked immediately.

Although he was very careful in his heart, he pretended not to care on the surface.

At this time, Bismarck was just thrown by the King of Prussia to Frankfurt as a representative to the Imperial Conference. Although his status was quite high, he was basically left idle and could not participate in confidential matters, so he was just an idler. Of course, he could not be compared with an imperial minister like him. It would be strange if he showed too much concern.

"This gentleman has been using various occasions to spy on the situation in France and Austria. It seems that he wants to find out what the dark clouds over Europe are. Moreover, he is very close to the Russian representative in Frankfurt. According to the intelligence we have obtained, he seems to have been making various suggestions to improve Russia's relations with European countries in order to ease diplomatic tensions."

"This is not too surprising." Charles thought for a while and answered in a low voice, "Although I haven't met him much, I can see that Mr. Bismarck is not a person who likes to be content, and the Prussians have always had a good impression of Russia-but I don't think he is a particularly persistent pro-Russian person."

"Of course he is not particularly pro-Russian , the Prussians are not close to anyone except themselves. "When it comes to Prussia, Richard's attitude is not so good, and he seems particularly sharp, "The Prussians have always been like this, they like to play such tricks to elevate their status, and this gentleman has this need even more, because he feels that the representatives of the Imperial Conference are too condescending to him! He wants to do more things and play more roles, especially as an arbitrator between Western and Eastern Europe. "

"You mean, Mr. Bismarck is not concerned about whether the diplomatic relations between Russia and Western Europe can be eased. He just needs to use this tense atmosphere to elevate his status and increase his influence, so as to seek a more favorable position for himself in the future?" Charles asked calmly.

"Yes, the Prussians like to pretend to be a great power, and this gentleman likes to pretend to be a big shot, so it's normal for him to jump up and down and try to play a role that he doesn't deserve at such a tense moment." Richard mocked Bismarck in a flat tone, "However, on the highest stage in Europe, the Prussians can only be spectators, and he who was thrown into Frankfurt can only be regarded as a spectator of spectators at best. All his efforts are just to perform a farce in front of us."

He was so sharp, not only because of the Austrians' traditional hatred of Prussia, but also because he wanted to discredit Bismarck in front of Charles, so as to prevent Charles from having a good impression of this Prussian and his friendly attitude towards Austria.

"If he wants to act, let him act." Charles thought for a while, "Even if he wants to play a diplomatic conspiracy, it has nothing to do with the overall situation. In other words, it is a good thing... The more the Russians think that their situation is not very serious, the more they will be complacent."

"Then do you mind teaching him a lesson?" Richard suddenly asked, "For example, when we are negotiating with Prussia, we protest to the King of Prussia about his behavior?"

"Let's not do it now." Charles replied after a moment of silence, "I have a use for this person."